Law Enforcement

Man trying to get into downtown LA high-rise may have been San Bernardino mass shooter
Reports of suspects who tried to gain access to a downtown Los Angeles high-rise in recent weeks were being reviewed by the FBI to determine if the activity might be related to the terrorist attack in San Bernardino, but Mayor Eric Garcetti said Tuesday there is no need to “rush to conclusions.” The Los Angeles Police Department received a pair of reports about suspicious activity in recent weeks at the building at 601 S. Figueroa St. The suspects were checking out the building and somehow trying to gain access to the structure.
Los Angeles Daily News

Police seek witnesses in fatal stabbing of homeless man featured in Times story
Police are looking for witnesses in the fatal stabbing of a 66-year-old man who lived under the 101 Freeway underpass at North Alvarado Street. About 11 a.m. Monday, Charles Smith was found with apparent stab wounds, said LAPD Det. Ray Martinez. Smith was last seen alive about 11 p.m. Sunday. Martinez said that Smith was well-known to the merchants and others who frequent the area. "I'm sure somebody heard something," he said. In April, Martinez said, Smith was stabbed after an argument. No one was arrested in that incident, and police are looking into whether it is related to the fatal attack.
Los Angeles Times

Man Stabbed in North Hills Carjacking Attempt
Police were searching for at least two attackers who stabbed a man several times Wednesday morning in North Hills during what authorities said was likely an attempted carjacking. The stabbing was reported around 3:15 a.m. near the intersection of Chase Street and Columbus Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The victim was transported to a hospital in serious, but stable, condition, according to the LAPD.
NBC Los Angeles

What to Do If You See a Suspicious Package
In the week following the San Bernardino mass shooting and subsequent scares in Southern California regarding suspicious packages, the Los Angeles Police Department's bomb squad weighed in on what to look for and what to do if a suspicious package is spotted. The LAPD said technology continues to improve. Bomb robots are more mobile. They can go upstairs or shrink to fit down the aisle of an airplane. But nothing replaces human intuition, and good judgement.
NBC Los Angeles

City Government

L.A. City Council approves labor deal, setting hiring goal of 5,000
The Los Angeles City Council approved a wide-ranging salary agreement with its civilian unions Tuesday, resolving a dispute over pensions while setting the stage for thousands of new hires over the next three years. Under the pact, all but two of the bargaining units in the Coalition of L.A. City Unions would go without raises until summer 2017. Council members, in turn, scuttled a 2012 reduction in pension benefits for new employees, replacing it with a plan that's more generous than the one imposed three years ago, but still less costly than the one that had been in place for decades.
Los Angeles Times

County Government

L.A. County supervisors vote to welcome Syrian refugees
Amid heightened national debate over the resettlement of people fleeing the war in Syria, a divided Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to voice their willingness to welcome Syrian refugees. The supervisors also voted to send a letter to President Obama and the county's congressional delegation “expressing the board's support of federal efforts to help Syrians fleeing violence and oppression and to increase the overall number of refugees that the U.S. will resettle over the course of the next two years.”
Los Angeles Times

Pensions

L.A. rolls back pension reform
Three years ago, then-Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the City Council voted to reduce the retirement benefits they would offer to future civilian hires, in an effort to curtail the growing pension costs that have been consuming more and more of the city budget. This year, those costs ate up 20% of the general fund, leaving less money to spend on police patrols, street paving, park cleaning and other city services. The 2012 vote for pension reform was expected to save $6.9 billion over 30 years, and it was widely hailed as the foundation needed to put L.A. on a path for financial stability.
Los Angeles Times

Prop. 47

The Public and Private Deception of Prop 47
As supporters of Prop 47 furiously try to convince the public of their very dubious claim that the initiative has resulted in monetary savings, Californians have suffered a myriad of other real costs as a result of this measure. Prop 47 certainly does not create any clear benefits to society, but only to drug addicts and thieves. The claim there are savings is a monumental misconception.
ADDA Blog

Homelessness

Korean Christian Leaders, LAPD, and City Attorney Discuss Ways to Collaborate to Combat Homelessness
A group of some 20 Korean Christian leaders gathered at the Olympic station of the Los Angeles Police Department on Tuesday morning to discuss potential ways that they could partner with the community leaders to address the issue of homelessness in the city. The event, organized by the office of Senator Pro Tempore Kevin de León, featured brief remarks from Ben Pak, the field deputy of the office of Senator de León; Hyepin Im, the president of Korean Churches for Community Development (KCCD); Officer David Storaker, one of the captains of the Olympic Division of the LAPD; and Steve Houchins, the deputy city attorney of Los Angeles. Those who attended were given a brief time towards the end of the hour-long meeting to ask questions and share information.
Christianity Daily