The District Attorney's Office announced today they have charged a Los Angeles Unified School District teacher's aide with a dozen felony counts for allegedly committing lewd acts on a child. The suspect, 25-year-old Jorge Luis Dominguez, was working for Gratts Learning Academy, a LAUSD elementary school, as a part-time aide at the time of his arrest. more ›

Since April 6, two more women have come forward claiming they endured "emotional, sexual and physical abuse, as well as false imprisonment and kidnapping," at the hands of Dejon "Danger" Miller, a personal trainer who used websites to recruit clients. more ›

For the past few weeks, the LAUSD has been furiously going through its personnel files trying to find any reports of teacher misconduct that they might have missed in the past. What's it doing with those files? It's sending them onto the state commission on teacher credentialing. more ›

A SWAT team came to the rescue last night of a Monterey Park woman who had locked herself and her child in the bathroom while her husband stood outside threatening her with butcher knives, reports L.A. Now. By the time authorities arrived on the scene at about 9:30 p.m., the woman had already been stabbed in the leg, according to KTLA. more ›

A woman who was found dead in Irvine yesterday in front of a daycare was allegedly shot and killed by her estranged husband who, reports the OC Register, had been threatening her for months. Alejandra Hernandez, 29, filed for divorce from John Rand Agosta, 35, in February, after three years of marriage. more ›

LA County City Supervisor Don Knabe announced today that a baby was handed over to authorities by a woman who gave birth at a Torrance hospital on May 31, marking the third safe surrender of 2011. All three took place within the last two weeks of May. The first happened on May 20 at a hospital in West Covina, and the second at a fire station in Winnetka. more ›

57-year-old Verne Joseph Strong of Newport Beach "was sentenced Thursday for kicking, slapping and swinging a puppy by the neck during an argument with his girlfriend in a Wal-Mart parking lot," according to the OC Register. Strong was sentenced to "317 days in jail, and gets credit for that much time already served," says LA Now. During the couple's fight, Strong took their 8-month-old, 8-pound Chihuahua-Dachshund mix puppy, swung it by the leash, threw it to the ground, then "kick[ed] the canine hard enough to slide it across the asphalt and under his car." more ›

Four police officers in Rialto are under investigation by their Internal Affairs department for "having sex on duty with employees of a popular strip club," according to the San Bernardino Sun. more ›

It's hard to fathom, but someone allegedly put a 3-month-old puppy in a plastic garbage bag and beat her against a pole on a street in LA's Miracle Mile area, according to KNX1070. more ›

Last night police responded to a home in South LA finding a the body of a young boy with unexplained injuries, which are suspected to be from child abuse. Paramedics pronounced him dead on the scene on the 800 block of 87th Place. His father, Marcas Fisher, is the last known care-taker of the boy and his whereabouts are not known. Now the LAPD's Juvenile Division is requesting the public’s help to locate Mr. Fisher, so that he can help explain the child’s injuries. Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call LAPD Juvenile Division Detectives at (213) 485-2801. After hours or on weekends, calls may be directed to a 24-hour, toll-free number at 1-877-LAPD-24-7 or by texting CRIMES (274637) and beginning the message with the letters LAPD. Tipsters may also submit information on the LAPD website www.lapdonline.org. Tipsters may remain anonymous. more ›

After a long car chase yesterday afternoon that whipped through freeways and city streets of the San Gabriel Valley, the car careened into a car and the driver split into a neighborhood, but soon gave up once he realized there was no where to go. That's where this video from NBC Los Angeles comes in: the first El Monte police officer to reach the suspect, who is already on the ground with his hands spread, kicks him in the head. Now the ACLU is seeking a suspension for that officer. more ›

Maybe all headline-making R&B star Chris Brown needed was some face time with girlfriend Rihanna under her beach "Umbrella." It seems the pair are back together now, three weeks after their Grammy no-show, Brown's arrest, and Rihanna's battered mug made news and drove the young lovers apart, according to People magazine. The rag mag relies on unnamed sources to spill the dirt on the duo, who were expected to next meet in court here in LA, and not "at one of Sean 'Diddy' Combs's homes, on Miami Beach's Star Island," where they are reported to be right now. Says the anon source: "While Chris is reflective and saddened about what happened, he is really happy to be with the woman he loves." Many had hoped this horrible incident would lead to Rihanna speaking up for herself and on behalf of abused women everywhere, perhaps bringing to light--as Tina Turner did more than a generation ago--that physical abuse in a romantic pairing still happens in the spotlight. It seems this latest chapter only teaches us that love hurts. Ouch. more ›

David Albert Lemus, who worked as "Trim-Trim the Clown" entertaining the kiddies at birthday parties in the Inland Empire until his 2005 arrrest cbs2.com is reporting, "has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for continuous sexual abuse of two teenage girls," cbs2.com is reporting. Lemus received his sentence yesterday "as part of a plea agreement that he struck with prosecutors." He was convicted of sexually abusing two girls over a 5-year period; they were 12 and 14 when he was arrested three years ago. more ›

In Lancaster last night, a six month old dog was lit on fire. Luckily, witnesses heard the yelping puppy and extinguished the fire with a jacket. The dog, a pit bull mix, was taken to an animal shelter while police investigated looking for the culprit. More odd news came out of Lancaster earlier this year when a man was killed by an arrow while crossing the street. more ›

I've always been intrigued by other "best of" lists, but this year I decided to take it to a whole new level. I e-mailed a handful of bands that I've seen this past year in order to unearth what exactly captivated them in '07. As music listeners, it is our duty to take a keen interest in our favorite musician's influences. After all, they rocked our little world, might as well see what rocked their little world. Therefore, this is an act of paying it forward to those hardworking, underpaid musicians who truly made a difference within the music scene this year. more ›

Ike Turner, ex-hubby to Tina Turner and a "rock and roll pioneer", died this morning in his northern San Diego county home. The cause of death is not immediately known. more ›

Cardinal Roger Mahoney revealed that he had been assaulted in July outside of Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral; the attacker was "enraged by the Catholic Church's sexual-abuse scandal within days of a record settlement with hundreds of victims." Karl Dorrell will not be coaching UCLA in its upcoming Las Vegas Bowl game. Defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker will coach in the interim. If the world weren't already all shook up by Jakob Lodwick's departure... more ›

"You see this watch? You see this watch? That watch cost more than your car. I made $970,000 last year. How much you make? You see, pal, that's who I am. And you're nothing. Nice guy? I don't give a shit. Good father? Fuck you -- go home and play with your kids! You wanna work here? Close! You think this is abuse? You think this is abuse, you cocksucker? You can't take this... more ›

Even my beloved Thursdays are starting to fill up with reruns. We do have a great Fellini movie on tonight though, so open a fine Chianti (or my preference of Montepulciano d'Abruzzo) and drink it all in. Also kids, the Style Network notified me that they are looking for folks for a new reality show. Here's the deets: If your business, club, band, school, organization, or team is in need of a make-over then apply... more ›

What? There are unnecessary quotation marks in the title? Better report this to the good people over at The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks. I especially like the ones with people selling "chicken" "hamburgers" or "maple syrup". more ›

"You don't actually think they spend $20000.00 on a hammer, $30000.00 on a toilet seat do you?" ~ Independence Day Well, it's the difference between what the new LAPD headquarters currently under construction should cost and is costing. And City Controller Laura Chick, who is responsible for auditing city spending to find misuse, abuse and savings, is making headlines by putting departments city who oversee contracts and contractors themself on notice, starting with the... more ›

Amy Winehouse got booed offstage during the opening of her new tour after ranting about her husband's incarceration - BBC more ›

She has her eye on becoming City Controller and maybe she has a knack for it. After working on a "Clean Money" system for City elections and helping to create the Waste, Fraud and Abuse Investigation Unit in the City Controller's office, Councilwoman Wendy Greuel introduced a motion yesterday that asked the City Ethics Commission to expand the City's ethics code to ex parte communication with City Commissioners. Whoa, what? Ex parte communications are communications... more ›

Sorry for the lateness of this column...computer problems just bite. Anyway, this week's theater picks are filled with abuse, angst and comedy -- but not necessarily in the same show: Lost Angeles Ten Gen Xers – including a scientist who’s gotten himself a date with a beautiful woman whom he had been stalking and a woman who’s scored a MySpace date with “the world’s hottest lesbian” – are trying to find their way in the... more ›

There’s something for everyone in LA theatre scene this week: old stuff, new stuff and stuff that’s just out there. Canned Peaches in Syrup The Furious Theatre Company presents this post-apocalyptic comedy, where two tribes of humans remain: cannibals and vegetarians. “Can star-crossed lovers Rog and Julie cross tribal lines?! Can Rog's taste for flesh be suppressed?! Can Julie deny her parents' "meat is murder" mantra?! And, who exactly is Blind Bastard? A lone can... more ›

Have you entered LAist's contest to win Arcade Fire tickets yet? Head on over and comment to become eligible: are you a wine drinker or a beer drinker when at the Bowl? Or, are you like some people we know who bring in a couple of forties and a bucket of fried chicken? An infant was shot and killed last night in MacArthur Park; the baby was hit by a stray bullet while his... more ›

David Lee Roth w/ Steve Vai - "Yankee Rose" Art Brut @ Key Club Spoon @ The Henry Fonda Steve Vai @ The Wiltern Jon Brion, Dana Gould @ The Largo Brandi Carlile, A Fine Frenzy @ House of Blues Maserati, El Ten Eleven, Good to Be @ Silverlake Lounge Acid Mothers, Guru Guru, The Phantom Family Halo @ The Troubadour Papillon, Longevity, Hornz & Halos, Subtance Abuse @ The Knitting Factory Teaneck, New... more ›

In order to cover the costs of their $600-million-plus priest abuse settlement, the Los Angeles Archdiocese is selling off its Santa Barbara convent, leaving the nuns with no place left to go. Aw, how cute, the 818 thinks it's just like the 310! The San Fernando Valley may be getting a 747 area code overlay in the very near future. Are we seeing a theme here yet? A thirteen-year-old boy was killed by an... more ›

After 2002 when Dave Mustaine broke up Megadeth due to his weirdo arm-injury nerve-thing, nobody suspected he would make a roaring comeback with two new albums debuting at #18 and then #8, and now they'll be coming to the Grove of Anaheim on Sept. 12th with their "Tour of Duty". If you don't know much about Megadeth, let me tell you that they are thrash metal legends. Some say they are part of the... more ›

- David Garcia, KNBC's environmental reporter died of liver failure yesterday in Palm Desert at 63. Adios, Earthman! - KNBC - If you are an illegal alien and you got pulled over, and the LAPD discovered that you didn't have a drivers license, your car would be immediately impounded. That practice might be illegal, somehow, so the LAPD are stopping that. The Sheriff's Dept., however, is a different story - LAT - Frisco man... more ›