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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Last night, LAPD officers declared an unlawful assembly as they faced off with housing activists and residents of the longstanding encampment. -
L.A. City Councilman Mitch O'Farrell said the city 'has started the process of closing Echo Park, beginning with numerous intersections and freeway ramps around the facility. They are now closed to vehicular and pedestrian traffic to protect public safety while crews begin the installation of the fence around the park.'
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Dozens of L.A. County Sheriff’s officials were added Monday as named defendants in a lawsuit alleging the existence of a 'criminal gang' of deputies called the Banditos at the department’s East L.A. Station.
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The DA says in his first three months on the job, his prosecutors have sought so many fewer sentencing enhancements that defendants who are convicted will spend at least a combined 8,000 fewer years behind bars.
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After 100 days in office, DA George Gascon touts big drops in prison sentences sought by his office. A critic predicts 'incalculable losses in public safety.'
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A former Marine who also served as a deputy DA and Special US Attorney, Hardin says Spitzer has created "a vacuum of leadership" that has led to "a sea of outrageous scandals."
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A former Marine who served in Afghanistan and then was a deputy DA and Special U.S. Attorney, Hardin said he's running because of "a vacuum of leadership" that has led to "a sea of outrageous scandals." While calling himself a progressive, he stops short of promising the kind of sweeping reforms instituted by L.A. DA George Gascón.
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The report found significant deficiencies in seven areas, including command and control, preparedness and training, and the use of less lethal tools.
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The suspect didn’t leave behind a manifesto laying out his reasons, and 'efforts to pinpoint … a triggering mechanism … presented a challenge,' the report says.
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Sheriff Alex Villanueva proposed the idea to DA George Gascón last month.
