Pacific Coast Highway reopened after landslide in Pacific Palisades

Pacific Coast Highway north of Santa Monica is open again after a landslide forced crews to close the northbound lanes while they cleared away the debris.

The closure Thursday blocked northbound PCH traffic in Pacific Palisades between Temescal Canyon Road and Sunset Boulevard in Pacific Palisades. The distance was short, but “the effect was much larger,” said Caltrans engineer Patrick Chandler.

By 3 p.m. Thursday, crews had cleared the roadway and opened up traffic again.

A geologist with the agency and a private expert hired by the property owner above the highway agreed to cut down a tree along the hillside but keep its stump and roots remaining.

Caltrans has lined the road’s shoulder with six K-rails, or concrete barriers.

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Photo: Work crews clear debris after a landslide closed Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades. Credit: Al Seib / Los Angeles Times

Landslide closes northbound PCH near Santa Monica

The Pacific Coast Highway was closed to northbound traffic in Pacific Palisades on Thursday morning because of a landslide, according to traffic reports.

The northbound lanes between Sunset Boulevard and Temescal Canyon Road were closed after 4 a.m., forcing commuters to take alternative routes.

Los Angeles police responded to the scene as bulldozers worked to shove the mounds of dirt and rock off the road. Officials could not immediately say when the coastal road would be reopened.

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Photo: Work crews clear debris after a landslide closed Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades. Credit: Al Seib / Los Angeles Times

Lindsay Lohan mug shot: Latest police photo joins growing list

Linday's Lohan latest mug shot is garnering lots of attention after she turned herself in to Santa Monica police following a no-contest plea to misdemeanor charges stemming from a crash on Pacific Coast Highway.

The booking was largely a formality after L.A. County Superior Court Judge James Dabney sentenced Lohan to five days in jail as part of a plea agreement; the time will be served as part of her 90-day stint in a locked-down rehabilitation facility.

Lohan was released immediately after the booking that included a new mug shot to add to half a dozen existing mug shots of the actress. In the last mug shot, she sported dark hair and looked less than thrilled. "Lindsay Lohan mug shot" was a popular online search term Wednesday.

PHOTOS: The trials and tribulations of Lindsay Lohan

The "Mean Girls" star avoided jail Monday in a last-minute deal by pleading no contest to misdemeanor reckless driving and providing false information to police. A charge of willfully resisting, obstructing or delaying an officer was dismissed. In addition to spending 90 days in rehab, she must also spend 18 months in psychotherapy and serve 30 days of community service.

In pleading no contest, Lohan admitted she had violated her probation in a 2011 shoplifting case. Dabney sentenced her to 180 days in jail, but that sentence was stayed. The judge said that if Lohan met the terms of this deal, she wouldn't serve additional time behind bars.

Lindsay Lohan gets new mug shot after turning herself in

Lindsay Lohan on Tuesday afternoon turned herself into Santa Monica police after she pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges stemming from a June 2012 car crash.

The booking is largely a formality: Although L.A. County Superior Court Judge James Dabney sentenced the actress to five days in jail as part of the plea agreement, the time will be served as part of her 90-day stint in a locked-down rehabilitation facility.

Lohan was released immediately after the booking that included a new mug shot to add to half a dozen existing mug shots of the actress. In the last mug shot, she sported dark hair and looked less than thrilled.

PHOTOS: The trials and tribulations of Lindsay Lohan

The "Mean Girls" star avoided jail Monday in a last-minute deal by pleading no contest to misdemeanor reckless driving and providing false information to police. A charge of willfully resisting, obstructing or delaying an officer was dismissed.

In addition to spending 90 days in rehab, she must also spend 18 months in psychotherapy and serve 30 days of community service.

In pleading no contest, Lohan admitted she had violated her probation in a 2011 shoplifting case. Dabney sentenced her to 180 days in jail, but that sentence was stayed. The judge said that if Lohan met the terms of this deal, she wouldn't serve additional time behind bars.

PHOTOS: Celebrity mug shots

But the judge warned her that there wouldn't be any discussion about probation if she violated the agreement, implying that she would be sent to jail.

Lohan was also ordered to pay restitution to the driver of the truck that Santa Monica prosecutors said she hit June 18 while on her way to the set of the cable TV movie "Liz & Dick."

Lindsay Lohan avoids jail time but is headed to locked rehab

Although prosecutors for weeks had offered Lindsay Lohan 90 days in jail or locked rehab as a plea deal, the troubled actress did not agree to the terms until the last minute.

Yet prosecutors said Monday they were pleased with the deal struck with Lohan on misdemeanor charges related to a June 2012 car crash.

"I am pleased with the outcome," said Santa Monica's Chief Deputy City Atty. Terry White. "We got what we offered."

PHOTOS: The trials and tribulations of Lindsay Lohan

The "Mean Girls" star must also spend 18 months in therapy and serve 30 days of community service as part of the agreement, in which she pleaded no contest to misdemeanor reckless driving and providing false information to police. A charge of willfully resisting, obstructing or delaying an officer was dismissed.

In pleading no contest to the charges, Lohan admitted she had violated her probation in a 2011 shoplifting case, and L.A. County Superior Court Judge James Dabney sentenced her to 180 days in jail. But that sentence was stayed.

The judge said that if Lohan met the terms of this deal, she wouldn't serve additional time behind bars. But he warned that there wouldn't be any discussion about probation if she violated the agreement, implying that she would be sent to jail.

Man killed in trench collapse identified; Cal-OSHA investigating

California safety officials Friday were investigating the cause of a trench collapse in Pacific Palisades a day earlier that killed one man and injured another, a spokesman said.

Also Friday, the Los Angeles County coroner's office identified the dead man as Gilbert Vargas, 50. Emergency workers recovered his body Thursday night after about nine hours of digging in the 200 block of North Temescal Canyon Road, just north of Pacific Coast Highway.

Vargas and the unidentified injured man, who was airlifted Thursday to a hospital in stable condition, had been excavating with back hoes on a city storm water project, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Peter Melton, a spokesman for Cal-OSHA, said the agency has ordered work stopped at the site until any hazards have been resolved.

The state Division of Occupational Safety and Health has six months to complete its investigation, but Melton said Los Angeles Engineering Inc., the men's employer, "is going to want to get this taken care of as soon as possible to get back to work, if they can get back to work."

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Photo: Workers try to rescue two people Thursday from a trench in Pacific Palisades. Credit: Martha Groves / Los Angeles Times

 

 

L.A. Marathon: Streets across city to close early Sunday [Map]

The Los Angeles Marathon will close a swath of city streets to traffic extending from Dodger Stadium to Santa Monica beginning early Sunday morning and lasting through the better part of the afternoon, authorities said.

The race begins on Sunday at 6:55 a.m. for wheelchairs, 7:00 a.m. for hand cycles and 7:25 a.m. for all other participants.

Officials warn that traffic will be affected in many areas of the city, especially for those traveling in the vicinity of the event, which follows the same route as last year and roughly tracks east to west along Sunset and Santa Monica boulevards in Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica. 

Staggered street closures begin at 3:15 a.m. Sunday near the stadium and last from seven to nine hours along the 26.2-mile route. In addition, Caltrans will be closing off- and on-ramps or lanes to exit and entry point to the 101, 110 and 405 freeways.

The city Department of Transportation said it will strictly enforce a restricted, no-parking policy for the marathon during listed times. Vehicles that have not been moved will be cited and impounded at the nearest official police garage

Course maps and event information are available at LAmarathon.com or trafficinfo.lacity.org. Those seeking to use public transportation can contact Metro at (323) GO METRO (466-3876) or visit the agency’s trip planner site at metro.net.

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Body of Pacific Palisades trench victim recovered after 9 hours

Rescuers needed over nine hours to recover the body of a construction worker who died when a dirt trench collapsed in Pacific Palisades, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.

A second worker, who was buried in dirt up to his hips, survived the incident Thursday and was dug out after about 1 1/2 hours in the trench. He was taken to UCLA Medical Center in serious but stable condition.

The two men, who have not been identified, were excavating with back hoes in the 200 block of Temescal Canyon Road, near Pacific Coast Highway. They were working for a city subcontractor on a storm water project, according to the fire department.

The trench was about 20 feet long and 15 feet deep in some places. The man who died was buried up to his chest and unconscious when firefighters arrived shortly after 1:30 p.m.

More than 90 firefighters were involved in the rescue effort, which required shoring up the trench to prevent further collapse.

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Photo: Firefighters remove the body of a worker who became trapped in a trench in Pacific Palisades. Credit: Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times

Pacific Palisades trench accident victim dies, second man rescued

One of two people who were trapped in a 15-foot trench in Pacific Palisades has died, authorities said.

The second worker in the construction project incident was rescued, an effort that lasted more than an hour after firefighters arrived on the scene.

The victims were working for a subcontractor on a storm-water treatment project at 200 Temescal Canyon Road and were excavating the trench, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The worker who was pulled alive from the trench at 2:48 p.m. was rushed by ambulance to the nearby beach, where he was met by a helicopter and airlifted to UCLA Medical Center.

Assistant Chief Kwame Cooper said the rescued worker's vital signs "are fine" and he's now listed in stable condition.

Authorities said it will take another two to three hours to extract the body of the second worker from the trench.

In West Hollywood, Pope Francis' stand on gays is unimpressive

For Giancarlo Urey, a 29-year-old lawyer who spent the day in West Hollywood when Pope Francis was named to the papacy, the new leader's anti-gay stance is not a good sign.

Like his predecessor in the Vatican, Francis is equally committed to conservative, traditional doctrine, people who know him say, a sensibility fostered in part by his theological studies in Germany.

He was a staunch opponent of abortion and same-sex marriage, issues that an increasingly secular Argentina has embraced. He once said allowing gay couples to adopt constituted discrimination of the children.

PHOTOS: A new pope is chosen

"I think it's just another reminder that the Catholic Church doesn't progress with the times," said Urey, who is gay.

Urey, who was raised Baptist and lives downtown, said he doesn't expect the sentiment to change anytime soon.

"I'm not hopeful that as an institution it will turn around," he said. "But I hope individuals will open their eyes. There's always hope."

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Urey, who has Bolivian and Guatemalan roots, said he doesn't think the selection of an Argentine pope is too surprising considering the prevalence of Catholicism in Spanish-speaking countries.

And in many ways, he said, an Argentine pope isn't that much of a change.

"I'm not impressed, I'm not excited," said Urey, who called Argentina "about as European as you can get."

INTERACTIVE: Choosing a new pope

Before he was pope, as Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, the archbishop of Buenos Aires, Francis reportedly described gay marriage as the work of the devil and a “destructive attack on God’s plan.” He has also said that gay adoption is a form of discrimination against children.