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Leimert Park Gets $120 Mil Metro Station

Categories: Transportation

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Metro
Chins were scratched and heads shook in 2011 when it was revealed that Metro's Crenshaw/LAX light-rail line would not feature a proper stop in the heart of African-American L.A., Leimert Park.

There were accusations that the black community wasn't seeing the same kind of resources thrown at the multibillion-dollar Westside subway along Wilshire Bouelvard. Well, today all that changed. The Metro board and the L.A. City Council put up the necessary cash:

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Mafia Cocaine Ring Ran Through Beverly Hills?

Categories: Drugs

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A mob-connected drug trafficker was living right under our noses in Beverly Hills, helping to stash kilos of cocaine, make deals with the Sinaloa drug cartel and move millions of dollars worth of drugs for the Rizzuto organized crime family of La Cosa Nostra.

Those are the facts of the case for 39-year-old Alessandro Taloni, who today pleaded guilty in New York to federal drug-trafficking charges:

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L.A. Marijuana Dispensaries Face Legal Action If They Don't Close

Categories: Marijuana

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Susan Slade Photography for L.A. Weekly
The L.A. City Attorney's office this week said it would begin the job of telling most marijuana dispensaries in town that it's time to close up for good.

Of course, that actually happening is a believe-it-when-we-see-it proposition, since the city has been trying to do just that since 2007, only to see the opposite go down as more retailers open shop. On Tuesday you, the voter, said it's time to downsize our pot shop scene:

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Carmen Trutanich's Loss Was Historic

Categories: Election 2013

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Carmen Trutanich / Flickr
Mike Feuer took City Attorney Carmen Trutanich's job with 62 percent of the vote versus the incumbent's less than 38 percent, a more than 24-point spread.

Some think Trutanich's failed run for district attorney, which had him breaking a vow to stay put, killed his chances. You might also consider his mad-dog crackdowns on medical marijuana and the fact that pot-shop regulation was also on the ballot, perhaps bringing a hostile medicinal vote to the polls. In any case, his drubbing was historic:

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Should L.A. City Elections Sync Up With Presidential Years?

Categories: Election 2013

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erin leigh mcconnell / Flickr
Tuesday's election was historic. We got our first elected mayor of Jewish ancestry. And our second mayor in modern times with Mexican heritage.

But most of you didn't bother to vote. The L.A. City Clerk registered a low-low "ballots cast" percentage of 19.2. Meaning one out of 5 of you -- and that's just of the ones who are even registered to vote -- bothered to show up. That number probably will increase to nearly 1 out of 4 as the final tally is certified by June 11. Still, it's kind of sad:

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Eric Garcetti, The Boy Mayor of Los Angeles

Categories: Election 2013
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Photo by Ted Soqui
Eric Garcetti relishes victory
Eric Garcetti, 42, will be the youngest mayor of Los Angeles in 100 years. At 42, he's not quite as fresh-faced as he was when he ran for City Council at the ripe age of 29. But he's still young enough to pop-and-lock and play keyboards with Moby.

The "boy mayor" has a long history in urban politics. Think of John Purroy Mitchel in New York, a reformer elected when he was 34, or Jerry Springer in Cincinnati (age 33) or Dennis Kucinich in Cleveland (age 32). Typically a city turns to a "boy mayor" when it needs a dose of youthful idealism to counteract a corrupted and stagnant City Hall machine.

And very often, things go badly for the young mayor as he is introduced to the hard realities of life in the big city.
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Memo to Don Mattingly: Shut the Puck Up!

Categories: Dodgers

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Keith Allison/Flickr

Don Mattingly is on a plane home from Wisconsin as we speak, and may be handed a pink slip with his luggage upon disembarking.

Perhaps his firing comes during the team's day off tomorrow -- as has been predicted -- maybe Mattingly gets until Friday or through the weekend, and it's a physical possibility that he receives club support while actually keeping his job. But the prevailing wisdom -- summed up by Bill Shaikin, Chris Calcaterra and others -- is that the man best associated with the New York Yankees will be out of a job in Los Angeles soon. Very soon. And it's the right call.

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How L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Spent His 12-Hour Days in 2012

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Darrick Rainey
Please see today's L.A. Weekly cover story, "L.A. Mayor With Baggage Seeks Job: Antonio Villaraigosa's quest for Wall Street, Washington and wealth," and check out the mayor's original, unedited schedule, obtained by the Weekly, at the end of the next page.

In 2008, L.A. Weekly obtained Mayor Villaraigosa's official work schedule and discovered that he spent only 11 percent of his time on direct mayoral work. Critics dubbed him "the 11 percent mayor." Four years later, as he leaves office, we revisited his calendar. We found that Villaraigosa is deeply devoted to photo ops, ceremonies and travel, spending just 15 percent of his day on core duties such as deciding upon policy or weighing laws. He spends 42 percent of his working hours traveling outside Los Angeles.

During the 15-week period from September 1 to December 16, 2012, he logged roughly 1,234 hours of official work, 12 hours a day. He divides his time into the same five categories we unearthed in 2008: Trips, Gap Time (getting from event to event), Personal Time/Blacked Out, Ceremonial or PR, and City Work.

Here's the breakdown by category of how he really spends his time, 2012 versus 2008:

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'Priceless' Indian Deluxe Bicycle Stolen in Lancaster

Categories: Crime

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LASD
A nearly 100-year-old bicycle said to be quite valuable and rare was stolen from its owner's home in Lancaster, authorities said.

The red Indian Deluxe, which looks like Pee-wee Herman's dream ride, was made between 1914 and 1917, according to sheriff's officials:

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Marijuana Shops Might Sue to Stay Open in L.A.

Categories: Marijuana

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Susan Slade Photography for L.A. Weekly
Measure D. a law that would close nine out of 10 marijuana dispensaries in town, maybe more, was passed by you, the voter, last night.

But that doesn't mean it's over for hundreds or perhaps even 1,000 or more pot shops in Los Angeles that would have to close their doors under the ordinance. Backers of a competing measure (Ordinance F), which would have allowed many if not most of those cannabis stores to stay open, albeit with some new regulations and taxes, say they'll sue to survive:

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Mitch O'Farrell Beats the Candidate From Nowhere, John Choi, and a Union Machine

Categories: Election 2013

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LuLu Hoeller
Echo Park said no to John Choi.
Hollywood and the Tri-Hipster Area are nothing if not independent, and on Tuesday they defied months of wrongheaded conventional wisdom that said John Choi, a guy nobody in City Council District 13 had heard of, could win an L.A. City Council seat thanks to riches from the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor and the hated DWP union.

Critics called it buying an election. It certainly appeared that way at times.

But voters defied the experts who said the obscure Choi was the frontrunner thanks to big money unions urging voters to the polls. Choi was not the frontrunner, ever. O'Farrell, the respected field deputy to Eric Garcetti, was. O'Farrell won decisively ...

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5 Interesting Reasons People at Eric Garcetti's Victory Party Voted for Him

Categories: Election 2013

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PHOTO BY TED SOQUI
Eric Garcetti at his victory party
By Kate Stephanus

Eric Garcetti's victory party last night at the Hollywood Palladium drew hipsters, activists and campaign pros -- along with a few people who had, shall we say, more unusual reasons for lending their support.

Some of these partygoers had a lot to say about the issues they were concerned with, which they were convinced Garcetti would pay particular attention to if elected. Others had more personal reasons. All had complete confidence that Garcetti will go above and beyond expectations, doing everything from generating jobs to providing pot for all who need it.

Here are the five most interesting reasons people gave us last night for their Garcetti vote.

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Fake Cop's 'Prostitution Sting' Leads to Sex Attack in El Segundo, Police Say

Categories: Sex Crimes

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Stepp, left, and the at-large suspect via El Segundo police.
A woman who apparently offered escort services online was no easy prey when she was allegedly attacked by a suspect this week.

Police say the victim arranged to meet 33-year-old Wesley Robert Stepp at an El Segundo hotel room when the man identified himself as a cop who was conducting a "prostitution sting operation." Here's what authorities say happened next:

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1,000 Medical Marijuana Shops to Close in L.A. after Prop. D Wins in a Landslide

Categories: Election 2013

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Amitp
See also, City Attorney Trutanich announces he will notify shops they must close.

Proposition D's huge win on Tuesday was a clear message from liberal Los Angeles that it does not want more than 1,000 weed shops in virtually every business district of the sprawling city, as things stand today.

The new law becomes the first tricky and controversial test for Mayor-elect Eric Garcetti, a man with a great distaste for controversy. It shutters all dispensaries that opened in defiance of the L.A. City Council's 2007 moratorium banning new pot shops.


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Memorial Day Weekend DUI Checkpoints For Los Angeles

Categories: Alcohol

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Colin Young-Wolff for LA Weekly
Ready for summer? Ready to party? Be ready to have your ass busted if you drink and drive.

The LAPD, the sheriff's department and Pasadena police are rolling out the troops this holiday weekend, hoping that you won't be dumb enough to be a DUI motorist. We're counting 7 checkpoints and two patrol operations starting Friday. Here's what we know:

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Eric Garcetti Wins Mayor's Race By Rebuilding The Villaraigosa Coalition, Plus San Fernando Valley Republicans

Categories: Election 2013
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Garcetti and Greuel
Eric Garcetti was elected mayor of Los Angeles on Tuesday, reassembling the coalition of Westsiders and Latinos that carried Antonio Villaraigosa into office eight years ago.

But as this L.A. Times map shows, Garcetti also carried the northwest San Fernando Valley, a largely Republican area that Villaraigosa lost twice to James Hahn.

In order to win, Wendy Greuel needed those votes. Her path to victory was to recreate the Hahn coalition -- Valley whites and African-Americans. She won the black vote. But she was separated from her conservative Valley base, which is the story of the campaign.
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Can Marijuana Help Keep Diabetes in Check?

Categories: Marijuana

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Joseph Adams / Flickr
Of all the good things marijuana can do for you -- enhance your hearing at reggae concerts, make you fall in love with otherwise unattractive people, inspire you say profound things while sitting in a hot tub -- this one is pretty amazing.

Researchers using five years worth of National Health and Nutrition Survey data compared 579 regular cannabis users to thousands of non-users:

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Freeway Marriage Proposal Ring For Sale

Categories: WTF

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yenombackwards / YouTube
Remember that freeway marriage proposal that stopped interstate 10 earlier this year and got the groom-to-be, Hector Martinez, arrested?

Maybe it wasn't worth it after all. A ring said to have been used in the motorcycle takeover of the freeway in West Covina was not-so-quietly put up for sale this week on Craigslist:

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Ron Galperin Beats Dennis Zine to Become L.A. City Controller -- Final Election Results

Categories: Election 2013

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Ron Galperin, the newly elected L.A. city controller
The final tally is in: By 3:16 a.m., with 100 percent of precincts reporting, newcomer Ron Galperin had decisively beaten City Hall veteran Dennis Zine, getting elected L.A.'s new controller with 56.2 percent of the vote.

Galperin's victory is arguably the biggest upset of this city's municipal elections -- the Century City attorney was the only outsider to run for citywide office. He was able to beat Zine, a longtime member of the city council and the LAPD, despite raising far less money: $584,433 to Zine's $1.14 million.

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Why Laura Chick -- Not Wendy Greuel -- Would Have Beaten Eric Garcetti for Mayor

Categories: Election 2013

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Laura Chick
The wrong city controller ran against Eric Garcetti.

As current Los Angeles City Controller Wendy Greuel's run for mayor ended in defeat, one can't help but think that Laura Chick, the hard-charging, plainspoken controller between 2001 and 2009, would have mopped the floor with Garcetti.

"There is no way you can get your foot in the door [at L.A. City Hall] unless you start showing up to events for elected officials and making whatever the maximum donation is," Chick told journalist Kevin Roderick in 2004.

That kind of candidness from Chick, which maddened L.A.'s political elite, would have undoubtedly won over voters of all political stripes -- just as her hard-hitting audits did.

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