Category: Los Angeles

Sea Dragon Ride on Santa Monica Pier Swings Into Retirement

By Salvador Hernandez From Los Angeles Times Los Angeles—For nearly 27 years, the green Sea Dragon ride swung back and forth on the Santa Monica Pier, but on March 2, the 6,000-pound two-headed metal beast took its last ride 250 feet over the Pacific Ocean. The famed Sea Dragon ship at Pacific Park was retired…


UCLA Community Mourns Death of University’s Unofficial Mascot ‘Powell Cat’

Multiple generations of students, staff, and professors at UCLA are mourning the loss of its unofficial mascot following the feline’s unexpected death March 9. Known as “Powell Cat,” after the campus’s Powell Library where the stray was found in 2015, the beloved cat was discovered dead on campus late last week from unknown causes, according…


Los Angeles Apartment Group Files Lawsuit Against City Over Renter Laws

An apartment association is taking the City of Los Angeles to court over two of its renter protection laws, arguing that they are detrimental to rental housing providers and small mom-and-pop landlords. On March 3, the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles filed a lawsuit in the Los Angeles Superior Court “to prohibit the City’s enforcement…


Man Arrested in Stabbing of Los Angeles Teen, Police Search for 2nd Suspect

After an hours-long standoff with SWAT officers and Los Angeles police, a suspect accused in the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Xavier Chavarin was taken into custody on March 8. Law enforcement surrounded the location of the suspect, identified as 32-year-old David Zapata, who barricaded himself inside his family’s home in Alhambra on Wednesday morning. Crisis…


3 Los Angeles Police Officers Shot, Suspect Dead: Police

Three Los Angeles police officers were shot and wounded on Wednesday evening but were in stable condition while the suspect “was pronounced deceased,” the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) said. During a search for the suspect, a parolee at large, officers discovered that he was unresponsive, LAPD said in a post on Twitter. “LA Fire…


3 LAPD Officers Shot in Lincoln Heights; Suspect Barricaded

LOS ANGELES—Three Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers were hospitalized in unknown condition March 8 evening after being shot and wounded in Lincoln Heights, and a suspect was barricaded in a residential garage, according to multiple reports. According to reports from the scene near Mission Avenue and North Broadway, police arrived around 4:30 p.m. regarding…


Suspect Who Stabbed LA Teen in Custody After Standoff With SWAT

After an hours-long standoff in Alhambra with SWAT and LA police, a suspect accused in the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Xavier Chavarin, was taken into custody on March 8. Law enforcement surrounded the location of the suspect, identified as 33 year-old David Zepeda, who barricaded himself inside his family’s home in Alhambra on Wednesday morning….


Man Arrested for Allegedly Trying to Stab Attendant on Flight From Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES—A man accused of trying to open an emergency exit door on a flight from Los Angeles to Boston, then allegedly trying to stab a flight attendant with a broken spoon handle, remained behind bars Monday in Massachusetts. Francisco Severo Torres, 33, of Massachusetts, was arrested Sunday night when the United Airlines flight landed…


2 Killed in Wrong-Way Crash on 118 Freeway in Porter Ranch

PORTER RANCH, Calif.—Two people were killed and two others were injured in a wrong-way crash on the Ronald Reagan (118) Freeway in Porter Ranch March 5, authorities said. The crash on the westbound freeway, at the Tampa Avenue off-ramp, was reported at 4:25 a.m. Sunday, the California Highway Patrol reported. Authorities said a dark-colored sedan…


5 People Injured in Shooting at LA Beach

LOS ANGELES—At least five people were wounded in a shooting at a Los Angeles beach Saturday night, authorities said. Lt. Sharon Brady of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Harbor Community Police Station said officers responded to a report of gunfire at Royal Palms Beach in the San Pedro area at 5:44 p.m., the Los Angeles…