Law Enforcement

Brazen gang shooting at park prompts calls for more policing
Los Angeles City Councilman Bernard C. Parks issued a passionate plea to LAPD Chief Charlie Beck, asking for a "highly-visible police presence" in a South L.A. park where a teenager was fatally shot earlier this week. Patrick Caruthers was sitting on a bench at Harvard Park on Tuesday afternoon listening to music when a gunman opened fire in broad daylight. Police believe the 19-year-old may have been mistaken for a gang member. Caruthers, who had a learning disability, was a longtime volunteer at the park.
Los Angeles Times

Police offer $50K reward to find killer of South LA special needs teen
Police offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person who shot and killed a teenager with special needs in South Los Angeles on Tuesday. Patrick Caruthers, 19, was gunned down while he was sitting at a picnic table around 3:15 p.m. at the Jackie Tatum/Harvard Recreation Center in the 1500 block of West 62nd Street. He was shot multiple times in the back by an unidentified suspect, according to homicide detectives.
CBS LA

Woman's body discovered in South Los Angeles
A woman's body was discovered in a white sport utility vehicle early Thursday morning in South Los Angeles. The body was found in the 1900 block of South Main Street and reported around 7:50 a.m., according to Los Angeles police. The victim's identity has not been released and detectives were still investigating the incident, which is being treated as a homicide.
Los Angeles Times

'Sons of Anarchy' actor released from jail five days before attack
"Sons of Anarchy" actor Johnny Lewis was released from jail less than a week before police say he fatally attacked his 81-year-old landlord, despite two convictions in August that earned sentences of significant jail time. Lewis, 28, pleaded no contest Aug. 8 to one count of assault with a deadly weapon and was sentenced to 365 days in Los Angeles County jail with three years of probation, a district attorney's office spokeswoman said.
Los Angeles Times

Rash of car burglaries in the Hollywood Hills
Authorities are looking for a thief in connection with a string of early morning car burglaries in the Hollywood Hills Thursday. According to Los Angeles Police Department, police were notified of the break-ins around 4 a.m. by a homeowner who saw the suspect run away. When they arrived to the scene on the 8100 block of Mulholland Terrace, they found broken glass and several cars that had been broken into.
ABC7

Pensions

New poll finds voters split over pension changes
Many California voters say the changes in the state pension system that Gov. Jerry Brown recently signed into law are enough, for now, to curb public employee retirement benefits, according to a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll. But those surveyed were divided on whether further action is needed. Brown pushed a series of changes through the Legislature that raise the retirement age and cap pensions for new employees, among other adjustments.
Los Angeles Times

Carmageddon II

'Zero tolerance' for pranksters during Carmageddon II, CHP says
For better or worse, Matt Corrigan believes the bar has been raised for any Carmageddon II shenanigans. He just won't be the one jumping over it. Corrigan, 30, of Sherman Oaks organized a seconds-long dinner party on an empty stretch of the 405 Freeway during the first closure in July 2011. As construction workers wrapped up the demolition of the southern half of the Mulholland Drive bridge, Corrigan, his wife and a friend placed their centerpiece on a table and posed for the camera.
Los Angeles Times

D.A. Steve Cooley throws support to Kevin James for L.A. mayor
In the first major endorsement of his campaign, Los Angeles mayoral candidate Kevin James said Thursday he has secured the backing of Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley. James, a former prosecutor and radio host, has been billing himself as "the only viable outsider" in the race to replace Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in the March election. Cooley is the first high-profile elected official to endorse James' mayoral bid.
Los Angeles Times

City Government

Plan to privatize L.A. Zoo stopped
The plan to privatize operations of the Los Angeles Zoo has collapsed, officials with the non-profit Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association announced Thursday. Negotiations between the zoo association and the city broke off Sept. 21 over the amount of autonomy a private non-profit operator would have in running the zoo. The zoo association, with the backing of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, had long pushed privatizing zoo operations as a way to stave off annual budget cuts that have increasingly chipped away at the zoo's operations.
Los Angeles Business Journal

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa kicks off farewell tour
With only nine months remaining in his term, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Thursday kicked off a farewell tour highlighting the achievements of his years as mayor as well as what he learned from San Fernando Valley voters. "I have been told I have visited the Valley more than any other mayor," Villaraigosa said at the annual Mayor's Luncheon sponsored by the United Chambers of Commerce at the Warner Center Marriott Hotel.
Los Angeles Daily News