Fines

washington -- Mitt Romney twice emphasized his unique business background when he and eight other Republican presidential candidates faced off in a debate last week in Iowa. "I've spent the last, as I've told you, 25 years in the private sector," former Massachusetts Gov. Romney declared at one point. "I understand why jobs come and why jobs go. I've done business in 20 countries."

A bleary-eyed Chui Hom tripped down her apartment stairs at 8 a.m. sharp and started her car. She didn't get far. The vehicle inched across Riverside Terrace, a narrow one-way lane in Echo Park, and stopped on the other side. Hom is part of Los Angeles' Great Street-Sweeping Do-Si-Do. Twice a week, residents of Koreatown, Pico-Union and other neighborhoods with more apartments than parking spaces race to their cars, hoping to move them before parking enforcement officers arrive and ticket them for blocking street sweepers.

Bob Brickman spent months fighting a ticket he got last fall from a red-light traffic camera at Wilshire and Sepulveda boulevards in West Los Angeles. The 61-year-old from Playa Vista eventually decided to give up the fight and fork over the $476 fine. Now he's regretting paying every penny. City officials this week spotlighted a surprising revelation involving red-light camera tickets: Authorities cannot force violators who simply don't respond to pay them. For a variety of reasons, including the way the law was written, Los Angeles officials say the fines for ticketed motorists are essentially "voluntary" and there are virtually no tangible consequences for those who refuse to pay. The disclosure comes as the city is considering whether to drop the controversial photo enforcement program, with the City Council scheduled to vote on the matter Wednesday.

This much is certain: The parents of a toddler in Camden, N.J., have one clean kid. But police also want to be sure the child is healthy after the boy got stuck in a washing machine -- the result of a father's attempt at good-natured fun gone awry.  Despite the undisputed idiocy of the move, which was captured on a video gone viral, there are no plans to arrest the parents.

Los Angeles police will not pursue through the courts scores of motorists with unpaid tickets from the city's defunct red-light camera program. The city Police Commission voted this week to end its contract with the company that operated L.A.'s cameras until they were shut off last summer. And authorities are now planning to reassign a small group of officers who regularly appeared in court to testify in contested photo enforcement cases. With the cancellation of the contract, officers will no longer have easy access to the photo and video evidence that courts require.

A measure taking effect today eliminates jail time for illegal immigrants caught in Mexico. Most are crossing the country from Central America en route to the U.S. The offense will now be punishable by fines of $100 to $500. Illegal immigrants previously faced up to 10 years in prison, though most were simply deported. Mexican legislators who backed the revision say Mexico's previous penalties complicated efforts to lobby for better treatment of Mexican immigrants in the United States.

The Los Angeles City Ethics Commission voted today to impose $5,650 in fines on two elected officials -- Councilmen Herb Wesson and Richard Alarcon -- for violating rules that regulate the size and type of campaign contributions given during last year's election. Wesson, who represents parts of Koreatown and South Los Angeles, received $3,000 in fines after he accepted six contributions that exceed the city's $500 maximum during his reelection campaign. Alarcon, who represents part of the San Fernando Valley, was hit with $2,650 in fines for failing to turn in the script from an automated telephone call, taking a contribution from a lobbyist and violating two counts of receiving contributions of more than $500 from certain donors.

The co-chief executives of BlackBerry maker Research in Motion will pay the bulk of about $77 million Canadian ($62 million in U.S. currency) in fines and restitution to settle allegations they participated in backdating stock options of the Waterloo, Canada, company. Under the settlement with the Ontario Securities Commission, co-CEO Jim Balsillie, who stepped down as chairman, co-CEO Mike Lazaridis and former chief financial officer Dennis Kavelman will pay a combined $9 million Canadian in fines and $68 million Canadian in restitution to the firm.

Toys R Us will pay a $200,000 fine and institute new safeguards in all its stores after inspections turned up some violations of child labor laws, the Department of Labor said Wednesday. "We found more than 300 young Toys R Us employees working more hours and later into the night than allowed by law," said Labor Secretary Alexis Herman.

In an emerging high-stakes battle fueled by government budget woes, a Long Beach lawmaker is attempting to stop cities from launching what she calls a "raid" on state coffers by collecting and keeping traffic fines. With some tickets now costing more than $500 -- and with most of the money going to the state and the courts -- California municipalities in small but growing numbers have begun issuing traffic citations under their own laws, rather than under the state vehicle code.

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration announced that BP North America Inc. has agreed to pay an $8-million fine and install more than $400 million in equipment to cut air pollution from an oil refinery in Whiting, Ind., as part of a settlement over alleged violations of the Clean Air Act.

The fate of trainer Doug O'Neill, charged by California Horse Racing Board enforcement officials with a substance abuse violation involving one of his horses, will be addressed Thursday morning at a board meeting at Hollywood Park. These are usually low-profile procedural meetings, but the item on the agenda involving O'Neill, whose I'll Have Another will take a run at racing's coveted Triple Crown in the Belmont Stakes June 9, has triggered much interest and speculation. Racing's enforcement officials ruled that an O'Neill-trained horse, Argenta, tested positive for high levels of carbon dioxide after a race Aug. 25, 2010, at Del Mar. High levels of carbon dioxide are considered evidence of the use of a "milkshake" to illegally boost a horse's stamina.

MOSCOW - Stiff new penalties aimed at opposition protesters were given preliminary approval Tuesday by Russian lawmakers loyal to President Vladimir Putin, the target of mass rallies and demonstrations before his March election victory. The bill, which opposition parliament members termed draconian and protested by threatening to file out of a legislative session, calls for fines of up to $50,000 and up to 200 hours of community service for organizers of rallies and demonstrations that grow violent or exceed the approved number of participants.

Be patient, Rafael Furcal said. The kid who replaced him as the Dodgers starting shortstop will be fine. Furcal played at Dodger Stadium on Friday, marking the first time he had done so since the Dodgers traded him last year to the St. Louis Cardinals. Furcal, who spent the previous 5 1/2 years with the Dodgers, went into the game hitting .367, second in the National League. Dee Gordon , who made Furcal expendable in the view of Dodgers management, had a batting average of .207 and an on-base percentage of .247.

ART English musician Will Sergeant is famous for being the guitarist in the darkly melodic Liverpool rock band, Echo & the Bunnymen. Now he's turned his attention to art, opening his first major United States exhibition, "My Own Worst Enemy," at the Substrate Fine Art Gallery. Abstract paintings, collages and screen prints open a window on this brash entertainer's inner vision. Substrate Fine Art Gallery, 709 N. Ridgewood Place, L.A. 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Fri. Free. (323) 833-6459; facebook.com./substratefineartgallery.

Re "Private landscaping on public sand," May 7 The law on oceanfront land is clear. Whether by intent or by error (doubtful), some beachfront property owners have encroached on public property. Issue fines to these owners and give them notice to rectify the situation within 30 days. If the land is not cleared and returned to public-usable condition within that period, add additional and significant fines. Then bring in state contractors to do the job. Charge the offending property owners for every cent spent repairing their misguided efforts to commandeer our mutually owned resources.

Jury-summons scofflaws, be on notice. The penalty-free ride for ducking jury duty is over. Los Angeles County courts this week began enforcing a rule that the vast majority of county residents simply ignore: Serving on a jury is mandatory if you're eligible. Under a new, get-tougher policy, potential jurors who fail to respond to summonses will first face a hearing and then a $1,500 fine.

To renew her vehicle registration, Pamela Mathews Avery of Riverside County said she cleared up $346 in unpaid tolls for using the 91 Express Lanes. Nevertheless, the Orange County Transportation Authority, which owns the tollway, says that she still owes $47,850 in penalties. Ruth Arlene Murray, 72, of San Bernardino County faces more than $70,000 in fines for failing to pay $504 in tolls to the Transportation Corridor Agencies, another turnpike operator.

Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa is pursuing another big boost in parking ticket fines, leaving some of them 70% to 90% more expensive than the year he was elected - and several times the region's inflation rate. With the latest proposed hikes, the city would collect about $40 million a year more than during Villaraigosa's first year in office, much of it from street-sweeping violations that leave many residents fuming. The mayor's budget calls for the street-sweeping penalty to reach $78, more than in any neighboring city and, in certain cases, nearly twice the amount charged elsewhere in Los Angeles County.

Federal authorities have advised Wells Fargo & Co. that they may seek damages and fines for alleged discrimination in mortgage lending. In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Tuesday, the San Francisco bank disclosed the latest development in an ongoing investigation. "The Department of Justice has advised Wells Fargo that it believes it can bring claims against Wells Fargo for monetary damages and civil penalties under fair lending laws," the bank said in its 10-Q quarterly filing.