Law Enforcement

Crime alerts for Venice and 12 other L.A. neighborhoods
Crime reports are up significantly for the latest week in 13 L.A. neighborhoods, according to an analysis of LAPD data by the Los Angeles Times' Crime L.A. database. Seven neighborhoods reported a significant increase in violent crime. Venice was the most unusual, recording five reports compared with a weekly average of three over the last three months. Arlington Heights topped the list of six neighborhoods with property crime alerts.
Los Angeles Times

Woman raped while walking home from bar on busy Melrose Avenue
The Los Angeles Police Department has issued a predator alert after a woman was sexually assaulted early Wednesday morning. The victim was walking home from The Darkroom bar at Melrose Avenue and Poinsettia Place just after midnight when she was attacked and raped in an alley. Neighbors say they're shocked and concerned.
CBS2

Arrest made in 1981 murder investigation
More than three decades after Charles McGhee was fatally shot in a vacant lot, an arrest was made Wednesday in the 36-year-old man's 1981 death, police said. Abraham Tovar, now 73, of Alhambra, was arrested Wednesday morning on an outstanding felony homicide warrant in connection with the murder that happened shortly before midnight on Jan. 1, 1981, in the 2300 block of South Central Avenue. Investigators said Tovar and his brother Andrew argued with someone in that vacant lot earlier in the day.
NBC4

Nick Stahl: LAPD search of skid row fails to find missing actor
Los Angeles police said Thursday that they've had no luck so far finding Nick Stahl, the actor who played John Connor in "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines." He has been missing for more than a week. LAPD officers have been carrying a photo of the actor during their beat work in downtown L.A., hoping to find him on the street or find some who knows him. Stahl had been frequenting skid row. Stahl's wife, Rose Murphy, reported him missing shortly after 10 a.m. Monday to Hollywood Division officers, spokesman Richard French said.
Los Angeles Times

Westlake teacher's aide arrested on suspicion of lewd acts
A 25-year-old temporary teacher's aide at Gratts Elementary School in the Westlake district was arrested Thursday on suspicion of committing lewd acts on children, officials said. The arrest of Jorge Dominguez by detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department's Juvenile Division took place shortly before 5 a.m., according to L.A. County Jail records. Dominguez was being held at the LAPD's downtown jail on $100,000 bail, according to jail records.
Los Angeles Daily News

Legislation

Assembly passes bill to exempt police from property records
California lawmakers took a major step Thursday toward carving an exception in public records law they said would enhance the safety of peace officers, judges, probation officers and other law enforcement personnel. Without a dissenting vote, the Assembly passed legislation that would allow counties to create a program allowing law enforcement personnel to redact names from property records available to the public. Assembly Bill 2299 passed the lower house, 65-0. It now goes to the Senate.
Sacramento Bee

LAFD Response

Dispatch lag slows Los Angeles Fire Department call response
A Times analysis of more than 1 million dispatches from the department's database found that the Los Angeles Fire Department falls far short of the standard that rescue units be alerted within one minute on 90% of 911 calls. And average call processing time has increased, most notably for medical calls, which account for the overwhelming majority of responses. Five years ago firefighters were dispatched to medical calls within a minute 38% of time, the analysis found. By 2011, that number dropped to only 15%.
Los Angeles Times

City Budget

Villaraigosa seeks more officers to write parking citations
As part of his budget plan, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has proposed creating a team of 150 part-time ticketing officers, foot soldiers to fan across the city and issue parking citations. Villaraigosa's budget, set for consideration by the City Council today, would add 50 part-time traffic officers, on top of the 100 part-timers hired last year. City officials believe the additional officers could bring in another $4 million next year by targeting dense neighborhoods like North Hollywood, downtown and Hollywood.
Los Angeles Daily News

State Budget

Dark days for California's courts
These are dark days for California's budget-battered courts. And darkened courtrooms could be one of the next steps the state's judicial leaders may have to take to deal with the latest budget cuts proposed for the nation's largest court system. Gov. Jerry Brown delivered the harsh news earlier this week to the judiciary, calling for $544 million in additional cuts to the courts in 2012-13, which would add to more than $650 million lost in funding over the past four years.
San Jose Mercury News

A loan returns to haunt California's budget
While politicians wring their hands over California's nearly $16-billion deficit, much of the conversation has focused on low tax revenue, swelling spending and a mandated increase in school funding. But there's another factor that's weighing on the budget - a $2.1-billion repayment to local governments that the state is required to make this year. It's another example of how short-term budget fixes, this one made under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, can cause more headaches down the line.
Los Angeles Times

Capital Punishment

Should killer of six be given a new hip before execution?
A condemned killer's fight to receive surgery for agonizing hip pain pushed Kentucky officials into an uncomfortable debate over security, politics and even the possibility of inviting scorn from Fox News pundits. Emails and memos obtained by The Associated Press show corrections officials struggling for a year to reconcile their duty to provide medical care with the political ramifications of spending tens of thousands of dollars for surgery on a man they plan to execute.
Associated Press