Law Enforcement

Presidential traffic jams expected today; Clinton, Obama in L.A.
Los Angeles is expecting a double dose of presidential presence on Friday, along with the big traffic jams that typically accompany such visits. President Barack Obama hits Santa Monica for a Democratic fundraiser at the home of media executive Peter Chernin, a big Democratic donor and one-time COO of News Corp. Former President Bill Clinton will then party it up downtown later in the day at the Celebrate L.A. event for outgoing Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
Los Angeles Daily News

LAPD launches realistic counterterrorism drill
The Los Angeles Police Department conducted a realistic counterterrorism drill in the heart of downtown. Thursday's late-morning demonstration began with an explosion, officers firing blank ammunition at pretend suspects, and law enforcement helicopters flying low among downtown office towers. The drill scenario involved a response to threats of a weapon of mass destruction.
Associated Press

Man standing on South LA street shot to death
A man who was standing on a street in South Los Angeles Wednesday was shot to death by an unknown suspect. The incident happened around 4 p.m. in the 500 block of West 81st Street, near Figueroa Street, according to Officer Rosario Herrera of the Los Angeles Police Department. The victim was transported to the hospital, where he later succumbed to his injures. The investigation is ongoing.
CBS LA

Police search for missing 20-year-old woman with mental health concerns
Los Angeles police are looking for a 20-year-old woman with serious mental health concerns who went missing Tuesday night. Meghan Ona Stebbins was last seen around 5:30 p.m. at her residence in the 900 block of Oxford Avenue, near Marina del Rey. In an interview with City News Service, Stebbins' mother, Mary Kay Stebbins, who lives in Sioux Falls, S.D., said her daughter called her Wednesday night, but didn't say where she was.
CBS LA

Bartender's stashed tips - $178,000 worth - gone in an instant in San Pedro burglary
For 24 years, a San Pedro bartender methodically scooped up all of his tips each day, exchanged them for $100 bills when he had enough money, and deposited them in a safe at his home. The safe contained 1,740 $100 bills and 2,090 $2 bills - $178,000 in all - when someone burglarized their house this week and walked off with it, police said. Los Angeles police burglary detectives are trying hard to solve the Wednesday morning crime in the 1400 block of Second Street in San Pedro. They released photographs Thursday of a possible suspect and his car that were recorded by a neighbor's home surveillance camera.
Los Angeles Daily News

Cop's dive into La Brea Tar Pits 'craziest thing I've ever done'
With 16 years on the Los Angeles Police dive unit and several hundred trips into the watery depths searching for evidence, there isn't much Sgt. David Mascarenas hasn't experienced or seen. But on Thursday, Mascarenas dived into an environment so inhospitable, he could barely see past his mask. His dive into the tar pit was part of a joint investigation into a cold case, but police would not describe or detail the evidence they were seeking.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD captain removed from Rampart command after DUI arrest
The top commander in the Los Angeles Police Department's Rampart station has been removed from his post after being arrested on suspicion of drunk driving, police said. Captain Steve Ruiz, a 25-year veteran of the LAPD, was arrested by a California Highway Patrol officer shortly before 1:30 a.m. May 30, according to CHP Officer Saul Gomez. The arrest occurred just off of the 101 Freeway at Woodman Avenue in Sherman Oaks, said Gomez, who would not provide any details about the circumstances that led the officer to stop Ruiz.
Los Angeles Times

City Government

LA officials vote to support driver's licenses for unauthorized immigrants
The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously Wednesday in support of a bill that would allow unauthorized immigrants to apply for driver's licenses. KNX 1070s Claudia Peschiutta reported that AB 60 by Assemblyman Luis Alejo would let people without social security numbers to use other forms of identification to establish their name. Proof of living in the U.S. would be required, as well. Utah, Maryland, Oregon, Illinois, Washington and New Mexico have passed similar laws, said Councilman Jose Huizar.
CBS LA

LA's Mayor Elect: City Hall shouldn't be a place you fear
Meeting with high tech CEO's in the afternoon and Boyle Heights residents at night, LA's Mayor Elect vows change in the local economy and how City Hall is run. "It's those two pillars, the economy and making City Hall work again, that are going to be focus of my administration," Eric Garcetti said. Garcetti held a roundtable meeting in Hollywood with leaders of several established high-tech companies Wednesday afternoon before meeting with Boyle Heights residents in the evening at the Puente Learning Center.
Fox LA