CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
May 23, 2013 | By Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times
A man at the center of a videotaped altercation with Kern County sheriff's deputies earlier this month died from heart disease, not baton blows, authorities said Thursday. The county coroner's office labeled David Sal Silva's death accidental, adding that the primary cause was hypertensive heart disease. Videos taken by witnesses showed baton blows and a struggle between Silva and deputies. But at a news conference Thursday in Bakersfield, Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood said those blows were mainly to his midsection and were not fatal.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
May 22, 2013 | By Emily Alpert, Los Angeles Times
Irvine grew faster than all but seven other large U.S. cities between July 2011 and July 2012, with its population vaulting to nearly 230,000 last year, new census data show. The pace of growth was nearly five times as fast as the Southern California average. The increase continues a pattern for Irvine, where population climbed an average of 4.8% annually between 2000 and 2010. It rose 3.4% the next year and 4.2% last year, according to census data released Thursday. City officials see the numbers as proof that its meticulous planning has worked.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
May 21, 2013 | By Jason Song, Times Staff Writer
Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky wants the board to consider tearing down part of the troubled Men's Central Jail and building a facility to house mentally ill and drug addicted inmates, which he says would offer all prisoners a better chance of rehabilitation while potentially saving the county millions of dollars. Supervisors have been struggling over what to do with their aging and overcrowded jails for more than a year. Sheriff Lee Baca, who oversees the nation's largest jail system, initially called for spending nearly $1.4 billion to replace or renovate the Men's Central Jail and the adjacent Twin Towers, but the price tag was more than supervisors would accept.
BUSINESS
May 21, 2013 | By David G. Savage, Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court's two leading conservatives staked out opposite stands Monday over whether judges should play a greater role in second-guessing regulations issued by "unelected bureaucrats" in federal agencies. The divide arose when the court, by a 6-3 vote, upheld a rule adopted by the Federal Communications Commission that says cities and counties must decide within five months whether to approve an application for erecting a new wireless phone antenna. Los Angeles and San Diego had joined two Texas cities in challenging that rule as infringing on their local zoning authority.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
May 21, 2013 | By Corina Knoll, Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles County district attorney's office plans to retry the case against Bell council members accused of misappropriating public funds by overpaying themselves for sitting on city boards and authorities that rarely met, according to defense attorneys connected with the case. D.A. spokeswoman Jean Guccione said Tuesday that prosecutors want a retrial after jurors in March issued a mixed verdict and the judge declared a mistrial on some counts. Jurors delivered a mixed verdict for Victor Bello, George Cole, Oscar Hernandez, Teresa Jacobo and George Mirabal, finding them guilty on multiple felony counts and acquitting them on other charges.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
May 21, 2013 | By Jason Song, Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles County supervisors unanimously approved a plan Tuesday to study tearing down part of the Men's Central Jail and replacing it with a facility designed for mentally ill and drug-addicted prisoners. The new facility could save the county millions of dollars and offer inmates a better chance of rehabilitation, according to Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who proposed the idea. Yaroslavsky has opposed earlier plans to spend up to $1.4 billion to renovate or replace the Men's Central Jail and the adjacent Twin Towers Jail.