Los Angeles County Security

As many as 1,700 guns were stockpiled for sale inside the Western Surplus store on South Western Avenue when rioting broke out last month. Within hours, suspected gang members broke in and carted off every last one of them--plus ammunition. Outside the riot-damaged areas, fearful residents crowded into gun stores, clamoring for firearms and buying the only ones immediately available--surplus rifles from World War II.

Amid fears that waterfront tank farms may become terrorists' targets, the Port of Los Angeles is seeking to move at least two major cargo terminals for jet fuel and other hazardous materials away from San Pedro and Wilmington neighborhoods. Port officials are focusing on potential new sites off the populated coast, looking both at heavily industrialized Terminal Island, and at the new and sprawling harbor landfill area called Pier 400, about a mile southeast of San Pedro.

Amid fears that waterfront tank farms may become terrorists' targets, the Port of Los Angeles is seeking to move at least two major cargo terminals for jet fuel and other hazardous materials away from San Pedro and Wilmington neighborhoods. Port officials are focusing on potential new sites off the populated coast, looking both at heavily industrialized Terminal Island, and at the new and sprawling harbor landfill area called Pier 400, about a mile southeast of San Pedro.

Health officials in Southern California say the region is not sufficiently prepared to respond to a major biological assault or the immediate aftermath of a large-scale disaster that leaves thousands seriously injured. Experience with past disasters and mock drills suggest that some treatable patients would die before medical assistance arrived from neighboring counties and the federal government.

Law enforcement officials from across Los Angeles County convened a "gang summit" Thursday to plot strategy against street gangs, whose wars reportedly killed 387 people last year. "It's just an exchange of information, of ideas; that's what it's about," said Sheriff Sherman Block before meeting with county Supervisor Kenneth Hahn, Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner, City Atty. James Hahn and officials of police departments around the county. Block said the meeting was not triggered by the Jan.

Los Angeles County supervisors have agreed to explore ways to ensure that applicants seeking appointments to county commissions submit accurate resumes, but the panel stopped short of ordering Sheriff's Department background checks. "I think the sheriff has enough to do to catch criminals," said Supervisor Ed Edelman. And Supervisor Pete Schabarum called the measure "a waste of time."

Saying that they do not expect another riot but are prepared if there is one, Los Angeles County officials outlined a series of emergency measures Thursday that they could take in the event of violence after the verdicts in the Rodney G. King civil rights trial. County Department of Health Services officials have prepared an emergency program that would require all hospitals to accept injured patients brought in by paramedic crews--a temporary revitalization of the county's ailing trauma system.

Prompted by worsening gang violence, Los Angeles County supervisors voted Tuesday to provide $1.5 million in emergency funds to beef up the Sheriff's Department's anti-gang programs and to place more deputies on patrol. The board, voting 4 to 0 for additional law enforcement money, agreed to add 30 sheriff's deputies to the department's "Operation Safe Streets" unit and another 45 deputies countywide "to increase the surveillance and suppression of gang activities."

The people of Los Angeles County are living under the gun. More are shot to death than are killed in traffic accidents. Last year, at least 8,600 people were hit by bullets--almost one an hour--while thousands of others were nearly shot. Los Angeles County has become a place where many residents avoid the park or the mall, the beach, even the windows of their own homes, for fear of a bullet.

Preparing for possible outbreaks of civil unrest, law enforcement agencies across Los Angeles County are planning for maximum deployment of officers if voters approve Proposition 187. At a meeting Tuesday organized by the Sheriff's Department, about 200 representatives of police and fire departments discussed mutual aid procedures, shared intelligence information and went over possible scenarios that could lead to violence if the measure is passed.

In Lee Borenstein's three years as head of Los Angeles County's bioterrorism response team, he has investigated 28 suspected outbreaks of some of the most dreaded agents of germ warfare: anthrax, pneumonic plague, tularemia and others.

Preparing for possible outbreaks of civil unrest, law enforcement agencies across Los Angeles County are planning for maximum deployment of officers if voters approve Proposition 187. At a meeting Tuesday organized by the Sheriff's Department, about 200 representatives of police and fire departments discussed mutual aid procedures, shared intelligence information and went over possible scenarios that could lead to violence if the measure is passed.

Saying that they do not expect another riot but are prepared if there is one, Los Angeles County officials outlined a series of emergency measures Thursday that they could take in the event of violence after the verdicts in the Rodney G. King civil rights trial. County Department of Health Services officials have prepared an emergency program that would require all hospitals to accept injured patients brought in by paramedic crews--a temporary revitalization of the county's ailing trauma system.

The people of Los Angeles County are living under the gun. More are shot to death than are killed in traffic accidents. Last year, at least 8,600 people were hit by bullets--almost one an hour--while thousands of others were nearly shot. Los Angeles County has become a place where many residents avoid the park or the mall, the beach, even the windows of their own homes, for fear of a bullet.

As many as 1,700 guns were stockpiled for sale inside the Western Surplus store on South Western Avenue when rioting broke out last month. Within hours, suspected gang members broke in and carted off every last one of them--plus ammunition. Outside the riot-damaged areas, fearful residents crowded into gun stores, clamoring for firearms and buying the only ones immediately available--surplus rifles from World War II.

Los Angeles County supervisors have agreed to explore ways to ensure that applicants seeking appointments to county commissions submit accurate resumes, but the panel stopped short of ordering Sheriff's Department background checks. "I think the sheriff has enough to do to catch criminals," said Supervisor Ed Edelman. And Supervisor Pete Schabarum called the measure "a waste of time."

Health officials in Southern California say the region is not sufficiently prepared to respond to a major biological assault or the immediate aftermath of a large-scale disaster that leaves thousands seriously injured. Experience with past disasters and mock drills suggest that some treatable patients would die before medical assistance arrived from neighboring counties and the federal government.

In Lee Borenstein's three years as head of Los Angeles County's bioterrorism response team, he has investigated 28 suspected outbreaks of some of the most dreaded agents of germ warfare: anthrax, pneumonic plague, tularemia and others.

Prompted by worsening gang violence, Los Angeles County supervisors voted Tuesday to provide $1.5 million in emergency funds to beef up the Sheriff's Department's anti-gang programs and to place more deputies on patrol. The board, voting 4 to 0 for additional law enforcement money, agreed to add 30 sheriff's deputies to the department's "Operation Safe Streets" unit and another 45 deputies countywide "to increase the surveillance and suppression of gang activities."

Law enforcement officials from across Los Angeles County convened a "gang summit" Thursday to plot strategy against street gangs, whose wars reportedly killed 387 people last year. "It's just an exchange of information, of ideas; that's what it's about," said Sheriff Sherman Block before meeting with county Supervisor Kenneth Hahn, Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner, City Atty. James Hahn and officials of police departments around the county. Block said the meeting was not triggered by the Jan.