Joe Buscaino

Los Angeles City Atty. Carmen Trutanich offers an explanation for why his reelection challenger has racked up the lion's share of endorsements as the May 21 runoff approaches: "He's part of the old-boys club; he's a career politician and I'm independent. " But former lawmaker Mike Feuer points to the backing he's received from hundreds of elected officials - including both of California's U.S. senators - civic and other groups, environmental organizations, labor, law and community leaders as evidence of "a clear desire for change" in the city's top legal post.

A drive along Angus Street in hilly Silver Lake requires navigating a gantlet of buckled concrete slabs and dirt-filled cracks. But on South Seabluff Drive in Playa Vista the ride is smooth, the pavement is black and you can smell the fresh asphalt. Despite the city's best efforts to keep up with the constant flood of road repairs, Los Angeles is a city divided - by its potholes, cracks and ruts. Interactive map: See your street's grade A Times analysis of street inspection data found wide disparities in road quality among the city's 114 neighborhoods.

A domestic dispute escalated into a 6 1/2-hour standoff early Thursday after a barricaded man allegedly displayed a rifle, authorities said. The man allegedly shot at police before surrendering to officers. No one was injured. Officers found Frank Martinez, 52, inside his home in the 16800 block of Pineridge Drive at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, said Officer Joe Buscaino of the Los Angeles Police Department. Officers were responding to a domestic violence call.

A Hollywood man was arrested after allegedly running down a woman early Tuesday morning and leading police on a chase that slightly injured four officers, authorities said. Arutyun Kechechyan, 37, was booked on suspicion of attempted murder and violation of a restraining order, said Joe Buscaino, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman. The injured woman, a relative of Kechechyan's estranged wife, was in stable condition at an area hospital, Buscaino said.

An LAPD officer and two teenage participants in a police at-risk youth program were injured when their vehicle was struck by a car driven by an elderly woman. The Devonshire station detective had the most serious injury--a broken finger, a police spokesman said.

A 42-year-old father of six was shot to death in a parking lot by a gunman who robbed nearby convenience stores before and after the shooting, police said Monday. "The guy robbed a purse at a 7-Eleven, then a little later shot and killed a guy, and then about a half-mile away did another robbery at a 7-Eleven," said Los Angeles Police Department spokesman Joe Buscaino. Police have photos taken by security cameras at the stores "but we have no idea who he is," said Capt. Joseph Curreri.

Mayoral candidate Eric Garcetti stumped in San Pedro on Saturday morning, saying the community that has long felt neglected by the city of Los Angeles has been vital to its economic growth and that he would insure City Hall was responsive to its needs. “A lot of people call this area the tail,” said Garcetti, standing in front of a longshoremen's union hall. “I say a different image that I shared a while back - if the city of L.A. is like a kite, this is the anchor. You see, that long arm that stretches up, what San Pedro and the harbor area does dictates where we go, how we fly through the air. Bringing the sea to the city, the city to the sea, it started here.

Los Angeles skateboarders can still make those high-stakes downhill runs known as "bombing" - they'll just have to stand up straight, obey speed limits and yield to oncoming traffic, thanks to a new city ordinance passed Tuesday. The City Council voted to impose various regulations and penalties on "unsafe" skateboarding and scrapped an alternative ordinance that would have banned it altogether. Boarders must ride upright instead of crouched, maintain speeds that will not cause harm to themselves or to others and obey all traffic signs.

In the latest attempt to cultivate a pedestrian lifestyle in Los Angeles, the City Council has approved plans to temporarily block off a few street parking spaces at four locations so they can be turned into tiny public plazas big enough to hold a bench or two. These pocket parks, or parklets, will use parallel parking spots to provide bike racks, a little greenery and a place to sit. Two parklets were approved Friday for downtown on Spring Street,...