Law Enforcement

Funeral services set for LAPD officer killed in Harbor City crash
For the third time in two months, funeral services for a Los Angeles police officer will be held at a downtown L.A. cathedral. The public funeral Mass for Officer Roberto Sanchez -- a six-year department veteran killed May 3 when an SUV struck his police cruiser in Harbor City - will begin at 9 a.m. Wednesday at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. It will be followed by a procession to Good Shepherd Cemetery in Huntington Beach, where Sanchez will be buried.
Los Angeles Times

Police Officers Memorial Week has a special meaning to our family: Guest commentary
As children of a Los Angeles police officer murdered in the line of duty 31 years ago, Police Officers Memorial Week has special meaning to us. Our young ages at the time - 9 and 4 years old - left us with scant firsthand recollections of our dad, but through stories about him from our mom and his friends, his memory and sacrifices burn bright. It was in honor of our dad that we both became and remain Los Angeles police officers, proudly serving the city and force for which our dad gave his life in the line of duty.
Bryce and Ryan Verna/Los Angeles Daily News

Digital billboards to honor LAPD's fallen officers for National Police Week
Four Los Angeles police officers will be among those honored Tuesday by Clear Channel, which will use its digital billboards countrywide to pay tribute to police officers who died in the past two months. The tribute -- part of National Police Week -- begins at 5 p.m. The Los Angeles billboards will honor officers Nicholas Lee, Chris Cortijo, Roberto C. Sanchez and George Nagata. Three of the four LAPD officers were killed in traffic crashes.
City News Service

Beverly Hills reviews traffic safety laws after LAPD cops killed
Traffic officers are preventing large trucks from using a steep, winding road in Beverly Hills after crashes there killed two Los Angeles police officers in three months. City officials have put a 30-day moratorium on heavy-hauling trucks from rumbling down Loma Vista Drive, a scenic route that runs parallel to Coldwater Canyon Drive and provides easy access to Sunset Boulevard.
Los Angeles Times

Memorial service held for LAPD officer who died from heart condition
A memorial service was held Tuesday for a Los Angeles Police Department officer who died after falling ill while on duty. Officer George Nagata, a 33-year veteran of the force, was hospitalized last week with an apparent heart condition. He died on May 3. Tuesday's service were held at 9 a.m. at St. Basil Catholic Church in Koreatown, the LAPD said. Nagata is survived by his domestic partner, Rosie, his son, sister and nine grandchildren. A memorial fund has been established in Nagata's name with the LA Police Federal Credit Union.
CBS LA

Rihanna gives LAPD $25,000 after Clippers game selfie mishap
Singer Rihanna donated $25,000 to a fund for cadets and fallen officers after dropping L.A. Police Commission President Steve Soboroff's cellphone last week as they took a selfie courtside at a Clippers game. Soboroff announced the singer's donation to the Los Angeles Police Foundation at a police commission meeting Tuesday. By chance, he sat next to the pop star at a game last week and they took a selfie with LAPD wristbands on.
Los Angeles Times

State Budget

California public safety realignment formula needs overhaul, analyst says
California's formula to distribute money to help pay for public safety realignment lacks incentives and transparency, according to a new report by the Legislature's nonpartisan fiscal analyst. There have been two temporary realignment formulas since lawmakers approved the 2011 law that made counties responsible for lower-level felony offenders. The first formula covered the program's first year and the second formula is in effect through June. The Brown administration is scheduled to present a new allocation formula for the fiscal year that begins July 1.
Sacramento Bee

California courts get a boost in governor's budget
After years of budget bloodletting, California's courts received a $160 million bump in funding in Gov. Jerry Brown's new budget plan -- although with some strings attached and a stern warning that the state's judicial leaders need to do more to tighten spending. The governor's revised budget includes $60 million more than he proposed in January, tying the increase to a two-year plan for the massive California court system that calls for several reforms, including extracting more contributions from court employees for pension costs.
San Jose Mercury News

State Laws

On third attempt, Gov. Brown extends peace officer death benefits
A day after he stepped down as Assembly speaker, John A. Pérez received a parting gift from Gov. Jerry Brown: A long-awaited signature. For three consecutive years, Pérez authored bills giving the loved ones of fallen firefighters more time to file worker's compensation claims for workplace-related fatal diseases. Pérez argued that survivors should be compensated for diseases, like tuberculosis and cancer, that deceased public workers contracted on the job.
Sacramento Bee

O.C. first large county in state to adopt Laura's Law
Orange County supervisors on Tuesday voted unanimously to implement Laura's Law, making it the first large county in California to fully adopt the program allowing court-ordered treatment for the severely mentally ill. The law, which was passed by California in 2002 but required each county to adopt its own program, has languished for several years and has been fully implemented only in tiny Nevada County near Lake Tahoe.
Los Angeles Times

Death Penalty

Competing measures on death penalty in works for 2016
Two years after fending off an initiative to abolish the death penalty in California, prosecutors and other backers of capital punishment were hoping to go to the voters this fall with a measure to bolster it. The ballot measure would seek to shorten the lengthy review process for death sentences by limiting appeals, easing qualification standards for defense lawyers and eliminating public hearings on lethal injection procedures. But despite endorsements from former Govs. George Deukmejian, Pete Wilson and Gray Davis, the proposed state constitutional amendment won't be on the November ballot.
San Francisco Chronicle

City Government

L.A. Council seeks to curb new adult businesses in parts of Valley
New strip clubs, massage parlors and other "adult entertainment" will be temporarily barred from getting city permits along four streets in Sun Valley and Van Nuys, under new rules that the Los Angeles City Council voted to draft Tuesday. The restrictions would also curb new liquor stores, hotels and motels. Councilwoman Nury Martinez argues that the restrictions will help crack down on prostitution in her San Fernando Valley district.
Los Angeles Times

L.A. lawmakers tweak Garcetti's proposed budget, parking ticket plans
Los Angeles lawmakers want to reverse plans set out by Mayor Eric Garcetti to add dozens more part-time officers to write parking tickets, one in a string of proposed changes to the mayor's budget. When Garcetti set forth his budget, he proposed adding 50 part-time parking enforcement officers to bring in an estimated $3 million in revenue from parking tickets.
Los Angeles Times