California Dolphin

The City Council Tuesday approved a plan to rezone the city of Los Angeles in a bid to boost construction of more than 250,000 new units while excluding such development from areas zoned for single-family homes. The council unanimously approved its Citywide Housing Incentive Program ordinance in order to meet a February deadline to approve a plan leading to more affordable units and comply with state housing obligations. The ordinance is anticipated to encourage developers to build more affordable housing in exchange for certain breaks on their projects, such as height and parking regulations. Developers could also receive benefits for building near transit, jobs and good schools. More incentives would be available for projects that are 100% affordable. Vince Bertoni, L.A.’s planning director, called the plan a “game changer” for the city and state of California, serving as a foundation for “ensuring development is possible and affordable units are actualized.” In a letter to the Housing Department, the California Department of Housing and Community Development confirmed that the plan is compliant and will meet housing goals within L.A.’s 2021-29 Housing Element. Department officials touted expected

A much-debated merger of grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons was dealt a potentially fatal blow Tuesday when a federal judge in Oregon sided with federal regulators who argued the deal would scuttle competition, lead to higher prices for consumers and hurt grocery workers in the Southland and beyond. The Federal Trade Commission, in conjunction with California and seven other states, filed a lawsuit in February to challenge the proposed $24.6 billion merger. Kroger officials, who said the merger would help the new company better compete with major conglomerates such as Walmart and Amazon, insisted the move would not lead to higher prices or lead to wholesale store closures that would put people out of work. The company said it would spin off 579 stores to C&S Wholesale Grocers, ensuring their continued operation. But following a three-week trial, U.S. District Judge Adrienne Nelson agreed with the FTC, saying the merger would eliminate competition between two of the nation’s largest grocery chains, leading to higher prices, potentially fewer jobs and negative impacts on unionized grocery workers. In a statement to Reuters following the judge’s ruling, FTC spokesman

Judge blocks Kroger-Albertsons merger for now Federal judge temporarily blocks Kroger-Albertsons merger 01:05 A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked Kroger $24.6 billion acquisition of Albertsons, ruling that the proposed union would lessen competition for grocery shoppers. The preliminary injunctions issued by an Oregon court found in favor of the Federal Trade Commission, which had argued the deal would violate antitrust law. The judge’s ruling “effectively ends the likelihood of a deal taking place,” according to Neil Saunders, managing director, GlobalData. “Of all the cases the FTC has litigated over the past few years, this one was the most sensitive as it involved two huge firms supplying essential goods,” the retail analyst added. The FTC in February  sued to block the proposed merger, with the agency joined in its suit by eight state attorneys general and the District of Columbia.  “This historic win protects millions of Americans across the country from higher prices for essential groceries—from milk, to bread, to eggs — ultimately allowing consumers to keep more money in their pockets,” Henry Liu, Director of the agency’s Bureau of Competition, said in a statement. “This

Updated on: December 10, 2024 / 5:50 PM EST / AP PIX Now afternoon edition 12-10-24 PIX Now afternoon edition 12-10-24 07:47 General Motors says it will move away from the robotaxi business and cease funding its money-losing Cruise autonomous vehicle division. According to a press release issued Tuesday and subsequent conference call that included GM Chair and CEO Mary Barra, the Detroit automaker will instead focus on development of partially automated driver-assist systems like its Super Cruise, which allows drivers to take their hands off the steering wheel. GM said it would get out of robotaxis “given the considerable time and resources that would be needed to scale the business, along with an increasingly competitive robotaxi market.” A Cruise self-driving taxi in San Francisco KPIX The company said it will combine Cruise’s technical team with its own to work on advanced systems to assist drivers. “The Cruise Board of Directors and the Cruise leadership team are collaborating closely with GM on next steps,” Cruise CEO Marc Whitten told CBS News.    GM bought then San Francisco-based start-up Cruise Automation in 2016 for at least

Could the Arctic be ice-free within a decade? Could the Arctic be ice-free within a decade? Here’s what the latest science says 00:47 Foreboding environmental milestones abounded again this year in the Arctic , where experts say dramatic climate shifts are fundamentally altering the ecosystem and how it operates. One recent turning point for the region involves its carbon footprint: Where conditions in the Arctic historically worked to reduce global emissions, they’re now actively contributing to them. That’s a major transition that could reap consequences on human, plant and animal life far beyond Earth’s northernmost arena, warned a cohort of scientists whose research appears in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s 2024 Arctic Report Card, published Tuesday. The report is an annual assessment of the polar environment, which in recent years has become a stark alert signal marked by unprecedented and ominous observations all linked to rising temperatures from human-caused climate change. A focus of the latest Arctic evaluation was the effects of warmer weather and wildfires on the tundra, a far-northern biome that’s typically known for extreme cold, little precipitation and a layer of

Federal judge temporarily blocks Kroger-Albertsons merger – CBS News Watch CBS News A federal judge has temporarily blocked the merger of grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons after a three-week hearing. The Federal Trade Commission sued over the $25 billion deal in February, asking that it be put on hold to allow more time for an FTC administrative judge to examine its potential impacts. The FTC claims that allowing Kroger and Albertsons to merge would lead to less competition in the grocery industry and higher prices. Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On

Two Los Angeles Police Department officers sustained minor injuries in a helicopter training accident on Tuesday. The LAPD aircraft was conducting a training exercise out of the Los Alamitos facility, located in the 4000 block of Doolittle Avenue, at about 1 p.m. when it “experienced a mechanical failure,” said Officer Terzes. The chopper made a hard landing with two aboard, though both officers were only minorly injured and were not taken to the hospital. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident. Sofia Pop Perez contributed to this report.

The plot thickens in the case of a missing jackpot-winning lottery ticket that expired over the weekend. A man who won one of two Mega Millions jackpots from the same drawing, both sold at the same store, claims he actually purchased both winning tickets but lost the other. Now he’s suing the California Lottery in hopes of keeping the entire pot. Faramarz Lahijani came forward in June to claim the winnings from one of two winning lottery tickets sold at the same gas station in Encino in December 2023. A Chevron station located at 18081 Ventura Blvd. in Encino where two jackpot-winning Mega Millions tickets were sold is shown on Dec. 9, 2023. (KTLA) He was awarded $197 million for presenting one of the winning tickets. But now, according to a lawsuit filed last week in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Lahijani is claiming he’s the rightful owner of both winning tickets. He says he purchased both tickets but lost one of them and was unable to track it down before it expired over the weekend. He submitted a claim for the second ticket on

Los Angeles has so far this year recorded double-digit percentage declines in homicides, nonfatal shootings and slayings stemming from gang feuds, according to police data released Tuesday. City officials touted the numbers as proof that public safety is improving after concerns about crime motivated voters in November’s election. Mayor Karen Bass highlighted the numbers Tuesday at an early morning news conference at Watts Labor Community Action Committee Center, a jobs and social services nonprofit. Bass said that through the first week of December, there were 266 people killed citywide, a decline of 15% compared with the number slain in the same period in 2023. The decrease was even more dramatic — a 28% drop — when measured against numbers from 2022 when violence ebbed after the first two years of the pandemic. The latest figures show that the number of shootings in which someone was struck but not killed fell by nearly 19% when compared with 2023, while gang-related homicides fell by more than 50%. The mayor attributed the declines to growing collaboration between LAPD officers and community members in neighborhoods hit by violence. She

The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday voted to boost housing development in existing high-density residential neighborhoods and along commercial corridors, while leaving single-family zones largely untouched. In a 15-0 vote, the council asked the city attorney to draft an ordinance to carry out that plan, which provides incentives to build both market rate and affordable units. Once the ordinance is drafted, it will come back to the council for final approval. The rezoning effort is a response to state housing mandates that seek to alleviate the housing crisis by requiring the city to find land where an additional 255,000 homes can be built and have a plan to do so in place by mid-February. Last month, a city council committee approved a plan that allowed for more building in existing high-density residential neighborhoods and along main streets in areas with jobs and good schools. Under the plan, developers could exceed current limits on building in those areas if they include a certain percentage of affordable units. Incentives to build in single-family zones would only apply if a property is owned by a public agency

The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday voted to approve an ambitious set of program guidelines for spending hundreds of millions of dollars collected under the city’s Measure ULA tax, also known as the mansion tax. The tax on the sale of multimillion-dollar properties has collected about $480 million since it was implemented in April 2023, according to a city database. Its future was clouded by litigation and a proposed ballot measure, but the courts have so far allowed the tax to stand and blocked the initiative from the ballot. The guidelines outline how the money will be spent — including to create and preserve affordable housing through a new “social housing” model, rental assistance, income support for seniors and eviction defense. The council voted 12-0 to approve the guidelines, which were developed by a citizens oversight committee with help from the housing department. Approving the guidelines allows the housing department to start soliciting proposals for affordable housing, develop the infrastructure for social housing and launch other Measure ULA programs. Social housing projects require tenants to play a meaningful role in how their buildings are

A ferocious wildfire fanned by strong winds burned through Malibu on Tuesday, destroying homes, triggering power outages and forcing thousands to evacuate along the coast in the dark while firefighters struggled to contain the flames. The eastern half of Malibu remained under an evacuation order Tuesday, affecting more than 2,000 structures. The rest of the city and portions of unincorporated Los Angeles County were under an evacuation warning affecting roughly 18,000 people. The blaze, dubbed the Franklin fire, was reported a few minutes before 11 p.m. Monday along Malibu Canyon Road in the hills north of Pepperdine University. Fanned by strong Santa Ana winds, the blaze moved at a fierce pace, exploding to more than 2,700 acres as of Tuesday afternoon with no containment, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said during a news conference Tuesday morning that a “minimal number” of homes had been destroyed, though he did not have an exact count of structures damaged. He urged residents to limit the use of lawn sprinklers to maintain water pressure for firefighters. About