Law Enforcement

Crime alerts for Valley Village, Manchester Square and 14 other L.A. neighborhoods
Crime reports are up significantly for the latest week in 16 L.A. neighborhoods, according to an analysis of LAPD data by the Los Angeles Times' Crime L.A. database. Five neighborhoods reported a significant increase in violent crime. Valley Village was the most unusual, recording three reports compared with a weekly average of 0.8 over the last three months. Manchester Square topped the list of 11 neighborhoods with property crime alerts.
Los Angeles Times

With illegal immigrants in mind, LAPD to change impound rules
Unlicensed drivers without prior convictions would be given the chance to avoid having their vehicles impounded under new rules outlined Tuesday by the Los Angeles Police Department. The proposed changes to the impound procedures are a potentially explosive issue because LAPD Chief Charlie Beck designed the reforms to remedy what he believes is the unfair burden that impounds place on illegal immigrants.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD seeks gunman in Venice shooting that left 1 injured
Los Angeles police Tuesday evening were searching for a gunman who opened fire and critically wounded a man near a busy intersection in Venice. The man was shot in the torso in an alley near 7th and Rose avenues, near a popular coffeehouse and Whole Foods Market, police said. The condition of the victim was not immediately known, said Officer Rosario Herrera of the Los Angeles Police Department. Witnesses told officers that the gunman was wearing a green hooded sweatshirt and shorts.
Los Angeles Times

Hollywood gunman: Friends tell LAPD of drug use, depression
Friends of the gunman who opened fire on a street in Hollywood last week said 26-year-old Tyler Brehm had been acting strangely in recent weeks and appeared to be taking heavy drugs. Brehm has no history of violence and no criminal record, according to law enforcement sources. He worked at marijuana dispensaries in the Hollywood area.
Los Angeles Times

L.A. serial killer should get death, jury decides
A jury on Tuesday voted for the death penalty for a former security guard already serving a life sentence for multiple murders. Michael Hughes, 55, was convicted last month for three additional slayings. The seven-man, five-woman jury deliberated just under 30 minutes before voting for the death penalty, said Sandi Gibbons, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office. He will be sentenced March 29 before Superior Court Judge Curtis B. Rappe.
Los Angeles Times

California's DUI deaths reach all-time low
The number of drunk driving-related deaths dropped to a record low in California in 2010, marking the largest single-year decline in DUI fatalities in the last 14 years, a new report says. Alcohol was a contributing factor in crashes that killed 791 people last year on California roadways, compared with 950 in 2009, according to the report released Tuesday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Los Angeles Times

NTSB recommends ban on driver cell phone use
States should ban all driver use of cell phones and other portable electronic devices, except in emergencies, the National Transportation Board said Tuesday. The recommendation, unanimously agreed to by the five-member board, applies to both hands-free and hand-held phones and significantly exceeds any existing state laws restricting texting and cellphone use behind the wheel. The board made the recommendation in connection with a deadly highway pileup in Missouri last year.
Associated Press

State Budget Crisis

$1 billion in California budget cuts to kick in soon
Gov. Jerry Brown announced nearly $1 billion in new state budget cuts, slashing spending on higher education and eliminating funding for free school-bus service but avoiding the deeper reductions to public schools that many had feared. Services for the disabled, money for public libraries and funding for state prisons will also be pared. Most of the cuts, announced Tuesday, will take effect Jan. 1.
Los Angeles Times

Pensions

State Treasurer Lockyer quits pension advisory panel in protest
The debate over pension reform in California reached a boiling point Tuesday. State Treasurer Bill Lockyer resigned from a pension advisory panel to protest a study it was affiliated with that called for reducing retirement benefits for current public employees and overhauling the boards that oversee the public pension systems.
Los Angeles Times