Law Enforcement

20 years after riots, hope and despair in South L.A .
The LAPD's better relationship with the community, plummeting crime and less graffiti are improvements. But frustration, isolation and the lack of enough jobs still plague the area.
Los Angeles Times

In Venice, a battle over the boardwalk
An LAPD crackdown on encampments and renegade vendors is pitting longtime residents and merchants against homeless advocates and younger transients. Many Venetians have complained that the boardwalk has become an increasingly lawless, frightening place.
Los Angeles Times

Man shot, killed in Echo Park early Sunday morning
A 21-year-old man was shot and killed early Sunday morning in Echo Park, police said. Etsael Cardenas was found in his car, unresponsive, by family members about 2 a.m., police said. That was about 20 minutes after gunfire erupted near Kensington Road and Echo Park Terrace, according to an LAPD news release. Police and paramedics arrived to find Cardenas with gunshot wounds. He was taken to a hospital, where he died.
Los Angeles Times

Police seek suspect in South L.A. shooting
Los Angeles police on Saturday released images of a gunman suspected of leaving 23-year-old South Los Angeles man permanently brain-damaged and wounding his mother in a Jan. 28 attack. The attack at a house at Main and 99th streets occurred about 9:50 p.m. that Saturday, police with the Media Relations Section said.
Los Angeles Daily News

LAPD Chief says violent crime down, warns of Twitter parties
Chief Beck warned of inadvertently advertising your home's vacancy on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. After touting a drop in crime at his monthly media availability, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck addressed what may be a new phenomenon - parties inside empty homes promoted on Twitter and Facebook.
KPCC

LAPD probes Lap-Band death
Los Angeles police say they are investigating the death of a patient who had Lap-Band weight-loss surgery at a West Hills outpatient clinic last year. Paula Rojeski, 55, died Sept. 8 after having a Lap-Band device surgically implanted at Valley Surgical Center, which is affiliated with the 1-800-GET-THIN advertising campaign.
Los Angeles Times

Little Tokyo robbery suspect punched two women in the face
Los Angeles police are seeking a man who punched two women in the face while robbing a store in Little Toyko on Friday. Police said the man entered the shop in the 200 block of East 1st Street about 4:30 p.m. Friday, punched one clerk in the face and emptied the cash register, then punched a second clerk in the face when she tried to intervene.
Los Angeles Times

Hollywood Hills sweep rousts 25 homeless people
Jay, a homeless man sleeping near a Hollywood freeway onramp, awoke to the voices of police Friday morning. Los Angeles Police Department officers Julie Nony and Paula Davidson had rooted out an encampment of nine transients - including Jay - who were sleeping along the Highland Avenue onramp to Highway 101. The transients were told to move out but also were offered social services.
Los Angeles Times

City Government

Specter of bankruptcy raised in L.A.
Offering a dire warning about potential bankruptcy, Los Angeles City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana said Friday the city will need to raise taxes, clamp down on employee pay and consider layoffs in order to keep solvent. Los Angeles needs to adopt a policy of going "from crisis management to strategic planning," Santana said, by looking at the cost of delivering services, the number of workers it has and by seeking new revenue sources.
Los Angeles Daily News

Mayor seeks answers on dispatch glitch
Angered over the problems that caused the LAPD dispatch system to be out of service for 12 hours last week, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa sent a directive to three city agencies to report how the problems developed. In a letter to General Services Director Tony Royster, Information Technology General Manager Randi Levin and City Engineer Gary Moore, the mayor said he wanted a report immediately on how the breakdown developed and how to avoid future problems.
Los Angeles Daily News

Mayor under fire for allegedly spending too much time building national reputation, too little time in LA
Critics are saying that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is spending too much time on his side projects and jetting back and forth to Washington D.C. than he is handling his duties here in Los Angeles. But the mayor dismissed those comments as idle chatter. The reality is that Villaraigosa is riding high on the national stage as chair of this year's Democratic National Convention and president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
CBS2