Law Enforcement

Crime alerts for Eagle Rock, Florence, 10 other L.A. areas
Crime reports are up significantly for the latest week in 12 L.A. neighborhoods, according to an analysis of LAPD data by the Los Angeles Times' Crime L.A. database. Seven neighborhoods reported a significant increase in violent crime. Eagle Rock was the most unusual, recording five reports compared with a weekly average of 0.7 over the last three months. Florence topped the list of five neighborhoods with property crime alerts.
Los Angeles Times

iPhone helps LAPD track down robbery suspects
A stolen iPhone helped police track down a gang of robbery suspects involved in a crime spree in the Hollywood area Sunday night. LAPD says four men, armed with a pistol, crow bar, pipe and baseball bat, drove around from 9 p.m. until midnight, looking for their victims. They confronted at least three different individuals, stealing money, cellphones and at least one laptop.
ABC7

Man, 21, arrested in Sun Valley hit and run that killed elderly pedestrian
A 21-year-old man was arrested Sunday after police say he hit and killed a 72-year-old pedestrian in Sun Valley, then fled the scene and flipped his truck on a freeway. Adrian C. Cervantes of Panorama City was being held Monday afternoon on $50,000 bail. The fatal collision happened about 5:05 a.m. Sunday on Lankershim Boulevard south of Roscoe Boulevard, Los Angeles police Sgt. Thomas Wunsch said.
Los Angeles Daily News

LAPD scour El Sereno Rec Center after reports of "woman screaming"
Police responded to the El Sereno Recreation Center late Monday spurred by reports of a possible kidnapping or assault in the area. LAPD was called around 8 p.m. to 4721 Klamath Street after receiving a report that a young woman was heard screaming and seen being dragged up a hill, officials said. Multiple units descended on the area and were still scouring the rec center at 11:30 p.m. Leggings and a pair of tennis shoes were found near the scene, police said.
NBC4

Bicycle thefts are up; lock your bike at home, LAPD says
Los Angeles police are urging people to lock up their bikes at home. Personal thefts are up 4 percent this year in the Mission Division in the northeast San Fernando Valley, and 10 percent of the thefts are bicycles. About half of all bikes stolen are taken from the owner's home or apartment complex, police said.
Los Angeles Daily News

Saving Lives Drug and Alcohol Coalition kicks-off Los Angeles underage drinking prevention campaign
Saving Lives Drug and Alcohol Coalition, a Drug-Free Communities grantee funded by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy launches its Kick-off Underage Drinking Campaign with a press conference at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the West Valley Los Angeles Police Department Community Room. The Saving Lives Drug and Alcohol Coalition has partnered with the Los Angeles Police Department, the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, Tarzana Treatment Centers, and the San Fernando Valley Partnership to enhance community awareness that underage drinking kills more youth than all illegal drugs combined.
News Release

Pensions

Dine and Dash
Former Mayor Richard Riordan has taken the first steps toward eliminating the current pension system for all future City employees and replacing it with 401(k) plans. However, this proposal will significantly cost the City more while it impacts current officers' pay and benefits. It is surprising that a restaurant owner who expects to be paid immediately after meals are consumed is advocating that the City adopt a "dine and dash" mentality for the costs of current City services.
LAPPL Blog

Prisons & Parole

Calif. looks to drop warrants for some parolees
Corrections officials are looking to drop the arrest warrants of thousands of parole violators in an attempt to relieve overcrowding in California's state prisons and county jails and ease the workload of agents by focusing on dangerous felons, a newspaper reported Saturday. The state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation planned to begin a major review next week of more than 9,200 outstanding warrants of parole violators, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Associated Press

Controversy lands at feet of new corrections chief
Gov. Jerry Brown's new prison chief walks into a firestorm, including news of the early release of a Fresno felon who opened fire on co-workers this week and the potential mass release from state supervision of thousands of parolees who have gone missing. Brown on Friday named Martin Hoshino as acting secretary of corrections, and Daniel Stone, a long-time parole department employee, as director of the division of adult parole.
Los Angeles Times

Traffic

L.A. County toll lanes get smooth start, despite some grumbling
As officials unveiled the Los Angeles County's first toll lanes on an 11-mile stretch of the 110 Freeway this weekend, some drivers said they still had questions about how the new fare program worked and wondered whether it would benefit them. The express lanes officially opened late Saturday night, from Adams Boulevard just south of downtown to the Harbor Gateway Transit Center near Torrance and the 91 Freeway.
Los Angeles Times

City Government

Cardenas to hold on to council seat until Jan. 2
You can add Congressman-elect to the titles of Councilman (for now) Tony Cardenas. Cardenas, a former state assemblyman, won election last Tuesday to the newly drawn district in the north San Fernando Valley but he is not giving up his City Council so quickly. Cardenas is to be sworn in to Congress on Jan. 3, and he said through his staff this past week that he intends to remain on the City Council until Jan. 2.
Los Angeles Daily News

Los Angeles Council candidates line up in 11th, 15th districts
Several candidates filed papers this weekend to run on March 5 in Los Angeles' 11th and 15th City Council district races. Saturday was the last day for candidates to declare their intention to run, and the first day to obtain nominating petitions to collect voters' signatures.
Torrance Daily Breeze