Law Enforcement

Crime alerts for Hancock Park, Jefferson Park and 11 other L.A. neighborhoods
Crime reports are up significantly for the latest week in 13 L.A. neighborhoods, according to an analysis of LAPD data by the Los Angeles Times' Crime L.A. database. Seven neighborhoods reported a significant increase in violent crime. Hancock Park was the most unusual, recording four reports compared with a weekly average of 0.8 over the last three months. Jefferson Park topped the list of six neighborhoods with property crime alerts. It recorded 19 property crimes compared with its weekly average of 9.3 over the last three months.
Los Angeles Times

Riot police respond to rowdy film crowd in Hollywood
The premiere for a movie about a music festival with a controversial past got out of hand itself late Wednesday when thousands of people attempted to crash the Hollywood event, police said. Crowds spilled into the street around Grauman's Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, with some people throwing bottles at police. Witnesses said others were dancing on a police car, taunting officers and "planking" - lying down in the street. There were also sporadic fights among people in the crowd. Police in riot gear shut down streets around the theater, and dozens of other officers in police cruisers responded to the disturbance.
Los Angeles Times

L.A. Council votes to drop red-light camera program
The City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to halt Los Angeles' controversial red-light camera program, which has ticketed more than 180,000 motorists since beginning in 2004. The program will officially end July 31. The action followed a similar vote last month by the city Police Commission, which sought to drop the 32-camera program in part because of the difficulty in collecting fines.
Los Angeles Times

Suspected DUI crashes into LAPD cruiser
A pickup truck driven by a man suspected of being drunk slammed into an LAPD squad car at a South Los Angeles intersection today, slightly injuring a police sergeant, authorities said. The Newton Station sergeant was driving westbound on Jefferson boulevard when man at the wheel of a Ford F150 headed southbound on Main Street went through a red light and struck the patrol car around 2 a.m., said Sgt. Michael Marcey of the Los Angeles Police Department's Central Traffic Division. The impact sent the police car barreling into a telephone pole.
Torrance Daily Breeze

Woman allegedly pulls baby from stroller, slams him against truck
A 36-year-old woman allegedly snatched an infant from his stroller and slammed him into the metal railing of a truck as his mother and aunt tried to fight her off, police said Wednesday. The woman, Natasha Hubbard, later told police she wanted to eat the baby's arm. The baby suffered only minor injuries. Adriana Miranda, 29, was pushing her 4-month-old son in a stroller on Boyd Street on Thursday when Hubbard allegedly reached into the stroller, unbelted the infant and swung him overhead, police said.
Los Angeles Times

Two fatally shot in South L.A.
Los Angeles police homicide detectives searched Wednesday for witnesses to separate shootings in South Los Angeles that claimed the lives of two men. In what detectives believe was a gang-related shooting, 20-year-old Gary Sanders sustained multiple gunshot wounds before he was discovered shortly before midnight Monday on the sidewalk outside a home at 210 E. 87th Place. Paramedics rushed Sanders to a hospital, and he died later from his injuries. Det. Sal LaBarbera of the Los Angeles Police Department said investigators were attempting to identify and locate anyone who may have witnessed the killing.
Los Angeles Times

Sonoma County judge rules against Rohnert Park man in foreign driver's license case
California residents cannot legally drive while holding just a foreign license and their cars could be subject to 30-day impounds. That was the tentative ruling Tuesday from a Sonoma County judge in the case of a Rohnert Park man who was cited four times for driving without a California license. Demetro Martinez's last ticket came in May when he was pulled over in Santa Rosa for a driving infraction, according to a tentative ruling from Superior Court Judge Mark Tansil. Martinez, who had been cited for the same offense two months earlier, was handed a fourth ticket and had his car impounded.
Santa Rosa Press Democrat

Immigration

Improving Mexican economy draws undocumented immigrants home from California
There are fewer undocumented immigrants in California - and the Sacramento region - because many are now finding the American dream south of the border. "It's now easier to buy homes on credit, find a job and access higher education in Mexico," Sacramento's Mexican consul general, Carlos González Gutiérrez, said Wednesday. "We have become a middle-class country."
Sacramento Bee

City Government

L.A. considers putting zoo operations in private hands
Officials say the change would save nearly $20 million over five years and prevent possible closure. Critics question the savings and say the move could mean less transparency in animal welfare. The city opened the zoo and botanical gardens in 1966, but officials are now considering a proposal to turn over management to a private operator. That means the gardeners, plumbers and other city employees who help run the zoo could be transferred to other departments and replaced with private workers.
Los Angeles Times

The Economy

L.A., O.C. tax rolls up for first time in 3 years
For the first time in three years, the assessed value of all property in Los Angeles and Orange counties has increased, according to assessors. The uptick in values gives reason for optimism that "the real estate market in Los Angeles County and California is growing stronger and continues to recover," said Los Angeles County Assessor John R. Noguez. "I think I'm probably the breath of fresh air that hope is finally resurfacing..." Noguez said. "When I shared this information with Gov. [Jerry] Brown, he was very happy."
Los Angeles Times