LOS ANGELES – A person spotted on a ledge above the Harbor (110) Freeway in downtown Los Angeles forced an hours-long closure of almost the entire southbound freeway Wednesday, snarling traffic for miles until the would-be jumper was taken into custody. The potential jumper was reported shortly after 2 p.m., according to the city fire department. The California Highway Patrol closed all but one lane of the southbound freeway near Seventh Street as police worked to talk the person down. The Los Angeles Fire Department also inflated a large airbag on the freeway beneath the person. Southbound traffic on the…
Author: City News Service
LOS ANGELES – UCLA has received a $20 million gift to establish a center to study microbes, which play a role in such autoimmune diseases as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis and fibromyalgia, officials announced Wednesday. The gift from Andrea and Donald Goodman and Renee and Meyer Luskin will establish the UCLA Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center and fund efforts to develop new treatments for a wide range of conditions. “The Goodmans and Luskins have been enduring supporters of UCLA Health’s mission to heal humankind and we are deeply grateful for this visionary gift,” UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said in…
By ERIC HE LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to oppose state legislation that would reform the city’s redistricting process, with embattled Councilman Kevin de León taking part in the discussion that turned into a tense back-and-forth with a colleague. De León’s participation in a leaked, racist conversation in which he, two former council members and a top county labor official discussed how they could manipulate the 2021 redistricting process reignited calls for reform. The council voted 11-2, with de León and Monica Rodriguez dissenting, to oppose Senate Bill 52 and support the city council’s own…
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles City Council voted to impose its anti-camping law in the Westside Wednesday, banning sitting, sleeping and storing property within 500 feet of several parks, recreation centers and other facilities. The decision is a shift that came with the election of Traci Park as the new council member for the 11th District. Park’s predecessor, Mike Bonin, refused to enforce the 41.18 ordinance, which was amended last year to expand to areas around schools and day-care centers. “We will not do enforcement until every individual living on the street has the opportunity to come inside,” Park…
LOS ANGELES – The City Council delayed consideration of an item Wednesday that would have reformed Los Angeles’ lobbying ordinance for the first time in decades. Last week, the council’s ad hoc committee on governance reform recommended the approval of an ethics commission report that would place stricter rules on people or organizations looking to impact city policy. It was set to come before the council Wednesday, but Council President Paul Krekorian said during the meeting that the item has since had “considerable stakeholder input.” Krekorian referred it back to the committee for further consideration to “address some of the…
SOUTH GATE – A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy has been arrested in connection with the death of a 12-year-old boy in a traffic crash in South Gate in 2021. Ricardo Castro, 28, was taken into custody Tuesday and booked on suspicion of a felony. He’s being held on $2 million bail, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The crash on Nov. 3, 2021, took the life of Isaiah Suarez Rodriguez and injured his sister Alexa, who were riding in a car on San Juan Avenue, according to KTLA5. Castro, who was off duty, was driving a pickup…
LOS ANGELES – A 23-year-old man who was shot dead by a gunman in the Westlake community of Los Angeles has been identified, authorities said. The shooting occurred at 12:16 a.m. Sunday in the area of Lucas Avenue and Ingraham Street, the Los Angeles Police Department’s Media Relations Division reported. The Los Angeles County Coroner’s office identified the victim as Pascual Guarchaj Lopez, who was pronounced dead at the scene. Lopez’s cause of death was a fatal gunshot wound to the chest. Authorities said the gunman left the location in an unknown direction. No description of the suspect was available.…
LOS ANGELES – There were no tickets sold with all six numbers in the latest drawing of the multi-state Mega Millions lottery and the estimated jackpot for Friday’s drawing will grow to $84 million. There were also no tickets sold with five numbers, but missing the Mega number, the Multi-State Lottery Association, which conducts the game, announced. The numbers drawn Tuesday were 23, 24, 35, 40, 43 and the Mega number was 1. The estimated jackpot was $67 million. The drawing was the fourth since the last time a ticket with all six numbers was sold. The odds of matching…
PALMDALE – A 34-year-old suspect who was fatally shot by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies in Palmdale has been identified, authorities said Wednesday. Everett Byram was identified as the suspect by the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office. Deputies from the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station were called at 10:21 p.m. Friday to the 37000 block of Oxford Drive regarding a domestic violence call, said Lt. Patricia Thomas. During their investigation of the incident, Byram moved toward them with an edged weapon and was shot by deputies. Byram was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The weapon was recovered at…
PALMDALE – A man suspected of attempting to steal a catalytic converter from an SUV in the parking lot of a Palmdale shopping center was killed when he was run over by the vehicle, authorities said Wednesday. Deputies from the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station responded at approximately 5:56 p.m. Tuesday to a parking lot in the 39400 block of 10th Street West regarding multiple calls about a grand theft of a car and upon their arrival found the suspect lying in a parking space suffering from blunt trauma wounds, said Lt. Hugo Reynaga. During their investigation, deputies learned the victim, who…