Los Angeles News Blog

​Thats right folks. If the a state pay commission has its way the governor's salary and those of other state elected officials will get an 18 percent reduction starting next month, putting the pay for Los Angeles City councilmembers in a rarified air above that of the governor of 36 million people. The pay for City Council members was already higher than the paychecks of the lieutenant governor and all other state elected officials.

Of course, Arnold Schwarzenegger does not accept his salary, but you get the point: Council-playas be gettin' paid. You know? We're talking $178,789 a year, not to mention discretionary office funds, meeting and travel expenses and those city provided vehicles.

​Devin Petelski, the 25-year-old Brentwood woman killed in a traffic collision involving a Los Angeles Police Department cruiser last month, was laid to rest during a small private ceremony Friday as questions remained about the Venice crash.

Her family had retained the services of star attorney Mark Geragos -- he had sent investigators to the scene of the crash -- but have since hired another attorney, according to two sources. The LAPD and the city are taking the case quite seriously -- the LAPD's elite Specialized Collision Investigation Division is leading the charge -- partly because the family seems, at the least, prepared to sue.

​The Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union the represents rank-and-file members of the Los Angeles Police Department, on Friday issued a statement calling Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's prisoner-release plan "dangerous and unacceptable."

The governor's plan was submitted to a three-judge panel that is overseeing a federal mandate forcing the state to reduce its prison population by 40,000 criminals in the next two years. Of course, the Governator didn't really mean it when he submitted his latest proposal: He's biding for time while appealing the population-reduction ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.

U.S. Attorney

​On Veteran's day we told you about the strange saga of 39-year-old Steven Burton, who the U.S. Attorney has accused of posing as a war hero -- uniform, Purple Heart, the whole get-up. We were recently forwarded photos of a man who might or might not be Burton posing in a decidedly sexual manner.

A U.S. Navy Commander at her high school reunion broke the case open when she spotted the suspect in full Naval dress, rare medals and all and, suspicious, asked to take photo with him. She forwarded the image to authorities, and they charged him with unauthorized display of armed forces medals. After we wrote about it, a male reader came forward to allege that the suspect had contacted him previously in an online chat room, claimed to be a Marine, and told him he liked to pick up guys at gay bars while dressed as a military man. He alleges they struck an ongoing, flirtatious internet relationship (and that the suspect had claimed to be someone else but later admitted to his own identity). We're not sure if the claims are true, but the accompanying photos appear to depict Burton in a wholly different kind of uniform. Is it really him? (Warning: NSFW, and possibly NSFL -- not safe for lunch).

Fox

Herbert.

​A Thousand Oaks man was arrested after allegedly paying boys from a local high school to spit on him, slap him and yell profanities at him, the Ventura County Sheriff's Department reports.

Authorities say some teens even alleged that the suspect, identified as 39-year-old Charles William Hersel, paid them to urinate and defecate on him. Ventura County Sheriff's officials say the suspect lured teens via MySpace but soon had a steady flow of victims as word got around tony Westlake High School that he was paying to get spit on.

Me so racist.

​A lawsuit from a woman who claimed Miley Cyrus violated her civil rights and those of other Asian-Americans when she stretched her eyes out with her fingers for a photo was thrown out Friday.

Claimant Lucie Kim argued that the photo, exposed in February, infringed on her civil rights, but a local judge wasn't having it. The shot drew some ire from Asian-American leaders, including the the OCA, which demanded an apology from Cyrus.

​Neon Tommy, the publication of the USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, this week takes a look at the Weekly and some of the changes that have taken place at the paper in recent months, including the hiring of Editor-in-Chief Drex Heikes, a well-respected journalist who has edited the Los Angeles Times Magazine and more recently oversaw a Pulitzer Prize-winning series at the Las Vegas Sun.

Let's get this out of the way first. As the Tommy admits, it got a few things wrong: It stated that the Weekly's editorial staff consists of six people -- three editors and three staff writers. It left out music editor Randall Roberts, web editor Erin Broadley, food blog editor Amy Scattergood, and copy editors Karre Jacobs and Mel Yiasemide. Editorial creative director Darrick Rainey, assistant art director Jason Jones and designer Mitch Handsone were also left out of the editorial head count. There are seven full-time print and web staff writers: Gendy Alimurung, Patrick Range McDonald, Libby Molyneaux, Christine Pelisek, Scott Foundas and Liz Ohanesian, who is also the online editorial assistant. On the part-time/regular-freelance tip there's critic at large Steven Leigh Morris, assistant listings editors Siran Babayan, Falling James and Derek Thomas, as well as columnists Nikki Finke, Jonathan Gold and Lina Lecaro. Neon Tommy also said the news blogger is an editor. We can assure you, he is not.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Let me see that bong ba-bong bong bong.

​The man cannot be fooled: U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach announced Thursday they seized a bong-load of paraphernalia that was shipped to the U.S. from China disguised as holiday ornaments.

The goods were described as "glass figures and Christmas ornaments," but, as a statement from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency reads, "The highly decorated glass pipes did not fool CBP officials." Did you hear that stoners? The feds roll ninja style, so don't even try.

​In one of those only-in-L.A. factoids, we're amused to report that one of the places the Motion Picture and Theatrical Trade Teamsters say is difficult to access for location shoots is the iconic, industry-marking Hollywood sign.

Yes folks, only in L.A. could Hollywood have a hard time filming "Hollywood." Other sore spots: the AT&T Building downtown, County-USC Medical Center, Farmers and Merchants Bank downtown, the Griffith Park Observatory, the Japanese Heritage Museum in Little Tokyo, Library Park at the Central Library, the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce Headquarters, the Los Angeles Zoo, and the Terminal Annex Post Office.

Friends of a Brentwood woman who was killed in a collision with a Los Angeles Police Department cruiser last month held a vigil this week and called for an investigation into whether the patrol car was speeding to an emergency call without its lights and sirens on -- a practice that was banned by the department in 2004.

Devin Petelski

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Friends and family of 25-year-old Devin Petelski call the practice "silent running" and have started a Facebook page to urge the LAPD to take stricter measures to "end" that kind of driving. Police have said the cruiser was not speeding but that it was, in fact, responding to an officer-assist call for a burglary in progress when it crashed into Petelski's BMW shortly before midnight of Oct. 15.

Pro-medical-marijuana group Americans For Safe Access this week claimed victory in its campaign to get the Los Angeles City Council to see things its way when it comes to regulating L.A.'s 800 or so registered pot shops.
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After campaigning on-air at KPCC (89.3 FM), ASA claims it has beaten back the strict, anti-dispensary stances of county District Attorney Steve Cooley and City Attorney Carmen Trutanich and that the council will eventually emerge with legislation that allows the kind of over-the-counter pot shops that have proliferated in neighborhoods such as Venice, Hollywood and Sherman Oaks.

This place.

​The UC Board of Regents on Thursday agreed to help reopen one of the most troubled medical institutions in state history, Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital. The move followed an offer by billionaire doctor Patrick Soon-Shiong, who put $100 million in loan guarantees on the table in an effort to get the institution back on its feet.

After years of mismanagement, lawsuit payouts and horrific allegations -- a patient died in the emergency room begging for help, two others perished while vital signs went unnoticed, staff used taser guns to tame unruly psychiatric patients -- the county finally shut the thing down in 2007.

UCLA

Campbell Hall.

​A group of students at UCLA Thursday morning took over Campbell Hall to protest UC Board of Regents' likely approval of a 32 percent tuition hike that would put undergraduate costs to attend classes at the public campus above $10,000 annually.

A UCLA spokesman said "no action is being taken" against the group, which used chains and bicycle locks to barricade itself inside the building. UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said classes at Campbell Hall have been canceled, and he urged people to "stay away."

That indoor greenhouse (and we emphasize the green) next door to the Los Angeles Police Department's Topanga Division in Canoga Park was a pretty good-sized operation. Police found 1,000 plants along with a sophisticated irrigation and lighting system that appeared to be highly organized and perhaps even high-tech.

But the real last draw for officers was that the warehouse-like facility contained elements that appear to make clear growers were quite aware of how close they were to the fuzz: The operation enlisted a ventilation system and caulking that sealed cracks and seams, according to television reports from the scene.

​Los Angeles police on Wednesday announced they uncovered a pot growing operation 25 feet from its Topanga Division station in Canoga park after cops in the nearby parking lot smelled the telltale pot aroma about a week ago and initiated an investigation.

Officer Karen Rayner of the Los Angeles Police Department said a search warrant was served about 3 p.m. at 8411 Canoga Ave., which is behind the Topanga station.

UCLA

​Stuck with a $535 million gap in their budget, a University of California Board of Regents committee met at UCLA Wednesday and approved a plan that would raise annual undergraduate tuition fees above the $10,000 mark.

The proposal that would see annual undergraduate costs reach $11,302, including campus-by-campus student-union fees and other charges, represents a near tripling of what UCLA students paid ten years ago.

​If you're concerned about cats, the Los Angeles City Council is a fast-acting, legislation machine. But if you're worried about those unregulated pot shops that outnumber Starbucks in some neighborhoods, you're going to have to wait. Again.

The council today postponed its hearing on an ordinance that would finally attempt to provide some framework for the medical marijuana dispensary business. The council has been looking at proposed laws for more than a year, during which time the pot-shop business has blossomed and seems out of control according to some critics.

You gotta give it to the Los Angeles City Council. It's a real go-getter of a group, ever progressive in its drive to make the city a better place.

It has deliberated and debated for more than a year on regulating the 800 or so pot dispensaries in town for our own good -- to make sure that these retail drug dealers, which every government lawyer from City Attorney Carmen Trutanich to Attorney General Jerry Brown has indicated are essentially illegal, can supply us with that "purple" at a fair price. (Who cares if there's one in your neighborhood, with school children walking by it each day? The council wants to get this right). And while potholes fester, water-system pipes burst and the fire department runs with intermittent station closings as a result of a tight budget, the council treks off to San Antonio to schmooze with lobbyists at the League of Cities convention. It's a learning experience that will benefit us all, we're sure. Fresh from this junket -- er, meeting -- the council has wrassled a complex issue that will shape this city for decades to come (read more after the jump):
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Car burglars have been stripping BMWs of pricey parts on the Westside, Miracle Mile and Mid-Wilshire in recent months, prompting cops in the Los Angeles Police Department's Wilshire Division to be on the lookout. Authorities say about 50 BMW 3 and 5 series cars have been burglarized, mostly for airbags, xenon headlights and wheels, each of which can fetch hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars on websites such as Craigslist.

It's gotta be a sad day when Tad descends from his $3,000-a-month apartment to find that his B-M is rolling on 12-inch steel brake rotors. Why do thieves always target the good ones? Why can't they set their sites on crap cars that need to be parted out anyway? For example (see our list of cars that need to be stolen after the jump): ​

KCRW (89.9 FM) general manager Ruth Seymour announced Wednesday that she's retiring after 32 years running the public station out of Santa Monica College.

She said she'll leave in February. Meanwhile, the college has already begun a search for a replacement.

KCRW

Ruth Seymour

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View photos from the New Moon premiere here.

Reporters love publicists. Pretty much when we're working on any story, it's always good to have an extra person blocking you from the information you're seeking. And you never know, for example, when you might end up starving after an Andes Mountains plane crash involving you, your subject and a publicist. Mmm -- publicist. Or say you're a rock star, and you need someone to carry your bags, drive you around, score drugs for you and keep Pamela Anderson away. Viola! Publicist. Or, imagine if you're on a bus, and it's losing traction because it's very wet and slippery outside. You're going to need to throw something under said bus. We're telling you, publicists come in handy ... sometimes.

KIIS-FM

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Got Kush Collective

​At the core of the battle in City Hall to regulate some 800 or so registered medical marijuana dispensaries is the concept of "over-the-counter sales." When the term is brought up, what's really meant is retail, storefront sales -- in contrast with the kind of nonprofit, smoke-what-you-grow "collectives" for the truly ill that were originally green lit by state law.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley and City Attorney Carmen Trutanich insist that nowhere in state law are storefront pot shops allowed. Dispensaries. Pot pharms. Medicinal shops. Whatever you want to call them, they're not legal. Period.

The Los Angeles City Council this week is looking at West Hollywood's regulation of medical marijuana dispensaries as a model for its own long-awaited ordinance, which will target the 800 or so pot shops registered in the city.​

On Monday two council committees directed city staff members to draw up legislation that would mirror West Hollywood's pot-shop regulations. The problem with WeHo's rules, however, is that they don't address the core problem with most dispensaries statewide: They allow "over-the-counter" sales of pot, contrary to state law.

At least that's the view of the city attorney's office. State law, and the same Prop. 215 that started all this medical marijuana business, states "people were allowed to collectively cultivate and share it amongst themselves," says assistant City Attorney David Berger, "but no where were they ever allowed to sell marijuana, and no defense for sales of marijauan was created."

It looks like Los Angeles is not getting a pass in the ACORN video scandal that targeted offices of the nonprofit housing and voting group and ended up showing some social workers ever too willing to help out a fake pimping and prostitution business.

ACORN

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When the videos rolled out in September it was surmised that workers at the Los Angeles office of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now were left out of the fun because they did the right thing and sidestepped the entrapment offered by conservative, punk-stunt pranksters James O'Keefe and Hannah Giles.

But blogger Patterico reveals this week that videos from the L.A. leg of this particular "pro" tour are now being rolled out. So far, however, there is scant evidence of wrongdoing on the part of the L.A. office. ACORN worker Felix D. Harris says repeatedly on the latest video that he can help the decoys, who pose as a pimp and prostitute on undercover video, as long as what they're doing is "legitimate."

The Los Angeles County District Attorney on Tuesday defied the Los Angeles City Council leaders who pushed for a new marijuana dispensary ordinance that would allow cash, over-the-counter sales of pot.​

"The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office will continue to prosecute dispensary operators who violate California law," stated John K. Spillane, chief deputy District Attorney. "Any proposed ordinance allowing for the sales of marijuana is in direct conflict with California's Compassionate Use Act and Medical Marijuana Program."

At issue is whether or not dispensaries can sell pot to people who have cards issued by doctors who have determined they need the drug for medicinal purposes. District Attorney Steve Cooley and his municipal counterpart, Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich, believe that state law, as spelled out under the 1996 passage of Prop. 215 and subsequent court rulings, only allows for marijuana to be distributed to members of collectives for nonprofit purposes.

The City Council on Tuesday unanimously confirmed Charlie Beck as the 55th chief of the Los Angeles Police Department.
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A lifelong cop, Beck was the top choice of former Chief William Bratton and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Some critics believe that his selection was made too rapidly, without enough public input, but the council has stood wholeheartedly behind him.

Beck has painted himself as an old-school LAPD veteran who had a personal transformation in the early '00s under Bratton and as he took command of his own divisions, which included Central downtown and the troubled Rampart station west of downtown.

Ah, the outrageous bills, the alluring premium content that expires in three months, and the subscriber packages that never give you the exact channels you want -- not mention the lack of competition: Cable is so Soviet era.​

You've been clamoring to shed this ball and chain, and now maybe you can: A company called Sezmi is rolling out its service to Los Angeles and it's free until March. The provider pulls content from online, broadband and digital-airwave sources and puts it in homes via set-top boxes that it rents and sells (for $299).

Gosh, how fast they grow up. It was only Sunday that the public got its first rides on the newborn Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension. Little tyke was so shiny and innocent, chugging along from downtown to East L.A.

Metro

​Then, on Monday, baby took her first urban steps. Two teenage suspects who had just robbed someone on the street nearby boarded the precious lil' chugger at the Little Tokyo/Arts District station in an attempt to get away. Aw.

Perhaps the joint city council committee looking at a new pot dispensary ordinance Monday had good reason to back off the city attorney's hard-and-fast ban on the "sale of marijuana" in Los Angeles: Two medical-marijuana advocacy groups have threatened to sue should such a law be passed by the city.

Got Kush Collective

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Americans For Safe Access on Monday stated the courts in California have supported the sale of pot to patients with doctors' approvals and that if the council moves forward with is sales ban it will take City Hall to court.

"The City Attorney has consistently argued that medical marijuana sales are illegal," said ASA Chief Counsel Joe Elford. "Neither the Los Angeles City Attorney nor the City Council has the right to ban activity that is protected under state law. Medical marijuana sales have been deemed legal by the state legislature, the courts, and the California Attorney General."

The political will just isn't there on the part of the City Council to deal with the out-of-control pot dispensary business in Los Angeles. That much was clear today when a joint committee meeting passed along the city attorney's proposed near-ban of medical marijuana businesses like an unwanted joint.
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The Public Safety and Planning and Land Use committees on Monday decided to water down this festering weed before it goes to the full City Council on Wednesday. The ordinance proposed by City Attorney Carmen Trutanich would have barred "over-the-counter" sales of pot, limited the number of dispensaries by district and disallowed sales near schools, churches and rehab centers.

Councilmen Ed Reyes and Dennis Zine, however, felt the over-the-counter ban was too harsh -- it would have shut down virtually each of the estimated 800 or more dispensaries in the medical marijuana capital of the nation -- and proposed that cash transactions be allowed as long as they comply with state law.