L.A. County Sheriff: New law plays ‘significant’ role in crime rise

Sheriff of Los Angeles County Jim McDonnell talks during an interview in Los Angeles on Thursday, July 23, 2015. McDonnell says a recent change in law that makes certain drug and property crimes misdemeanors instead of felonies is a "significant" reason for an increase in county crime and has taken away the incentive for people to seek treatment for addiction. (AP Photo/Nick Ut) 

A recent change in California law making certain drug and property crimes misdemeanors instead of felonies played “a significant role” in the rising crime rate in Los Angeles County and has taken away the incentive for addicts to seek treatment, Sheriff Jim McDonnell said Thursday.

In an interview with The Associated Press, McDonnell also said legalizing marijuana for recreational use is a bad idea and that recent public backlash against police over use of force is having an impact on his agency, the largest sheriff’s department in the country.

Many in law enforcement have criticized Proposition 47, which voters passed in November. To ease overcrowding in the prison system, it reduced the penalties for shoplifting, forgery, fraud, petty theft and possession of small amounts of drugs — including cocaine, heroin and methamphetamines.

So far this year, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reports a 3.39 percent increase in violent crime and a 6.9 percent increase in property crime.

“We had 10 years of crime reductions, we were at 50-year lows in many areas on crime statistics, and all of a sudden, right after November when 47 kicked in that changed and fairly dramatically, very quickly,” he said. “It would be naive to say that 47 didn’t play a major role in that.”

McDonnell said the law prevents authorities from leveraging the threat of a felony charge to get addicts into treatment. As a result, county treatment rolls are down 60 percent.

“People are no longer incarcerated, they’re not in treatment, they’re out reoffending on the street,” McDonnell said.

Proposition 47 came after California’s 2011 prison realignment law, which pushed many criminals into county jails to decrease state prison populations. Jails previously housing only people awaiting trial or those sentenced to less than a year now also hold more hardened criminals serving longer terms. McDonnell said one county inmate has a 42-year sentence.

“That’s not something we’re equipped to deal with effectively,” McDonnell said. “The state prison system has been sued and had consent decrees over it, and it’s predictable that as a result, we’re going to have the same kind of lawsuits and the same kind of damages.”

One of the goals of Proposition 47 was to use savings from reduced jail populations to fund drug treatment programs as an alternative to incarceration. But there’s been no savings in Los Angeles County — the jails are filled with about 18,000 inmates.

Before Proposition 47, the jails were overcrowded and inmates served just 10 to 15 percent of their sentences. Now they’re serving 90 percent of the sentences, McDonnell said, but there’s no money for the treatment services.

McDonnell also said DNA databases are less robust because those charged with Prop. 47 crimes aren’t required to provide DNA samples. A bill that would have ensured authorities could continue collecting such samples died last week in the Senate Public Safety Committee, after passing in the Assembly.

McDonnell touched on a number of other law enforcement issues:

• Body cameras are being tested by the department and he hopes to provide them to deputies on patrol and in jails. McDonnell said deputies shouldn’t be able to review the camera footage before making an initial statement in any use of force incident.

After the initial statement, he said deputies could then review the video and make a supplemental statement.

This approach has been supported by civil libertarians and differs from the Los Angeles Police Department, which has a policy that allows officers to review body camera footage before providing a statement.

• Marijuana legalization is bad for society. He said pot is far more potent today and so the gentle buzz people expect is far more intense and sometimes produces hallucinations. There are many unresolved questions about how law enforcement will test for levels of intoxication.

• Media coverage of violent police encounters is having an impact on law enforcement. Deputies are worried that any use of force could be misconstrued when captured on video, McDonnell said. Less than 1 percent of the millions of daily police contacts with the public result in uses of force, but those are what people focus on, he said.

McDonnell is planning a 32-hour course for deputies on crisis intervention training, especially to deal with the mentally ill, which make up 40 percent of the use of force contacts for deputies.

Albertsons sues Haggen over $36 million in grocery inventory

Haggen has run into problems as it tries to win over customers in California. Albertsons has sued Haggen, accusing it of refusing to pay for $36 million of inventory at 32 stores it acquired. 

(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

By SHAN LIcontact the reporter

Supermarket giant Albertsons has filed a lawsuit against Haggen, accusing the grocer of fraud in failing to pay more than $36 million as part of the sale of 146 grocery stores.

Haggen, a Pacific Northwest chain, bought those stores from Albertsons and Safeway, which were forced by the Federal Trade Commission to sell them as part of a merger. Among the stores are 83 in California, mostly in the south.

Haggen has made a name for itself in the Pacific Northwest with fresh produce and meats. But analysts said compeition for shoppers is fierce in Southern California.

 (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

According to the lawsuit filed in federal court in California, Albertsons says that Haggen refused to pay for $36 million of inventory at 32 stores it acquired. Nearly $5 million in inventory at an additional six stores will be past due Tuesday -- bringing the total to more than $41 million, the complaint said.

Haggen waited until deals closed on all 146 stores before notifying Albertsons that it would not pay for the inventory, the lawsuit alleged. The reasons -- related to unspecified issues that Haggen contends occurred during the acquisition process -- are "baseless," the lawsuit said.

"Haggen's acts were fraudulent in nature and done with malice and a willful disregard for Albertsons' rights," the lawsuit said.

In a statement, Haggen said it notified Albertsons in June of Albertsons' violations under the purchase agreement and possible further violations related to requirements of the Federal Trade Commission and various state attorneys general. Haggen declined to disclose those alleged violations.

By filing a lawsuit, Haggen said Albertsons appears to be trying to avoid "addressing its wrongful conduct."

Haggen "had hoped that the parties could amicably address these issues," the company said. "Haggen will mount a vigorous defense and aggressively prosecute its counterclaims."

Haggen has had to cut staff hours and lay off workers as it struggles to make headway in the competitive Southern California market.

Many shoppers have complained that Haggen's prices are higher than the supermarket it replaced. Analysts said nearby grocery stores are also rolling out discounts in a fierce battle to win over customers.

Last week, Haggen acknowledged in a statement that it is facing "unprecedented" competition in the Southwest.

Diamond Bar Price Drops For Fourth Day After Hikes The average price dropped 1 cent on Friday, 1.4 cents on Saturday and six-tenths of a cent on Sunday.

The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County dropped Monday for the fourth consecutive day following a seven-day stretch of increases totaling 75.7 cents, decreasing six- tenths of a cent to $4.266.

The average price dropped 1 cent on Friday, 1.4 cents on Saturday and six-tenths of a cent on Sunday after rising to its highest amount since May 4, 2014, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service.

The average price is 21.3 cents more than one week ago, 65.1 cents higher than one month ago and 19.9 cents above what it was one year ago.

The Orange County average price dropped for the fourth consecutive day following a seven-day stretch of increases totaling 77.8 cents, decreasing four- tenths of a cent to $4.244. It dropped eight-tenths of a cent on Friday, 1.1 cents on Saturday and eight-tenths of a cent on Sunday

The Orange County average price is 22.5 cents more than one week ago, 70 cents higher than one month ago and 20.6 cents above what it was one year ago.

Prices “are likely to remain elevated until the repairs to the Torrance refinery are completed later this summer,” according to the “This Week in Petroleum” report issued by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance remains offline because of an explosion in February, reducing the supply. The operator is awaiting approval from the South Coast Air Quality Management District to use a refurbished piece of equipment, Marie Montgomery of the Automobile Club of Southern California told City News Service.

--City News Service

Pending sales of Tres Hermanos Ranch unearths preservation efforts

The city of Industry is putting up for sale a large parcel of property they own in Chino Hills, Calif. May 5, 2015. The working cattle ranch, with a reservoir, called Tres Hermanos is located east of Diamond Bar on Grand Avenue.File/Leo Jarzomb/Staff Photographer

When the City of Industry bought the 2,450-acre Tres Hermanos Ranch, preservationists cried foul. They became unhinged after hearing the business-centric city planned a series of reservoirs and hydro-power plants that would destroy the oak-and-walnut woodland.

But after nearly four decades, nothing ever happened. Now, in a twist of fate, development of the greenbelt may become reality.

Thirty-seven years later, the nearly untouched land in Chino Hills and Diamond Bar was pried from the hands of the Industry Urban-Development Agency by the state as a condition of ending redevelopment. Last month, the former redevelopment agency turned over the pristine swatch of land to a commercial real estate broker. Now, one of the biggest bidding wars in the history of Southern California real estate is only days away.

The pending sales touched off an angry response from residents who don’t want to see hillsides turned into strip malls and condo complexes. It also provides a new opportunity for preservation groups to buy the land. Like a toppled dictator, the City of Industry’s grip on Tres Hermanos has slipped, creating a free-for-all atmosphere and the biggest development threat on land loaded with trees, bobcats and raptors since city ownership began in 1978.

“This is a spectacular piece of property,” said broker Graham Gilles from The Hoffman Co., an Irvine-based firm handed the rights to sell the land to the highest bidder starting the end of the month. “It is 2,500 acres that I don’t think exists in California today.”

The land is split: 1,700 acres are in Chino Hills and 720 acres in Diamond Bar. City of Industry officials said it could fetch $125 million for the state. Well-heeled developers are lining up to file a bid, Gilles said, with speculation the former cattle-grazing ranch could become hundreds of homes, a commercial center or both. But the possibility of homes and strip malls carved into one of the last untouched spaces in the region has spurred a nascent effort from Diamond Bar and Chino Hills residents who want to see the land preserved.

“It sounds simplistic. But even if it is just a minute, being able to look into the distance and not see any human structures. It has an effect on you. It is almost like a relief from all the urban everything we are constantly surrounded by,” explained Dan Swenson, 45, of Chino Hills, who has started a letter-writing campaign to keep the land undeveloped.

A “Save The Tres Hermanos Ranch” group emerged on Facebook about six weeks ago after news of the pending sale went public. The group met at the Diamond Bar Community Center on May 31 and has grown to about 400 members.

“That thought of taking our last open lands, with cows and pastures and a little lake, really bothered people. So, about three or four of us got together to see if this could be mitigated,” said Brian Worthington, 48, a spokesman for the group who is also running for Diamond Bar City Council in November.

The group is suggesting numerous options, from a regional park, to part development/part parkland to outright purchase by way of a Kickstarter online campaign to raise cash.

They’ve attracted students from Cal Poly Pomona’s John T. Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies, who are working on a preservation plan, wrote Ashley Cupp, a regenerative community fellow with the center, on the group’s Facebook page.

Swenson has written a letter to Kelly Elliott, Inland Empire District superintendent for the California State Park, suggesting the state annex the land into the existing 4,000-plus acre Chino Hills State Park to the south.

Elliott, in a June 4 letter, responded by saying the state parks department is holding off on new land purchases because it is reorganizing its acquisition department. However, Elliott did not completely close the door.

“The Tres Hermanos property is one of many areas identified as desirable additions to Chino Hills State Park with current willing sellers,” she wrote, adding that the state has met with the Trust for Public Land regarding buying a parcel of land near Prado Dam.

“Inland Empire District staff continues to explore options and collect information during this interim period, regarding potential acquisitions,” she wrote.

Swenson pitched the idea of cities banding together to buy open space. Monrovia residents voted to tax themselves to buy land in the San Gabriel Mountain foothills in 2000. Swenson mentioned Boulder, Colo.’s open space management efforts in a letter to Joann Lombardo, director of community development for Chino Hills.

“She responded by saying open space preservation would be dealt with through the development process,” Swenson said.

Swenson, who has a doctoral degree in environmental science and engineering from UCLA, says he’s cautiously optimistic. He doesn’t want to see the land sold to a developer and the possibility of some amount of preservation a defacto response to more density and traffic, especially on already-clogged Grand Avenue and the 60 and 57 freeways.

“That would be unfortunate if we would lose that opportunity,” he said.

Why are gas prices climbing so rapidly in Inland Empire?

Low gasoline supplies have boosted prices 59.3 cents since Thursday. Reasons for the price spike include a lack of foreign oil and refinery issues in Torrance and Carson. (File photo by Steven Senne/Associated Press) 

RIVERSIDE — The largest daily increase since Oct. 5, 2012, pushed the average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in the Inland Empire above $4 for the first time in nearly a year today.

The average price in Riverside and San Bernardino counties rose 15.3 cents to $4.073, the first time the average price had been above $4 since July 26, 2014, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service.

The average price has risen 59.3 cents since Thursday, including 10.8 cents on Monday. It is 46.7 cents higher than a month ago but 2.8 cents less than one year ago.

The sharp increases are the result of inadequate supply to meet demand caused by several factors, according to Marie Montgomery of the Automobile Club of Southern California.

Montgomery said Southern California refineries didn’t receive any shipments of foreign oil last week as they were outbid by competitors in Mexico and other areas, forcing them to draw down inventories to their lowest levels in a year to make enough fuel to meet demand, which is up from last year.

The ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance remains offline because of an explosion in February. The operator is awaiting approval from the South Coast Air Quality Management District to use a refurbished piece of equipment, Montgomery told City News Service.

The gasoline supply was further reduced because the Tesoro refinery in Carson is at least partly offline for annual maintenance, Montgomery said.

Landmark Iran nuclear accord is ‘opportunity to move in a new direction,’ Obama says

President Barack Obama, standing with Vice President Joe Biden, delivers remarks Tuesday in the East Room of the White House in Washington after an Iran nuclear deal is reached. After 18 days of intense and often fractious negotiation, diplomats Tuesday declared that world powers and Iran had struck a landmark deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for billions of dollars in relief from international sanctions.Andrew Harnik — The Associated Press

VIENNA >> After long, fractious negotiations, world powers and Iran struck an historic deal Tuesday to curb Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for billions of dollars in relief from international sanctions — an agreement aimed at averting the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran and another U.S. military intervention in the Middle East.

The accord marks a dramatic break from decades of animosity between the United States and Iran, countries that alternatively call each other the “leading state sponsor of terrorism” and “the Great Satan.”

“This deal offers an opportunity to move in a new direction,” President Barack Obama said in early morning remarks from the White House that were carried live on Iranian state television. “We should seize it.”

In Tehran, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said “a new chapter” has begun in his nation’s relations with the world. He maintained that Iran had never sought to build a bomb, an assertion the U.S. and its partners have long disputed.

Beyond the hopeful proclamations from the U.S., Iran and other parties to the talks, there is deep skepticism of the deal among U.S. lawmakers and Iranian hardliners. Obama’s most pressing task will be holding off efforts by Congress to levy new sanctions on Congress or block his ability to suspend existing ones.

Sunni Arab rivals of Shiite Iran have also expressed concern over the deal. And Israel, which sees Iran as an existential threat, strongly opposes leaving the Islamic republic with nuclear infrastructure in place.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has furiously lobbied against a deal, called the agreement a “bad mistake of historic proportions.”

The nearly 100-page accord announced Tuesday aims to keep Iran from producing enough material for an atomic weapon for at least 10 years and impose new provisions for inspections of Iranian facilities, including military sites.

The deal was finalized after more than two weeks of furious diplomacy in Vienna. Negotiators blew through three self-imposed deadlines, with top American and Iranian diplomats both threatening at points to walk away from the talks.

Secretary of State John Kerry, who did most of the bargaining with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, said persistence paid off. “Believe me, had we been willing to settle for a lesser deal we would have finished this negation a long time ago,” he told reporters.

The economic benefits for Iran are potentially massive. It stands to receive more than $100 billion in assets frozen overseas, and an end to a European oil embargo and various financial restrictions on Iranian banks.

The breakthrough came after several key compromises.

Iran agreed to the continuation of a U.N. arms embargo on the country for up to five more years, though it could end earlier if the International Atomic Energy Agency definitively clears Iran of any current work on nuclear weapons. A similar condition was put on U.N. restrictions on the transfer of ballistic missile technology to Tehran, which could last for up to eight more years, according to diplomats.

Washington had sought to maintain the ban on Iran importing and exporting weapons, concerned that an Islamic Republic flush with cash from sanctions relief would expand its military assistance for Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government, Yemen’s Houthi rebels, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and other forces opposing America’s Mideast allies such as Saudi Arabia and Israel.

Iranian leaders, backed by Russia and China, insisted the embargo had to end as their forces combat regional scourges such as the Islamic State.

Another significant agreement will allow U.N. inspectors to press for visits to Iranian military sites as part of their monitoring duties, something the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had long vowed to oppose. However, access isn’t guaranteed and could be delayed, a condition that critics of the deal are sure to seize on.

Under the accord, Tehran would have the right to challenge U.N requests, and an arbitration board composed of Iran and the six world powers would then decide on the issue. The IAEA also wants the access to complete its long-stymied investigation of past weapons work by Iran, and the U.S. says Iranian cooperation is needed for all economic sanctions to be lifted.

IAEA chief Yukiya Amano said Tuesday his agency and Iran had signed a “roadmap” to resolve outstanding concerns, hopefully by mid-December.

The deal didn’t come together easily, as tempers flared and voices were raised during debates over several of the most contentious matters. The mood soured particularly last week after Iran dug in its heels on several points and Kerry threatened to abandon the effort, according to diplomats involved in the talks. They weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the private diplomacy and demanded anonymity.

But by Monday, the remaining gaps were bridged in a meeting that started with Kerry, European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Zarif joined later joined the meeting, and shortly thereafter, the ministers emerged and told aides they had an accord.

The deal comes after nearly a decade of international, intercontinental diplomacy that until recently was defined by failure. Breaks in the talks sometimes lasted for months, and Iran’s nascent nuclear program expanded into one that Western intelligence agencies saw as only a couple of months away from weapons capacity. The U.S. and Israel both threatened possible military responses.

The United States joined the negotiations in 2008, and U.S. and Iranian officials met together secretly four years later in Oman to see if diplomatic progress was possible. But the process remained essentially stalemated until summer 2013, when Rouhani was elected president and declared his country ready for serious compromise.

More secret U.S.-Iranian discussions followed, culminating in a face-to-face meeting between Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif at the United Nations in September 2013 and a telephone conversation between Rouhani and President Barack Obama. That conversation marked the two countries’ highest diplomatic exchange since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution and the ensuing hostage crisis at the American embassy in Tehran.

Kerry and Zarif took the lead in the negotiations. Two months later, in Geneva, Iran and the six powers announced an interim agreement that temporarily curbed Tehran’s nuclear program and unfroze some Iranian assets while setting the stage for Tuesday’s comprehensive accord.

It took time to get the final deal, however. The talks missed deadlines for the pact in July 2014 and November 2014, leading to long extensions. Finally, in early April, negotiators reached framework deal in Lausanne, Switzerland, setting up the last push for the historic agreement.

The disputes are likely to continue, however. In a foreshadowing of the public relations battle ahead, Iranian state TV released a fact sheet of elements it claimed were in the final agreement — a highly selective list that highlighted Iranian gains and minimized its concessions.

Among them was an assertion that all sanctions-related U.N. resolutions will be lifted at once. While a new U.N. resolution will revoke previous sanctions, it will also re-impose restrictions in a number of categories.

Associated Press writers Bradley Klapper and Julie Pace in Washington contributed.

Diamond Bar Gas Prices Spike Check the map below for the best gas price in your town

The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County recorded its largest daily increase since May 1 today, rising 11.1 cents to $3.656.

Marie Montgomery of the Automobile Club of Southern California said she didn’t have an explanation for the rapid price jumps.

“We’ve seen many times before where the wholesale prices spike crazily and then very quickly go back down, so the hope is that this is what will happen here too,” Montgomery told the Orange County Register.

http://www.gasbuddy.com/

“A panic is going on, then when the buyers (gas station owners) receive more balanced information, the prices go back down very quickly. It’s good for consumers that the retail prices don’t move as often as the wholesale ones do, which can spike and bottom out, one day to the next.”

The sharp increase is the result of an extraordinary convergence of fuel supply problems, according to Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.com, which bills itself as the leading provider of retail fuel pricing information and data.

“The federal government’s report Wednesday identified California supply problems that are compounded by a dearth of imports where they’re most needed,” said Patrick DeHaan, GasBuddy’s senior petroleum analyst.

” It triggered a significant spike in Los Angeles spot gasoline prices. GasBuddy users are already reporting some stations that have hiked gas prices in Southern California by over 80 cents per gallon.

“We’re anticipating increases that could surpass 50 cents a gallon in Southern California by next week.”

The average price in Los Angeles County had dropped 48 of the previous 52 days. It is 10.3 cents more than one week ago but 6.5 cents less than a month ago and 50.8 cents lower than one year ago.

The average price in Los Angeles County had dropped 48 of the previous 52 days. It is 10.3 cents more than one week ago but 6.5 cents less than a month ago and 50.8 cents lower than one year ago.

The Orange County average price had dropped 50 of the previous 54 days. It is 13.5 cents more than one week ago but 1.4 cents less than a month ago and 52.2 cents lower than one year ago.

--City News Service

Hackers stole 21.5 million Social Security numbers in data breach, US says

WASHINGTON >> Hackers stole Social Security numbers, health histories and other highly sensitive data from more than 21 million people, the Obama administration said Thursday, acknowledging that the breach of U.S. government computer systems was far more severe than previously disclosed.

The scope of the data breach — believed to be the biggest in U.S. history — has grown dramatically since the government first disclosed earlier this year that hackers had gotten into the Office of Personnel Management’s personnel database and stolen records for about 4.2 million people. Since then, the Obama administration has acknowledged a second, related breach of the systems housing private data that individuals submit during background investigations to obtain security clearances.

That second attack affected more than 19 million people who applied for clearances, as well as nearly 2 million of their spouses, housemates and others who never applied for security clearances, the administration said. Among the data the hackers stole: criminal, financial, health, employment and residency histories, as well as information about their families and acquaintances.

The new revelations drew indignation from members of Congress who have said the administration has not done enough to protect personal data in their systems, as well as calls for OPM Director Katherine Archuleta and her top deputies to resign. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, a Utah Republican, said Archuleta and her aides had “consciously ignored the warnings and failed to correct these weaknesses.”

“Such incompetence is inexcusable,” Chaffetz said in a statement.

House Republican leaders — Speaker John Boehner, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Whip Steve Scalise — also called for Archuleta’s resignation and said President Barack Obama must “take a strong stand against incompetence.”

Yet Archuleta insisted she would not step down. “I am committed to the work that I am doing,” she said in a conference call with reporters.

Archuleta said the hackers also obtained user names and passwords that prospective employees used to fill out their background investigation forms, as well as the contents of interviews conducted as part of those investigations. Yet the government insisted there were no indications that the hackers have used the data they stole.

Still, the government declined to say who was behind the attack.

Numerous U.S. lawmakers, including Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, have said China was behind the attack. But Michael Daniel, Obama’s cybersecurity coordinator, said the government wasn’t yet ready to say who was responsible.

“Just because we’re not doing public attribution does not mean that we’re not taking steps to deal with the matter,” Daniel told reporters.

While officials would not point the finger at China, they acknowledged that the same party was responsible for both of the breaches, which took place in 2014 and early 2015. Investigators previously told The Associated Press that the U.S. government was increasingly confident that China’s government, and not criminal hackers, was responsible for the extraordinary theft of personal information.

China has publicly denied involvement in the break-in.

The administration said it has stepped up its cybersecurity efforts by proposing new legislation, urging private industry to share more information about attacks and examining how the government conducts sensitive background investigations.

“Each and every one of us at OPM is committed to protecting the safety and the security of the info that is placed in our trust,” Archuleta said. In early June, government employees received notice that OPM would offer credit-monitoring services and identity-theft insurance to those affected.

Meanwhile, the White House waited about a month before telling the public that hackers had stolen the personal information of millions of people associated with the government, people directly involved with the investigation told the AP last month.

FBI Director James Comey, in a briefing with reporters Thursday, described the scope of the OPM breach as “huge” and called it “a very big deal from a national-security perspective and a counterintelligence perspective.”

“It’s a treasure trove of information about everybody who has worked for, tried to work for, or works for the United States government,” he said.

Associated Press writers Eric Tucker and Ted Bridis contributed to this report.

After a 12-year decline, crime in L.A. surges in first half of 2015

Crime surged across Los Angeles in the first six months of this year despite a campaign by the Los Angeles Police Department to place more officers on the streets and target certain types of offenses.

Los Angeles recorded a 12.7% increase in overall crime, ending more than a decade of declines and raising concerns about what more officials can do to reverse the trend.

Mayor Eric Garcetti and Police Chief Charlie Beck attributed the increases to several possible factors, including gang violence, rising homelessness and a November ballot measure that downgraded many theft and drug crimes from felonies to misdemeanors.

“This is bad news,” Garcetti said Wednesday as the city released the latest LAPD crime numbers. “Let me be clear: Any uptick in crime is unacceptable.”

The surge in crime was felt across the city. Violent offenses rose 20.6%, propelled by increases in aggravated assaults and robberies. Property crime rose 10.9%, driven by across-the-board increases in burglaries, thefts and motor vehicle thefts. Overall, crime was up 12.7%.

The sharpest increases occurred in the LAPD's Central Division, which includes parts of downtown, Chinatown and skid row. Violent crime there has risen 67%, according to a Times analysis of LAPD data through June 27. Property crime increased 26%.

Beck and Garcetti emphasized they had seen some progress in recent months — crime is still up, but not as much as it was during the first three months of the year.

Several new initiatives — including the deployment of Metropolitan Division officers to crime hot spots and strengthening gang outreach efforts — appear to be having an effect, they said. They said they hoped continued expansion of the programs would help drive down the numbers.

“This is what keeps me awake at night,” Beck said. “I do take this personally. I've spent 40 years of my life trying to keep this city safe, and even though it is safer than in all those 40 years, I still worry about this.”

Crime in Los Angeles has dropped steadily since 2003, the first full year former Chief William J. Bratton — who pioneered data-driven policing — led the LAPD.

But the uptick, particularly in violent crimes, has drawn significant attention in recent months. Public safety was a keystone of Garcetti's State of the City address in April, as well as this year's budget.

John Eterno, criminology professor at Molloy College in Long Island, N.Y., said big-city mayors such as Garcetti are under tremendous pressure to report declining crime on their watch.

“He clearly has a political hot potato to deal with,” said Eterno, a retired New York City police captain.

Neighborhood council leaders in the areas most affected by the increased crime said many residents are alarmed.

Patti Berman, president of the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council, said local residents have complained about increased street attacks. Serious assaults in the LAPD's Central Division, which covers part of downtown, are up more than 80% so far this year compared to the same period in 2014, department data show.

“Many people are just concerned because it doesn't seem to be as safe as it was a year ago,” Berman said.

Beck said the city's rising homeless population contributed to the increase. He said most of the crime in the LAPD's Central Division could be attributed to “homeless-on-homeless” incidents.

Jay Handal, chairman of the West Los Angeles Neighborhood Council, said he hears daily reports from neighbors about home burglaries, car break-ins and automobile thefts. In West Los Angeles, property crime increased more than 21%.

“It's a major problem,” Handal said. “The city really needs to refocus its energy on this. These property crimes are all quality-of-life crimes that affect us every day.”

Part of that property crime increase, Garcetti said, may be linked to Proposition 47, the ballot measure that downgraded felony drug possession and thefts and resulted in the release of about 3,700 inmates from state prison.

Peter Moskos, a criminologist at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, said it was too soon to say whether Proposition 47 was behind the increase in property crimes. Even if the initiative has contributed to the rise in property crimes, he said, the result may be an acceptable trade-off for taking a less strict approach toward relatively minor crimes.

“If there is huge money saved in incarceration, I think we can take an increase in property crimes,” Moskos said.

Also fueling the crime trend is increased gang activity, Beck said. Department statistics showed gang-related crimes rose 18.3%. The number of people shot in gang-related incidents climbed to 409 from 307 last year, a 33.2% increase.

Except for homicide — which was down about 6.7% — all categories of violent crimes and property crimes increased in the first six months of the year.

Aggravated assaults saw the largest spike — up more than 26% compared to the same period in 2014. Following a Times investigation last year, the LAPD improved how it classified serious assaults, which officials said has resulted in more serious assault cases on the books.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department reported more modest increases, with a 4.1% rise in violent crime and a 6.3% increase in property crime through July 6.

Beck and Garcetti emphasized that even with the increase, Los Angeles was a safe city that had made significant strides since the crime waves of the 1980s and 1990s. But, Beck acknowledged, when the numbers came in from the first three months of the year, “it was obvious that dramatic action was necessary.”

Garcetti poured more funding into gang outreach efforts, allocating an extra $5.5 million for the city's Gang Reduction & Youth Development program. He directed the expansion of Domestic Abuse Response Teams, groups of civilian workers who accompany police officers on domestic violence calls.

Perhaps the most controversial effort to quell rising crime was the decision to double the size of the LAPD's Metropolitan Division, a squad of officers with a reputation for hard-charging tactics. Beck emphasized that the officers would be deployed to crime hot spots, not with the goal of making more arrests, but to signal that the LAPD was nearby and ready to respond.

Garcetti said 125 officers had been added to Metro with the remaining 75 expected to join by September. When asked what effect the expanded unit has had on crime numbers, Beck noted that the increase in crime had slowed but said it was difficult to attribute that to one action.

Capt. Cory Palka, who heads the LAPD's 77th Street Division in South Los Angeles, said Metro officers have helped reduce retaliation shootings that take place in gang-ridden neighborhoods. When a shooting occurs, Palka said, he is able to deploy the officers to potential trouble spots, where their presence can reduce the chances of more gunfire.

Recently Opened Toll and Carpool Lanes to Shut Again Metro built the lanes but Caltrans needs to do repair work, further frustrating motorists.

Metro giveth and Caltrans taketh away may be the story in the San Gabriel Valley, where 1-1/2 miles of recently-opened toll and carpool lanes on the San Bernardino (10) Freeway will be closed starting Monday for two months of bridge repairs.

The combination carpool and express toll lanes were opened two years ago, but Caltrans needs to repair and replace bridge decking on the freeway’s viaduct above Valley Boulevard and Peck Road. Metro officials said.

The express lanes are open to drivers paying tolls through electronic transponders, and carpools get a free ride on them only if they also have transponders, under Metro rules.

From Monday through late August, the center median and left-most lanes in each direction will be closed, Metro officials said.

Eastbound express lane traffic will get merged into the general-flow lanes at Santa Anita Avenue, and eastbound tolls will be reduced to reflect the loss of 1.5 miles of privileged driving.

Westbound drivers will get to use the carpool lane west of the 605 Freeway interchange, but will have to merge into the regular flow after a short distance. The express lanes will resume for westbound traffic west of Peck Road, which is where the tolls will begin to be charged.

--City News Service

Photo via Flickr, Creative Commons

Happy Independence Day

Today is America's birthday (happy 239!), and whether you are partying with fireworks or barbecues, attending a parade or heading to the beach, it's a day for celebration.

In honor of July 4th, here are is an inspirational quote on patriotism, independence and the meaning of freedom.

“America’s fighting men and women sacrifice much to ensure that our great nation stays free. We owe a debt of gratitude to the soldiers that have paid the ultimate price for this cause, as well as for those who are blessed enough to return from the battlefield unscathed.” — Allen Boyd

Get Your Fireworks Fix on Starting July 2 in Southland Below is a list of Fourth of July fireworks shows around Los Angeles County.

With fire officials warning people against using pyrotechnics, Southland residents will find a vast array of professional fireworks shows to attend this Fourth of July weekend to safely celebrate the nation’s 239th birthday.

Fireworks shows will be held in Los Angeles County beginning Thursday, with shows planned at Hawaiian Gardens Elementary School and at the “Cars & Stripes Forever” event at the Port of Los Angeles. The Hollywood Bowl will also have the first of three consecutive nights of fireworks shows tonight, featuring headliner Smokey Robinson.

A full list of planned fireworks shows in Los Angeles County is available online at www.safejuly4th.org.

On Friday, fireworks displays are planned at:

-- Cudahy Park, 5220 Santa Ana St.;

-- Lancaster Municipal Stadium, 2400 W. Avenue I;

-- La Mirada Community Regional Park, 13701 S. Adelfa Ave.;

-- La Puente Park, 501 N. Glendora Ave.;

-- Norwalk Civic Center Lawn, 12700 Norwalk Blvd.; and

-- El Rancho High School, 6501 S. Passons, Pico Rivera.

On Saturday, fireworks displays are planned at:

-- Alhambra’s Fireworks Extravaganza at Almansor Park, 800 S. Almansor Ave.;

-- Artesia Community Park, 12000 block of South Street;

-- Sierra Vista High School, 3600 Frazier Ave., Baldwin Park;

-- Burbank’s Starlight Bowl, 1249 Lockheed View Drive;

-- Calabasas High School, 22855 W. Mulholland Hwy.;

-- Cerritos High School, 12500 E. 183rd St.;

-- Pomona College, 333 N. College Way, Claremont;

-- Commerce’s Rosewood Park, 2535 Commerce Way;

-- Crescenta Valley High School, 2900 Community Ave.;

-- West Los Angeles College, 9000 Overland Ave., Culver City;

-- Diamond Bar High School baseball field, 21400 E. Pathfinder Road;

-- Eagle Rock Recreation Center, 1100 Eagle Vista Drive;

-- El Sereno Recreation Center, 4721 Klamath St.;

-- Rowley Park, 13220 S. Van Ness Ave., Gardena;

-- Huntington Park’s Salt Lake Park, 6550 Miles Ave.;

-- Irwindale Speedway, 13300 Live Oak Ave.;

-- La Crescenta Elementary School, 2800 Prospect Ave.;

-- La Habra High School, 801 Highlander;

-- La Mirada Community Regional Park, 13701 S. Adelfa Ave.;

-- Antelope Valley Fairgrounds, 2551 West Ave H, Lancaster;

-- The Queen Mary, 1126 Queen’s Highway, Long Beach;

-- Los Angeles’ Grand Park, 227 N. Spring St.;

-- Van Ness Recreation Center, 5720 Second Ave., Los Angeles;

-- Los Angeles Exposition Park, 700 Exposition Park Drive;

-- Lynwood City Park, 3700 Beechwood Ave.;

-- Three barges off the coast of Malibu will have displays;

-- Marina del Rey’s main channel, with best viewing at Burton Chase Park, 13650 Mindanao Way;

-- Palisades Charter High School, 15777 Bowdoin St., Pacific Palisades;

-- Rose Bowl, 1001 Rose Bowl Drive, Pasadena;

-- Pomona Fairplex;

-- Porter Ranch Shepherd of the Hills Church, 19700 Rinaldi St.;

-- Redondo Beach Seaside Lagoon, 200 Portofino Way;

-- Rosemead Park, 9200 Mission Ave.;

-- San Fernando High School, 11133 Omelveny Ave.;

-- San Pedro Cabrillo Beach, 3720 Stephen M. White Drive;

-- Valencia Town Center, 26735 Circle Drive, Santa Clarita;

-- South El Monte High School, 1001 N. Durfee Ave.;

-- South Gate Park, 9615 Pinehurst Ave.;

-- Studio City CBS Studio Center, 4024 Radford Ave.;

-- Sunland Tujunga’s Verdugo Hills High School, 10625 Plainview Ave.;

-- Walnut High School, 21207 La Puente Road;

-- Westlake Golf Course Driving Range, 4812 Lakeview Canyon Road, Westlake Village;

-- Warner Park, 5800 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Woodland Hills; and

-- Magic Mountain, 26101 Magic Mountain Parkway, Valencia.

Magic Mountain will also have a fireworks display Sunday night, when a show is also planned at Agoura Hills High School, 28545 W. Driver Ave.

--City News Service