Law Enforcement

Hollywood & Highland allegation: She took picture of transients, they stabbed her to death
Three transients were in custody Wednesday in the stabbing death of a 23-year-old woman outside the Hollywood & Highland entertainment complex. The crime occurred about 8:10 p.m. Tuesday. Christina Calderon of Lynwood died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, the Los Angeles Times reported. "The victim was with a friend walking in the area when they saw three men who were holding signs and panhandling," according to an LAPD statement.
City News Service

LAPD finds no evidence of Hollywood shooting threat
Los Angeles police said Wednesday night that they found no evidence of a threat after a caller said he would carry out a shooting in the area. The LAPD set up a command post as officers took up tactical positions in the area of Hollywood Boulevard after the threat was made, law enforcement authorities told The Times. Department spokesman Det. Gus Villanueva said that "nothing unusual has been found to substantiate a threat."
Los Angeles Times

FBI asks LAPD bomb squad for help in possible pipe bomb scare
The Los Angeles Police Department bomb squad was dispatched Wednesday morning to help the FBI serve a search warrant in central L.A., police officials said. The FBI was serving a search warrant in the 5100 block of Washington Boulevard when they requested the assistance of the LAPD's bomb squad just before 8 a.m., Lt. Nick Barbara said. During their search, FBI agents saw a firecracker and also an item they mistook for a pipe bomb, triggering the request for assistance, Barbara said.
Los Angeles Times

Chief Beck's hit-and-run crisis
When Alex Thompson, bicycling advocate and founder of BikesideLA.org, read LAPD Chief Charlie Beck's response last week to a citywide hit-and-run epidemic that LAPD had never acknowledged, Thompson was stunned to find what he saw as pages of spin. "The whole report is framed defensively," Thompson says, "and that undermines the integrity of the report from the outset. They're more interested in proving the L.A. Weekly wrong."
L.A. Weekly

Gang injunctions keep working to make L.A. safer
Councilmember and Mayor-elect Eric Garcetti deservedly presided at the reopening last Saturday of Echo Park Lake. The much-anticipated event followed a two-year, $45 million dredging and rebuilding of the iconic recreation area that includes new wetlands, boardwalk embankments and lotuses. Now comes the hard part - keeping the area around the beautifully-restored lake safe for kids and families, and free from gang-related crime.
LAPPL Blog

FBI tells Congress it uses drones in U.S.
FBI Director Robert Mueller acknowledged Wednesday that the bureau has used unmanned aerial drones for surveillance in the United States and suggested that government needs to develop guidelines as their use grows. Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Mueller said the bureau has employed drones in "a very, very minimal way and very seldom."
McClatchy DC

Prisons

Court hears testimony on state of mental health care in California prisons
Psychiatrists and other witnesses are testifying Wednesday that state hospital units charged with treating mentally ill prisoners are dangerously understaffed. The evidentiary hearing is part of a long-running case on prison mental healthcare before U.S. Eastern District Court Judge Lawrence Karlton.
Southern California Public Radio

Report: Calif. locking up far fewer young people
California is a national leader in reducing the number of juvenile offenders incarcerated in state and county lockups, according to a study advocacy groups released Tuesday. Driven by budget cuts, lawsuits and research, the state has taken steps that helped reduce the number of youths in correctional facilities by 41 percent between 2000 and 2010.
Associated Press

Transit

Have a ticket to ride? Metro starts locking subway turnstiles
Sorry subway riders, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is no longer operating on the honor system. The turnstile gates for the Purple and Red lines at Union Station will be latched today and riders will need a TAP card (Transit Access Pass) -- with the $1.50 fare loaded onto it -- to gain access the subway. The card costs $1 and can be reloaded so riders only need to purchase it once.
Los Angeles Times

City Government

L.A. council to ask voters to decide on creating health agency
Feeling backed against a wall by petitioners from an AIDS activist group, the Los Angeles City Council agreed Wednesday to place a measure on next year's ballot asking whether voters want the city to create an independent health agency. But the council also agreed to file a lawsuit challenging the validity of such a measure.
Los Angeles Times

After Hollywood outcry, Spring Street bike lanes lose some paint
The film industry and the Los Angeles bicycling community reached a compromise Wednesday on the future of a controversial, bright green bike lane in downtown Los Angeles. Under a motion passed by the Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday, what is currently a vivid ribbon of color will be scraped off and replaced with less paint in a more muted shade.
Los Angeles Times