Man convicted of 1998 killing of German tourist in Santa Monica

A man who fled to Jamaica after the 1998 killing of a German tourist in Santa Monica was convicted of murder in connection with the crime, authorities said Monday night.

Paul Edmond Carpenter was convicted Monday of killing Horst Fietze during a botched robbery of German tourists at the Loews Hotel in October 1998, the Santa Monica Police Department said.

Carpenter fled after the slaying and eluded authorities for nearly 10 years until an anonymous tip helped Santa Monica police and the FBI locate him in Jamaica.

His trial lasted two weeks, police said. He was convicted of one count of murder with special circumstances and three counts of attempted robbery. Carpenter is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 30.

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L.A. Weekly Editor Drex Heikes stepping down

Three arrested in counterfeit iPhone parts ring case

Fontana car crash leaves 4 dead who attended same high school

— Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

Photo: Paul Edmond Carpenter. Credit: Santa Monica Police Department

LAPD says man shot after he fired gun into home filled with people

Los Angeles police Monday night identified a man who was shot by officers in Watts after he allegedly fired a handgun into a house filled with people and then pointed the weapon at police.

Melvin Butler, 27, was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer and was being held in lieu of $200,000 bail, the Los Angeles Police Department said.

Butler is accused of firing the weapon into the home in 10200 block of Main Street, where several adults and children were inside. Butler allegedly stormed into the home and fought with a man while the children and other adults tried to hide, according to police.

"The residents scrambled for safety inside, hiding in closets and wherever they could find concealment from the armed suspect," the LAPD said a statement.

As Butler and the man struggled for control of the weapon, police arrived and the officer-involved shooting took place, the LAPD said. Butler was shot multiple times and seriously wounded. One of the men inside the home was allegedly wounded by Butler, police said.

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L.A. Weekly Editor Drex Heikes stepping down

Three arrested in counterfeit iPhone parts ring case

Fontana car crash leaves 4 dead who attended same high school

— Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

Map shows recent crimes near the scene where a man allegedly fired a handgun into a home. Credit: Times' Mapping L.A.

Santa Monica considering dog beach, the second in L.A. County

Santa Monica officials are throwing pet lovers a bone with a proposal to let dogs to run loose in the sand and surf.

The City Council on Tuesday will consider working with the state to establish a pilot off-leash dog zone at the beach.

The idea was championed by Unleash the Beach, one of several Los Angeles-area groups that have campaigned for more space on the sand for dogs. Rosie's Dog Beach, a three-acre zone in Long Beach, is the only stretch of coastline in Los Angeles County where canines can legally run off-leash.

Dog lovers face an uphill battle because a California code prohibits unleashed dogs on state beaches without an order from a California State Parks superintendent. The agency, which owns Santa Monica State Beach, has vowed to oppose any efforts to relax the rules and allow dogs on the sand, citing concerns about safety, cleanliness and the environment.

Water quality groups also worry that dog feces could pollute beach water and sicken swimmers.

INTERACTIVE: Guide to Southern California's off-leash dog beaches

Dog owners say it is a matter of fairness, that L.A. County's 75- mile coastline should have more the one place for their dogs to romp in the sand. They have asked for a small patch of sand to use on a trial basis in order to prove they can be clean and responsible.

The proposal by Santa Monica Mayor Pro Tempore Gleam Davis and Councilman Terry O'Day would include environmental monitoring of the beach and the water during the pilot program.

"I want to see what we can do to find a way to make this work," O'Day told the Santa Monica Daily Press. "Obviously, there are a lot of folks in the community who would like to see it happen."

--Tony Barboza

Photo: Chester stands on his hind legs to catch a ball at Rosie's Dog Beach in Long Beach in August. Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times

Scott Dekraai, defendant in Seal Beach shootings, gets new lawyer

The man accused in Orange County’s deadliest shooting rampage will be represented by a public defender.

Scott Evans Dekraai, 42, told Judge Erick L. Larsh in a brief court appearance Monday that he could not afford legal counsel. He had been represented in an Oct. 14 court appearance by a family lawyer.

Public defender Scott Sanders has taken over the case.

Senior Deputy Dist. Atty. Scott Simmons, who is co-prosecuting the case, said the change of attorneys will not delay the case.

Dekraai will be arraigned Nov. 29 in Orange County Superior Court. He faces eight counts of special-circumstances first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder, and prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty.

Sanders would not comment on the case or say whether the court has allowed Dekraai, a Huntington Beach resident, to take his anti-psychotic medications or use a spinal cord stimulator to ease pain from a 2007 boating accident.

“I know that people are experiencing tremendous pain, and it’s very sad,” Sanders said in an interview. “But I don’t want to disrespect this whole process or talk about a case that I’m just coming to at the earliest point.”

Prosecutors are expecting an insanity defense, but Sanders said it’s too early to tell what type of defense he will mount.

Some relatives of the eight victims attended the hearing. Paul Wilson, the husband of salon employee Christy Lynn Wilson, 47, donned a black suit with two round pins with photos of his late wife.

Dekraai allegedly walked into the Salon Meritage at 1:20 p.m. Oct. 12 with a bulletproof vest and three guns and shot and killed eight people and injured a ninth. He was allegedly seeking revenge on his ex-wife, whom he had bitterly fought over custody of their 8-year-old child.

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Hundreds attend service for Seal Beach salon owner

Listen: 911 calls released

Victim predicted ex-husband would kill her

--Mona Shadia, Times Community News

 

Obama visit to L.A. shuts down Wilshire and adjacent 6th Street

A portion of Wilshire Boulevard and adjacent 6th Street were closed Monday afternoon in the Hancock Park area because of a fundraising visit by President Obama.

The closures of the major east-west thoroughfares helped snarl rush-hour traffic and affected public transportation in the area. The closures were roughly from South Muirfield Drive to South Hudson Avenue, the Los Angeles Police Department said.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said that bus lines 20 and 720 on Wilshire Boulevard and lines 28 and 728 on Olympic Boulevard would detour along Beverly Boulevard between Western Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard.

The closures would remain in effect to around midnight, LAPD Officer Gregory Baek said.

The closures sparked a flurry of Twitter messages from unhappy motorists and others caught up in the traffic.

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New LA Weekly editor named as Drex Heikes departs

Three arrested in counterfeit iPhone parts ring case

Fontana car crash leaves 4 dead who attended same high school

— Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

LAPD identifies man shot by officers in South L.A. gun incident

A man who police said was wounded by officers in South Los Angeles after he pointed a gun at people in a parking lot was identified Monday as Carlos Escobedo.

Escobedo, 22, was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon in connection with the incident early Sunday outside a restaurant near West Vernon Avenue and South Broadwayin South Park, the Los Angeles Police Department said. 

After responding to a "disturbance call," officers allegedly saw Escobedo pointing the gun at the group of people in the parking lot. "At that point, an officer-involved shooting occurred," the LAPD said in a statement.

Escobedo suffered a grazing wound to his leg and was taken into custody. He was being held in lieu of $50,000 bail.

ALSO:

L.A. Weekly Editor Drex Heikes stepping down

Three arrested in counterfeit iPhone parts ring case

Fontana car crash leaves 4 dead who attended same high school

— Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

Map shows recent crimes in the area where the LAPD officer-involved shooting occurred. Credit: Times' Mapping L.A.

Fate of disputed South L.A. farm site up to City Council

A plan to strip a promised park from land once used by the South Central Farm took a step forward Monday when a Los Angeles City Council committee voted 4 to 0 to send the proposal to the full council.

The plan calls for changes to a 2003 deal the city made when it sold the land to real estate developer Ralph Horowitz. That deal stipulated that Horowitz donate 2.6 acres for use as a park -– a promise seen as a silver lining for farmers who had gardened on the land for years and were later evicted.

Councilwoman Jan Perry, who helped engineer the original deal, is now asking the city to allow Horowitz to keep the land designated for park space and instead pay about $3.6 million for renovations and programs at parks and a public housing community nearby.

She says Horowitz is in escrow with a buyer, a group of four clothing companies that want to build factories that would require all 14 acres of the property. Perry says the $30-million development would create 300 construction jobs and 600 permanent positions. She says the land, which is in a heavy industrial area, is not suitable for a park because diesel emissions in the area may pose health risks.

Her office bused in dozens of people to speak in support of the plan at Monday’s Budget and Finance committee meeting, including some people who work at the garment companies. The companies -- Poetry, Impact, Miss Me, and Active -- have joined together under an umbrella group, PIMA Development. All but one of the Los Angeles-based companies makes their clothes overseas. The proposed development in South L.A. would be used primarily as a design and distribution site.

Supporters of the plan wore sky blue t-shirts that read, “Jobs Now, PIMA Now.” Many of those opposing the plan wore green South Central Farm shirts. They told the council members that the neighborhood, a gritty stretch with heavy truck traffic, desperately needs new park space.

When Councilman Bill Rosendahl asked if the manufacturers could spare 2.3 acres for a park, a PIMA representative said no.

Myung-Soo Seok, who works for the lobbying firm Sage Strategies, said a park was "incompatible" with the surroundings and the companies needed room to grow.

"The fact that they're actually making a $30-million investment is something that you don't see," Seok said.

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L.A. Weekly Editor Drex Heikes stepping down

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-- Kate Linthicum

Photo: Actvists protested this summer against a plan to convert space at the former site of the South Central Farm from a proposed park to commercial development. Credit: Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times 

Man in gorilla mask and carrying a stun gun robs taco stand in La Mesa

A man wearing what appeared to be a gorilla mask and waving a stun gun robbed a taco stand early Monday in the city of La Mesa in eastern San Diego County.

Police say the masked man had an accomplice in the robbery at Aliberto's Taco Shop shortly after midnight.

One man entered the store and ordered a burrito, police said. While the clerk was busy fixing the burrito, the masked man entered the store and demanded money, police said.

After clearing out the cash drawer, the two fled on foot with an undisclosed amount of money.

--Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: A masked man is shown on a surveillance camera robbing a taco stand in La Mesa. Credit: KGTV-Channel 10 

 

Green sea turtle once near death will be returned to San Diego Bay

Bruce, the Pacific green sea turtle found close to death with gunshot wounds to his neck in January, is set to be returned to San Diego Bay on Tuesday.

Bruce -- a member of a species considered threatened -- was found by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials in the bay's southern reach near Chula Vista and rushed to Sea World San Diego. The creature was dehydrated, with a crack on his underside, and severely underweight.

At Sea World, he's been treated with antibiotics, pain medication and rehydration fluids. He's gained 50 pounds, to a robust 300, and is finally considered strong enough to return to his natural environment.

The jumbo-sizereptile has been outfitted with an acoustic transmitter to allow scientists to track his movements.

--Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: Bruce, the Pacific green sea turtle. Credit: Sea World San Diego

 

 

 

Former Keystone pipeline lobbyist hired by Obama campaign

President Obama's reelection campaign has hired a former lobbyist for the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline as a top adviser.

The campaign said that Broderick Johnson, founder and former principal of the communications firm the Collins Johnson Group, would serve as a senior adviser for the campaign. Before founding the firm this spring, he served as president of the powerhouse lobbying firm, Bryan Cave LLC, where his clients included Microsoft, Comcast and TransCanada, the company planning to build the $7-billion pipeline to carry crude from Alberta’s oil sands to the Texas Gulf Coast.

Johnson’s federal lobbyist filings indicate that TransCanada paid Bryan Cave at least $240,000 late last year and early this year for Johnson to work on supporting the “submission for a presidential permit for Keystone XL Pipeline.” He lobbied members of Congress, the filings show, as well as the administration and the State Department.
 
An Obama campaign official said that in his new role Johnson would “serve as a national surrogate for the campaign and our representative in meetings with key leaders, communities and organizations.  Broderick will be an ear to the ground for the campaign's political and constituency operations, helping to ensure that there is constant, open communication between the campaign and our supporters around the country.”
 
Given his ties to Keystone XL, Johnson is bound to get an earful when meeting with some in Obama’s constituency.

The pipeline needs a permit from the State Department because it would cross a federal border. For more than a year, Keystone XL has been mired in controversy. TransCanada, the oil industry and several labor unions have said the project would create thousands of jobs in the United States and reduce the country’s dependence on oil from hostile or unstable countries. Environmentalists, including many Obama supporters, have argued that the extraction of the crude in Alberta lays waste to the land and increases greenhouse gas emissions. They caution that the proposed route would take the pipeline over the Ogallala Aquifer in Nebraska, the main source of drinking and irrigation water in the High Plains states, and they argue that the number of jobs created would be far fewer than claimed by the project’s backers.

Santa Ana winds expected this week in L.A., Ventura counties

Santa Ana winds are expected to blow across Ventura and Los Angeles counties later this week, heightening the threat of brush fires in the region, the National Weather Service said Monday afternoon.

The gusty northeast winds are expected to begin in the mountain areas by Wednesday afternoon and push into canyons and valleys by nightfall and continue blowing Thursday, the Weather Service said. The winds are expected to be from 25 mph to 35 mph.

The dry winds will cause relative humidities to drop into the teens and single digits.

"The very low humidities combined with gusty offshore winds will result in heightened fire weather risk for Los Angeles and Ventura counties," the agency said in a statement. "The greatest concern is in the mountains ... where the strongest and longer-duration winds are expected."

The dry conditions will continue into the weekend, the Weather Service said. The winds will be the result of high pressure over the Great Basin.

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Three arrested in counterfeit iPhone parts ring case

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— Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

Reader photos: Southern California Moments Day 297

In transit: Fidencio Casas takes a shot from a Metro Gold Line train as it passes over the 101 Freeway in Los Angeles on July 7.

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.

Hundreds say goodbye to Seal Beach shooting victim Michelle Fournier

Hundreds of family members and friends gathered to mourn Michelle Fournier in a tearful service Monday morning in Los Alamitos for the Salon Meritage stylist, one of eight killed Oct. 12 in a Seal Beach shooting rampage.

Fournier, who was 48, was the former wife of Scott Dekraai, who has been charged with eight counts of murder. The two were involved in a custody dispute over their 8-year-old son.

But there was no mention of Dekraai at the service, which featured a video montage with hundreds of photos of Fournier -- many with her three children -- and tearful tributes from family members.

Full coverage: Deadly shooting at Seal Beach beauty salon

Her brother, Butch Fournier, read a poem. "We'll miss your voice, your infectious laugh ... , " he read.

Longtime friend Cindy Pagano began her remarks with her first impression of Fournier -- a Boston accent and purple velvet knickers in the third grade. The two remained friends throughout adulthood.

She said Fournier liked to cook and had the best sauce recipe in her Italian family, and that she was a "lover of life."

"She talked about spending her 50th birthday on the Amalfi Coast," Pagano said.

At the end of the service at Cottonwood Church, people gathered to release eight white doves -- one for each victim in the shooting.

RELATED:

Full coverage: Deadly Seal Beach shooting

Victim predicted ex-husband would kill her

Listen: 911 calls on the Seal Beach shooting

-- Nicole Santa Cruz in Los Alamitos

Photo: Outside Cottonwood Church, friends and relatives console one another before the service for Michelle Fournier. Credit: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

Detectives investigate possible human remains in Malibu

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the discovery of possible human remains found in Calabasas’ Malibu Creek State Park on Monday morning.

A hiker led sheriff’s deputies to a location inside Tapia Park, a relatively small area, located south of the main entrance to the State Park.

The L.A. County coroner's department is responding to the location. Officials say no further information is available at this time.

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Redondo Beach man charged with graveyard burglary

Security officials at LAX fail to detect loaded gun in bag

Starbucks robber waits in coffee line before demanding money

-- Matt Stevens

 

 

3 arrested in counterfeit iPhone parts ring

A three-month Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department investigation into counterfeit Apple products being sold online resulted in three arrests, department officials announced Sunday.

On Thursday, detectives from the department's commercial crime bureau searched five locations in Walnut, Rowland Heights and Covina, where they recovered counterfeit iPhone rear panels, phone covers and chargers, apparently imported from China. Officials estimate the items had a street value of about $250,000.

Two men and one woman were arrested on charges of possesing counterfeit products with the intent to sell. The suspects were booked and are being held in lieu of $100,000 bail. The Sheriff's Department has withheld the names of the suspects, citing an ongoing investigation.

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-- Rick Rojas

Photo: Sheriff's Department investigators recover counterfeit iPhone covers and other Apple products that they believe were imported from China. Credit: Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department

150 firefighters called to battle UCLA lab blaze

A fire in a laboratory at the UCLA Center for Health Sciences was extinguished Monday after a 50-minute battle by nearly 150 firefighters, fire officials said.

The fire was located on the fifth floor of the center's building, in a lab with hazardous materials. No injuries were reported. Although the fire has been doused, eastbound traffic on LeConte Avenue remains diverted, UCLA said.

In 2008, a student at the university was killed in a lab fire on campus.

Sheharbano "Sheri" Sangji, 23, was severely burned over nearly half her body when air-sensitive chemicals burst into flames, causing injuries that led to her death 18 days later.

The incident prompted the university to improve its safety procedures, including increasing the number of lab inspections, creating more safety training and issuing lab coats.

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City panel to debate fate of disputed community farm site

-- Rick Rojas

Fontana crash: 4 killed attended same high school, 2 were sisters

The four teenagers killed in a Fontana car crash Sunday all had attended A.B. Miller High School, and two of them were sisters, police confirmed Monday.

School officials said students were mourning the deaths of Raquel Garcia, 18, and her sister, Rebecca, 16, along with Javier T. Contreras and Pedro Rivera, both 18.

The teens were killed when their car, driven by Contreras, crashed into a cement beam and burst into flames after 1 a.m. Sunday.

Raquel Garcia, Contreras, and Rivera were all recent A.B. Miller graduates, according to police with the Fontana Unified School District. Rebecca Garcia was a current student.   

Principal Heather Griggs said that school psychologists and other personnel were on site to help students grieve.  

“It’s quiet today,” she said. “Students are spending a lot of time talking with their teachers. Whether they knew the students or not, it’s a shock.”  

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Four Fontana teens die in fiery weekend crash

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-- Matt Stevens

Photo credit: KTLA-TV Channel 5

Conrad Murray defense: D.A. drug expert’s theory ‘out of thin air’

Prosecutors wrapped up their case in the manslaughter trial of Michael Jackson’s personal physician Monday with the testimony of a prominent anesthesiologist who said Dr. Conrad Murray’s account of what happened in the singer’s house was not supported by scientific evidence.

In his fifth day on the stand, Dr. Steven Shafer was grilled by a defense attorney on his earlier testimony on how much of the anesthetic propofol Murray could have given Jackson, and by what method.

After ruling out various scenarios one by one, Shafer ultimately concluded that the only plausible explanation was that Murray gave Jackson an intravenous drip of propofol and left it flowing into the singer’s body even as his heart stopped.

He said he believed Murray had given Jackson 40 times more propofol than he admitted to police.

Attorney Ed Chernoff, in his cross examination, said the scenarios Shafer chose to consider were arbitrary. 

“You chose this out of thin air, you chose this example?” Chernoff asked.

“Yes,” Shafer replied.

Under questioning later by a prosecutor, Shafer said he had no choice but to speculate about what happened in the hours leading up to Jackson’s death because Murray kept no records –- something he said in earlier testimony was an egregious violation of standard of care.

Shafer also reiterated his opinion that there was no chance the pop star could have given himself the lethal dose of propofol –- what Murray’s attorneys told jurors was the cause of Jackson’s death.

“You were not able to find a scenario that could explain the blood levels and also self injection?” Deputy Dist. Atty. David Walgren asked.

FULL COVERAGE: The trial of Conrad Murray

“Correct,” the expert said.

After Shafer finished on the stand, prosecutors rested their case, clearing the way for Murray’s defense to begin calling witnesses.

Over four weeks, the government called 33 witnesses, many of whom alleged deceptions and incompetence by Murray in the months leading up to and the days following Jackson’s death.

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-- Victoria Kim

Photo: Dr. Steven Shafer, an expert on propofol, demonstrates how the anesthetic is extracted from a glass bottle. Credit: Reed Saxon / AFP/Getty Images

 

Oil pipeline protesters to greet Obama in San Francisco

When President Obama arrives Tuesday at San Francisco's W Hotel for a fundraiser, he may see some familiar faces from his 2008 campaign -- but they won't be friendly ones.

Several hundred former ardent supporters of the president are expected to attend a rally opposing the Keystone XL pipeline, which would bring Canadian tar sands oil through the U.S. heartland to the Gulf of Mexico. The State Department is expected to soon issue a decision on whether to permit the conduit.

The rally, organized by CREDO Action, is a bellwether for the reelection dissatisfaction Obama could face among those who voted for him based on his environmental promises, a number of which have crumbled since he took office -- including the demise of cap-and-trade legislation and the postponement of major air regulations.

“The Bay Area and Northern California were huge sources of grass-roots donations and energy for the Obama campaign in 2008," said CREDO Action campaign manager Elijah Zarlin, a former author of the Obama campaign's fundraising emails who is organizing the rally. "If he wants these people back strongly for him in 2012, he needs to hear us on this and seize this opportunity to lead. This is a great opportunity to deliver this important message directly to the president, and to his high-dollar donors who are in a unique position to talk to the president about this issue."

Rally attendees are planning to use the call of "Yes You Can," a twist on Obama's 2008 campaign motto, to suggest that the president can reject the Keystone application and fulfill his promise to end "the tyranny of oil," as he said during his first White House campaign.

There's no word yet on how close the protesters will be allowed to get to the president or his supporters, who will be paying $7,500 apiece to attend the dinner.

"The Keystone pipeline is a desperate attempt to maintain our disastrous reliance on fossil fuels that will be essentially 'game over' for climate, which is exactly what President Obama ran against in 2008,” said Becky Bond, political director of CREDO Action. "The corruption and conflict of interest that we've seen in the State Department's handling of the review process are exactly the type of insider, closed-door cronyism that President Obama said he would change."

ALSO:

California adopts historic cap-and-trade regulations

Australia moves closer to law establishing carbon tax

Climate skeptic admits he was wrong to doubt global-warming data

-- Geoff Mohan

Photo: President Obama speaks at Greensville County High School in Emporia, Va., on Oct. 18, part of his three-day bus tour to promote his jobs legislation. Credit: Jewel Samad / AFP/Getty Images

Burning oil from BP spill produced carbon plumes

Chalk up another environmental impact from last summer's Deepwater Horizon oil spill: Nine weeks of burning off oil slicks from the surface of the Gulf of Mexico following the BP spill released an estimated 1 million pounds of soot into the atmosphere, according to a study released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The burns were conducted to reduce the size of the slicks and to minimize the amount of oil reaching the gulf’s coast and wetlands systems. But the study, which was co-written by researchers at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences in Boulder, Colo., found the plumes of smoke from the burns produced an amount of carbon equal to the total black carbon emissions normally released by all ships that travel the Gulf of Mexico during a nine-week period.

Black carbon, whose primary component is often called soot, is among the most light-absorbing particles in the atmosphere. The new study, published online in Geophysical Research Letters, provides some of the most detailed observations made of black carbon sent airborne by burning surface oil.

The study found that the soot plumes reached much higher into the atmosphere than ship emissions normally rise, and that the average size of the soot particles was larger than normally emitted from other sources in the gulf region. Researchers also found that the soot particles were almost all black carbon, unlike forest fires, for example, which produce other particles along with black carbon.

ALSO:

California adopts historic cap-and-trade regulations

Australia moves closer to law establishing carbon tax

Climate skeptic admits he was wrong to doubt global-warming data

-- Julie Cart

Photo: A controlled burn on June 19, 2010, attempting to remove oil floating near the leaking BP well in the Gulf of Mexico. Credit: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times

Studying Successful People With Mental Illness

It’s long been thought that people with severe mental illness had limited opportunities for work, and many are advised to take on simple, low-stress jobs so as not to exacerbate their symptoms. But now researchers are studying high-functioning people with schizophrenia and its close cousin, schizoaffective disorder.

Now a group of people with the diagnosis is showing researchers a previously hidden dimension of the story: how the disorder can be managed while people build full, successful lives. The continuing study — a joint project of the University of California, Los Angeles; the University of Southern California; and the Department of Veterans Affairs — follows a group of 20 people with the diagnosis, including two doctors, a lawyer and a chief executive, Ms. Myrick.

The study has already forced its authors to discard some of their assumptions about living with schizophrenia. “It’s just embarrassing,” said Dr. Stephen R. Marder, director of the psychosis section at U.C.L.A.’s Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, a psychiatrist with the V.A. Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System and one of the authors of the study. “For years, we as psychiatrists have been telling people with a diagnosis what to expect; we’ve been telling them who they are, how to change their lives — and it was bad information” for many people.

No more so, perhaps, than for executive Keris Myrick, who after years of devastating mental trials learned that she needed a high-profile position, not a low-key one, to face down her spells of paranoia and despair. Her treatment regimen, like most others’ in the study, is a combination of medication as needed and personal supports, including an intuitive pet dog, the occasional weekend stay at a luxury hotel — and, not least, a strong alliance with a local psychiatrist.

To learn more, read the full story, “Lives Restored: A High-Profile Executive Job as Defense Against Mental Ills,” and then please join the discussion below.

Really? The Claim: Holidays Can Affect When Expectant Mothers Deliver

THE FACTS

Researchers have long suspected that holidays and culturally meaningful events can play a role in medical outcomes. Some believe that terminally ill patients, for example, can hang on to life for religious events, birthdays and symbolically important occasions, though decades of study of the question have yielded mixed results.

It has been unclear whether a similar holiday-postponement effect could be seen in pregnant women. In a study published this month, however, researchers at the Yale School of Public Health reviewed millions of birth certificates and found a 5.3 percent dip in spontaneous births on Halloween, suggesting that a mother’s mental state may play a role in when she goes into labor. The researchers also noted a 16.9 percent drop in Caesarean births on Halloween, perhaps indicating that many women avoid scheduling the procedure then.

The scientists looked at all births in the United States over an 11-year period that occurred within one week on either side of Halloween, adjusting for variables like day of the week. The 1.8 million births revealed a clear reluctance to start labor around the festival of the dead.

But would a more symbolically positive holiday have the reverse effect?

To find out, the researchers studied 1.7 million births that occurred within a week of Valentine’s Day over the same 11 years. They found a 3.6 percent spike in spontaneous births on Valentine’s and a 12.1 percent rise in Caesareans.

THE BOTTOM LINE

New research suggests that women may be able to control the timing of spontaneous births around certain holidays.

Four Fontana teens die in fiery weekend crash

A fiery single-car crash killed four Fontana teenagers early Sunday when the car’s 18-year-old driver smashed into a cement beam, causing the car to burst into flames.

Javier T. Contreras, the driver of a Chrysler Sebring, was traveling east on Foothill Boulevard at a high rate of speed when he lost control of the car, veered into the westbound lanes, and crashed into a train tressel about 1:07 a.m., the Fontana Police Department said in a statement. Flames engulfed the car until firefighters arrived to extinguish them.

Contreras and passenger Raquel Garcia, 18,  were pronounced dead at the scene at 1:30 a.m. Sunday. Passengers Pedro Rivera, 18, and Rebecca Garcia, 16, were removed from the vehicle and transferred to local hospitals. Rivera was pronounced dead from injuries at 2 a.m., as was Rebecca Garcia at 5:45 a.m.

Fontana Police Sgt. Billy Green said the reason for the crash is still being investigated. Rebecca and Raquel Garcia were related, but Green could not confirm their exact relationship. The department is set to release further information Monday afternoon. 

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Cooler temperatures, chance of showers Monday

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-- Matt Stevens

Man grazed in South L.A. officer-involved shooting

A police officer on Sunday shot and wounded a young man who had been pointing a gun at a group of people outside a restaurant in South Los Angeles.

The officer-involved shooting occurred about 2:50 a.m. Sunday in the back parking lot of a restaurant near Vernon Avenue and Broadway, according to a statement from the Los Angeles Police Department.

Officers responded to a "disturbance call" at the location. One of the officers was approaching the back parking lot when he allegedly saw the man pointing the gun at the group. "At that point, an officer-involved shooting occurred," the statement read.

It was unclear whether the gunman pointed the gun at the officer.

The suspect suffered a grazing wound to his leg and was taken into custody. A gun was recovered at the scene, police said.

Paramedics treated the man for his injury. He was later taken to the Newton Station. Authorities have not released his name, but say he is in his early 20s.

Police said four additional suspects were detained, but no details about the arrests were given.

The shooting will be reviewed by the police chief, the Office of the Inspector General and the Board of Police Commissioners.

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-- Ruben Vives

Man who allegedly shot friend is shot by police in Watts

Los Angeles police shot and wounded a man after he allegedly shot his friend in the back in Watts on Sunday.

Officers responded to a radio call of a shooting in the 10200 block of South Main Street about 5 p.m., when they found an armed suspect and a man down with a gunshot wound, said Sgt. Cesar Mata with the Los Angeles Police Department's Southeast Station.

The victim had been shot once in the back, he said. 

During the confrontation with the suspect, two officers fired, hitting him four times. Mata declined to say whether the suspect had pointed his gun at the officers but said police did recover the weapon.

The suspect and the victim, whose names have not been released, were transported to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, where they remained in stable condition, he said.

The two men were friends and had apparently argued over money the suspect owed to the victim, Mata said. The shooting took place at the victim's home.

The suspect has been booked on suspicion of attempted murder, he said.

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President Obama to arrive in L.A. for rush-hour traffic

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-- Abby Sewell

Cooler temperatures, chance of showers Monday

A low-pressure system has brought the possibility of rain and lower temperatures to begin the workweek, the National Weather Service said Monday.

There's a slight chance of showers from Los Angeles County down to San Diego, and highs could range from the mid- to upper 60s along coastal areas to the mid-70s inland, said David Sweet, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

Sweet said to expect mostly cloudy conditions and fog through Tuesday. The moist, foggy conditions will give way Tuesday to a breeze and sunny skies through the weekend. Temperatures will warm up through the week, with highs of upper 70s to the mid-80s across the region by Friday.

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-- Rick Rojas

President Obama to arrive in L.A. for rush-hour traffic

President Obama will return to Southern California on Monday evening, and the rolling street closures will be coming back with him -- just in time for the evening commute.

Obama will touch down at Los Angeles International Airport shortly before 5 p.m. for an overnight visit for fundraising events on Monday night and an appearance on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," which will be taped early Tuesday, before he leaves for Washington.

On Monday, the president will make his way to Hancock Park, where he will attend two fundraisers at the homes of entertainment luminaries, including actor Antonio Banderas and his wife, actress Melanie Griffith.

Los Angeles police did not disclose traffic plans, but said there could be congestion and street closures in the area surrounding the president's planned stops late Monday.

The president will come to the Southland after spending much of the day in Las Vegas.

This marks Obama's second visit to Southern California in less than a month. He came in late September, visiting San Diego and West Hollywood. He's made a number of other visits to the region -- where the president has a sizable donor base, as his campaign reboots for his 2012 reelection bid -- and traffic jams, particularly during rush hour, have surrounded him each time.

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-- Rick Rojas

Photo: President Barack Obama is expected to arrive in Los Angeles on Monday. He is shown here at LAX during a visit to Los Angeles last year.  Credit: Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times

Conrad Murray trial: Defense to begin its case

Dr. Conrad Murray's attorneys are expected to begin their case Monday, a task legal experts say will be a big damage-control job if they hope to keep Michael Jackson's physician from being convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

The prosecution's four-week case will wrap up after cross-examination and redirect of key medical witness Dr. Steven Shafer. Shafer has repeatedly attacked Murray's account of how Jackson died. The propofol expert testified that almost nothing about the quantity of drugs Murray said he administered matched up with what was later found in Jackson's blood.

He also maintained that Murray was at fault for abandoning his patient -- and for failing to say no to Jackson's demands.

FULL COVERAGE: The trial of Conrad Murray

Prosecutors contend that Murray lied repeatedly. But even if his statements are true, prosecutors say the doctor's words contain enough admissions of gross negligence to amount to a manslaughter confession.

"They've got the defense in a trick bag," said J. Christopher Smith, a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney who has followed the case closely. "Whichever way they go, it seems like the prosecution is going to have a comeback."

The Murray defense team plans to call about 15 witnesses, including a toxicologist and Dr. Paul White, an anesthesiologist who has researched propofol. Those experts could argue that Murray's care of Jackson was unorthodox but not criminal. The charge of involuntary manslaughter requires prosecutors to show that Murray caused Jackson's death by committing a crime "not amounting to a felony" or while acting "without due caution and circumspection."

The character witnesses include an 82-year-old woman who knows Murray's work at a Houston charity clinic. The defense is expected to use their testimony to counter the portrayal of Murray as primarily concerned with collecting his $150,000-a-month salary.

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City panel to debate fate of disputed community farm site

-- Victoria Kim and Harriet Ryan in Los Angeles County Superior Court

Photo: Dr. Conrad Murray, with defense attorney J. Michael Flanagan, left, listens in court Friday. Credit: Reed Saxon / Pool photo

Villaraigosa plans trade mission to Asia

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa plans to return to Asia on an 11-day trade mission in December, traveling with a contingent of city officials and business leaders to try to drum up jobs for the city. 

The group, which will include port, airport and tourism officials, is scheduled to travel to China, Japan and South Korea, the city's three-largest trading partners. Asia is home to eight of the city's top 10 foreign-trade businesses, according to the mayor's office.

"We have had success in expanding investment across our city by Asian business leaders," Villaraigosa said in a prepared statement, "and will use this trip for crucial personal meetings, which we have found are a key tool and best practice in working with our friends in Asia."

The mayor and his cohort are set to travel to Beijing, Chongqing and Shanghai in China; Tokyo and Sendai in Japan; and Seoul in South Korea. They plan to hold dozens of meetings and events with government and business leaders, seeking to encourage firms to locate in L.A. and invest in local companies, to promote tourism, to press for more imports from L.A. and to tout the city's port. The mayor's office noted that the trip comes just after Congress approved a free-trade agreement with South Korea.

City panel to debate fate of disputed community farm site

A controversial proposal involving land that was once home to the South Central Farm will come before a Los Angeles City Council committee Monday.

The land, a 14-acre-plot in the middle of a heavily industrial neighborhood in South Los Angeles, was used as a community garden for years. In 2003, the city sold the plot to real estate developer Ralph Horowitz in a $5-million deal that stipulated that Horowitz donate 2.6 acres for use as a park. That promise was seen as a silver lining for many of the farmers whom Horowitz later evicted from the land.

But in July, Councilwoman Jan Perry asked the Board of Harbor Commissioners, which oversaw the sale the land, to revise the deal to allow Horowitz to keep that section of land and instead pay about $3.6 million for renovations and programs at nearby parks and a public housing community. The board declined to rule on the matter, punting it to the City Council.

Perry has said the land is not a good place for a park because there is a heavy truck traffic in the area and diesel emissions may pose health risks. She said Horowitz is in escrow with a buyer -– a clothing manufacturer named PIMA Development, which wants to build factories that would require all 14 acres of the property.

The council's Budget and Finance Committee will take up the proposal Monday at 2 p.m. in what is expected to be a contentious meeting. A vocal contingent of activists has been rallying against the plan. Over the weekend, they received the support from one of the city's newest political forces: Occupy L.A.

If the plan is approved, it will then go before the full City Council.

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-- Kate Linthicum at City Hall
Twitter.com/katelinthicum

Photo: A garden was uprooted in South Central Los Angeles in 2006, and still-angry activists are fighting plans to develop it for a clothing manufacturer. Credit: Benjamin Reed / Los Angeles Times