Agents seize bongs at L.A. Harbor listed as Christmas ornaments

Customs officials at the Los Angeles Harbor received a shipment from China listed as Christmas ornaments.

But when they opened the "presents" Tuesday, they found 316,000 bongs and pipes.

“They’re very colorful and big,” said Cristina Gamez, a spokeswoman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. “Some of them are like 2 feet tall.”

Gamez said glass bongs and pipes, contained in nearly 860 boxes of cargo, are worth about $2.6 million.

The package arrived a month ago but was seized Tuesday at the Los Angeles/Long Beach port complex. The manifest listing the cargo’s contents said Christmas ornaments were inside. They were addressed to someone in L.A. County.

Gamez said no arrests have been made, and an investigation is pending. She said that it is illegal to import, export or sell drug paraphernalia in the United States and that all the items would be destroyed.

-- Baxter Holmes

Photo: A bong seized by Customs agents at L.A. Harbor. Credit: U.S. Customs and Border Enforcement

Search underway for two people reportedly seen on boat that burned off Venice Pier [Updated]

 Authorities are searching for at least two people who may have been on a vessel that caught fire this afternoon in the waters off Venice Pier.

The U.S. Coast Guard and Los Angeles County Fire Department had dispatched vessels to search for the two, authorities said.

"We have a witness who saw two people on the boat," said Sgt. Bernie Patrick of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Marina del Rey station. "We no longer know where those people are."

[Updated 10:10 p.m.: Peck said that investigators now believe that two people were not on the boat. "The witness now says he wasn't sure," Peck said. But authorities were still searching the waters in the area, he said. "That boat didn't drift out there by itself."]

The 20-foot boat caught fire about two miles from the pier, authorities said. A column of dark smoke could be seen drifting from the distressed vessel. The blaze was reported about 4:45 p.m.

Firefighting boats extinguished the flames, and authorities were preparing to tow the damaged vessel to shore.

--Robert J. Lopez

VW bus stolen 35 years ago discovered bound for the Netherlands

When U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents at the Port of Los Angeles opened a shipping container bound for the Netherlands, they discovered a 1965 Volkswagen bus stolen in Washington state 35 years ago.

Far out, man!

The unusual seizure of the mint-condition bus on Oct. 19 came during a routine inspection of several Volkswagens that were being shipped by a U.S. restorer to customers in Europe. The vehicle identification number of the blue-and-white bus, which was swiped from a repair shop in Spokane on July 12, 1974, was still in police computers.

“Pretty amazing, isn’t it?” customs spokesman Jaime Ruiz said today when the recovery was announced.

The restorer, who was not identified, isn’t a suspect in the theft, authorities said.

“He’s a victim himself. He was an innocent purchaser,” said California Highway Patrol investigator Mike Maleta.

Maleta said Spokane police couldn’t locate the woman who once owned the bus.

“Allstate paid her $2,500 or so to settle the claim,” he said. “Now, it’s worth $25,000. ... It’s in pristine condition. It looks like it’s brand new. So Allstate wanted it.”

Bummer.

-- Mike Anton in Orange County

Photo credit: U.S. Department of Homeland Security

LAX hikes parking fees at economy lots

Travelers who use the economy parking lots at Los Angeles International Airport will pay $2 more per day starting Nov.19.

The Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners approved the increase Monday for parking lots B and C, whose rates were last raised in 2002.

When the increase goes into effect it will cost $10 a day to park in Lot B on 111th Street and $12 a day in  Lot C off Sepulveda Boulevard.

Airport officials said the new rates will help offset the rising costs of operating, maintaining and policing the lots, as well as the free bus service that shuttles passengers between the parking lots and airport terminals.

-- Dan Weikel

More breaking news in L.A. Now:

18 charged in alleged $25-million Medicare fraud scheme in Southern California

Police Commission begins interviews today for next LAPD chief

L.A. council broaches raising fees to appeal development decisions

L.A. City Council to consider historic landmark status for Century Plaza Hotel today

Polanski likely to be extradicted to U.S., Swiss officials told L.A. prosecutors

3.3 earthquake hits San Bernardino County

Apparent gang-related shooting leaves four injured in South L.A.

L.A. port executive moves to DWP

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has hired former state Assemblyman Wally Knox to become one of its top executives, just one week after a deputy mayor became interim general manager.

Knox will join the nation’s largest municipally owned utility Nov. 2, becoming its director of external relations — a post similar to one he held for the last six months at the Port of Los Angeles.

A harbor department spokesman said Knox left the port to avoid concerns about his wife’s work representing the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 68. “His wife is an attorney with the port pilots, so you can see where there would be a perceived potential conflict, and he saw it as that,” said port spokesman Phillip Sanfield.

Ports receive EPA stimulus grants to cut diesel emissions

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced $26 million in federal stimulus grants to cut diesel emissions in Southern California. Included will be money for the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to retrofit heavy-duty equipment.

The Port of Long Beach is slated to receive $4 million to replace or retrofit cargo-handling equipment, including cranes and harbor crafts, and the Port of Los Angeles will receive $2 million to do the same.

The California Air Resources Board received $951,431, which it will use as grant money for school districts to retrofit about 43 school buses.

L.A. County approves big expansion of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center

Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, one of the county-run health network’s most heavily used facilities, is poised for a major expansion that planners hope will greatly relieve overcrowding.

Los Angeles County Supervisors voted today to approve the final piece of a $333-million plan to expand the facility’s emergency department and renovate the surgical ward.

The emergency room will grow from 25,000 square feet with 42 bays to 75,000 square feed with 80 bays, providing enhanced privacy. 

Fire burning at Wilmington refinery

A large fire broke out this morning at a refinery in Wilmington.

The blaze started around 5 a.m. at the Tesoro Refinery at 2101 E. Pacific Coast Highway. More than 120 firefighters were on the scene and had prevented the blaze from spreading outside the Tesoro property, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

No injuries were reported, and officials are not sure how the fire started.

-- Shelby Grad

Photo: A plume of smoke rises above the Tesoro Refinery in Wilmington after a fire broke out early Friday morning. Credit: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

Dry, hot weather and red-flag warnings to continue

Fire weather will remain in mountain and foothill communities through the rest of the week, the National Weather Service said today.

The agency has extended red-flag warnings for mountain and foothill areas in Los Angeles and Ventura counties through Saturday night, as dry and hot weather is expected to continue through Friday and Saturday.

There is one bright spot: Santa Ana winds are predicted to disappear by Friday morning, said Stuart Seto, a weather specialist for the National Weather Service office in Oxnard.

A new vision for the San Pedro waterfront

Officials are considering a new plan for improving the San Pedro port, including revitalizing the once-thriving Port O'Call village shopping and dining area. In addition to expanding the village, the plan calls for extending the Red Car trolley line and adding three new harbors. Details from the Daily Breeze:

After more than a decade of community wrangling and a series of plans that fell by the wayside, the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners is poised next week to consider a $1.2-billion waterfront redevelopment plan aimed at reviving the image and economy of San Pedro. The 400-acre project primarily focuses on bringing the community closer to the water by building a series of parks, shops, restaurants, harbors, walkways, street improvements, an extended Red Car trolley line and a new cruise terminal that will accommodate larger ships calling at the port, according to a 7,000-page environmental impact report released [this month] by the port.

Photo: The San Pedro waterfront. Credit: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

Police divers in San Pedro search for gun pointed at officers by robbery suspect

A Los Angeles Police Department dive team was searching Saturday for a handgun that was likely tossed into the ocean just off Point Fermin Park in San Pedro by a robbery suspect who tumbled down a cliff with a police dog during a chase, authorities said.

“The suspect landed on the rocks below and sustained non-life-threatening injuries,” Police Department spokesman Gregory Baek said. “The police dog was not injured.”

The incident began at about 1:30 a.m. in the 1000 block of Paseo Del Mar “when a patrol officer heard gunshots and a woman screaming,” Baek said.

Responding officers encountered two suspects, both men in their mid-20s. One of the suspects was arrested at the scene without incident, Baek said.

The other pointed a handgun at an officer and attempted to fire. “But his weapon jammed,” Baek said. “Then he fled down a path toward the water line.” Officers believe he threw his gun into the ocean.
The suspect was located later by a canine unit, said Sgt. Danny Contreras of the Police Department Harbor Station said.

“He was trying to hide in a bush about 15 feet above the water,” Contreras said. “An assortment of items taken during the robbery — cellphones, cash, wallets, a camera — were returned to four victims, none of whom were harmed.”

The suspects were booked on suspicion of robbery and assault with a deadly weapon against a police officer, Contreras said.

-- Louis Sahagun

Teens learn about prejudice in LAPD program at Museum of Tolerance

Some L.A.-area high school students have been taking a crash course in racial profiling, discrimination and prejudice during a weeklong program that ends today at the Museum of Tolerance in West L.A.

Nearly 20 teenagers, mostly from the Harbor and East L.A. areas, attended the Youth Leadership Retreat held in partnership with the Los Angeles Police Department at the museum dedicated to educating people about the Holocaust.

Alan Ramirez, a 14-year-old freshman at Port of Los Angeles High School, was among the attendees.

“We learned the old-fashioned convictions that we should all have the ability to help people if they are bullied or being disrespected,” said the San Pedro teen. “It’s important for us to have a generation of good leaders.”

5 options offered to reshape the Long Beach breakwater

Two miles from downtown Long Beach, where freighters queue up to unload much of the nation’s imported goods, a long wall of rock rises abruptly from the waves, encrusted with mussels and crawling with crabs.

This is the Long Beach Harbor breakwater, a 2.2-mile architectural creation of World War II designed to shield the Navy’s Pacific Fleet from stormy seas and enemy torpedoes.

Today, nearly two decades after the Navy and its ships pulled out of the area, critics contend that the stony barricade is the reason the city’s now surfless beaches are among the least popular and most polluted in the region.

This afternoon, Long Beach released the long-awaited results of a study designed to attract congressional support for a controversial proposal to reconfigure the breakwater to create bigger waves, cleaner water and beaches, and more surf tourism. According to the study, the city could gain $52 million a year in local spending — and $7 million annually in taxes and fees.

Balboa ferry service halted after boat runs aground

The historic Balboa Island ferry was out of service today after operators discovered a 2-foot hole in its hull late Tuesday night, the U.S. Coast Guard reported.

The 57-foot ferry had no passengers on board when it ran aground about 11:30 p.m., but it was carrying an estimated 50 gallons of gasoline. The fuel was removed, and the Coast Guard said there had been no reports of pollution in the harbor.

The ferry has carried cars and passengers on the quarter-mile trip between Newport Beach's Balboa Island and Balboa peninsula since 1919.

Officials at Balboa Island Ferry, which operates the service, and South Coast Shipyard, where the ferry was taken for repairs, could not be reached for comment.

A Coast Guard spokeswoman said there were no reports of flooding aboard the ferry as a result of the hole. Coast Guard inspectors will investigate, she said.

-- Dana Parsons in Costa Mesa

Woman dies after crashing into garbage truck in Wilmington

A woman died this morning when the car she was driving crashed into a trash truck near a Harbor Freeway overpass in Wilmington.

The 6 a.m. crash near Pacific Coast Highway and Figueroa Street forced the closure of the highway from Figueroa to Wilmington Boulevard, said Sgt. Jeff Hamilton of the Los Angeles Police Department.

The cause of the accident was under investigation. Hamilton did not know whether the trash truck driver was hurt.

-- Ruben Vives

Photo: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

Sea lion seizes control of sheriff's patrol boat

Here's one of the stories that KTLA Channel 5 News is planning for its 10 p.m. broadcast:

SEA LION COMMANDEERS PATROL BOAT: A sea lion unexpectedly took the helm of an Orange County Sheriff's Harbor Patrol fire boat recently. Deputies had loaded the creature onto their vessel after residents complained that it was behaving aggressively toward children on a Newport Beach dock. As deputies prepared to relocate the creature, the sea lion got into the pilot's seat. Deputies said they discovered the animal with its flippers on the patrol boat's controls.

Video from the O.C. Register:

Gray whale is done with Marina del Rey, finally heads north

 

A 20-foot-long gray whale that had been frolicking in the Marina del Rey channel for about three weeks has left the area and appears to be headed north to Alaskan waters, animal rescuers said today.

The whale likely swam up from Baja California en route to Alaska and may have picked the channel as a rest stop. It stayed there for weeks, roaming around, going out to sea and then returning for unknown reasons, said Peter Wallerstein, founder of Marine Animal Rescue.

Wallerstein said that at about 6:30 p.m. Friday, "something clicked in the whale, where it's time to go."

California gray whales migrate south each winter to the waters near Baja California. From roughly February to May, they migrate to northern Alaska. Wallerstein said he followed the whale out of the area on land, watching closely with a pair of binoculars as it swam about 400 yards offshore and went past the Santa Monica Pier and along the coast before heading for deeper waters.

"I felt relieved. It got to be a real problem with boats getting too close and I was worried about the safety of the whale," Wallerstein said. "Just glad it had a happy ending."

-- Ari B. Bloomekatz

Photo: Los Angeles Times

More coverage:

Gray whale seems to like Marina del Rey

Whale makes waves in Marina del Rey

Youth center named after African American teen killed by Latino gang [Updated]

Los Angeles officials today dedicated the Cheryl Green Community Youth Center in Harbor Gateway, named after the African American teenager who was killed in the area in 2006 by Latino gang members.

Green, 14, was killed near her home when a 204th Street gang member fired into a group of black youths on Harvard Boulevard, authorities said. The Latino gang had been preying on and attacking blacks in the neighborhood for years.

Several members of Green's family attended the ceremony.

“I feel so proud and happy. My sister didn’t die in vain,” said Vanessa Cary, 21, who saw the youth center at the corner of Del Amo Boulevard and Denker Avenue for the first time today.

Green’s killing drew national attention and city and police officials promised changes to stem the violence. At the time, Councilwoman Janice Hahn pledged a new youth center so kids would have a place to go after school.

“Cheryl’s death was the tipping point for Los Angeles,” Hahn said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony today. “We thought something had to be done so this next generation of kids could grow up and be friends with each other.” 

The youth center is officially called the Boys & Girls Club of Harbor Gateway / Torrance Cheryl Green Community Youth Center. Plans include hosting gang-intervention and adult education programs at the site, and officials said they also hope to build a computer lab for neighborhood youth.

-- Ari B. Bloomekatz in Harbor Gateway

Updated at 12:55 p.m. June 16: The headline on an earlier version of this post incorrectly described the community center as a gymnasium.

Boaters missing off Catalina found near Pismo Beach

Zebulon Tryon and Chris Reuter, the two inexperienced boaters who went missing late last week, have reportedly been found safe by a Coast Guard search crew near Pismo Beach, according to Zebulon's mother, Tish Tryon.

Tish Tryon called KTLA after 5:00 p.m. Monday with the news. The Coast Guard confirmed that both of the boaters have been found safe, but have not yet released an official statement. Zebulon Tryon, 21, and Chris Reuter, also in his 20s, departed Friday from Avalon Harbor on a white, 27-foot-long 1973 Coronado sail boat bound for Santa Cruz, according to Coast Guard officials.

Read the full story at KTLA News. Earlier video.

Property tax relief coming for more than 330,000 L.A. County homeowners

Help is in the mail for many Los Angeles County homeowners frustrated by the housing slump.

The Los Angeles County assessor’s office this morning announced that it has finished an automatic review of assessments for 473,000 homes purchased between July 1, 2003 and June 30, 2008 -- which account for about 28% of homes countywide.

County officials reduced assessments on about 70% of properties reviewed. Homeowners getting a break should soon get a letter in the mail. The average property tax savings is $1,400 for owners of single family homes and $1,100 for condominium owners, county officials said.

Those receiving reductions included owners of 256,000 single family homes and 77,000 condo owners. The average reduction in value was $126,000 for single family homes; $96,000 for condos.

The reduction in assessments means a loss of $440 million in tax revenue, a 1% drop county officials anticipated in last month’s proposed budget, said Assessor Rick Auerbach.

Smoking ban for L.A. county parks planned; actors exempted [Updated]

Smokers beware: In addition to being banned from bars, beaches, bus stops, restaurants and government buildings, you are about to get booted from county parks and golf courses.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky wants to ban smoking at the county’s 144 parks and 17 golf courses in “an effort to safeguard the public from potential exposure to secondhand smoke.”

On Tuesday, the supervisor plans to ask county officials to draft a law enacting the ban and return to the board for a vote within three months.

Public Health Director Dr. Jonathan Fielding and Parks and Recreation Director Russ Guiney endorsed the ban, with one exception sure to please the Hollywood crowd: Actors will still be allowed to smoke in the parks, as long as they are being filmed.

County officials estimate the ban will cost about $49,000, mostly to post signs in the parks advertising the new law.

L.A. city fire chief Douglas Barry will step down [Updated]

[Updated, 1:53 p.m.: Fire Department spokeswoman Capt. Tina Haro says Chief Douglas Barry is retiring, not resigning. Barry is expected to address reporters at a 3:30 p.m. news conference today at City Hall.]

Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Douglas Barry, who took office two years ago with a mission to reform the troubled department, will resign effective Aug. 31, a department spokeswoman said today.

The department plans to make a formal announcement this afternoon, said Capt. Tina Haro, a spokeswoman for the fire department.

Barry was appointed in 2007 by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa with a mandate to turn the department around in the wake of several race and gender bias allegations, including the Tennie Pierce dog food scandal and other sexual harassment cases that cost city taxpayers millions of dollars to settle.

He worked his way through the ranks, working in the field and in fire prevention before being chosen by Villaraigosa to head the 3,500-member department. Born and raised in the South Bay, Barry attended Narbonne High School, Los Angeles Harbor College and Cal State Long Beach.

He joined the Fire Department in 1975 and progressed through the ranks. In 1993, he became a battalion chief, overseeing firehouses in South Los Angeles in the wake of rioting that erupted after the Rodney G. King verdicts. Those who observed Barry say he was able to build bridges between the department and the community. "He was solid and is a man of integrity who is very personable and open-minded," said veteran Capt. Scott Gould, who served under Barry in South L.A.

In the wake of a scathing 1994 city audit of the department that found widespread sexism and racism, Barry often accompanied former L.A. Fire Chief Donald O. Manning to the City Council's Personnel Committee, which was investigating the allegations. (Barry was promoted to assistant chief in 2004.)

When he was appointed, the mayor's aides said they hoped he would work aggressively toward ending discriminatory practices that have resulted in multimillion-dollar lawsuits and triggered two critical city audits.

-- Robert J. Lopez

Photo: Al Seib / Los Angeles Times

High school football star shot to death in Compton restaurant

An 18-year-old football player from Harbor City’s Narbonne High School was shot dead Sunday night at a Compton restaurant. His friends were planning a vigil for him at 7 tonight near the restaurant, on Rosecrans Avenue near Central Avenue.

Dannie Farber Jr., an All-City receiver who helped Narbonne earn a co-City Section championship this fall, was eating at a Louisiana Fried Chicken in the 1900 block of Rosecrans Avenue when he was killed. He was set to graduate June 19.

"He was sitting there eating dinner with some girl," said Coach Manuel Douglas. "They walked in and shot him four times." Farber died of multiple wounds to his torso.

Sgt. David Infante of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said today that homicide detectives were investigating the shooting, which occurred at 9:39 p.m.

Douglas said Farber had made "a lot of big plays." He caught a 4-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter in a city semifinal playoff game that rallied the Gauchos to a 25-24 victory over Crenshaw High School and enabled the team to reach the championship game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

"He was a real good kid," said assistant coach Byron Moore Sr., who had known Farber since coaching him in youth football. "He wasn’t involved in any gang. It’s a tragic loss. He was always full of energy."

-- Eric Sondheimer and Martha Groves

Photo: Breealle Hollyfield, Laporsche Croom, and Laquioa Joseph mourn outside the restaurant where Dannie Farber was killed.

Credit: Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times

Harbor City high school football player shot dead

An 18-year-old football player from Harbor City's Narbonne High School was shot dead Sunday night while eating at a Compton restaurant.

Dannie Farber, an All-City receiver who helped Narbonne earn a co-City Section championship last fall, was at the Louisiana Fried Chicken in the 1900 block of Rosecrans Avenue when he was killed. Farber was set to graduate on June 19.

"He was sitting there eating dinner with some girl," said Coach Manuel Douglas. "They walked in and shot him four times." Farber died of multiple wounds to his torso.

Sgt. David Infante of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said today that sheriff's homicide detectives were investigating the shooting, which occurred at 9:39 p.m.

Douglas said Farber had made "a lot of big plays." He caught a four-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter in a city semifinal playoff game that rallied the Gauchos to a 25-24 victory over Crenshaw High School and enabled the team to reach the championship game at the Coliseum.

"He was a real good kid," said assistant coach Byron Moore Sr., who had known Farber since coaching him in youth football. "He wasn't involved in any gang. It's a tragic loss. He was always full of energy."

-- Eric Sondheimer and Martha Groves

Huge sweeps target Latino gangs that allegedly attacked blacks

Federal authorities said they would announce today a huge sweep of Latino gang members allegedly responsible for violence against law enforcement and racially motivated attacks against blacks.

The announcement followed the arrests of dozens of suspected gang members during raids early this morning. A news release from the U.S. attorney's office called it the "largest gang takedown in United States history."

U.S. Atty. Thomas P. O'Brien, along with officials from the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, is scheduled to speak at a news conference at 11 a.m. at the Lakewood sheriff's station. 

The indictment is the latest of several investigations that found gangs participating in race-based violence. Federal prosecutors two years ago charged members of a Latino gang with a violent campaign to drive blacks out of the unincorporated Florence-Firestone neighborhood that allegedly resulted in 20 homicides over several years.

In the Harbor Gateway district of L.A., police launched a crackdown last year on another Latino gang accused of targeting blacks, including 14-year-old Cheryl Green, whose death became a rallying point. In 2006, members of the Avenues, a Latino gang, were convicted in federal court for a series of assaults and killings in the early 1990s targeting blacks in Highland Park. 

-- Scott Glover

Photo: Weapons confiscated during this morning's raid. Credit: Richard Winton / Los Angeles Times