Monday, October 10, 2011

Two people found dead in Bell Gardens home

Bell Gardens homicides
Two people were found dead Monday night in a Bell Gardens home, authorities said.

Homicide investigators at the scene said a man and woman were found in the home in 5900 block of Quinn Street, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

The department said the man was regarded as a suspect in the incident. No other details were immediately available.

Since January 2007, at least 18 homicides have been reported in Bell Gardens, according to The Times Homicide Report database.

ALSO:

Three unsuspecting seniors eat pot brownies

Two pit bulls killed after attacking retired fire captain

Several hundred protesters continue 'Occupy San Diego'

— Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

Map shows homicides reported in Bell Gardens since 2007. Credit: Times' Homicide Report

Heat wave expected to hit L.A. area later this week

Strong offshore winds are expected to cause a heat wave across the Los Angeles region later in the week, heightening the possibility of brush fires, the National Weather Service said Monday evening.

Northeast winds of about 30 mph in mountain and canyon areas could push temperatures above 100 degrees Thursday in valleys and other inland areas and cause relative humidity to drop, the Weather Service said.

The region will begin warming Tuesday, with the hottest days expected to be Wednesday and Thursday. The warm weather is the result of high pressure that will build during the next several days and cause relative humidity to drop, the Weather Service said.

"The combination of the offshore winds ... hot temperatures and low relative humidity may produce a few hours of critical fire weather," the agency said in a statement.

ALSO:

Three unsuspecting seniors eat pot brownies

Two pit bulls killed after attacking retired fire captain

Several hundred protesters continue 'Occupy San Diego'

— Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

Man slain, 2 females wounded in South L.A. park shooting

South L.A. homicides
One person died and two others were wounded Monday when an attacker on a bike pulled out a handgun and opened fire at a crowded park in South Los Angeles, police said.

The shooting at Algin Sutton Park at 88th and South Hoover streets about 4:30 p.m. sent dozens of children and adults scrambling for cover as the attacker fired multiple rounds, said Deputy Chief Pat Gannon of the Los Angeles Police Department.

A bystander flagged down LAPD patrol officers and alerted them that the attacker had ditched his bike and taken off running, police said. A foot pursuit followed, and officers detained a suspect.

The man who died was struck in the head, police said. He was in his mid 20s. The two other victims were a 17-year-old girl shot in the back and a 19-year-old woman shot in the leg, the LAPD said.

Homicide detectives were dispatched to the park. Monday evening, an abandoned pushcart left by a street vendor marked the shooting scene.

Since January 2007, at least 226 homicides have been reported within two miles of Monday's deadly shooting, according to a Times Homicide Report database.

ALSO:

Three unsuspecting seniors eat pot brownies

Two pit bulls killed after attacking retired fire captain

Several hundred protesters continue 'Occupy San Diego'

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

Map shows homicides reported in the area since January 2007. Credit: Times’ Homicide Report

Man in fatal plunge not linked to Occupy San Diego, police say

The 42-year-old man who committed suicide by leaping from a parking structure near the Occupy San Diego protest does not appear to have been involved in the demonstration, police said late Monday.

Near the man's lifeless body were fliers that read, "Intelligent Message to Earthlings From Your Creator."

Witnesses saw the man falling head-first from the structure without making a sound. The incident occurred about 3:15 p.m. as protesters were preparing for a rally outside a nearby bank.

Several hundred Occupy San Diego protesters are camped out in the plaza between City Hall and the 11-story parking structure.

Although use of the plaza for a protest camp-in is new, the plaza is commonly used by the homeless as a place to sleep safely away from the noise and dangers of downtown streets.

--Tony Perry in San Diego

Quarry reopens after deadly shooting rampage

Family members talk to a worker as they await word of a relative following the quarry shooting

Employees returned to work Monday at a Cupertino, Calif., quarry that had been shuttered since a disgruntled employee opened fire on coworkers Wednesday, killing three and wounding six more.

Shareef Allman, 49, also shot and wounded a Hewlett Packard contract worker in a failed carjacking attempt nearby. He was on the loose for 27 hours before sheriff's deputies shot and killed him in a residential driveway in Sunnyvale.

The Lehigh Permanente Plant where Allman and nine of the victims worked was started by Henry Kaiser in 1939 to supply construction of the Shasta Dam. Irving, Texas-based Lehigh Hanson Inc., which operates the plant, said Monday that the quarry had reopened and was expected to be "fully operational within one week."

Photos: Shooting at California quarry

"The company's priority continues to be the well-being of the plant's employees and their families," a statement read, adding that grief counselors remained on site.

Chief Beck travels to London for global gang summit

Bratton beck 
Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck is traveling to London this week to trade notes with law enforcement officials from around the world on how to combat gang crime.

The idea for the two-day event, which will be attended by gang experts from 10 nations including Austria, Spain and Jamaica, came out of riots that spread through English cities in August, leaving five people dead.

Police there came under heavy criticism for their hesitant handling of the upheaval. Angry finger-pointing followed the turmoil, as British officials, news media and citizens debated heatedly what role organized gangs played in spurring the violence and how much of it was a result of general discontent.

Organizers have said they hope the forum will help British police improve their anti-gang strategies.

With Los Angeles’ reputation as the birthplace of American gang culture, Beck received an invitation to participate from British Home Secretary Theresa May, according to an announcement released by the LAPD.

In recent years the city has made progress reducing gang crime, in part because of cooperation between the LAPD and a revamped network of intervention programs. Gang members, however, account for about half of the city’s homicides -– a disproportionate level of violence that has remained largely unchanged in recent years.

It will be the first international trip for Beck as chief. In general, he has said he dislikes traveling for work and keeps his time away from Los Angeles to a minimum.

Beck will have share the spotlight with his predecessor, William Bratton, who served as LAPD chief for seven years. Bratton has long been a subject of fascination in the British press, which would occasionally float rumors during Bratton’s time in L.A. that he was heading abroad to take over London’s police department.

Man dies in fall from parking garage near Occupy San Diego site

The Occupy San Diego movement behind City Hall

A man in his mid-40s fell or jumped to his death Monday afternoon from the 11-story parking structure adjacent to San Diego City Hall, police said.

Police are investigating initial reports that the man may have been attempting to hang a banner in support of the Occupy San Diego movement about 3 p.m.

Several hundred protesters are camped out in the plaza adjacent to City Hall and the parking structure.

The man's body hit the pavement outside a hamburger restaurant at the corner of the plaza. He was declared dead at the scene. Political pamphlets were found in his pockets.

RELATED:

Man who fell to his death near protest was suicide

Several hundred protesters continue 'Occupy San Diego'

Los Angeles lawmakers cheer on protesters outside City Hall 

-- Tony Perry in San Diego

Photos: The Occupy San Diego movement behind City Hall. Credit: Tony Perry / Los Angeles Times

Man who fell to his death near Occupy San Diego protest was suicide

A man who fell to his death from a parking structure next to the San Diego City Hall plaza on Monday afternoon apparently committed suicide, police said.

The 42-year-old man jumped from the fifth or seventh floor of the structure about 3:15 p.m., police said. The body landed in the plaza, where several hundred people from the Occupy San Diego protest have been camped out since the weekend.

The man apparently had political pamphlets in his pockets, suggesting that he was part of the protest, police said. Witnesses say the man was not screaming as he fell to the pavement outside a restaurant that is part of the plaza.

He may have tried to post the pamphlets on the parking structure before killing himself, police said. His name has not been released.

ALSO:

700-pound bronze pelican is stolen from city park

Zsa Zsa Gabor operation called "successful" by her husband

Second surfer in two months dies on San Diego County beach

--Tony Perry in San Diego

UC and its largest union ratify labor agreement

The labor union representing the largest organized group of University of California employees has ratified a new contract, raising hopes for a period of labor peace at the 10-campus university, officials said Monday.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Local 3299, which represents more than 20,000 workers, including hospital assistants, custodians and mail processors, approved the contract after lengthy disputes with the university over employee pension contributions and retroactive pay raises. Previous agreements were suspended when UC sought to increase employee contributions for pension and health benefits, triggering protest rallies by the union that sometimes interrupted UC regents meetings.

Under the new contract, patient care workers will receive a 3% pay raise retroactive to January, and another 3% for next year. Service employees will get a 3% raise retroactive to the start of this month and another 3% next October. Their contributions to retirement funds will be 3.5% of pay retroactive to July 1 and 5% of pay starting July 1, 2012. The minimum wage under the contract will be $13.70 an hour this year and $14.42 an hour next year.

Julian Posadas, union executive vice president, said the contract will provide “protection for the lowest-wage workers. So we are happy with that now.”

Dwaine Duckett, UC’s vice president of human resources, was also pleased. “Moving forward, we hope we can find ways for UC and the union to join forces and work together on issues that are of mutual interest,” he said in a statement.

ALSO:

700-pound bronze pelican is stolen from a city park

Zsa Zsa Gabor operation called "successful" by her husband

Second surfer in two months dies on San Diego County beach

-- Larry Gordon

Reader photos: Southern California Moments Day 283

Click through for more photos of Southern California Moments.

Broadway stroll: Ray Haack photographs a child on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles on Sept. 25.

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.

Get your EVs running: First National Plug In Day is Oct. 16

NissanLeafRedElectric-vehicle enthusiasts from New York to California will wheel into the streets en masse Sunday as part of National Plug In Day. Twenty-one cities, including Santa Monica, San Francisco, Santa Cruz and Orange in California, will  hold electric car parades and tailpipe-free tailgate parties to celebrate -- and test drive --currently available plug-ins from Nissan, General Motors, Tesla and SMART, and soon-to-be available models from Mitsubishi, Toyota, Ford and Coda.

"We wanted to get the word out to the American public that electric cars are here now and viable," said Paul Scott, co-founder of Plug In America, which teamed with the Sierra Club and the Electric Auto Assn. to organize the nationwide event. "In the past, a lot of our activities had been centered around California because that was virtually the only state you could get an electric car.  Now the Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf and Tesla Roadster are in most states and have new drivers who are excited about their cars."

About 400 electric cars, trucks and motorcycles are expected at the Santa Monica parade Sunday. The EVs will start their trek at Santa Monica City Hall and drive down Main Street starting at 10 a.m. Ed Begley Jr. and "Revenge of the Electric Car" director Chris Paine are expected to attend.

-- Susan Carpenter

Photo: Nissan Leaf. Credit: Nissan USA

Prostate Test Finding Leaves a Swirl of Confusion

For men living with a diagnosis of prostate cancer, the news that the P.S.A. test does more harm than good has been unsettling and confusing.

After all, that is the test that first led to their diagnosis — and, often, a painful and traumatic course of treatment.

And now they tell us it doesn’t work?

“You will find mixed opinions from those of us who had to deal with it,” said a 78-year-old man from Boston who was left impotent and incontinent after his prostate was removed 11 years ago. “My current feeling is not anger; it’s sadness that I probably made the wrong choices and the consequences were both negative and not expected.” (He and another man quoted in this column asked not to be identified.)

This week, the United States Preventive Services Task Force is expected to announce its recommendation against routine testing for blood levels of prostate-specific antigen, the protein that can be a signal of prostate cancer. The panel says research shows that over all, the test does not save lives and leads to unnecessary surgery and radiation treatment for slow-growing cancers that would never have caused harm. As for faster-growing, invasive cancers, there’s no proof that P.S.A. tests and earlier treatment offer any overall benefit.

Many men do remain convinced that the test saved their lives by helping their doctors detect cancer in its earliest stages. But others are now left second-guessing their decisions, questioning a medical system that pressured them not only to undergo screening, but to be treated aggressively once cancer was detected.

Ten years ago, several doctors urged William Lewis of Washington, now 69, to have his prostate removed after a spike in his P.S.A. levels led to a biopsy and a diagnosis of cancer. But his own research led him to a “watchful waiting” program at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where he now undergoes regular checkups and biopsies to make sure his cancer hasn’t progressed.

“My urologist said, ‘Definitely prostatectomy,’ as did other people,” Mr. Lewis said. But “absolutely nothing has showed up that would suggest treatment is in order.

“A lot of people are living with prostate cancer not knowing it and never knowing they have it,” he went on. “It’s just a common fact of life for men.”

But doctors are divided about when to recommend watchful waiting. The decision can be guided by an indicator called the Gleason score, a measure of the aggressiveness of the cancer found in a biopsy, but there is often disagreement about how to care for men whose scores are in the middle — neither highly aggressive nor probably not aggressive. In addition, the biopsy process itself is imprecise; a standard “12-core biopsy” gives information about only one three-thousandth of the prostate, says Dr. Eric Klein of the Cleveland Clinic. According to research at Johns Hopkins, staging and grading mistakes occur in about 20 percent of specimens.

“You can’t be sure that even if you’ve found a cancer that is low-grade and seems innocuous that you haven’t missed a more aggressive cancer,” he said. “That’s the major limitation that leads to patient and family and physician uncertainty about who can be watched and who can’t be watched.”

Bill Murin, a 67-year-old retired university professor in Racine, Wis., had prostate surgery after a spike in his P.S.A. led to a cancer diagnosis when he was 64. He said that his recovery had been “satisfactory,” and that he had been able to resume his sex life with the help of Viagra.

He says he would probably make the same choices if he had it to do over again.

“There’s no parallel universe, unfortunately,” he said, adding:

“Psychologically, when someone looks you in the eye and says you have cancer, your immediate reaction is ‘Get this damn thing out of here.’ I’m not sure I’d be brave enough to undergo the watchful waiting.”

Other patients say the problem is not the screening test but the way some doctors react to it.

“There is still a lot of pressure to just get it out,” said a 48-year-old man who received his diagnosis two years ago after an elevated P.S.A. result. “The more I’ve learned about this in the last two years, I’m shocked at how urgently my initial urologist pushed for treatment. I’m really unhappy about this, and I think there are some major problems with the culture and the pressure.”

Instead, the man enrolled in a watchful waiting program in Seattle, changed his diet and lost weight. His P.S.A. levels have dropped and subsequent biopsies have not detected cancer.

“The newer thinking is that cancer doesn’t always have the same trajectory; it’s not always that aggressive,” he said. “Why put men in the situation where they have to make this decision if they don’t need to?”

Timothy Bartik, 57, an economist in Kalamazoo, Mich., did his own research and believes that the data support P.S.A. testing, particularly for younger men. He had his prostate removed in March after getting an elevated reading, followed by a biopsy that showed he had cancer. After surgery, he learned the cancer was slightly more aggressive than the biopsy had suggested.

“You have to weigh probabilities,” he said. “You have to accept that there’s no certainty. Ideally, you’d have a great test that would tell you much more precisely what your chances are.”

Former Miss Iceland believed to be tipster in Whitey Bulger case

Former Miss Iceland, Anna Bjornsdottir

A former Icelandic beauty queen and actress collected the $2-million reward for turning in Boston mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger and his longtime girlfriend to the FBI, the Boston Globe reported in its Sunday editions.

Anna Bjornsdottir, who was named Miss Iceland in 1974, intermittently lived in the Santa Monica neighborhood where she would somtimes encounter Bulger's longtime girlfriend, 60-year-old Catherine Greig, as she fed an abandoned tiger-striped tabby. Bulger, who is accused of killing 19 people, would stand nearby.

Photos: James 'Whitey' Bulger

"It was this bond, formed over the cat, that proved the downfall of one of America’s most wanted men, South Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger, after 16 years on the run," according to the Globe article.

California Bans Indoor Tanning for Minors

California this week became the first state in the country to ban indoor tanning for anyone under 18, a move that drew praise from health organizations.

About 30 other states have laws that place limits on indoor tanning for children and teenagers, but California’s new law will be the strictest in the nation, prohibiting any minor from using a tanning bed, even with a parent’s permission. The bill was signed by Gov. Jerry Brown over the weekend and goes into effect on January 1.

At least three other states are considering similar legislation, among them New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Four other states that tried to enact outright bans on tanning for all minors failed earlier this year.

The American Academy of Dermatology said it applauded California for being the first in the nation to successfully introduce the measure, and commended the legislature for “protecting youth from the dangers of indoor tanning.”

The law comes amid growing evidence from studies linking UV ray exposure to skin cancer. One large study of about 2,300 people last year found that those who have ever tanned indoors have about a 75 percent higher risk of melanoma than people who have never tried it. A World Health Organization study showed that using a tanning bed just one time increases the risk of melanoma by 15 percent. Researchers earlier this year also showed for the first time that frequent tanning causes changes in brain activity that mimic the patterns of drug addiction.

Nearly 30 million Americans use tanning beds, about 2.3 million of them teenagers. Indoor tanning is particularly popular in the Golden State, despite its reputation for natural sunshine: The new bill’s sponsor, State Sen. Ted Lieu, a Democrat, said there were more tanning salons in California than Starbucks or McDonald’s restaurants. He said he was inspired to push for a new law in part because of statistics showing that one of the leading causes of cancer deaths in women between 25 and 34 is skin cancer.

“One reason we wanted to ban it for children under 18 is because the medical evidence shows that the more exposure you get to UV rays early on, the worse it is later in life,” he said. “Melanoma doesn’t happen right when you walk out of the tanning salon. It happens years later.”

When the law takes effect, teenagers in California who want an artificially enhanced bronzed look will have to turn to other options, like spray tans or tanning creams. Sen. Lieu said he was also considering other steps to try to get adults to limit their use of indoor tanning beds as well.

“I thought Congress had the right idea when they put a 10 percent tax on tanning beds because they recognized the danger and they were trying to dis-incentivize people,” he said. “I might look at that later, but first I want to see how this law works.”

Surfer who died off Camp Pendleton had heart attack

Surf beach
A 63-year-old Orange County man who died while surfing off Camp Pendleton suffered a fatal heart attack, the San Diego County medical examiner said Monday.

Charles Solon Todd Jr. of Aliso Viejo had an advanced case of coronary atherosclerosis, the hardening of the arteries leading to the heart muscle, according to the medical examiner.

Todd had just come ashore from surfing Saturday morning at Surf Beach when he collapsed.

Todd's death is the second at Surf Beach this fall. In early September, 42-year-old Russ Yamada was found unresponsive in the water near his surfboard. Officials determined Yamada had had a heart attack.

ALSO:

Commuters warned to avoid 710 Freeway

Dozens of inmates in brawl at Castaic detention center

Cheerleader's fatal injuries after crash described in court

-- Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: Surf Beach. Credit: Fox5 San Diego

 

Tournament of Roses names princesses to royal court

Seven young women were chosen to become princesses for the 2012 Tournament of Roses
Seven young women from Southern California were chosen Monday to become princesses on the royal court for the 2012 Tournament of Roses.

The Rose Queen will be selected next week from among the seven royal court princesses, chosen from a pool of about 1,000 that was narrowed to 34 finalists after a monthlong process that evaluated them on public speaking, poise, academic achievement, community involvement and personality.

The princesses are: Morgan Eliza Devaud, 18, of La Cañada High School; Stephanie Grace Hynes, 18, of Maranatha High School in Pasadena; Cynthia Megan Louie, 17, of La Salle High School in Pasadena; Kimberly Victoria Ostiller, 17, of Flintridge Preparatory School; Drew Helen Washington, 16, of Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy; Hanan Bulto Worku, 17, of Pasadena High School; and Sara Nicole Zuno, 17, of Benjamin Franklin High School in Highland Park.

The Rose Parade is Jan. 2 in Pasadena.

ALSO:

700-pound bronze pelican is stolen from a city park

Zsa Zsa Gabor operation called "successful" by her husband

Second surfer in two months dies on San Diego County beach

-- Rick Rojas

Photo: The Royal Court poses for photographs after the announcement at the Tournament House in Pasadena. Credit: Al Seib / Los Angeles Times

Suicide-by-cop possible in Sun Valley shooting

A man fatally shot by officers in Sun Valley may have been trying to commit suicide by cop, family members said.

Los Angeles police officers responded to a report of someone shooting in the air about 5 a.m. Sunday and confronted Julio Sandoval, 47, near Vineland Avenue and Valerio Street, authorities said.

Sandoval reportedly pointed a rifle at the officers, who fired on him. He died at Northridge Hospital Medical Center. No officers were hurt.

2 pit bulls attacking a retired fire captain are killed by police

Police in Glendora said they killed two pit bulls to stop them from mauling a retired fire captain.

The 67-year-old man had been out for an early-morning walk when the dogs attacked him on 1600 block of South Sunflower Avenue at about 4 a.m., police said. He fended them off with a wooden walking stick until it broke, and then tried to keep them away with a fragment of the broken stick.

When Glendora Officer Matt Fenner arrived, the man was trying to climb over a wall, but the dogs pulled him down. When one of the dogs circled into the street, the officer intentionally rammed it with his car to stop it from attacking, authorities said. 

The other dog, however, continued to attack as the man, "bleeding profusely," screamed for help, police said in a statement. The dog then advanced on the officer, who fired his gun, killing the animal,  said.

The dog that was struck by Fenner's car limped away. When a second officer arrived, he followed that dog to a nearby school where an animal control officer tranquilized it and transported it to an emergency veterinary clinic, where it later died. 

The retired fire captain was treated at a local hospital for puncture wounds to his face, arms, torso, legs and groin, and a possible separated or broken shoulder, among other injuries

Animal control officers were trying to determine who owned the dogs, which were not wearing tags.

ALSO:

700-pound bronze pelican is stolen from a city park

Zsa Zsa Gabor operation called 'successful' by her husband

Second surfer in two months dies on San Diego County beach

-- Abby Sewell

 

 

Suspect arrested in fatal Hollywood Walk of Fame shooting

Map shows location of Sunday's shooting in purple, as well as nearby homicides in red, since January 2007. Click for more details on The Times’ interactive Homicide Report.

A suspect has been arrested in a shooting on the Hollywood Walk of Fame that left a young man dead, authorities said Monday.

Victim Jesse Medina, 19, of Hollywood, was fatally shot about 3 a.m. Sunday on the sidewalk of Hollywood Boulevard near Las Palmas Avenue, according to a statement from the Los Angeles Police Department.

[Updated at 11:15 a.m.: At least 39 homicides have been reported within 2 miles of Sunday's shooting since January 2007, according to coroner’s data collected for The Times’ interactive Homicide Report.]

Officers responded to the sound of multiple gunshots and found Medina lying on the sidewalk. He was pronounced dead at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Officers detained several people who were at the scene for questioning and later arrested a suspect, whose name has not been released.

ALSO:

Second surfer dies on San Diego County beach

700-pound bronze pelican is stolen from a city park

Zsa Zsa Gabor operation called 'successful' by her husband

-- Abby Sewell

Map: Shows location of Sunday's shooting in purple, as well as 39 other homicides, in red, since January 2007. Credit: Los Angeles Times

Really? The Claim: Sleep Apnea Causes Sexual Problems

THE FACTS

Sleep apnea causes disrupted breathing in the middle of the night for more than 12 million Americans. Fatigue, high blood pressure and weight gain are some of its more familiar symptoms.

But a growing body of research has also found that sleep apnea can be a drain on intimacy, causing erectile dysfunction in men and loss of libido in women.

Scientists suspect this may have to do with sex hormones like testosterone, which rise with sleep and fall when there is a lack of it. Because it causes intermittent waking and chronic sleep deprivation, apnea may directly drive down levels of these hormones, causing sexual dysfunction.

In the most recent study, published last month in The Journal of Sexual Medicine, scientists compared 80 women with obstructive sleep apnea between the ages of 28 and 64 with 240 women without the condition. They found that the apnea patients had significantly higher rates of sexual dysfunction. Their findings echoed those of earlier studies on women and apnea.

In a study in 2009, researchers looked for signs of sexual problems in 401 men who showed up at a clinic for suspected sleep apnea. Of those who received the diagnosis, about 70 percent also had erectile dysfunction, compared with 34 percent in those without sleep apnea.

But on the bright side, treatment can make a difference. Patients who undergo surgery to correct facial abnormalities that contribute to apnea see improvements in intimacy, and those who start using masks at night that administer continuous positive airway pressure also report benefits in their sexual relationships.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Sleep apnea can raise the risk of sexual dysfunction.

Crime alerts for Eagle Rock, Porter Ranch and 10 other L.A. neighborhoods

Crime reports are up significantly for the latest week in 12 L.A. neighborhoods, according to an analysis of Los Angeles Police Department data by the Los Angeles Times’ Crime L.A. database.

Four neighborhoods reported a significant increase in violent crime. Eagle Rock (A) was the most unusual, recording three reports compared with a weekly average of 0.8 over the last three months. Eagle Rock also triggered an alert for property crime.

Porter Ranch (E) topped the list of nine neighborhoods with property crime alerts. It recorded 13 property crimes compared with its weekly average of 7.3 over the last three months.

Alerts are based on an analysis of crime reports for Sept. 29–Oct. 5, the most recent seven days for which data are available.

-- Ben Welsh, Thomas Suh Lauder

700-pound bronze pelican is stolen from a city park

Weighing in at 700 pounds, the bronze pelican didn't just fly away from its perch in a city park in the small Bay Area town of Novato.

But the apparent theft has left city officials puzzled about exactly how the 9-foot-tall statue, with a 10-foot wingspan, was pilfered.

Now, Novato police are offering a $1,000 reward to help locate the statue called Omay, the Miwok word for pelican, the Marin Independent Journal reported Sunday.

The Novato City Council commissioned the statue in 2007 for $27,500. Its creator, Idaho artist David Clemons, installed the work only about a year ago.

"My heart sank when I read what had happened," Novato Mayor Madeline Kellner told the Independent Journal.

ALSO:

Commuters warned to avoid 710 Freeway

Second surfer dies on San Diego County beach

Dozens of inmates in brawl at Castaic detention center

-- Rick Rojas

Pedestrian killed on 10 Freeway after report of naked man on road

Officials were investigating the early morning death Monday of a pedestrian who was struck by a vehicle on the westbound 10 Freeway.

Three lanes were closed for more than an hour and a half after the 4:45 a.m. accident just east of La Brea Avenue.

No details were immediately available.

A California Highway Patrol incident log showed reports of a naked man running on the roadside at about the time of the accident.

ALSO:

Dozens of inmates in brawl at Castaic detention center

Cheerleader's fatal injuries after crash described in court

Officials warn Monday commuters to avoid the 710 Freeway

-- Abby Sewell

Second surfer dies on San Diego County beach

Surf Beach Camp Pendleton
San Diego County's medical examiner's office said it hopes to know this week what caused a surfer to collapse and die over the weekend, marking the second surfer death at the same beach in less than two months.

Charles Solon Todd Jr. of Aliso Viejo was at the stretch of Camp Pendleton known as Surf Beach when he was stricken.

"He was witnessed to ride a wave into shore, sit on his board and collapse forward onto his board," according to a medical examiner's office report.

Attempts at resuscitation failed. An examination is planned, the medical examiner's office said.

"The force or the impact of a rip current will bring you out to sea and that's what makes people panic and they overexert themselves," a San Diego lifeguard told Fox 5 San Diego.

Todd's death is the second at Surf Beach this fall. In early September, 42-year-old Russ Yamada was found unresponsive in the water near his surfboard. Officials determined Yamada had had a heart attack.

ALSO:

Commuters warned to avoid 710 Freeway

Dozens of inmates in brawl at Castaic detention center

Cheerleader's fatal injuries after crash described in court

-- Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: Surf Beach. Credit: Fox 5 San Diego

 

Dad leaves baby in car while eating lunch, police say

An 18-year-old father was arrested in Sacramento after he allegedly left his baby unattended in a parked car for more than half an hour while he ate lunch with a friend.

The 5-month-old girl was found sitting in the unlocked car parked at a shopping center.

KTLA-TV Channel 5 reported a couple spotted the baby alone in the car Friday and called police. She was sweating, but unharmed.

When the father returned, he told officers he was having lunch with a friend across the street and forgot his baby was in the car.

Christopher Johnson, 18, was arrested on suspicion of child endangerment. The baby was handed over to Child Protective Services.

ALSO:

Commuters warned to avoid 710 Freeway

Dozens of inmates in brawl at Castaic detention center

Cheerleader's fatal injuries after crash described in court

-- Abby Sewell

 

Teen injured after high-speed chase in South Bay

A 16-year-old boy was injured Monday when he crashed a suspected stolen car after leading officers on a high-speed chase beginning in El Segundo.

An officer saw the teen get out of the Chevrolet Impala rental car in front of a construction site on Washington Street and Maple Avenue about 1:45 a.m., said Sgt. Jeff Leyman of the El Segundo Police Department.

Suspecting a burglary was unfolding, the officer stopped. But the boy got back in the car and sped off, and the officer pursued him.

The chase led through residential neighborhoods to Imperial Highway, where the boy drove west at a high rate of speed, Leyman said.

He lost control of the car as he attempted to turn north on Vista del Mar in nearby Playa del Rey, and the car rolled.

Men wielding semi-automatic weapons rob Ladera Heights drugstore

Sheriff's officials were looking Monday for three men who robbed a CVS drugstore in Ladera Heights at gunpoint.

Shortly before the store's closing time at 11 p.m., three men wearing dark clothing, gloves and ski masks and armed with semi-automatic weapons entered the store on the 5000 block of Slauson Avenue, according to a statement from the L.A. County Sheriff's Department.

The men ordered store employees to the ground and tied them up, then took an unspecified amount of money from a cash register and a safe before fleeing, authorities said. No one was injured. 

To report information about the robbery, contact the Marina del Rey sheriff's station at 310-482-6000.

ALSO:

Commuters warned to avoid 710 Freeway

Dozens of inmates in brawl at Castaic detention center

Cheerleader's fatal injuries after crash described in court

-- Abby Sewell

A note to Telegraph Blogs readers: thank you



I wanted to write this while my legs still hurt.


Yesterday, as some of you know, I ran the Royal Parks Half Marathon in support of St Mungo's, a charity which supports homeless and vulnerable people. I made it around, and in a personal best time (the "chip time" says 1hr 43m 55sec, but I'm going with my stopwatch time of 1hr 43m 27sec which doesn't include a brief comfort stop. Either way it's more than a minute faster than my previous best).


But enough about me. I wanted to say thanks to those of you who sponsored me: the names I recognised were Kevin Monk, Damon the prophet, Phil McG, Molybdenite, Hamish Redux, Eccles, Janet Webb, Ernest Chaussette (who called me "a loony, but a nice loony") and Damocles. There were a few anonymouses in there as well, so thanks if that was you; and do let me know if I've missed anybody. I know a lot of you disagree profoundly with me on a wide variety of topics, so I really appreciate you putting that aside for a good cause.


At the risk of turning this into an Oscar acceptance speech, I also wanted to say thanks to some Telegraph colleagues, Ed West, Damian Thompson, Marcus Warren, Shane Richmond, Juliet Turner and Ian Douglas; and from outside the Telegraph, James Higgs, India Knight and Kat Brown. My non-journalist friends and family I'll thank personally.


I'm hobbling around today, but very pleased with myself. To put my success into perspective, though, my girlfriend did it in 1hr 40m 55sec, and I'm pretty sure that the editor of this newspaper beat me by a good minute or so as well. Still, that's probably better than the other way around, career-prospect-wise.


If any of you do still want to sponsor me, the page stays open for another few days, so please do go here.


 



Officials warn Monday commuters to avoid the 710 freeway

Detourmap

Officials warned commuters to avoid the 710 freeway in both directions between the 5 and 105 freeways Monday, as unexpected problems in construction work are forcing a continued closure of four lanes of the Long Beach Freeway.

Instead of five southbound lanes and four northbound lanes flowing through the cities of South Gate, Cudahy and Bell, the 710 will be reduced to only two northbound lanes and three southbound lanes during the Monday commute, said Officer Anthony Martin with the California Highway Patrol. 

The pavement laid down by work crews was not thickening fast enough to permit an on-time opening of the Long Beach Freeway, Caltrans spokeswoman Maria Raptis told City News Service.

The partial freeway closure is expected to continue until Tuesday at 5 a.m., the CHP said.

Caltrans has been repaving the Long Beach Freeway for years, and is supposed to finish weekend construction work in time to open up the freeway for the Monday morning commute. 

The 710 is a major artery for trucks coming to and from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. 

Possible detours for commuters include driving up the 110 or 605 freeways. 

ALSO:

Burglars report victim's pornography to police

Man used gun fiancee gave him to kill her, prosecutor says

Federal officials begin major crackdown on marijuana operations

--Rong-Gong Lin II 

 

Photo: A map of the construction area. Credit: California Department of Transportation

A portion of the 710 Freeway remains closed for Monday morning commute

Detourmap A portion of the northbound Long Beach Freeway (710), scheduled to reopen for the Monday morning commute, will remain closed because the fresh pavement laid down over the weekend is not thickening in time, a Caltrans official said.

The one-foot-thick pavement is not "firming" in time to open the freeway, according to Caltrans spokeswoman Maria Raptis.

That means the northbound lanes of the 710 will remain closed between the Glenn Anderson (105) Freeway in Lynwood and the Atlantic/Bandini exit in Vernon Monday, Raptis said.

The stretch is expected to be open by 5 a.m. on Tuesday, Raptis said.

Northbound traffic will detour to the southbound side, where a 45 mph speed limit will be enforced by the California Highway Patrol, she said.

"Avoid the area if you can," Raptis recommended.

ALSO:

Burglars report victim's pornography to police

Man used gun fiancee gave him to kill her, prosecutor says

Federal officials begin major crackdown on marijuana operations

-- From the wires

Photo: A map of the construction area. Credit: California Department of Transportation

Dozens of inmates in brawl at Castaic detention center

A brawl involving dozens of inmates broke out at a Los Angeles County jail Sunday afternoon, according to a Sheriff’s Department statement released Sunday night.

Shortly after 1:30 p.m., fighting erupted at the Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic.  In all, 63 inmates were involved in the fracas, which was contained to a dormitory area at the facility, Capt. Mike Parker said in a press release.

Jail personnel and a special anti-riot team of sheriff’s deputies responded to the fighting.  When the inmates ignored orders to stop, the deputies threw “clear out” gas and “sting balls,” which deploy rubber pellets, into the area, Parker said.  Calm was restored after about 10 minutes, according to the press release.

The reason for the brawl was not immediately known.  One inmate suffered a small puncture wound to the stomach area and was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.  Twenty other inmates received treatment at the jail for minor scrapes and scratches.

The jail remained on a “modified lockdown status” throughout Sunday as a precaution, Parker said.

 The Sheriff’s Department’s network of jails has been the subject of intense scrutiny in recent weeks.  The Times has published a series of articles regarding allegations of inmate abuses by deputies.  Sheriff Lee Baca has formed two task forces to look into the claims, while critics have urged the FBI to launch a broad investigation into the jails.

ALSO:

Burglars report victim's pornography to police

Man used gun fiancee gave him to kill her, prosecutor says

Federal officials begin major crackdown on marijuana operations

-- Joel Rubin  (twitter.com/joelrubin)

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