Law Enforcement

Crime alerts for Beverly Grove, Harbor City, 7 other neighborhoods
Crime reports are up significantly for the latest week in nine L.A. neighborhoods, according to an analysis of LAPD data by the Los Angeles Times' Crime L.A. database. Five neighborhoods reported a significant increase in violent crime. Beverly Grove was the most unusual, recording four reports compared with a weekly average of 1.4 over the last three months. Harbor City topped the list of four neighborhoods with property crime alerts.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD, hundreds of skateboarders clash on Hollywood Boulevard
The Los Angeles Police Department went on modified tactical alert Saturday night after hundreds of skateborders blocked Hollywood Boulevard and threw rocks and bottles at police, officials said. The clash was quickly defused after a tactical alert was declared and officers in riot gear arrived on the scene to restore order. More than 400 skateboarders had gathered on Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street, apparently for some type of movie screening.
Los Angeles Times

Car-chase suspect kills pedestrian in Canoga Park, police say
A man who stole a car and led police on a high-speed chase struck and killed a pedestrian in a crosswalk in Canoga Park, authorities said Saturday. About 11.30 p.m. on Friday, Los Angeles police officers were pursuing a 1991 Toyota Camry which had been stolen from a Canoga Park neighborhood earlier in the day, authorities said. Behind the wheel was a man police later identified as Ernesto Jacinto Lopez, 20, of Canoga Park.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD Hollywood to host anti-bullying forum
The Los Angeles Police Department's Hollywood Division is hosting an anti-bullying community forum Monday night. The forum, held in honor of October as National Bullying Prevention Month, will be held 6-8 p.m. at the Hollywood Palladium, 6215 Sunset Blvd. Speakers will provide information on how to identify, address and prevent bullying, cyberspace dangers, cyber bullying, text bullying and social media bullying on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and MySpace.
Hollywood Patch

Shuttle Endeavour

Finally! Space Shuttle Endeavour lands at Science Center after 3-day slog
It blasted into space 25 times and zipped around the Earth at speeds of 17,500 mph. But the space shuttle Endeavour's final mission was a slow, delicate, 2 mph, 12-mile voyage through the streets of Los Angeles that took nearly three days to complete. Its last mission officially ended Sunday with applause, cheers and exhausted tears, after it was guided into its final resting place at the California Science Center. The shuttle arrived about noon, 15 hours later than planned because of blocking trees and a broken transporter.
Los Angeles Daily News

Ballot Propositions

Proposition 35: Pimps, other sex traffickers would face harsher sentences
Proposition 35 would crack down on those convicted of sex trafficking in California, with increased prison terms, fines and registration requirements. But critics, including some who work to protect victims of forced prostitution, say the measure is too vague and that defense attorneys could argue with its definition of human trafficking, tying cases up in courts and ultimately hurting victims. Some also say the proposition could intrude on privacy rights.
Los Angeles Daily News

Death penalty vote could come down to practicalities
While core advocates on either side have long argued over whether the death penalty is moral and just, the outcome of Proposition 34 could hinge on more practical issues: whether it's worth the cost, whether the process can be made efficient, and whether voters trust that the worst killers would indeed remain in prison until they die. The measure calls for capital punishment in California to be replaced with life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Orange County Register

Proposition 36: Act would ease 'three-strikes' sentences
Proponents believe Proposition 36, the Three Strikes Reform Act, would make California's tough sentencing law for repeat offenders fairer. Opponents say the law is fine the way it is, crime is at record low rates, and the bad guys are behind bars. Currently, the state's "three strikes, you're out" law approved by voters in 1994 imposes sentences of 25 years to life in prison on repeat offenders with two serious or violent felonies on their records when they commit a third felony of any kind.
Los Angeles Daily News

Prisons

Phone smuggling case costs 20 California prison workers their jobs
Twenty California prison employees suspected of smuggling cellphones to inmates have resigned or were fired in recent months, according to a report from the state's prison watchdog agency. Most of those employees were accused of taking the phones in for cash, while others were suspected of doing it for love or something like it, according to the report. One inmate caught with a phone had text messages and nude photos sent by a female guard, the report says.
Los Angeles Times

Immigration

Mayor Villaraigosa wants city ID card for immigrants
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is pushing a plan to create an official city photo identification card that could double as a prepaid ATM card and help immigrants get access to banking services. The initiative could reduce crime because fewer people would have to carry cash, but critics say it's another ill-advised City Hall effort to accommodate illegal immigrants. The idea for the city ID card originated in his office, the mayor said, as part of previous efforts to help immigrants open bank accounts so they wouldn't become targets of crime.
Los Angeles Times

City Government

Stockpile of unused time by Los Angeles city workers could be costly
When Bill Bratton left the Los Angeles Police Department after serving for seven years, he took with him a check for $56,437.20. That was to cover the unused sick time and vacation time he was able to bank during his time as chief of the LAPD. He was not alone. A number of other department heads and other employees, all with more time on the job than Bratton, have been able to cash in banked time when they left city service.
Los Angeles Daily News