Law Enforcement

L.A. County sheriff's employee shot to death while sitting in his car
A Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department employee died after he was shot multiple times while sitting inside his car in South L.A. Calvin Eugene Gray, 33, of Los Angeles, who was not a sworn deputy, had worked for the department for four years in building security, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Gray was reportedly dropping off a relative Tuesday evening in the 1000 block of West 76th Street in the Vermont Knolls community when he was shot, KCBS-TV reported.
Los Angeles Times

Man in custody after high-speed chase, Malibu cliff standoff
An off-duty FBI agent witnessed an attempted kidnapping outside a gym, and shots were fired when the rescue was attempted. After he broadcast the "shots fired" call, an intense high-speed pursuit led officers through the San Fernando Valley and into Malibu, where the suspect bailed on foot, resulting in a standoff on a steep hillside. Police took the man into custody after the standoff in Malibu.
CBS LA

3-year-old boy dies after getting trapped inside hot car in Sylmar
A 3-year-old boy died Wednesday after climbing into a car at his home in Sylmar and becoming overcome by the afternoon heat, police said. The incident, which police were investigating as a "tragic accident," was first reported about 3:30 p.m. at a home in the 14400 block of Foothill Boulevard, Los Angeles Police Department Officer Bruce Borihanh said. "The boy was playing by himself in the front yard when he climbed into a car," Borihanh said.
San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Gang raids in LA suburbs end with 17 arrests
Authorities have arrested more than a dozen people in a Southern California gang crackdown. The U.S. attorney's office says 17 alleged members and associates of the El Monte Flores gang were taken into custody Wednesday as more than 400 federal agents and local police conducted raids in the Los Angeles suburb and adjoining South El Monte. Authorities say the gang has about 800 members and takes orders from the Mexican Mafia prison gang.
Associated Press

FBI sex trafficking bust recovers 168 kids, some never reported missing
When FBI agents and police officers fanned out across the country last month in a weeklong effort to rescue child sex trafficking victims, they pulled minors as young as 11 from hotel rooms, truck stops and homes. Among the 168 juveniles recovered was a population that child welfare advocates say especially concerns them: children who were never reported missing in the first place.
Associated Press

DMV

California DMV joins motorcycle lane-splitting controversy
The California Department of Motor Vehicles has joined the California Highway Patrol in withdrawing safety guidelines for motorcycle lane-splitting. The agency confirmed late Tuesday that it had removed its online guidelines, and would also be removing guidelines from its printed literature. "The DMV will not be including lane splitting language in the next revisions of handbooks in the next revision of 2015," said DMV Information Officer Jaime Garza, who added that the DMV had dropped the online language as of July 7.
Los Angeles Times

Drought

Water-use restrictions take effect in California; daily fines possible
Tough new statewide regulations restricting outdoor water use took effect Tuesday, the same day millions of gallons of water gushed from a ruptured water main near the UCLA campus. Under the emergency conservation restrictions, which were approved July 15 and were prompted by the statewide drought, hosing down driveways and sidewalks is prohibited, as is watering outdoor landscapes if it causes excess runoff.
Los Angeles Times

City Government

Councilmen call for DWP report on water main break near UCLA
In response to the pipeline rupture that flooded UCLA, City Councilman Paul Koretz made a motion Wednesday with Council President Herb Wesson for an immediate report from the Department of Water and Power on what caused the break. Koretz and Wesson also sought information on whether the ruptured line was scheduled for upgrades and a rundown of the DWP's efforts to replace aging infrastructure and whether they should be accelerated.
Los Angeles Times

Op-Ed: Why L.A.'s streets are so bad, and what we can do about it
I'm one of the many Angelenos who live on a street that's a mess. The concrete is cracked. Potholes pop up every few feet. The road is crumbling. Like 25% of Los Angeles' streets, mine gets a grade of F from the Bureau of Street Services, the division of the Department of Public Works responsible for maintaining the city's 6,500 miles of public roadways. This year, an engineering report concluded that it would cost nearly $4 billion to rehabilitate streets like mine.
City Controller Ron Galperin/Los Angeles Times

L.A. is working on major zoning code revamp
Los Angeles passed a law last year requiring bicycle racks within 50 feet of the front door of many new buildings. But a problem surfaced immediately: The federal Americans with Disabilities Act requires handicapped parking spaces with an easy path to the door clear of things like bikes. The conflicting requirements - one in the city's building code, the other in its zoning code - left developers in a quandary, said Craig Lawson, a land use consultant who's seen several clients stumble on the rule.
Los Angeles Times