Law Enforcement

Police say speeding, unlicensed driver involved in fatal Palisades crash
A speeding car driven by an unlicensed motorist slammed into a pole on Pacific Coast Highway Wednesday and burst into flames, killing a man in the vehicle and critically injuring two other people. The crash in the 16300 block of West Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades was reported at 12:06 a.m., according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. A 2002 Ford Focus was being driven by a 27-year-old woman who did not have a driver's license, Los Angeles police spokesman Richard French said.
Los Angeles Daily News

Son of ex-Bermuda premier on trial for allegedly assaulting patients
An undercover Los Angeles Police Department officer testified this week that she was assaulted by Dr. Kevin Brown, a prominent South Los Angeles doctor facing charges of sexually assaulting dozens of female patients, including a 15-year-old. The officer, outfitted with surveillance equipment, visited Brown's Crenshaw Boulevard office in June 2008 posing as a patient. In an audio recording played back in court, Officer Stacey Young and Brown can be heard talking about her chronic ankle injury, a condition Young said she developed after years of playing tennis.
Los Angeles Times

Venice market owner, 2 others arrested for allegedly selling unpasteurized milk
The owner of a Venice market and two other people were arrested Wednesday on charges stemming from the alleged illegal production and sale of unpasteurized goat milk, goat cheese and other products. James Cecil Stewart, who runs the Venice market Rawesome, is set to be arraigned Thursday in downtown Los Angeles, according to the District Attorney's Office. Stewart, 64, is charged with 13 counts, including conspiracy to commit a crime, processing milk without pasteurization, unlicensed business, food facility without a permit, improperly labeled food and removal of closure notice.
Los Angeles Daily News

Crime spree? Gardeners' trucks stolen for equipment on Westside
A theft ring is reportedly targeting local gardeners. Police say thieves steal gardeners' trucks while they work, then grab all the tools and abandon the vehicle a few blocks away. Police say it's an alarming trend on the Westside. Police say that at least 20 gardeners have had their trucks stolen over the past several months. And the trend is spilling into other nearby cities.
ABC7

DOJ dismantles disturbing members-only child porn network
The Justice Department announced Wednesday that it had dismantled a members-only child porn Internet bulletin board that was intended to promote pedophilia. At this point, the agency has charged 72 people with criminal activity and arrested 52 via an international effort known as Operation Delego. Of those, 13 have pleaded guilty and four people have received sentences of 20 to 30 years in prison, Attorney General Eric Holder announced. At this point, 20 people are still at large and are known only by their online identities.
PC Magazine

Gun dealers sue to block rules on multiple rifle sales
Gun dealers are suing the Obama administration to block a new rule that requires them to report multiple sales of semi-automatic rifles. The National Rifle Association says the administration doesn't have the legal authority to enforce the rule. The NRA has put a press release about its support for the lawsuit on its website. Our original post continues: Last month, Justice Department leaders announced the new reporting rule, which covers gun dealers in four Southwest border states - California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.
NPR

Cops and cowboys enjoy hoedown
It was a good old-fashioned hoedown as Los Angeles Police Department cops, their families and friends gathered for a boot scootin' evening full of barbecue and dancing to good ol' country music at the 14th annual Cops and Cowboys fundraiser held at the VFW Post 6885 in Canyon Country. The auction-dinner-dance is the main fundraiser for Mid-Valley Community Police Council. The council's mission is to support the Los Angeles Police Department's Van Nuys/Sherman Oaks Community police station through donations of equipment and services.
Santa Clarita Valley Signal

Children often victims of stray bullets, study finds
Chris Rodriguez was taking a piano lesson around 4:30 p.m. Jan. 10, 2008, at a north Oakland music school. Across the street, an inebriated man robbed a gas station, firing three shots at an attendant. None of the bullets hit their intended target. Instead, one cut through the school's wall and Chris' spine, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, paralyzing the 10-year-old boy's legs. That shooting spurred the Violence Prevention Research Program at UC Davis to examine stray bullet injuries and deaths.
California Watch

City Government

L.A. City Council votes to ban pet sales on streets
The Los Angeles City Council voted 11-0 Wednesday to make it illegal to buy animals on public property. "The sale of live animals on city sidewalks and streets poses a real risk to these vulnerable animals and the public at large," said Councilwoman Jan Perry, who came up with the idea. Selling pets in public is already illegal. Perry said many of the animals being sold have not been vaccinated, have been taken from their mothers too soon, or carry diseases and often end up being abandoned.
Los Angeles Daily News

L.A.'s NFL stadium financing plan clears key City Council panel
A plan for luring an NFL stadium to downtown Los Angeles cleared a major hurdle Wednesday, with a City Council panel throwing its support behind the financial framework proposed for the project. On a 4-0 vote, the council's Ad Hoc Committee on the Downtown Stadium and Convention Center recommended approval of an agreement with developer Anschutz Entertainment Group to build a $1.2 billion stadium and replace a $275 million wing of the Los Angeles Convention Center. A vote by the full council is scheduled for Tuesday.
Los Angeles Times

Government Budgets

U.S. budget ax hangs over California
It's a seldom discussed fact how heavily dependent Sacramento is on Washington's borrowed money. The same goes for California schools and local governments. They're all huge targets as Congress takes aim at federal debt. It's unlikely the Obama administration would have defaulted on U.S. Treasury bonds even if Congress had remained gridlocked on debt ceiling legislation. Stiffing bondholders would have irreparably tarnished the nation's image abroad. Instead, Washington would have slammed it to the states and federal contractors.
Los Angeles Times