Law Enforcement

Crime alerts for Watts and nine other L.A. neighborhoods
Crime reports are up significantly for the latest week in 10 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. Watts was the most unusual, recording 20 reports compared with a weekly average of 9.8 over the last three months. Arlington Heights topped the list of three neighborhoods with property crime alerts.
Los Angeles Times

Driver slams into LAPD cruiser at end of pursuit
A man was tackled and arrested by Los Angeles police officers after he crashed head on into an LAPD cruiser at the end of a pursuit, then tried to flee on foot. Dramatic news video of the chase and collision showed the driver speeding through streets and clipping at least two parked cars in South Los Angeles shortly before the crash. After slamming into the police car, the driver jumped out of the vehicle and ran but was quickly tacked by several officers.
Associated Press

4 arrested after man's beating at Dodger Stadium
A minor fender bender in a Dodger Stadium parking lot over the weekend led to the beating of a driver and the arrest of four people more than a year after a San Francisco Giants fan was left with brain damage after an attack on opening day, police said Monday. The latest attack occurred Sunday, when the victim, a man in his 20s, had a collision with another driver and three other men pinned him down, police said. The other driver kicked and hit the victim in the head and face while he was on the ground, police Sgt. David Armas said.
Associated Press

Mutilated body of man in lingerie found near Beverly Center, suspect arrested
The body of a man dressed in lingerie was found mutilated and stabbed to death near the Beverly Center this weekend, and police say they have a suspect in custody. The body, described only as that of a 27-year-old Asian man wearing women's lingerie, was found in the middle of the street on the 300 block of Orlando Avenue at about 1:30 a.m. Saturday, KTLA reports.
KPCC

NoHo man held as suspect in card skimming, ID theft
A 27-year-old North Hollywood man was arrested Monday on suspicion of a number of charges related to credit card skimming and identity theft, according to the Simi Valley Police Department. Police and detectives with the department's property crimes unit had been investigating Alvaro Molina, who they say was long suspected of placing card skimming devices inside gas station pumps in Simi Valley.
Los Angeles Daily News

Police cracking down on seatbelt infractions
Law enforcement authorities throughout Los Angeles County joined their counterparts nationwide in a stepped-up effort to enforce seatbelt laws beginning today. The "Click It or Ticket" campaign continues through June 3. "Seat belts are the most effective piece of life-saving equipment inside your vehicle," Santa Monica police Sgt. Richard Lewis said. During the two-week campaign, extra officers will be on patrol looking for people who are not wearing seat belts in vehicles.
City News Service

Legislation

Assembly approves mandatory arrests for airport gun incidents
Four months after a California assemblyman was cited and released for carrying a gun into an airport, the Assembly passed legislation today that would require offenders to be taken into custody in such situations. Democratic Assemblywoman Norma Torres said her Assembly Bill 2182 did not stem from the January incident involving Republican Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, which occurred at an Ontario airport on the first day of this year's legislative session.
Sacramento Bee

California Senate passes bill for self-driving cars
A bill that would allow self-driving cars on California's roads has passed the California Senate. The bill, SB1298, sponsored by Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima), establishes guidelines for "autonomous vehicles" to be tested and operated in California. The bill now goes to the Assembly for consideration next month. Tech giant Google Inc., Caltech and other organizations have been working to develop such vehicles, which use radar, video cameras and lasers to navigate roads and stay safe in traffic without human assistance.
Los Angeles Times

City Budget

L.A.'s $7.2B budget OK'd
The City Council approved a $7.2 billion budget Monday, backing a fiscal plan that delays layoffs, raises parking fines by $5 and increases library hours. With little disagreement, the council backed Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's budget, which fills a $238 million deficit by trimming every city department, continuing furloughs for city attorneys and eliminating 460 vacant city positions. But council members balked at Villaraigosa's proposal to lay off 209 employees, instead postponing the fate of those workers to Jan. 1, when the Council will reassess the city's financial state
Los Angeles Daily News

State Budget

Taking slice out of labor key to Gov. Jerry Brown's tax campaign
Demanding a 5 percent pay cut is a curious way to reward some of your strongest political allies. But taking a slice from the hide of labor has become a key component to Gov. Jerry Brown's strategy of getting voters to pass his tax hikes in the fall. Though he criticized billionaire Meg Whitman, his GOP rival in 2010, for vowing to cut 40,000 workers from the state payroll, Brown himself has rolled back the workforce at a brisk pace. Fifteen thousand jobs have been cut in the 16 months he has been in office -- and he's proposing the elimination of 15,000 more in his budget for the next fiscal year.
Bay Area News Group

The Courts

Juvenile case still counts in three strikes
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a San Jose man's challenge to California's use of its "three strikes" law to increase prison sentences for some felons who had convictions as juveniles. DeShaun Staunton pleaded guilty in 2010 to residential burglary and was sentenced to eight years in prison, twice the normal term. His first "strike," the basis for the doubled sentence, was his conviction at age 16 for the $117 robbery of an ice cream vendor.
San Francisco Chronicle