Wednesday, August 24, 2011

American Airlines plans to inspect jet ways after 2 hurt at LAX

LAX jet way collapse
American Airlines said Wednesday night that it plans to immediately inspect all its jet bridges at Los Angeles International Airport after two people were injured when one of the structures collapsed.

The captain and a passenger on flight 557 were injured as they exited the Boeing 737 about 6:50 p.m. Wednesday, said airline spokesman Rhonda Rathje.

"They were stepping on the platform closest to the jet bridge," she told The Times.

It was unclear what caused the platform to collapse. Rathje said she did not know whether the airline or LAX was responsible for inspecting and maintaining the jet bridges.

"We're looking into everything right now," she said, "and should know more in a couple days."

The passenger and captain were taken to Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital in Marina del Rey and were listed in fair condition. Officials said both fell at least 10 feet to the tarmac and complained of pain to their ankles, backs and necks.

The passenger was expected to be released Wednesday night,  Rathje said.

The flight, which originated in Boston and had a stopover in Chicago, was carrying 107 passengers and crew members. The plane was damaged and towed to a hangar.

Ian Gregor, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman in Los Angeles, said the agency would investigate any damage to  the aircraft.

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Two people fall at least 10 feet when LAX jet way collapses

Damaged aircaft towed to hangar at LAX after 2 injured in jet way collapse

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

Photo: Crews inspect jet bridge damage. Credit: KTLA

Cajon Pass brush fire that snarled I-15 traffic is contained

A brush fire that burned in the Cajon Pass and snarled traffic on busy Interstate 15 was contained Wednesday evening after scorching 375 acres of dry  brush, officials said.

The blaze, which broke out Monday, destroyed a home and several structures in Matthews Ranch, the U.S. Forest Service said.

Two Forest Service firefighters were injured. One sustained a knee injury, and the other was stricken with a heat-related injury.

The cause of the blaze is under investigation.

ALSO:

Baby dropped from parking structure dies

Rapper Game investigated in Hollywood nightclub assault

Jurors can consider lesser charge in gay student shooting

— Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

Pedophile ex-priest faces court date

Photo: Michael Steve Baker, right, in court in 2007 with his attorney. Credit: Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times Michael Stephen Baker, a former Roman Catholic priest convicted of molesting two boys, will be arraigned Friday as part of a motion filed by L.A. County prosecutors to have Baker committed to a state hospital indefinitely after completing his prison sentence.

Baker, who has served more than five years of a 10-year prison sentence for his 2007 conviction, was scheduled to be released Aug. 18. The petition, filed the same day with L.A. County Mental Health Court, means he will continue to be held while a judge reviews the case, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Tracy Watson.

Prosecutors will argue that Baker can be committed under a law that seeks to more stringently keep tabs on sexual offenders and reduce the risk of recidivism, Watson said.

Passed overwhelmingly by voter initiative in 2006, the law mandated evaluations for thousands more sex offenders than in the past to determine whether their conditions warrant hospitalization after criminal sentences have been served.

Lawyers for Baker filed a motion Wednesday to have the petition dismissed. If they are successful, Baker would be released on parole.

Damaged aircraft towed after 2 injured in LAX jet way collapse

A damaged American Airlines aircraft was towed to a hangar at Los Angeles International Airport on Wednesday night after two people fell when the floor board of a jet way collapsed, fire and police officials said.

A passenger and crew member sustained multiple injures and reported pain in their ankles, backs and necks after plunging at least 10 feet to the tarmac as they exited the aircraft, officials said. Initial reports were that two passengers were injured.

The two injured people were taken to Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital in Marina del Rey and were listed in fair condition, officials said.

The accident occurred about 6:50 p.m. after flight 557 taxied to Gate 48A at Terminal 4, according to officials.

The flight originated in Boston with a stopover in Chicago before heading to LAX, according to the carrier's online flight information.

Passengers and crew members left the plane on a stair truck as LAX police officers secured the area.

An American Airlines spokesperson did not immediately return calls for comment.

ALSO:

Baby dropped from parking structure dies

Rapper Game investigated in Hollywood nightclub assault

Jurors can consider lesser charge in gay student shooting

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

Two passengers injured at LAX when jet way collapses

At least two people were injured Wednesday evening when a jet way collapsed at Los Angeles International Airport, law enforcement authorities said.

The collapse occurred at  gate 48A after American Airlines flight 557 had taxied to the terminal, law enforcement authorities said.

Passengers were leaving the aircraft when the collapse occurred, according to law enforcement officials.

The aircraft suffered damage. No other details were immediately available.

ALSO:

Baby dropped from parking structure dies

Rapper Game investigated in Hollywood nightclub assault

Jurors can consider lesser charge in gay student shooting

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

2 passengers fall 10 feet after jet way floor collapses at LAX

Two passengers were in fair condition Wednesday night after falling about 10 feet when a jet way collapsed as they were exiting an aircraft at Los Angeles International Airport,  authorities said.

A portion of the floor board next to the aircraft exit door apparently collapsed about 6:50 p.m. shortly after American Airlines flight 557 taxied to Gate 48A, authorities said. The injured passengers were transported to a local hospital.

The flight originated in Boston with a stopover in Chicago before heading to LAX, according to the airline's online flight schedule.

The gate is in Terminal 4. An American Airlines spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.

ALSO:

Baby dropped from parking structure dies

Rapper Game investigated in Hollywood nightclub assault

Jurors can consider lesser charge in gay student shooting

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

Baby dropped from parking structure: Father defends wife

Photo: Noe Medina, the father of Noe Medina Jr., speaks to reporters during a press conference at UCI Medical Center in Orange on Wednesday. Credit: Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times The father of a baby boy who died Wednesday after his mother allegedly threw him from the top of a parking garage spoke in his wife's defense, saying mental illness was responsible.

"She didn't do it on purpose. She didn't know what she was doing," Noe Medina said, with tears in his eyes. He spoke through an interpreter during a news conference on the grounds of UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange, where his 7-month-old son died.

His wife of 13 years, Sonia Hermosillo, 31, is charged with murder in the death of their son, Noe Jr. Prosecutors say Hermosillo deliberately dropped the baby Monday evening from the roof of the four-story garage at Children’s Hospital of Orange County. 

Medina's uncle, Martin Mena, said Hermosillo had been under medical care for mental health issues, including postpartum depression.

Neighbors have said the child had a birth defect. Prosecutors said in a statement Wednesday that the boy suffered from a medical condition that required him to wear a helmet and had been a patient at CHOC. Medina did not address his son's medical issues.

Hermosillo was being held in a jail medical ward and was undergoing psychiatric evaluation Wednesday. She has also been placed under an immigration hold. She is scheduled to appear in court Thursday.

Medina and Hermosillo, who live in La Habra, have two young daughters as well.

RELATED:

Baby dropped from parking structure dies

Mother accused of throwing baby from garage returned to scene

Mother of thrown baby placed on immigration hold, suicide watch

Woman accused of throwing baby described as happy, a 'lovely mom'

-- Nicole Santa Cruz in Orange County

Photo: Noe Medina, the father of Noe Medina Jr., speaks to reporters during a news conference at UCI Medical Center in Orange on Wednesday. Credit: Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times

95-year-old man attacked by bees, stung hundreds of times

Man stung by bees in Redondo Beach A 95-year-old man was in stable condition Wednesday evening after being stung more than 400 times by bees in Redondo Beach, police said.

"He literally got stung by thousands of bees," Sgt. Phil Keenan of the Redondo Beach Police Department told The Times. "Most men would have died, but he's taking it in stride."

He said the man was expected to be released Wednesday evening from a local hospital.The bees attacked the man about 2:50 p.m. Wednesday in the 1700 block of Ruxton Lane. The bees apparently became agitated by a private fumigator who was trying to remove them from a nearby apartment building, police said.

Keenan said that vector control personnel believe that the bees were probably Africanized honey bees because of their aggressiveness. The man's name was not released by police.

ALSO:

Baby dropped from parking structure dies

Rapper Game investigated in Hollywood nightclub assault

Jurors can consider lesser charge in gay student shooting

— Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

Map shows area where man was attacked by bees. Credit: Google Maps.

Gov. Brown places his jobs advisor on bullet train board

Photo: California Gov. Jerry Brown. Credit: Sandra Chereb / Associated Press Gov. Jerry Brown appointed an advisor, Michael Rossi, to the board of the California High-Speed Rail Authority on Wednesday. Rossi is Brown’s senior advisor for jobs and business development and had a long banking and finance career prior to joining his Democratic administration.

Rossi was placed in the position held until Wednesday by David Crane, who was appointed by Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and who also serves on the UC Board of Regents.

It is the second appointment in the past week that Brown has made to the authority, which has a number of executive positions vacant and is trying to prepare for the start of rail construction next year. Rossi is also the second financial expert that Brown has appointed to the project as it faces serious long-term issues over how it will secure all of the tens of billions of dollars it will need to complete the Los Angeles to San Francisco system.

Before joining the Brown administration, Rossi was an advisor and senior member to the operations team at Cerberus Capital Management, the private-equity firm best known for taking over Chrysler Corp. in 2007 and then giving up control in the bankruptcy of 2009. Rossi worked at Cerberus from 2005 to 2008.

Prior to that he was chairman of GMAC Residential Capital as the financial crisis was unfolding and chief executive of Aozore Bank, which is based in Japan. Rossi had an absence of eight years, “retired from the private sector,” spending time surfing and relaxing with his family from 1997 to 2005, according to Brown's press office. Before that retirement, he held a long series of jobs at Bank of America.

RELATED:

California gets federal high-speed rail funds

U.S. rejects proposed changes to bullet train project

High-speed rail leaders receive consulting fees from firms with interests in project

-- Ralph Vartabedian

Photo: California Gov. Jerry Brown. Credit: Sandra Chereb / Associated Press

Man exposes himself while peering at toddler, police say

El Seguno man El Segundo police on Wednesday said they were looking for a man who was allegedly masturbating while peering at a toddler in a kiddie pool through a hole in a fence.

The man was spotted by a woman, who took photos from her cellphone, as he looked into the backyard of the apartment complex in the 300 block of Bungalow Drive, the El Segundo Police Department said.

Police described the man as a white male in his 30s with a medium build and brown hair. He was wearing a black T-shirt and blue jeans. 

Anyone with information is asked to call Det. Jeff Humphrey at (310) 524-2284. El Segundo man 2

ALSO:

Baby dropped from parking structure dies

Rapper Game investigated in Hollywood nightclub assault

Jurors can consider lesser charge in gay student shooting

— Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

Photos: A man who police say was outside an El Segundo apartment complex. Credit: El Segundo Police Department.

More students pass exit exam

Photo: Students take a prototype of the state's planned high school exit exam at Bassett High in La Puente. Credit: Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times A larger percentage of high schoolers are passing California's high school exit exam, state education officials announced Wednesday.

Almost 95% of all high school seniors passed the exam last year, a slight increase from the year before and up nearly four percentage points from 2006. Virtually all groups, including black and Latino students, also saw at least a small increase in the percentage of students who successfully completed the exam.

In Los Angeles, 75% of 10th-graders passed both the math and English portions of the test, the district's highest number ever, officials said.

All public school students are required to take the exit exam starting in 10th grade and may continue to take it until they are seniors. If they do not pass, they are not granted a diploma. The test consists of a math and English section. 

ALSO:

Baby dropped from parking structure dies

L.A. denies permit to Sunset Junction festival

Rodney King charged with DUI in Riverside County

--Jason Song

Photo: Students take a prototype of the state's high school exit exam at Bassett High in La Puente. Credit: Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times

Dog euthanized after it mauls girl, attacks officers

Dog shot in Coachella Police in Riverside County shot a dog, which was later euthanized, after it mauled a 9-year-old girl and attacked officers, authorities said Wednesday.

The girl suffered a serious leg wound after the pit bull mix dog attacked her and another girl at a shopping center Tuesday evening in Coachella near Avenue 48 and Jackson Street, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department said. The girl was taken to a hospital by paramedics.

The other girl, 12, had minor injuries and was taken by a relative to a local hospital, officials said.

Officers found the animal at a nearby restaurant and called for an animal service officer.  The dog attacked the officers, prompting one of them to open fire with his handgun, authorities said.

The dog was about 2-years-old and had no identification tags, the Riverside County Department of Animal Service said. The animal was shot in two legs. The animal was taken to a local lab to be tested for rabies after it was euthanized.

ALSO:

Baby dropped from parking structure dies

Rapper Game investigated in Hollywood nightclub assault

Jurors can consider lesser charge in gay student shooting

— Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

Map shows area where the dog attacked the girls. Credit: Google Maps.

Reader photos: Southern California Moments, Day 236

Click through for more photos of Southern California Moments.

Into the frame: A curious boy jumps in front of Patricia Victoria's camera on Aug. 21 at MacArthur Park.

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.

7 arrested at downtown L.A. pro-immigration protest

Police made at least seven arrests Wednesday during a protest outside the Ronald Reagan Federal Building, authorities said.

The arrests stemmed from a pro-immigration protest involving more than 50 demonstrators. Acts of civil disobedience included blocking the driveway to the federal building to prevent buses that were deporting illegal immigrants from leaving the facility, said Sgt. Mitzi Fierro, an LAPD spokeswoman.

Three people were arrested during the demonstration for refusing to disperse after the LAPD declared an unlawful assembly. Four others were booked on unspecified federal charges.

ALSO:

Baby dropped from parking structure dies

Jurors can consider lesser charge in gay student shooting

Slain couple stuffed in trash were dead more than a month

-- Andrew Blankstein (Twitter.com/@anblanx)

L.A. schools chief Deasy demands rapid gains despite budget cuts

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L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy presented a grand, difficult bargain Wednesday in his first, formal address to administrators of the nation’s second-largest school system.

He will try to get out of their way and also remove constraints from an “ossified” bureaucracy. They, in turn, will have to deliver sharply improving academic achievement.

“I’m committed to finding ways to provide the support necessary to free you from the restraints that impede you from this work,” said Deasy, noting that his expectations could make their jobs uncomfortable at times.

As he has on other occasions, Deasy read from Martin Luther King Jr.'s explanation of his impatience to end segregation at lunch counters and elsewhere, out of which Deasy stated his own imperative for results.

“We are indeed impatient,” Deasy said. “The lunch counter for LAUSD youth is graduation and proficiency and attendance.”

The annual, start-of-the-year speech to administrators has become a much-watched ritual in the Los Angeles Unified School District, a temperature check of sorts on the district’s top manager, his program and how the rank-and-file are receiving it. Deasy assumed the top spot in mid-April, with the retirement of Ramon C. Cortines. Like his predecessors, Deasy took pleasure in reciting the achievements of particular schools at some length.

But as superintendent Deasy has had to take responsibility for “restructuring” several low-performing middle and high schools. In that process, all staff must reinterview for jobs; administrators are typically replaced along with most teachers. Deasy has clearly signaled he’s prepared to take this step as often as he feels necessary.

Administrators packed into the historic Hollywood High School auditorium were well aware of the school-site shake-ups and some expressed, anonymously, some wariness toward Deasy.

Suspect in double Chatsworth slaying charged in assault on police

Prosecutors charged a convicted bank robber wanted in connection with a double slaying with several felonies in connection with shots fired at Los Angeles police.

Zubek Brent Darrin Zubeck, 43, who was arrested early Monday in Encino, faces six counts of assault with a firearm on a peace officer, one count of possession of a firearm by a felon, and one count of carrying a loaded and stolen firearm.

Zubek is scheduled to appear for arraignment Tuesday afternoon in a San Fernando courtroom. If convicted on all counts, Zubek faces a maximum sentence of multiple life terms in state prison.

Authorities continue to investigate Zubek in connection with the killings of a couple whose decomposing bodies were discovered in a trash bin Aug. 12 in the 20400 block of Lassen Street. No charges have been filed in connection with their deaths.

The couple have not yet been identified by authorities. Investigators believe that the man and woman, who had lived in the same home with Zubek, were killed more than a month earlier.

Zubek eluded authorities by constant movement and by donning disguises including wigs, LAPD officials said.

LAPD detectives tracked him to the intersection of Noe­line Av­enue and Ventura Boul­evard on

Jurors can consider lesser charge in gay student shooting

Brandon Jurors may consider voluntary manslaughter in the trial of an Oxnard teen accused of fatally shooting a gay classmate at school, a Superior Court judge ruled Wednesday.

Brandon McInerney is accused of pulling out a gun during a junior high school computer lab and shooting classmate Larry King, stunning dozens of students in the classroom.

McInerney is charged with first-degree murder and committing a hate crime –- charges that could bring a  prison sentence of up to 53 years.

His attorneys have argued that McInerney was the victim of aggressive flirtations from King, who had started coming to school wearing high heels and makeup.

Closing arguments in the case, which was moved from Ventura County to Chatsworth because of the level of publicity that the 2008 shooting had drawn, are schedule to begin Thursday.

The case would go to jurors after that.

Judge Charles Campbell cleared the way Wednesday for jurors to consider a much more lenient charge of voluntary manslaughter, which carries a shorter prison sentence.

If convicted of voluntary manslaughter, McInerney –- who is now 17 -- could be free before he turns 40.

Jurors, however, would first have to acquit McInerney of murder before weighing the lesser charge.

 

ALSO:

California earthquake shakes Eastern Sierra

Victim: Match.com sex-offender screening could 'save' other women

2 men arrested in road-rage fight

--Catherine Saillant, reporting from Chatsworth

Photo: Kendra McInerney, left, leaves the Chatsworth courthouse where her son, Brandon, is being tried on first-degree murder and hate-crime charges in the 2008 shooting death of his gay classmate Larry King at an Oxnard middle school. Credit: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times

Rapper Game investigated in Hollywood nightclub assault

Rapper Game
The rapper Game is being investigated by police for allegedly assaulting a man at a Hollywood nightclub in a fight that was partially captured on video.

LAPD Hollywood Division detectives initiated the investigation after the victim complained the rapper, whose real name is Jayceon Terrell Taylor, struck him early Tuesday morning at the Colony nightclub on Cahuenga Boulevard, said Cmdr. Andy Smith.

Smith said part of the incident was captured on video and shows the Grammy-winning rapper being restrained by apparent members of his entourage.

Detectives are interviewing witnesses, Smith said.

The incident follows Game's controversial use of Twitter earlier this month to direct thousands of calls to the Compton sheriff's station. The tweet asked internship applicants to call the number, jamming the station's emergency line for at least two hours.

L.A. denies permit to Sunset Junction festival

Sunset Junction street fair
Dealing a stunning blow to promoters, volunteers and an array of bands, a Los Angeles city panel refused Wednesday to give a last-minute lifeline to the Sunset Junction Street Festival days before the event was supposed to happen.

The Board of Public Works, a five-member panel appointed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, unanimously turned aside desperate pleas from festival promoters to provide the proper permits after the group failed to show up with a check for $141,000 to cover this year’s fees.

Instead, the nonprofit Sunset Junction Neighborhood Alliance had Chase Bank send a fax showing that the alliance had recently received a deposit of $100,000 in its account. That deposit was a last-minute loan from concert promoter Live Nation, said Phil Tate, a lawyer for the festival group.

Board president Andrea Alarcon called the group’s response a disappointment. “This is not an indication to me … that any funds will be available for issuance of a check to support the special events permit,” she said. “I do see a deposit of $100,000, but that doesn’t mean a whole lot.”

“Fail me once, shame on you. Fail me twice, shame on me,” Alarcon said. “This organization has failed this city time and time again.”

The fate of the festival has been a cliffhanger for much of the month, with city officials voicing dismay that, in the middle of a municipal budget crisis, event organizers still owe $260,000 from last year's festival to the city. Meanwhile, backers of the event described critics of the festival as “haters” and implored the board to change course.

California toxic waste case settled

  Kettleman

A toxic waste dump near a San Joaquin Valley community plagued by birth defects will pay $400,000 in fines and spend $600,000 on laboratory upgrades needed to properly manage hazardous materials at the facility, federal authorities announced Wednesday.

The settlement capped an 18-month joint investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency and the California Department of Toxic Substances Control into the Chemical Waste Management landfill about 3 1⁄2 miles southwest of Kettleman City, a community of 1,500 mostly low-income Latino farmworkers.

An analysis of company records revealed at least 18 instances over the past six years in which toxic waste had to be excavated from the landfill after it was learned that the laboratory, prior to disposal, had mistakenly concluded the material met treatment standards, EPA officials said.

Under terms of the settlement, the largest hazardous waste facility west of the Mississippi River must use an outside laboratory for a minimum of two years and invest in improved records management systems, laboratory equipment and leachate monitoring programs, the EPA said.

“Significant shortcomings at Chemical Waste Management’s lab compromised the company’s ability to accurately analyze the toxic waste to be disposed of in their landfill,” said Jared Blumenfeld, the EPA’s regional administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “These were serious compliance issues and they have now been resolved. But that doesn’t mean we are going to go away. We will remain vigilant and continue checking to make sure that the facility operates in full compliance.”

The action came two years after activists petitioned state and federal health agencies to investigate whether the 29-year-old landfill owned by Houston-based Waste Management Inc. might be linked to severe birth defects including heart problems and cleft palates among the community in Kettleman City.

In a statement, Waste Management spokeswoman Jennifer Andrews said, “Although we disagree with EPA’s findings, the consent agreement will allow us to move forward with a common understanding of acceptable waste management practices and will allow us to close out several complex regulatory issues.”

Bradley Angel, executive director of Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice, a San Francisco-based group that has organized the community, said, “Today’s fines and upgrades are very important. But a company with this many serious violations should not be entitled to renew its permits. How many chances will they get when they are dealing with the deadliest chemicals known to science next door to a community with serious health problems?”

ALSO:

Caterpillar Inc. to pay $2.55 million penality

California acts to limit pollutant targeted by Erin Brockovich

High levels of toxic PBDE found in pregnant California women

-- Louis Sahagun

Photo: Kettleman City, a poor town of farmworkers just off Interstate 5, lies near a toxic waste facility. Credit: Liz O. Baylen/Los Angeles Times

Yosemite hiker died after climbing Half Dome with cables

Yosemite's Half Dome
A hiker who died in Yosemite National Park this week after plunging down the face of Half Dome was identified Wednesday.

Ryan Leeder, 23, of Los Gatos, apparently died Monday evening after climbing up the cables on the peak’s back side, park officials said.

A group of rock climbers saw a man falling and alerted park officials, but it was too late to initiate a search, park spokesman Scott Gediman said.

Leeder’s body was found by search crews Tuesday morning and recovered by rangers.

The fall is under investigation but it appears to be accidental, Gediman said.

He did not know if Leeder had gone to the park alone or in a group.

ALSO:

See's Candies store robbed

California earthquake shakes Eastern Sierra

Big rig crashes into Caltrans building in Pomona

-- Paloma Esquivel

Photo: Yosemite National Park's Half Dome. Credit: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times.

Mom got parking validated after baby allegedly dropped from garage

Sonia Hermosillo and Noe Medina Jr.

Prosecutors confirmed Wednesday that the infant who was allegedly dropped off a parking garage at the Children’s Hospital of Orange County was a patient there.

According to prosecutors, Sonia Hermosillo removed the baby’s helmet before allegedly pushing him from the parking structure. Then she reportedly walked into the hospital and validated her parking ticket.

Hermosillo was reportedly being treated for postpartum depression. Her husband, Noe Medina, told the Orange County Register that she was not allowed to be alone with the baby.

Hermosillo, 31, of La Habra, is charged with attempted murder and child abuse in connection with her 7-month-old son being dropped from the fourth story of the parking structure Monday evening.

The baby remains in critical condition at UCI Medical Center.

A picture of the baby released by police showed him wearing a helmet, and neighbors of the family said he had a birth defect.

A statement released by the Orange County District Attorney’s office Wednesday confirmed that the child wore the helmet because of a medical condition and that he was a regular patient at the children’s hospital, although he was not scheduled for an appointment on the day of the incident.

Police told The Times on Tuesday that Hermosillo appeared to have picked the garage randomly and that it did not appear the child had been a patient at the hospital.

RELATED:

Mother accused of throwing baby from garage returned to scene

Mother of thrown baby placed on immigration hold, suicide watch

Woman accused of throwing baby described as happy, a 'lovely mom'

--Abby Sewell

Photo: Sonia Hermosillo and Noe Medina Jr. Credit: Orange Police Department and Medina family.

Red Line stabbing suspect arrested

Red Line stabbing

A transient sought in a fatal stabbing on the Metro Red Line in Hollywood has been arrested, authorities said Wednesday.

Gene Sim, 33, was taken into custody Tuesday night in Buena Park, officials with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.

Sim was booked in connection with a probation violation and was being held without bail. He was described by sheriff's officials as a transient.

Murder charges against him are pending, said Sgt. Diane Hecht, who was unsure of the exact nature of his alleged probation violation.

The stabbing took place Friday just before 7:30 p.m. Witnesses, including a Los Angeles Times staff writer, said a confrontation broke out on the crowded train when a man began swinging a chain at a younger rider.

As they argued, the younger man pulled out a knife and stabbed the chain-wielding man, witnesses said.

Mom accused of dropping son from parking garage to be charged

Parking 
The woman accused of dropping her 7-month-old baby boy from the fourth story of an Orange County parking structure will be arraigned from jail Wednesday on attempted murder charges, prosecutors say.

Sonia Hermosillo, 31, of La Habra, is on suicide watch and on an immigration hold at Orange County Central Jail. Prosecutors are also requesting that Hermosillo be held on $1 million bail.

Hermosillo is accused of attempting to murder her child, Noe Medina Jr., by driving to the Children's Hospital of Orange County on Monday evening and pushing her baby from a four-story parking structure, prosecutors say.

Prosecutors said that after the incident, Hermosillo walked into the hospital, validated her parking, and fled.

A man told authorities he saw the child falling and called 911 about 6:20 p.m.

Investigators used surveillance video to zero in on a 2000 Chevy Blazer spotted leaving the garage minutes after the incident.

The child was taken to nearby UC Irvine Medical Center and remains in critical condition.

Hermosillo is married and has two other children.

 

ALSO:

See's Candies store robbed

California earthquake shakes Eastern Sierra

Big rig crashes into Caltrans building in Pomona

--Nicole Santa Cruz

Photo: Fourth level of parking strucutre at Children's Hospital of Orange County. Credit: Marc Boster / Los Angeles Times

Is nature doing what the climate models predict?

Climate change flooding

As temperatures rise with global warming, climate theory says the atmosphere will hold more moisture, wet parts of the globe will grow wetter and extreme floods and droughts will become more frequent.

A panel of National Research Council scientists examined weather data from the past century to see if nature is so far behaving accordingly. Their findings: yes and no.

There are more episodes of extreme precipitation, and much of the eastern and central U.S. has grown wetter, according to a council report released Wednesday. At the same time, parts of the West and East have experienced more drought.

But the uptick in severe flooding has yet to materialize, according to analyses of U.S. Geological Survey long-term streamflow records. More intense rainfall hasn't translated into higher peak river flows, which are also influenced by topography.

Flood risk in the U.S. is nonetheless greater, said University of Arizona hydrology professor Victor Baker, a member of the scientific committee that conducted the review. More building and development in flood hazard areas, such as the Sacramento region, have increased the potential for destruction.

“The U.S. is poised for a really big flood disaster,” he said.

-- Bettina Boxall

Photo: Stranded cars in Staten Island, N.Y., after a heavy rainfall this month. Credit: Jillian Jorgensen / Associated Press

 

 

Chocolate Milk Gets a Makeover

Is chocolate milk a healthful choice for schoolchildren?

Some nutritionists say chocolate milk is a perfectly fine snack for students, one that provides much needed calcium and vitamins, and a healthy alternative to sugary juices and sodas. But others say flavored milks, with their added sugars, contribute to the childhood obesity epidemic. Some school districts have tried removing flavored milk from their cafeterias entirely, but studies show that many students simply skip milk altogether when they do not have flavored milk as an option.

Now parents who are concerned about the amount of sugar their children are chugging in school cafeterias may be encouraged by an announcement from the milk industry. Starting in September, chocolate milk will have fewer calories and less sugar.

The eight-ounce cartons of fat-free and low-fat chocolate milk served in schools will have 38 percent less added sugar and just 31 more calories than regular white milk, said the Milk Processor Education Program, or MilkPEP, the industry group that runs the national “Got Milk?” campaign. On average, cartons of flavored milk will contain less than 150 calories and 22 grams of total sugar this year, the group said.

The changes will affect the vast majority of the nation’s school districts. A report by the School Nutrition Association last week found that almost 96 percent of school districts offer students flavored milk, and all but 2 percent offer fat-free milk.

The issue of flavored milk has been highlighted by the chef Jamie Oliver, who railed against chocolate milk and processed foods in school cafeterias in his ABC television series “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution.” On his Web site he notes that one serving of chocolate milk has four teaspoons of added sugar.

“When kids drink chocolate and strawberry milk every day at school,” he writes on the site, “they’re getting nearly two gallons of extra sugar each year. Too much sugar is threatening the health of our kids and we’ve got to do something about it.”

Earlier this year, in the face of mounting pressure, the Los Angeles Unified School District voted to ban chocolate and strawberry milk entirely from Los Angeles public schools. The district’s board of education voted five-to-two to remove flavored milk after intense pressure from Mr. Oliver and parents of children in the district, some of whom held anti-chocolate milk protests outside the district’s headquarters organized by the activist group FoodForLunch.

Whether the taste of the new, leaner varieties of milk will have any impact on how much milk students drink remains to be seen. One study by MilkPEP in 2009 looked at what happened when 58 elementary and secondary schools in seven districts around the country removed flavored milk from their cafeterias, either entirely or only on select days of the week. The study found as a result that milk consumption among elementary school students fell by 35 percent. The average daily consumption of milk per student, meanwhile, fell to four ounces at schools where only white milk was offered. At schools where all flavors were offered it stayed at six ounces per student.

In a statement, MilkPEP said that taking away low-fat chocolate milk — the most popular milk choice in schools — would mean students would get “fewer essential nutrients.”

“Whether plain or flavored, milk contributes so many vital nutrients to a child’s diet,” said Vivian Godfrey, the group’s chief executive, “and we want to do our part to be sure the milk on the tray is enjoyed and actually consumed with the meal.”

California earthquake: 3.6 quake shakes San Francisco Bay Area

Screen shot 2011-08-24 at 12.18.07 AMA magnitude-3.6 earthquake rolled through the San Francisco Bay Area just before midnight Wednesday, centered in the East Bay suburb of San Leandro.

The quake, which struck at 11:36 p.m., appeared to be centered on the Hayward Fault about six miles south of Oakland. A magnitude-2.3 quake rolled through about five minutes later. 

According to the U.S. Geological Survey's Did You Feel It? map, people felt the quake as far away as Fremont, San Francisco, Marin County and Vallejo. Near the San Francisco International Airport, residents felt a few quick jerks, but said the shaking quickly passed. 

Doug Sovern, a reporter for KCBS 740 AM, said in a tweet: "Quick hard shake of the house here on Berkeley-Oakland border." He said the quake only lasted for two or three seconds. "Nice adrenaline boost!" he tweeted.

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-- Rong-Gong Lin II

Photo: A map showing recent seismic activity. Credit: Screenshot /ANSS Website.

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