Law Enforcement

Not all public sector unions are made equal
I never expected to get rich as a cop (and indeed I haven't), but the city of Los Angeles made a deal with me more than 25 years ago, one based on the need to attract applicants at the time and on actuarial assumptions about the future. And since becoming a cop I've been shot at twice, saved two lives, sustained a near-crippling injury, and made hundreds upon hundreds of arrests, the great majority of them for felonies and many of them at great personal risk. I've lived up to my end of the bargain I made when I signed up, and I don't think it's unfair to expect the city of Los Angeles to do the same. It is my union, whatever its faults, that will help me make sure it does.
Jack Dunphy/Pajamas Media

Council reiterates support for police facility at park
Aiming to improve a police presence in Pacific Palisades and deter vandalism at the Recreation Center, the Community Council last Thursday reiterated its support for an LAPD facility inside the large gym at the park. Council members agreed with park director Erich Hass and Senior Lead Officer Michael Moore that enclosing a small, unused space off the entrance hallway to the gym and creating a dedicated space for LAPD officers to type up their crime sports and handle other administrative work makes sense.
Palisades Post

Pizza deliveryman robbed at gunpoint In Van Nuys
Authorities are searching for a bicycle-riding bandit who held up a pizza deliveryman at gunpoint in Lake Balboa. The victim was approached near Vanowen Street and Balboa Boulevard as he walked back to his car after a delivery around 10 p.m. Tuesday. The robber pointed a handgun at the man and demanded money, according to Sgt. Jason Zabel of the Los Angeles Police Department's West Valley Station.
CBS2

Police release footage of nude preschool intruder
Police on Thursday released surveillance footage in hopes of apprehending a man who broke into a South Los Angeles preschool -- sans clothes. The preschool's video surveillance system recorded the naked man inside the entryway around 3 p.m. March 6, said Richard French of the Los Angeles Police Department. Police would not disclose the exact location of the preschool, citing safety concerns, but French said a similar incident occurred at the same location on Nov. 14.
Los Angeles Daily News

State & Municipal Budget Crises

Legislature approves main budget bill without new revenues
Both houses of the California Legislature passed the main budget bill Thursday and have now solved roughly half of the state's $26.6 billion deficit, mostly through cuts and taking funds from special state accounts. But nobody's celebrating yet. The Legislature has left unsettled two of the thorniest issues in Gov. Jerry Brown's budget proposal -- the elimination of redevelopment agencies and a special election asking voters to extend higher taxes on sales, income and vehicles.
Sacramento Bee

Pensions

Pension reform is lucrative for former Capitol insiders
The consulting company hired by Republican lawmakers known as the "GOP 5" to do research on reforming public employee pensions signed a similar but much larger contract with a conservative pension reform group last month. The company, Capitol Matrix Consulting, is headed by Mike Genest, who served as finance director for former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Matrix's other two principals, Brad Williams and Pete Schaafsma, also are well-known in the Capitol as top-level financial analysts.
Capitol Weekly

Unions

Two more California state unions report contract accords
Unions representing state scientists and Transportation Department engineers told members Thursday they've negotiated new contracts with Gov. Jerry Brown. The memoranda of understanding will affect nearly 3,000 scientists and about 13,000 engineers who have been furloughed three days per month in the absence of a contract. The new deals, which must be ratified by members and the Legislature, both start April 1 and run through July 1, 2013.
Sacramento Bee

Politics