Law Enforcement

Two separate car-to-car shootings leave 1 man wounded, LAPD says
Two separate car-to-car shootings broke out Thursday afternoon in Los Angeles, leaving one man wounded and police looking for the attackers. The first incident was reported shortly after 2 p.m. near San Pedro Street and Imperial Highway in South L.A., when an apparent argument between occupants in two vehicles escalated into gunfire, according to police. A gunman fired twice, hitting a 23-year-old man. He was taken to a hospital and listed in stable condition.
Los Angeles Times

Woman on scooter dies after being hit by multiple vehicles
Police on Thursday night were investigating the death of a woman who was struck by multiple vehicles while riding a scooter in the Studio City area. The woman was struck around 7:30 p.m. near Sarah Street and Tujunga Avenue, the Los Angeles Police Department said. She was taken to a hospital, where she died of her wounds. She was believed to be between 18 and 20, Officer Sara Faden said. No other details were immediately available.
Los Angeles Times

Tennis referee, 70, accused of killing husband is back in L.A.
A 70-year-old pro tennis referee accused of killing her husband arrived in Los Angeles on Thursday evening to face criminal charges. Lois Goodman flew into Los Angeles International Airport from New York with officers. Authorities originally believed that her husband died of natural causes last spring, court records revealed Thursday. But on the eve of his cremation, a perfunctory check at the mortuary triggered a series of stunning revelations: The man had been beaten to death, the murder weapon was a coffee cup, and the prime suspect was his widow.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD arrests three burglars
Two home burglary attempts were thwarted and three men arrested by the LAPD in Pacific Palisades within a five-day period. The first crime occurred on August 11, in the 600 block of Alma Real Drive, according to LAPD spokesmen. 'We got the call around 12:45 a.m.,' said Sgt. Gary Levy. 'The call came in as an audible, a burglar alarm.' LAPD officers set up a perimeter around the home and tried to determine whether a Special Weapons and Tactics Team would be needed, Levy said.
Palasadian-Post

Councilman: Valley Village electrocution was moment of "tragedy, heroism"
City officials on Thursday lauded the spirit of two Good Samaritans who were electrocuted when they rushed to the scene of a car crash that sheared off a fire hydrant and knocked over a light pole in Valley Village. "Yesterday was a day of heartbreaking tragedy but it was also a day of inspiring heroism," Los Angeles City councilman Paul Krekorian said at a news conference. The dangerous combination of electricity and water killed two women Wednesday night, prompting reminders to residents to call 911 immediately and to "always, always" assess the safety of a situation before running in.
NBC4

Legislation

California Senate approves police-fire death benefits bill
A highly controversial bill to make it easier for survivors of police officers and firefighters to collect workers' compensation benefits was approved Thursday by the California Senate. Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez is personally carrying the measure, Assembly Bill 2451. It would double the time period in which benefits could be claimed for deaths linked to a number of conditions, such as cancer, that are presumed by current law to be job-related.
Sacramento Bee

Legislature OKs bills targeting thieves
Lawmakers gave final approval Wednesday to a pair of bills meant to deter scrap-metal thieves by setting new rules for recyclers and scrap-metal dealers. The measures, which go to Gov. Jerry Brown, come more than four years after lawmakers passed legislation meant to deal with the problem. In many areas, though, metal theft has only gotten worse, darkening neighborhood streets, turning school classrooms into saunas, and disabling agricultural water pumps across the state.
Riverside Press-Enterprise

Legislators OK higher fines for texting while driving
Acting on nearly 200 proposals, state lawmakers Thursday advanced measures that would increase fines for texting while driving, allow voter registration on election day and restrict the ability of law enforcement to track people through their cellphones. The Senate passed and sent Gov. Jerry Brown a bill that would require law enforcement officers to obtain a warrant before searching for someone's location and movements based on data in the person's cellphone or other wireless device.
Los Angeles Times

Immigration

Dems try to give young illegals licenses
Democratic legislators are working with Gov. Jerry Brown and Department of Motor Vehicles officials to provide driver's licenses to hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants now eligible to work under President Obama's new "deferred action" policy. "In the past, the argument against providing driver's licenses has been that it would be rewarding someone who has broken the law," said state Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco. "But now we're talking about people who, by definition, have not broken any laws."
San Francisco Chronicle

Gut-and-amend bill seeks 'safe harbor' for illegal immigrants
With only days left before the California Legislature adjourns for the year, lawmakers are breathing new life into a failed initiative campaign calling for creation of a five-year program to allow undocumented workers to live and work openly in the state. Senate Bill 901 was gutted and amended this week by Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes, D-Sylmar, to propose the "safe harbor" plan for up to 2 million undocumented immigrants. The bill's contents previously set guidelines for a program that pays owners of high-polluting vehicles to retire them.
Sacramento Bee

City Election 2013

Zev Yaroslavsky not running for mayor
Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky announced early Thursday he will not be running for mayor and indicated he plans to end his career in public office after his term expires in two years. Yaroslavsky, who has held public office locally since he was elected to the City Council in 1975, ended months of speculation in announcing his plans on his blog. He was seen as a potential mayoral front-runner whose entry would have upset the dynamics of a race that currently features City Controller Wendy Greuel, City Council members Eric Garcetti and Jan Perry, radio host Kevin James and several other candidates.
Los Angeles Daily News