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Can you help a family out?

Oscar Garcia remembered from Go Fund Me Page

Tragedy struck my little corner of L.A again Saturday night. Two young men were gunned down walking about  near a friends home.

Details are sketchy.  Both young men have no known “history” and were active in local sports.  One went to Monrovia High School, the other at Monrovia Canyon High School.

Sadly Oscar Garcia was pronounced dead at the scene.  The other simply known as “Christian” on social media is in critical but stable condition.

The community kids got together and held an impromptu memorial at the local Skate Park with the family present to share their stories of Oscar.

The Schools held memorials on campus today for the students.  Grief Counselors were on hand to help the students cope with the loss of a friend and classmate.

A gofundme has been established to help out the Garcia family with funeral expenses and a memorial.

Continue reading “Can you help a family out?”

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BMW Loans i3 EV to Los Angeles Police Department for Evaluation

A detective loses his Dodge Patrol car with a hemi and cries…

Los Angeles City Mayor Eric Garcetti and Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck announce a year long test of a BMW i3 electric vehicle at a City of Los Angeles press conference in Los Angeles, Sept. 11, 2015. Photo by Danny Moloshok/Newscast
Los Angeles City Mayor Eric Garcetti and Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck announce a year long test of a BMW i3 electric vehicle at a City of Los Angeles press conference in Los Angeles, Sept. 11, 2015. Photo by Danny Moloshok/Newscast courtesy BMW PR

I could add a few more snarks, but bottom line a few electric cars in the LAPD make sense in the right applications.  No I can’t imagine them used in a high speed pursuit, but contrary to local TV that is not a constant occurrence.  There’s plenty of things they do that involves just slogging around town and idling in traffic that an electric car and its zero emissions at the tail pipe make sense.  Detectives cold calling witnesses and victims on follow up doesn’t need speed nor lights flaring.  Parking meter slugs idling around town issuing tickets is another area that kinda makes sense.

Regardless of what you think of the EV, they make sense in some applications and if we can save some gas money swapped for electrons cheaper off the grid to power these little beasts its better for the cities bottom line.

Personally, I like the BMW i3,  Drives very much like what you expect from BMW, with its aggressive regeneratvie braking systems a quick lift of the throttle feels more like downshifting a gasser than just idle coasting.  My full review from a few years ago HERE that included an interview with the BMW i project manager.

Free subscription to blogging.la for the first person who captures a pic of the BMW i3 in action on the streets of L.A.

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Dogs Are A Crime On The Lake Hollywood Loop

It was with not a little fanfare less than two years ago that the road around the reservoir known as Lake Hollywood was reopened to walkers, runners and cyclists, a scenic route that had been closed since landslides during those crazy rains of 2005.

10978666_10152558232845044_2128577528160986362_nLittle did I know that when my wife Susan and I drove over there this morning and set out with our faithful — and needless to say well-behaved and leashed-up — border collie mix Ranger to explore that roughly 3.3-mile loop for the first time, we would be greeted by this sign at the north gate and again at the east gate:

Being that I’m law-abiding to a fault I dutifully turned us around and we made our way to the far more enlightened Parc du Griffith where dogs are not a crime. Soon we found our way along a loop that included a rigorously vertical set of dirt steps carved into the hillside and leading to the oasis that is Amir’s Garden.

While one part of me is all “Thank you!” to the dog-banning powers that be at Lake Hollywood for allowing us to discover a previously unknown aspect of Griffith Park, the other part is all “You dog-banning powers that be at Lake Hollywood totally suck!” And it was that latter half that got all googly once I got home in searching out the specific statute — LAMC 64.06 — authorizing the prohibition. Turns out it’s an ordinance designed to prevent water contamination that reads a little somethin’ like this (on the other side of the jump):

Continue reading “Dogs Are A Crime On The Lake Hollywood Loop”

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L.A County Sheriff sends out scam alert.

This alert was sent via nixle and bears forwarding and repeating.  Scammers are out there.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has been advised that citizens are receiving phone calls from individuals who are representing themselves as Department employees. The caller usually tells the citizen that there has been a warrant issued for their arrest for failure to appear for Jury Duty. The caller will tell the victim that they have to pay a sum of money or deputies will come and arrest them. The caller will instruct the victim to either get a Money Order, conduct a wire transfer, or buy a Gift Card (usually Green Dot) and send it to “pay the fine.”

BE ALERT, BE ADVISED, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department or any Government Agency will NEVER call and solicit money for fines. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department does not solicit warrant information by phone. The Sheriff’s Department or any Government Agency will NEVER ask you to get a Money Order, Gift Card, or wire transfer. Sheriff Department personnel will never go to your home to collect a fee for a warrant.

BE AWARE, NEVER give your personal information to anyone over the phone. DO NOT give callers information about your bank account, pin numbers, Social Security number or any type of identifying information.

Phone Scam Thieves are just that “Thieves” they will try and trick you into giving them money and information. If you receive a call protect yourself, your information and DO NOT SEND MONEY!

If you receive a phone call, always verify who the caller truly is, DO NOT use a phone number they provide you as verification. Usually numbers provided by the thief will go to a voice recording/message. Call your local Sheriff Station to verify any solicitation.

If you have sent money or believe that you are a victim of a crime, please call your local Sheriff’s Station or Police Department and report the incident.

If you receive a suspicious phone call/solicitation that you believe is not from a real government agency, please contact The Department of Consumer Affairs at (800) 593-8222. You can also file a complaint on the DCA website at dca.lacounty.gov.

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This is insane Colby Fire in Glendora moving quickly westward

As I write this the Colby Fire has grown to well over 125 acres.  Friends in Azusa are under mandatory evacuation orders.  A friend just tweeted that 2 folks were in custody for this ARSON  fire.  ABC7 Tweeted just now its 3.

Tweet that 3 have been arrested

WTF..as if we don’t have enough to worry about these assholians are out there starting fires putting so many at risk. Continue reading “This is insane Colby Fire in Glendora moving quickly westward”

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Utility Bill Scams Continue to Target So Cal Edison Customers

I just got this alert from the LA County Sheriff via nixle.  Apparently there’s more than a sucker born every moment out here in the SGV and other areas service by SoCalEddy.

The short version of the scam is that a caller calls someone, tells them their power will be shut off if they don’t immediately pay their bill via a prepaid debit card.  Yes, a prepaid debit card that the scammer sends the victim out to get,  then gives them the info needed to use it.  Goes without saying you hangup and report the number used to contact you to the police with the details of what they wanted you to do.  Common sense says that you would go to your nearest SCE office or their web site to make an immediate payment, but common sense flew out the window long before they picked up the phone.  Sad.

The full press release after the jump.  Continue reading “Utility Bill Scams Continue to Target So Cal Edison Customers”

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4 Arrested in January’s freeway proposal stunt in Covina

No matter how cute and romantic it is DON’T POST IT ON YOUTUBE if its illegal

http://youtu.be/WYRnDPBn5C4

The full details of the arrests is on the KTLA website.  For the life of me I can’t imagine why they posted it on youtube and bragged about it on other social media.  It was just dropping clues as to where they can be found for the arrests.  I give these guys an “A” for creativity, a “C” for the idea to do it on a Sunday morning where traffic is light, and an “F” for getting caught.

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Fund Raiser for families of fallen officers due to ex-LAPD Dorner shootings

CPK voucher
Print and bring this voucher to CPK 2/25-28

Hat tip to my friends at Arcadia PD  for this tip regarding a fund raiser for the fallen officers due to shoot outs or outright assassination by Chris Dorner last week.   (You remember Chris Dorner, the ex-LAPD officer on a bizarre vendetta to prove he was wrongfully terminated by LAPD )

20% of your total bill will be donated to the respective police associations for Officer Crain and Detective McKay who wound up dying as a result of shooting by McKay.

To participate all you need to do is print out the flyer to the right of this post and present it to your server at the time you order at California Pizza Kitchen February 25-28 2013.

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Q&A with Dan Lin, Producer of ‘Gangster Squad’

This article was originally published at 8Asians.com and has been reposted here with permission.

Terminator Salvation. Sherlock Holmes 1,2, and 3. Lego: The Piece of Resistance. Godzilla. Stephen King’s It. Death Note. Justice League. What do all these disparate movies past, present, and future have in common? One amazing Taiwanese American producer, Dan Lin.

And you might have heard of his latest film Gangster Squad, an LAPD period movie about a battle to take back LA from the mafia. Named back in 2008 by Variety as one of top 10 producers to watch, Lin has definitely lived up to the title, and with all the classic blockbusters being tacked to his name, he and everything he does will be worth watching for long after Gangster Squad hits the streets this Friday.

Here are 8Questions with Dan Lin about his new film and more from a roundtable press interview:

Continue reading “Q&A with Dan Lin, Producer of ‘Gangster Squad’”

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Community Policing, LAPD says this is why we are becoming one of the safest cities in the U.S.

When I was a Valley dweller back when we were first married in Valley Village our neighborhood started experiencing gang related activity and auto thefts.  We were in the LAPD’s North Hollywood divisions policing territory.  They worked with us to establish a Neighborhood Watch and worked with us on a variety of community issues.  We became friends with several of the officers that patrolled our area. Community Policing now as outlined in the video has grown and is helping to make the neighborhoods in North Hollywood safer.

On a sidebar if you haven’t subscribed to the LAPD’s YouTube channel yet you might want to consider as aside from the infomercials and PSA’s they also have regular crime tips and vids seeking info on crimes.  You can subscribe on their channel HERE.

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Please tell the City not to ban medical marijuana collectives!

UPDATE:

We just received word that the vote, and all action at City Hall, has been POSTPONED until further notice.

Please continue to Support Unionized Medical Cannabis Workers, and your right to Safe Access, in LA by writing a letter to your council person at www.ufcw770.org/cannabis.

Sorry for any inconvenience. Here’s my original post:

The city is set to vote to ban collectives this Friday.

Yes, you read that right.

Currently there are 8 votes in favor of banning ALL L.A. medical marijuana collectives. In order to overturn that, we need to make sure Busciano, LaBonge, or Krekorian lean in our favor. If all three of them vote to ban… It’s referendum time.

Unless we turn just ONE VOTE by Friday, all LA collectives will be banned.

To be clear, there could very well be 8 votes to ban right now because 3 of those votes have been holding their cards close to their chest.

If you can (and you care) please show up this Friday, June 22, 2012 at 9am, at LA City Hall East () for a press conference with Union Members, Patients, and Community Allies, to preserve safe access. This is important and very real; your voice can help keep collectives open to the law-abiding citizens who use them.

Please call and write to your councilmember in the meantime: www.ufcw770.org/cannabis

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Timelapse: Watts Happening Ride

The 2012 edition of my Watts Happening Ride took place this past picture-perfect Saturday, and it was my complete pleasure to share the following landmark people, places and events I’ve discovered there with the 28 cyclists who joined me:

  1. The last residence of jazz great Jelly Roll Morton
  2. The childhood home of Nobel Prize Winner Ralph Bunche
  3. The location of the 1969 Black Panthers shootout
  4. The Hotel Dunbar, centerpiece of the Historic Central Avenue Jazz Corridor
  5. The location of the 1974 SLA shootout
  6. The actual fictional location of the Sanford and Son Salvage Yard
  7. The Watts Towers of Simon Rodia
  8. The location of the incident setting off the 1965 Watts Riots
  9. The home of Eula Love, killed by police in 1979 as a result of a past-due gas bill dispute
  10. The motel where legendary singer Sam Cooke was killed
  11. The flashpoint of the 1992 Los Angeles Riots
  12. The location of Wrigley Field, demolished in 1966.

Unfortunately, the above annotated timelapse video abruptly ends at the third-to-last location we visited, leaving me to discover that I need to get a bigger memory card if I want to capture the entire 33-mile, six-hour tour on camera the next time — and there will be a next time. I hope you’ll join me.

 

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The Watts Happening Ride Is What’s Happening February 18

The first Watts Happening Ride I organized five years ago was a simple there-and-back to Watts Towers from the Cornfield downtown, spurred on by the lamentable fact that as a native angeleno I had spent my whole life to-date never having been to the true treasure that is the amazing, inspiring and enduring work of Simon Rodia.

In its various editions since (the last one taking place in 2010), the Watts Happening Ride’s destinations have grown well beyond the iconic towers to include a variety of landmarks involving people, places and events in and around South Los Angeles.

The 2012 incarnation of the Watts Happening Ride will be departing from Silver Lake on Saturday, February 18 at 9 a.m., and will include the addition of a couple locations I’ve recently found. So if you’re not heading out of town for the long weekend and have a hankering to get your bike-riding discovery on, I hope you’ll join me.

For the latest info and any updates, the ride’s Facebook page is here.

When: February 18, gathering at 8:30 for a 9 a.m. departure
Start/Finish: Silver Lake’s Happy Foot/Sad Foot sign (northwest corner of Sunset Boulevard & Benton Way)
Distance: 32.95 miles (route map)
Pace: Casual
Terrain: Flat
Weather: In the event of rain that morning, the ride will be canceled and rescheduled to a later date.
Approximate Time: 5-6 hours
Optional Partial Ride: If doing the full route isn’t feasible, consider joining the ride at approximately 9:30 a.m. downtown on Spring Street (anywhere between 2nd & 9th streets) for the roughly 9-mile portion to the Watts Towers. The 103rd Street Blue Line station is near to the towers and can be an alternative to get you back into downtown.
Things You’ll Need (in no particular order): A functioning bicycle; $7 for the half-hour optional tour of Watts Towers; snacks and water for along the way; money for a late lunch at King Taco.