Law Enforcement

Crime alerts for Lincoln Heights, Beverlywood and five other L.A. neighborhoods
Crime reports are up significantly for the latest week in seven L.A. neighborhoods, according to an analysis of Los Angeles Police Department data by the Los Angeles Times' Crime L.A. database. Four neighborhoods reported a significant increase in violent crime. Lincoln Heights was the most unusual, recording seven reports compared with a weekly average of 1.9 over the last three months. Beverlywood topped the list of three neighborhoods with property crime alerts.
Los Angeles Times

Man slain in Van Nuys in apparent gang-related attack
A man was fatally shot during an apparent gang-related argument at a Van Nuys apartment complex, police said Monday. The shooting occurred about 11:40 p.m. Sunday in the 13800 block of Sherman Way, said Officer Sara Faden of the Los Angeles Police Department's Media Relations office. The man, who was in his 20s, died at the scene, Faden said.
Los Angeles Daily News

Witnesses sought in fatal hit and run in South L.A.
Los Angeles police Monday night were seeking witnesses to a hit-and-run vehicle collision last month that left a man dead after he was thrown from his car. Charles Frazier, 22, was driving south on Normandie Avenue near Vermont Avenue in his 1986 Chevrolet Camaro on Jan. 11 when he was stuck from behind shortly after 12:30 p.m., the Los Angeles Police Department said.
Los Angeles Times

Student died of apparent alcohol intoxication, LAPD says
The death of a 17-year-old Panorama High School student appears to be alcohol-related, police said Monday afternoon. Salvador Preciado passed out after drinking alcoholic beverages with friends at a party Friday evening, the Los Angeles Police Department said. Preciado was driven from the party by a friend to the apartment of another friend, where a call was made to his mother to tell her about his condition, police said.
Los Angeles Times

Police search for aspiring actress missing since November
When Satara Stratton came to Los Angeles from her home in Tennessee, she aspired to become an actress and eventually a director. Six years later, her mother is looking for her, fearing she is under the influence of a registered sex offender and addicted to heroin. Sharon Stratton says her daughter, who used to call or text her every day, hasn't been in touch since Nov. 22.
Los Angeles Times

California ban on driver cellphone use is saving lives, study says
Fewer Californians are dying in traffic accidents caused by hand-held cellphone use, according to a study by the Safe Transportation Research and Education Center at UC Berkeley. Traffic deaths declined by 22% in the two years after the state outlawed the use of hand-held cellphones by drivers in 2008, and fatalities dropped by 47% for drivers using cellphones.
Los Angeles Times

Pac-12 holds LAPD night Wednesday
LAPD Night will be held during the second session of the Pacific-12 Conference men's basketball tournament Wednesday night at Staples Center. Discounted tickets are available at www.aegtickets.com/lapd, with $3 for every ticket sold donated to the Los Angeles Police Foundation, which provides grants for programs and equipment for the Los Angeles Police Department.
City News Service

Pensions

U.S. pension assets gained 16.4% in '11
U.S. public pension funds rose 16 percent in the year ended June 30, narrowing the gap between their assets and liabilities to the lowest level since 2008, according to a report by Wilshire Associates Inc. The 126 state pension plans had an average of 77 percent of the assets needed to pay their long-term obligations to retirees, up from 69 percent a year earlier, according to the study released Monday.
Bloomberg

Election 2013

A year before balloting, L.A. mayoral hopefuls build voting blocs
If the Los Angeles mayoral race were a dinner party, the folks around the table would have plenty to talk about. At one time, all four of the leading contenders served together at City Hall. But one year before the primary election, the candidates are beginning to play up their differences as they quietly work to assemble key blocs of voters.
Los Angeles Times

City Government