Category — Los Angeles, California

In 2002, the U.S. 9th Circuit of Appeals had ruled that the pledge’s use of ‘One nation under God’ made it unconstitutional. The panel now says no federal law requires students to recite it. The Pledge of Allegiance to “one nation under God” doesn’t violate a citizen’s right to be free of state-mandated religion, a divided federal appeals court ruled Thursday in reversing one of its most …

L.A.’s mayor will propose an increase of 2.7 cents per kilowatt hour of electricity consumed. It’s expected to add $2 a month to the bills of 55% of customers. Its effect on the other 45% isn’t known. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s political team has spent the last two months talking up the need for the Department of Water and Power to adopt a so-called carbon surcharge, one that would …

City officials consider whether to reopen a towering pile of sand, which was fenced off last year amid concerns about erosion and residents’ complaints about noise, litter and traffic. The hill at Sand Dune Park in Manhattan Beach is quiet. A shred of yellow caution tape flutters near the top of the dune. Partway down, a sign on a crooked pole directs children to the left, adults to the right …

The Republican candidate for California governor has stakes in oil and gas concerns that seek to influence the state. Her wealth is estimated at $1.2 billion. Billionaire GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman has invested her vast wealth in firms that sought to profit from the country’s credit crisis, in venture capital and hedge funds open only to the wealthy, and in oil, gas, healthcare and …

Raul Menjivar’s income from installing hardwood floors went away, but his caring parents didn’t. They’ve become his life raft as he studies to become a teacher. With bill collectors hounding him and the rent chronically late, Raul Menjivar swallowed his pride and moved back home with his parents.

Ted Costa says his group, People’s Advocate, has been shut out of efforts to suspend AB 32, which would force oil companies to slash emissions of greenhouse gases. A fight has split backers of a November ballot initiative to suspend California’s 2006 global warming law.

The workers in 4,000 targeted jobs can oust those in lesser posts. The maneuvering could take 7 months. For decades, no matter how grim the budget was, Los Angeles officials avoided laying off even small numbers of workers who had Civil Service protection. That changed Thursday.

Instructors won’t be fired, though they used ‘very poor judgment,’ superintendent says. Los Angeles schools Supt. Ramon C. Cortines said Thursday that he will reassign three South Los Angeles elementary school teachers who were suspended for having their students display pictures of O.J. Simpson, Dennis Rodman and RuPaul in a Black History Month parade.

Claudia Cabrera and Josue Luna face at least three years in prison in the 2009 crash near campus that left Adrianna Bachan, 18, dead and her friend Marcus Garfinkle seriously hurt. A husband and wife pleaded no contest Thursday in connection with a hit-and-run crash that killed a USC student and severely injured another as they walked home last year from a fraternity party near campus.

John Albert Gardner III, charged with killing Chelsea King, violated parole in 2007 by living near a school. Officials opted against returning him to prison because he complied with relocation orders. The sex offender charged with murdering Chelsea King violated parole in 2007 by living near a school, but state officials opted against sending him back to prison because he complied with orders to …

A Democrat, the mayor of San Francisco is expected to make the announcement Friday. He has been lining up support and collecting donations for the statewide run. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom will announce Friday that he is running for California lieutenant governor, according to people who were contacted by him.

The superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District said Thursday that he would reassign three South Los Angeles elementary school teachers after they had their students display pictures of O.J. Simpson, Dennis Rodman and RuPaul in a Black History Month parade.

A divided federal appeals court Thursday reversed itself, ruling that the Pledge of Allegiance doesn’t violate the constitutional prohibition against state-mandated religious exercise even though it c

Key to the plan is to ask voters to allow a simple majority to pass a state budget. But a two-thirds vote in Sacramento is needed just to put the proposal on the ballot. Legislative leaders Thursday unveiled a long-promised plan to overhaul state government, the linchpin of which is asking voters to allow a simple majority of lawmakers to pass a budget.

Seismologists envision a ‘Quake Catchers’ network of volunteers using their computers to precisely map tremors. If Elizabeth Cochran allowed herself to dream, the future would look something like this:

State inspectors in a surprise visit allege that patient care is at risk. Hospital officials plan to hire an outside consulting team to advise them about how to improve pharmacy services. State inspectors making a surprise follow-up visit to UC Irvine Medical Center last week found two deficiencies in “medication management” and issued an “immediate jeopardy” warning, alleging that patient care …

Cal/OSHA appeals panel tends to side with employers in cases of workplace injury, the head of the Senate’s Labor Committee says. The head of the state Senate’s Labor Committee accused a workplace safety board Wednesday of being biased toward employers and ignoring a law that requires fines for failing to report on-the-job injuries.

Nikias, 57, a Cypriot-born engineer, was long mentioned as the favorite inside candidate to become USC’s 11th president.

Chula Vista officers ignored undercover agent’s badge, throwing him to the street and assaulting him. It was a stakeout gone bad, featuring jumpy police officers, human traffickers, a roughed-up federal agent, and a multimillion-dollar twist of an ending.

Report cites need for funding to cope with the expected enrollment crush. An additional 387,000 undergraduates are expected by 2019. California’s public colleges and universities must prepare to serve 387,000 more undergraduates by 2019 than in 2008 — a 16% increase — and will need an additional $1.5 billion in enrollment funding for the task, according to a report released Wednesday by the …

After numerous complaints from constituents, Councilman Tom LaBonge asks Transportation Department to clarify the issue. It’s a situation that thousands of Angelenos have faced. You’re running late. The street is jammed with cars. There’s just one spot left, but as you pull in the meter flashes that irritating message: Fail, Fail, Fail. Should you risk a ticket?

James Schneider, 77 and ailing, faces foreclosure. He had fought the L.A. school district to keep his house, which he bought in 1963, from being razed and several more battles to relocate it. James Schneider says that when he dies, he hopes it will be in his sleep, inside his beloved Spanish-style home.

The eatery admits the wrongdoing, its attorney says. Federal agents and animal activists cooperated in a video sting orchestrated by a producer of the Oscar-winning documentary ‘The Cove.’ Federal prosecutors Wednesday filed criminal charges against a Santa Monica sushi restaurant and one of its chefs, alleging they had sold meat from an endangered whale.

With populations continuing to decline, wildlife agencies issue a plan to designate critical habitat zones to protect the species. Such listing could affect offshore drilling and other activities. Federal agencies are proposing to increase protections for loggerhead turtles, the long-lived sea creatures known for their big heads and capacity to swim thousands of miles across the Pacific.

The Asian Pacific American Legal Center says many lost thousands of dollars because they were falsely promised that the firm’s services would prevent foreclosures. Like so many Korean immigrants, Ok Kee Shin worked hard for her American dream. She started her own dry-cleaning business in Glendale. She sent two children to USC.

Environmental groups opposed the $800-million Green Path North Transmission Line because it would have crossed wilderness preserves and scenic ridgelines. Facing enormous costs and fierce opposition from environmental groups, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power on Wednesday announced that it has dropped plans to build an 85-mile-long “green” power transmission line across desert …

Some say the GOP governor candidate’s strategy has given his rival too big an edge. Steve Poizner was in his first year as state insurance commissioner in 2007 when his name began to surface as a likely candidate to succeed Arnold Schwarzenegger as governor.

Taiwanese family traditions meant little to an American journalist before the loss that struck his family. Now his grandmother’s gifts are plain to see. My grandmother never liked my name.

The approval occurs nine years after the funicular that connects Bunker Hill and downtown L.A. was shut down after a fatal accident. The rail line is still not close to reopening, though. The California Public Utilities Commission has approved the safety certificate for the historic Angels Flight rail line in downtown L.A., nine years after a fatal accident closed the funicular.

Measure’s success could hinge on a court battle over language. The fate of an open primary proposal on the June ballot may well hinge on the outcome of a bitter court fight this week over a dozen or so words.