Los Angeles

L.A. City Council Moves to Stop Landlords’ Rent Hikes, No-Fault Evictions Ahead of New State Rules

By CaliNews 4 hours ago

The Los Angeles City Council took a stopgap step Tuesday to stop no-fault evictions and rent increases, following fears that landlords are hiking rent and removing tenants before new state rental rules take effect in January. In a 13 to 0 vote, the council instructed the city attorney to draft an emergency ordinance that would stop landlords from evicting tenants without sufficient cause, such as failure to pay rent. The council also voted unanimously to draft an ordinance that would limit rent increases for the rest of the year and block evictions for failure to pay rent if recent increases were above the coming state cap. The ordinances must still come before the council for a final vote and, given state restrictions, the city would surely face legal pushback if it tried to cap rents on currently uncontrolled units. Read the full story at LATimes.com.

Woman Suspected in Beverly Hills Stalking Incident Arrested Outside Home of Mayor Garcetti

By CaliNews 4 hours ago

A woman wanted in connection with an alleged stalking incident in Beverly Hills was arrested Monday outside the Getty House, which serves as the residence of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, authorities said. Los Angeles police officers responded to reports of “suspicious activity” and arrested a woman without incident about 5:45 p.m, said Capt. Gisselle Espinoza, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department. The woman had an outstanding warrant in Beverly Hills, and was turned over to police there, Espinoza said. Beverly Hills police identified her as Jessica Angela Collins, a 48-year-old Los Angeles resident. Collins was wanted in connection with a stalking incident involving a Beverly Hills business that took place last weekend, said Lt. Elisabeth Albanese, a spokeswoman for the Beverly Hills Police Department. She did not elaborate. Read the full story at LATimes.com.

Former Irvine Police Sergeant Charged With Grand Theft for Falsifying Timecards

By CaliNews 4 hours ago

A former sergeant with the Irvine Police Department was charged with 36 felony counts on Tuesday for stealing more than $68,000 in state funds, the department said. Veteran police officer Matthew Christian August, 47, was charged with 34 felony counts of presenting a false claim and two felony counts of grand theft by an employee, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. August is accused of filing 34 timecards requesting pay for overtime shifts that he never worked between Feb. 25, 2017, and Oct. 19, 2018, authorities said. He is facing a maximum sentence of 25 years in state prison if convicted on all counts. The Irvine Police Department initiated an internal investigation in 2018 after spotting inconsistencies in August’s work activity and the overtime hours he reported on his time card. Police then referred the case to the district attorney’s office for further investigation. “Stealing precious taxpayer dollars while wearing the badge only tarnishes that badge, and casts an unwanted shadow over the hundreds of thousands of hard-working law enforcement men and women across the United States who want nothing more than to…

Dozens of New Apartments for Homeless People Could Rise in Chatsworth After City Council Vote

By CaliNews 4 hours ago

Dozens of new apartments for homeless people could rise in Chatsworth after the Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to fund a rare proposal to build such housing in the northwestern stretches of the San Fernando Valley. The Topanga Apartments would be the first project in Council District 12 funded by Propositon HHH, a $1.2-billion bond measure approved by voters for homeless housing. Until now, it was the only district in L.A. that had yet to approve any HHH housing. The plan had drawn concerns from Chatsworth residents, the neighborhood council, and the councilman recently elected to represent the area, John Lee, who had said the proposed project was “out of scale” with the neighborhood and was pushed through the approval process without enough community outreach. Lee said Tuesday, however, that he was encouraged that the developer had pledged to hold a community meeting next week. Read the full story at LATimes.com.

Homicide Detectives Investigate Fatal Shooting in Compton

By CaliNews 5 hours ago

Homicide detectives were investigating the fatal shooting of a man in Compton Tuesday, authorities said. The shooting was reported at 11:40 a.m. near Atlantic Avenue and Sportsman Drive, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The man was pronounced dead at the scene. No other details have been released as authorities continue to investigate. Anyone with information can call the department’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Those wishing to remain anonymous  can reach L.A. Crime Stoppers by calling 800-222-8477 or visiting lacrimestoppers.org.

LAPD Announces Changes to Controversial Program That Uses Data to Predict Where Crimes Will Occur

By CaliNews 5 hours ago

Los Angeles Police Department leaders announced changes Tuesday to a controversial program that predicts where property crimes could occur throughout the city. The changes come seven months after an inspector general couldn’t determine whether the department’s predictive-policing program, called PredPol, helped reduce crime. Critics contend the program leads to heavier policing of minority neighborhoods. Chief Michel Moore told a meeting of the L.A. Police Commission that the LAPD needs location-based strategies to target crime and keep residents safe. Moore said the department will adjust programs when needed and that he disagrees with critics who believe the program unfairly targets Latino and black neighborhoods. “The manner of how we use data is informed by the evolution of technology,” Moore said. “We’re going to smartly use our precious resources.” Read the full story on LATimes.com. 

EU Officials Say Brexit Deal With U.K. Could Be Reached 2 Weeks Before October Deadline

By CaliNews 5 hours ago

European Union officials hoped to sketch out a Brexit deal with Britain within hours, but negotiations stretched into early Wednesday in the latest effort at producing an agreement in more than three years of false starts and sudden reversals. The bloc said it might be possible to strike a divorce deal by Thursday’s EU leaders’ summit, which comes just two weeks before the U.K’s scheduled departure date of Oct. 31. One major proviso: The British government must make more compromises to seal an agreement in the coming hours. Britain and the EU have been here before — within sight of a deal only to see it dashed — but a surge in the British pound Tuesday indicated hope that this time could be different. The currency rose against the dollar to its highest level in months. Even though many questions remain, diplomats made it clear that both sides were within touching distance of a deal for the first time since a U.K. withdrawal plan fell apart in the British House of Commons in March. Still, talks that first lingered into Tuesday night turned into negotiating…

6 Questions That Loom Over Tuesday’s 12-Candidate Democratic Debate in Ohio

By CaliNews 5 hours ago

Just a month has passed since the last presidential debate, but the state of the Democrats’ 2020 race has shifted. The political world is suddenly consumed by an escalating impeachment inquiry, one of the leading Democratic presidential hopefuls is recovering from a heart attack and Joe Biden is no longer the only front-runner. The evolving storylines will play out on national television Tuesday night in battleground Ohio, where the largest debate group in modern history — 12 candidates — will share the stage less than four months before the first 2020 primary votes are cast. Six big questions heading into the debate, to be carried on CNN: CAN BERNIE’S HEART ATTACK BECOME A POLITICAL ASSET? Less than two weeks after being rushed to the hospital, 78-year-old Bernie Sanders must convince voters that he’s physically strong enough to survive the intense campaign ahead and, more importantly, one of the world’s most demanding jobs. Supporters suggest the Vermont senator can use the health crisis to his advantage by refocusing the conversation on health care. Others are hopeful he can use the experience to open up to voters on a more personal level, something he tried to do early in…

RULES: Win Stagecoach VIP Tickets

By CaliNews 5 hours ago

To enter this contest, visit the CBSLA Instagram Page: http://wwww.instagram.com/cbsla “CBSStagecoach ” CONTEST RULES   No purchase or payment of any kind is necessary to enter or win. The CONTEST is void where prohibited by law.     How to Enter the Giveaway:   The “#CBSStagecoach” giveaway will begin on October 16, 2019 at 12:00am Pacific Time (“PT”) and end on October 18, 2019 at 10:00am PT. Contest is sponsored by Goldenvoice.   (b)         To participate in the contest users will need to follow the CBS Los Angeles Instagram account @CBSLA during the promotional window. Users must also tag @CBSLA in their submission and include “#CBSlastagecoach” in their caption. Contest: Winners must post their favorite country music artist. One (1) winners will be selected at random on or about October 18, 2019 at 10:00am PT.   (c)         To enter via Instagram, Follow the @CBSLA account during the Entry Period. Entrant will need to have a valid Instagram account in order to enter. Entrant may not use more than one (1) Instagram account to enter. If they do not already have one, entrants can open an…

LeBron Memes, Merch Go Viral After Lakers Star Wades Into China Spat

By CaliNews 5 hours ago

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – The LeBron James brand is taking a hit this week among fans both in Hong Kong and stateside over his comments about free speech – but it’s also making him the face of whole new viral campaign. James injected himself into a growing international controversy after he suggested free speech for pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong can “carry “a lot of negative.” Fans gathered across basketball courts amid Hong Kong’s high-rise buildings Tuesday to vent their anger, which echoed throughout social media as well. Within hours of James’ comments Monday, Barstool Sports started selling its “China King Tee” featuring the Lakers’ star wearing a Communist-era Chinese military cap. Various memes depicting LeBron as a communist sympathizer also surfaced. MaoTuesday #LeBronJames pic.twitter.com/RlSmoBmcFR — Contrahour (@Contrahour) October 15, 2019 “Let me be clear, I f**ked up”. Fixed it for you #LeBronShames pic.twitter.com/O7BLieWxpx — Shaughn (@Shaughn_A) October 15, 2019 What a sell out! #lebronjames pic.twitter.com/bJ6TiVJb3T — theannoyedgrunt (@ds19856402) October 15, 2019 The new LeBron’s just dropped #LeBronJames #LeBronShames pic.twitter.com/hznKHDGsg4 — Tom Barton (@TomBartonSports) October 15, 2019 #LeBronJames goes full LeClown on this whole NBA-China…

Fearing U.S. Abandonment, Kurds Kept Back Channels to Syrian Government and Russia

By CaliNews 6 hours ago

When Syria’s Kurdish fighters, America’s longtime battlefield allies against the Islamic State, announced over the weekend that they were switching sides and joining up with Damascus and Moscow, it seemed like a moment of geopolitical whiplash. But in fact, the move had been in the works for more than a year. Fearing U.S. abandonment, the Kurds opened a back channel to the Syrian government and the Russians in 2018, and those talks ramped up significantly in recent weeks, American, Kurdish and Russian officials told The Associated Press. “We warned the Kurds that the Americans will ditch them,” Russia’s ambassador to the European Union, Vladimir Chizhov, told Russia’s Tass news agency on Monday. The switch in allegiances is a stark illustration of how American foes like Russia and Syria are working steadily to fill the vacuum left by President Donald Trump’s retreat in the region. It also betrays the anxiety that U.S. allies across the globe now feel in the face of Trump’s seemingly impulsive foreign policy decisions, which often come as a surprise to allies and critics alike. When Trump announced Oct. 6 that he was pulling…

Impeachment Inquiry Makes a New Backdrop for a Dozen Democrats on Debate Stage

By CaliNews 6 hours ago

The Democratic candidates head to the debate stage on Tuesday in the crucial swing state of Ohio amid a deluge of explosive developments in the House impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump’s interactions with Ukraine. As the nation stands divided on the question of impeachment — all while in the midst of a fast-moving presidential campaign cycle — the 2020 hopefuls meet on the campus of Otterbein University at the CNN/New York Times debate in a state that Trump won by 8 points. The Democrats on stage are facing pressure to show that they can appeal to a broader audience beyond the fervent progressive activists who are increasingly pushing the party to left. Tuesday’s debate will also be the first time that Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former Vice President Joe Biden will stand at center stage as co-front-runners in the polls. So far, Warren has delivered strong and smooth performances in all of the presidential primary debates — easily deflecting punches thrown in her direction while crisply outlining her own plans in a way that has found favor with Democratic voters. As Warren continues to ascend, Biden has begun…

Sherman Oaks Man Gets 25 Years in Prison for $1.3 Billion Ponzi Scheme Defrauding 7,000 Investors

By CaliNews 6 hours ago

A Sherman Oaks man has been sentenced by a Florida judge to 25 years in prison for orchestrating a $1.3 billion fraud scheme that stole money from at least 7,000 investors nationwide. Court records show 61-year-old Robert Shapiro was sentenced Tuesday in Miami federal court after previously pleading guilty to mail and wire fraud and tax evasion. He was given the maximum sentence possible for those convictions. Federal prosecutors say Shapiro’s Woodbridge Group had offices in California, Florida, Tennessee, Colorado and Connecticut. Investors were told Woodbridge held real estate loans paying them high levels of interest. In fact, the real estate was also owned by Shapiro and sometimes didn’t exist. It was a Ponzi scheme paying older investors with money from newer ones. Prosecutors say Shapiro will forfeit assets such as jewelry and paintings by artists including Picasso and Renoir. Authorities have said he spent millions in investors’ money on expenditures such as $3.1 million for chartering private planes and travel, $6.7 million on his home and more than $672,000 on luxury cars.

Woman, 3 Kids Missing Out of Sylmar Found After Re-Entering U.S. From Mexico: LAPD

By CaliNews 6 hours ago

Esteban Lopez is seen in an image provided by the Los Angeles Police Department. A Sylmar woman and her three children who disappeared last week have been found after entering back into the U.S. from Mexico, officials said. Liliana Lopez and the children, Jakob Cabrera, 9, Steven Lopez, 6, and Stephana Lopez, 5, entered into the U.S. at the San Ysidro Port of Entry about 1:45 p.m. Tuesday. Liliana Lopez’s estranged husband, Esteban Lopez, is believed to still be in Mexico, according to the LAPD. Police had previously said he was a suspect in what they were calling a possible kidnapping. The family is being interviewed by investigators to determine the circumstances behind their disappearance. “Based on the outcome of those interviews, the information will be presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office to determine if criminal charges are appropriate in this matter,” Los Angeles Police Department officials said in a updated news release Tuesday. A 911 call made by a concerned family member on Oct. 9 prompted officers to check on the family living in the 13600 block of Fellows Avenue, Los…

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