Pensions

Former L.A. Mayor Richard Riordan drops his pension ballot initiative
Former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan abruptly dropped his initiative to overhaul the city's pension system on Monday, saying he wasn't able to gather enough signatures by the deadline. To date, Riordan's team had gathered about 100,000 signatures to qualify for the May ballot. The city recommended a Dec. 7 deadline to turn in the needed 300,000 signatures.
Los Angeles Daily News

Unions hail demise of Riordan pension-reform ballot measure effort
Representatives of Los Angeles city labor unions on Monday hailed the announcement that former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan had pulled the plug on his ballot measure effort to roll back pension benefits for city employees, calling it an expensive and poorly thought out proposal. Tyler Izen, president of the Police Protective League, said he was not surprised by the collapse of the signature drive backed by Riordan.
Los Angeles Times
LAPPL News Release

Law Enforcement

Crime alerts for Hollywood Hills West, Rancho Park and 3 other L.A. neighborhoods
Crime reports are up significantly for the latest week in five L.A. neighborhoods, according to an analysis of Los Angeles Police Department data by the Los Angeles Times' Crime L.A. database. Four neighborhoods reported a significant increase in violent crime. Hollywood Hills West was the most unusual, recording four reports compared with a weekly average of 0.4 over the last three months. Rancho Park was the lone neighborhood with a property-crime alert.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD looks for missing Narbonne High student
Los Angeles police on Monday night were looking for a mentally impaired 16-year-old boy who was reported missing. Kevin Tippen was last seen about 10 a.m. Monday at the cafeteria at Narbonne High School. "He has not been seen or heard from since and his foster parent is extremely concerned for his welfare," the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement. Tippen is described as a white and Asian with short, black hair and brown eyes, the LAPD said. He is 5-feet, 2-inches tall and weighs about 130 pounds.
Los Angeles Times

Burglars at Panorama City Sprint store nab $52K in iPhones, tablets
In what police believe is an inside job, two masked men have broken into a Panorama City cell phone shop twice in the past week, looking to steal cell phones and tablet computers. In the first robbery on Nov. 21, the men got away with a duffel bag holding 59 iPhones and 14 tablets, worth almost $52,000, Los Angeles police said. The second time, Monday morning, a security guard surprised them as they left and they dropped the duffel bag.
Los Angeles Daily News

LAPD officer inspiring/cracking down on Venice Boardwalk art
Back in January, new rules went into effect for selling stuff on the Venice Boardwalk--basically they allow free speech activities like petitioning, performances, and self-made art. That last one has made for some tricky enforcement and the Wall Street Journal tags along with LAPD Sergeant Daniel Gonzalez, who all of a sudden finds himself tackling an issue usually left to Sarah Lawrence undergrads: what is art? Gonzalez calls his gig patrolling the boardwalk "a little bit of higher calling" and man has he ever answered. He's given some major assists to the potential artists of Ocean Front Walk.
LA Curbed

FBI to fill vacancy on top 'Ten Most Wanted' list following arrest of murder suspect in Mexico
Applications will pour in from across the country. Murderers, rapists, child predators and swindlers. Who should replace Jose "Joe" Luis Saenz on the FBI's 'Ten Most Wanted' List? Los Angeles FBI officials with help from Mexican authorities arrested Saenz late in the day on Thanksgiving, leaving an opening on the FBI's list of the most dangerous criminals in America. Saenz was wanted for allegedly killing two rival gang members as well as allegedly kidnapping, raping and killing his girlfriend 14 years ago.
ABC News

Sheriff's deputies and LAPD officers to box in 'Fight For Life'
Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies will square off against LAPD officers to help fund cancer research and treatment programs at City of Hope. The annual Fight For Life boxing match, now in its 18th year, takes place Friday at Quiet Cannon in Montebello. "It's a great night out, if you enjoy boxing," City of Hope Development Director Nancy Lewis said. "It's pretty cool to see men and women in uniform take off the uniforms and put on the gloves. It's all in fun and it's all for a great cause."
The Patch

Traffic

Sepulveda Pass construction next to 405 Freeway to constrict lanes
Motorists navigating through the Sepulveda Pass have less room to maneuver as construction work that began Monday narrows a section of Sepulveda Boulevard next to the San Diego (405) Freeway. Contractors working on the $1 billion-plus freeway reconstruction and widening effort need to re-grade Sepulveda Boulevard between Montana and Church avenues, the stretch of road generally north of the Los Angeles National Cemetery and below the Sunset Boulevard overpass. The work began at 9 a.m. Monday and will last for seven days.
City News Service

Election 2012

Time running out for Measure J transportation tax supporters
Time - and outstanding ballots - are running out for advocates of a proposed Los Angeles County transit tax extension that voters decided on earlier this month. Measure J, which would extend for three more decades a 30-year, half-cent tax for transportation projects that voters originally passed in 2008, now has 65.66% approval, according to the latest updates from county officials released Monday. The measure needs a two-thirds majority to pass and initially garnered 64.72% support with 100% of precincts reporting immediately after the Nov. 6 election.
Los Angeles Times

Three-Strikes Law

Judge orders release of first inmate under California's new three-strikes law
The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office says the November 6 passage of California's Proposition 36, the three-strikes reduction initiative, could save the state prison system $70-$90 million annually. It also says its numbers could be way off, “depending on several factors,” like how fast the courts re-sentence qualifying inmates. San Diego Superior Court Judge David Danielsen got the ball rolling on Wednesday when he took eight minutes of courtroom time to reduce serial burglar Kenneth Glenn Corley's 25-years-to-life sentence to, essentially, time served. Corley, a heroin addict, served 16 years after getting his third strike for possession of drugs for sale.
AllGov.com