Law Enforcement

Police seek driver in Chatsworth crash that killed bicyclist
Police are looking for the driver of a silver Ford Mustang who is suspected of killing a bicyclist in Chatsworth Monday night in a hit-and-run collision. Thirty-eight-year-old Victor Awad of Canoga Park was riding his bike westbound on Plummer Street at about 9 p.m., according to police. The silver Mustang was traveling northbound on Winnetka Avenue. It struck Awad at the intersection, then sped north on Winnetka.
Los Angeles Daily News

LAPD still seeking killer of Charter Oak High School graduate
Los Angeles police are still looking for two men involved in the shooting death of a 2009 Charter Oak High graduate and football star. Dejon Ward, who tied a district record with a 98-yard run while on the team, died July 12 when two men ambushed him after he pulled over near Venice and Crenshaw boulevards to check his map for directions. "It appears that the suspects walked up to Dejon Ward as he sat in his car, seatbelted in, looking at directions and shot him," Detective Jose Robledo said.
San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Cellphone Amber Alert has unlikely critic in Polly Klaas' dad
Among the people annoyed this week when the state notified them of an Amber Alert on their cell phone was someone one might think would be more sympathetic to the cause. California, for the first time Monday, used the state's cellphone network to send out an Amber Alert after firefighters in Boulevard - about 50 miles east of San Diego and five miles north of the Mexican border - found the body of Christina Anderson, 44, of Lakeside, as well as a child's body in a burned-out home.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD to hold fishing day in Marina del Rey for inner city youth
The Los Angeles Police Department along with A Chance for Children Foundation and the Marina Del Rey Anglers will host 30 inner-city children Wednesday on a fishing trip out of Marina del Rey. According to organizers, the trip will offer up the world of fishing to kids who would normally never have the chance to fish. "The four hour program is designed to help less fortunate kids simply go fishing," organizers said in a statement.
Marina del Rey Patch

Immigration

ICE visitation ban prompts protest
Volunteers who visit immigration detainees plan to hold a protest outside a federal detention center Tuesday afternoon, protesting a new ban on visitation for those held by immigration agents there. In early July, Victoria Mena started the Friends of Adelanto Detainees program to provide visits from the outside world for those detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials there while awaiting - or fighting - deportation.
Los Angeles Daily News

Public Safety

More safety measures planned for Venice boardwalk
Mayor Eric Garcetti said Monday increased safety measures will be placed near the Venice Beach boardwalk after a speeding motorist careened through the popular thoroughfare over the weekend, killing one pedestrian, and injuring at least 16 others. Speaking to reporters at a Getty House event, Garcetti said that increased "control" over the area was needed.
Los Angeles Daily News

New breakdowns reported in LAFD's 911 computer systems
The computer systems that connect 911 callers to Los Angeles Fire Department rescuers broke down repeatedly last month, complicating and delaying emergency responses and prompting renewed calls to fix the agency's faulty technology. Key parts of the decades-old system that the LAFD relies on to log emergency calls and automatically dispatch rescuers failed five times in July, according to city officials.
Los Angeles Times

City Government

Rick Jacobs of liberal advocacy group joins Garcetti team
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has named Rick Jacobs, a high-profile Democrat who raised more than $2 million to help Garcetti win the May election, one of his senior advisors at City Hall. Jacobs' appointment is the latest in a series of top-tier City Hall jobs Garcetti has awarded to key campaign supporters. He will counsel Garcetti on communications, external affairs, scheduling, protocol and strategic partnerships.
Los Angeles Times

Garcetti, wife mulling move to official L.A. mayor's mansion
Mayor Eric Garcetti said he and his wife, social activist Amy Wakeland, are mulling whether to move into Getty House once renovations underway at the official residence are completed. The couple live with their toddler daughter, Maya, at their private Silver Lake residence. But Garcetti, in a brief interview at the spacious Getty House grounds, said it's possible they'll swap their modernist, eco-friendly abode for the 8,076-square foot English Tudor-style mansion in Windsor Square.
Los Angeles Times

DWP union chief wants L.A. to accept pension, salary proposal
The head of the union representing Department of Water and Power workers said Tuesday he wants to see the city act early -- possibly by Friday -- to approve a proposal extending his workers' contracts but freeze wages for three years, resolve a pension lawsuit and begin to address salary parity issues. Brian D'Arcy, business manager of IBEW, Local 18, said in an interview that he has grown frustrated at delays in the process and will withdraw his proposal, allowing pay raises of 2 percent to 4 percent to take effect in October for the 8,200 DWP workers and thus end future discussions.
Los Angeles Daily News