Law Enforcement

Man drives to LA Live after being wounded in shooting near Downtown L.A.
Police were investigating a shooting Tuesday night near downtown Los Angeles that left one man wounded. A call came in just before 10 p.m. indicating that a 23-year-old man had been shot in the back, according to Sgt. Guillen with the Los Angeles Police Department. Police initially described the victim as a 25-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the upper body. The shooting occurred near the intersection of Albany and Connecticut streets, said LAPD Officer Sarah Faden.
KTLA

Girl, 8, abducted outside South L.A. McDonald's found safe, LAPD says
An 8-year-old girl who was allegedly abducted by her mother Tuesday night outside a McDonald's in South Los Angeles has been found safe, police said. Dezhane Norton was found Wednesday morning, a little less than 12 hours after she went missing, police said. Her mother, who does not have legal custody of the child, was arrested, police said.
Los Angeles Times

Sandra Bullock stalking case sparks concerns on celebrity safety
New details about an alleged stalker who police say made his way on onto the grounds of Sandra Bullock's home are once again igniting debate about celebrities, safety and privacy. Celebrities and their attorneys have sought help from lawmakers and police to deal with both aggressive paparazzi and fans who harass the stars. Among incidents in recent years, one stalker turned up outside Halle Berry's kitchen and another was apprehended in Selena Gomez's guest home.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD officer accused of using baton to hit man who was on his knees
A Los Angeles police officer allegedly caught on video as he used a baton to repeatedly strike a man who was on his knees has been charged with two felony assault counts, authorities said Wednesday afternoon. Officer Jonathan Lai, a six-year Los Angeles Police Department veteran, pleaded not guilty during an arraignment Wednesday to one count each of assault by a police officer and assault with a deadly weapon.
Los Angeles Times

Courts

Federal judge rules California death penalty is unconstitutional
A federal judge in Orange County ruled Wednesday that California's death penalty violates the U.S. Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney, ruled on a petition by death row inmate Ernest Dewayne Jones, who was sentenced to die nearly two decades ago. Carney said the state's death penalty has created long delays and uncertainty for inmates, most of whom will never be executed.
Los Angeles Times

Immigration

Atty. Gen. Harris seeks legal help for flood of minor immigrants
California Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris on Wednesday convened a group of public and private officials to look at how legal representatives can be provided to the thousands of minors who are crossing the border illegally into the United States. With a surge of more than 57,000 unaccompanied minors who have arrived in the U.S. in recent months from Central America, nonprofit legal services groups that serve immigrants have been overwhelmed by demand, meaning many of the minors are not getting legal representation.
Los Angeles Times

Ballot Measures

Oakland voters to weigh in on anti-crime tax measure, minimum wage
Oakland voters will have the chance to approve a tax to stop violence in the city, a plan to bolster the city's Ethics Commission and raise the minimum wage after three decisions by the City Council overnight. In a long meeting that stretched well into Wednesday morning, the council voted to put three different ballot measures before voters in November. The votes come as the council rushes to wrap up important business before their summer recess.
San Francisco Chronicle

City Government

Mayor Eric Garcetti pledges to end veteran homelessness in 2015
Mayor Eric Garcetti committed Wednesday to accept the Obama administration's challenge to end veteran homelessness in Los Angeles in the next 17 months, saying he will not accept that "veterans live in our city without a place of their own." Garcetti's pledge came during an appearance in Century City with First Lady Michelle Obama, who told 900 business and labor leaders, politicians and homeless advocates at the Unite for Veterans Summit that success in Los Angeles County is crucial to meeting the administration's homelessness goal.
Los Angeles Times

L.A. leaders are crafting new plan to help homeless on skid row
Los Angeles officials are developing a new strategy for taming pervasive homelessness on skid row, easing up on arrests for petty offenses while concentrating mental health, medical, housing and sanitation services in the long-troubled swath of downtown. Officials say the effort involves cooperation between the city and county, whose inability to mesh hampered earlier homelessness plans in the 50-block neighborhood.
Los Angeles Times