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AM news: the gloved one, more
If you're rich enough to hire a private jet and crazy enough to be flying home to be charged with child molestation, be careful of what you say on the plane. Santa Monica-based XtraJet decided sure, it would fly Michael Jackson to Santa Barbara in 2003 — and it would secretly line the plane with hidden camcorders and tape the one-time King of Pop talking with his attorney. The company, and the co-conspirator who installed the devices, hoped to make a bundle. But instead of buying the tapes, Fox News turned them over to authorities. In a plea agreement, the tapers pled guilty yesterday.
A 92-year-old woman was beaten to death a week ago as she took a walk in Panorama City. The City Council has set aside a $50,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of her killer.
Good golly, America's getting browner! (Except for Michael Jackson, of course, who's getting whiter). A Brookings Institute reports that immigrants, particularly from Asia and Latin America, continue to come to the US for greater economic opportunities. From 2000-2004, LA County saw the Latino population increase by 356,000, the Asian population increase by 102,000, and the white population decrease by 84,000.
Three goodbyes today: Hall of Fame baseball player Kerbie Puckett died of a stroke at 45; Dana Reeve, wife of actor Christopher Reeve, died of lung cancer — she had never smoked and was just 44. And Encino resident William Herskovic, who founded Bel Air Camera, had escaped Auschwitz and fought in the Belgian resistance; he was 91.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
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The L.A. City Council approved the venue change Wednesday, which organizers say will save $12 million in infrastructure costs.
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Taxes on the sale of some newer apartment buildings would be lowered under a plan by Sacramento lawmakers to partially rein in city Measure ULA.
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The union representing the restaurant's workers announced Tuesday that The Pantry will welcome back patrons Thursday after suddenly shutting down six months ago.
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If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake.
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The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.
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Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.