City Council to Develop Climate Action Plan

The City Council Friday approved a motion calling on several departments to develop a climate action and adaptation plan to codify green efforts and guide the city forward. The council members voted 14-0, with Councilwoman Nithya Raman absent during the vote, to support an amended motion introduced by Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky. Her motion substituted a […]

Judge OKs Effort to Retry Ex-UCLA Campus Gynecologist

A judge Friday granted the prosecution’s request to retry former UCLA campus gynecologist James Mason Heaps on nine remaining sex-related charges on which jurors deadlocked last year involving former patients. Superior Court Judge Michael D. Carter denied a defense motion to dismiss the deadlocked counts against Heaps. “So, when I look at this as a […]

Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo Arrested on Suspicion of DUI

Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo, a Los Angeles Democrat who is vying for the City Council seat held by Kevin de León, was arrested early Friday on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. Carrillo, 43, was taken into custody after officers went to the 6200 block of Monterey Road on a report of a traffic […]

Suspect Arrested in 2001 Killing of Man, 2-Year-Old Daughter in Compton

A suspect was behind bars Friday in connection with the 2001 driveby Compton killings of a 24-year-old man and his 2-year-old daughter, who investigators said were innocent victims of a gang war. Jahon Smith, 47, was arrested Monday in connection with the Aug. 8, 2001, killings of Stephen Murphy and his daughter Kali, who were […]

Man Injured in Shooting Outside Fairfax District Market, Gunman on the Loose

A gunman who shot a 28-year-old man in the leg outside the Erewhon Market in the Fairfax District then fled the scene in a Lamborghini SUV remained at large Friday. Officers responded to the 7600 block of Beverly Boulevard around 5:15 p.m. Thursday to the market near The Grove shopping center to a report of […]

Judge Maintains Stay of Former Lizzo Dancer’s Suit Pending Anti-Slapp Hearing

Attorneys representing three of four former Lizzo employees who accuse the singer of repeated sexual and racial harassment lost a round in court Friday when a judge denied their request to lift a stay in the case, which they sought in order to take depositions of all those who have submitted declarations in a defense […]

Fitness Trainer Gets 1 Year Prison for Attempted Assault

A well-known fitness trainer was sentenced Friday to a year in prison for attempting to sexually assault a relative in Rancho Santa Margarita more than a decade ago. John Spencer Ellis, 54, was convicted Oct. 9 of a felony count of attempted sexual penetration by a foreign object of an underage victim. Jurors acquitted Ellis […]

Male Temp Workers Settle Harassment Suit vs. Fender Guitar

Four men who worked through a temporary staffing agency at Fender Musical Instruments Corp. in Corona have reached settlements in a lawsuit they filed against both companies in which they alleged they were sexually harassed by a female co-worker. Attorneys in the case informed Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Jill Feeney on Thursday that the […]

Stepmother Gets Nearly 15 to Life for Child Abuse

A 34-year-old woman was sentenced Friday to nearly 15 years to life in prison for torturing her 10-year-old stepdaughter and abusing three other children in her family in Anaheim with the judge declaring that he hopes she never gets out of prison. Mayra Corina Chavez was convicted Oct. 11 of one count of torture and […]

LA County Priciest Region in Nation in 2023

Los Angeles County remained the nation’s priciest region this year, with Beverly Hills and Santa Monica claiming two spots among the top 10 most expensive ZIP codes in the United States, according to a report released Friday. The report by real estate research tool PropertyShark also found that Los Angeles was the second-priciest metropolitan area, […]

Man Charged with Killing Elderly Victim in Victim’s Apartment

A 26-year-old transient was charged Friday with the robbery and killing of an 87-year-old Garden Grove man in the victim’s home. Mario Brancato was charged with murder with special circumstances of murder during a robbery as well as robbery and attempted robbery with a sentencing enhancement for attempted premeditated murder, according to court records. He […]