Law Enforcement

2 LAPD officers pull woman from burning motor home
Two Los Angeles Police Department officers suffered smoke inhalation Wednesday when they rescued a woman from a burning motor home in the Sun Valley area, officials said. The veteran Foothill Division officers, identified as Fernando Sanchez and Alex Valencia, were driving in the 10000 block of West Tuxford Street about 3:30 p.m. when they were flagged down by a citizen who directed them to a parked motor home filled with smoke, police said. After pulling over, the officers forced open the door and found a woman inside who refused to come out.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD detains man in SpongeBob SquarePants outfit
A man dressed as SpongeBob SquarePants was detained by police outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, officials said Wednesday. The man was questioned but not arrested Tuesday in what a Los Angeles Police Department official described as a "brief incident with two females." No other details were available. The incident was the latest run-in between characters who pose for pictures with tourists and then aggressively demand money, according to police.
Los Angeles Times

Violent crime surges in three Bay Area cities
Some of the Bay Area's largest cities are experiencing a jump in violent crimes such as homicide and robbery, according to city records and the state attorney general. The causes of this year's surge appear to be linked to factors such as gang activity as well as budget cutbacks in police, say local law-enforcement officials. In Oakland and San Jose, violent crime has swelled amid police layoffs. Other cities such as Richmond, which is grappling with gangs, have experienced an increase in violent crime even as they have invested in their police departments.
Wall Street Journal

Chicago to publish crime stats online
Long a city with a reputation for withholding information, Chicago now wants to make public every crime over the past 10 years - a highly unusual move among the nation's major police departments. Starting Wednesday, millions of crime statistics dating to 2001 will be posted online in a searchable database. It will be updated daily, providing fodder for residents to evaluate their own neighborhoods, academics to study crime and techie types to create websites or apps.
Associated Press

Las Vegas man: $2M Bulger reward paid to tipster
The FBI has paid a $2 million reward to a tipster who provided information that led to the arrest of fugitive crime boss James "Whitey" Bulger, according to a Las Vegas man who tried unsuccessfully to claim the reward. Bulger, who was long one of the nation's most wanted fugitives, was captured in June in Santa Monica, Calif., where he had been living in a rented apartment with his longtime girlfriend, Catherine Greig. Bulger, a longtime FBI informant, was wanted in connection with 19 murders. He fled Boston just before he was indicted in early 1995.
Associated Press

Legislation

House weighs bill to make gun permits valid across state lines
Lawmakers are considering a House bill that would give Americans who hold permits to carry firearms in their home states the right to carry their weapons across state lines. Although many states have entered into voluntary agreements, there is no nationwide framework for honoring permits and licenses uniformly. A bipartisan bill, co-authored by Reps. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., and Heath Shuler, D-N.C., aims to change that. Supporters say the measure would not create a federal licensing system, but would require that all states recognize lawfully issued permits -- regardless of where they were issued.
Fox News

Pensions

Proposed ballot initiative to cut public pensions
The group founded by the advocates of the tax-cutting Proposition 13 is crafting a ballot initiative that urges across-the-board cuts in public pensions and sets ups a new, CalPERS-style state retirement system for private employees. The proposed initiative, which would apply to new and reinstated employees, would cap pay at $100,000 for the purposes of figuring retirement. It would bar any other compensation - such as bonuses, accrued overtime, accrued sick leave and vacation pay - from being included when calculating pensions.
Capitol Weekly

Prisons

A tale of 2 inmates in California's Security Housing Units
One man was a petty thief mistakenly identified as a player in a violent Latino prison gang. The other was a convicted murderer whose numerous assaults behind bars and continuing influence on the streets earned him a reputation as a ruthless gang leader. The fact that both men were locked for years in grim, windowless isolation cells at Pelican Bay State Prison illustrates the challenge that corrections officials face as they overhaul the state's controversial Security Housing Units.
California Watch

City Government

Weighing mayor's race, Yaroslavsky takes risky gambit on Latinos
For decades, Zev Yaroslavsky has thought he would make a fine mayor for Los Angeles. In three dozen years as a city councilman and then a county supervisor, he has built an extensive record and cemented a solid power base in the Westside and the San Fernando Valley that would make him a formidable candidate. But as Yaroslavsky weighs whether to jump into the crowded race, he finds himself in an awkward position - one that could haunt his political prospects.
Los Angeles Times