Law Enforcement

Police release sketch of suspect who may be linked to Gatto slaying
Los Angeles police released a description of a suspect sought in connection with a Silver Lake assault that officials said "may be connected" to the slaying of Joseph Gatto, father of a state assemblyman, found shot to death in his home last week. The flier included a composite sketch of the suspect in the Nov. 12 assault, which occurred after a woman confronted a man breaking into a vehicle in the 2300 block of Moreno Drive.
Los Angeles Times

Man charged with kidnapping, sexually molesting 3-year-old girl
A Boyle Heights handyman was charged Tuesday with kidnapping a 3-year-old girl from a party over the weekend and sexually molesting her. Edward Lopez, 55, allegedly took the toddler from a party at about 11 p.m. Saturday and was found naked "in a locked shed with the child several hours later," according to a statement from the Los Angeles County district attorney's office. Lopez was charged with one count of oral copulation of a child under 10, one count of kidnapping to commit a lewd act on a child and one count of lewd act on a child, according to prosecutors.
Los Angeles Times

Witnesses to fatal Venice Beach boardwalk crash recall chaos, horror
A woman who was hit when a man drove his car onto the Venice boardwalk in August testified at a preliminary hearing Tuesday, recalling the "mayhem" and horror of the hit-and-run that injured a dozen people and left an Italian honeymooner dead. Katriye Marshall, 33, said she was visiting from Britain when Nathan Louis Campbell drove his 2008 Dodge Avenger onto the boardwalk and began hitting pedestrians with his car.
Los Angeles Times

Public safety organizations urge FCC to address wireless 9-1-1 problems
Law enforcement, public safety, and emergency response organizations held a press event outside the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Monday at the opening of a Commission workshop on e911 location accuracy. At the event, they displayed a banner urging the FCC to quickly establish a reasonable, measurable level of location accuracy for all wireless emergency calls.
Police Magazine

Car Tax

California transportation leaders seek car tax hike for road repairs
A former Caltrans director and a member of the state's transportation panel have filed a proposed November 2014 ballot measure that would generate an estimated $3 billion a year for road improvements by more than doubling vehicle license fees. The "California Road Repairs Act of 2014" would phase in a 1 percent surcharge to the fee, the equivalent of property tax on a home. The fee has been .65 percent of a vehicle's market value since the late 1990s, with a temporary increase to 1.15 percent from May 2009 through June 2011.
Sacramento Bee

Prisons

Jerry Brown meets with wardens amid prison negotiations
Facing a three-month deadline to reduce California's prison population, Gov. Jerry Brown met Tuesday with 34 wardens and a dozen top administrators of the prison system. At the meetings, the governor said he planned to ask the wardens about overcrowding, healthcare, drug treatment, mental health and vocational learning. Brown said the appointments demonstrate his engagement in the process and commitment to the issue as the state continues negotiations with its court-appointed mediator.
Sacramento Bee

Jerry Brown says prison deal may be within reach
Gov. Jerry Brown expressed hope on Tuesday that negotiations ordered by a federal court could lead to a resolution of the state's prison crisis. "I'm reasonably optimistic that we will come to agreement on something we can make work," Brown said, noting that he had met with the court-appointed moderator and that his senior staff has spoken to plaintiffs' attorneys who have long argued the state's prisons are illegally over capacity and that the healthcare is so bad that it violates prisoners' constitutional rights.
Los Angeles Times

City Government

City attorney files lawsuit to block Mar Vista pot shop
After an outcry from Mar Vista residents and a strongly worded warning from Councilman Mike Bonin, the Los Angeles city attorney's office has filed a lawsuit against a proposed medical marijuana dispensary before it was slated to begin operations. The planned dispensary was to open at 3472 S. Centinela Ave. - a commercially zoned space formerly home to a Mrs. Gooch's market. But the plot is surrounded by houses and apartments on land zoned for residential use.
Los Angeles Times