"Sons of Anarchy" actor Johnny Lewis struggled with legal problems as well as drug issues in the last year of his life, court records show.

Proposition 36 would ease the three-strikes sentencing law. Proposition 34 would replace the death penalty with life without possibility of parole.

Thieves armed with 'pickaxes' may have taken up to $2 million in gold and gems from the Mariposa museum, which will conduct an inventory to determine losses.MARIPOSA — Armed robbers may have made off with as much as $2 million in gold and gems from the the California State Mining and Mineral Museum in Mariposa, a parks spokesman said.

At least 133 residents of a state Senate district there have filed formal complaints with the state, saying they were added to GOP rolls without their knowledge.SACRAMENTO — Aggressive recruitment efforts in one of California's most hotly contested voting districts has created a surge of newly minted Republicans like Marleny Reyes. Except she had no intention of joining the GOP.

Garcetti, Greuel, Perry and James agree the city's plan to spend $10 million on a three-year study doesn't work. But while a solution is being worked out, L.A. pedestrians are getting hurt.Les Butts of Woodland Hills was walking his dog earlier this month, which can be a dangerous activity in a city with nearly 5,000 miles of ruptured sidewalk. Butts, a musical instrument salesman, hit a patch of ...

Antonia Becerra, an 81-year-old server at Taix who was ready to retire, lost her life savings to a lottery scheme. Now she's trying to get back on her feet.Antonia Becerra, an 81-year-old Glendale resident, was close to retiring after more than 40 years as a waitress at the landmark French restaurant Taix in Los Angeles, but that all changed this year after she fell victim to a lottery scam that w...

Cutbacks leave rangers outnumbered in dealing with car burglaries, drug deals, gold prospectors and rowdy parties along the mountain creek.Thousands of picnickers and gold prospectors park every weekend along a two-lane road overlooking the East Fork of the San Gabriel River, then trundle down to the mountain creek with ice chests, boomboxes, shovels, sluice boxes and baby carriers strung with dia...

The governor's approval of the bills is a step in protecting consumers from predatory vehicle loans. He vetoes a third measure that would have capped interest rates the lots could charge.In a landmark step to protect consumers from predatory vehicle loans, Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law two bills regulating specialized used-car dealers known as Buy Here Pay Here lots.

As round two of the 405 Freeway shutdown hits the halfway point, problems are few.The plot is identical to last summer's Carmageddon: Can Los Angeles avoid a traffic apocalypse as officials shut down a 10-mile stretch of the country's busiest freeway for the weekend?

Grueling three-mile obstacle course allows civilians to glimpse a portion of the 13-week process of turning young men into Marines SAN DIEGO — Marine Gunnery Sgt. Douglas King, lean as a whippet and possessed of a commanding, rapid-fire voice, set the tone quickly and without equivocation as he addressed the Saturday morning assemblage of civilian runners.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching and Dong Hung Vien bakery in Westminster is in overdrive preparing mooncakes, a traditional treat for the celebration.When he opened up shop in Hanoi's Old Quarter, customers lined the street to buy Ong Co's hockey-puck-sized cakes, a chewy pastry heralding the arrival of the autumn harvest.

One of the alleged victims of a sexual hazing involving a La Puente High School soccer team said he's still in pain after the attack

Proposition 32 would ban political contributions by payroll deduction. That would eliminate the main fundraising tool of unions but not of businesses.

Pioneering marijuana cultivators in the hills of Mendocino and Humboldt counties are being pushed to the margins by the legalization they long espoused.LAYTONVILLE, CALIF. — In the mountains of Mendocino County, a middle-aged couple stroll into the cool morning air to plant the year's crop. Andrew grabs a shovel and begins to dig up rich black garden beds while Anna waters the seedlings, beg...

The 10-mile closure on the 405 Freeway for a bridge-demolition project appears to be going without a hitch, officials say late Friday. The freeway is expected to reopen before rush hour Monday morning.As the sun set and rush hour began to fade on the 405 Freeway on Friday evening, crews gradually shut down ramps and closed lanes of traffic to make room for a small army of construction workers task...

Brown signs open-carry ban on rifles and shotguns in cities, plus college, carpool bills. SACRAMENTO — Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation Friday outlawing the open carrying of rifles and shotguns in cities across California.

Prosecutors say Darren Sandberg, a 15-year veteran of the department, acted reasonably when he shot Manuel Loggins Jr. in a school parking lot after he refused to follow the deputy's orders.An Orange County sheriff's deputy has been cleared in the fatal shooting of an unarmed Marine after investigators with the district attorney's office concluded he acted with appropriate force.

Jurors order Rickie Lee Fowler to be executed in the 2003 wildfire, but the judge notes that Prop. 34 to abolish the death penalty could alter sentence. A San Bernardino County jury on Friday ordered a death sentence for the violent methamphetamine addict convicted of setting the catastrophic 2003 Old fire that destroyed 1,000 homes, blackened the San Bernardino Mountains and led to five deaths. ...

Trutanich has sued his former consultant, saying John Shallman mismanaged funds in the campaign for district attorney. Shallman denies the claim.Los Angeles City Atty. Carmen Trutanich has sued the campaign consultant who worked on his unsuccessful bid for county district attorney, saying he had failed to explain tens of thousands of dollars in expenses billed in the wake of that campaign.

PG&E plans to use underwater 'air cannons' emitting 250-decibel blasts every 15 seconds for 12 straight days to map earthquake fault zones near Diablo Canyon nuclear plant.Over objections of Central Coast residents and environmental groups, Pacific Gas & Electric plans to map earthquake fault zones near its Diablo Canyon nuclear plant by blasting high-decibel air cannons under the surface of the o...

Unlike in Chinatown, where some are putting up a fight to Wal-Mart's planned store, a grocery opens to fanfare and relief in beleaguered Panorama City.It wasn't long ago that Liz Lopez watched in dismay as the Vannord Shopping Center in her Panorama City neighborhood went downhill, losing its anchor, Valley Foods Warehouse, among a number of other tenants.

City officials approve documents for Farmers Field, but the big question is whether AEG can persuade the NFL to move to L.A.Los Angeles took its biggest step yet toward luring the NFL back after a 17-year absence, signing off on crucial agreements for a new downtown stadium even though it remains unclear who will own the company seeking to build the $1.2-billion facility.

Hsiu-Ying 'Lisa' Tseng, 42, is charged with second-degree murder in the overdose deaths of three patients. She has been in custody March 1 and is being held in lieu of $3-million bail.A Rowland Heights doctor charged with murder in the overdose deaths of three patients pleaded not guilty Friday.

Commission cites a 'failure of leadership' by Sheriff Lee Baca, proposes long list of fixes to halt abuse in L.A. County lockups.A blue-ribbon commission blamed Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca on Friday for a pattern of excessive force by his deputies in the county jails, warning that Baca is running out of time to fix the problems.

If funding for public education is devastated, we will all pay the price.It's the kind of education news that never makes headlines: Dozens of teachers and principals from both charter and district-run schools across the Southland gathered last weekend at Loyola Marymount University to talk

"Sons of Anarchy" actor Johnny Lewis, who allegedly killed his landlord then fell to his death in Los Feliz on Wednesday, was mourned by those who worked with him.

Backing for Prop. 30 drops to 55% amid concerns about the way lawmakers spend money, poll finds. SACRAMENTO — Support for Gov. Jerry Brown's plan for billions of dollars in tax hikes on the November ballot is slipping amid public anxiety about how politicians spend money, but voters still favor the proposal, according to a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll .

Air quality near the closed 10-mile portion of the 405 Freeway reached levels 83% better than typical weekends, according to a team at UCLA's Institute of the Environment and Sustainability.The reprieve lasted for only one weekend, but UCLA researchers say that last year's Carmageddon closure of the 405 Freeway rid Los Angeles of both traffic and another notorious problem: pollution.

Governor approves measure on free digital textbooks and bans employers from asking for workers' email and social media passwords. SACRAMENTO — College students will have free digital access to many textbooks, receive more warning about tuition hikes and have their social media accounts protected from snooping university officials under measures approved by Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday.

The new chancellor acknowledges the financial stresses facing the 112-campus system but says 'the best days are ahead of us.' Longtime educator Brice W. Harris was named Thursday as the new chancellor of the nation's largest community college system, assuming the helm at a crucial period of funding cuts, enrollment declines and shifting priorities.