Author: Shelby Grad

A United States Coast Guard helicopter flew over the memorial event at Port Hueneme before flying to the crash site off Anacapa Island and releasing roses.

— Scott Harrison

See more of Harrison’s photo essay on the memorial here.

Photo, at bottom: The extended family of Avinesh Deo, Anjest Prasad
and Avinash Prasad, cousins who were killed in the crash, pose for a
group photo after the services.

A 4.4 earthquake off the coast of Baja California this morning rattled San Diego, but there were no reports of injuries or damage.

The temblor struck at 6:19 a.m. in the Pacific Ocean about 31 miles west of Rosarito Beach and 41 miles from Imperial Beach.

Officials said the quake was felt in Tijuana and San Diego. The magnitude of the quake was originally estimated at 5.0 but was later downgraded.

There was a series of smaller quakes to the east along the California-Mexico border this weekend. They did not cause any damage or injuries.

— Shelby Grad

More breaking news in L.A. Now:

Photos: Honoring victims of Alaska Airlines crash off Ventura, 10 years later

Rain expected to return to L.A. this week

San Bernardino County man and his 9-month-old son found dead in apparent murder-suicide

Police nab attempted rape suspect in Windsor Square

Rains will return to Southern California this week, forecasters say, but the storms aren’t expected to be strong enough to start mudslides in burn areas.

According to the National Weather Service, light rain could begin Tuesday evening and continue on and off through Friday.

But most areas can expect less than half an inch of rain. Two weeks ago, a series of storms dumped more than 6 inches of rain in some areas. The heavy rains prompted concerns about mudslides, but officials said the rain moved quickly through hillside areas burned in the Station fire, and there was not a major accumulation of water that could have caused slides.

This week’s rain are not expected to prompt evacuations in mudslide zones in foothill communities.

Snow levels this week are expected to stay above 5,500 feet.

— Shelby Grad

More breaking news in L.A. Now:

Will Angelenos soon be trimming city trees? Budget cuts could bring big changes

Photos: Honoring victims of Alaska Airlines crash off Ventura, 10 years later

Earthquake off Baja California coast is felt in San Diego

San Bernardino County man and his 9-month-old son found dead in apparent murder-suicide

Police nab attempted rape suspect in Windsor Square

Given the recession, many in downtown Los Angeles assumed a mega-project once planned for the Pershing Square was dead.

But there are now signs that Park + Fifth might still have a chance.

Plans for the $1-billion high-rise condominium complex overlooking Pershing Square Park in downtown Los Angeles were unveiled in 2007 amid fanfare, with developers calling it the tallest residential building west of Chicago.

The centerpiece was a 76-story condo tower and a 14-story five-star
hotel. It would front on the park, as does the historic Biltmore Hotel,
catty-cornered to the planned development.

A series of delays has stalled the project, just as other large luxury developments planned for downtown L.A. continue to wait in the wings. The Frank Gehry-designed Grand Avenue complex, for instance, is still scheduled to rise on Bunker Hill.

Two men were detained for questioning Saturday evening after authorities said they breached security at Los Angeles International Airport by hopping a 6-foot-high perimeter fence.

But police then determined that the men, who were carrying a guitar, cameras and a flask of alcohol, posed no safety threat.
The men, whose identities were not released, were cited for trespassing and released at about 6 p.m.

Someone had alerted authorities after seeing the men, both in their 20s, climbing the fence in a secluded,  grassy area near Napoleon Street on the airport’s northwest side.

The spot is far from any runways, but officers with the L.A. Police Department and the LAX police force responded to the scene.
“We take it very seriously,” LAPD spokeswoman Sara Faden said. “This is not an everyday type of trespassing.”

— Andrew Blankstein and Larry Gordon

The Los Angeles Police Department is looking for a woman who was hit with a stun gun on Melrose Avenue, an attack caught on tape.

Police have arrested a 22-year-old man for allegedly stunning the woman with the gun and attempting to take her purse on Wednesday.

According to a statement from detectives, David Victor Thomas allegedly approached the woman from behind and shot her with a stun gun in the back of the neck. The woman fell to the ground, but before the suspect could take the purse, witnesses chased him and held him until police arrived.

A store video camera captured the incident. Police said they need the testimony of the woman, who left before officers arrived. The attack occurred in the 4800 block of Melrose.

According to the LAPD statement, "the victim left the location before the police arrived to interview
her.  Detectives believe she suffered burn injuries to her neck. The
victim is described as Hispanic with long hair. She stands between 5
feet 1 inch and 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighs between 130 and 150
pounds. She’s between 17 and 25 years of age and was last seen wearing
a white zippered jacket or sweater and blue jeans. The victim may live
in the area and speak only Spanish."

— Shelby Grad

A man convicted of the 2006 fatal shooting of a 3-year-old girl and the attempted murder of her father was sentenced today to 75 years to life in state prison.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Dayan Mathai said Jonathan Banks, 20, also was ordered to pay $3,724.38 to the state Victim Restitution Fund. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Fred Wapner presided over the hearing.

Banks was convicted by a jury on Nov. 9, 2009, of one count of first-degree murder and two counts of willful, deliberate and premeditated attempted murder.

He was also found guilty of gun and gang allegations. Co-defendant Laron Lee Larrimore, 29, was sentenced last month to 72 years to life in state prison.

Larrimore was convicted in April 2009 of one count each of second-degree murder and willful, deliberate and premeditated attempted murder. On Sept. 24, 2006, the two defendants shouted gang slogans before opening fire on Cesar Avila and his two daughters as they were returning to their Baldwin Village home.

Banks jumped out the passenger side of a silver Chrysler, driven by Larrimore, and chased Avila on foot, shooting at and wounding him. Banks then returned to Avila’s vehicle, opened the rear door and fired inside. Toddler Kaitlyn Avila was struck and killed.

–Richard Winton

Think your commute is safer now that California requires drivers to use hands-free cellphones?

Think again.

A new study from the nonprofit Highway Loss Data Institute found that rates of crashes before and after the landmark law took effect in 2008 have not significantly changed.
It also found that the trend of California’s crashes before and after the law followed that of neighboring states — like Arizona and Nevada — that do not have bans on hand-held phones.

“The laws aren’t reducing crashes, even though we know that such laws have reduced hand-held phone use, and several studies have established that phoning while driving increases crash risk,” Adrian Lund, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and its affiliate, the data institute, said in a statement.

“If crash risk increases with phone use and fewer drivers use phones where it’s illegal to do so, we would expect to see a decrease in crashes. But we aren’t seeing it. … We’re currently gathering data to figure out this mismatch,” Lund said. 

The group, which receives claims information from more than 80% of the nation’s insurers, looked at data on crashes involving cars that are brand-new to 3 years old, and concluded that there is no evidence the hands-free rule is reducing crashes.

About 1.7 million claims in all were used for the study, according to officials with the group.
In California there were slightly more than eight crashes per 100 vehicles 18 months before the ban on hand-held phones went into effect.

Twelve months after the law, there were about 7.5 crashes per 100 vehicles, the study shows.
Authors of the study were quick to point out that the slight decline in crashes follows a similar trend in neighboring states where there is no such ban.

In Arizona, Nevada and Oregon (which recently passed its own ban), there were a little over seven crashes per 100 vehicles 18 months before the ban was passed in California. Twelve months after the ban in California, there were a little over five crashes per 100 vehicles in those three states, the study shows.

— Ari B. Bloomekatz

Credit for 2007 photo: Los Angeles Times

The Pasadena Playhouse will close Feb. 7 after the final performance of "Camelot," leaving its future in jeopardy as company leaders explore ways out of its lingering financial woes, including a possible bankruptcy filing.

Stephen Eich, the executive director hired in June, said the playhouse is essentially out of cash. It faces more than $500,000 in immediate bills, plus more than $1.5 million owed on bank loans and other debts that have dogged the nonprofit company since the mid-1990s.

Thirty-seven employees will be out of work when the playhouse closes, Eich said. He said he isn’t sure yet about whether or how the playhouse’s 8,000 subscribers will be reimbursed.

The playhouse, which opened in 1917, was designated in 1937 as the state theater of California and has hosted a multitude of actors who went on to become stars.

Read the full story here.

–Mike Boehm

Photo: L.A. Times file

R&B singer Etta James is hospitalized in Southern California with a very serious infection, her son told KTLA.

Donto James says his 72-year-old mother has been at Riverside Community
Hospital for about a week and is recovering from sepsis caused by a
urinary tract infection. It’s believed she has had the infection for
quite some time, he said.

He says she has been "battling for her life and sanity" and it’s possible something more serious is going on.

Read the full story here.

Photo: Getty Images

John Papadakis’ restaurant is a lot like its owner — big, brash and
loud. No dim lights, no quiet romantic evening here. On a typical
night, the music builds and Papadakis breaks into a Greek dance with a
waitress, a pair of belly dancers wriggle through the aisles as the
owner tosses dollar bills at them, an 88-year-old tuxedo-clad violinist
who played with Frank Sinatra strolls through the restaurant.

Plates break, a dish of saganaki is set on fire. A tap dancer in a baggy suit stomps in front of a self-portrait of Anthony Quinn as Zorba the Greek.



For
decades, Papadakis Taverna has been the best-known attraction in San
Pedro, not just for its food and atmosphere, but as an out-of-the-way
place where celebrities such as Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, Tom Hanks
and Paula Abdul gathered. It’s where Pete Carroll, then-coach of the
owner’s beloved USC Trojans, would close the deal with high school
recruits. It was where Natalie Wood ate the night before she drowned
off Santa Catalina in 1981.

How many restaurants show up as answers on "Jeopardy"?

But
after 37 years of Greek dancing and plate-smashing, John Papadakis is
closing the restaurant Sunday. In a place where people come to watch
him as much as they come for the spanakopita and moussaka, "Sometimes I
get tired of playing me," he said.

Read the full story here.

–Jeff Gottlieb

Photo: Owner John Papadakis dances with daughter Angeliki at the restaurant,
which is a lot like its owner — big, brash and loud. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times / January 28, 2010)

Cori Desmond, a popular waitress in Torrance, was last seen at a Redondo Beach restaurant. Her body was found last year stuffed into a bag and
dumped in the snow near a San Bernardino County highway, about 100
miles away.

A driver who pulled into a turnout on the west side
of Highway 330 near mile marker 38 in Running Springs reported seeing
what he believed to be a human foot protruding from a bag.

This week, a restaurant chef accused of killing her was ordered to
stand trial for murder.

Tony Lopez Perez said he found Desmond’s body and decided to dispose of it in
the mountains, according to records recently made public and reviewed by KTLA.





According to a search warrant affidavit filed Nov. 25, the Redondo
Beach man told detectives he found Desmond’s body lying next to his
Dodge Durango outside his apartment. Perez claimed he put the body in a duffel bag, placed it in his
vehicle, went to work at the Spitfire Grill in Santa Monica and then
transported it 80 miles, according to the affidavit, according to KTLA News.

The North Torrance High
School graduate had worked a shift at Beaches, a restaurant and bar in
Manhattan Beach, before going to Bac Street Lounge in Redondo Beach about 11 p.m. to see
friends.

— Shelby Grad

Photo credits: KTLA

More breaking news in L.A. Now:

Child porn suspect is found dead by FBI in Whittier

O.C. deputy pleads guilty in lobster poaching case

San Diego’s Geezer Bandit hits 6th bank in 6 months

Manson family member Bruce Davis is recommended for parole in 1969 killings of musician and ranch hand

Body found on shore of Santa Ana River is identified

Charles Manson has been denied 11 times.

Manson follower Susan Atkins, who stabbed actress Sharon Tate to death more than 40
years ago, was denied parole even when she was terminally ill. Leslie Van Houten has been rejected nearly 20 times.

But now, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will have to decide whether a member of the Manson family should be freed.

 Bruce Davis, who was convicted in the
1969 killings of musician Gary Hinman and ranch hand Donald "Shorty"
Shea, was recommended for parole this week. A two-member Board of Prison Terms panel recommended Davis, 67, for
release following his 26th parole hearing at the California Men’s
Colony at San Luis Obispo, said Terry Thornton, a spokeswoman for the
state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Davis has been in
prison since April 21, 1972.

L.A. prosecutors opposed Davis’ release — and it’s unclear whether law enforcement groups will lobby the governor to keep Davis behind bars.

After a review by corrections,  the governor has 30 days to review the board’s
decision. He can reject it, take no action or modify the decision by
adding a parole condition or changing the date of release.

Davis, one of the lesser-known followers of cult leader Charles
Manson, was convicted in 1972 of the Manson-dictated murders of Hinman
and Shea, whom Manson suspected of being a police informer.

Davis was not involved in the infamous Manson family murders of actress Sharon Tate and six others, and that may have played a factor in the panel’s decision.

Davis attorney Michael Beckman told the Associated Press that his client acknowledged for the first time that he shared
responsibility for the Hinman/Shea murders. "He said, ‘I was as responsible as everyone there,’ " Beckman said.

Last year, Manson follower Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme was released from prison. She tried to kill President Gerald Ford. Follower Steve Grogan was released in 1985.

— Andrew Blankstein and Shelby Grad

Photos: Atkins, Manson and Davis. Credit: Corrections Department.

More breaking news in L.A. Now:

L.A. chef to stand trial in slaying of popular waitress dumped in forest

Officials raise fines for parking tickets, moving violations

Child porn suspect is found dead by FBI in Whittier

O.C. deputy pleads guilty in lobster poaching case

San Diego’s Geezer Bandit hits 6th bank in 6 months

Manson family member Bruce Davis is recommended for parole in 1969 killings of musician and ranch hand

Body found on shore of Santa Ana River is identified

Naughty drivers are paying more for their infractions.

Local and state officials are turning to parking and traffic tickets to boost recession-hit coffers.

Revenue from red-light cameras is also on the rise, doubling in L.A.
from $200,000 a month in 2007 to $400,000 a month at the end of 2009,
according to estimates prepared by the Los Angeles County Superior
Court, which processes ticket payments. The city more than doubled the
amount charged for motorists who make rolling right turns against red
lights from $156 to $381 in 2008, bringing it in line with other cities.



Additional
costs, including traffic school fees, often add to the price drivers
pay. Last year, the state increased the fines for traffic tickets and
used the proceeds to help renovate courthouses. The changes included a
$35 surcharge on traffic tickets.

The
ticket for an expired meter in Los Angeles jumped from $40 in 2008 to
about $50 last year, and "fix-it" tickets for minor moving violations
such as broken taillights more than doubled.

And officials are now hatching new ideas to bring in even more money from naughty motorists.

L.A.
and other cities are urging the Legislature to allow them to place
wheel boots on cars that have as few as three unpaid parking tickets.
Currently, the law allows the boot only after a driver accumulates five
parking tickets. In L.A. alone, officials estimate the change would
help them recover overdue parking citations totaling as much as $61 million. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants cities and counties to install speed
sensors on red-light cameras to catch speeding cars. Fines would range
from $225 to $325, and state officials estimate the change would
generate more than $300 million for the state through the end of 2011.

Read the full story here.

— My-Thuan Tran and Ari B. Bloomekatz

Photo: Parking tickets and other infractions are getting costlier in Los Angeles and elsewhere as
municipalities turn to them as a means of boosting revenue during the recession.
Credit: Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

The California Supreme Court decided 5 to 2 today that a 2006 ballot initiative that permits the state to lock up sexually violent predators indefinitely may violate constitutional guarantees of equal protection.

The ruling, written by Justice Carlos R. Moreno, did not strike down the measure.

Instead, the court said a fact-finding hearing must be held to determine whether valid reasons exist for treating sex predators differently from others subject to civil confinement, such as mentally disordered offenders.

Justice Ming Chin, joined by Justice Marvin Baxter, dissented.

"Whether sexually violent predators present a distinct danger warranting unique remedies is for society to determine, not a trial judge," Chin wrote.

— Maura Dolan in San Francisco

Southland beach communities continue to assess the damage from last week’s major rainstorms.

The storms left mounds of trash and debris at the mouth of the San Gabriel River. And the Ventura Pier lost one of its pylons.



In Newport Beach, the storms swept away sand.

“The storms came in with a diagonal attack on the beach, with waves and high
tides,” Newport Lifeguard Battalion Chief Mitch White told Brianna Bailey of the Daily Pilot. “That cuts
away the sand and creates a longshore current that comes up and sweeps the
beach.”

About 50 feet of sand was lost. Work crews using front-end loaders moved
about a dozen lifeguard towers farther up the beach to keep them from
floating out to sea.

Times photographers went out this week the chronicle the damage. Check out their full photo gallery here.

— Jill Marie Jones and Shelby Grad

Photos: Top, asphalt is broken up near the Newport Pier, where recent storms, high surf and high tides have eroded the beach. Credit: Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times. Bottom, a pedestrian leaps back Wednesday as a wave crashes on the rocks along Strand Way in Oceanside. Last week’s storm-driven waves eroded the wide beach south of the pier and hurled stones, sand and water toward seaside residences. Credit: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times.