Frank Stoltze
I came to L.A. as a very young reporter on New Year’s Day, 1991. Two months later, four LAPD officers were caught on videotape beating Rodney King. A year later, the night before the riots/rebellion broke out, I was in the Nickerson Gardens housing project in Watts at an extraordinary rally of rival gangs that had brokered a truce.
Today, I cover Civics and Democracy in L.A. As we face perhaps the greatest threat to democracy since the Civil War, I seek to engage with communities and examine the hurdles to becoming involved in the political process. I cover the various social and political movements seeking to improve the lives of Angelenos. I also cover anti-democratic forces.
And after all these years, I still need to figure out the best donut shop in L.A. The best torta. The best (not fanciest) coffee. Best of all I get to meet the smartest, most interesting people and bring their voices to you.
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The Rev. Al Sharpton delivered the eulogy. Valentina, 14, was killed Dec. 23 when an LAPD officer fired at an assault suspect in a Burlington store in North Hollywood and a bullet passed through a wall. -
The fire chief said average response times on emergency calls have ticked up slightly, while the police chief said there might be “some delay in routine calls.”
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The assault of Berlinda Nibo in L.A. last Jan. 6 went viral. An expert says far-right extremists have expanded their activities to political battles over vaccines, gender and race.
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Judge Orders Inglewood Police to Preserve Shooting, Other Records. Mayor Calls Planned Purge RoutineThe ACLU requested and got a temporary restraining order after Inglewood’s City Council voted to destroy police records that were more than five years old.
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Valentina Orellana-Peralta said her daughter dying in her arms was “one of the greatest and most profound pains that any human can imagine.”
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LAPD body camera video shows officers opening fire on a man suspected of assaulting a woman, apparently unaware Valentina Orellana-Peralta was in a fitting room behind the man and that one of their bullets went through a wall and struck her.
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The Los Angeles Fire Department is shortening its training from 22 weeks to 14 weeks, although a senior official says some training was not necessary and other elements will just be delayed until firefighters have started working.
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Chief Michel Moore called the incident the "worst thing anyone can imagine." He emphasized his department is still investigating and said they want to be transparent.
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After someone stole a U-Haul full of toys and food for 200 needy families, the community stepped up and quickly replaced them.
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Capt. Johnny Smith says he was demoted to a lower rank of captain after telling his superiors about excessive force during George Floyd protests and blowing the whistle on a lax body cam policy.
