Law Enforcement

LAPD probes anti-Jewish slurs
Police are looking into an argument in which a man hurled hateful taunts at a Jewish man wearing a yarmulke in North Hollywood. "He made references to Hitler - Hitler should have killed the Jews, that type of stuff," LAPD Detective Craig Kojima said. The incident started when a woman was backing out of her driveway in the 12600 block of Bessemer Street Sunday evening about 6:25. A man bicycling by blocked her way, and she honked at him. The woman's son, who is about 30 and was wearing a yarmulke, was nearby.
Los Angeles Daily News

Body found in Burbank is that of missing FBI agent Stephen Ivens
The body of FBI Agent Stephen Ivens, who had been missing for more than two months, was discovered Monday night in Burbank. Two hikers walking in the foothills above the city smelled an odor about 8 p.m., then found badly decomposed human remains in an area of heavy brush, Burbank police Sgt. Darin Ryburn said. A gun later confirmed to be Ivens' service weapon was found with the body, which was behind a Catholic school about a mile and a half from Ivens' home.
Los Angeles Daily News

FBI files go digital, after years of delays
Federal Bureau of Investigation agents have finally ditched paper files for a new computer system, an effort that took 12 years and cost more than $600 million. The system, called Sentinel, includes elements resembling Web browsers, with tabs and movable windows, and forms that are filled out in a question-and-answer format similar to consumer tax software. The FBI announced the completion of the system Tuesday after testing to work out bugs.
Wall Street Journal

Pensions

L.A. police take pension fight to court
Los Angeles police challenged the city's interpretation of a pension plan, claiming the police and fire officers who contribute to their pension plans are exempt from a freeze on medical insurance premium subsidies. The Los Angeles Police Protective League sued the pension plan's administrator, the Board of Fire and Police Pension Commissioners for the City of Los Angeles, and the City of Los Angeles, in Superior Court. The officers seek a declaration that employees who choose to make a 2 percent contribution of their base salary are exempt from the freeze on the subsidy.
Courthouse News Service

Prison Realignment

Cal Fire losing inmate volunteers
The number of state prison inmates available to perform crucial, labor-intensive tasks in battles against wildfires could soon drop dramatically, due to California's shift of low-level offenders from state prisons to county jails. When wildfires ignite in California, some of the first crews on the scene are not state firefighters, but inmates who undergo training to handle such jobs as creating containment lines. There are more than 4,000 prisoners statewide trained for the work now, but prison officials said they expect that number to shrink by 1,500 by June as inmates are sent to county jails instead of prison.
San Francisco Chronicle

Ballot Measure

Unions raise nearly $10 million to fight Prop. 32
A coalition of California labor unions has raised nearly $10 million to fight Proposition 32, far outpacing the backers of the November ballot measure that promises to eliminate special-interest money in politics. While the measure would prohibit both unions and corporations from contributing directly to candidates, labor leaders are more concerned about another provision in the initiative: banning the practice of political contribution by payroll deduction, the primary method unions use to raise political cash.
Los Angeles Times

City Election 2013

L.A. mayor fundraising has Garcetti, Greuel in virtual dead heat
Los Angeles City Councilman Eric Garcetti and City Controller Wendy Greuel find themselves neck-and-neck in the money chase for next year's mayoral campaign, according to fundraising records filed with the city's Ethics Commission on Tuesday. Each candidate has raised more than $2.2 million over the course of the campaign, with Garcetti a mere $322.31 ahead of Greuel. In the six-month fundraising period that concluded June 30, Greuel, a former councilwoman, collected $1.1 million in donations, slightly less than Garcetti during the same stretch of time.
Los Angeles Times