Law Enforcement

Fontana man gunned down in Watts
Los Angeles police on Wednesday were investigating the killing of a Fontana man in Watts. Edward Sanchez, 20, was shot multiple times about 9:15 p.m. Tuesday and later pronounced dead, according to officials with the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles County coroner's office. The shooting took place in the 10800 block of Hickory Street, said LAPD Officer Cleon Joseph, who had no description of the suspect or suspects.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD searches for man who allegedly shot his wife in the foot in Valley Glen
Police are searching for a man who allegedly shot at his wife in Valley Glen Wednesday afternoon. At 2:10 p.m., a woman called the Los Angeles Police Department to report that she had been shot in the foot by her husband in their apartment on the 6100 block of Fulton Avenue. When officers arrived, the man was gone, but it was uncertain whether he fled on foot or in a vehicle, said department spokesman Richard French.
Los Angeles Daily News

Mom, 2 kids killed by wrong-way driver in Hollywood, police say
A mother and her two children were killed Wednesday when a wrong-way driver crashed into her minivan at a Hollywood intersection, authorities said. The 40-year-old man was driving north on Highland Avenue crossing Willoughby Avenue at 7:20 a.m., when he veered into the opposite side of the road against oncoming traffic and hit the van, officials said. The vehicle carrying the 25-year-old woman and her two daughters, 4 and 8, then struck a light pole, officials said.
Los Angeles Times

Federal agents arrest 17 in big SoCal drug bust
Federal agents arrested 17 drug suspects in and around Los Angeles Wednesday, breaking up a network that imported Mexican cocaine, heroin and "high purity" crystal methamphetamine. Forty-three people have been charged in the investigation, Thom Mrozek of the U.S. Attorney's office said. Warrants served at a dozen locations, including a Van Nuys taco shop and a North Hollywood auto repair business, netted 17 arrests.
City News Service

LAPD Chief Charlie Beck demotes Foothill commanding officer over use-of-force concerns
Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck has relieved the commanding officer of the Foothill division from duty and is demoting him over his handling of a use-of-force incident against a 34-year-old woman in Tujunga last week. "I have serious concerns about this incident and I believe the commanding officer of Foothill area was severely deficient in his response," Beck said. "Proper steps were not taken, including appropriate notifications and the removal of the involved officers from the field. Because of these issues, I have removed him from his command and initiated downgrade procedures."
Los Angeles Daily News

Pensions

State overhaul extends to local workers
There are thousands of local government agencies around the state, employing hundreds of thousands of workers covered by a variety of retirement plans. By Friday, the Legislature is scheduled to consider imposing its plan to overhaul public-employee pensions on them. The pension-overhaul proposal that emerged this week after months of private negotiations between Gov. Jerry Brown, Democratic leaders and public-employee unions would make sweeping changes to the retirement plans not only of state workers, but also to those of firefighters, police, code enforcement officers and other local employees.
Riverside Press-Enterprise

City Government

City Controller Wendy Greuel finds waste at city campgrounds
Ten years ago, the city Department of Recreation and Parks spent $217,000 to buy and install a mobile home in Decker Park in the Santa Monica Mountains as a home for a caretaker. But, City Controller Wendy Greuel reported Wednesday, the department never obtained the needed permits from the Coastal Commission to locate the home in the park and failed to consider the need to widen the road to place it on the camp site.
Los Angeles Daily News

L.A. Council members criticize proposed 3-year sidewalk survey
Three Los Angeles City Council members voiced alarm Wednesday that a proposed survey of broken sidewalks could take three years, saying they want officials to come up with a faster and cheaper plan for getting their arms around the problem. Councilmen Eric Garcetti, Bill Rosendahl and Joe Buscaino introduced a proposal calling on the Bureau of Street Services to "go back to the drawing board" on the strategy for assessing an estimated $1.5 billion in damaged sidewalks.
Los Angeles Times

Legislation

Late-session bill seeks to help Villaraigosa fulfill officer pledge
If there is one criticism that especially bothers Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, it is that he has fallen short on certain promises, including an effort to expand his city's police department to 10,000 officers. "We'll announce in September that we hit 10,000, which, if you saw an article recently, they said that I always set a high goal and I only did 9,943," Villaraigosa recently told The Bee. "Oh yeah, I'm going to hit 10,000." It became clear this week why Villaraigosa could be so sure.
Sacramento Bee

California lawmakers approve ban on open carry of rifles, shotguns
The state Assembly on Wednesday voted final legislative approval to a ban on carrying unloaded rifles and shotguns openly in public in California cities, with supporters citing recent mass shootings in other states and concern by police officers. The Assembly voted 43-30 to send the legislation to Gov. Jerry Brown, who has said he owns three firearms but has not yet taken a public position on the bill.
Los Angeles Times

State Senate backs driver's licenses for young illegal immigrants
The state Senate on Wednesday approved a measure allowing up to 450,000 illegal immigrants in California to get state driver's licenses once they are awarded work permits under a new federal program providing a reprieve from deportation. The bill would apply to people brought to the United States illegally before they were 16 who are now 30 and younger.
Los Angeles Times