Law Enforcement

LAPD to enforce DUI checkpoints over the weekend
Los Angeles police warned today that they will be putting extra officers on the streets to look for drunken drivers, starting Thursday, and will also be checking drivers to make sure they are sober and properly licensed at checkpoint operations through the weekend. The Los Angeles Police Department's Olympic Station will start saturation patrols at 6 p.m. Thursday, putting extra officers on the streets to specifically look for drunken drivers, according to Officer Don Inman.
City News Service

Search on for driver who left injured woman at luxury car shop
Los Angeles police continued to search Wednesday afternoon for a limo driver who slammed into an exotic car repair shop, damaging a Ferrari and Lamborghini and severely injuring his passenger. The hit-and-run driver abandoned his Lincoln Town car at the upscale shop and left the 33-year-old woman on the sidewalk after pulling her from his vehicle. She was being treated at a hospital for a broken pelvis, broken jaw and fractured right leg.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD watching skid row for missing actor Nick Stahl
Los Angeles Police Department officers are on the lookout on skid row for Nick Stahl, the actor who played John Connor in "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" and has been missing for several days. Stahl's wife, Rose Murphy, reported him missing about 10:10 a.m. Monday to Hollywood Division officers, spokesman Richard French said. Foul play is not suspected at this time, he said.
Los Angeles Times

UCLA robberies put students, police on alert
Police are warning UCLA students to be careful after a series of late-night robberies. There have been at least seven robberies near the campus since April. Los Angeles and campus police are trying to figure out if the crimes are connected. The robberies in the North Village area of campus occurred between April 4 and May 11, usually between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m., according to police.
ABC7

Study finds some drivers doubled cellphone use despite state law
Californians are increasingly talking or sending text messages on their cellphone while driving, a new study has found. A statewide survey showed 10.8% of drivers use mobile devices at any given daylight time, an increase from 7.3% a year ago, according to the California Office of Traffic Safety. The largest increase was among 16 to 25 year olds, whose use doubled from 9% to 18%
Los Angeles Times

The Courts

Cocaine search lacked cause, 9th Circuit finds
Los Angeles police officers did not have legal cause to impound and search a vehicle in which investigators later found two kilograms of cocaine, the 9th Circuit ruled. The federal appeals court in Pasadena found that the officers that stopped Jesus Antonio Ramos Cervantes in 2009 on suspicion of narcotics trafficking had no reason to impound and search his GMC Envoy, even though detectives had earlier in the day seen Cervantes place a box in the vehicle that they had previously observed being taken out of an alleged stash house.
Courthouse News Service

Prisons

Prison construction plan costly, unnecessary, analyst says
The Legislative Analyst's Office issued a report on Wednesday criticizing the Brown administration's plan to overhaul California's prison system. The plan, announced last month, is intended to save billions of dollars by closing a prison, shifting staff members and returning inmates housed out of state. The administration also wants to renovate and add to existing facilities.
Los Angeles Times

The Economy

Los Angeles among most financially distressed areas in U.S.
Angelenos are in some of the worst financial distress in the U.S., with the region's households facing below average credit, housing and employment figures. A nationwide index measuring the financial health of the average U.S. household is currently at 69.9, a hair under the stable 70 level, according to a report from nonprofit credit counseling agency CredAbility. Los Angeles' score is 62.7, placing it as the fifth most financially troubled metropolitan area in the country.
Los Angeles Times

Pensions

CalPERS ignores Brown, delays pension payment
The CalPERS board yesterday raised the annual state payment for state worker pensions $213 million to a total of $3.7 billion, rejecting Gov. Brown's request for a bigger increase to avoid a "loan" costing "$145.9 million over the next 20 years." Unions asked the board to spread out higher pension costs mainly caused by a lower investment earnings forecast.
Calpensions

State Budget

Chelsea's Law back on track
Gov. Jerry Brown has quietly removed a sliver of his state budget that threatened to discourage counties from implementing a key component of Chelsea's Law. The move cheered Brent King, the father of Poway teenager Chelsea King whose rape and murder inspired the sweeping 2010 law aimed at sexual predators.
UT San Diego

Even with Brown's proposed tax, California could face chronic deficits
Even if voters approve Gov. Jerry Brown's proposal for higher taxes this fall, his ballot initiative would be only a partial solution to the state's chronic budget deficits. California could face shortfalls for the foreseeable future depending on how much Democrats are willing to cut social programs and whether the economy rebounds.
Associated Press