Law Enforcement

Man held in bomb hoax against Jewish temple, LAPD squad car
Los Angeles police have arrested a man they believe made phony bomb threats against a Jewish temple in Koreatown on Tuesday, as well as an LAPD patrol car parked nearby, police said. The suspect was identified as Wan Ryung Song, a.k.a Patrick Song, a 46-year-old naturalized citizen who is a native of South Korea. Police say they believe Song also vandalized the Wilshire Boulevard Temple with graffiti of a Swastika and anti-Semitic comments on Dec. 6.
Los Angeles Times

At Canoga Park meeting, LAPD has few easy answers on school safety
The dozens of educators packed into a police station meeting room Wednesday had a lot of questions about how to protect their students. But LAPD Capt. Tom Brascia made it clear he didn't have a lot of answers. Brascia, commander of the Topanga Division for Los Angeles police, had his officers call schools from across his area and invite officials to a meeting after Friday's school shooting in Newtown, Conn., which killed 20 students and six adults.
Los Angeles Daily News

'Swatting' at Charlie Sheen, Miley Cyrus homes investigated
The teenager arrested in connection with "swatting" incidents targeting Ashton Kutcher and Justin Bieber has also been linked to other cases, including one involving a downtown Los Angeles Wells Fargo, police said. When announcing the boy's arrest Tuesday, LAPD provided no details on his identity, exact age or background, nor specifics on the "other swatting incidents involving this individual" that "have been identified."
Los Angeles Times

Northridge shooting suspect held without bail after extradition
A man arrested in connection to the killing of four people outside a Northridge boarding house will be held without bail until a hearing in January to determine whether he violated probation, a Los Angeles Superior Court commissioner ruled Wednesday. Prosecutors have not filed charges in the Dec. 2 shootings, but authorities transferred Ka Pasasouk, 31, and another man suspected in the Northridge shootings from Clark County Jail in Nevada to Los Angeles on Tuesday for hearings in pending cases unrelated to the murders.
Los Angeles Times

False alarm: Supposed gunman at L.A. hospital was security guard
A supposed gunman spotted at Cedar's Sinai Medical Center -- which led to the evacuation of dozens and a police search Wednesday -- turned out to be a security guard, LAPD officials said. Deputy Chief Debra McCarthy said a custodian noticed a person with a gun or holster under his clothes in a bathroom Wednesday morning and immediately notified hospital security. As a precaution, the public was cleared from part of the hospital as police arrived and searched for any potential threat.
Los Angeles Times

Be careful on social media, experts warn
It's easy to vent on social media, but not thinking about the post, can bring serious consequences. Comments can have different meanings to different people, media experts say. That seemed to be the case this week with Kyla Bangayan. Los Angeles Police Department officers arrested the 24-year-old Cal Poly Pomona student at his parent's Hollywood home Sunday on suspicion of making violent threats to schools on Facebook.
Los Angeles Daily News

Legislation

More gun laws on the way in California?
Even with the nation's toughest gun control laws, some California legislators are seeking more restrictions following last week's deadly Connecticut shooting rampage that took the lives of 20 young children and seven adults. Among at least four proposals, one would prohibit semi-automatic weapons like AR-15s and AK-47s from having devices known as "bullet buttons," which allow easy reloading of multi-bullet ammunition clips.
Bay Area News Group

Homelessness

Homeless population declines in L.A. County, U.S. says
A report released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development shows a decrease in the overall homeless population in Los Angeles County, and a more marked decrease in the number of homeless veterans. The recently released report, which is based on point-in-time estimates from counts conducted on a single night in January 2012, found that Los Angeles' total homeless population had dropped by 6.8% from the previous year, while the number of homeless nationwide had held steady.
Los Angeles Times

Prisons

Brown's choice for prisons chief is sentencing reform advocate
Gov. Jerry Brown's pick for prisons chief is a vocal advocate of alternative sentencing laws that move non-serious criminals into community treatment programs rather than state lockup. Brown's choice for Corrections Secretary is Jeff Beard, who retired in 2010 after a little more than nine years as head of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. In the 32 years Beard worked in Pennsylvania's prison system, its inmate population soared more than 500%, from 8,000 inmates to more than 52,000.
Los Angeles Times

City Election 2013

L.A. mayoral election a wide-open contest
For decades becoming mayor of one of the nation's most ethnically diverse big cities revolved around a simple election strategy: dominate a couple of key voting blocs, then grab enough ballots from other slices of the metropolis to claim victory. Tom Bradley forged a winning alliance of South Los Angeles blacks and liberal Westside Los Angeles whites over five terms. Antonio Villaraigosa harnessed the rising Latino voting bloc and the Westside to win his two terms. But as the 2013 race to succeed the termed-out Villaraigosa gets underway, following that tried-and-true formula may be tricky. The winning candidate will have to find ways to get a big enough chunk of those disparate voting populations, but how is far less clear.
Los Angeles Times