Law Enforcement

Sylmar cop killed in solo-crash on 101 Freeway in Sherman Oaks
An off-duty Los Angeles police officer was thrown out of his pickup truck in an early-morning crash on the Ventura (101) Freeway on Saturday and died two hours later at a Westwood hospital. Jose Diance-Cruz, 23, of Sylmar died at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center at 5:34 a.m., two hours after the wreck on the eastbound freeway at Van Nuys Boulevard, according to the coroner's office. About 1:15 p.m. a motorcade of 10 LAPD units with lights and sirens activated transported his body from the hospital to the coroner's office.
Los Angeles Daily News

Crime alerts for Highland Park, Beverly Crest and eight other L.A. neighborhoods
Crime reports are up significantly for the latest week in 10 L.A. neighborhoods, according to an analysis of LAPD data by the Los Angeles Times' Crime L.A. database. Eight neighborhoods reported a significant increase in violent crime. Highland Park was the most unusual, recording six reports compared with a weekly average of 3.2 over the last three months.
Los Angeles Times

Man booked on suspicion of attempted murder after allegedly firing at police helicopter
An 18-year-old man was booked on suspicion of attempted murder Sunday after he allegedly shot at a police helicopter in Van Nuys, rupturing its fuel tank and forcing it to make an emergency landing. A tipster's report of a second gunman set off an hours-long search and evacuations, but no suspect was found. The Los Angeles Police Department helicopter was fired on after the pilot responded to a report of gunshots in the 15700 block of Saticoy Street about 6 a.m., Det. Gus Villanueva said. Officers who arrived in patrol cars saw San Fernando Valley resident Danny Lopez shooting at the copter from a yard, Villanueva said.
Los Angeles Times

Jeweler abducted at home, set free in aborted robbery
Los Angeles police are searching for three men in the kidnapping of a North Hollywood jeweler Friday night in an aborted attempt to rob his store, authorities said. The three men knocked on the door of the jeweler's home in Tujunga about 11 p.m. and forced their way in, said Sgt. Rudy Alaniz of the Los Angeles Police Department. The jeweler and his wife were tied up as the intruders searched the home for valuables before two of them took the husband in his green Mercedes-Benz SUV and drove to the jewelry store.
Los Angeles Times

State & Municipal Budget Crises

Times/USC Dornsife poll: California voters want public employees to help ease state's financial troubles
California voters want government employees to give up some retirement benefits to help ease the state's financial problems, favoring a cap on pensions and a later age for collecting them, according to a new poll. Voter support for rolling back benefits available to few outside the public sector comes as Gov. Jerry Brown and Republicans in the Legislature haggle over changes to the pension system as part of state budget negotiations.
Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles officials want workers to trade furloughs for pay cuts
Los Angeles' elected officials have spent weeks trying to convince their employees to take a 4% cut in salary in exchange for an end to unpaid furloughs that stood to slash their incomes by even more. That tradeoff, part of the strategy for eliminating a $457-million shortfall, has been greeted warmly by city workers who faced salary cuts of 10% due to the mandatory unpaid days off. But the demand for more concessions has been complicated by a little-known fact: The vast majority of workers at City Hall have not taken any furloughs.
Los Angeles Times

Prisons

California bill to rid prisons of smuggled cell phones shelved over costs
In most states, if you smuggle a cell phone into a prison, you'll end up spending time in prison - but not here. California has no law to keep contraband cell phones from inmates. Law enforcement officials and most lawmakers agree California needs one, but it's unlikely to pass this year - because it costs too much.
Southern California Public Radio