Los Angeles County

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Wildfires still burning in the Southland

Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times A firefighting plane circles the flames and smoke in Yorba Linda The major battle against these destructive wildfires shifted to Orange and San Bernardino Counties today where the flames are the most threatening. Fire crews from Los Angeles County, Santa Barbara County, and as far away as San Mateo in Northern California are joining that fight. Since […]
Saturday, November 15, 2008

Sylmar fire causes power problems in the Southland

  Jay Clendenin / Los Angeles Times A firefighter battles to save a mobile home in Sylmar. The Burbank foothills in the San Fernando Valley have not been touched by the flames of the rampaging Sylmar wildfire, but my community is still affected. A short time ago, I got an e-mail alert from Burbank City Council Member, Marsha Ramos, about electrical power concerns. […]
Saturday, November 15, 2008

Fire, wind, and danger in the Southland

Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times The firestorm in Sylmar A fire emergency in the San Fernando Valley today. The main wildfire erupted in the foothills above Veterans Memorial Park in Sylmar last night around 10:30 p.m. Wicked Santa Ana winds of 70 miles an hour whipped the flames into a roaring firestorm. 2,600 to 3,000 acres have been blackened. At least 200 homes have been destroyed […]
Thursday, November 13, 2008

More lawmakers join the legal fight for gay marriage

FLLewis/ A Writer’s Groove – Burbank If supporters of Proposition 8 thought a win at the ballot box on November 4 would end the debate over gay marriage, well they are facing a tough reality today. It ain’t over. Now the battle is being waged on two fronts; in the streets and in the California Supreme Court. Yesterday, The Los Angeles County  Board of Supervisors […]
Friday, November 7, 2008

Protests against ban on gay marriage

Barbara Davidson/ Los Angeles Times The anger over the passage of a bitterly fought California proposition denying marriage to gay couples has spilled into the streets of several communities in the Southland. Thousands of opponents of Proposition 8 began protesting Wednesday night, when it became clear the measure had passed 52 percent to 48 percent in Tuesday’s election. Last night, the marches were in West Hollywood […]
Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Poll workers: the ‘A Team’ on Election Day

FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove A poll worker guides a voter through the initial stages of voting, at a polling place in a Burbank neighborhood, during last February’s presidential primary. They are front and center at every polling place on Election Day. A volunteer army of poll workers. The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder /County Clerk’s office reportedly has recruited and trained over 26 […]
Saturday, November 1, 2008

Early voting overwhelms Los Angeles County registrar’s office

  Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times They just kept coming by the hundreds and then by the thousands, lining up at the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder County Clerk’s building at 12400 Imperial Highway in Norwalk. Despite the wait of several hours in many cases, voters swamped the registrar’s office every day this past week. In Los Angeles County, early voting began last […]
Friday, October 31, 2008

Delay in Phil Spector’s second murder trial

  Google file photo Music legend Phil Spector’s second murder trial hit a bump on its second day. Actually, an alternate juror stumbled and reportedly broke his foot in the parking lot of a Downtown Los Angeles court Thursday morning. The prosecution had been scheduled to call witnesses yesterday, but Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler decided to delay the trial until Monday. […]
Thursday, October 30, 2008

Another high profile celebrity trial gets underway in L.A.

Google file photo Eccentric rock music legend Phil Spector is on trial for murder, for the second time, in Downtown Los Angeles. Spector is accused of shooting to death actress Lana Clarkson after she allegedly blew off his sexual advances during an encounter at his mansion in February of 2003. The first trial ended in a hung jury  — with the jurors deadlocked 10-to-2 for […]