Tuesday, November 1, 2011

LAPD seeks leads after man slain outside South L.A. nightclub

Manchester Square homicides
Police on Tuesday were seeking leads in an early morning shooting that left a 27-year-old man dead outside a South Los Angeles nightclub.

The slaying outside the Ground Zero Night Club at 1955 W. Manchester Ave. appeared to be gang-related, said Det. Chris Barling of the Los Angeles Police Department.

The shooting occurred shortly after 5 a.m. Tuesday after the victim walked out of the club and a dispute broke out, police said.

Since January 2007, at least 149 homicides have been reported within two miles of Tuesday's slaying scene, according to a Times Homicide Report database.

Anyone with information is asked to call 77th Street Station homicide detectives at (213)  485-1383.

ALSO:

Costa Mesa considers banning smoking at city parks

Audit slams Montebello for 'self-dealing,' misused funds

Occupy Oakland's general strike call prompts city to prepare for protests

— Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

Map shows homicides reported since 2007 near Tuesday's slaying scene. Credit: Times Homicide Report

Fire officials alert residents after red-flag warning is issued

The Los Angeles County Fire Department is urging residents in brush areas to be on alert because of a red-flag warning that was issued for powerful Santa Ana winds that are expected to begin blowing late Tuesday and last through Wednesday evening.

The department is asking residents to use caution when operating machines that produce sparks or flames, to call 911 immediately if they see smoke and to report any suspicious people or activity to law enforcement authorities.

The National Weather Service issued the red-flag warning Tuesday afternoon, saying that the dry northeast winds could blow from 25 mph to 45 mph. Gusts of around 60 mph could occur in passes and canyons, the Weather Service said.

The dry winds will drop relative humidity to single digits across the Los Angeles area by Wednesday afternoon.

"Due to the strength of this wind event," the agency said in a statement, "there will be the potential for downed power lines."

ALSO:

Costa Mesa considers banning smoking at city parks

Audit slams Montebello for 'self-dealing,' misused funds

Occupy Oakland's general strike call prompts city to prepare for protests

-- Robert J. Lopez
twitter.com/LAJourno

Coast Guard: Shipping lanes need to be moved to protect whales

Photo: A blue whale feeding on krill outside Los Angeles Harbor in October surfaces near a shipping lane. Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles TimesThe U.S. Coast Guard has recommended shifting the shipping lanes in the Santa Barbara Channel to move cargo ships out of the way of whales feeding in the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary.

A proposal published Tuesday would narrow the lanes and move one of them north of a steep, underwater drop-off near Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa islands where endangered blue, fin and humpback whales have been congregating to feed on krill, saying it would “help in preserving the marine environment.”

Federal wildlife officials and environmental groups have been alarmed by the presence of whales in shipping lanes, which they worry puts the giant marine mammals at greater risk of being struck and killed by the hulking vessels that ferry goods in and out of the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex.

Four blue whales were struck and killed by vessels near the Channel Islands sanctuary in 2007, prompting authorities to start issuing notices asking large vessels to slow down when whales are in the area.

The threat of collisions also has been of growing concern outside Los Angeles Harbor, where blue whales have been gathering to feed in dense concentrations in the path of a major shipping lane.

The Coast Guard proposal also calls for establishing new shipping lanes south of the Channel Islands, where some freighters have been navigating to avoid the state's strict air pollution curbs, prompting complaints from the Navy that they were getting too close to military testing ranges.

Unbounded ship traffic, the Coast Guard says, is a safety concern and a defined route would ensure more predictability.

Environmental groups, who have petitioned the Obama administration to establish a ship speed limit through California's four national marine sanctuaries to protect whales, praised the idea to move the lanes away from feeding areas. But they expressed disappointment that the Coast Guard’s proposal did not include speed restrictions.

ALSO:

Tons of L.A. River trash will be captured before it hits the sea

Ammonia leak at San Onofre nuclear plant prompts emergency alert

‘Dancing With the Stars’ contestant named Rose Parade grand marshal

--Tony Barboza

Photo: A blue whale feeding on krill outside Los Angeles Harbor in October surfaces near a shipping lane. Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times

Two men killed by Huntington Beach police

Huntington Beach shooting

Two men were shot and killed by Huntington Beach police officers after they stopped a vehicle in Westminster and said they heard a gunshot, a Police Department spokesman said Tuesday night.

The two officers who made the stop fired multiple rounds after they heard a gunshot coming from inside the vehicle, said Lt. Russell Reinhart of the Huntington Beach Police Department. It was unclear whether a shot had been fired toward the officers.

"I'm not sure if it was aimed at the officers, or who it was aimed at," Reinhart told The Times. He said at least one firearm was recovered from the vehicle.

He said the shooting occurred about 4:30 p.m. near Hammon Place and Westminster Boulevard, just outside the Huntington Beach city limits.

An adult female was inside the car with the two men who were killed. She was not injured, police said.

Reinhart said the shooting was being investigated by the Orange County Sheriff's Department. No additional details were immediately available.

ALSO:

Costa Mesa considers banning smoking at city parks

Audit slams Montebello for 'self-dealing,' misused funds

Occupy Oakland's general strike call prompts city to prepare for protests

— Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

Photo: Police swarm the shooting scene. Credit: KTLA Channel 5

Man sentenced for exposing himself to teenagers walking to school

John Rodriguez booking photo
A Santa Ana man was sentenced Tuesday for exposing himself to five teenage females as they walked to school, authorities said.

John Rodriguez, 20, was sentenced to one year in jail, five years of probation and lifetime sex-offender registration after pleading guilty to six misdemeanor counts in connection with the incidents, the Orange County district attorney's office said.

Four of the the victims were minors, prosecutors said, and the fifth was 18.

The incidents were reported between Jan. 25 and Aug. 16 and took place in Santa Ana, Westminster and Fountain Valley, the district attorney's office said.

ALSO:

Costa Mesa considers banning smoking at city parks

Audit slams Montebello for 'self-dealing,' misused funds

Occupy Oakland's general strike call prompts city to prepare for protests

— Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

Photo: John Rodriguez. Credit: Orange County district attorney's office

Curbing Holiday Weight Gain With Exercise

The next few months, filled with holiday feasting, represent a dire threat to most people’s waistlines. Even those of us who normally eat a wholesome diet can find ourselves gorging on fatty, high-calorie foods and gaining the annual Christmas inner tube. But several new studies promote a simple and effective response: Run or walk from the buffet. Even if you’ve already overindulged, the studies suggest, exercise can lessen or reverse the unwelcome consequences.

For the studies, Paul T. Williams, a staff scientist in the life sciences division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, enlisted the help of more than 100,000 runners and, for a second study published last week in the journal Obesity, almost 40,000 walkers. He had each group fill out extensive questionnaires that asked about their running or walking history, including when they’d begun running more than 12 miles a week or walking at least half a mile most days of the week, as well as, for the runners, their current mileage, best race times, numbers of recent marathons, and so on. The questionnaire also asked about current and previous body weight: how much they had weighed when they started exercising, what they weighed now, their waist size and height. Finally, the volunteers were asked about eating habits, and specifically, how much red meat (beef, pork and lamb) they consumed each week and how many servings of fruit they ate each day.

“We used servings of meat and fruit as markers of the overall quality or type of the diet,” Dr. Williams says. People who frequently eat meat and rarely have fruit are more likely, over all, to be eating a fattier, higher-calorie and potentially less healthy diet, he says.

Certainly, in his new research, they weighed more. Among both the runners and walkers he studied, whether male or female and whatever their age, those who ate more meat and fewer servings of fruit tended to have a higher body mass index, an indicator of overall body fat, than those who ate less meat and more fruit. They had also gained significantly more weight over the years.

Unless they exercised diligently. The more someone walked or, even more strikingly, the more they ran, the less likely they were to have gained large amounts of weight, even if they ate what the study politely calls a “high-risk diet.” Runners who ticked off about five miles a day stayed relatively lean over the years, even if they regularly consumed a meaty and presumably high-fat diet. Most still had gained some pounds, according to their running and weight histories, but less than would have been expected, given their eating habits.

“Usually, B.M.I. and waist circumference increase if you eat more meat and less fruit,” Dr. Williams says. But his data indicate that exercise reduces this effect. The more miles run, the less a person is likely to be affected by questionable dietary choices or by what Dr. Williams calls “lapses, like those that happen during the holidays.”

These are hardly the first studies, of course, to suggest that exercise can help to control weight or reduce the depredations of an imperfect diet. A 15-year study of more than 30,000 middle-aged women by Harvard researchers found that while virtually all of the women gained weight over the years, those who walked about an hour a day gained the least, averaging less than five added pounds over the 15 years. The study did not examine eating patterns, though.

An interesting animal study published this year looked directly at the effects of exercise on rats eating a high-fat diet, however. The rats were given free access to fatty foods for 12 weeks, by which time they all had become rotund and developed metabolic syndrome, a constellation of unhealthy conditions that includes insulin resistance, poor cholesterol levels and high blood pressure. Then the researchers divided the animals into several groups, with some remaining on the high-fat diet but running every day, while others were switched to a standard kibble, and still others changed nothing. This new program also lasted 12 weeks.

By the end of that time, the rats that ran had managed to “reverse almost all the atherosclerotic risk factors linked to obesity,” the researchers found, even though they remained on the high-fat diet. They also had stopped gaining weight. The rats that had been switched to a standard diet but didn’t run improved their metabolic profiles, too, but not as much as the running rats. The researchers speculate that exercise activates certain metabolic pathways that undo the damage of a high-fat diet, even if that diet continues.

Dr. Williams suspects that similar mechanisms are at work in human exercisers, and that the effects are commensurately greater the more a person exercises. “It’s well established that endurance training enhances the body’s ability to burn fat” from foods, he says, so serious runners can incinerate the fat marbling a serving of beef before it is stored as flab around the waist. Which means that, if you work out dutifully, you should “get through the holidays without too many regrets,” he says.

74-year-old man killed at Lakewood Wal-Mart store


Lakewood homicides
A 74-year-old man was killed Tuesday afternoon in the sporting goods section at a Wal-Mart in Lakewood, authorities said.

A suspect was taken into custody in connection with the slaying, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said. The suspect was described as a 47-year-old man.

It was unclear what prompted the slaying at the store in the 2700 block of Carson Street. Since January 2007, at least 18 homicides have been reported in Lakewood, according to a Times Homicide Report database.

No other details on Tuesday's slaying were immediately available.

ALSO:

Costa Mesa considers banning smoking at city parks

Audit slams Montebello for 'self-dealing,' misused funds

Occupy Oakland's general strike call prompts city to prepare for protests

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

One dog dead, two hurt in bee swarm attack in Chula Vista

Photo: The bee attack also injured a resident of an adjoining home. Credit: Los Angeles Times
One dog died and two others were severely hurt by a swarm of bees that attacked them in the backyard of a home in the San Diego suburb of Chula Vista.

All three dogs were rushed to a local veterinarian; one died at the veterinarian's office, the other two are being kept overnight after being stung by hundreds of bees.

A resident of an adjoining home was treated by paramedics. An extermination company subdued and removed the beehive.

ALSO:

Tons of L.A. River trash will be captured before it hits the sea

Ammonia leak at San Onofre nuclear plant prompts emergency alert

‘Dancing With the Stars’ contestant named Rose Parade grand marshal

-- Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: Exterminators removed the beehive. Credit: Los Angeles Times

Two people shot by Huntington Beach police in Westminster

Image: Map shows where two people were shot by Huntington Beach police in Westminster. Source: Google Maps Huntington Beach police shot two people in Westminster on Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.

The shooting took place near Hammon Place just south of Westminster Boulevard. The Huntington Beach Police Department confirmed that a shooting took place but referred additional questions to a spokesman at the scene.

The spokesman did not immediately return calls for comment. It was unclear whether the two people were fatally shot and why Huntington Beach police were in the neighboring city.

ALSO:

Costa Mesa considers banning smoking at city parks

Audit slams Montebello for 'self-dealing,' misused funds

Occupy Oakland's general strike call prompts city to prepare for protests

— Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

Image: Map shows where two people were shot by Huntington Beach police in Westminster. Source: Google Maps

Emergency alert called off at San Onofre nuclear plant

168743.ME.111.sanonofre.4.AJS

Officials ended an emergency alert at the San Onofre nuclear power plant after containing an ammonia leak that prompted the warning, a spokeswoman for Southern California Edison said Tuesday evening.

The Level Two alert at the plant was called off shortly after 6 p.m. and normal operations were resumed, utility spokeswoman Lauren Bartlett said.

Officials have set up a hotline if people have questions about the alert that was declared at the Orange County facility. People are asked to call (714) 628-7085. The hotline will be open until 9 p.m.

Bartlett said the leak occurred about 3 p.m. in a make-up water-treatment system in a non-nuclear part of the facility. As a precautionary measure, some workers were evacuated.

Under federal regulations, there are four emergency levels depending on severity. Level two involves any  "potential substandard degradation in the level of safety of the
plant."

"There is no danger to the public at this time," the Orange County Emergency Operations center said in a statement.

ALSO:

Costa Mesa considers banning smoking at city parks

Audit slams Montebello for 'self-dealing,' misused funds

Occupy Oakland's general strike call prompts city to prepare for protests

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

Photo: San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. Credit: Allen J. Schaben  / Los Angeles Times

Nudity banned at San Francisco restuarants

Photo: Naturist George Davis hangs out in the Castro district of San Francisco. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to require all restaurant patrons to wear clothing while dining out. Credit: Kimihiro Hoshino / AFP / Getty Images
Life in the culinary capital of Northern California is about to get a little less free and easy, after the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to require all restaurant patrons to wear clothing while dining out.

Those predisposed to bare all must also place something between naked buttocks and public seating under the ordinance, which is up for a final vote next week. The measure would go into effect 30 days after it is signed by Mayor Ed Lee.

The plan to regulate -– rather than flat-out ban -– public nudity brought this famously liberal city international attention and became fodder for late night talk show hosts. But Supervisor Scott Wiener, who proposed the ordinance, said it was simply a matter of “common sense.”

“There’s not a lot to say about it except that it makes sense,” Wiener said in an interview after the board adjourned for the day. “There were no amendments to it, no discussion…. The clerk read it. There were some giggles from the audience. I spoke briefly, and it passed unanimously.”

ALSO:

Costa Mesa considers banning smoking at city parks

Audit slams Montebello for 'self-dealing,' misused funds

Occupy Oakland's general strike call prompts city to prepare for protests

-- Maria L. La Ganga in San Francisco

Photo: Naturist George Davis hangs out in the Castro district of San Francisco. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to require all restaurant patrons to wear clothing while dining out. Credit: Kimihiro Hoshino / AFP / Getty Images

L.A. Unified opens applications for magnet schools, other programs for 2012-13

Photo: Students at LAUSD's Bravo Medical Magnet High School stand in line for their lunches. Credit: Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times The Los Angeles Unified School District began accepting applications for magnet schools and other programs for the 2012-13 school year Tuesday -- but forms will not be mailed home this year.

Instead, parents are being encouraged to apply online. The district created a new, web-based system at https://parentaccess.lausd.net/Dashboard.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fDefault.aspx that will provide access to a variety of online tools, such as enrollment and transfer forms, meal and medical programs, emergency card updates, magnet program applications and other services.

A limited number of English- and Spanish-language printed forms will be available the week of Nov. 1 at city libraries, schools and local district offices. Translations in other languages can be obtained from local schools or downloaded from the website.

Elimination of home mailings is expected to save the district about $250,000 this year.
Besides magnet schools, parents can apply to enroll children in the Public School Choice program, which allows children in low-performing schools to attend higher-achieving campuses and pays for their transportation, as well as Permits With Transportation, a voluntary integration program for ethnic minority and white students.

Parents of pre-kindergarten, charter and private school students residing within the district can also apply online for magnet schools and other programs.

Applications must be received by Dec. 16. The district is airing a 30-minute informational program on its television station, KLCS-TV, through Dec. 15.

ALSO:

Costa Mesa considers banning smoking at city parks

Audit slams Montebello for 'self-dealing,' misused funds

Occupy Oakland's general strike call prompts city to prepare for protests

-- Carla Rivera

Photo: Students at LAUSD's Bravo Medical Magnet High School stand in line for their lunches. Credit: Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times

San Onofre nuclear plant declares emergency

San Onofre

A level-3 emergency was declared Tuesday afternoon at the San Onofre Nuclear plant, officials said.

It was unclear what sparked the emergency alert. The Orange County Fire Authority said that it was alerted about the problem but that the incident was being handled by the power plant's Fire Department.

The Fire Department referred all calls to Southern California Edison. A utility media spokesman did not return calls for comment.

ALSO:

Costa Mesa considers banning smoking at city parks

Audit slams Montebello for 'self-dealing,' misused funds

Occupy Oakland's general strike call prompts city to prepare for protests

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

Photo: San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station Credit: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

Neighbors of actor Shia LaBeouf win OK to wall out paparazzi

Actor Shia LaBeouf at the Four Season's Hotel earlier this year. Credit: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times

The Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to let a Sherman Oaks couple keep a seven-foot wall on their property after they complained that Hollywood paparazzi had repeatedly trespassed while searching for the residence of actor Shia LaBeouf.

Councilman Paul Koretz persuaded his colleagues to overturn two decisions -– first by a zoning administrator, then by the South Valley Area Planning Commission -- denying approval of the block wall, which was erected on Deervale Drive by Joe and Orit Picker.

Koretz said photographers who entered the Pickers’ property “could get a great shot of the patio where Shia LaBeouf could be eating breakfast” next door. He said that most of the neighbors already have overly tall fences and walls.

“It almost seemed like it was required to have one to live in the neighborhood,” he said.

The wall on Deervale Drive stands at 6 feet 6 inches but is a foot taller once light fixtures are included, according to the report submitted to the council. Fences and walls are typically limited to 3 feet 6 inches on residential streets, Koretz said.

Newport Beach jogger, dogs rescued from coyote by man on horse

A Newport Beach jogger and his two dogs were rescued from a coyote Tuesday morning by a horseman.

Brian Clarkson, 37, was jogging on a trail near University Drive and Irvine Avenue, in the Back Bay area, with his two Yorkie mixes when a man on a horse spotted a coyote running toward them.

About 8 a.m., Clarkson met up with the coyote, who "seemed hungry and desperate," he told the Daily Pilot.

The rider yelled at the coyote, which was only momentarily deterred, according to Clarkson, who said the animal continued to follow him and his dogs from bushes across the street.

Seeing this, the rider escorted Clarkson part of the way on the trail until Clarkson could report the incident to park rangers.

"I've never been chased by a coyote looking for a kill before," Clarkson said.

Valerie Schomburg, senior animal control officer with the Newport Beach Police Department, said the city typically sees an increase in coyotes in the fall stemming from the birth of pups in the spring.

New inspector general named to L.A. Police Commission

The Los Angeles Police Commission on Tuesday announced its new inspector general.

Alexander Bustamante, 39, currently an assistant U.S. attorney in the Central District of California, was chosen by the commission to take over the watchdog office.

As inspector general, Bustamante will oversee a staff that serves as a check on the LAPD’s authority.

The office monitors how the department disciplines its officers and handles complaints from the public, as well as assessing the quality of the department’s internal audits, among other responsibilities.

Bustamante replaces Nicole Bershon, who departed several weeks ago to become a commissioner for the Los Angeles County Superior Court.

He is scheduled to start Nov. 16.

Higher costs for bullet train worth it, California officials say

Though the cost estimate for California’s bullet train project has more than doubled to nearly $100 billion, high-speed rail officials said Tuesday a new business plan will create an economically successful system, generate more than a million jobs and provide a transportation alternative for the state’s growing population.

The plan calls for the 520-mile first phase from San Francisco to Anaheim to be constructed in segments  between 2012 and 2033, 13 years longer than the original construction deadline of 2020. Rail officials said the later completion date, while driving up the cost of the project, will provide more time to secure funding and reduce potential risks for the project.

“We have carefully constructed a business plan that is mindful of the economic and budgetary constraints facing both the state and the nation,” said Thomas J. Umberg, board chairman of the California High Speed Rail Authority.  “It will deliver to California and Californians a cost-effective, efficient and sensible alternative to more highways and increased airport congestion.”

The new business plan states that the project’s full first phase will cost about $98.5 billion, more than double the last estimate -- $43 billion -- produced by state officials in 2009. The higher  estimate has intensified criticism of the project at a time when the state and federal governments are facing major budget challenges.   

According to the plan, the system will be funded with a mix of federal and state dollars as well as billions from private investors who will be attracted to the project by its operating profits. Those profits would be  realized when the first operating segment begins carrying passengers, officials insist.

Rail officials say the project is needed to keep California competitive economically and accommodate the state’s growing population, which is projected to increase by 20 million within the next 40 years. Without high-speed rail, the plan states, $171 billion will need to be spent in California on new highways and airport facilities.

Future funding for the project remains a major question. Even before the new cost estimate, additional  high-speed rail financial support faced a steep climb in Congress, which has been looking for ways to reduce the federal budget deficit.

“I don’t see where the financing is going to come from right now. The only way to do that is to create some kind of revenue source, like a tax. I don’t see the political will for that today,” said David Brownstone, an economics professor at UC Irvine, who has evaluated the project’s earlier ridership and revenue projections.

RELATED:

Bullet train under fire from local officials

Rail authority approves what critics call ‘train to nowhere’

Churches, schools, homes could be razed by bullet train route

-- Dan Weikel

 

A Few Drinks a Week Raises Breast Cancer Risk

Some women who drink to their health may want to reconsider. A new study shows that women who routinely have even small amounts of alcohol, as few as three drinks a week, have an elevated risk of breast cancer.

The research, which looked at the habits of more than 100,000 women over 30 years, adds to a long line of studies linking alcohol consumption of any kind — whether beer, wine or spirits — to an increased risk of breast cancer. But until now the bulk of the research largely focused on higher levels of alcohol intake. The latest study is among the first to assess the effect of relatively small amounts of alcohol over long periods of time, drawing on a large population of women to provide new detail about the breast cancer risks associated with different patterns of drinking.

The rise in cancer risk from three to six drinks a week, though, was modest, and for many women may not be enough to outweigh the heart-healthy benefits of drinking in moderation.

Among the factors women will have to consider, experts say, are family history of heart disease and cancer, as well as their use of hormone therapies like estrogen. Alcohol may increase the risk of breast cancer in part by raising a woman’s levels of estrogen, the authors said.

“We’re not recommending that women stop drinking altogether,” said Dr. Wendy Y. Chen, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and the lead author of the study. “For an individual woman to make the best decision it would depend on what her own breast cancer risk factors are, as well as her cardiovascular risk factors. “

Dr. Chen and her colleagues looked at 105,986 women enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study, which has followed the habits, health and lifestyles of nurses in the United States for several decades. The study, published in the latest issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, examined the quantity, frequency and age at which women consumed alcohol from 1980 to 2008.

During that period, roughly 7,700 of the women enrolled developed invasive breast cancer. The researchers found that having 5 to 10 grams of alcohol a day, the equivalent of roughly three to six glasses of wine a week, raised a woman’s risk of breast cancer by 15 percent. The effects were cumulative; with each 10-gram increase in alcohol consumption per day, the risk climbed 10 percent.

While such an increase may sound alarming, experts caution that it translates into only a very small risk for the average woman. A typical 50-year-old woman, for example, has a five-year breast cancer risk of about 3 percent, so a 15-percent increase would increase that risk only to 3.45 percent.

The type of alcohol the women drank did not alter the risk: Red wine raised it just as much as beer. The researchers also asked the nurses about drinking patterns early in adulthood and found strong associations with increased risk regardless of age.

But like much of the previous research on alcohol’s risk and benefits, the new study was observational and lacked a control group, and it drew from self-reports, which can be unreliable. Nor was it able to determine whether changing one’s drinking habits over time – drinking a lot early on, for example, and then stopping at age 50 – made any difference.

In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Steven Narod of the Women’s College Research Institute in Toronto pointed out that based on the findings, women who consumed two or more drinks a day would see their 10-year risk of breast cancer climb to 4.1 percent from 2.8 percent. And for women who had one drink a day, it would rise to only 3.5 percent from 2.8 percent.

Dr. Susan Love, a clinical professor of surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, said the question for many women remained whether the effect on breast cancer risk of cutting back on alcohol is worth losing out on the reduction in heart disease that comes with moderate drinking.

“If you do drink, you have to weigh the risks and benefits,” she said. “But obviously if you don’t drink and you’re worried about breast cancer, don’t start.”

Audit slams Montebello for ‘self-dealing,’ misused funds

Audit slams city of Montebello
An engineering firm at the center of a federal bribery investigation was allowed to award more than $2 million in contracts to itself in one year under an unusual arrangement with the city of Montebello that a state audit found to be questionable.

Montebello hired AAE to serve as its city engineer, with the power to pick outside firms to do various jobs for the city. But state Controller John Chiang's office found that AAE awarded all the work to itself during fiscal year 2010 and then oversaw its own work in a "potential conflict of interest," according to an audit released Tuesday.

Chiang slammed the troubled city for allowing a system that invites "self-dealing, the misuse of taxpayer resources, and the unlawful borrowing of restricted funds."

The findings have significance well beyond Montebello because AAE has done work in dozens of cities across Southern California, including serving as the city engineer for several municipalities including Baldwin Park.

The Times reported in January that federal prosecutors and FBI agents had launched a wide-ranging investigation into bribery allegations involving AAE. A former Maywood official told The Times he twice received envelopes containing thousands of dollars in cash from an AAE executive. The executive hoped to ease the way for new contracts and receive quick payment for existing ones, the ex-official said. Federal sources confirmed that account and that the officials began working undercover for the FBI.

Chiang's audit also found that the city could not support nearly $4 million it charged to its transit fund for administrative costs. And it improperly spent $1,700 to charter buses to take employees to a Dodger game.

City officials could not immediately be reached for comment. They disputed many of the findings in the audit, and in a letter last month accused the controller of stoking "negative media coverage" with past audits that made it difficult for the city to get a loan to keep it from temporarily running out of cash.

The controller was unmoved. In a letter to the city, he said: "This office cannot whitewash, diminish, or delay the release of these findings simply because they are inconvenient truths." He also said that investors may be leery of the city not because "of the disclosure efforts made by this office" but "because of what has been disclosed."

ALSO:

Nearly 15,000 pairs of phony Paul Frank pajamas seized at port

Coronado's Spreckels mansion, site of high-profile death, is sold

‘Dancing With the Stars’ contestant named Rose Parade grand marshal

-- Jessica Garrison

Photo: An audit of the city of Montebello released by state Controller John Chiang details misused funds. Credit: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times

 

City boxes off fountain at Occupy L.A. -- and artists start painting

Fence

Artists camped at Occupy L.A. -– and there are many -– now have a new canvas: a large wooden plywood barrier built to protect a historic fountain outside City Hall.

Shortly after the plywood went up Tuesday morning, protesters took to it with spray paint, drawing pictures and scrawling slogans like, “Natives Unite,” and “No Borders.”
 
The white marble fountain was built in 1933 and restored in 2006. It is dedicated to Frank Putnam Flint, a U.S. senator who helped spur construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct, which brought water from the Owens Valley to the Los Angeles region.

PHOTOS: Occupy protests

Since protesters first set up tents outside City Hall last month, the fountain has served as a kind of symbolic center of camp. It's a common meeting place, and the nightly general assembly meetings are held at its base.

Conjoined twin girls, age 2, undergoing rare separation surgery

Twins
A nine-hour surgery is scheduled Tuesday for 2-year-old sisters, a rare and tricky medical procedure that would finally allow the little girls to roam free without the other tagging along.

Angelica and Angelina Sabuco are conjoined twins who are attached at the chest and abdomen.  

The girls have separate hearts but their livers are connected, making the scheduled surgery at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford a complex procedure, the hospital reported.

"Our expectation is we will have two healthy girls at the end of the procedure, although we recognize it's a fairly risky procedure," the lead surgeon, Dr. Gary Hartman, told the San Francisco Chronicle.

Conjoined twins are rare and surgeries are even more scarce because most of the children don’t survive until birth or die shortly thereafter, the hospital reported. Separation surgery is performed about six times a year in the United States.

For Angelica and Angelina, the surgery is expected to give them an independence they’ve never known.

‘Dancing With the Stars’ contestant named Rose Parade grand marshal

J.R. Martinez named Rose Parade Grand Marshal
J.R. Martinez -- a former soldier, actor and current contestant on "Dancing With the Stars" -- Tuesday was named the grand marshal for the Pasadena Tournament of Roses parade on Jan. 2.

Martinez, who is the subject of the current cover story for People magazine, underwent 33 surgeries after his Humvee triggered a land mine in Iraq in 2003 and he suffered burns over much of his body.

Tournament of Roses Assn. President Rick Jackson announced Martinez on the front lawn of the Tournament House on Tuesday, setting off a pop of red, white and blue confetti stars.

"To be able to participate in such an iconic American tradition is such an honor for me," Martinez said.

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Dr. Conrad Murray declines to testify in Michael Jackson death trial

-- Kelly Corrigan, Times Community News

Photo: J.R. Martinez on the front lawn of the Tournament House on Tuesday after being named the grand marshal for the Pasadena Tournament of of Roses parade on Jan. 2. Credit: Cheryl Guerrero / Times Community News

91 Freeway in Riverside reopens after potential jumper stands down

The 91 Freeway in Riverside reopened Tuesday morning after a two-hour standoff when a man threatened to jump from the 14th Street overpass, officials said.

Residual traffic could take at least two hours to clear up, and officials urged motorists to use alternate routes.

The incident began shortly before 8 a.m., when the man was seen on the overpass, threatening to jump.

The Riverside Press Enterprise reported the man, possibly a parolee, was distraught over his lack of a job and problems with a girlfriend.

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After fire, Magic Castle hopes to reopen Friday

Big rig hits under-construction bridge, closing Coachella highway

Dr. Conrad Murray declines to testify in Michael Jackson death trial

-- Sam Quinones

twitter.com/samquinones7

Fontana police investigate double homicide

Police on Tuesday investigated the killing of a man and a woman at a Fontana home.

Officers went to the home on the 16400 block of Harvey Drive about 8:15 p.m. Monday for a welfare check after a relative called to say no one from the home had been heard from for several days, police said.

Officers found the man and woman apparently beaten to death.

The victims’ names were not immediately released. No one has been arrested in the killings and a motive was unknown, police said.

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Big rig hits under-construction bridge, closing Coachella highway

Dr. Conrad Murray declines to testify in Michael Jackson death trial

91 Freeway in Riverside reopens after potential jumper stands down

-- Sam Quinones

twitter.com/samquinones7

Big rig hits under-construction bridge, closing Coachella highway

A big rig trailer struck an overpass under construction Tuesday on California 86 in Coachella, causing the collapse of a metal structure erected for pouring concrete.

The 12:30 a.m. accident closed California 86 near Airport Boulevard in both directions, and it was unclear when it would be reopened, said Riverside County sheriff’s Deputy Angel Ramos.

No one was hurt, but the accident spread metal across the busy highway and left state transportation investigators assessing the damage to the structure, Ramos said.

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Grandmother's stolen ashes returned to Woodland Hills family

Halloween clown aided Red Line stabbing victims, authorities say

 -- Sam Quinones

twitter.com/samquinones7

Newport Beach refuses to release report on tree that killed woman

A eucalyptus tree fell on a car in Newport Beach, fatally crushing the woman inside
Newport Beach officials have declined to release the results of an investigation into the tree that fell and killed motorist Haeyoon Miller in September.

While the blue gum eucalyptus tree on Irvine Avenue straddled the Newport Beach-Costa Mesa border, Newport Beach was responsible for the tree's maintenance. Newport city officials hired an arborist to investigate the accident, in addition to separate analyses by staff members and tree maintenance contractors.

The Daily Pilot filed a request for the report under the California Public Records Act. The request was formally declined Friday.

Newport Beach City Atty. Aaron Harp said all of the reports are confidential.

In an email Thursday, Harp wrote that one of the city's attorneys directed officials to create the reports so they were protected under the attorney-client privilege. They also pertain to pending litigation, according to the city's official response letter.

Harp said he is not aware, however, of any pending claims or lawsuits filed against the city that are related to the motorist's death.

Halloween clown aided Red Line stabbing victims, authorities say

Stabbing
Los Angeles County sheriff's investigators are reviewing closed-circuit video and interviewing several people -- including a Halloween reveler dressed in a clown suit -- in an effort to track down a suspect who stabbed two people early Tuesday at a Hollywood Red Line train station.

The victims -- a man and a woman -- got into an argument on the mezzanine level of the station at Hollywood Boulevard and Western Avenue. The suspect then pulled out a knife and stabbed them.

The unidentified 30-year-old man whose throat was slashed was aided by a man wearing a clown suit who had earlier been at a Halloween celebration, authorities said. The woman's injuries were less serious. Both were transported to local hospitals.

The incident was the third stabbing in recent months at a Metro Line station, subway or light rail car. One took place on a Gold Line train and another on the Red Line subway car at Hollywood and Vine.

Los Angeles sheriff's Capt. Mike Parker said investigators would be reviewing video footage of the incident, which he confirmed was witnessed by several people.

The station re-opened about 8:15 a.m. Tuesday.

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Conrad Murray must decide whether to testify

39 arrested on Hollywood Boulevard on Halloween night

Hateful comments target lesbian homecoming couple at high school

-- Abby Sewell and Andrew Blankstein

twitter.com/anblanx

Photo: Workers clean up area where two people were stabbed Tuesday morning inside the Metro Red Line station at Hollywood Boulevard and Western Avenue. Credit: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times

Earthquake: 4.1 quake strikes near Ridgecrest

A shallow magnitude-4.1 earthquake was reported Tuesday morning six miles from Ridgecrest, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The temblor occurred at 8:38 a.m. Pacific time at a depth of 4.3 miles.

According to the USGS, the epicenter was 11 miles from Inyokern, 14 miles from Searles Valley and 118 miles from Los Angeles Civic Center.

In the last 10 days, there have been no earthquakes magnitude 3.0 and greater centered nearby.

Read more about California earthquakes on L.A. Now.

— Ken Schwencke

Image: Location of the epicenter. Credit: Google Maps

39 arrested on Hollywood Boulevard on Halloween night

West Hollywood Halloween
Los Angeles police reported that 39 people were arrested on Hollywood Boulevard on Halloween night, mostly for fighting and being drunk in public.

Sixteen horse-mounted officers were on Hollywood Boulevard to keep order Monday night.

In one incident, a man refused to get out of the street, police told City New Service. He allegedly threw a bottle of vodka at a dismounting officer. Police said the officer was not seriously hurt and the man, whose name was not immediately available, was arrested for assault.

Two stabbed at Hollywood Metro Red Line station; suspect sought

Metro Red Line
Metro's Red Line train station at Hollywood Boulevard and Western Avenue was closed Tuesday morning after a man stabbed and injured two people.

The stabbing took place about 4:30 a.m., just as train service was beginning for the day, said Metro spokesman Marc Littman.

The suspect and the two victims -- a man and a woman -- got into an argument in the mezzanine level of the station and the suspect pulled out a knife and stabbed them. The male victim's throat was slashed, an official said.

The male victim had a laceration to the neck and was in serious but stable condition. The woman's injuries were less serious, Littman said. Both were transported to local hospitals.

Fatal accident on Highway 134 closes three lanes

The California Highway Patrol was investigating a fatal accident Tuesday morning on Highway 134 in Burbank that closed three westbound lanes.

The accident was reported shortly before 5 a.m. on the freeway just west of Buena Vista Street, said CHP officer Francisco Villalobos.

A car struck a pedestrian, an adult man, who was pronounced dead at the scene, Villalobos said.

“We don’t know at this point what the pedestrian was doing on the freeway,” he said.

Coroner’s officials were en route and the three right lanes of the freeway were closed as the investigation proceeded. It was unclear how long the lanes would be closed, he said.

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Magic Castle fire forces club to close for Halloween

Grandmother's stolen ashes returned to Woodland Hills family

Reportedly drunk teenager falls off 50-foot cliff in Laguna Beach

 -- Sam Quinones

twitter.com/samquinones7

Crime alerts for Atwater Village and 16 other L.A. neighborhoods

Crime reports are up significantly for the latest week in 17 L.A. neighborhoods, according to an analysis of LAPD data by the Los Angeles Times’ Crime L.A. database.

11 neighborhoods reported a significant increase in violent crime. Atwater Village (A) was the most unusual, recording three reports compared with a weekly average of 0.5 over the last three months.

Gramercy Park (L) topped the list of seven neighborhoods with property crime alerts. It recorded 13 property crimes compared with its weekly average of 5.9 over the last three months.

One neighborhood triggered alerts for both violent and property crime.

Alerts are based on an analysis of crime reports for Oct. 23–Oct. 29, the most recent seven days for which data are available.

Ben Welsh, Thomas Suh Lauder

Hateful comments target lesbian homecoming couple at high school

 











A high school where a lesbian couple was selected as Homecoming King and Queen have been the subject of hateful phone calls and emails as the story spread across the nation.

Officials did not detail the messages but described some of them as disturbing.

Supt. Bill Kowba said adults criticizing the selection of Rebecca Arellano and Haileigh Adams are "demonstrating such a lack of tolerance and are presenting such a negative role model for children with their hateful comments."

Arellano was named homecoming king at a Friday pep rally. Adams was named homecoming queen at a school dance Saturday.

The calls and emails, Kowba said, "are also disrupting the work of the school to focus on the education of students ... if these calls and emails were from students, they would face disciplinary measures."

Woman in her 90s attacked amid Halloween trick-or-treaters

A woman in her 90s was attacked inside her home as trick-or-treaters roamed through her Sacramento neighborhood Monday night.

The woman was taken to the hospital after someone -- or several people -- broke into her home and struck her.

According to the Sacramento Bee, police don't believe the intruder was a trick-or-treater.

But the newspaper reported that said detectives have struggled to find the attacker amid the throngs of children out on the streets for Halloween night.

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