Law Enforcement

Crime alerts for Tujunga, Elysian Valley and 13 other L.A. neighborhoods
Crime reports are up significantly for the latest week in 15 L.A. neighborhoods, according to an analysis of LAPD data by the Los Angeles Times' Crime L.A. database. Eight neighborhoods reported a significant increase in violent crime. Tujunga was the most unusual, recording four reports compared with a weekly average of 0.8 over the last three months.
Los Angeles Times

Woman arrested for DUI after crashing car into Valley dry cleaner
A woman Thursday was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after she crashed her vehicle into a San Fernando Valley dry cleaning business. The crash happened around 1 a.m. on Ventura Boulevard, near Oakdale Avenue in Woodland Hills, the Los Angeles Police Department said. Police said the unidentified driver was speeding while heading westbound on Ventura Boulevard when she lost control of the vehicle or fell asleep at the wheel and crashed.
CBS LA

At least 17 detained while LAPD executes search warrant in Arleta
At least 17 people were detained Thursday morning as Los Angeles police executed a search warrant in Arleta. The search began about 6:30 a.m. at Wentworth Street and Woodale Avenue and involved uniformed officers without a SWAT team, said Officer Brady Cuellar from the LAPD's Mission station. Video of the scene on KTLA showed 17 men and women sitting side by side on the curb in front of a home while officers searched in and around the property.
Los Angeles Times

Police shoot at man in South Los Angeles laundromat
A man who allegedly pulled a gun on a woman inside a South Los Angeles laundromat was shot at by police, but he was not hit, authorities said. The incident happened shortly before 8 p.m. Wednesday in the laundromat at 43rd Street and Vermont Avenue. Los Angeles police said a couple got in an argument, and that's when the man reportedly pointed a gun at the woman.
ABC7

New Laws

Jerry Brown signs prison housing bill
Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday signed legislation in which the state will seek more time from federal judges to reduce California's prison population, while committing hundreds of millions of dollars to house inmates out of state and in local facilities if the request is denied. The bill appropriates $315 million this fiscal year for inmate housing if the request for additional time falls short.
Sacramento Bee

Legislation

California Legislature approves driver's licenses for immigrants in U.S. illegally
After years of setbacks, Democratic lawmakers and Latino activists are on the verge of seeing immigrants who are in the country illegally granted the right to a driver's license in California. The state Assembly approved the bill on a 55-19 vote late Thursday, hours after the Senate passed it on a 28-8 vote. Gov. Jerry Brown issued a statement indicating he would sign it into law, which would make California the 10th state to allow immigrants to apply for licenses.
Associated Press

Lawmakers send tough gun control bills to the governor
State lawmakers late Thursday sent Gov. Jerry Brown bills that would outlaw the sale of rifles with detachable magazines and expand the list of crimes that result in a 10-year ban on possessing firearms. Thursday's action follows the approval of nine other gun control bills earlier in the week in a state that already had some of the toughest restrictions in the nation.
Los Angeles Times

Lawmakers OK bill banning felony question on public job apps
The State Senate on Thursday approved a bill that converts the state's job application policy regarding felony conviction questions into a law that applies to local government agencies. Assembly Bill 218, authored by Assemblyman Roger Dickinson, D-Sacramento, now goes to Gov. Jerry Brown for his signature or veto and after 40-seat upper chamber passed it with the minimum 21 votes. The bill is part of a growing movement called "ban the box" that seeks to eliminate the check-box criminal background question commonly found on sector job applications.
Sacramento Bee

Parole options for inmates convicted as minors
Under the law, minors are treated differently than adults. A minor can't legally purchase tobacco, alcohol, or firearms - although when it comes to judicial punishment, they may bear the same consequences as adults. But a major shift in correctional policy as it applies to minors, now awaiting action by the governor, would reexamine paroles for thousands of prison inmates convicted as minors.
Capitol Weekly

City Government

LA Councilman wants to ban sale of e-cigarettes to minors
A Los Angeles city councilman doesn't want minors to get their hands on electronic cigarettes. Paul Koretz introduced a motion Wednesday that asked for a moratorium on the sale of e-cigarettes, or battery-operated devices that use liquid nicotine rather than tobacco to create a vapor, to young adults and kids. Koretz said the number of high schoolers who said they used e-cigarettes doubled between 2011 and 2012.
CBS LA