Sorted by date Results 126 - 150 of 179
By Alyssa Erdley, Observer Staff Writer Mike Bonin and the City of Los Angeles is sending out an online survey for residents and others who work in the city soliciting opinions on what types of calls armed police should answer and what should instead by answered by "trained, unarmed responders." The survey may be found online. The proposal to create an unarmed response team was first floated in June, 2020, following the sensational death of George Floyd, who was apparently high on drugs at the time of his arrest for trying to pass a...
The Department of Public Social Services (DPSS) has launched its annual CalFresh Awareness Month campaign to publicize the CalFresh Nutrition Program and acknowledge community partners throughout the month of May for helping to raise public awareness year-round. "Hunger impacts all aspects of human life from healthcare to education, and it is essential that we increase awareness of CalFresh," said DPSS Director Antonia Jiménez. "Families who were just barely getting by paycheck-to-paycheck...
As acts of violence and threats towards code enforcement officers rise, two California Senate bills aimed at increasing safety measures have stalled after being placed on the Senate Appropriations Committee’s suspense file. At a time when violent acts against code enforcement officers are on the rise, stalling these two bills on the suspense file is particularly alarming. In many jurisdictions, code enforcement officers are now tasked with enforcement of various violations traditionally addressed by sworn police/ sheriff personnel. These v...
A California fire that killed two people last year was intentionally set to cover up a murder, investigators revealed in a press briefing. The Markley Fire was started in Northern California's Solano County on Aug. 18, 2020 near where police found the burned body of 32-year-old missing person Priscilla Castro. Authorities had previously said Castro was reported missing after she went on a date with Victor Serriteno two days before the fire. She was not seen again. "Based on an extensive, eight-month investigation, we believe Serriteno deliberat...
Several Westlake Village homes were evacuated Thursday afternoon after a brush fire burned 24 acres north of Westlake High School. The fire in the 500 block of Country Valley Road, drew about 5 firefighters. By about 5:15 p.m., crews appeared to have a handle on the fire. Dubbed the "Country Fire," crews arrived on scene in Thousand Oaks to report smoke emerging from the blaze in an area that was difficult to access. Fire helicopters and several air tankers from Los Angeles County were...
Five people have been arrested and charged for their alleged involvement in the February shooting and robbery of Lady Gaga's dog walker, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Three of the suspects, ranging in age from 18 to 27, were arrested Tuesday on charges of attempted murder. The other two suspects, aged 40 and 50, were charged with accessory to attempted murder. The LAPD said four of the five suspects are documented gang members. Ryan Fischer, a close friend of the pop star who...
Alyssa Erdley, Observer Staff Writer According to the 2020 Census, there was a net loss of 500,000 people from California over the last decade. Half a million people left the state, half of them apparently from the Los Angeles area. California is losing population and just lost a seat in Congress. Yet for 2021 to 2029, Housing and Community Development decided that Southern California had to plan for an additional 1.34 million more housing units. The Southern California Association of Governments came up with more magic numbers, assigning each...
California Secretary of State Dr. Shirley N. Weber Announces Threshold Hs been met to Trigger Recall of Governor Gavin Newsom. Signature Withdrawal Period. The valid signatures in the 10th report are 1,626,042, which exceeds the total of 1,495,709 signatures required. Counties still have until April 29th to verify the validity of any remaining signatures. Individuals have 30 business days to request local elections officials to remove names from recall. "This now triggers the next phase of the...
Someone left a valve open on a long-distance crude oil shipping pipeline at the Inglewood Oil Field and more than 1,600 gallons of oil spilled yesterday near the Kenneth Hahn Regional Park. The spill was contained by E&B Natural Resources the company that operates the pipeline. Human error was listed as the cause of the spill. The oil field spans 1,600 acres and is the largest urban oil field in the country....
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Tuesday that the Golden State could lift most COVID-19 restrictions by June 15 if vaccine supply is sufficient for everyone over 16 and hospitalizations are low. "With more than 20 million vaccines administered across the state, it is time to turn the page on our tier system and begin looking to fully reopen California's economy," said Governor Newsom. "We can now begin planning for our lives post-pandemic." Newsom said the state would lift its tiered...
he Los Angeles County library system will reopen 30 of its 85 locations for "select in-person service" this month following the county's move into the orange tier of the state's economic reopening blueprint. The Juliian Dixon Library in Culver City is one of the ones slated to reopen. The selected LA County Library branches will reopen April 19, with capacity restricted to 50%. Additional locations are expected to open in a phased process, and outdoor programming with limited numbers of...
By Observer Staff 4/2/21 – Gov. Gavin Newsom today signed legislation to extend the eviction moratorium through June 30, 2021. He said the law was intended to help "millions of Californians struggling as a result of the economic hardships brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. With the passage of SB 91, California leads all states by enacting the strongest renter protections in the nation." On Monday, Governor Newsom, Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon a...
By Alyssa Erdley LA County has met the threshold for the less restrictive orange tier in the State's Blueprint for a Safer Economy. A revised Los Angeles County Health Officer Order will go into effect on Monday, April 5 at 12:01 a.m. to reflect newly permitted activities. This allows the County to follow the state guidelines and wait until three weeks are completed in the red tier to be sure that case numbers do not rise this third week since LA County's earlier re-openings. The Health Officer Order and modified directives for businesses will...
LA County Library announce it will reopen 30 of its 85 libraries for select in-person service beginning April 19. “With Los Angeles County entering the orange tier of the State’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy, libraries have been cleared to safely reopen at 50% capacity, while also maintaining 6-feet of physical distance for customers,” said the Library in a statement. “In preparation for reopening its doors to the public, LA County Library is working diligently to ensure safety protocols are met and appropriate preventative measures are in...
A water main break in Pacific Palisades Sunday night after 9 pm, flooded an apartment building's parking garage in Pacific Palisades. The breach on Sunset Blvd was centered across the street from Palisades Charter High School, from El Medio Drive to Marquez Avenue. LA County Lifeguards walked from car to car through waste deep water in the underground car park, searching the vehicles to ensure no one had been trapped there. While authorities did not immediately release the cause of the breach, main water lines on Sunset Blvd and other parts of...
Los Angeles has officially become a no-kill shelter city, making it the largest city in the country to do so, according to Best Friends Animal Society, the organization that gives the ratings. LA's save rate is now up to 90.4%, which is over the 90% rate needed to claim no-kill status, according to Best Friends. The group factors in that approximately 10% of pets who enter shelters have medical or behavioral circumstances that warrant humane euthanasia rather than being killed for lack of space. "When Best Friends Animal Society first launched...
The Board of Supervisors approved a policy that those accused of misdemeanors and who have been found “incompetent to stand trial,” will receive community-based restoration treatment instead of jail-based treatment. Sheila Keuhl, who represents LA County’s westside, including Santa Monica, says this is intended to advance the County’s “care first, jail last” approach.“As of this month, 70 misdemeanants incompetent to stand trial were in County jail,” she writes, not explaining what a “misdemeanant” is. “Under U.S. law, individuals who are f...
3/25 Echo Park Lake was the scene of a confrontation Wednesday night, between about 100 LAPD officers, homeless rights advocates, and homeless people themselves. Los Angeles’ Echo Park Lake is being shut down today, as a homeless camp is cleared. The city plans more than half-million dollars in repairs. LA police surrounded the park this morning and city contractors are building fences after a large group of protestors finally left the area. One demonstrator was cited and released for failing to comply with orders from a police officer. C...
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) will host a live interactive telephone town hall meeting from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 31, to discuss Metro’s Fareless System Initiative. Metro is currently in the process of looking at how the agency could eliminate fares on Metro operated buses and trains for some riders. The Fareless System Initiative study is exploring a pilot program that would provide free rides for low-income riders starting in January 2022 and for K-12 students beginning in August 202...
By Alyssa Erdley March 9, 2021 - The California Department of Corrections, which runs the state's prisons quietly began offering Covid-19 vaccines to the staff and also incarcerated individuals at the state's prisons on December 22, 2020. Vaccinations for frontline workers, the first given in the state, only began shortly before this date. Individuals over 65 years old were not eligible to sign up to get the vaccine until mid-January. As of March 7, there have been 42,397 inmates who have received the vaccine and 25,885 prison staff members....
The U.S. and California economies will experience near-record growth this year thanks to widespread vaccinations for COVID-19 and massive federal relief for struggling workers and businesses, UCLA forecasters at the Anderson School of Business predict. "A waning pandemic combined with fiscal relief means a strong year of growth in 2021 - one of the strongest years of growth in the last 60 years - followed by sustained higher growth rates in 2022 and 2023," according to the quarterly economic...
3/7/21: The organizers of an effort to recall George Gascon as Los Angeles County District Attorney, have announced that they have served him with legal papers announcing their intention to recall him from his position. This just 90 days after his election on December 7, 2020-the earliest that a recall effort can be launched. The organizers will need to collect 500,000 signatures in LA County, 5% of the total overall population, in order to put the measure on the November 2021 ballot. That...
A 150-foot piece of PCH that fell into the Pacific Ocean in early February 2021 is now under repair. Cal Trans hopes to reopen the road just south of Big Sur by the end of Summer. For now, travelers must turn around when they reach the gaping hole – there's no bypass in that remote stretch of road. The repairs are expected to cost about $11 million. The crews must come from both Monterey and San Luis Obispo county, a drive of over an hour to the site....
"I've been watching college volleyball for a while now and it's frustrating seeing them play cause we're not able to," Danet said. "We're not able to play the season and have the experience needed for college." "It's been a little bit annoying considering I've been working hard all this quarantine and then we just keep getting cancelled, it's just frustrating," Graham told FoxLA. Brad Graham, Caleb's dad, and a part of the "Let Them Play" movement, says the Governor has no medical evidence to...
By Jason Murdock A GPS-tracked gray wolf has been branded a "beacon of hope" after traveling far south into California from Oregon, likely in search of a mate. The gray wolf, a nearly two-year-old male called OR-93, has dispersed further south into the state than any of the collared wolves that ventured before it. The wolf reached Mono County, east of Yosemite National Park in the central Sierra Nevada, on February 25. The Center for Biological Diversity, a non-profit conservation organization,...
