Category: Crime

Some California cities not acting on collapse-prone apartments

November 23, 2024

Southern California is seeing its most seismically active year in decades, but some cities near the epicenter of recent temblors have yet to require retrofits of many apartment buildings deemed most at risk of collapse, a Times investigation has found. Several suburbs closest to the widely felt earthquakes that struck Los Angeles County this summer…
Read More: Some California cities not acting on collapse-prone apartments
Bahia Emerald may return to Brazil from L.A. after court ruling

November 23, 2024

For more than 15 years, one of the world’s most famous gemstones — the 180,000-carat Bahia Emerald — has been held in Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department custody, its ultimate fate uncertain amid more than a decade of discord, disagreement and courtroom wrangling. Now, a federal judge has ruled that the smuggled stone should return…
Read More: Bahia Emerald may return to Brazil from L.A. after court ruling
Column: It’s the season for scams, so here’s a piece of advice: Never do business with strangers

November 23, 2024

The text arrived midday, saying a delivery to me was on hold. To fix the problem, all I had to do was click on a web link and enter my ZIP Code. “Have a great day from the USPS team!” the text said. The awkwardly worded message (with bad punctuation and an international phone number)…
Read More: Column: It’s the season for scams, so here’s a piece of advice: Never do business with strangers
L.A. politician Ridley-Thomas’ final campaign: to clear his name

November 23, 2024

For more than three decades, Mark Ridley-Thomas never lost an election, tapping a well-organized network of supporters to secure victory after victory. Now, the former Los Angeles City Council member and county supervisor is in a different sort of campaign with far greater stakes: a fight to clear his name and avoid prison. The 70-year-old…
Read More: L.A. politician Ridley-Thomas’ final campaign: to clear his name
Jan. 6 defendants from California eagerly await Trump pardons

November 23, 2024

Out of the more than 1,500 criminal defendants charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, David Dempsey is among the most notorious. The Van Nuys man was accused by federal prosecutors of being “one of the most violent rioters” that day. He was sentenced in August to 20 years in prison…
Read More: Jan. 6 defendants from California eagerly await Trump pardons
These tenants want to own their buildings. L.A. is collecting millions to help

November 23, 2024

Several years ago, investors bought the Koreatown fourplex where Mary Carmen Martinez had lived for nearly two decades and tried to push the tenants out. Martinez, a restaurant worker, and her neighbors decided that they would fight to stay, hanging signs on the windows that said “No cash for keys” and going to court together…
Read More: These tenants want to own their buildings. L.A. is collecting millions to help
Do California teachers have the right to slam Trump? Yes. And no

November 23, 2024

Several Southern California teachers are facing disciplinary action after fervid anti-Trump outbursts made in the wake of the November election that rattled school communities and generated fierce debate over teachers’ rights to share their political views. A Moreno Valley teacher was placed on leave this month after a racially charged, expletive-laden rant attacking Trump and…
Read More: Do California teachers have the right to slam Trump? Yes. And no
Wildfire smoke is polluting California, New York and beyond. Protect yourself

November 23, 2024

The Santa Ana winds caused a massive wildfire this month in Ventura County, with stunning visuals of orange skies in Oxnard reminiscent of 2020 in the San Francisco Bay Area. Although the Mountain fire is now just about contained (as is the Sandy fire in Monterey County), it was the most destructive fire to hit…
Read More: Wildfire smoke is polluting California, New York and beyond. Protect yourself
Freddie Freeman’s grand slam ball could bring seven figures at auction

November 23, 2024

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind for Zachary Ruderman. He’s the 10-year-old Dodgers fan who ended up with one of the most significant baseballs in team history — the one his favorite player, first baseman Freddie Freeman, hit for a walk-off grand slam during the 10th inning in Game 1 of the 2024…
Read More: Freddie Freeman’s grand slam ball could bring seven figures at auction
California bomb cyclone storm: When will rains hit L.A. area and how bad will it be?

November 23, 2024

Northern California is being drenched by the first major atmospheric river storm of the season, with rain totals reaching well over 7 inches in many areas, and continued rain on Thursday stretching the threat for flooding and mudslides. The slow-moving storm was strengthened by a so-called bomb cyclone, which describes how rapidly the system intensified…
Read More: California bomb cyclone storm: When will rains hit L.A. area and how bad will it be?