Los Angeles Mayor To RAISE LA Minimum Wage to $13.50

Friend --

I just left Martin Luther King, Jr. Park where an Angeleno named
Joseph Galloway spoke passionately about his struggles to make ends
meet despite working full-time as a delivery driver -- a job he took after
being forced to leave college to support his family after the death of his
father. Stories like his are the reasons why today I'm proposing to raise
the minimum wage in LA.

Will you join us? Click here to add your name to our coalition to #RaiseTheWageLA.

My plan would raise the minimum wage in LA to a level where working
people could lift themselves out of poverty. This will help us all. 1 million
Angelenos live in poverty -- this holds our entire economy back. Minimum
wage earners pump their salaries back into our economy.
I'm so proud that our coalition includes business leaders like Eli Broad and
labor leaders like Maria Elena Durazo -- and even President Obamaave us a shout 
out this weekend. But we need the people of LA to speak out.

Make no mistake, we have a tough fight ahead of us. I need you.
Add your name to our list of supporters.

PS: Click here to add your name to the list of supporters.

Office of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti

Two high school students suspected of plotting a school massacre has been arrested in plot after Web activities eyed

SOUTH PASADENA, Calif. — Two high school students suspected of plotting a school massacre in a Los Angeles suburb were arrested after investigators monitored their Internet activities and determined they presented a real threat, police said Tuesday.

The boys, ages 16 and 17, named three staffers they planned to kill and said they would target random students, police said.

"They were making a huge, a huge plan of a school massacre," South Pasadena Police Chief Arthur Miller said. "They just wanted to kill as many people as possible."

Miller said his officers saved lives by thwarting the attack in the quaint town of about 25,000 people known for its high-quality schools and community involvement in education.

School officials heard about the plot and notified police, who began watching the boys and monitoring their online activity. They had no weapons or date for a possible attack, but they were researching automatic weapons, handguns, knives and explosives, police said.

One boy allegedly said he had a relative with a gun that he might be able to get. Police contacted that relative, who said that the weapon was secured.

Miller said police realized how cold-hearted the plot was after interrogating the boys.

The two teenage boys were arrested on charges of making threats and conspiracy. They were being held at a juvenile facility.

Miller didn't name the boys or provide information about the dynamic of their relationship.

Police expect to present their case to the district attorney later in the day.

The FBI joined the investigation to help search for evidence on the computers seized from the boys' homes.

Police plan to have a larger presence on South Pasadena High School campus Thursday for the first day of school.

STOWAWAY SNEAKS THROUGH SECURITY AT MINETA SAN JOSE AIRPORT, ONTO LA-BOUND PLANE

My question is how does this happen with all the security processes in place? 


A Northern California woman who has repeatedly tried to sneak onboard airline flights without paying has finally gotten off the ground. 

A member of the House Homeland Security Committee says Marilyn Hartman, 62, bypassed a document checker at Mineta San Jose International Airport, walked onto the plane and even took a seat. 

Southwest Airlines did a head count after the plane was in the air and realized there was a discrepancy in its passengers. 

Hartman was immediately arrested once the plane landed at Los Angeles International Airport Monday night. 

The incident was at least her seventh attempt to sneak onto planes, most of which have occurred at San Francisco International Airport. 

On Feb. 15, she made it on to a plane bound for Hawaii. Fortunately, she was caught before that plane took off. Three days later, she tried again, but was caught. 

Then again on Feb. 20 she was caught, but that time she was ordered to stay away from the airport unless she had a ticket. That didn't stop her; she was also arrested on March 18, March 26, and April 7.

The 62-year-old told officials she is lonely, and has been trying to get on a flight to Hawaii. 

TSA says it is already making adjustments to prevent this sort of incident from happening again.

"We have to really make sure we get it right. We're not sacrificing speed for safety, that's why I think this is going to be a training and procedure fix, not necessarily spending more money," said Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation Security Rep. Eric Swalwell. 

Southwest Airlines says it's working with authorities and conducting its own internal investigation into the incident.

Hartman is being held at the LAPD 77th Street Jail and Police Station in lieu of $500 bail. She faces misdemeanor trespassing charges. 

LA Mayor Eric Garcetti: Joining Forces with Michelle Obama‏ to end Veteran homelessness in LA! LETTER FROM THE MAYOR'S OFFICE

Today First Lady Michelle Obama joined me in Los Angeles where we pledged to end veteran homelessness by the end of 2015. Now it's your turn to join us. There is no one to whom you or I owe a greater debt of service than to our veterans. Yet, across the country, veterans find themselves with few opportunities and little  chance to get ahead when they return home. The  heartbreaking reality is that nearly 60,000 veterans will  be sleeping on the streets tonight. The President, the  First Lady, and I are determined to bring that number  down to zero. Unfortunately, Los Angeles has more homeless former service members than any other American city. Winning here means we can win everywhere. Join forces with us and pledge your support to end  veteran homelessness. We know what it takes to get this done: more affordable housing, better access to support services, and holding our elected representatives accountable so their words of support are backed up with action. That's where you come in.  Let's join forces and show support for our veterans. Eric Garcetti Mayor

Office of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti 200 N Spring St, 300, Los Angeles, CA 90012, United States

Homelessness in Los Angeles County

According to the Institute for the Study of Homelessness and Poverty at the Weingart Center, an estimated 254,000 men, women and children experience homelessness in Los Angeles County during some part of the year and approximately 82,000 people are homeless on any given night. 

Unaccompanied youth, especially in the Hollywood area, are estimated to make up from 4,800 to 10,000 of these.

Although homeless people may be found throughout the county, the largest percentages are in South Los Angeles and Metro Los Angeles.  Most are from the Los Angeles area and stay in or near the communities from which they came. About 14 to 18 percent of homeless adults in Los Angeles County are not U.S. citizens compared with 29% of adults overall. A high percentage - as high as 20 percent - are veterans. 

African Americans make up approximately half of the Los Angeles County homeless population - disproportionately high compared to the percentage of African Americans in the county overall (about 9 percent).

Mayor Garcetti Partners with Over 100 Employers and 40 Public Sector Partners to Hire 10,000 Local Veterans by 2017

LOS ANGELES—Mayor Eric Garcetti announced today a new regional veterans hiring initiative called “10,000 Strong” aimed at getting 10,000 veterans jobs by 2017. The initiative brings together over 100 companies and 40 non-profit and public-sector partners to offer supportive services or jobs for veterans.

“The 10,000 Strong initiative aims to serve those men and women who have done so much to serve our country," said Mayor Garcetti. "By bringing together a vast network of regional non-profits, public organizations, and private-sector employers, we can put 10,000 Angeleno veterans back to work, benefiting our families, our neighborhoods, and our economy."

Through this initiative, the City's Worksource Centers, as well as regional service providers such as the California State Employment Development Department, the Veterans Administration, the US Department of Labor's Veterans Employment and Training Service, and the Los Angeles County Worksource Centers will connect veterans to companies looking to hire them. The over 100 employer partners (listed in attached document) have offered to hire veterans over the next three years. By connecting and coordinating these services, we expect 10,000 veterans to find gainful employment.

Los Angeles approves sweeping e-cigarette restrictions

The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday approved sweeping new regulations that would treat e-cigarettes like conventional cigarettes, after one of the most personal debates to be heard on the council floor in years. On a 14-0 vote, lawmakers outlawed "vaping" -- the practice of inhaling the vapors produced by e-cigarettes -- in most work sites and many public places, including parks and certain beaches. Lawmakers voted to continue allowing e-cigarette use in so-called vaping lounges, where patrons can try the various e-juices that are loaded into the battery-powered devices. And they narrowly defeated a push by the e-cigarette industry to let the practice continue in 21-and-over establishments, such as bars and nightclubs. The debate saw lawmakers share their own experiences with tobacco and the hazards that come with it. Councilman Mitch O'Farrell, who pushed for the new restrictions, spoke of his unhappiness at breathing secondhand smoke during his days as a waiter in the early 1990s. Councilman Joe Buscaino spoke of a relative's decision to turn to e-cigarettes after years of smoking. And Council President Herb Wesson, in the most passionate speech of the day, described his decades-long addiction to cigarettes, a habit he told his colleagues would almost certainly kill him one day. Wesson said he began smoking because he wanted to be cool. "When you’re 15, you want to be cool," he said. "And I will not support anything -- anything -- that might attract one new smoker." The debate brought to light the strong views on each side of the e-cigarette debate. Backers of the battery-powered devices portray them as a godsend for those looking to quit conventional smoking. They also warned the research has not yet proven that second-hand emissions from e-cigarettes are harmful to others. Buscaino introduced an amendment to allow bars and nightclubs to be removed from the new regulations. But his measure received only six votes -- two shy of the amount needed for passage. E-cigarettes “are not tobacco,” he said. “And I don’t think they should be regulated exactly the same way.” Foes of e-cigarettes said they threaten to make smoking socially acceptable after years of public opinion campaigns to discourage the habit. Young people who get hooked on the nicotine in e-cigarettes may then turn to tobacco use, said Jonathan Fielding, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. "We don't want to risk e-cigarettes undermining a half-century of successful tobacco control," he said.

Police make arrest in 'Grim Sleeper' killings

Today's arrest in the "Grim Sleeper" serial-killing case demonstrates how the sins of the father can be found out through a son's DNA - and why the technique can be controversial.

A 57-year-old one-time LAPD garage attendant named Lonnie Franklin Jr. was arrested in Los Angeles in connection with the string of 10 murders, committed between 1985 and 2007. The killer was nicknamed the "Grim Sleeper" because there was a 14-year break within that string, from 1988 to 2002.

The case puts an unorthodox forensic tool known as familial DNA analysis at center stage. The method is specifically allowed only in two states - California and Colorado - and it's specifically banned in Maryland. New York is OK with using the method, but only if it's an "inadvertent" side effect of a more rigorous data search. The FBI currently has no firm policy on familial DNA matching but is willing to let states share their DNA data for use in the procedure.

Now that familial DNA analysis has come up with a high-profile match, you'll probably be hearing much more about whether it should be used more widely.

Not-quite-perfect match
Why is the technique so controversial? It's because investigators look for not-quite-perfect matches between the DNA left behind at a crime scene and DNA markers taken from a wide sampling of people who may or may not have committed a crime themselves. The goal isn't necessarily to find the suspects, but rather the potential relatives of suspects. If there's a close match, investigators could focus their search on close relatives of the person who matched up - in hopes that the trail will lead to suspects who haven't left a DNA trail themselves.

It's basically a crime-lab variant of the tests widely used to trace your genealogy, but these would be relatives you might not want to feature on your family tree.

Familial DNA searches have been done in Britain for years, and California Attorney General Jerry Brown gave investigators the go-ahead to do the same in the Grim Sleeper case two years ago. A database search came up with a partial but significant match between DNA collected during the investigation and a routine sample taken from Franklin's son. Brown said the son was given a cheek swab after his conviction on a felony weapons charge. LA Weekly reported that the results of the DNA analysis "lit up like a Christmas tree."

The investigators followed up by snagging DNA samples from Franklin himself. A relative of one of the Grim Sleeper victims who was briefed by police said that the sample was left on a restaurant cup, while the Los Angeles Times reported that the DNA was recovered from a discarded piece of pizza. The most likely scenario is that forensic sleuths tested the pizza, the cup and any other items that Franklin might have put to his lips while dining.

District Attorney Steve Cooley told the Times that the arrest "shows the legitimacy" of using partial DNA matches and promised to provide more details at a Thursday news conference.

If the arrest leads to a conviction, the feat will take forensic genetics to a whole new level. But it could raise a whole new crop of questions about genetic privacy as well.

Lifetime genetic surveillance?
In California, for example, the DNA samples are collected after every felony arrest, and may be retained even if the suspect later goes free. That has sparked a legal challenge from the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU noted that about a third of all those arrested for felonies in California are not convicted of any crime, and said that "thousands of innocent Californians will be subject to a lifetime of genetic surveillance because a single police officer suspected them of a crime."

The ACLU also said the system could have a "huge racial impact" because a disproportionate number of people of color are already represented in California's criminal justice system, which serves as the main channel for the state's DNA sampling flow (at a rate of roughly 25,000 samples per month). The latest figures show that California has the biggest statewide DNA database in the country, with more than 1.5 million samples. ACLU calls it the third-biggest forensic DNA database in the world, behind the FBI's nationwide CODIS system (which includes the California samples) and Britain's national data bank.

We're right in the midst of a massive crime-lab experiment in DNA collection. The federal government and all 50 states require those convicted of felonies to provide DNA samples, but California is just one of the 23 states that require DNA for felony arrests. Congress and several states, including New York and North Carolina, are currently talking about widening their DNA collection programs to cover arrests as well as convictions.

Proponents of wider DNA testing say that such measures will prevent crime, save lives and provide more protection to the innocent. Opponents say that such measures will put more of a burden on the innocent, and that familial DNA analysis could turn even distant relatives into "genetic informants." I say that the Grim Sleeper case will increase the pressure on lawmakers to bulk up DNA databases across the country, and will lead to wider use of familial DNA as well. Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?