Law Enforcement

Crime alerts for Los Feliz, Encino and 15 other L.A. neighborhoods
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. Nine neighborhoods reported a significant increase in violent crime. Los Feliz was the most unusual, recording five reports compared with a weekly average of 1.5 over the last three months. Encino topped the list of eight neighborhoods with property crime alerts.
Los Angeles Times

Jack Dunphy commentary: Jury awards $5.7 Million to gangbanger paralyzed in police shooting
There is an old saying in police work: It's better to be tried by twelve (or eight, as the case may be) than carried by six. The officer who waits too long before defending himself, the one who is slow to react when the threat is presented, he is the one who one day does not come home.
PJ Media

LAPD seeks motive in deaths of 'Sons of Anarchy' actor, landlord
Los Angeles police detectives are still trying to sort out the case of "Sons of Anarchy" actor Johnny Lewis, who allegedly killed his landlord in Los Feliz and then fell to his death. Law enforcement sources said they are still putting together Wednesday's chain of events and what motive Lewis might have had to kill his landlord. The sources also said Lewis' previous drug and mental health problems are complicating the task of determining why he turned violent.
Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles spends more on LAPD workers' comp claims than for all others combined
Los Angeles spends more each year on workers' compensation costs for the Police Department than it does for all the other claims it gets, including for use of force and car accidents. The city's newest Police Commission member wants to change that. Commissioner Rafael Bernardino knows the complex maze of workers' compensation costs - $65 million in 2010-2011 for LAPD - presents a challenge officials have been trying to deal with for years. All other LAPD liability cases, such as use of force and traffic accidents, average $40million a year, officials said.
Los Angeles Daily News

Prison Realignment

Prison reforms' results mixed after year
One year after Gov. Jerry Brown's prison realignment program took effect, there is one thing everyone can agree on: California has a smaller prison population. But there is a broad difference of opinion about whether the plan, which handed California's 58 counties responsibility for the incarceration and oversight of thousands of criminals, has made communities safer or reduced the number of criminals who re-offend, and there is no statewide data on those outcomes.
San Francisco Chronicle

New Laws

New law to allow many undocumented immigrants to drive
Hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants in California will be eligible for driver's licenses under legislation signed by Gov. Jerry Brown late Sunday. The measure, Assembly Bill 2189, affects an estimated 400,000 undocumented immigrants expected to meet the requirements of President Barack Obama's new Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
Sacramento Bee

Governor green-lights red-light camera reforms
State Sen. Joe Simitian's multi-year effort to enact red-light camera reforms ended Friday with the governor green-lighting his latest legislative try. Senate Bill 1303 will establish statewide standards for the installation and operation of red-light cameras and make it easier to challenge unjustified tickets, according to Simitian's office.
Palo Alto Daily News

Jerry Brown signs bill banning open display of unloaded rifles
Gun-toting demonstrators will not be able to openly display their unloaded rifles in California cities under legislation signed Friday by Gov. Jerry Brown. The governor vetoed a separate gun-related measure, however, that would have barred peace officers from selling to the public potentially unsafe handguns that are not available at stores.
Sacramento Bee

City Government

Business tax exemption extended by Los Angeles City Council
The Los Angeles City Council on Friday approved a three-year extension on its business tax holiday for new businesses, even as it called for a study on the effectiveness of the program. Council members voted 12-1 for the proposal, which now goes to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for approval. It was the mayor who originally proposed the program to try to lure new companies to the city.
Los Angeles Daily News

L.A. City Council clears path for downtown stadium
Los Angeles took its biggest step yet toward luring the NFL back after a 17-year absence, signing off on crucial agreements for a new downtown stadium even though it remains unclear who will own the company seeking to build the $1.2-billion facility. City Council members unanimously approved an array of documents that will clear the path for 72,000-seat Farmers Field, billed as the most environmentally friendly stadium in NFL history, to rise on the southwest edge of downtown.
Los Angeles Times

Riordan and friends signal pension reform intentions
Even with Los Angeles moving ahead with another change to its pension system, the plan still falls far short of what is needed, former Mayor Richard Riordan believes. "It's a small step in the right direction but much more is needed," Riordan said. Riordan and his friends, including billionaire Eli Broad and attorney David Fleming, have been quietly putting the bite on folks to raise money to launch an initiative drive for the city's runoff election on May 21.
Los Angeles Daily News