Thursday, August 11, 2011

Jani Lane of rock band Warrant is found dead in Woodland Hills

Jani-blog
Jani Lane, former lead singer of the 1980s glam-band Warrant, was found dead Thursday evening in Woodland Hills, police said.

Lane, 47, was pronounced dead by Fire Department personnel who responded to a call shortly before 5:30 p.m. in a hotel in the 20100 block of Ventura Boulevard, the Los Angeles Police Department said.

The cause of death was unknown, and the case was turned over to the Los Angeles county coroner's office, LAPD Officer Sara Faden said.

Warrant's two first albums -- "Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich" in 1989 and "Cherry Pie" in 1990 -- sold more than 2 million copies each, achieving double-platinum status.

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Dodgers usher took foul ball from boy as joke, team says

Fullerton police chief not expected to return, mayor says

Alex Trebek burglary suspect is a prostitute, not a thief, attorney says

-- Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

Photo: Jani Lane, third from left, with other members of Warrant in 1988.

 

Teenager slain, woman wounded in apparent gang-related shooting

Click here for a Times homicide database. A 15-year-old boy was slain and a woman in her 20s was injured in Northridge on Thursday night when their vehicle was riddled with bullets, police said.

At least one attacker walked up to the vehicle in the 7900 block of White Oak Avenue about 7:20 p.m. and opened fire, the Los Angeles Police Department said.

The shooting appeared to be gang related, the LAPD said.

The youth was pronounced dead at the scene. The woman was taken to a hospital and was listed in stable condition, police said.


At least 11 homicides have been reported within 2 miles of Northridge since January 2007, according to a Times Homicide Report database.

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Dodgers usher took foul ball from boy as joke, team says

Fullerton police chief not expected to return, mayor says

Alex Trebek burglary suspect is a prostitute, not a thief, attorney says

-- Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

Map shows Northridge area homicides since 2007. Credit: Times Homicide Report

Click to visit The Times' interactive Homicide Report

Man fleeing fare inspectors shuts down Red Line subway

Metro Red Line
A 51-year-old man sprinted along the Red Line subway tracks in Hollywood to avoid deputies conducting a fare inspection, authorities said Thursday night.

As deputies spoke to Bret Newman on Wednesday afternoon at the Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street station, he unexpectedly took off running south through the train tunnel, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said.

The incident, reported Wednesday by The Times, prompted officials to de-energize rail power in the tunnel to prevent the runner from being electrocuted.

"This type of action," the department said in a statement, "is both dangerous and rare."

Newman ran more than mile to the next station at Hollywood and Western Avenue. He was arrested for trespassing and delaying a Metro train.

He later told deputies that he thought he had an arrest warrant. But the department said he had no warrants.

ALSO:

Dodgers usher took foul ball from boy as joke, team says

Fullerton police chief not expected to return, mayor says

Alex Trebek burglary suspect is a prostitute, not a thief, attorney says

— Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

Photo: Riders board a train at the Hollywood and Vine station. Credit: Los Angeles Times

LAPD beefs up patrols at Art Walk after fatal accident in July

LAPD officers at Art Walk

Los Angeles police saturated the increasingly popular Art Walk downtown Thursday evening as thousands of people descended on the area.

The increased police presence came after a 2-month-old boy was killed at an event in July when his stroller was struck by a car that accidentally jumped a curb near Spring and 4th streets.

The officers -- patrolling on horses, motorcycles, bicycles and Segways -- were on hand to help deal with the massive crowds expected at the event, the Los Angeles Police Department said.

"We have absolutely dedicated more resources," LAPD Officer Sara Faden said. "We want to ensure the safety of that community."

For the first time, food trucks and other street vendors were banned from setting up along the event's core. The decree, according to the city's new Art Walk task force, is intended to keep lines of customers waiting for their food orders from blocking sidewalks, and to encourage art walkers to explore the perimeter.

On Thursday evening, more than a dozen food trucks, along with portable bathrooms and tables, were set up in a parking lot on Main Street next to the former St. Vibiana's Cathedral. The lot was packed with people who ate, mingled and waited in line at their favorite food trucks.

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Petition launched to close streets at Art Walk

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— Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

How Tanning Changes the Brain

People who frequently use tanning beds experience changes in brain activity during their tanning sessions that mimic the patterns of drug addiction, new research shows.

Scientists have suspected for some time that frequent exposure to ultraviolet radiation has the potential to become addictive, but the new research is the first to actually peer inside the brains of people as they lay in tanning beds.

What the researchers found was that several parts of the brain that play a role in addiction were activated when the subjects were exposed to UV rays. The findings, which appear in the coming issue of the journal Addiction Biology, may help explain why some people continue to tan often despite awareness about risks such as skin cancer, premature aging and wrinkles.

“What this shows is that the brain is in fact responding to UV light, and it responds in areas that are associated with reward,” said Dr. Bryon Adinoff, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and an author of the study. “These are areas, particularly the striatum, that we see activated when someone is administered a drug or a high-value food like sugar.”

Despite all the public warnings about skin cancer, tanning remains as popular as ever, with nearly 30 million Americans tanning indoors every year, and more than a million visiting tanning salons on an average day. Frequent users say they simply enjoy the way they look with darker skin.

But in recent years, scientists also began to wonder whether deliberately ignoring the potentially lethal side effects of regular UV exposure was a sign that the motivation for frequent tanners was more than skin-deep. Could habitual tanning be an addictive behavior?

A study in 2005 did show that a large proportion of sunbathers met the psychiatric definition of a substance abuse disorder, based on their answers to a variation of a test often used to help diagnose alcohol addiction.

But Dr. Adinoff and his colleagues decided to go a step further. They recruited a small group of people from tanning salons who said that they liked to tan at least three times a week and that maintaining a tan was important to them. The frequent tanners agreed to be injected with a radioisotope that allowed researchers to monitor how tanning affected their brain activity.

On one occasion, the study subjects experienced a normal tanning session. But on another occasion, the researchers used a special filter that blocked only the UV light, although the tanners weren’t told of the change.

Brain images later showed that during regular tanning sessions, when the study subjects were exposed to UV rays, several key areas of the brain lighted up. Among those areas were the dorsal striatum, the left anterior insula and part of the orbitofrontal cortex – all areas that have been implicated in addiction. But when the UV light was filtered out, those areas of the brain showed far less activity.

The researchers also found evidence that the tanners appeared to know — on a subconscious level, at least — when they had undergone sham tanning sessions and not received their usual dose of UV rays. The tanners, questioned after each session, expressed less desire to tan after the real sessions, indicating they had gotten their fill. But on days when the tanners were unknowingly deprived of the UV rays, their desire to tan after the session remained as high as it was before the session began.

“They all liked the session where they got the real UV light,” said Dr. Adinoff. “There was some way people were able to tell when they were getting the real UV light and when they were not.”

Dr. Adinoff said the research suggests that some people appear addicted to tanning, a finding bolstered by the fact that many longtime tanners have a difficult time stopping or even just cutting back on tanning sessions. He said the research was inspired by a colleague, based on her experiences with dermatology patients.

“She approached me because of her concern about young adults who were coming to see her with these beautiful bronze tans,” he said. “And she would cut out skin cancers, and they would immediately go back to tanning.”

O.C. man indicted in fatal beating, abuse involving 2 children

Juan Aguilar A Santa Ana man was indicted Thursday in connection with the beating death of an 18-month-old girl and abusing a 3-month-old girl who suffered fractured ribs, authorities said.

Juan Carlos Aguilar, 25, allegedly squeezed the ribs of the 18-month-old on July 9 while he was caring for her. She was the daughter of his girlfriend, who had left their apartment to go to a market, the Orange County district attorney's office said.

The girlfriend returned to find the toddler limp and having trouble breathing, but Aguilar convinced her not to call police, according to authorities.

They finally took the girl to a hospital later that day. She was pronounced dead about 15 minutes after she arrived, authorities said. She had bruises and cuts to her face and body and internal injuries to her liver, lungs and brain.

Aguilar was arrested and charged with murder July 12. During the investigation, authorities learned that he had allegedly abused a 3-month-old relative, fracturing her ribs, the district attorney's office said. That girl survived.

Aguilar was indicted by an Orange County grand jury on felony counts including murder and child abuse. He was being held in lieu of $1-million bail and is expected to be arraigned Monday at the courthouse in Santa Ana.

ALSO:

Dodgers usher took foul ball from boy as joke, team says

Fullerton police chief not expected to return, mayor says

Alex Trebek burglary suspect is a prostitute, not a thief, attorney says

-- Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

Photo: Juan Carlos Aguilar. Credit: Orange County district attorney's office

Script left at Beverly Hills talent agency blown up by police

An aspiring screenwriter whose briefcase was blown up by police had left it at a Beverly Hills talent agency hoping someone would read a script inside, authorities said.

Beverly Hills police responded shortly after 9 a.m to an office building in the 400 block of North Camden Avenue after an unidentified man brought a locked briefcase to a talent agency with the hope that someone in the office would review the script inside.

The man left and a security guard removed the case and left it in the alley behind the office. Beverly Hills officers cordoned off the area and evacuated adjoining offices.

The Los Angeles County sheriff’s bomb squad arrived at 10:30 a.m.  The bomb squad detonated the briefcase, which was found to contain a laptop computer and papers that included a script the man had been trying to show.

The man was briefly detained at the scene by officers before being released.

Sources familiar with the case said the man had been harassing the agency in an effort to get the script read and were concerned about “irrational comments” concerning the agency.

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-- Andrew Blankstein

Compton employee unions file labor complaint over layoffs

Compton

Unions representing the Compton city employees who lost their jobs after a chaotic budget vote last month have filed a claim with a state agency overseeing labor relations, saying the layoffs were carried out illegally and asking to have them overturned.

The Coalition of Compton Unions filed an unfair labor practices charge with the state’s Public Employment Relations Board on Wednesday, a little more than a week after the layoffs of about 90 employees took effect.

The city’s accumulated general fund deficit was as high as $25 million in the spring, and city officials said the layoffs were necessary to rein in spending and pass a balanced budget for the coming fiscal year.

But the unions claim that the city violated the law by failing to bargain with the unions over the way the layoffs would be implemented, withholding information the employees had requested and adopting a budget that included concessions the unions had proposed as a means to avert the layoffs but had not agreed to.

The claim also alleges that specific employees were targeted for layoff based on their union activities.

“The City Council has managed to make a difficult situation worse,” said Glenn Rothner, an attorney representing the union coalition.

The unions’ claims will go before an administrative law judge, who could order the city to rescind the layoffs and begin a new negotiating process.

The coalition has threatened to bring a separate civil suit in Superior Court over alleged violations of California’s open meetings law, because of last-minute budget amendments that City Manager Willie Norfleet submitted to the council the night of the budget vote without giving the public -- and at least one of the council members -- an opportunity to see the changes beforehand.

Norfleet and City Atty. Craig Cornwell did not respond to a request for comment.

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-- Abby Sewell

Photo: Compton residents packed the City Hall council chambers for a meeting last month on the budget. Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times

L.A. parking lot owner gets jail term for failing to pay taxes

A parking lot owner was ordered to begin serving a 525-day jail sentence Thursday for tax fraud stemming from his failure to pay the city of Los Angeles more than $6,600 in back taxes and restitution, authorities said.

The city obtained a judgment in a separate civil case that required the owner to pay more than $4 million.

Sohrab Sahab, 49, who owns Prestige Parking, was convicted in 2009 of 295 criminal counts related to tax fraud, including 135 counts of failing to pay parking occupancy taxes, the Los Angeles city attorney's office said.

The city attorney's office said it was granted a motion in Superior Court ordering Sahab to start serving his jail sentence.

At one time, Prestige Parking was listed as the city's top debtor for failing to pay millions of dollars in parking occupancy and business taxes, plus penalties and interest, the city attorney's office said in a statement.

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Dodgers usher took foul ball from boy as joke, team says

Fullerton police chief not expected to return, mayor says

Alex Trebek burglary suspect is a prostitute, not a thief, attorney says

-- Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

Registered sex offender gets prison term for assaulting women

Kenneth Anthony Huskey is a registered sex offender, prosecutors say. A man registered as a sex offender in Alaska was sentenced Thursday to six years and eight months in state prison for sexually assaulting two Huntington Beach women and shoving another woman who was pregnant into the street.

Kenneth Anthony Huskey, 26, confronted a female clerk at a jewelry store in Huntington Beach in August 2010 and began grabbing and kissing her and making explicit comments, the Orange County district attorney's office said. He took her cellphone and called his cellphone so he could get her number.

Huskey fled the store and confronted two other women nearby about an hour later, prosecutors said. He pushed a woman who was eight months pregnant out of his way and cornered the other victim against a fence and demanded her phone number.

As the woman pleaded for Huskey to let her go, he grabbed her, according to prosecutors.

Huskey fled but was arrested later that day in a routine traffic stop in Huntington Beach after the victims had called police. Huskey was registered as a sex offender in Alaska after a 2003 conviction for sexual abuse of a minor, the district attorney's office said.

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Dodgers usher took foul ball from boy as joke, team says

Fullerton police chief not expected to return, mayor says

Alex Trebek burglary suspect is a prostitute, not a thief, attorney says

— Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

Photo: Kenneth Anthony Huskey. Credit: Orange County district attorney’s office.

Prominent South L.A. doctor preyed on female patients, D.A. says

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c630a53ef0153906df84e970b-640wiDr. Kevin Brown was a prominent South L.A. physician with an impressive international resume that included being the son of the former premier of Bermuda.

He organized charity fundraisers at the Playboy Mansion attended by celebrities like Don Cheadle and Khloe Kardashian.

Authorities, however, claim Brown was also a predator who sexually assaulted nearly a dozen patients, including a 15-year-old and an undercover LAPD officer. After a nearly three-week trial, a jury began deliberations Thursday in the case.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Ann Marie Wise said Brown used his Crenshaw Boulevard practice as “his personal playground” where anyone who came in “was his prey.”

Lawyers in the case painted strikingly different portraits of the defendant, accompanied daily during his trial by his family, including his father, Ewart Brown, who also operated a South L.A. clinic before returning to Bermuda in the 1990s to become the Caribbean island’s leader.

Defense attorney Edi Faal called the accusations outright lies and said authorities had a vendetta against Brown because he had previously been acquitted in two other sexual assault cases. They also suggested bias because the alleged victim is the niece of an LAPD officer.

Prosecutors relied heavily on testimony of the alleged victims because no physical evidence was collected and some of the women waited years to report Brown.

Brown faces 29 felony counts. If convicted on all counts, he could face life in prison.

LAPD to open Hollywood education center for at-risk youths

Lapd The Los Angeles Police Department is set to open a youth mentoring center in Hollywood with the aim of giving kids a haven in violence-prone neighborhoods around Western Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard.

The grand opening of the Tomorrow’s Future storefront at 5824 Santa Monica Blvd. will take place next Thursday in Hollywood. The center will provide special programs, speakers, bilingual tutors and training to neighborhood youngsters, officials said.

LAPD Capt. Beatrice Girmala said the center, funded by community donations, achieves two important objectives. It provides children with a haven from crime and gangs in an area close to their homes and schools. Symbolically, she said it,  shows that LAPD officers do more than put up crime scene tape or slap handcuffs on people.

"This way, the community sees there's much more to us than that," Girmala said.

Kids chosen for the project include immigrants from Mexico, Central and South America, many of whom speak English as their second language.

In addition to the language and cultural barriers, Girmala said, many of the youths will come from working-class backgrounds and will be "vulnerable to the lure of gangs, who attempt to intimidate and recruit children as young as 10-year-olds to pre-teens ... with the promise of better economic times and a kind of family that many do not find at home."

Girmala said there have been at least 10 gang-related killings in the neighborhoods near the center in the last two years,  as well as dozens of robberies and assaults.

The children at the center will be tutored and mentored by graduates of the Hollywood Police Activities League, retired teachers and LAPD officers.

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Beverly Hills police blow up screenwriter's laptop, script

Newport Beach’s Balboa carousel for sale on EBay

Bell ex-police chief's pension cut by more than $100,000 a year

-- Andrew Blankstein (Twitter.com/anblanx)

Image: Map shows location of Tomorrow's Future storefront in Hollywood. Source: Google Maps

Judge to decide fate of officer who allegedly faked being shot

Mr. Magoo Bandit robs 5 San Diego banks

Geezer09 
The FBI and San Diego police are asking for the public's help in finding a bank robbery suspect the agencies have dubbed the Mr. Magoo Bandit because of his roundish head, bald pate and apparent nearsightedness, like the famous cartoon character.

The bandit is wanted for robberies at five San Diego banks in the last nine months, including the US Bank on Rosecrans on Wednesday.

The robber in all five holdups is described as 35 to 40 years old, 185 to 200 pounds, bald and wearing glasses. There’s no indication that he has the distinct Mr. Magoo voice done by Jim Backus, however.

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Beverly Hills police blow up screenwriter's laptop, script

Newport Beach’s iconic Balboa carousel for sale on EBay

Bell ex-police chief's pension cut by more than $100,000 a year

--Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: Bank robber in one of the Mr. Bagoo Bandit holdups. Credit: FBI

Reader photos: Southern California Moments, Day 223

Click through for more photos of Southern California Moments.

Reupholstered: A pallet serves as a couch cushion in an abandoned Ventura County oil refinery in this November 2010 photo by "lostlosangeles."

Every day of 2011, we're featuring reader-submitted photos of Southern California Moments. Follow us on Twitter and visit the Southern California Moments homepage for more on this series.

Fullerton police chief not expected to return, mayor says

Michael Sellers

Fullerton Mayor F. Richard Jones said Thursday that he does not expect police Chief Michael Sellers, who has gone on medical leave, to return to duty.

The city was notified Wednesday by Sellers’ doctor that the embattled chief would be taking a medical leave of unspecified duration. Capt. Kevin Hamilton, the head of the department’s detective bureau, has been appointed acting chief.  Although the City Council has taken no action yet, Jones said he  anticipated that it would launch a search for a new permanent chief.

Sellers had come under increasing public criticism over his handling of the July 5 death of a homeless man, Kelly Thomas, after an incident involving six Fullerton police officers. Citizens and council members complained that the chief had not been forthcoming enough with information or public statements about the case.

Two of the council members have publicly called for the chief’s resignation. Jones was not one of them, and praised the chief’s 35 years in law enforcement, but added,  “Unfortunately, now we had a [public] perception that he had failed.”

“I don’t think there would be a place for Chief Sellers in the future,” he said.  

Jones said city officials had been “talking about ways to remedy the situation” when they got word of Sellers’ medical leave.

“I thought a different resolution was going to be made, and I found out yesterday that the doctor’s letter supersedes everything,” he said.

Whether or not Sellers returns to duty, city officials said the medical leave precludes the city from firing him. He will continue drawing his full salary, which totals $228,576 with benefits, while on leave.

Fullerton Councilman Bruce Whitaker said Thursday that he had been told Sellers suffered from high blood pressure and signs of stress.

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-- Abby Sewell and Richard Winton

Photo: Fullerton Police Chief Michael Sellers. Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times

Dead woman found in burned Pasadena garage is identified

Officials have identified the body of a woman whose charred remains were found inside a Pasadena garage two days after a fire ravaged the building.

Yolanda Marie Sapetto, 43, was discovered Aug. 2 inside a converted garage behind a home on South San Marino Avenue near Colorado Boulevard, Los Angeles County coroner's office spokesman Craig Harvey said.

An investigator with an insurance company found the body. It was not clear why firefighters missed Sapetto when responding to the early morning blaze on July 31.

Sapetto’s body remained unidentified for more than a week. She was eventually identified through recovered fingerprints.

An autopsy was performed, Harvey said, but the cause of death is undetermined pending additional test results.

Sapetto appeared to have been homeless. Her body was found in the garage’s laundry room, which suffered the brunt of the fire damage, Harvey said.

ALSO:

Dodgers usher took foul ball from boy as joke, team says

Fullerton police chief not expected to return, mayor says

Alex Trebek burglary suspect is a prostitute, not a thief, attorney says

-- Corina Knoll

Eighth-grade dropout statistics released by state for first time

Photo: Supt. of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson at a briefing in December. Credit: Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times A typically overlooked corner of the dropout problem became a little more visible Thursday when state officials for the first time released the dropout rate for eighth-graders.

Statewide, about 3.5% of eighth-graders -- 17,257 in all -- left school and didn’t return for ninth grade,  according to the state count. Of those, about 4,200 dropped out during the academic year of eighth grade; more than 13,000 finished eighth grade but didn’t show up for ninth grade, the traditional beginning of high school.

"That transition from middle school to high school is crucial," said state Supt. of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson. "Those years are vulnerable years for many students, especially if a student loses hope, gets off track or falls behind."

California Schools Guide: Test scores, demographics and comments

He noted that dropping out is the culmination of a problem that probably has been building for years. Students who are behind in reading skills by the third grade, or non-native speakers who don’t make the transition from Spanish to English, can fall increasingly behind in all their subjects. And even among eighth-graders, there is pressure in some families to earn money rather than stay in school.

Another issue that makes the problem acute is the recruitment of students at risk of dropping out by gangs. Gangs are reaching out to students by the eighth grade if not well before, he said.

“Dropout stats convert to prison stats,” Torlakson said.

Alex Trebek burglary suspect is a prostitute, not a thief, attorney says

Alex Trebek suspect is a prostitute, attorney says
The lawyer representing the woman accused of breaking into a San Francisco hotel room where "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek was staying said his client isn't a thief -– she's a prostitute.

Attorney Mark Jacobs told the San Francisco Examiner through a spokeswoman that his client, Lucinda Moyers, was at the Marriott Marquis hotel on July 26 to meet a client and never entered the room where Trebek was staying with his wife.

Moyers is accused of stealing a wallet, bracelet and $650 in cash from Trebek, who was filming the National Geographic World Championship at Google's Mountain View headquarters at the time of the incident. She pleaded not guilty to one count of residential burglary and one count of possession of stolen property, and remains in custody on $625,000 bail.

Hotel security guards apprehended Moyers as Trebek chased after her, authorities said. Trebek tore his Achilles' tendon during the incident.

But Jacobs said they caught the wrong person. Moyers ran from Trebek because she didn't want the hotel to know she was there for prostitution, her attorney said, and she never took anything from the game show host.

"Ms. Moyers didn't have any stolen property in her possession when she was arrested," Jacobs told The Examiner.

Prosecutors said Moyers has a record of stealing from hotels -- she was convicted in 1990, 1991 and 1997 for burglarizing hotels, and spent more than 12 years in jail.

The man Moyers said she was supposed to meet never answered the door, Jacobs said.

ALSO:

Dodgers usher took foul ball from boy as joke, team says

Newport Beach’s iconic Balboa carousel for sale on EBay

Bell ex-police chief's pension cut by more than $100,000 a year

-- Kate Mather

Photo: "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek  Credit: Ben Hider / Getty Images

Arcadia tree-sitters plead no contest, get community service

 
Arcadia tree sitters
A judge Thursday sentenced four tree-sitters who tried to save a grove of century-old oaks and sycamores in the foothills above Arcadia to community service.

Each of them pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor trespassing charge, ending a legal battle that began eight months ago when the group known as the “Arcadia 4” occupied trees to block Los Angeles County Department of Public Works crews from cutting down the 11-acre grove to create a dumping site for mud scooped out of Santa Anita reservoir.

John Quigley, a veteran of such protests, and Travis Jochimsen were sentenced on Thursday in Alhambra Municipal Court to 20 days of community service with a nonprofit organization of their choice. In an earlier proceeding, Andrea Bowers and Julia Posin pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor trespassing charge and were sentenced to 10 days of community service.

On Thursday, in a statement read on the courthouse steps after sentencing, Quigley, 50, claimed his actions on Jan. 12 “were out of necessity to defend the public good and our natural heritage,” and that the removal of what he called the “Arcadia Woodlands” was “a crime against nature and the people of Southern California.”

“I’m proud of us,” added Posin, 23.

Quigley’s attorney, Colleen Flynn, said the pleas will be dismissed after one year. “It’s quite a victory in light of the fact that the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office originally wanted jail time and over $20,000 in fines and restitution,” Flynn said.

Prosecutors dropped more serious misdemeanor charges of failure to disperse and obstructing, delaying or resisting a police officer in lawful execution of his or her duties, Flynn said.

After the department razed the trees, residents from adjacent neighborhoods organized a community-based organization called the Urbanwild Network, which is dedicated to seeking alternatives to the destruction of woodlands across Los Angeles County.

A week ago, Public Works crews hauled 3,000 cubic yards of sediment out of the reservoir, which was last dredged in 1993. The 83-year-old facility is a crucial component of the county's aging flood-control system and is used to recharge underground aquifers that the cities of Sierra Madre and Arcadia rely on for drinking water.

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A river runs through Los Angeles. Seriously.

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-- Louis Sahagun

Photo: A tree is removed from Arcadia after tree-sitters were evicted. Credit: Mark Boster/Los Angeles Times

Rodeo Drive reopened in Beverly Hills after being evacuated

Bh Rodeo Drive and portions of Beverly Hills' posh shopping district were reopened after being closed for about an hour as police investigated a suspicious package.

Officials said the package, found at the corner of Rodeo Drive and Little Santa Monica Boulevard, proved to be harmless.

Several streets were closed and nearby businesses were being evacuated, causing traffic jams in the areas.

ALSO:

Marines rescued after F/A-18 crashes off San Diego

Newport Beach’s iconic Balboa carousel for sale on EBay

Bell ex-police chief's pension cut by more than $100,000 a year

-- Andrew Blankstein

twitter.com/anblanx

Image: Map shows where a suspicious package was found in Beverly Hills. Source: Google Maps

Man charged in disturbance at rave movie premiere in Hollywood

Noel Buller from Los Angeles, stood on his skateboard in the middle of Hollywood Boulevard holding up a peace sign while LAPD worked to clear the street of a crowd along Hollywood Boulevard.

City prosecutors charged a Los Angeles man with a misdemeanor for failing to heed police orders to disperse as hundreds of people converged on Hollywood last month during the premiere of a documentary on the Electric Daisy Carnival.

Noel Stephen Buller, who is on probation after an April conviction of defrauding an innkeeper, now faces one count of remaining at the scene of a riot, said Frank Mateljan, spokesman for the Los Angeles city attorney's office.

PHOTOS: Rowdy crowd at 'Electric Daisy' screening

Buller is the first person charged in connection with the disturbance and faces a maximum jail sentence of up to six months in jail and/or a $1,000 fine if convicted. He is scheduled to appear in court August 18 for arraignment.

Part of downtown Beverly Hills closed due to suspicious package

A portion of downtown Beverly Hills was shut down Thursday morning while police dealt with a suspicious package near Rodeo Drive and Little Santa Monica Boulevard.

Several streets were closed and nearby businesses were being evacuated.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department bomb squad was being called to assist.

Traffic in Rodeo Drive and surrounding streets were jammed.

ALSO:

Marines rescued after F/A-18 crashes off San Diego

Newport Beach’s iconic Balboa carousel for sale on EBay

Bell ex-police chief's pension cut by more than $100,000 a year

-- Andrew Blankstein

Dodgers usher took foul ball from boy as joke, team says

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c630a53ef014e895cf96d970d-800wi

It’s every kid’s dream to catch a foul ball at the ballpark, but that dream appeared to have been dashed  during Wednesday's Phillies-Dodgers game at Dodger Stadium -- at least from what can be seen on a video.

The video shows a young boy catch a foul ball in the stands behind home plate during the top of the sixth inning. After a few moments of high-fives, fist-pumps and big smiles, an usher takes the ball from the boy and walks off as the camera cuts back to the field.

Not to worry, Dodgers spokesman Josh Rawitch said.

The usher took the ball as a joke and returned it to the boy just after the camera shot ended.

“It was all in good fun. Unfortunately, the video cuts away too quickly,” Rawitch said. “Within seconds of him taking it away, he walked right back and gave it to him. Everyone ended up happy and smiling.”

ALSO:

Marines rescued after F/A-18 crashes off San Diego

Newport Beach’s iconic Balboa carousel for sale on EBay

Bell ex-police chief's pension cut by more than $100,000 a year

-- Kate Mather

Photo: Dodger Stadium. Credit: Los Angeles Times

Talk back: Expelling food trucks from Art Walk core a good idea?

Food trucks expelled from Downtown Art Walk

Talk back LAWhen downtown Los Angeles' monthly Art Walk returns tonight, food trucks and all other street vendors won't be allowed to set up in the event's core.

Instead, they'll be required to set up shop outside the perimeter around Spring and Main, and Third and Seventh streets, The Times' Robert Faturechi reported.

The decree, according to the city's new Art Walk task force, is intended to keep lines of customers waiting for their food orders from blocking sidewalks, and to encourage art walkers to venture outside of the event's core.

The task force made the change after a 2-month-old boy was killed when his stroller was hit by a car that accidentally jumped the curb.

Even before that incident, there had been complaints of crowds spilling into the streets, particularly as the event grew more popular.

Officials believe the ban on vendors will help control the crowd, which can typically swell to about 30,000.

Tell us what you think using the comment button above: Was expelling food trucks from the Art Walk's core a good idea? Do you have a better solution for keeping the crowd under control?

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-- Kimi Yoshino and Robert Faturechi

Photo: Food trucks parked in downtown Los Angeles. Credit: Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times

Letting Doctors Make the Tough Decisions

Soon after I finished my surgical training, I worked with a young doctor who was impressive not only for his clinical skills but also for his devotion to patients. He was large and powerfully built but never seemed to loom over his patients, miraculously shrinking down to their eye level whenever he spoke with them. He listened intently to every detail of their travails and always ended the visits by asking if they still had any unanswered questions.

One afternoon I was surprised to see him at a nursing station, his massive arms gesticulating as he complained to a nurse about one patient’s family. The patient was dying, and the young doctor had organized a meeting with the family to talk about withdrawing life-support machines and medications and starting comfort measures. The family had spent the entire meeting asking questions but then refused to make any decisions or withdraw any treatments.

“I spent all this time telling them we could continue to inflict pain on their loved one or we could make him comfortable,” he said, his hands still moving. “I told them suffering or comfort — it was their decision. But in the end, they made no decision and just walked right out of the room.”

The way doctors and patients approach medical decisions has changed sharply over the last 50 years. For generations, these decisions were the exclusive purview of doctors; and patients, if they participated, often had little say in the final choice. But that paternalistic decision-making process began to change in the late 1960s and ’70s, as movements calling for patient empowerment grew and medical ethicists began articulating principles regarding the ethical care of patients.

One tenet that gained particular traction among clinicians was respect for the person. Applied to the work done in wards, clinics and operating rooms, this ethical principle led to a new clinical ideal: patient-centered care.

But a second ethical principle, one closely linked to the first, also played an increasingly important role in the patient-doctor relationship: the notion of respect for a person’s autonomy. With time, autonomy would mean letting patients make their own decisions; and that interpretation would work its way into the teaching programs of medical schools and into state laws that mandated discussion of treatment options with patients.

For the next 40 years, young doctors, myself included, would be trained to restrain ourselves from making anything but emergency or mundane decisions for patients.

But a new study reveals that too much physician restraint may not be all that good for the patient — and perhaps may even be unethical. While doctors might equate letting patients make their own decisions with respect, a large number of patients don’t see it that way. In fact, it appears that a majority of patients are being left to make decisions that they never wanted to in the first place.

Researchers interviewed more than 8,000 hospitalized patients at the University of Chicago. When it came to medical decisions, almost all the respondents wanted their doctors to offer choices and consider their opinions. But a majority of patients — two out of three — also preferred that their doctors make the final decisions regarding their medical care.

“The data says decisively that most patients don’t want to make these decisions on their own” said Dr. Farr A. Curlin, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Chicago and one of the authors of the study.

The challenges appear to arise not when the medical choices are obvious, but when the best option for a patient is uncertain. In these situations, when doctors pass the burden of decision-making to a patient or family, it can exacerbate an already stressful situation. “If a physician with all of his or her clinical experience is feeling that much uncertainty,” Dr. Curlin said, “imagine what kind of serious anxiety and confusion the patient and family may be feeling.”

Patients and their families also often don’t realize that their doctors may be grappling with their own set of worries. “Doctors may think, ‘Who am I to presume to know what my patients need?’” Dr. Curlin noted, and may be hesitant to assert their own opinions for fear that they might commit some kind of ethical transgression. Some will resort to veiling their own opinions in a halfhearted attempt to direct the decision. While the doctors might be convinced that they are being objective and dispassionate, more often than not they are sending mixed messages.

A doctor may, for example, tell relatives that it is their choice to withdraw life support from a dying patient. But that doctor may also use value-laden language to describe the options. One alternative may be described to the family as “reasonable” or “comforting,” while the other is depicted as “invasive,” “aggressive” or “painful.”

“This creates a kind of bizarre dishonesty in how we communicate,” Dr. Curlin said. “Patients end up feeling manipulated and will resist making any decision at all.”

For doctors, then, the key to preserving patient autonomy — and patient-centered care — lies not in letting patients make the final decisions alone but in respecting their opinions and shouldering the responsibility together. And while patients will need to be more explicit and ask for that help, doctors, like my young colleague and, I admit, myself, will need to be more mindful of whether patients want them to share information, be directive or hand over the responsibility of the decision.

“We have to stop drawing a circle around patients and their families,” Dr. Curlin said. “We have to stop subjecting them to the loneliness and burden of autonomy and instead begin standing in that circle with them.”

Costa Mesa student hurt in gym class wants $10,000 from school

A high school student in Costa Mesa wants the school district to pay him for medical treatments, and pain and suffering, after he was hurt in a P.E. class.

The male student is seeking $10,000 in damages, according to the claim filed June 27 with the Newport-Mesa Unified School District. A claim is the precursor to a lawsuit.

The student couldn't be reached for comment.

He was weightlifting in P.E. class at Estancia High School on May 23 when the incident occurred. According to the claim, he was never properly instructed in how to safely use and remove weights from weight bars.

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-- Britney Barnes, Times Community News

Masked gunmen pistol-whip, rob Glendale couple in home invasion

Masked gunmen pistol-whipped a Glendale couple in their home before robbing them of thousands of dollars in cash and jewelry, police said.

The gunmen entered the home about 9 p.m. Tuesday in the 1700 block of Greenbriar Road through an unlocked door, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz.

Detectives believe that the wife and husband, in their 50s and 60s, respectively, were targeted, Lorenz told the Glendale News-Press.

During the home-invasion robbery, the two gunmen restrained the couple and pistol-whipped them, causing bruises, he said.

The couple then followed the gunmen's demands to turn over thousands of dollars in cash, jewelry and other valuables, Lorenz said.

Police released few details about the robbery, but Lorenz said the couple called police soon after the break-in.

Detectives are looking for the public's help with details about Tuesday's robbery, or additional information on suspicious vehicles or people seen at about 9 p.m. in the neighborhood, Lorenz said.

Anyone with information on the robbery may call the Glendale Police Department robbery unit at (818) 548-3987 or Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.

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-- Veronica Rocha, Times Community News

Recycling facility in Coachella Valley agrees to eliminate odors

A Coachella Valley recycling and composting facility signed an agreement this week with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to eliminate noxious odors that local residents and school officials have long complained about.

The agreement with Western Environmental Inc. and Waste Reduction Technologies, which operates facilities on the Cabazon Reservation near Mecca, calls for the company to install an odor-control misting system, more thoroughly identify incoming wastes for potential odors and implement measures to control additional odors if they occur. The company would be subject to financial penalties if it fails to comply.  

“Today’s agreement includes binding commitments for the facilities to identify and eliminate the odors that have plagued Mecca,” Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest, said in a statement Wednesday. “Our efforts are part of a collaboration with the Cabazon Tribe to ensure that the facilities operate in a way that protects human health. We are also coordinating our actions with the state of California to respond to the concerns of the local residents.”

In May, the Southern California Air Quality Management District, which had received 215 odor complaints in the area since December, cited Western Environmental for discharging harmful air pollutants. It will seek civil penalties.

The EPA then prohibited the company from accepting contaminated soils, biosolids, and soy whey wastes because of their strong potential to generate odors.

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-- Phil Willon in Riverside

Oriental fruit flies discovered in Orange County

The discovery of two Oriental fruit flies in the Westminster area of Orange County has prompted state officials to begin a pest-treatment program, the fourth such effort underway in Southern California.

The Oriental fruit fly targets more than 230 fruits, vegetables and other plant commodities. The female fly lays eggs inside the fruit, which hatch into maggots that tunnel through the flesh, making it “unfit for consumption,” according to a Wednesday release from the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

The flies are most frequently detected in urban and suburban areas rather than in agricultural zones.  The pests usually arrive on fruits and vegetables brought illegally by travelers from infested regions around the world. The Oriental fruit fly is widespread in mainland southern Asia as well as the island nations of Sri Lanka and Taiwan.  It’s also found in Hawaii.

The treatment area will cover approximately 18 square miles. Eradication efforts also are underway in the San Gabriel-Alhambra and Baldwin Park areas of Los Angeles County, and also in the Anaheim-Yorba Linda area of Orange County.

The process consists of squirting a small patch of “male attractant” mixed with pesticide about eight to 10 feet off the ground on light poles, trees along the street and similar surfaces. Male flies die after consuming the bait.

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-- Howard Blume

More Children Hospitalized With Skin Infections

Severe skin infections that resist antibiotics have become one of the most common reasons children are hospitalized, new data show.

A new report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality shows that in the past decade, there have been a number of shifts in the reasons children are admitted to the hospital. The most notable change in hospital admission data involves severe skin infections, which more than doubled between 2000 and 2009 and now rank as the 7th most common reason for childhood hospitalization, up from 13th in 2000.

The increase is attributed to the rise of antibiotic-resistant staph infections — called methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. The vast majority of MRSA cases happen in hospital settings or nursing homes, but 10 percent to 15 percent occur in the community among otherwise healthy people. Infections often strike people who are prone to cuts and scrapes, including children and athletes. MRSA spreads by skin-to-skin contact, typically in crowded conditions and through the sharing of contaminated personal items like towels.

“I don’t think it’s really well appreciated that in most communities, community-acquired MRSA has become the dominant cause of soft tissue infection requiring emergency department care and in-patient care,” said Dr. Patrick S. Romano, professor of medicine and pediatrics at the University of California-Davis School of Medicine. “People think of MRSA as a hospital bug, but it’s not just a hospital bug any more. It’s a community bug.”

In 2009, the rate of skin infections among children that required hospitalization climbed to 9.4 cases per 10,000 children, up from about 4.5 cases per 10,000 in the year 2000. Overall, about 71,900 children spent time in the hospital in 2009 because of severe skin infections.

There have been a number of anecdotal reports of children infected with MRSA, including some deaths, and in recent years several schools have closed to allow cleaning crews to disinfect buses, athletic locker rooms and classrooms. In 2007, a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that nearly 19,000 people had died in the United States in 2005 from an invasive form of MRSA infection, suggesting that community-based cases of MRSA may be twice as common as previously thought.

Infections caused by MRSA often resemble a pimple, boil or spider bite but quickly worsen into an abscess or pus-filled blister or sore. Patients who have sores that won’t heal or are filled with pus should see a doctor and ask to be tested for staph infection.

“If your child develops a painful boil, especially on the buttocks, don’t wait for it to go away by itself or try to drain it at home,” said Dr. Romano. “Go see your child’s doctor.”

Most of the time, treatment can be handled at the doctor’s office or a clinic, and the child will be given oral antibiotics. Sometimes doctors may recommend warm compresses rather than medication, but if the infection doesn’t clear up within a day or two, the patient should see a doctor again, said Dr. Romano,, a co-author on a June report in the journal Academic Pediatrics that also analyzed childhood hospitalization data.

In addition to a rise in skin infections, the hospitalization data show that far more children are being admitted to the hospital for flu. However, doctors say this change likely represents better diagnostic techniques, including rapid flu tests, so that hospitalizations that in the past were attributed to general respiratory illness are now being categorized as flu. As a result, flu is now the 10th most common reason children are hospitalized, up from 65th in 2000.

Other notable changes in the hospitalization report include a decline in the rate of hospital admissions for teenage pregnancy, which dropped to 22 per 10,000 children in 2009, down nearly 25 percent from a high of 28.7 per 10,000 in 2000. Hospitalizations due to injuries and poisonings dropped to 7.1 per 10,000 children, down from 8.7 per 10,000 in 2000.

Marines rescued after F/A-18 crashes off San Diego

Hornet crashes; Marines rescued
Two Marine aviators were rescued early Thursday morning after their F/A-18D Hornet crashed into the ocean about 85 miles southwest of San Diego, the Coast Guard said.

The two spent about four hours in the water after the Wednesday night crash.

Both Marines -- a pilot and a weapon systems officer -- were airlifted to a San Diego hospital, where they were listed in stable condition.

Two Coast Guard cutters, a helicopter and a fixed-wing aircraft were involved in the rescue -- along with Navy and Marine Corps personnel. The Coast Guard received word about 10:30 p.m. that the F/A-18D was missing and had developed communication problems.

The jet was part of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing based at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station in San Diego. The crash is under investigation, the Marine Corps said.

-- Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: An. F/A-18D Hornet. Credit: U.S. Marine Corps

Rebecca Black say she left O.C. school because of bullying

Rebecca Black's music video "Friday" has logged more than 100 million YouTube views.

Rebecca Black, the Anaheim Hills teenager who garnered fame for her Internet video "Friday," said she had to leave her Orange County school because she was being bullied by other students.

In an interview on ABC's "Nightline," Black and her mother said the taunts were becoming so intense they decided she would be home-schooled instead.

Stow beating: Driver didn’t know of attack, prosecutors say

Getaway driver did not know about Bryan Stow attack The woman who drove the getaway car for suspects in the Bryan Stow beating will not be charged because she apparently did not witness the beating and did not know about the attack at the time, according to court documents.

Dorene Sanchez, the sister of suspect Louie Sanchez and the girlfriend of suspect Marvin Norwood, drove the men from the stadium after they allegedly beat Stow at Dodger Stadium. But prosecutors said there was insufficient evidence to charge her. She has testified before the grand jury.

Sanchez was arrested on suspicion of being an accessory to the crime. But according to a charging evaluation worksheet completed by prosecutors, she did not know she was harboring, concealing or aiding the suspects.

"There is no admissible evidence to establish that Ms. Sanchez had knowledge of the felony offense," the document states.

Prosecutors say that she went to the car but that the suspects left the immediate area, moving several hundred feet away.

"It is unclear that Ms. Sanchez could witness the assault in the parking lot," the document states.

When the men returned to the car, they got into the back seat and told Dorene Sanchez to drive.

Sources said that she later learned the men were involved in the crime. Prosecutors declined to say why they did not charge her based on her later knowledge of the attack.

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-- Richard Winton

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