Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Above-normal temperatures expected across Southern California

Above-normal temperatures across Southern California are expected to last into Friday as high pressure continues in the region, the National Weather Service said.

Triple-digit temperatures were recorded Wednesday in some inland areas. In Los Angeles County, Palmdale reached 102 degrees, the Weather Service said. In the Inland Empire, Hemet hit 105 degrees and Riverside topped out at 101.

Downtown Los Angeles recorded a high of 81 degrees, while coastal cities such as Santa Monica and Oceanside reached the low 70s.

The high pressure is expected to create a mild "sundowner" wind condition in Santa Barbara County. The sundowners have been the cause of numerous devastating fires along the region’s mountainous east-west coastline, bringing heavy Santa Ana-like winds around sunset.

By Saturday, the Weather Service said, a moist coastal-air flow is expected to cause a cool down.

ALSO:

Kayak of missing man found off Laguna Beach

Capybara sighting: Officials may set traps for giant rodents

Westside county supervisor's district would be carved up by Latino plan

-- Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

3 people wounded in shootings in South L.A., Sun Valley

Click here for a Times crime database. Three people were wounded, at least one critically, in two separate shootings Wednesday night in Los Angeles, police said.

In Sun Valley, at least one attacker opened fire on a man and woman shortly after 6:30 p.m. near Webb Avenue and Roscoe Boulevard, the Los Angeles Police Department said.

The woman, 25, was in critical condition, and the man, 22, was in stable condition, Officer Gregory Baek said. The names of the victims were not released.

LAPD patrol units were at the scene as officers searched for suspects.

Shortly before 9 p.m., the LAPD received reports of shots fired in South Los Angeles near 79th and Figueroa streets in the Vermont Knolls neighborhood. At least one one person was wounded and taken to a hospital, police said.

Investigators were responding to that incident. No other details were immediately available.

ALSO:

Kayak of missing man found off Laguna Beach

Capybara sighting: Officials may set traps for giant rodents

Westside county supervisor's district would be carved up by Latino plan

-- Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

Map: Recent crimes in the area near the Sun Valley shooting.

Credit: Times' Mapping L.A.

Navy recruiting officer held in sex assault of potential recruit

A Navy recruiting officer charged with sexually assaulting a woman who had visited an El Monte recruiting station was arrested by police Wednesday, authorities said.

Van Van Tran, 40, allegedly assaulted the woman after she took a practice entry exam at the recruiting station March 9.

Tran drove the woman in a vehicle, telling her they were going to a library to get "study aids," the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said in a statement. Instead, Tran allegedly assaulted the woman and let her go, authorities said.

Tran was taken into custody by El Monte police on a felony complaint and arrest warrant filed by the district attorney's office. He was charged last week and is scheduled to be arraigned Friday at the Pomona courthouse.

Tran was being held in lieu of $100,000 bail.

ALSO:

Kayak of missing man found off Laguna Beach

Capybara sighting: Officials may set traps for giant rodents

Westside county supervisor's district would be carved up by Latino plan

-- Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

What a Cow Taught Me About Running

What’s running rock bottom? For me, it was being passed by a cow in a half marathon. The cow was ambling beside a fence, and she outpaced me on only about 100 meters. Still, she did it.

Until then, I’d been running for about five years. I was an O.K. runner, better than most. I didn’t expect to be offered a Nike sponsorship anytime soon, but I usually placed in the top three of women in my age group for local races. Prizes included a gift certificate to a taco joint called Macho Taco, a pair of Vibram FiveFingers Shoes and a gaudy trophy with what looks like a man on the top. Nothing fancy, but validation that I was doing something right.

But I let those items get to my head. If I could win those prizes in my first few years of running, what was to stop me from coming in No. 1 for my age group? My times were dropping with every race. I’d never run a marathon before, but I set out to qualify for the Boston Marathon first time out.

Then I got injured. Running — the thing that had been my daily salvation and the only pocket of time in my overscheduled day when no one else could bother me — became a chore. A painful, stabby chore that ended with me eyeing the tail end of a cow.

I thought about quitting. Maybe I’d take up biking. Maybe I’d become one of those power walkers with the bright white shoes who did laps around my town’s park.

But I wasn’t ready to give up running. I remembered the feeling of my first training runs, the head-clearing effect of getting out on the road. I just had to get past this perfection block.

So I signed up for every and any race that anyone suggested to me. My nagging injury — and slow pace — limited my weekday training. But I knew that if I plunked down $50 for a race, there was no way I wouldn’t be at the starting line.

A windy 10-miler at the Jersey Shore in March? I was game, even when it snowed on race day. The Credit Union Cherry Blossom Run to pace a friend? I had nothing to lose. Then there was the Asbury Park Half Marathon (anything to honor the home of Bruce Springsteen), the Philadelphia Broad Street Run (how can 30,000 other runners be wrong?), a 25K trail race (with aid stations managed by girls in leiderhosen handing out grilled cheese sandwiches and beer), and a 10K footrace I did on a dare with my boyfriend, who ran it with a broken toe.

I capped things off with a half marathon in June in the mountains of Virginia. I don’t like hot-weather running, and the race started 40 minutes late and ended in over 80-degree heat. Absolute misery, but those cheese-stuffed burgers after the race were tasty.

Seven races in 11 weeks. And along the way, I stopped racing races, and I started running races.

Jamming all those races into such a short time took the competition out of it. I wasn’t running for medals or gift certificates or free shoes. I ran because the courses were there, friends were there, the finish line was there.

I couldn’t tell you my times, or where I ranked among women or in my age group. I took out my GPS watch for only one of those races. And I never noted the difference between clock and gun time in my running log.

I let myself stop on the race course and talk to volunteers. I actually used the port-a-potty (runners, you’re so tidy!). I had that beer on the trail run, and grabbed a glass of wine during the last 1,000 meters of that Virginia race. I chatted with people at the finish line rather than try to get my official time and calculate my splits over water and bananas.

I’m training for a marathon again this fall, either the Philadelphia or the Bucks County Marathon. This time I’m training slowly, on a novice schedule. Maybe I’ll get in peak form eventually, but I’m not rushing it. I’m going to enjoy the open road. And a drink or two along the way.

Man slain in drive-by shooting in East Hollywood

East Hollywood shooting A man was slain Wednesday afternoon in a drive-by shooting in East Hollywood, police said.

Police said the victim was walking to his vehicle in the 900 block on North Oxford Avenue about 4:20 p.m. when a black sport utility vehicle pulled up.

Click here for a Times homicide database for East Hollywood.At least one attacker fired multiple shots, the Los Angeles Police Department said.

The victim was pronounced dead at a local hospital. His name was not released. 

Homicide investigators were at the scene. No additional details were immediately available.

At least 74 homicides have been reported within two miles of Wednesday's slaying since January 2007, according to a Times Homicide Report database.

ALSO:

Kayak of missing man found off Laguna Beach

Capybara sighting: Officials may set traps for giant rodents

Westside county supervisor's district would be carved up by Latino plan

-- Andrew Blankstein (twitter.com/anblanx) and Robert J. Lopez (twitter.com/LAJourno)

Photo: East Hollywood shooting scene.

Credit: John Adams / Los Angeles Times

Map: Homicides reported in the East Hollywood area.

Credit: Times Homicide Report

Click to visit The Times' interactive Homicide Report

17 reputed gang members arrested in robbery ring crackdown

Robbery ring evidence
Long Beach police and other law enforcement officers swarmed 47 locations Wednesday, arresting 17 people and seizing cash, weapons and drugs as part of an operation targeting street gang members suspected in a string of robberies.

The reputed gang members allegedly were involved in home-invasion robberies, burglaries and thefts in the Long Beach area and Orange County. They were charged with felonies including forgery, fraud, drug possession, possession of stolen property and parole violations, the Long Beach Police Department said. Their names were not released. 

The suspects are part of five different Asian street gangs, some of them former rivals, who are "teaming up with the sole purpose of committing lucrative crimes," the Long Beach Police Department said in a statement. Seized watches

Evidence seized included handguns, methamphetamine, forged checks, personal profiles for alleged identity theft and Rolex and Movado watches, police said.

The four-month investigation involved state parole agents and officers from the Long Beach, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove and Westminster police departments. Deputies from the Orange County and Los Angeles County sheriff's departments also were part of the operation.

ALSO:

Kayak of missing man found off Laguna Beach

Capybara sighting: Officials may set traps for giant rodents

Westside county supervisor's district would be carved up by Latino plan

-- Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

Photos: Evidence seized in the raids.

Credit: Long Beach Police Department

Schools police chief retires amid racial slur probe

The embattled police chief of the Oakland Unified School District announced his retirement Wednesday amid an investigation surrounding a complaint that he allegedly used racial slurs against a black officer.

Pete Sarna, 41, told district officials he was stepping down, district spokesman Troy Flint confirmed, meaning the investigation into the incident is now closed.

Sarna’s attorney told the San Francisco Chronicle that her client, a veteran of the Oakland Police Department and the state Department of Justice, also was retiring from law enforcement.

The district placed Sarna on administrative leave as it investigated a complaint filed by an officer after a July 18 charity golf tournament at Oakland’s Sequoyah County Club.

Sarna, who is white, allegedly used racial slurs in front of two sergeants -- one of whom is black -- and a police driver, the Chronicle reported, allegedly telling the black sergeant: "The only good [expletive] is a dead [expletive] and they should hang you in the town square to prevent any other [expletive] from coming in the area."

The second sergeant, who is white, filed a complaint against the chief.

L.A. council hires firm to defend suit by ex-pension appointee

Sean Harrigan The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to spend up to $50,000 to respond to a lawsuit filed against the city by one of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s top pension appointees.

Sean Harrigan, president of the Fire and Police Pensions Board from 2006 to 2009, is demanding that the city reimburse him for legal bills that he racked up after he was swept up in pension probes by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the state attorney general’s office.

The SEC sent Harrigan a letter in 2009 seeking records on his private financial matters, including any income he received above $10,000 while on the pension board, which oversees a $14-billion investment portfolio. The agency also asked him to disclose any money or "material benefits" that he received from companies that did business with L.A.'s public safety pension agency.

The council voted 12 to 0 to hire an outside law firm in the Harrigan case. Councilman Dennis Zine said he is not happy about hiring an outside firm and asserted that Harrigan stepped down in response to allegations of "improprieties" by pension board members. "It bugs me a lot because we’re spending taxpayer money" to respond to Harrigan’s lawsuit, Zine said.

Reader photos: Southern California Moments, Day 229

Click through for more photos of Southern California Moments.

Table for one: A woman sits in a downtown diner in this January photo by Daniel Schaefer. Read a profile of Schaefer on Framework.

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.

Teenage boy fatally shot in Long Beach is identified

Authorities on Wednesday identified a teenager fatally shot on Pacific Coast Highway in Long Beach and a motorcycle driver who was arrested after he crashed into a police car that was blocking traffic at the crime scene.

Bryan Soriano Gutierrez, 18, of Long Beach was pronounced dead at the scene after officers responded to a call that shots had been fired near Linden Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway about 11:45 p.m. Tuesday.

Police initially said the shooting appeared to be gang-related, but later said a motive and circumstances surrounding the incident remained unclear and an investigation was ongoing.

As police investigated the shooting, portions of PCH were closed when John McGee, 52, of Long Beach crashed his motorcycle into a police car blocking traffic about 12:25 a.m. Wednesday, authorities said.

Historic bell missing from Buena Park School District

Missing historic bell in Buena Park
A historic bell that normally sits in front of the Buena Park School District’s main building has been missing since sometime last week, district officials said Wednesday.

Maintenance crews noticed the bell was missing while doing yard work Thursday, Supt. Greg Magnuson said.

After checking that no one within the district had removed the bell for cleaning or safekeeping, the school district notified the Buena Park police that it was missing.

District officials originally hoped the bell was taken as part of a prank, Magnuson said, but as the days go by, they assume it’s been stolen.

The bell was first used at Buena Park School, the city’s first schoolhouse, built in 1897.

In 1904, the school expanded to four rooms from two, and eventually expanded to Grand Avenue School in 1926 and J.B. Sullivan School in 1968.

J.B. Sullivan School closed in 1979 because of declining enrollment.

Church on historic Olvera Street, city strike fee agreement

Friends of La Plaza church march to city hall Los Angeles city officials announced a tentative agreement Wednesday to keep La Plaza United Methodist Church on historic Olvera Street operating for up to the next 30 years.

The city and church had been in contentious negotiations since 2006, when a 50-year lease that charged the church $1 per year expired. At one point, church leaders were locked out of the building.

The negotiations were about "making sure we’re fair to the taxpayers of the city of L.A., but also respecting the fact that we’re talking about generations of history at El Pueblo," said Rick Coca, a spokesman for Councilman Jose Huizar. "We’re not talking about some random storefront in a city-owned lot."

The agreement still must be approved by the city’s Arts, Parks, Health and Aging Committee.

Match.com case: Man pleads no contest to sex assault

A man who authorities said sexually assaulted a woman he met on Match.com pleaded no contest Wednesday to felony sexual battery by force, the L.A. County District Attorney's office said.

Under the plea, Paul Wurtzel, 67, of Pacific Palisades, faces 365 days in jail and five years of formal probation, and he must register as a sex offender for life, prosecutors said.

In exchange, prosecutors dropped a charge of forcible oral copulation. Wurtzel will be back in court Sept. 19 for sentencing.

Wurtzel met the victim in early 2010 and went on two dates with her.

During the second date on May 20, 2010, Wurtzel drove the woman home and followed her into her residence, where he sexually assaulted her while holding her down, prosecutors said.

Bladder Cancer a Growing Concern for Smokers

Smokers have much higher odds of developing bladder cancer than previously believed, and the changing makeup of cigarettes may be a factor, new research shows.

While cigarettes are more typically associated with lung cancer, researchers have known for years that smoking also raises the risk of bladder cancer among both men and women. Previous studies based on people who smoked prior to the 1990s had put the risk for smokers at about three times the risk seen among nonsmokers.

But in a new study, published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, a team of scientists at the National Cancer Institute used a larger population group and more recent data, following a half million people between 1995 and 2006. They found that current smokers were four times more likely to develop bladder cancer than people who never smoked, and former smokers had 2.2 times the risk.

The researchers speculate that the new, larger risk may be a reflection of the more toxic chemicals added to cigarettes nowadays -– some of which may specifically have a link to bladder cancer. Bowing to public pressure, many cigarette makers have cut back on tar and nicotine in recent years, but replaced them with other toxins like beta-napthylamine, which is known to raise the risk of bladder cancer.

That could explain, at least in part, why bladder cancer rates have remained steady over the years, even as the number of people smoking has dropped sharply since 1965. About 70,000 cases of bladder cancer will be diagnosed this year, health officials say.

“The prevalence of smoking has decreased in the United States, thankfully,” said Dr. Neal D. Freedman, an investigator with the National Cancer Institute and an author of the study. “But a large proportion of the U.S. still smokes, and rates of bladder cancer have stayed the same over the past 30 years. That’s different from lung cancer, where the rates have decreased over the past 30 years.”

Dr. Freedman said some of the explanation for the stable rates of bladder cancer could potentially be due to greater awareness and other unknown changes in risk factors. Other than beta-napthylamine, it’s not clear what chemicals in cigarettes may also be playing a role. Dr. Freedman said more study was needed.

“A real explanation remains elusive,” he said.

Capybara sighting: Just leave it alone, wildlife officials say

A young capybara at a zoo in Hanover, Germany.

After news of a capybara sighting at the Paso Robles wastewater treatment plant spread Wednesday, wildlife officials warned curious hunters and trappers not to try to catch the animal.

Because the animal appears healthy and isn’t causing harm to the surrounding area, the policy of the Fish and Game Department is to allow the capybara to remain in the wild, spokesman Andrew Hughan said.

But that could change, Hughan said, if people go after the capybara.

“You can’t hunt that thing,” Hughan said. “If we see people out there with nets and traps trying to catch it, we may take a more aggressive stance for the protection of the animal.”

The department could also change its stance if any extra attention on the treatment plant causes operational or safety issues, Hughan said.

The goal, Hughan reiterated, is for the capybara to remain safely in the wild.

“We hope that it lives a happy capybara life in Paso Robles,” he said.

Dry cleaner sentenced to 95 years to life for two rapes

The manager of a dry-cleaning business was sentenced Wednesday in Santa Ana to 95 years to life for the rapes of two women, including a 17-year-old who worked for him.

Jaime Zamora Ramirez, 42, raped the teenage employee, who was in the country illegally, in July 2009, prosecutors said.

"He knew that she was undocumented" and told her no one would believe her if she reported the assault, said Orange County Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Walker.

Three days later, however, the victim told co-workers about the incident, and they persuaded her to report it to police, prosecutors said.

Several months earlier, in October 2008, Ramirez raped a friend with whom he had gone dancing, prosecutors said.

Anaheim police had been investigating that case but had not charged Ramirez when the minor came forward with her story, Walker said.

A jury found Ramirez guilty in July of two felony counts of rape, one felony count of forcible sexual penetration with sentencing enhancements for forcibly raping multiple victims and committing a sexual offense during the commission of a residential burglary.

He has a prior strike for vehicular manslaughter in 1992.

ALSO:

Fire breaks out at purported Pasadena drug house

Police in no hurry to interview Kobe Bryant in church incident

Man threatened Del Taco worker in drive-through rant, police say

-- Paloma Esquivel

Suspect arrested in 2003 slaying in San Bernardino

187 Suspect Bobby Ladelle (photo date 12-09-2003) A suspect was arrested this week in the 2003 killing of a San Bernardino man in front of his wife and stepchildren at the family’s barber salon, authorities said.

Bobby Ladelle, identified by police as a gang member, was arrested Tuesday in Albany, Ore., in connection with the slaying of Ernesto Cervantes, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.

Cold-case detectives took on the case this year and after several interviews were able to identify Ladelle, whom they believe to be one of the men involved in the shooting, authorities said.

Cervantes was outside the family business on Mother’s Day in 2003, selling flowers and gifts with his stepson, authorities said. The two saw three men enter the salon with weapons and demand cash from Cervantes’ wife and other stepson.

Cervantes entered and confronted one of the men, authorities said. During the confrontation, Cervantes was fatally shot before the suspects fled in a white Chevy Caprice.  

Anyone with information about the case or other unidentified suspects is asked to call investigators at (909) 387-3589.

ALSO:

Stolen Rembrandt found in church pastor's office

'Real Housewives' Russell Armstrong: No suicide note found

Kobe Bryant: After alleged tussle in church, parishioners speak out

-- Robert Faturechi

Photo: Bobby Ladelle, a suspect in 2003 slaying. Credit: San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department

Police in no hurry to interview Kobe Bryant in church incident

Kobe Bryant

An attorney for Bryant denies that his client hurt a young man out of anger because he thought the man was taking his picture in a San Diego church.

"Mr. Bryant is aware of the baseless allegations asserted against him and is prepared to defend against them fully." said a statement issued by attorney Mark Campbell.

Campbell identified Bryant's alleged accuser as Thomas Hagos, 20, of San Diego. Reporters who went to Hagos' home were told to leave by a woman who refused to open the door.

San Diego police would like to interview Hagos but, through a representative, he has indicated that he will not be available for interview until Aug. 24. No reason for the delay was given.

Man threatened Del Taco worker in drive-through rant, police say

Del Taco drive-thru

Costa Mesa police have arrested a man on suspicion of making criminal threats to a Del Taco employee in Costa Mesa.

Steven Elrod, 26, went through the fast-food restaurant's drive-through at about 12:30 a.m. and yelled obscenities at an employee, Costa Mesa police Sgt. Phil Myers told the Daily Pilot.

Elrod then parked his car in the restaurant's parking lot, prompting the Del Taco employee to call police, Myers said.

ALSO:

Stolen Rembrandt found in church pastor's office

'Real Housewives'' Russell Armstrong: No suicide note found

Kobe Bryant: After alleged tussle in church, parishioners speak out

Stolen tombstones found inside suspected meth house, authorities say

Authorities serving a search warrant at a San Bernardino home this week discovered narcotics, firearms and about two dozen stolen tombstones.

Four residents were arrested Tuesday at the Loma Linda home and charged with possession and sale of methamphetamine, illegal possession of firearms and possession of stolen property, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.

The suspects were identified as John Bleuer, Steve Hansen, Louis Anchelowitz and Lisa Jackson.

While searching the home, authorities noticed several tombstones lying around in the backyard, sheriff's officials said. The granite markers each had custom inscriptions.

Investigators were able to track them to Montecito Memorial Park in the city of Colton, just two miles away from the home. Authorities are now looking for the family members to identify the tombstones -- valued at about $48,000 -- so they can be returned to the proper place in the cemetery.

Investigators also found two firearms inside the house.

Anyone with who can identify any of the stolen tombstones, or has information about the alleged meth house, is asked to call authorities at (909) 387-3545.

ALSO:

Stolen Rembrandt found in church pastor's office

'Real Housewives'' Russell Armstrong: No suicide note found

Kobe Bryant: After alleged tussle in church, parishioners speak out


-- Robert Faturechi

Asthma More Likely Among Children of Overweight Mothers

Women who are overweight or obese when they become pregnant may be more likely to have children who develop asthma as teenagers, new research shows.

The findings could point to yet another consequence of the rising rates of obesity worldwide. Scientists have already documented a number of complications that are more likely to arise in women who are obese before they become pregnant, among them a greater risk of stillbirths, preterm deliveries and gestational hypertension.

The prevalence of asthma has risen substantially across the globe since the 1970s. In the latest study, a team of researchers from England and Finland sought to explore whether the obesity trend may have played a role, focusing on a group of about 7,000 teenagers who were born in northern Finland.

As part of the study, published in The Journal of Epidemiology and Public Health, the researchers questioned the mothers of the children about their lifestyles and backgrounds. They also collected detailed health histories of both parents, including medical records dating back to the time before the mothers became pregnant.

After controlling for a number of potentially complicating factors — like a history of parental smoking or asthma -– the researchers found that the teenagers whose mothers had been overweight or obese just before they became pregnant were 20 to 30 percent more likely to have asthma or a history of wheezing. And the teenagers whose mothers were heaviest at the time of pregnancy were nearly 50 percent more likely to have had a history of severe wheezing.

But why would a mother’s weight have any impact on a child’s breathing later in life?

The researchers made it clear that their findings, while intriguing, did not show a causal link, only a strong correlation. Still, they pointed to previous research indicating that being overweight during pregnancy can throw a woman’s metabolic, hormonal and ovarian activity into turmoil, which in turn can disrupt the normal development of a fetus. A higher body mass index during pregnancy can also set off a spike in levels of leptin, a hormone that binds to receptors in the fetal lung and may be critical to lung development in the womb.

Worldwide, up to 37 percent of teenagers show some symptoms of asthma. The researchers argued that if a mother’s weight before pregnancy plays a role, then stepping up public health efforts to reduce obesity in pregnancy may, over time, help bring down the number of new asthma cases.

Fire breaks out at purported Pasadena drug house

Purported drug house in Pasadena

Pasadena police are investigating a fire that broke out at an unoccupied house known to be a hub for drug dealing.

The fire on the 3200 block of Orange Grove Boulevard broke out Tuesday morning and was extinguished in 20 minutes, the Pasadena Sun reported.

Neighborhood resident Joe Hernandez said the site had been known for several years as a drug house and was a subject of discussion about a year ago at a neighborhood watch meeting.

“There’s people coming and going throughout the day,” Hernandez said. “The Pasadena police have been there many times in the past. We’re all cautious because there’s all kinds of weird people coming and going."

ALSO:

Loaded gun found in passenger's carry-on bag at LAX

Kobe Bryant: After alleged tussle in church, parishioners speak out

Homeless man's death: Fullerton approves probe by police watchdog

-- Ana Facio-Krajcer, Times Community News

Photo: Crews put out fire at unoccupied Pasadena home. Credit: Tim Berger / Pasadena Sun

Capybara sighting: Officials may set traps for giant rodents

A young capybara at a zoo in Hanover, Germany.

Officials in the Paso Robles area say they may set traps after workers at a wastewater plant spotted a capybara three weeks ago.

Wardens are prepared to set live traps for the animal, said Lt. Todd Tognazzini of the Department of Fish and Game., and relocate it to a local nonprofit animal group. Before traps can be set, however, there must be more confirmed sightings of the animal so officials can narrow down the area where it lives.

In the meantime, Tognazzini said, anyone who spots the animal should contact authorities –- and keep their distance. Though capybaras (an example of the rodent is pictured above) aren’t considered predatory toward humans, any wild animal should be treated with extra caution, he said.

“Like any wild animal, they’re going to defend themselves, so we wouldn’t want anybody to get close to it,” Tognazzini said.

Capybaras are the world’s largest rodents -– they can reach the size of a small dog -– and are often described as a mix between a rat and a guinea pig. They’re nocturnal and semi-aquatic, and prefer habits with dense vegetation and access to water. They are illegal to own as a pet in California.

The rodents aren’t dangerous, “just weird looking,” said Department of Fish and Game spokesman Andrew Hughan.

Bouncers charged with beating, kicking bar patron in Huntington Beach

Two former bouncers at Hurricanes Bar & Grill in Huntington Beach face charges of assaulting a patron at the night spot.

Ivan Alvarez, 23, of Garden Grove and Jakob Taylor, 22, of Costa Mesa are charged with aggravated assault, and Alvarez faces a sentencing enhancement for causing great bodily injury. Both pleaded not guilty in July and are scheduled for pretrial Aug. 23 at West Justice Center in Westminster.

According to Orange County Deputy District Attorney Vickie Schneider, Alvarez and Taylor punched  Corona resident Trevor Parrington and kicked him in the head while he was on the ground, knocking him unconscious, according to the Huntington Beach Independent.

By the time police arrived, Hurricanes staff had moved Parrington to a nearby parking structure, according to Schneider and a report on the Huntington Beach Police Department's Facebook page. Alvarez was arrested that night, and charges were filed against Taylor soon after. Schneider said Alvarez and Taylor had been identified by eyewitnesses and surveillance video. Other bouncers may have been involved in the alleged attack, but their identity and the extent of their involvement were not clear, she said.

ALSO:

Stolen Rembrandt found in church pastor's office

'Real Housewives'' Russell Armstrong: No suicide note found

Kobe Bryant: After alleged tussle in church, parishioners speak out

--Michael Miller, Times Community News

Kayak of missing avid waterman found off Laguna Beach

Missing kayaker The kayak of a missing Huntington Beach sportsman has been found off Laguna Beach but police are still searching for the man.

Marc Cross, 53, was reported missing by family members Aug. 4 after he did not return home from kayaking the evening before, according to the Huntington Beach Independent.

His kayak was found about a mile offshore of Laguna Beach, Newport Beach police said Tuesday.

ALSO:

Stolen Rembrandt found in church pastor's office

'Real Housewives'' Russell Armstrong: No suicide note found

Kobe Bryant: After alleged tussle in church, parishioners speak out

-- Lauren Williams, Times Community News

Image: Missing person flier for Marc Cross, whose kayak was discovered off the coast of Laguna Beach. Credit: Newport Beach Police Department.

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