Emma G. Gallegos

This year the federal government is on track to crack down on nearly twice as many health care fraud cases compared to last year, according to California Watch. Some of the prosecutions close to home used parishioners, postal workers and non-existent cancer patients to conduct their scams.

It began one day in June when Emily Green was — like any water politics reporter worth her salt — wandering through Vroman's looking for books about the history of the Los Angeles County Flood Control Division. She stumbled across "The Ripple Effect" by Alex Prud'homme (who just happens to be the nephew of Julia Child), and as she perused the book, she got a "queasy" feeling.

Grocery workers negotiating for a better health care plan have rejected a proposal by the management of Vons, Ralphs and Albertsons. Supermarket chains may come back with a better offer, the Orange County Register Reports. If not, union members could decide to give immediate notice to strike and then walk out 72 hours later.

Passengers on the Red Line who witnessed Friday night's stabbing in Hollywood advised the young man on how to make a getaway, according to witnesses that spoke to the Los Angeles Times. The victim has been identified as Jesse Garay, 59, of North Hollywood, and police are reviewing the train's surveillance tape, hoping that it will shed light on whether the stabbing was in self-defense.

A mother and her teenage daughter coming home from a wedding last night were caught in the crossfire of a gang battle in Watts, according to CBS Los Angeles. The mother and daughter were shot while they were inside their car on the 2200 block of East 108th Street around 11:45 p.m., said Los Angeles police Sgt. P. Johnson.

The battle over the exclusive right to install thousands of bus benches in the city for the next 10 years has been won — and the winner is Florida-based Martin Outdoor Media, according to The Daily News. A city council vote on Friday afternoon brings an end to the battle by two sides heavily armed with lobbyists and a cash-strapped city hall looking for a cut of the bench's advertising revenue (they got $2.76 million over 10 years). Caught in the middle were bus riders who like to have a seat while they're waiting for their bus.

Aaron Brothers' Artrageous campaign is actually sparking some genuine outrage in some corners of city hall. As a part of a back-to-school promotion, the company is showcasing the work of prominent street artists at live events and offering free "graffiti starter kits" to attendees. Those kits are what have really riled up councilman Dennis Zine. Yesterday he introduced a resolution to the city council asking Aaron Brothers to stop the campaign that he says glorifies vandalism — never mind that the so-called "graffiti starter kits" don't even have the right materials to launch would-be Shepard Faireys or Banksys. The kits themselves are little more than cleverly marketed markers and paper.

A judge in Orange County ruled that Anaheim's ban on dispensaries doesn't conflict with the 1996 state law that legalized medical marijuana, the Los Angeles Times reports. But the group that filed the case, Qualified Patients Assn., plans to appeal the court's decision.

This has been a deadly summer for hikers ascending to the upper waterfalls at Eaton Canyon Park, prompting officials to warn hikers to know their limits when they go up against Mother Nature. Altadena Patch has started a discussion about whether there is anything else that the public can do to keep hikers out of harm's way at the alluring but deadly hike to the upper waterfalls at Eaton Canyon.

Got a product that needs hawking? A recent poll suggests that Betty White is your Golden Girl. Reuters/Ipsos asked Americans the dubious question of which celebrity they most trust. White, continuing to ride a crest of late-career popularity, came out just ahead of Denzel Washington and Sandra Bullock. Clint Eastwood, Tom Hanks, Harrison Ford, Kate Middleton and Morgan Freeman also made the top 10.

Crooks surrounded the car of an Israeli jeweler in North Hollywood last night, making off with a backpack carrying $2 million in diamonds.

A surprising survey shows that Los Angeles tops the list of areas offering public transportation to its carless residents, trumping even New York. The Brookings Institution compared the 100 largest U.S. metro areas for the number of households with no cars and no access to transit. It then ranked them based on how effectively its public transit system gets residents to work.