Law Enforcement

Roads closed, traffic gridlock likely for May Day protests
Numerous streets in downtown Los Angeles and beyond will be closed Tuesday as various May Day marches move through the city. Other marches are planned in neighborhoods across the region. There will be a march Tuesday morning from Saticoy Street and Van Nuys Boulevard to the Valley Civic Center, beginning at 8 a.m. Protesters will then take mass transit to join downtown L.A. protesters. In addition, Los Angeles International Airport warned that traffic in and out of the main terminal could be slowed by a planned protest just outside LAX.
Los Angeles Times

Possible arsenic poisoning a mystery in coroner official's death
It could takes months to get a final determination on the cause of death for Los Angeles County coroner's official Michael Cormier, who officials said appears to have died from poisoning. Law enforcement sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing, said that finding the presence of poison does not necessarily mean the death was a homicide because the substance could have accidentally entered his system.
Los Angeles Times

Police respond to Echo Park bottle-throwing dispute
The LAPD deployed a helicopter and nine squad cars to a narrow Echo Park street on Monday after a resident refused to comply with police orders to stop throwing bottles at a neighbor. Officers were planning to use a stun gun against the suspect on Morton Terrace but decided to call for back up units, betting the show of force would prompt the suspect to back down, said Lt. Mike Menza with the LAPD Northeast Division. The tactic worked and the man turned himself over to police without incident, Menza said.
The Eastsider LA

Motorcyclist killed in solo-vehicle crash on Mulholland Drive
A motorcyclist was killed Monday afternoon in a single-vehicle crash on Mulholland Drive in Studio City, authorities said. Officers arrived at the scene in the 7600 block of Mulholland Drive about 4 p.m. after witnesses reported the crash, according to a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department. They found a man unconscious on the ground and called for an ambulance. The motorcyclist, identified only as a man in his 40s, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Los Angeles Times

Sharpton sows seeds of next L.A. riot
As we remember the last riot in Los Angeles, the seeds of the next one are being sown. Al Sharpton was in Los Angeles on Thursday, attending a church rally marking the two-month anniversary of Trayvon Martin's death. Why Los Angeles should be chosen as the venue for such an event may at first seem a mystery, but whatever one may think of him, Sharpton can be counted among the true masters at manipulating the media. And here in Los Angeles this week, much of the media has been consumed with observing the 20th anniversary of what is often referred to as the Rodney King riots.
Jack Dunphy/PJ Media

Homeland Security

Security stepped up at local airports for one-year anniversary of Osama bin Laden's death
Security was expected to be on heightened alert at LAX and other Southland airports for tomorrow's one-year anniversary of the death of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, and in response to reports that terrorist organizations may try to use surgically implanted bombs to bypass security checks.
Los Angeles Daily News

Pensions

California public pension fund assets rebounded in 2010
California's state and local government pension funds saw a 12.4 percent increase in their assets during 2010, according to a new Census Bureau report, markedly higher than the national pension fund increase. The increase, from $458.8 billion in 2009 to $516.1 billion in 2010, marked a return to positive growth after pension funds in California and elsewhere were battered by investment losses during the national recession.
Sacramento Bee

City Government

Koretz questions motive behind plan to move city security guards to LAPD
A proposal to move the city's security guards into the ranks of the Los Angeles Police Department is nothing more than Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's attempt to reach the threshold of 10,000 police officers, one member of the Los Angeles City Council said Monday. The criticism from Councilman Paul Koretz came as the Budget and Finance Committee combed through the LAPD's budget for fiscal year 2012-13. In addition to consolidating the Office of Public Safety within the police department, the spending plan calls for 159 civilian employees to be laid off.
KPCC

LA City Council seeks to impose speed limit, traffic rules on skateboarders
This week, the L.A. City Council could put an end to an extreme style of skateboarding called "bombing." Bombing is when a skateboarder shoots down a hill at high speed. The practice is thrilling, but dangerous; in January, a 15-year old boy was killed in a collision with another skateboarder during a "bombing" run down a hill in San Pedro.
KPCC