Law Enforcement

Crime alerts for Brentwood and 11 other L.A. neighborhoods
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. Brentwood was the most unusual, recording three reports compared with a weekly average of 0.4 over the last three months. Jefferson Park topped the list of five neighborhoods with property crime alerts.
Los Angeles Times

L.A. Times reports third consecutive violent crime alert in Highland Park
For the third consecutive week, violent crime reports in Highland Park have outpaced the neighborhood's year-to-date average, according to The Los Angeles Times crime database. According to The Times, seven violent crimes were reported in Highland Park for August 25 through August 31, nearly double the neighborhood's usual average of 3.2 violent crimes per-week. The Times report shows that, of the seven violent crimes reported in Highland Park, five were aggravated assaults and two were robberies.
Highland Park - Mount Washington Patch

Van Nuys attempted-kidnap suspect sketches released
The Los Angeles Police Department released sketches of two attempted-kidnapping suspects Friday. Two men approached a woman in the area of Firmament Avenue and Vanowen Street on Feb. 21 about 11:45 a.m. pretending to ask her for directions. The two men allegedly grabbed her by the arms and tried to force her into their vehicle, police said. The woman screamed and ran away. The suspects drove northbound on Firmament in a 2005-2008 gray Lexus RX 330 sport utility vehicle with unknown license plates.
ABC7

1 killed as driver strikes 3 vehicles in El Sereno pursuit
A police pursuit that lasted only one minute ended with one person dead after the driver crashed his SUV into three other vehicles in the El Sereno area of Los Angeles. The pursuit began when Los Angeles Police attempted to pull over a silver SUV just before 1p.m. on Saturday for reckless driving. LAPD said the pursuit started at 12:48p.m. and ended a minute later in the 5300 block of Poplar Blvd near Huntington Drive. The driver of the SUV struck three vehicles, killing the driver of a silver Camry.
CBS LA

Life-size 'Call Of Duty' statue perplexes LAPD in game studio raid
Los Angeles Police Department officers were perplexed by a life-size statue of a "Call of Duty" soldier during a raid at a video game studio. Around 7 p.m. Thursday, officers responded to a panic alarm call at Robotoki on Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks. Once on the second floor of the building, they saw what appeared to be a sniper at the window. Robotoki founder Robert Bowling, the only person in the office, said he had no time to tell the cops that the soldier with the assault rifle was actually Simon "Ghost" Riley from "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2."
CBS LA

Executions

Ruling, red tape are a setback for California executions
California may be stymied for years to come in its efforts to resume executions as a result of a new court ruling, bureaucratic requirements and difficulty obtaining lethal injection drugs, advocates on both sides of the death penalty said Friday. Supporters of capital punishment urged Gov. Brown to challenge a state appeals court's unanimous decision against California's lethal injection protocol, even though an appeal could take years. They also called on the governor to introduce a new single-drug execution method for public vetting.
Los Angeles Times

Legislation

More than 1,200 bills pass first half of session
State lawmakers have wrapped up the first half of this year's legislative session by advancing hundreds of bills addressing a wide range of issues, including gun violence, environmental protection, oil drilling and even whether prison inmates should have access to condoms. Lawmakers introduced 2,255 bills this year - 1,429 in the Assembly and 826 in the Senate. After Friday's deadline to pass bills from their original house, the Senate had approved 514 while the Assembly advanced 755.
Associated Press

Assembly wants part-time carpool lanes in Southern California
Lone motorists would be able to use car-pool lanes during off-peak hours on some of Los Angeles County's most congested freeways under legislation approved by the state Assembly. The measure would allow single-occupant vehicles to use high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes after rush hours on certain stretches of the 134, 210 and other freeways in Los Angeles County deemed appropriate by the Department of Transportation.
Los Angeles Times

City Government

Eric Garcetti names longtime advisor Rich Llewellyn to direct transition
Los Angeles mayor-elect Eric Garcetti on Friday announced one of his longtime advisors will serve as director of his transition effort, helping him identify hundreds of people who will work in his office and serve as political appointees. Transition director Rich Llewellyn has spent the last dozen years as a high-level manager at City Hall, serving as chief of staff to Garcetti, former City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo and Councilman Paul Koretz.
Los Angeles Times