Since moving back to LA a month I’ve been trying to find cool local resources I didn’t know about and this is definitely one of them.

The purpose of Los Angeles Regional Crime Stoppers is to prevent and reduce crime, by forming a partnership among the community, law enforcement and the media to offer anonymity and cash rewards to anyone providing information leading to an arrest, thereby making the community a safer place for all who live or work in the region.

It’s a pretty cool approach to tipping off the Po-Po. You can either call or send in a web tip and they give you a code to use to keep the communication open but without giving your details so you can remain anonymous. If you’re tipping on a crime that has a reward attached you can make up to a cool $1k. So if you’re an armchair detective you can finally monetize all those hours of Murder, She Wrote re-runs you’ve been watching. Check them out.

http://lacrimestoppers.org/

Its official.  Read it on the Arcadia Police Officers Association blog HERE. Law enforcement around LA is going to be enforcing “distracted driving” IE using your cell phone for calls or texting today in an effort to clamp down on the accidents caused by this dangerous habit of some.

One interesting note came from the blog:

Remember that holding your phone and using the speaker during a call while driving is still a violation.  Using a speaker equipped phone is not the same as using a blue-tooth device.  Please put the phone down and leave the texting and calling for when you have arrived safely at your destination.

I see that one all the time and figured it didn’t count as “hands free” and I was right.  If you do it you may want to stop as it won’t get you out of a ticket.

Is this a semi-annual April Fool’s joke?  CHP Southern Division, L.A. County apparently tweeted the following @CHP_Southern an hour ago:

“CHP Dispatch receiving a call from hiker stating he fell & is stuck between the two ‘L’s on the HOLLYWOOD sign. @lafd has been notified”

Of course, the tweet and/or the alleged phone call could be a prank.  But if not, I suggest we call the Chilean mine rescue team, as they suddenly have some down time. I imagine we’ll be learning more about this soon.

I can almost see the stuck hiker between the L's

I got it in a couple of  tweets from the CHP.  A multi-agency task force is set to enforce the hands free cell and texting ban on October 5.  All day event  and the tickets aren’t cheap.  They refute the urban legend that the tickets are only $20, they are actually $139 plus court costs which will push you near the $200 mark.   You’ve been warned, the largely unenforced ban will be enforced on Tuesday

Lindsay, we hardly knew ye

But I simply can’t resist -

I offer you – the publicity still for the new Lindsay Lohan comedy, “Three Hots and a Cot.”

Yes, it’s stupidly short notice, but if you’re available and so inclined, how about heading over to the Community Meeting on Medical Marijuana Dispensary Regulations and Enforcement?

It’s TODAY – Tuesday, September 14

6:30 – 7:30pm

Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock

2225 Colorado Blvd.

Los Angeles CA 90041

Sorry, no fancy pictures or links (beyond this kinda crummy one) for you – but your support is critical and I’m just seeing this.

Our good friend e*star recounts her horrific mugging in broad daylight while the rest of Hollywood stood idly by. It sounds like she gave the girl a good ass-kicking:

She careened me towards the white picket fence at June and De Longpre, pulling my hair. I whipped her back around, kicking her in the stomach. We continued as I screamed from within the far reaches of my lungs to the passing cars who probably thought they were witnessing a chick fight, what with my female mugger.

It’s comforting to know that events like these are still taking place while the LAPD is running radar on Coldwater & Burbank to catch soccer moms speeding on their way to work.

We’re glad you’re OK, Esther. Thank you for sharing your story with us, and for standing your ground in your new neighborhood.

This just got sent to me but it as apparently what happened at the Hollywood XXI store (6801 Hollywood Blvd, #1C-134 Los Angeles, CA 90028) earlier this week. There are some comments on YouTube with more information, but it sounds like two deaf shoppers were in XXI when security suspected them of shoplifting and grabbed them as they left the store, one guy didn’t comply with their verbal instructions (he’s deaf) so they tackled him and choked him on the street in front of the store, which is what you can see in this video. According to the comments, the 2nd guy (with the white shirt freaking out that his friend is being attacked) was able to produce receipts for everything. If anyone knows more about this let me know and I’ll post an update.

Venice homeowners who want to restrict overnight parking to stop long-term RV camping on their streets must feel like Charlie Brown after Lucy pulls the football away at the last second, again.  In the long-running battle to establish “overnight parking districts” (OPDs) which would restrict parking to permit holders between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. in several zones in Venice, the Venice homeowners thought they had a solution in their grasp.  In May, they reached a tentative settlement with the California Coastal Commission in which they would withdraw their lawsuit against the Coastal Commission for denying their OPD request in return for the eventual right to establish OPDs after a six-month period in which the City of Los Angeles would permit “oversized vehicle” restrictions in Venice to see if they solved the problem without resorting to OPDs.  But, like Lucy, the Coastal Commission then pulled the football away, backing out of the deal.

Advocates for the homeless are chalking up a victory.  They maintained that the OPDs targeted them, and cut off their access to the beach.  The Coastal Commission agreed, albeit pointing to no real evidence to back up such a charge.  Given that the Venice proposal included relocation of the vehicles to nearby spots, some of which were considerably closer to the beach, during the wee hours of the morning, I am still scratching my head over that one.

The Venice homeowners now have to start over again.  However, they have one head start: last month, the City Council voted to let them restrict “oversized” vehicles (over 7 feet tall or over 22 feet long) from parking overnight.  If such restrictions are enforced, this might solve the issue as to a good number of cases.  But then, given the history of failures in the effort to establish OPDs, I wouldn’t be surprised if the effort to restrict oversized vehicles in Venice hits a roadblock as well.

I don’t know anything about this video other than what you can see by watching it, but judging by the LBCC shirt the guy is wearing and the LBMC sign on the wall behind him I’m guessing it’s in Long Beach. Watch it and see for yourself, but what appears to happen is a guy walks back to his bike to find another guy hovering over it having just cut the lock, he confronts the guy and is threatened meanwhile there are other people and security guards standing around who refuse to help in anyway and the lock cutter just walks away. When the guy asks the security guards why they refused to help at all they simply say he should have locked his bike up somewhere else. Unbelieveable.

LAPD Bomb Squad by Clinton Steeds (2009)

I came home this evening to find a lot of police activity in my neighborhood and had to do a little detour. I realized that the happenings were pretty close to my street. In fact, one end of my street, about half a block from my house, was yellow taped off. I really wanted to find out what was going on, but wasn’t too keen on wandering over to the scene. I learned some basic information from a neighbor (suspicious package, homes evacuated), but I wanted to follow the progress.

Someone suggested I go to an online police scanner, which hadn’t occurred to me. I found what looks to be a pretty good resource. Radio Reference.com’s Los Angeles County page has live communication feeds from a variety of police, fire, and EMS departments. I tuned in to the Los Angeles Police and Fire-San Fernando Valley Divisions broadcast and  learned fairly quickly that the situation was resolved and that the “resources” were being released. In a relatively short period of time, I heard all kinds of things from animal bites to suspects being apprehended. I know I’m not the only one who get frustrated when up-to-the-minute info is not readily available, even on Twitter. You might want to bookmark this one.

This Saturday, May 8, is the 2nd annual city-wide gun buyback program.

Go to one of the five drop off locations with any type of weapon you want to get rid of and you may receive up to $100 in gift cards for hand guns and up to $200 for assault weapons (as specified in the State of California). You can choose a Ralph’s gift card or a pre-paid Visa card.

It’s all anonymous and there will be no questions asked.

Last year the LAPD collected over 1700 firearms, including a grenade launcher. (Seriously!) Read the full press release from the Mayor’s Office here.

The five buyback locations are open from 10am to 3pm:

EAST LOS ANGELES – Hollenbeck Area
Legacy LA
1350 N. San Pablo Street
Los Angeles, CA 90015

SOUTH LOS ANGELES – Harbor Area
Park & Ride Parking Lot
1300 West Pacific Coast Highway
Wilmington, CA 90744

SOUTH LOS ANGELES – 77th Area
Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church
7900 South Western Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90047

WEST LOS ANGELES – Hollywood Area
Farm Fresh Ranch Grocery Store
5520 Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA  90028

VALLEY – Mission Area
Facey Medical Center Parking Lot
11165 Sepulveda Boulevard
Mission Hills, CA 91345

I don’t spend much time in Arizona. I think I have, like, three friends there, which admittedly is more than I have in most states that don’t hug one of the coasts. And overall there’s not much I like to do there. There’s great hiking, of course, and surprisingly good hummus at a restaurant in Flagstaff whose name I can’t recall. But given the current state of Arizona politics, I don’t have a problem getting my outdoor activities and Middle Eastern cuisine locally.

Your situation, of course, may differ. Maybe you have family in The Copper State; maybe you do business there; maybe you have a weekend cabin near Oak Creek Canyon. I don’t know. But you probably already know that, in the midst of the new anti-immigration law recently passed there, traveling through Arizona just got a heck of a lot more interesting. As residents of a border state, Californians have a lot to be concerned about.

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L.A. Machineguns: Rage of the Machines

Before L.A. Noire and before True Crime: Streets of LA (but after Police Quest: Open Season), there was L.A. Machineguns: Rage of the Machines.

Gaming site Kotaku has broke the news that Sega is planning on releasing the 1998 arcade light-gun shooter classic (release date TBD) for the Nintendo Wii console, as part of a dual pack with it’s 1996 predecessor, Gunblade NY.

Want to know the plot? Here it is, straight from the promotional poster:

The Story: Year 2025. A militia of androids has suddenly materialized in Los Angeles. Calling themselves the “R.O.M.” – “Rage of the Machines” – the androids launch a fierce offensive against the entire West Coast regions. The federal government responds by mobilizing its ace counterterrorist forces “S.I.F.A.T”. Against the backdrop of the Pacific Coast, a struggle of unparalleled intensity has begun.

So, are you ready to join the Special Independent Force Against Terrorism?

Let the “pew, pew, pew” begin!

Image via The Arcade Flyer Archive.

Blue Thunder was released in 1983, and shot (I assume) in 1982. My first reaction watching this movie again for the first time in a while was Oh The SMOG! This movie is a time capsule for Stage 1 Smog alerts among other things.

Blue Thunder is about Frank Murphy (Roy Scheider), a Vietnam vet and police helicopter pilot who is assigned to test the most advance helicopter ever built. The cover story is that with the Los Angeles Olympics around the corner, they need a machine to quell potential riots, terrorism and crime. Frank is, uh, an interesting choice for this mission as he suffers from PTSD triggered flashbacks and, as other characters mention in the first act, has recently had a “wig-out” and should be on leave. These were different times. These were real men.

Soon the truth is revealed about the real reason Blue Thunder has been brought to Los Angeles….

Fly across the jump to read more and to see the trailer and a helicopter chase scene through the LA River.

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