Law Enforcement

Crime alerts for Lake View Terrace, Sylmar, 15 other L.A. areas
Crime reports are up significantly for the latest week in 17 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. Lake View Terrace was the most unusual, recording three reports compared with a weekly average of 0.4 over the last three months. Sylmar topped the list of 10 neighborhoods with property crime alerts.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD wary of Mongols' rise in the Harbor Area
The growing presence of a notorious motorcycle gang in the Harbor Area has raised the antenna of local law enforcement. Word that as many as 300 members of the Mongols Motorcycle Club were headed this past Sunday to San Pedro's Point Fermin Park - where there was a free concert near Walker's Cafe, a long-standing biker burger haunt - spurred a preemptive response by Los Angeles police. Many of those arriving by motorcycle were turned away for lack of parking.
Torrance Daily Breeze

Prostitution ring paraded women in hotel parking lot, police say
A man and a woman have been arrested in connection with an international prostitution ring after officers saw women being paraded around a hotel parking lot for customers in South Los Angeles, authorities said. Los Angeles resident Juan Chavez, 45, was charged earlier this month with pimping and pandering. Maritza Marroquin, 25, of Los Angeles posted bail, then failed to appear for a hearing and remains at large, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement.
Los Angeles Times

Advisory board told LAPD may patrol Palisades' Parks more often
Although it's not finalized, the Pacific Palisades Parks Advisory Board learned Wednesday night that a city plan to eliminate the Office of Public Safety (OPS) may result in more Los Angeles Police Department officers patrolling the local parks. The board sought an update on park security, the current roles of various agencies and emergency response times at its quarterly meeting. OPS is charged with handling calls from residents when problems occur in the parks.
Pacific Palisades Patch

'Career criminal' suspect in San Fernando Valley robbery spree
man who was released on probation this year under the state's realignment program is back in jail, suspected in six robberies at stores in the San Fernando Valley in the past five weeks. Francisco Gonzalez Jr., 39, of Sylmar, was arrested last week after leading Los Angeles police on a short chase in a stolen car after a robbery in Panorama City, Lt. Paul Vernon said.
Los Angeles Daily News

Reckless driving suspect leads police on chase through Arleta area
A reckless driving suspect in a stolen sport utility vehicle led police on a chase Friday through the Arleta area in Los Angeles, coming to a stop in San Fernando. Police first noticed the suspect driving erratically on the Golden State (5) Freeway around 4:40 p.m., said Officer Cleon Joseph of the Los Angeles Police Department. "The officers tried to conduct a stop, and when the suspect failed to stop, a pursuit ensued," Joseph said.
Los Angeles Daily News

Graduation from LAPD's 'Boot Camp' comes at a price
Video footage of the Los Angeles Police Department's "boot camp" for children and teens is hard to watch. "You want to throw up?" shouts an LAPD officer to a young boy complaining of stomach pains. "Stop lagging!" the officer yells. The video, available on YouTube, show scenes from the LAPD's Juvenile Impact Program, an ongoing military-style camp intended to turn around troubled young people, ages 9-17. The LAPD officers' aggressive nature surprises some parents as well as those unused to seeing children -- some looking distressed -- being disciplined.
Los Angeles Daily News

'P' and 'Pacoima' tattoos lead to arrest in drug-related Arleta homicide, 1 suspect still at large
Authorities identified a 33-year-old man Saturday who was killed in the parking lot of an Arleta shopping plaza in what police called a drug-related shooting, arrested the alleged gunman and were looking for a second suspect who remains at large. Gunfire broke out at Plaza Romo in the 14000 block of Van Nuys Boulevard around 7:45 p.m. Tuesday, and police found Pedro Cadenas of Parlier -- a town in Fresno County -- inside a white Nissan, shot at least twice, according to Los Angeles police and Lt. Larry Dietz of the coroner's office.
Los Angeles Daily News

Police on lookout for burglar who steals cash registers in San Pedro and Rancho Palos Verdes
Police are working to identify a burglar responsible for smashing his way into several San Pedro and Rancho Palos Verdes businesses and taking cash registers. Detectives hope someone can provide a name for the man who loaded the registers into a pickup truck, drove to another location, pried them open and pulled out the money. "It was all about cash registers," Los Angeles police Detective Maurice Graham said.
Torrance Daily Breeze

L.A. police searching for driver in fatal hit-and-run
A 36-year-old man was killed Saturday night while crossing a street in the San Fernando Valley in what authorities are describing as a fatal hit-and-run collision. The man, whose identity has not been released, was walking in a crosswalk on Parthenia Street in Los Angeles' North Hills neighborhood when he was struck by a vehicle, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement. The driver did not stop or report the accident, and authorities found the man on the ground suffering from his injuries.
Los Angeles Times

Municipal Budgets

Bankrupt cities? Don't blame unions
The reporting and commentary on the bankruptcies of California cities over the last month haven't been journalism's finest hour. From reading the voluminous accounts of the fiscal woes of Stockton and San Bernardino, you'd think that municipal unions and feckless city officials are primarily what led these cities down the path to fiscal ruin. But you'd be wrong. What bankrupted Stockton and San Bernardino were the most severe housing busts in the nation.
Los Angeles Times

California's largest cities shed 10,000 jobs
Cities across the state just entered their fifth consecutive fiscal year of tight budgets, layoffs and service rollbacks, with no end clearly in sight. Already since the recession began, California's 20 largest cities have reduced their full-time workforce by 10,000, or roughly 8 percent, according to a Bee review of the cities' comprehensive annual financial reports. The deepest staffing cuts came in Chula Vista, a city of 245,000 near San Diego that reduced its workforce, including part-timers, by more than one third. San Jose cut its workforce by 17 percent.
Sacramento Bee