LAPD commander’s speech to protesters here at Sunset / Laurel: pleads with protesters to be peaceful, to abide by curfew. Ends by taking a knee with crowd
Yoga, breathing and stretching exercises at the protest outside the
@MayorOfLA
protest. Quiet except for instructions to inhale, and the steady whirr of police the helicopter above. Earlier someone was burning sage.
A healthy 32-year-old nurse at a tony West LA nursing home died after contracting the coronavirus.
Her family is honoring one of her final wishes: that others know the story of how she got sick.
Heartbreaking dispatch from
@latimesharriet
:
Back in May, Laphonza Butler wrote this character letter to the judge who decided whether + how long Mark Ridley-Thomas would go to prison after being convicted in a public corruption case.
She noted MRT's help when she came to LA in '09, his backing of labor, & his friendship
A year ago today Erika Girardi filed for divorce, & the final RHOBH reunion airs tonight. After a season like no other,
@latimesharriet
+ I still have questions about what Erika knew — and when — about one of California’s greatest legal scandals:
UPDATE: LA County sheriff's deputies were in a shootout Wednesday with Robert Fuller's half-brother, who was charged yesterday with assault, kidnapping and other counts; Fuller's brother was shot in the chest; driver also shot;
Display of LA civic unity today at the Woodland Hills coronavirus testing site: multiple cars in the very long line turning from Owensmouth onto Canoga keeping a very tight distance between them so they can prevent a black Range Rover from butting into the line.
NEW: USC has a starring role in the college admission scandal. University will deny admission to 6-8 applicants tied to the scandal, and it's identified $1.3M in tainted donations --- and potentially up to $2.5M -- that will be given to scholarship fund
Supreme Court guts anti-corruption law, permitting gratuities to public officials — like a $13K check from a gov’t vendor to a mayor mere weeks after winning a contract
Court rules 6-3, with liberal justices dissenting
Journalists should not need permission from police to cover protests and rallies — yet that’s exactly what these CA state senators voted for yesterday 👇👇
Here's how the California Senate voted on
#SB98
, which would require journalists to obtain "authorization from a commanding officer on scene" to access areas closed by police during a demonstration, march, protest, or rally. It heads to the Assembly now.
4 members of USC’s athletics staff were also indicted: senior assoc athletic director Donna Heinel; women’s soccer coach Ali Khosroshahin; asst women’s soccer coach Laura Janke; water polo coach Jovan Vavic
UCLA men’s soccer coach Jorge Salcedo also indicted
How did we report this?
>doorknocking people for months, often on nights & weekends
>public records
>combing lawsuits
>
@latimes
sued CHP regarding the traffic stop records
>Instagram
>USC grad books
>more doorknocks, calls, letters, emails
Judge Wright was skeptical. "All of his foreign contacts were at the behest of the government?"
Chesnoff balked + declined to say as much but emphasized that those very contacts are "what has made him so valuable" to the government
A year ago,
@LADWP
discovered a methane leak at one of its power plants. It didn’t tell the public or even its oversight board, until a drone survey from NASA’s JPL detected the leak and survey results were getting “more publicized” — from
@Sammy_Roth
BREAKING - Mark Ridley Thomas found GUILTY of seven counts: one conspiracy, one bribery, one honest services mail fraud and four honest services wire fraud
NEW: LAPD detectives have presented to LA County District Attorney the reports from 102 women alleging misconduct by ex-USC gynecologist Dr George Tyndall. Investigation ongoing; no decision yet on whether to file criminal charges.
It’s difficult to convey the vastness of the
#ThomasFire
burn area. Whole mountainsides charred black by flames. This is along Highway 33, about 15+ miles north of Ojai
As Tom Girardi told it, Erika's earrings were stolen in early 2007, then replaced w/ a check for $750K in March '07.
But Pasadena PD were told of only 1 burglary at Girardi home in 2007 and it's long after the check was sent to the jeweler
Our story:
Robert Zangrillo, charged with fraud and bribery in connection with his daughter’s admission into USC, gets a full pardon and it’s supported by Tom Barrack, a USC trustee.
I’m walking off the job today, and I’m absolutely heartbroken over it. I’m doing it in solidarity with hundreds of my colleagues as we bargain for a better deal.
I love the LA Times, and please subscribe to support local news-gathering.
🦅THE L.A. TIMES GUILD IS WALKING OUT🦅
We are calling for a one-day walkout TOMORROW, Jan. 19, in protest of management's proposal to cut staff and multiple unfair labor practices.
At long last, our dive into the privileges enjoyed by the Qatari prince who came to LA with $$ and staff, got 2 USC degrees, and left behind a trail of questions about his life here. A story about the power of unimaginable wealth:
W/
@latimesharriet
>>
This summer, the LA County DA quietly declined to file a manslaughter charge against former USC medical school dean, Carmen Puliafito, after an infant died in an apartment he rented for a younger woman. We looked at why the investigation took 3 years:
Stunning report by
@AleneTchek
: A secretive L.A. County sheriff's unit staffed by a retired homicide detective is accused of targeting Sheriff Villanueva’s political enemies
.
@latimes
lawyer sent this letter to Sheriff today, blasting his comments about our colleague: "We demand that you and the department preserve all documents related to any “investigation” of Ms. Tchekmedyian or any other LA Times employee in this matter"
In the collapse of Tom Girardi's career and revelations about his corrupt law practice, a lot of scrutiny has gone toward
@erikajayne
of
#RHOBH
fame.
Today
@latimesharriet
and I look at what others knew and did, specifically retired Calif. judges:
The LA County DA’s office today canceled a 24-year-old subscription to the Metropolitan News, LA’s legal newspaper, according to owner/editor Roger Grace. Yesterday the paper published this article critical of George Gascon and his leadership team
Here's what we've been working on for months, triggering today's letter from USC Pres. Nikias:
USC let a gynecologist continue treating students despite years of misconduct allegations. With the inimitable
@latimesharriet
and
@pringleLATimes
:
Breaking: Prosecutors in OC file four more murder charges against suspected Golden State killer, bringing total pending murder cases to 8 (2 in Sac, 2 in Ventura counties)
Karen Bass got a USC degree for free. It's now pulling her into the federal corruption case involving Mark Ridley-Thomas and former USC dean Marilyn Flynn
An anonymous letter to
@latimes
laid this all out: someone absconded with priceless Frank Lloyd Wright furniture from a USC warehouse and for years, the LAPD were never notified. It was undoubtedly an inside job:
Excellent WSJ investigation into how a gush of federal student loans have made masters degrees a gold mine for universities and saddled graduates with incredible amounts of debt.
“Officials who use their public positions for private gain threaten the integrity of our most important institutions,” Justice Jackson said in her dissent
"The sheriff is a very busy man, he has lots of responsibilities," said Linda Savitt, Sheriff Villanueva's attorney, opposing a subpoena from LASD's inspector general earlier this year
LA Sheriff Villanueva spends some time on Facebook live today to present a "three strikes" game with LA mayoral candidates: "The game is if you check off three of the five, you’re out, you struck out. And I wouldn't vote for that person for mayor.”
The way Sutton did her homework first thing in the morning, threw on her bathrobe, walked downstairs and expertly walked the girls through the L.A. Times article? We aren't worthy.
#RHOBH
Orange County’s health officer resigns after facing huge blowback for an order requiring masks be worn in public: “She’s done her best to give her medical opinion and it’s not popular so she has resigned.”
"At the end of the day, this campaign has been about dignity and respect.....the rule of law...common courtesy and decency." -- Doug Jones, Senator-elect of Alabama.
Ridley-Thomas was ultimately sentenced to 42 months in prison, with the judge remarking, “Ridley-Thomas has committed serious crimes, has not accepted responsibility and has shown no remorse."
“The animating energy right now in the culture is destruction,” says Bari Weiss. “The casual dehumanization, from the left and the right, is so appalling to me.”
“Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Erika Girardi is ensnared in legal drama as her husband’s law firm is accused of misappropriating funds — including $25 million for her personal and professional expenses. And it’s all unfolding on TV.
Mayor Garcetti's out-of-town travel security has cost at least $450K and we only know this because
@latimes
filed a lawsuit. The City has balked at basic transparency on this.
The plot under 10 Fwy where the fire broke out has been on
@CaltransHQ
radar for YEARS. Caltrans sued its tenant in Sept, says he owes $620K+ in unpaid rent on this and other state property, and said he was illegally subletting
W/
@racheluranga
@LATvives
Breaking: USC to pay $1.1 billion to settle decades of sex abuse claims against gynecologist Dr. George Tyndall — settlement just described in open court >>
I wrote about Tim Dean, the 2nd man to die in Ed Buck’s apartment and how friends’ and loved ones’ grief is compounded by the skewed public narrative of his life.
Officials are trying to identify the couple who landed a helicopter on the
#superbloom
, walked amid the flowers, but then ran off and took flight when a police officer began approaching
Steve Garvey touts himself as a “devoted family man.” His estranged children disagree, with two of his kids telling The Times that they’ve never even spoken to him.
“There’s something lacking in him, something not authentic,” said his eldest daughter
Some USC news today >> A federal judge said he plans to give his final approval to the landmark $215 million settlement USC reached with scores of patients of Dr. George Tyndall.
It left the black Range Rover stranded in busy intersection. Other cars coming SB on canoga couldn’t get by and started honking. The black RR was foiled, couldn’t butt in and had to get into the back of the line at Oxnard/Owensmouth
Judge Otis Wright ruled that Alexander Smirnov should remain in federal custody before trial, against objections of defense attys who even offered to hire private security to guard him
Full story TK. Here's background on Smirnov + some of how we got here:
He was known by the FBI as Captain America.
He secretly recorded hours of LA sheriff's employees accepting bribes and pilfering auto parts, according to FBI.
Yet when the cases reached court, Capt. America dropped a.bombshell.
My latest w/
@joelrubin
:
While USC dealt with scores of sexual misconduct complaints against its campus gynecologist, UCLA quietly cut ties with a staff gynecologist accused of sex abuse. We’re learning about it a year later >>
Today the
@latimes
dropped a 5-part investigation into Mexico’s massive affordable-housing debacle, which merited its own special section in the paper. Stunning work by
@RichMarosi
Nathaniel Johnson, who has been at protests for three days, had this to say about the LAPD commander kneeling with protesters: “They took a knee now but are they kneeling on us later?”