Law Enforcement

LAPD seeks information in Los Feliz homicide
Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department's Northeast Division are investigating who may have shot and killed a 33-year-old man in the Franklin Hills Sunday evening. John Lee of Las Vegas, Nevada, was standing outside his car, parked near the intersection of Talmadge Street and Russell Avenue in Los Feliz. He was shot, according to one report, at least five times at approximately 9:15 p.m. Lee was taken to the hospital and died on Monday.
Echo Park-Silver Lake Patch

Gun checks soar 39 percent, set new record: FBI
The number of FBI background checks required for Americans buying guns set a record in December, indicating that more people may purchase one after the Connecticut school massacre stirred interest in self-defense and prompted renewed talk of limits on firearms, according to FBI data. The FBI said it recorded 2.78 million background checks during the month, surpassing the mark set in November of 2.01 million checks - about a 39 percent rise.
Reuters

Justin Bieber calls paparazzo death tragic, urges action
Pop star Justin Bieber on Wednesday called the death of a paparazzo, who was chasing his white Ferrari in Los Angeles, a tragic accident and said he hoped it would spur action to safeguard the lives of celebrities, police and photographers. Police said the freelance photographer, whose name has not officially been released, was killed by another driver on Tuesday evening after he crossed a busy highway to snap pictures of the Ferrari that had been stopped by police for speeding.
Reuters

Gangs, traffic safety lead Northeast LAPD Facebook survey on quality of life issues
Gang activity, followed by traffic safety, are the two leading "quality of life" concerns in Northeast Los Angeles so far among respondents participating in a Facebook poll conducted by the Los Angeles Police Department's Northeast Community Station. As of 1 p.m. Wednesday, as many as 67 percent of the votes identified gang activity as the leading community concern, and 14 percent traffic safety.
Highland Park-Mount Washington Patch

Airport screeners discover more than 1,500 guns in 2012
Passengers are not allowed to carry guns onto airplanes, yet the Transportation Security Administration finds hundreds of weapons each year. In 2012 more than 1,500 firearms were discovered by screeners at airport checkpoints, TSA spokesman David Castelveter said. That is an average of more than four weapons a day. A total of 1,320 firearms were found in 2011. Many were loaded, and some had rounds in the chamber.
CNN

Holiday traffic deaths up 64% from last year
The number of people who were killed statewide in traffic accidents over the holiday weekend was up 64% from 25 to 41 fatalities, according to figures released Wednesday by the California Highway Patrol. Arrests for driving under the influence also increased from 1,270 to 1,405 this year, a rise of 11%. About half of the people killed in the CHP's jurisdiction, which includes freeways and highways, were not wearing seatbelts, said Fran Clader, a CHP spokeswoman.
Los Angeles Times

Unlicensed California drivers have high fatality rates
California's millions of unlicensed drivers are nearly three times as likely to cause a fatal traffic crash as those who are driving legally, a new Department of Motor Vehicles study concludes. The findings, the DMV's researchers conclude, "strongly justify the use of countermeasures, including vehicle impoundment, to control (illegal) drivers and to reduce crashes caused by those drivers."
Sacramento Bee

Pensions

How Richard Riordan blew $800,000 on a failed try at pension reform
In mid-October, Richard Riordan announced that he would launch a petition drive to radically reform L.A.'s pension system. The 82-year-old former L.A. mayor has been predicting fiscal doom for the city for years. And after similar reforms succeeded with voters in San Jose and San Diego, he believed the time finally was right for sweeping change in L.A. A mere six weeks later, Riordan pulled the plug - but not before spending $800,000 of his own money, as he told the Weekly .
LA Weekly

Immigrations

White House eases path to residency for some illegal immigrants
The Obama administration eased the way Wednesday for illegal immigrants who are immediate relatives of American citizens to apply for permanent residency, a change that could affect as many as 1 million of the estimated 11 million immigrants unlawfully in the U.S. A new rule issued by the Department of Homeland Security aims to reduce the time illegal immigrants are separated from their American families while seeking legal status, immigration officials said.
Los Angeles Times