Author: City News Service

City News Service is a regional wire service covering Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Diego counties. Its reporting and editing staff cover public safety, courts, local government and general assignment stories.

The release of 2 million to 4 million gallons of untreated sewage into the Dominguez Channel has forced the closures of some beaches on Friday, Dec. 31, in Los Angeles County. Sewage in the Dominguez Channel, which pours into the Los Angeles Harbor at the Port of Los Angeles, was expected to impact Cabrillo Beach, Point Fermin Beach, White Point Beach, Royal Palm State Beach and Rancho Palos Verdes Beach, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported. “Closure signs will be posted in these areas,” the agency said in a statement. “Public health officials are advising residents to…

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LOS ANGELES – Candidates running for Los Angeles elected office in the June 7 primary must reside within the correct jurisdiction by Jan. 8, the City Clerk said on Thursday, Dec. 30. That means those running for mayor, controller or city attorney must live in Los Angeles proper by that deadline. Candidates for City Council and the Los Angeles Unified School District’s Board of Education, meanwhile, must live within the newly drawn district boundaries by the end of next week. The new City Council and Board of Education districts go into effect on Saturday, Jan. 1, after being redrawn this…

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Officials say the “LA Secure” app will provide immediate protection against new and evolving threats on both for iPhone and Android mobile devices. Once the app is downloaded, it alerts the user to threats in real time and offers information about how to proceed. LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced on Tuesday, Dec. 28, that it has teamed up with the city of Los Angeles to launch a free mobile security app — to protect people in L.A. County from cybersecurity threats on public WiFi systems. “Providing a safe and secure environment for Los Angeles…

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LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer announced on Tuesday, Dec. 28, that a court ruled in favor of the city in a lawsuit aimed at overturning a plan for the construction of up to 6,000 new apartment and condominium units within a half-mile of five Metro Expo Line stations. “We urgently need more housing and we should put it close to public transit to reduce traffic congestion. This victory is an essential step in dramatically reimagining how Angelenos live, work, shop and play.” Feuer said. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mary Strobel ruled in favor of the…

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HOLLYWOOD — The hit musical “Hamilton” is yet another victim of the surging coronavirus in Los Angeles County, with producers announcing on Tuesday, Dec. 28, that all performances of the show at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre are canceled through Jan. 23. “As a result of rigorous health and safety testing protocols, the Los Angeles production of ‘Hamilton’ at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre has discovered COVID-19 breakthrough cases,” Broadway in Hollywood, which runs the Pantages, said in a statement. Performances are scheduled to resume Jan. 26, and all tickets for canceled shows will be refunded at the point of purchase, according…

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INGLEWOOD (CNS) – A judge today took under submission a request by the ACLU of Southern California for a temporary restraining order preventing any potentially relevant use-of-force and other officer conduct records theACLU wants to examine from being destroyed by the Inglewood Police Department. The ACLU’s Los Angeles Superior Court petition, brought Dec. 23, seeks the information under the California Public Records Act and Senate Bill 1421, which was enacted in 2018 by the Legislature and enables the public toaccess peace officer records concerning uses of force and police misconduct that had been previously unavailable. The ACLU’s petition asks for…

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The latest COVID-19 variant continued to make its presence known during the holiday season on Sunday, Dec. 26, upending holiday plans for tens of thousands of travelers, and infecting nearly 9,000 more people in Los Angeles County, according to officials. County public health officials reported 8,891 new cases of COVID-19 and seven additional deaths associated with the virus on Sunday, Dec. 26, in numbers that likely reflect reporting delays over the holiday and the weekend. Also Sunday, the number of county residents hospitalized with the coronavirus increased to 904, up from 849 the previous day, according to the latest state…

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LOS ANGELES (CNS) – The ACLU of Southern California filed a legal action today seeking access to use-of-force and other records from the Inglewood Police Department as well as a temporary restraining order preventing any potentially relevant records from being destroyed. The Los Angeles Superior Court petition seeks the information under the California Public Records Act and Senate Bill 1421, which was enacted in 2018 by the Legislature and enables the public to access peace officer records concerning uses of force and police misconduct that had been previously unavailable. In response to the ACLU’s demands, the IPD “has repeatedly dodged…

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A judge on Thursday, Dec. 23, ordered a Beverly Hills man who was arrested in connection with last month’s deaths of a model and her friend and subsequently charged with sexually assaulting four women in alleged attacks dating back as far as 2010 to remain jailed in lieu of $3.4 million bail. Superior Court Judge Victoria B. Wilson ordered David Brian Pearce, 39, to return to a downtown Los Angeles courtroom for arraignment Jan. 12 facing multiple sex-assault charges stemming from alleged attacks in August 2010, February 2019, February 2020 and October 2020. Prosecutors have “asked for further investigation” into…

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INGLEWOOD — Two former Target employees are suing the retail chain for racial discrimination, alleging their ethnicity played a role in their being falsely accused of thefts that led to their firings. Aaliyah Shepherd, who is Black, and Sierra Vidal, of Dominican/Pacific Islander descent, brought the Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuits on Dec. 13 and 15, respectively, seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. A Target representative did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Shepherd, then an 18-year-old incoming student at San Jose State University, was hired for a part-time seasonal job at Target’s Inglewood store in late October…

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LOS ANGELES — A judge Tuesday denied a preliminary injunction sought by a group of Los Angeles firefighters who sued the city, asking to be paid pending due process hearings before possible termination for refusing to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. Saying the balance of harms weighed against granting their request, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael P. Linfield issued his final ruling a day after hearing arguments in the lawsuit filed Sept. 17 by the nonprofit Firefighters4Freedom Foundation. The group alleged the city’s directive, among other things, violates their members’ constitutionally protected right to privacy. After hearing arguments, Linfield, speaking before…

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LOS ANGELES — People traveling during the holiday season can get free COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters shots at LAX on two consecutive Wednesdays — on Dec. 22 and again on Dec. 29. People 5 years old and over can get a Pfizer vaccine, people 12 and over can get a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, and people 18 and over can get a Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Both first-time shots and boosters are available. “Vaccines are the best, first defense against COVID-19. We are pleased to be working with the County Department of Public Health to offer our…

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A judge has handed the organizers of the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival a win by granting a temporary restraining order against the advertisers of a New Year’s Eve event with a similar name, according to court papers obtained Tuesday, Dec. 21. The festival filed a trademark-infringement suit last week against Live Nation Entertainment over “Coachella Day One 22,” produced by the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians and advertised on Live Nation’s Ticketmaster platform. Like the annual Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, Twenty-Nine Palms’ event is advertised as an outdoor music festival that features numerous forms of entertainment and…

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Los Angeles County reported 3,512 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, Dec. 19, and nine additional deaths associated with the virus — the third consecutive day with more than 3,000 new cases after months of lower totals. Despite the high number of cases, officials said Sunday’s number of cases and deaths likely reflect reporting delays over the weekend. The number of Los Angeles County residents hospitalized with COVID-19 increased by just one to 743 Sunday, with 180 of those patients in intensive care, the same as Saturday’s total. The county had 772 COVID patients on Thursday. Sunday’s numbers brought the…

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Saying it wants to correct four years of inaction by the Los Angeles Unified School District regarding denial of federal Title I services for historically eligible low-income students attending Catholic schools, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles is suing the nation’s second-largest school district. In the Los Angeles Superior Court petition brought Thursday, the archdiocese stated it had no choice but to pursue a legal remedy on behalf of students and families who have been harmed in communities such as Watts, South and East Los Angeles. In 2018, a disagreement arose between the LAUSD and the archdiocese over how to calculate…

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