Today’s News

Arsenic pollution. An L.A. judge says that a Vernon battery recycling plant accused of posing a health hazard to thousands of nearby residents can reopen pending a court hearing next month.
State officials had ordered the Exide Technologies plant to close in April. Regulators cited an AQMD report suggesting that the plant’s arsenic emissions posed a risk to more than 100,000 people in Maywood, Boyle …

Peace Walk. Some Santa Monica residents took to the streets last night to call for peace and healing in the wake of a series of shootings in the Westside city. The demonstrators retraced the path taken by John Zawahri, the young gunman who killed five people before being shot to death by police at Santa Monica College.
The Peace Walk was organized by the Pico …

Killer’s goodbye. The man responsible for last Friday’s deadly shooting rampage in Santa Monica carried a note saying he was sorry for his actions. But investigators still aren’t sure what motivated John Zawahri to kill five people before he was shot to death by police.
Zawahri’s four-page, hand-written note was found on his body after he was killed on the Santa Monica College campus. Police …

Dodgers deal. If you thought former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt was out of the picture when it comes to professional sports in L.A., think again.
If an NFL team were to come to Chavez Ravine, McCourt could be sole the landlord, according to the L.A. Times.
Newly released documents from the sale of the Dodgers to Guggenheim Baseball Management indicate that McCourt retains the right to …

Somber graduation. Hundreds of students walked across the stage to accept their diplomas at Santa Monica College yesterday evening, but it was anything but a typical graduation ceremony.
Present behind the joy and sense of accomplishment was a strong undercurrent of sorrow for those who lost their lives Friday when a gunman killed three people on campus during a wild shooting spree. The graduation took …

Mourning. College graduation is a joyous event. But today’s ceremony at Santa Monica College will be tinged with sadness as the commencement doubles as a memorial to victims of last Friday’s shooting rampage.
A vigil was held on the campus last night. Shortly before 6 pm, people began assembling outside the college library. That’s where the shooter, John Zawahri, ended his killing spree. A makeshift …

Aftermath. It’s a somber day at Santa Monica College. Students and faculty are returning to campus for finals week – just three days after a heavily armed gunman went on a shooting spree that fatally wounded five people before he was shot dead.
Authorities today are expected to interview the mother of the shooter – John Zawahri – as they try to decipher of a …

San Onofre. The big story is Southern California Edison’s decision to shut down the San Onofre Nuclear Power plant, but there’s a lot of other important news happening around California today:
Obama in California. President Obama has made a personal plea to Californians, Latinos and young people to sign up for coverage under the new health care law. The president spoke this morning in San …

Today is a rare day when it feels like California, and Southern California in particular, is the crossroads of all things in the news.
Google, Apple and Facebook – all California companies – are at the heart of the Internet surveillance story that broke yesterday and will inevitably continue to develop in the week ahead. Coincidentally, President Barack Obama is in Silicon Valley today, where …

Calderon probe. The FBI investigation into State Sen. Ron Calderon is focused on a San Gabriel Valley water district that uses his brother – former Assemblyman Tom Calderon – as a consultant, according to two people who say they’ve been interviewed by federal agents.
The FBI hasn’t disclosed any details of the investigation and Calderon isn’t talking. The State Senator from the powerful political clan …

Capitol raid. State Senator Ron Calderon is letting his lawyer do the talking following a search of his Capitol office by FBI agents.
The agents removed several boxes of documents from the Montebello Democrat’s office last night as well as what appeared to be a computer hard drive. The raid also targeted the office of the Latino Legislative Caucus in Sacramento.
An FBI spokeswoman says the …

Mr. Jones. Deacon Jones – considered by many to be the greatest player ever to suit up for the Los Angeles Rams football team – had died of natural causes at home in Anaheim Hills. He was 74.
 The Hall-of-Famer played for the Rams from 1961 to 1971 and later for the San Diego Chargers and Washington Redskins. He was twice named the NFL’s top …

Powerhouse Fire. Cooler weather and higher humidity are helping firefighters get a better handle on the Powerhouse Fire. Containment went from 20 percent to 40 percent overnight – but the blaze has now chewed through more than 46 square miles and nearly 3,000 residents are under mandatory evacuation orders.
Officials say at least six houses burned to the ground and 15 others were damaged this …

Death penalty. A state appeals court has dealt another blow to proponents of the death penalty in California. A three-judge panel says that prison officials failed to comply with administrative rules when crafting new lethal injection procedures two years ago.
It’s been seven years since the last execution in California, and the appeals court decision could mean  the state’s capital punishment pause will go on …

Water works. A controversial plan to restore habitat and overhaul California’s water system will cost a half a billion dollars more than originally estimated. The price tag of Governor’s Brown Bay Delta Conservation Plan is now almost $25 billion.
Brown’s plan calls for two enormous concrete tunnels that would carry water 35 miles from the San Joaquin River Delta to pumps near the town of …

Colorado crisis. Water managers from seven western states are pledging to work with the federal government on plans to conserve and distribute water from the Colorado River. A meeting among water managers in San Diego yesterday made one thing clear: there isn’t enough water available to satisfy everyone’s needs.
The Colorado River is the lifeblood of California and six other western states. But drought, population …

Smoking gun? Senator Barbara Boxer wants the Justice Department to investigate the operator of the San Onofre nuclear power plant for intentionally misleading federal regulators to avoid a “long and costly review” of the plant.
San Onofre hasn’t produced any electricity since January of 2012. That’s when a small radiation leak led to the discovery of heavy wear on tubes carrying radioactive water in the …

Football forward. The L.A. Galaxy’s newest player made sports history during last night’s win over the Seattle Sounders at the Home Depot Center in Carson. And all Robbie Rogers had to do was step on the field.
When Rogers entered the match in the 77th minute, he became the first openly gay male athlete to play in a major American team sport. Rogers, who’s 26, …

Obamacare. California has taken a big step toward compliance with Obamacare. The state’s new health insurance exchange has announced the plans – and the prices – that will be offered to those seeking individual insurance policies under the federal healthcare law.
As many as five million uninsured Californians are expected to seek coverage when Obamacare takes effect next year. The exchange will begin enrolling customers …

Garcetti’s challenge. L.A. Mayor-elect Eric Garcetti will meet today with the man he’ll be taking over from on July 1st. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa calls Garcetti “a true leader”and says he trusts him to guide the city into a bright future.”
Garcetti is going to have some sensitive issues to deal with when he moves into the mayor’s office. At the top of the list, salaries …