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 The most recent evidence that smugglers of undocumented immigrants have changed their ways washed up on shore near Torrey Pines earlier this week. The empty, 26-foot fishing boat found on the coast of north San Diego County was most likely abandoned after carrying illegal immigrants who might have paid more than $4,000 each to make the relatively short but risky nighttime voyage from Baja California, officials said.
The number of such illegal ocean crossings is still relatively small, with 11 boats having been seized so far this year. But immigrant smuggling by boat has grown in recent years as more stringent enforcement has made it much more difficult to cross the border on land, reports the North County Times.
It's not easy smuggling people on the Pacific, either. With soaring fuel prices reducing the number of pleasure craft at sea, the smugglers' boats are more likely to be noticed by U.S authorities. As a result, smugglers have taken to traveling at night and heading farther out to sea (as much as 20 miles) before making landfall higher up the San Diego County coast. That might make it harder for the smugglers to be caught but also puts them and their immigrant passengers at greater risk, said Juan Munoz-Torres of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. In March, for example, 15 undocumented immigrants were rescued about 10 miles off the San Diego coast after their boat drifted for a day and a half without food and water. "It's certainly a dangerous way of bringing people into the United States," he said.
-- Jesus Sanchez
Photo: A U.S. Customs boat used to catch smugglers. Credit: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times
 If you can stand to read about how the Lakers blew the biggest first-quarter lead in NBA Finals history, then wrote their names in the record books with the biggest breakdown in the NBA Finals in the last 37 years, and how Kobe Bryant walked off the court with time on the clock, then by all means, read our coverage. Bill Plaschke's righteous rage will actually make you feel better. T.J. Simers blames Phil Jackson. The game story pulls no punches. The photos, well, they'll just break your heart. Thank God it's Friday.
And now onto the real world:
L.A.'s top cops have a turf war of their own going. L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca says race plays a big role in gang violence, while LAPD Chief Bill Bratton says it's actually about drugs and money.
Manson acolyte Susan Atkins may be released from prison because she has brain cancer.
Judge Alex Kozinski wants you to look at some porn -- his own. Specifically, he's called for an investigation into the fact that he kept hard-core images on his website to determine whether he's considered fit to judge obscenity cases.
The Japanese gangster who wanted a liver transplant at UCLA tried to pay $1 million for a U.S. visa.
Got a Q about same-sex marriage in California? Chances are, we've got the A.
Meanwhile, the Kern County clerk says she's hurt by the criticism at her decision to halt all civil marriage ceremonies.
Feeling a particularly vicious pinch in your wallet? You're not dreaming: May's jump in inflation was the biggest in six months.
Check out our coverage of the "Georgia O'Keeffe and the Women of the Stieglitz Circle" exhibit now in the San Diego Museum of Art. What's Hillary Clinton got to do with it? Ironic, in light of today's piece in the NYT.
-- Veronique de Turenne
Photo: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times
 That's what the N.Y. Times says in a front-page story this morning. Tougher enforcement is driving smugglers to recruit Border Patrol agents and customs officials to not just turn a blind eye to the smuggling of illegal immigrants, but to helping them cross the border as well.
The pattern has become familiar: Customs officers wave in vehicles filled with illegal immigrants, drugs or other contraband. A Border Patrol agent acts as a scout for smugglers. Trusted officers fall prey to temptation and begin taking bribes.
Increased corruption is linked, in part, to tougher enforcement, driving smugglers to recruit federal employees as accomplices. It has grown so worrisome that job applicants will soon be subject to lie detector tests to ensure that they are not already working for smuggling organizations.
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Altogether, there are about 200 open cases pending against law enforcement employees who work the border. In the latest arrests, four employees in Arizona, Texas and California were charged this month with helping to smuggle illegal immigrants into the country.
The agents-gone-bad are just a fraction of the workforce, officials say, but the numbers -- and temptations -- are growing and the feds are getting worried. The NYT's full story is here.
-- Veronique de Turenne
Photo: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times
 It's not just people crossing the border into the U.S. in San Diego who get the once-over from immigration officials -- those heading south get special scrutiny as well. Richard Marosi explains how border authorities are stepping up enforcement.
At random times near the Tijuana-San Diego border, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers have been setting up checkpoints, boarding buses destined for Mexico and pulling off people who don't have proper documentation.
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The checkpoints, which are not announced in advance, are set up on southbound Interstate 5 about 100 yards north of the border. Vehicles in all lanes must stop.
Vincent Bond, an agency spokesman, said departing immigrants are fair targets.
"If our officers come upon people who are here illegally . . . regardless of whether they're leaving the country, we detain them, make a record of the fact they were here illegally and return them to Mexico," Bond said.
Feds say those with serious criminal records or a lot of immigration violations get detained. The majority are on their way back to Mexico within hours. More on the immigration issue -- including opposition from immigration rights groups -- in Richard's full story.
--Veronique de Turenne
Photo: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times
Read on »
 A big fight over the flag in the little town of Montrose. Scott Gold gets to the heart of things.
An airline passengers rights measure gets the nod from the state assembly. As one legislator said, "This is a time when we need to spank the airlines." The line forms to the right. Nancy Vogel has the full story.
Another Cal State teacher gets the boot for refusing to sign the state's loyalty oath, which dates back to 1952, the era of the Red Scare. Today, the oath keeps some religious faiths, like Quakers (ooo, scary!) from working in the schools. Richard C. Paddock has the details.
So Bill Plaschke answers his phone and hears this: "Hello Bill? This is Vin Scully." OMG. It's about the retirement talk, of course, which seeped into a Scully speech this week. There is mulling, but there's also good news. Check out Plaschke's column, where he tells all. (And btw, Dodgers won their sixth in a row.)
May Day -- smaller and more peaceful than last year. Check our coverage -- pix and stories and one-the-street videos here and here.
Measles cases have doubled this year and health officials -- and parents -- are getting worried. Rong-Gong Lin II explains what's happening.
The hunt is on for the tiger shark that killed a California surfer in Mexico, and environmentalists say the long, long lines of baited hooks will end in indiscriminate slaughter. AP via LAT.
Bob Dylan's teenage flame tells all in a new book. Josh Getlin reviews it.
--Veronique de Turenne
Photo: Los Angeles Times
Here's the scene at a rally yesterday, held to urge that more money be spent on gang intervention programs. That's former Los Angeles City Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg, left, joined by Families to Amend California's Three Strikes and the Youth Justice Coalition. They want more jobs for youth and are against the repeal of Special Order 40, which keeps LAPD officers from asking about immigration status.
--Veronique de Turenne
Photo: Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times
Of the 320 complaints of racial profiling filed against LAPD officers last year, not one was found to be credible? That's the sixth year in a row that all claims have been dismissed, and more than a few people are, well, skeptical. Joel Rubin has the details.
Home prices fell almost 20% in L.A. and the O.C. Peter Y. Hong delivers the bad news.
While we're at it, we'll let the other shoe drop: The economy grew just 0.6% in the first quarter. Maura Reynolds reports.
That sound you hear? It's wallets slamming shut across the nation as consumers get really, really worried. Peter G. Gosselin has the story.
The Sierra Madre wildfire is 81% contained. Wire service via Long Beach P-T.
When wildfires burn California's thick and sheltering cover of brush, secrets are revealed. What lies beneath, from Janet Wilson.
Thirty-three years after the Vietnam war ended, the people of Little Saigon remember. My-Thuan Tran spends time with the expats on this emotional and, for some, difficult anniversary. Her story here.
The Swiss chemist who invented LSD has died. Thomas H. Maugh II writes about his life.
A 5.2 earthquake rocked northern California last night. AP via LAT.
Marcus Hill stutters. And he wins speech competitions. Mind over matter, and grace under pressure. Story from (who else?) Bob Pool.
-- Veronique de Turenne
Photo: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times
Chart: Los Angeles TImes
Wooden pallets acted like kindling as a fire raged in a South L.A. industrial complex. Francisco Vara-Orta has all the details. Meanwhile, the Sierra Madre fire still burns.
Lakers sweep. Bill Plaschke recaps.
A four-year delay faces the grand Grand Avenue development project slated for downtown. The double whammy of the credit crunch and the soft (that's putting it politely) real estate market have pushed the projected finish date to 2012. The first phase was supposed to be finished next year. So what'll happen now? Cara Mia DiMassa has the full story.
Another milestone pegged to 2012: a third of the state's voters will be immigrants. Teresa Watanabe runs the numbers.
Autopsy confirms the San Diego swimmer was killed by a great white shark. AP via LAT.
Two more molestation charges against that assistant principal who was transfered to Markham Middle School, despite accusations of sexual misconduct at his previous assignment. Richard Winton and Molly Hennessy-Fiske have the update.
The trial for the man who caused the worst crash in Metrolink history opened with statements he was faking a suicide to win back his wife's love. He's fine, but 11 people died. Ann M. Simmons tells what happened in court.
You mean things aren't tough enough for bookstores? Scammers posing as authors are trying (and sometimes managing) to squeeze some cash from the businesses. Scott Timberg has details.
--Veronique de Turenne
Photos: Los Angeles Times
 A proposal to change the LAPD's controversial policy dealing with undocumented immigrants picked up a powerful ally today, the Los Angeles Police Protective League. The union, which represents more than 9,000 LAPD officers, said it is backing a motion introduced last week by Los Angeles Councilman Dennis Zine that would require officers to check on the immigration status of gang members suspected of being undocumented immigrants -- even if they are not under arrest.
That motion would change LAPD's Special Order 40, which restricts officers' ability to inquire about a person's immigration status. Zine introduced the motion after the parents of slain high school football star Jamiel Shaw Jr., who was allegedly killed by an undocumented immigrant, made an emotional plea before the council to amend Special Order 40. In a statement, league President Tim Sands said: “Councilman Zine’s motion offers a common-sense approach that will give our officers a needed tool to remove dangerous gang members from the communities they are threatening. This motion will improve and enhance our officers’ ability to provide security in the neighborhoods where hard-working men and women, immigrants or native born, are trying to protect themselves and their families from gang violence.”
This is probably the first time the police union has taken a position on Special Order 40, officials tell The Times' Richard Winton. Today's announcement pits the union against LAPD Chief William Bratton. The chief has come out strongly against the motion, saying it amounts to "racial profiling." Instead, he proposes providing officers with more info on Special Order 40, which he said is widely misunderstood.
There are plenty of other opinions on this touchy issue. On Sunday, the Times California section will have an entire page devoted to Special Order 40
-- Jesus Sanchez
 The cash and stories of a better life that many Mexican migrant workers send back home often entice many of their relatives and friends to join the northward migration. But, Centelia Maldonado, an activist from the Mexican state of Oaxaca, wants to explore the other side of that story: the one about the dangerous border crossings, back -breaking work and, recently, the shrinking number of jobs.
That is why earlier this week she and a group of other activists arrived in San Diego to speak to Oaxacan laborers about their day-to-day struggle north of the border, said the North County Times. The goal is to spread the other side of the migrant story as part of an effort to expand jobs and businesses in culturally-rich but impoverished Oaxaca. "We want to let people know the suffering people go through and to look for alternatives" to migration, Maldonado said.
That might be difficult given the low wages, scarce jobs and the political instability in Oaxaca in recent years. Maldonado's father left Oaxaca when she was 2 when he became a migrant farmworker in California. The job generated an income but the back-breaking tasks led to health problems later in his life, she said.
After talking to a group of about 30 laborers who had waited for several hours in the hot sun without finding work, Socorro Zurita Vazquez, one of the activists, wondered if it was worth it. "Their sons are left behind and they come here to suffer," she said.
-- Jesus Sanchez
Photo: Los Angeles Times
Manhattan Beach ponies up a cool half-million to help its financially squeezed school district. Daily Breeze
Another arrest -- of a 17-year-old -- in the drive-by killing of Ronald "Drifter" Burgess in Tujunga. LADN
Supes say yes to more cameras in the O.C. jail. KPCC
It's the Television Academy's Hall of Fame for Bea Arthur, says Out in Hollywood.
At last! A sex- and profanity-free Ask a Mexican column we can link to.
Prepare yourself for fire season. Daily News
Thousand Oaks on the patrol for illegal Open House signs. Ventura County Star
Culver City approves 12-story tower over opposition from L.A. neighbors. Daily Breeze
Orange County, a national leader in greenhouse gases. Science Dude
A high school pusher confesses. The Home Room
-- Jesus Sanchez & Veronique de Turenne
Photo: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times
 You don't need to wait for monthly government unemployment stats to know that jobs are harder to come by. Just go to the local spot where day laborers gather. That is where the Daily News says you will find larger groups of workers, mostly immigrants, chasing after a shrinking number of construction and home remodeling jobs.
One group said that demand for day laborers in the Valley has been cut in half since last year, with some workers who used to send $400 a home a month now lucky if they have $100 to spare. That has increased competition for work and strained relations among workers, who often gather at the same spots. "We used to look out for one another," said John David. "But no more. The other day I had a man hire me. In the moment it took for me to turn around and pick up my coat and lunch, someone else jumped into the truck and took the job."
-- Jesus Sanchez
Photo: Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times
How hot was it this weekend? Record-breaking at the beach, miserable everywhere else. And on Sunday, Anaheim's 102 degrees (in mid-April?) made it one of the two hottest spots in all of the Lower 48. Steve Hymon has more details.
¡Hablamos español! That's the new attitude at City Hall as the cultural mix of the city continues its Latino shift. (And I know how happy this topic made some readers last time around, so please note: No obscenities, websites, or name-calling in the comments.) Ari B. Bloomekatz and Francisco Vara-Orta have the story.
New restrictions on taco trucks? Some restaurateurs say "Si!" and the City Council is thinking it over. But taco vendors aren't saying adios just yet. Jean-Paul Renaud takes a look at the issue.
Oh Britney, you were doing so well. The popster has a teensy traffic accident on the Ventura Freeway over the weekend. No injuries and no damage. So why is this news? AP via LAT.
Rumblings of bad news from within the Screen Actors Guild. Richard Verrier explains.
The bridges of Los Angeles County -- the Conservancy wants to preserve them. David Pierson takes tour and explains why.
Lakers are the Western Conference front-runners. Mike Bresnahan celebrates.
-- Veronique de Turenne
 The father of slain high school football star Jamiel Shaw Jr. is expected to ask the Los Angeles City Council today to deport gang members who are undocumented immigrants. The man charged with shooting Shaw was found to have been living illegally in this country for more than a decade. Jamiel Shaw Sr. has said his son's death could have been prevented if the alleged killer, who had been released from jail a day before the shooting, had been removed from the country.
It's a request that would require the city to change the LAPD's controversial Special Order 40, which prevents officers from checking on the immigration status of suspects in most cases. Shaw's appearance today is being supported by Los Angeles mayoral candidate Walter Moore, whose platform includes revocation of the order. Times staff will be covering Shaw's appearance and council reaction.
-- Jesus Sanchez
UPDATE: Sandy Banks covers Shaw's council comments.
Photo: Richard Hartog / Los Angeles Times
So the folks at Absolut Vodka, famous for those message-in-a-bottle ads, are reeling from the effects of a campaign that resurrected a 19th century map showing the southwestern U.S. as part of Mexico. That's right, in this Absolut world, residents of California, Texas, Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico (at least they're used to this kind of confusion) are Mexicans.
A post last week about the ad in the LAT's blog, La Plaza, unleashed quite the firestorm of anger -- and angry Photoshopping. Does it matter that the ads rely on actual history and ran solely in Mexico? Absolutely not, says the AP. More than a dozen calls to boycott Absolut were posted on
michellemalkin.com, a Web site operated by conservative columnist
Michelle Malkin. The ads sparked heated comment on a half-dozen other
Internet sites and blogs.
"In no way was it meant to offend or disparage, nor does it advocate an
altering of borders, nor does it lend support to any anti-American
sentiment, nor does it reflect immigration issues," Absolut said in a
statement left on its consumer inquiry phone line.
Some fringe U.S. groups also claim the land is rightfully part of
Mexico, while extreme immigration foes argue parts of the U.S. already
are being overtaken by Mexico.
Here's the La Plaza post that got things started. Our blogging brethren to the north, meanwhile, take things a step further.
--Veronique de Turenne
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Veronique de Turenne
Veronique de Turenne is a journalist, essayist, book critic and blogger, and has been a staff writer at virtually every newspaper in Southern California. One of the highlights of her career was interviewing Vin Scully in his broadcast booth at Dodger Stadium, then receiving a handwritten thank you note from him a week later. She lives in Malibu.
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The most recent evidence that smugglers of undocumented immigrants have changed their ways washed up on shore near Torrey Pines earlier this week. The empty, 26-foot fishing boat found on the coast of north San Diego County was most likely abandoned after carrying illegal immigrants who might have paid more than $4,000 each to make the relatively short but risky nighttime voyage from Baja California, officials said. 
