A new partnership among Los Angeles city, police and school officials aims to support — rather than punish — students, offering counseling instead of citations.Josh Garcia got his first police citation in sixth grade for spray-painting graffiti at his middle school. Then came four more tickets for truancy and violating curfew.

Residents of a remote Orange County outpost in Silverado Canyon are anxiously awaiting supervisors' vote on land-use applications that would alter their way of life.The morning talk on Wildcat Canyon Road has turned from rattlesnakes to tarantulas. Neighbors stand in the shade of the oaks and sycamores that arch over the cul-de-sac. It's an impromptu gathering on a summer day when there is no grea...

In 2010, living conditions had become so poor that dozens of tenants moved out of the Boyle Hotel to make way for a $24-million renovation. Now dozens are living in redone units.Until the cockroaches, mice and fleas took it over, the historic Boyle Hotel was once the "jewel" of Boyle Heights. For decades, it was a landing spot for mariachis, who frequented the nearby Mariachi Plaza in search of gi...

Homicide detectives Monday morning are investigating a fatal officer-involved shooting in Azusa.

For some South L.A. residents, the excitement of Endeavour rumbling through their neighborhoods en route to the California Science Center faded when they learned that 400 trees had to be cut down.Space shuttle Endeavour's final 12-mile journey through the streets of South Los Angeles already promises to be a meticulously planned spectacle: a two-day parade, an overnight slumber party in Inglewood ...

A friendly sense of mission pervades as alert neighbors equip themselves with golf clubs and baseball bats after a predator is seen in the yard of a home.The midday knock on my front door came from a neighbor I didn't know, though we had lived for years on the same short block in Northridge.

Manuel Vasquez, co-owner of a Hollywood boutique, has compiled songs recorded in prison by the convicted mass murderer and created a new album with the killer's consent.Manuel Vasquez defends the unusual product he's selling. But not everyone's buying it.

With fronds in fewer places — particularly along Central Avenue — the Ventura County agricultural town can now be accurately portrayed as 'Anytown USA' in film shoots.Nothing says easy, breezy Southern California like a palm tree — but in Fillmore, the Southern California icon has been unfronded.

The wildfire in the Angeles National Forest started about 2:15 p.m. About 300 firefighters and several air tankers and choppers are being used. Guests at a campground have been evacuated.Firefighters late Sunday were continuing to battle a blaze in the Angeles National Forest that had scorched more than 3,600 acres and forced the evacuation of campgrounds known to draw up to 12,000 visitors on Lab...

More than 1,000 attend ceremonies at Hue Quang pagoda in Santa Ana to usher in Le Vu Lan with prayers, songs and food.A grandmother calls to her grandson, hushing him as she pins a flower on his surf shirt.

After failing a class at one L.A. Unified school, three seniors earned the credit at another in days, then returned to graduate. The consequences for the principals trigger backlash at both schools.The principals who allowed three students to make up a failed class in less than a week so they could graduate with classmates in June have been transferred to other schools.

Is it 'suspenseful,' 'cerebral,' or a 'sentimental dysfunctional-family drama'? Netflix's taggers will find out to better personalize recommendations.After Greg Harty rolls out of bed in his Sherman Oaks apartment, he grabs a cup of coffee and starts his work day at a desk in the corner of his living room. His assignment: Watch three episodes of "Modern Family."

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Roderick Wright, 60, is accused of living in a home outside his district and lying about his residency. A pretrial conference is slated for Sept. 26.Almost two years after his grand jury indictment on eight felony counts of voter fraud and perjury, state Sen. Roderick Wright has yet to stand trial. The longtime Inglewood Democrat may not get his full day in court before voters decide this fall whe...

The Los Angeles mayor and event chairman dismisses the idea that his national profile takes priority over the city. 'I'm so proud to be the mayor.'CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As the Democratic National Convention prepares to open, Antonio Villaraigosa, chairman of the gathering, is in a frenzy.

Giant canyon live oak measures 499 inches around and 97 feet high, with a 98-foot canopy spread. But is it the biggest oak in the United States?After a hellish hike in the wilderness above Yucaipa in the San Bernardino Mountains on a recent weekday, seven naturalists with cameras, measuring tape and lasers entered the shade of a gargantuan oak tree and looked up at its gnarled branches, their eyes...

Next Legislature will be working under a tweaked set of rules, such as a term-limit change, that could result in less stalemate in Sacramento.SACRAMENTO — It's the end of an era for California's much-maligned Legislature, thankfully, and the beginning of a more promising future.

Authorities are searching for a man and woman after a sheriff's deputy is shot in South El Monte. The pair also committed a series of carjackings.Authorities are searching for two carjacking suspects involved in the shooting of a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy Sunday morning in South El Monte.

Sukhee Kang, mayor of Irvine, is among 17 candidates of Asian heritage who are running for Congress. Their numbers indicate a growing political confidence.Brutal, burning images inspired Sukhee Kang to jump into politics.

Paul Raef's attorneys say the law, which targets 'commercial' photographers who pursue celebrities, violates the 1st Amendment. Raef is accused of chasing Justin Bieber on the 101 Freeway.A freelance photographer who allegedly chased singer Justin Bieber on the 101 Freeway this summer and became the first person arrested and charged under the state's new anti-paparazzi law is now waging a constitu...

The program at the University of La Verne provides counseling and English and math courses to teenage children of migrant workers who have been in the U.S. less than three years.To kick off his summer vacation, Herik Lopez rolled out of bed at 3:30 a.m., dressed in the dark and within an hour was among the workers in an Imperial County field, yanking melons from the dirt.

Emails in Jackson insurance litigation show AEG execs knew of concerns about the pop star's stability.The scene in Michael Jackson's London hotel suite left Randy Phillips in a panic. Phillips was one of the world's most powerful music promoters and used to rock 'n' roll chaos, but the star's condition still floored him.

Republican Tim Donnelly, a fiercely conservative lawmaker from the mountains of San Bernardino County, tests colleagues' patience with scorched-earth rhetoric on his favorite subjects.SACRAMENTO — Republican Assemblyman Tim Donnelly was thundering on the chamber floor against a proposal to make drivers stay 3 feet from cyclists, a regulation he said would chip away at Californians' liberty. ...

The park has received thousands of calls since six cases of the rodent-borne disease were traced to Yosemite. Officials are answering questions and sending letters to those who may have been infected.YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK — The phones in the administrative building here are constantly ringing. Half a dozen rangers answer the calls:

The bill would place a 1% tax on lumber sales to fund oversight of the timber industry. It also would limit companies' liability for legal damages in cases of wildfires caused by their practices.SACRAMENTO — A proposed tax on timber came back from the dead early Saturday, passing after Gov. Jerry Brown's aides muscled votes in the final minutes of a legislative session that stretched past mi...

An alert nurse's quick action saves the columnist's life and opens his eyes to his medical team's dedication and compassion.The significance of my brush with death didn't sink in at first, probably because being alive keeps you pretty busy.

Two married teachers in Huntington Beach were convicted Thursday of having an unlawful sexual relationship with a 17-year-old high school student.

A key figure charged in the L.A. County assessor's office probe says he gave cash and perks to USC football star Joe McKnight and basketball player Davon Jefferson while they were in school. Gifts could be a violation of NCAA rules.A key figure in the ongoing corruption scandal at the Los Angeles County assessor's office said he gave cash and perks worth thousands of dollars to two USC athletes wh...

With his decisions, the California governor risks alienating unions, business groups and other powerful interests whose support he wants for his November tax initiative.SACRAMENTO — Gov. Jerry Brown has spent months persuading some of California's most powerful interests to invest millions of dollars in his November tax initiative. Now, that drive for campaign cash looms over the Capitol as ...

The homeless Texan who built a wonderland garden and amassed an eclectic toy collection along the river in Boyle Heights has died. Friends hope his 'art' can be preserved.Twenty years ago, Charles Ray Walker saw green bamboo shoots sprouting along an industrial mosaic of steel, concrete and dirt by the Los Angeles River in Boyle Heights. When the property owner told the homeless Texan he could sta...