Law Enforcement

Crime alerts for Studio City, Beverly Crest, 7 other L.A. neighborhoods
Crime reports are up significantly for the latest week in nine L.A. neighborhoods, according to an analysis of Los Angeles Police Department data by the Los Angeles Times' Crime L.A. database. Five neighborhoods reported a significant increase in violent crime. Studio City was the most unusual, recording four reports compared with a weekly average of 1.5 over the last three months. Beverly Crest topped the list of four neighborhoods with property crime alerts.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD cops shoot man in Sun Valley
Police shot and wounded a 38-year-old man they say was armed and threatening family members in Sun Valley. The incident went down at 7 p.m. Saturday in the 7400 block of Craner Avenue, after a woman at the home called police to report a disturbance involving a man with a gun, police said. A neighbor, Omar Robles, said he heard four shots from what sounded like a 12-gauge shotgun.
NBC4

Police seek suspect in stabbing death of janitor
A suspect in the stabbing death of a janitor, whose body was found in the basement of a medical building in Mission Hills where he worked, was at large Saturday. Police believe Jesus Bautista Maldonado, 43, may have fled the country. Florentino Reyes-Lucas, 41, was found dead in the basement of Facey Medical Center, 11211 N. Sepulveda Blvd., about 6:35 a.m. Friday by a security guard.
Los Angeles Daily News

Reseda tenants 'scared to death' by new residents they say are bringing crime to apartments
Longtime residents say the makeup of their 78-unit complex -- called Reflections on Wyandotte -- has changed over the last year. Loud younger people have moved in, marijuana smoke sometimes fills the air, and cars have been burglarized in the gated parking lot, they say. There have even been accusations of prostitution among newer tenants.
Los Angeles Daily News

Police probe case of former UW senior associate athletic director
A Los Angeles police detective confirmed Friday that the department is conducting an investigation into an allegation that John Chadima, a former University of Wisconsin senior associate athletic director, sexually assaulted a male student employee at a Los Angeles hotel while the football team and traveling party were in town for the Rose Bowl game.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

LAPD evaluates driver training with patrol-car choice
The Los Angeles Police Department has yet to choose its Crown Vic replacement patrol car, but that hasn't kept the agency's emergency driving trainers from discussing changes in how recruits are trained behind the wheel. The crop of new vehicles offer a slew of updated safety features, including greatly improved anti-lock braking systems, electronic stability management, and electronic traction control that represent a quantum leap from the Ford Crown Vic.
Police Magazine

Pensions

Voters don't blame workers for pension woes, new poll finds
California voters do not blame public employees for the state's pension woes and are in no hurry to make steep cuts in the system, according to a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll. A majority agreed with the statement that public workers "didn't create the problem with the pension system" and that any solution must include adequate retirement benefits."
Los Angeles Times

Traffic

Road congestion wastes 1.9 billion gallons of gas
As Americans pay about $4 per gallon for gasoline, they're wasting 1.9 billion gallons of it annually in traffic on congested roads, a new Treasury Department report says. Traffic congestion costs drivers more than $100 billion annually in wasted fuel and lost time, according to the report released Friday. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, says the Treasury Department report is "the latest reminder that it's time to stop the partisan bickering in Washington and invest in our nation's infrastructure."
USA Today

City Government

L.A. could lose $400 million a year with elimination of business tax
Dealing a setback to efforts to make Los Angeles more business-friendly, a consultant said Friday that eliminating the business tax would cost the city $400 million a year. Blue Sky Consultants said while dropping the gross receipts tax would increase employment in Los Angeles, the increased economic activity would not be enough to offset the loss. The firm was hired by the city to analyze a proposal from the Business Tax Advisory Committee to eliminate the gross receipts tax.
Los Angeles Daily News

State Budget

Strong majority backs Jerry Brown's tax-hike initiative
California voters strongly support Gov. Jerry Brown's new proposal to increase the sales tax and raise levies on upper incomes to help raise money for schools and balance the state's budget, according to a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll. Sixty-four percent of those surveyed said they supported the governor's measure, which he hopes to place on the November ballot.
Los Angeles Times

Cesar Chavez Day Observance

What's open and closed for Cesar Chavez Day
City of Los Angeles offices, including animal shelters and libraries will be closed on Monday. The Los Angeles Superior Court will be closed next Friday. Most state offices will be closed Friday. Federal and Los Angeles County and DMV offices will be open both days. LAUSD schools, California State University, Northridge, and Mission, Pierce and Valley colleges will be closed next Friday.
Los Angeles Daily News