Law Enforcement

4 officers shot in 2 separate attacks in Los Angeles
Four officers were shot in two separate attacks on Los Angeles law enforcement, leading to a manhunt in one case and a SWAT response to a barricaded suspect in the other. In the first shooting, a black-clad gunman ambushed two undercover detectives returning to a police station early Tuesday. The officers' wounds didn't prevent them from aiding the hunt for the attacker. Police still had not found the suspect early Wednesday. Across town Tuesday evening a police officer aiding in a probation check near South Los Angeles was shot in the face and the gunman barricaded himself inside a home. The officer was hospitalized in stable condition Tuesday night and will require surgery, according to Los Angeles Police Cmdr. Andrew Smith.
Fox News

Police may use robot to search for shooter in Willowbrook standoff
A standoff between Los Angeles police and a gunman holed up in a Willowbrook home continued into Wednesday morning with little changed since the incident began. Heavily armed officers in riot gear surrounded a home in the 2200 block of East 117th Street where police say a gunman wounded two officers during an intense firefight Tuesday night. LAPD Sgt. Albert Gonzalez told reporters at the scene Wednesday morning that police are considering sending a robot into the home to verify the gunman is still inside.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD ambush a 'blatant attempt to assassinate' cops, Chief Beck says
The shooting ambush of two undercover detectives outside the Wilshire Division station Tuesday morning "was a blatant attempt to assassinate two of the people who protect this community," LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said. Police stations across Los Angeles beefed up security after the detectives were fired upon. The officers are in "good spirits" and have returned to duty after suffering only minor injuries, Beck said at the start of a weekly address to the police commission.
Los Angeles Times

Crime alerts for Cypress Park, Los Feliz and 8 other neighborhoods
Crime reports are up significantly for the latest week in 10 L.A. neighborhoods, according to an analysis of LAPD data by the Los Angeles Times' Crime L.A. database. Six neighborhoods reported a significant increase in violent crime. Cypress Park was the most unusual, recording five reports compared with a weekly average of 0.7 over the last three months. Los Feliz topped the list of four neighborhoods with property crime alerts.
Los Angeles Times

Suspect in Hollywood stabbing had history of mental health issues
A homeless man accused of killing a woman visiting one of Hollywood's most famous tourist destinations was well known to authorities. Over the last eight years, Dustin James Kinnear, 26, was arrested at least 46 times, including seven arrests for assault with a deadly weapon, according to court records and interviews. Along the Hollywood Walk of Fame, he had a reputation as an aggressive panhandler and troublemaker.
Los Angeles Times

Legislation

Halle Berry describes daughter's harassment terror
With dozens of journalists tailing her every move, Academy Award-winner Halle Berry appeared at the California Capitol on Tuesday to testify for a bill that would limit the ability of paparazzi to photograph the children of celebrities and public figures. "My daughter doesn't want to go to school because she knows 'the men' are watching for her," the actor told the Assembly Committee on Public Safety. "They jump out of the bushes and from behind cars and who knows where else, besieging these children just to get a photo."
Associated Press

Prisons

Prison reduction plan is DOA in Senate
Following through on his promises, Senate leader Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) says he has no plans to take up court-ordered legislation proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown to reduce prison crowding. Brown's office on Friday gave legislative leaders proposed language to increase state spending on private prison beds and jail beds by $450 million over the next two years, increase early release credits and expand parole programs for medically frail and elderly inmates.
Los Angeles Times

$839M Inmate Medical Complex Dedicated in Calif.
California prison officials dedicated an $839 million inmate medical complex Tuesday even as they face a new round of court-imposed mandates that are complicating efforts to run one of the nation's largest penal systems. On Monday, a health threat posed by a potentially lethal airborne fungus prompted a federal judge to order as many as 3,250 inmates transferred immediately from two Central Valley prisons. That ruling followed another last week that ordered the state to release an additional 10,000 inmates statewide by the end of the year.
Associated Press

City Government

L.A. City Council bans plastic bags starting Jan. 1
Los Angeles joined with other cities on Tuesday in instituting a ban on single-use plastic bags in markets larger than 10,000 square feet beginning Jan. 1, with smaller stores getting an extended deadline of July 1, 2014. The proposal passed on a 9-1 vote, with Councilman Bernard Parks objecting, and now goes to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who has said he supports the move. Shoppers will need to bring reusable bags or pay a fee of 10 cents to receive a paper bag. The stores would keep the fee.
Los Angeles Daily News

L.A.'s mayor-elect aims to put Hollywood center stage
In a closed-door meeting on the Sony Pictures Entertainment lot, a few dozen location scouts, agents, producers and studio executives gathered to discuss the state of L.A.'s hometown industry. Taking center stage: Los Angeles Mayor-elect Eric Garcetti. Garcetti held the meeting recently to solicit ideas on how he can help stem the exodus of film and TV production from Southern California.
Los Angeles Times