Law Enforcement

Crime alerts for Shadow Hills, Koreatown, 5 other L.A. neighborhoods
Crime reports are up significantly for the latest week in seven L.A. neighborhoods, according to an analysis of LAPD data by the Los Angeles Times' Crime L.A. database. Five neighborhoods reported a significant increase in violent crime. Shadow Hills was the most unusual, recording three reports compared with a weekly average of 0.4 over the last three months.
Los Angeles Times

DEA, LAPD raid marijuana dispensaries, Beverly Hills homes
Drug enforcement agents raided and shut down several marijuana dispensaries Tuesday, the first move in what authorities say is a case they are building against a Los Angeles man. About 11 a.m., agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration with the help of Los Angeles police raided the Black Rose dispensary in Fairfax, Downtown Medical Caregivers off Main Street, Washington and Western Medical Group in Harvard Heights, Herbman in Exposition Park and two homes in Beverly Hills.
Los Angeles Times

Griffith Park body parts: Suspect faces extradition hearing in Texas
A man accused of killing his boyfriend and dumping his severed head, hands and feet below the Hollywood sign two years ago was being held in Texas with bail set at $1 million, pending an extradition hearing. Gabriel Campos-Martinez, 36, faces a single count of murder in the 2012 death of his partner, Hervey Medellin, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said. Campos-Martinez was arrested by LAPD's elite robbery-homicide detectives Sunday in San Antonio, Texas.
Los Angeles Times

Officials report positive reviews of LAPD's on-body cameras
Two months into a trial of on-body cameras for Los Angeles Police Department officers, the devices have earned mostly positive feedback, officials said Tuesday. Department officials overseeing the pilot program told the Los Angeles Police Commission, the department's civilian oversight board, that the roughly 30 officers who volunteered to test the cameras in the field have reported few problems. They are actually embracing the small devices, which have been touted as a way to reduce complaints against the department. The word of mouth has prompted additional officers to request to test the new gadget.
Los Angeles Daily News

City, police announce new campaign to crack down on illegal medical pot dispensaries
Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer and police Chief Charlie Beck announced Monday a campaign to help property owners and real estate agents comply with Proposition D, a measure regulating medical marijuana dispensaries. Proposition D, approved in May 2013, bans all but about 100 medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles. Feuer's office will be distributing brochures to real estate brokers to make sure they, as well as property owners and businesses, are "fully apprised of their responsibilities."
Echo Park - Silverlake Patch

Legislation

Driverless Cars

Prisons

A reprieve in the prison overcrowding drama
The stakes were high. California was under a court order to shed at least 7,000 more inmates, beginning in April, to relieve prison overcrowding. Gov. Brown appealed for more time to deal with the prison crisis. Recently, a three-judge panel granted a rare reprieve, extending the deadline to February 2016 to reduce the state prison population from 144 percent of capacity to 137.5 percent.
LAPPL Blog

City Government

Garcetti says 'mandate' to reform DWP goes beyond recent billing woes
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Tuesday that he was bent on writing "a new chapter" for the Department of Water and Power with the help of its new leader Marcie Edwards -- a task that goes beyond cleaning up its woebegone billing system, he argued. In electing him mayor, "Los Angeles voters really gave me a mandate to reform the DWP," Garcetti told a roomful of business leaders and reporters Tuesday.
Los Angeles Times