Gov. Jerry Brown has until the end of the month to decide whether to sign a bill that would allow youths imprisoned without possibility of parole to be considered for release after 25 years. Christian Bracamontes was a 16-year-old on a bicycle the night he and a friend, one gun between them, tried to rob four Riverside teens of their dope.

Law firm Lackie, Dammeier & McGill, which represents many police unions, has a reputation for aggressive attacks against city halls. One critic described its tactics as 'litigation terrorism.'One after another, people stepped before the Costa Mesa City Council to decry the blight and lawlessness on tiny Ford Road — prostitutes, thieves, home invaders. What the city needs, they pleaded, is mo...

Authorities say a Ford Expedition heading east lost control and plunged onto North Figueroa Street about 6:55 p.m. A man, woman and child were killed. Three others are hospitalized.Three people were killed and three injured when an SUV flew off the side of the eastbound 134 Freeway in Eagle Rock on Sunday evening, landing on the street below.

The Ford Foundation and the California Community Foundation seek to extend learning time for needy Los Angeles students amid continuing budget cuts. Several Los Angeles schools, hit hard by budget cuts in recent years, are set to receive $1.7 million from two foundations in a major national initiative to expand learning time for disadvantaged students.

Rob and Chelsea McFarland are on a PR mission for bees. So far, they've gotten the support of 8 L.A. neighborhood councils and city Councilman Bill Rosendahl. Sweet.

Officials say they plan to start phasing in a 'Police Interceptor' version of the Ford Explorer this fall because traditional sedans available were too small. A third of the fleet is replaced each year.When Ford announced it would stop making the Crown Victoria sedan, the California Highway Patrol and law enforcement agencies around the country were faced with replacing the iconic cop car.

The funds will help The Times expand coverage of key areas, including immigration and ethnic communities in Southern California.The Los Angeles Times will use a $1-million grant from the Ford Foundation to expand its coverage of key beats, including immigration and ethnic communities in Southern California, the southwest U.S. border and the emerging economic powerhouse of Brazil.

The newspaper plans to use the two-year grant from the Ford Foundation to hire journalists who will focus on immigrant communities, the California prison system, the border region and Brazil.The Los Angeles Times will use a $1-million grant from the Ford Foundation to expand its coverage of key beats, including immigration and ethnic communities in Southern California, the southwest U.S. border an...

Program aims to teach Jewish students about their heritage through a tour of Eastern Europe featuring Yiddish culture.In his mind's eye, Rob Adler Peckerar is sitting with his students on a doorstep in the bustling heart of Eastern Europe. They are in a town, perhaps in Lithuania, perhaps Ukraine. It is summer, and a warm breeze rustles the trees.

A volunteer deputy who threw a fundraiser for L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca was assigned a county car, which even most full-time deputies don't receive. Other volunteers might also have had such vehicles.For months, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Capt. Phillip Hansen heard the grumblings: Deep-pocketed donors and other well-connected individuals working as reserve deputies were driving around in unma...

The newly drawn 66th Assembly District in the South Bay 'is a classic swing district,' one political consultant says. Candidates — Democrat and Republican — even downplay party affiliation.Lots of candidates need a Rob Katherman this year.

Three men rob a longtime Sun Valley resident, then kill the grandson who tried to save him.It was a short trip to the supermarket for telephone calling cards, but the errand would leave Manuel Flores' life forever scarred.

The victim was killed Thursday night in Hollywood. The man they seek may also have tried to rob another transgender woman in West Hollywood. Authorities are seeking the public's help in identifying a man who shot and killed a transgender woman in Hollywood late Thursday night and who may also be responsible for the attempted armed robbery of another transgender woman in West Hollywood less than a...

At her Palm Desert funeral the former first lady planned, Cokie Roberts speaks of the importance of bipartisanship, and Rosalynn Carter of how Ford fought fear, stigma and prejudice.In life, Betty Ford was known for speaking her mind, even when the subjects — substance abuse, cancer, equal rights for women — made some people uncomfortable. So it continued in death, with a funeral scrip...

Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter will be among those delivering eulogies for the wife of the nation's 38th president.A private memorial for former First Lady Betty Ford will be held in Palm Desert on Tuesday, with a eulogy to be delivered by former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, before her remains are flown to Michigan and laid to rest beside her husband, a family representative said Saturday. ...

Actress Lindsay Lohan, who is on probation and faces a criminal investigation related to her stay at the Betty Ford Center, is to be charged in the case of a missing necklace.Los Angeles County prosecutors said Tuesday they plan to file charges against actress Lindsay Lohan for allegedly stealing a $2,500 necklace from a Venice jewelry store.

Riverside County sheriff's detectives believe 'there is a case here to press charges' against Lindsay Lohan even though a Betty Ford Center technician has asked that the case be dropped.Riverside County sheriff's detectives say they believe Lindsay Lohan violated her probation during an alleged altercation with a technician at a Betty Ford Center housing complex in Palm Desert last month over whet...

The actress was scheduled to be released Monday from the Palm Desert rehab clinic, but an allegation that she attacked a female staffer at the facility could send her back to jail.Actress Lindsay Lohan could have walked out of the Betty Ford Center on Monday, the day her court order to stay at the drug and alcohol rehab clinic ended.

Technician who says she was assaulted by the actress while trying to give her an alcohol test is said to have violated patient confidentiality by speaking with the media about the incident.The Betty Ford Center has fired an employee who accused actress Lindsay Lohan of assaulting her when she tried to administer an alcohol test, saying the worker violated patient confidentiality by speaking with t...

Authorities were called to the Betty Ford Center, where the actress is undergoing treatment, after a disturbance.Actress Lindsay Lohan is under investigation of misdemeanor battery after being accused of attacking a female staffer at the Betty Ford Center, where a Beverly Hills judge ordered the actress to undergo addiction treatment for violating probation.

The actress is to remain at the Betty Ford Center until Jan. 3, then be subject to random drug testing until her Feb. 25 court date.Over a prosecutor's protest, a Beverly Hills judge Friday spared actress Lindsay Lohan jail time for violating the terms of her probation and ordered her instead to remain in a residential rehab facility to continue drug and alcohol addiction treatment.

Clayton Treska, 30, is battling stage 4 testicular cancer, but that didn't stop him from tackling the grueling event coming up in Hawaii — his first triathlon. The Iraq war vet is planning on college too.The 1,800 competitors in the 2010 Ford Ironman World Championship thisweekend in Hawaii will battle the surf (for a 2.4-mile swim), the island's uphill roads (for the 112-mile bike ride) and...

Backers say letting drivers carry discounts from carrier to carrier would aid most drivers. Foes say the measure would make rates unaffordable for many new drivers. In a Yes on 17 radio promotion, actors portraying a couple pondering their car insurance bills grumble about "the flaw in the law" that would ro...