Robert Rush

The pigeons of the City Hall environs, sentenced to death by the city General Services Administration last month, have won a reprieve. The city Animal Regulation Department said Monday that it has declined to issue a permit to allow the trapping and killing of the birds, the freeloaders that hang out in the dining areas of the Los Angeles Mall.

In the wake of controversy over a city crackdown on dogs running loose at Laurel Canyon Park, the City Council voted Tuesday to beef up leash-law enforcement throughout Los Angeles. The council voted 13-1 to add $78,780 to the proposed 1985-86 city budget to hire three more animal-control officers. The action will become final once the council and Mayor Tom Bradley approve the budget.

The Los Angeles Animal Regulation Commission Wednesday night ordered city animal-control officers to halt a disputed crackdown on dogs running loose in Laurel Canyon Park pending completion of an investigation into complaints by pet owners. The surprise 5-0 vote by the commission drew cheers from about 75 dog owners who appeared at a special commission hearing on leash-law enforcement in city parks.

During this time of municipal budget crunches and heightened concern about public safety, volunteers with the new Community Action Patrol are taking to the streets as "extra eyes and ears" for the Brea Police Department. Ten volunteers, ranging in age from 20 to 70, recently graduated from a 10-week training program organized by Officer Kenneth J. Bradshaw, a background investigator for the Police Department.

A series of fur-flying incidents, some leading to arrests, prompted the Los Angeles Animal Regulation Commission to ask Monday for an investigation of leash-law enforcement practices at Laurel Canyon Park. The action was requested by dog owners who frequent the park in an affluent mountain neighborhood above Studio City. It is the latest chapter in a shaggy-dog story that has escalated into a bitter conflict between animal control officers and the dog owners.

To many, they are the rats of the bird world--an urban nuisance and potential health hazard. That sentiment has led officials in Los Angeles to consider expanding the city's "Feed a Pigeon, Go to Jail" law. For about 25 years it has been a misdemeanor to feed pigeons in a 48-block area surrounding downtown's Pershing Square. Because of recent complaints by local businessmen, the City Council will soon consider tacking an extra block onto the bird boundary.

Los Angeles officials, prompted by the mauling of an animal control officer by a pit bull terrier, said Friday that the city's vicious-dog ordinance should be strengthened. A draft ordinance that will come before the City Council within two weeks would do just that. It would allow animal control officers to immediately impound a dog that has bitten someone, said Michael Burns, district supervisor for the Animal Regulation Department. Currently, officers can only pick up dogs that are roaming.

An investigation by the Los Angeles Department of Animal Regulation into alleged chimpanzee abuse on the movie "Project X" will be evaluated under civil, not criminal, statutes in determining whether any complaints should be filed, the district attorney's office announced Thursday. Since so much time has elapsed between the alleged beatings and the subsequent investigation last summer, the one-year statute of limitations on the most relevant criminal charges has passed, Deputy Dist. Atty.

More than 100 dog owners who want part of Laurel Canyon Park set aside as a leash-free area for their pets vowed last weekend to fight what they called the increasing police powers of the Los Angeles City Animal Regulation Department.

Talent agent William Arthur Rush, who at one time managed the careers of such stars as Nelson Eddy, Jackie Gleason, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, died Sunday in Burbank of complications from a Thanksgiving auto accident, family members said Wednesday. He was 81. Born in 1907 in Graysville, Pa., Rush came to Los Angeles in 1931 and quickly became West Coast manager for RCA Victor.