Law Enforcement

Crime alerts for Hollywood Hills and 13 other L.A. neighborhoods
Crime reports are up significantly for the latest week in 14 L.A. neighborhoods, according to an analysis of LAPD data by the Los Angeles Times' Crime L.A. database. Four neighborhoods reported a significant increase in violent crime. Hollywood Hills was the most unusual, recording five reports compared with a weekly average of 0.8 over the last three months. Rancho Park topped the list of 10 neighborhoods with property crime alerts.
Los Angeles Times

Surge in bomb squad calls, 'suspicious packages' since Boston
Someone calls a television station and makes a bomb threat, causing a phalanx of police to race to the scene. It's a hoax. Someone sees a package they think is a bomb, temporarily shuttering a city hall over terrorism fears. It's a fake. The Boston Marathon bombings have left police stretched thin as they are forced to deal with troubling consequences: a surge in bomb squad calls from people who think they've spotted an explosive and an uptick in fake threats from opportunists seeking attention during a time of fear and frayed nerves.
Los Angeles Times

Deadly El Sereno shooting was gang-related, police say
A Monday morning shooting in El Sereno appeared to be gang-related, Los Angeles police said. A man, described as Latino and in his 30s, was shot multiple times about 7:10 a.m. while in his pickup truck. The man managed to briefly continue driving until he crashed near Huntington Drive and Monterey Road. He was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said. No suspects have been arrested and no one else was injured.
Los Angeles Times

Attempted kidnapping reported at Chatsworth Park South
Two women managed to escape an attempted kidnapper on a Chatsworth Park South trail on Saturday, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The women were on a hike in the vicinity of Devonshire Street and Larwin Avenue around 8 p.m. when a man grabbed one of the females and tried to drag her behind some bushes, a community alert read. They were able to flee and alerted the police, who were unable to locate the attempted kidnapper.
Northridge - Chatsworth Patch

Los Angeles-area man suspected in 27 arsons/attempted arsons arrested
A man was in custody Monday for allegedly setting or trying to set a series of fires in South Pasadena, Pasadena and Los Angeles, police said. Javier Viera, 35, was being held in lieu of $2 million bail. The serial arson suspect was taken into custody on Sunday night and booked on suspicion of arson, the South Pasadena Police Department reported. Viera is suspected in 21 arson/attempted arson incidents in South Pasadena, four in Pasadena and one in Los Angeles since mid-November, according to police.
Southern California Public Radio

Police officer involved in Boston manhunt expected to survive after doctors replenish his entire blood supply
A Boston police officer involved in the manhunt for the Boston marathon bombing suspects was shot and wounded so badly that his heart stopped for 45 minutes, and he lost his entire blood supply, the Los Angeles Times reported. Fortunately, he was fully resuscitated and transfused with entirely new blood, and doctors said Sunday that he is coming out of sedation and expected to recover.
Fox News

Prison Realignment

California drug criminals now half as likely to serve time in state prison
California has cut the number of prisoners in state facilities for drug convictions in half during the last two years, diverting thousands to local jails, new state figures show. It's been almost two years since the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a ruling that mandated California reduce its prison population drastically due to overcrowding. The resulting realignment has largely focused on reducing the number of drug criminals in state prison through attrition and diversion.
Sacramento Bee

Legislation

California Senate approves bill to close loophole in rape law
The California state Senate moved today to change what has been called "historical anomalies in the law" that led a rape conviction to be overturned in Southern California. Senate Bill 59, by Democratic Sen. Noreen Evans, was introduced in response to the Los Angeles-based 2nd District Court of Appeal's decision to throw out the conviction of a man who was accused of raping a woman while she was asleep in bed.
Sacramento Bee

City Government

L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa releases final budget, calls for pay freeze
In his final and most far-reaching budget, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Monday proposed a $7.7 billion spending plan that seeks to restore some basic services while freezing all employee salaries and rolling back pay increases that had already been negotiated with city unions. Villaraigosa, who leaves office on July 1, admitted to having erred four years ago in approving a 25 percent hike in salaries -- an action he said he has been trying to make up for once the national economic recession hit.
Los Angeles Daily News

City panel lets AEG rebid on L.A. Convention Center contract
A committee of Los Angeles City Council members voted unanimously Monday to solicit a new round of bids for a private Convention Center operator, ensuring that Anschutz Entertainment Group will have a shot at the contract after being threatened with exclusion. City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana last week announced that AEG was "non-responsive" to the city's request for a contract proposal.
Los Angeles Times

City Election

What did voters ask the candidates for Los Angeles mayor? Watch...
If could pose a question to the remaining two candidates for Los Angeles mayor, what would it be? How to improve education? How to break the city's transportation gridlock? Or maybe something about the backlog of broken city sidewalks? Several Los Angeles voters recently got that opportunity as part of separate Times video interviews with City Councilman Eric Garcetti and City Controller Wendy Greuel.
Los Angeles Times

Garcetti, Greuel focus on independent leadership
Eric Garcetti talked about how he has led on pension reform and would like to bring "geek chic" to Los Angeles, so engineers educated in the city would stay to build tech jobs. Wendy Greuel touted her recent endorsement from President Bill Clinton and how she is a strong leader, not a flashy campaigner. The two candidates for mayor of Los Angeles made robust cases for themselves in a televised debate Monday night from the USC Health Sciences Campus east of downtown, but they became most passionate when they squared off again on the question of who would be the most independent leader.
Los Angeles Times