Law Enforcement

Man missing after dog returns home alone with bloody leash
Los Angeles police are looking for a 22-year-old man who disappeared Tuesday night while walking his dog, which returned to his South L.A. home dragging a bloody leash, the man's fiance said. Darwin Vela, 22, left his home in the 2900 block of South Redondo Boulevard about 9 p.m., police said. His fiance, Kelly McLaren, said she skipped their usual walk so she could shower. "When I came out, I heard the dog crying," McLaren said. "He was outside alone and Darwin wasn't there." The 90-pound chocolate Lab was "cowering," McLaren said.
Los Angeles Times

3 suspected Westchester burglars caught in Playa del Rey
Police arrested three suspected burglars today after chasing them from Westchester to Playa del Rey, officers said. The burglary was reported about 8 a.m. in the 7900 block of Hulbert Avenue in Westchester, police said. The burglars were driving away when police arrived, but officers chased them to Earldom Avenue and Waterview Street, west of Pershing Drive, where they got out and ran. Police surrounded the area and arrested all three. The LAPD's Pacific Station recently reported an increase in residential burglaries in Westchester.
Torrance Daily Breeze

LAPD warns of Encino burglaries
The Los Angeles Police Department West Valley Division warned Wednesday of a recent rash of residential burglaries in the Encino area. In one case, two suspects were seen walking through unlocked gates into a rear yard. They looked into the residence and then fled when a victim inside the home made eye contact, according to police. The suspects were described as black males, approximately 20 to 25 years old. They were both described as about 5 feet 10 inches tall and 150 pounds and wearing dark hoodies.
Post-Periodical

Car hacking: Your computer-controlled vehicle could be manipulated remotely
The growing prominence of cars controlled by dozens of computers - and the ability to manipulate some with the touch of a smartphone - is leading researchers to question their vulnerability. The circumstances surrounding the June death of investigative journalist Michael Hastings in Hollywood prompted former U.S. Coordinator for Security and Counter-Terrorism Richard Clarke to suggest that "what evidence is available publicly is consistent with a car cyber-attack."
CBS LA

Phone carriers reject kill switch for stolen smartphones
Samsung Electronics, the world's largest mobile phone manufacturer, has proposed installing a built-in anti-theft measure known as a "kill switch" that would render stolen or lost phones inoperable, but San Francisco's top prosecutor says the nation's biggest carriers have rejected the idea. District Attorney George Gascon said Monday that AT&T Inc., Verizon Wireless, United States Cellular Corp., Sprint Corp. and T-Mobile US Inc. rebuffed Samsung's proposal to preload its phones with Absolute LoJack anti-theft software as a standard feature.
Associated Press

Public Safety

Four firefighters seriously injured battling South L.A. blaze
Four firefighters, including one who fell through a roof, were seriously injured Thursday while battling a blaze at a commercial building in South Los Angeles. Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman Katherine Main said the four firefighters were hospitalized in serious condition but were expected to survive their injuries. The fire broke out about 3:20 a.m. at the building in Historic South-Central at 943 East 31st Street. It took nearly 100 firefighters about an hour to knock down the blaze, Main said, adding that there had been a partial roof collapse.
Los Angeles Times

Cars

Mandated California car-charging network lagging
A New Jersey energy company required by an unusual legal settlement to build an extensive network of electric car chargers throughout California has delivered just 10 percent of what it promised in the first year. By fortifying the state's still-spotty charging infrastructure, the settlement between NRG Energy and California energy regulators was sold as the key to jump-starting enthusiasm for the non-polluting vehicles. Instead of Californians plugging in, however, progress has been
lugged up: Just 110 of the 1,040 stations that NRG committed to installing by early December are ready.
Associated Press

Economy

Increase in L.A. County homeless population defies U.S. trend
A jump in the number of Los Angeles County residents who became homeless in the last two years defied the national trend of a modest decline in the overall homeless population, according to federal estimates released Thursday. Los Angeles County's homeless population rose 15% from 2011 to 2013, to 57,737, a total second only to New York City. By contrast, the number of homeless Americans declined 6% since 2010, to 610,042, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Los Angeles Times

Rising home prices lift L.A.-area homeowners from negative equity
Sharply higher home prices might be spooking first-time home buyers, but the swift increases earlier this year have been welcomed by those that bought before the market crashed. More than 215,000 homeowners in Los Angeles and Orange counties escaped their negative equity positions in the last year, meaning they no longer owe more on their mortgage than their house is worth.
Los Angeles Times

City Government

New L.A. City Hall websites draw mixed reviews
Sitting at a trendy Echo Park cafe on Thursday, Jonathon Ahmadi peered at Los Angeles' new parking website. With its numerical coding and PDF files, the site wasn't particularly user-friendly. In fact, it felt like reading a spreadsheet, Ahmadi said. "It takes a little investment," said Ahmadi, 29, of understanding the site. But he added, "there's valuable data here." Mayor Eric Garcetti's latest effort to modernize city government is getting mixed reviews.
Los Angeles Daily News

L.A. officials missed possible sign of quake fault in Hollywood
Los Angeles officials missed signs in a geological report that suggest a $200-million residential and commercial development now under construction in Hollywood might be located above an earthquake fault, according to city records and interviews. The information was contained in reports written by a geotechnical engineering consultant hired by the developer of the Blvd6200 project and filed with the city. The report, obtained by The Times under the California Public Records Act, said groundwater levels varied by as much as 30 feet below the property.
Los Angeles Times