Law Enforcement

LAPD seeking suspects in bus shooting that left boy, woman wounded
Los Angeles police late Wednesday were looking for a suspect or suspects in connection with a shooting that left a woman and boy wounded while they rode a Dash bus in South Los Angeles. Police said it was not clear whether the victims were grazed by the bullet or cut by shattered glass after the bullet smashed a window on the bus at Avalon Boulevard near 42nd Street. The boy was believed to be about 10 years old and the woman was in her 30s, said Officer Sara Faden of the Los Angeles Police Department. They were taken to a hospital for treatment. Anyone with information is asked to call police at (877) 527-2247.
Los Angeles Times

Detectives seek Harbor City car thief captured on video
Los Angeles police detectives are seeking the public's help in finding a man suspected of stealing, stripping and abandoning a Harbor City family's van. The entire theft was caught on surveillance video, which shows the thief casing out the large white van parked behind a manufacturing business near 253rd Street and Western Avenue, said Detective Patty Batts of the LAPD's Harbor Division.
Torrance Daily Breeze

Pipe bomb inside SUV prompts evacuations In Northridge
A pipe bomb discovered inside a vehicle in Northridge Wednesday afternoon prompted evacuations. Officers found the device in a Dodge SUV with Nevada plates after they pulled the motorist over for driving erratically near Reseda Boulevard and Devonshire Street around 12:50 p.m. A bomb squad was called to the scene. A robot was used to bring the pipe bomb to a safe area before it was detonated.
CBS LA

LAPD's Mission Division hand-delivers warning to repeat offenders
Los Angeles Police Department Capt. Todd Chamberlain has made a list and checked it twice. And now letters are going to the homes of his Mission Division's many repeat offenders. Chamberlain has composed sternly worded missives to about 120 adults known to have committed multiple crimes within the northeast San Fernando Valley jurisdiction in an effort to steer them away from activities that would land them back in jail.
Los Angeles Daily News

LAPD pays tribute to Josephine Serrano, a police pioneer for Latinas
The Los Angeles Police Department is recognizing Women's History Month by honoring the first Mexican-American woman to join their force as a police officer: Josephine Serrano. Shereen Marisol Meraji has this remembrance.
NPR

LAX Shooting

Hudson, McCaul to hold Los Angeles hearing on LAX shooting
The Subcommittee on Transportation Security will hold a field hearing entitled "Lessons from the LAX Shooting: Preparing for and Responding to Emergencies at Airports" at Los Angeles International Airport on March 28 at 1 p.m. PT. In November, a gunman entered LAX and began firing, fatally wounding Transportation Security Officer Gerardo Hernandez and injuring three others.
Committee on Homeland Security News Release

Report criticizes LAX shooting response; union calls for armed TSA officers
Communications breakdowns and a lack of coordination hindered response efforts during last year's shooting rampage at Los Angeles International Airport, according to an independent review of the incident. The American Federation of Government Employees, which represents TSA officers, responded to the report with renewed calls for a new unit of armed TSA officers who could help protect airport checkpoints around the clock.
Washington Post

City Government

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti launches public website on city spending
As he prepares to release his first budget next month, Mayor Eric Garcetti on Wednesday continued his mission toward full disclosure with the launch of a website allowing the public to see how the city spends its tax dollars. The site, www.lamayor.org/openbudget, goes back to 2009-10 and offers comparisons on revenue and spending by all city agencies, including Water and Power, Airports and the Harbor.
Los Angeles Daily News

L.A. to pay $500,000 settlement over infant killed in art walk crash
The Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to pay a $500,000 settlement in a case centering on the 2011 death of a 2-month-old boy who was killed when a driver overran the curb and plowed into pedestrians during the Downtown Art Walk. In a 2012 legal complaint, Jimmy and Natasha Vasquez, of Montebello, alleged that their son's death was the result of the city's "failure to properly design and create safe walking areas for pedestrians and/or place sufficient barriers and protections for pedestrians from vehicles" at the downtown event.
Los Angeles Times

Xposed strip club manager elected to Canoga Park Neighborhood Council
The manager of a controversial Canoga Park strip club has been elected to the Canoga Park Neighborhood Council. Avi Feinstein, 27, beat out Xposed owner Brad Barnes for one of two retail/service businesses representative slots on the council. Feinstein received 47 votes, and Barnes received 32. Current Neighborhood Council Vice President Ron Clary won the other slot with 182 votes.
Los Angeles Daily News