/news/local - latimes.com

Garcetti wins race for L.A. mayor; Greuel concedes

By Seema Mehta and Laura J. Nelson — Wed, 22 May 2013 03:27:00 PDT

Wendy Greuel called Eric Garcetti early Wednesday morning to concede the mayoral election, a Greuel campaign source told The Times, ending a two-year campaign to determine Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's successor and the new political leader of Los Angeles.

Price, Cedillo leading in council races

By David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times — Wed, 22 May 2013 00:46:00 PDT

Ex-Assemblywoman Cindy Montañez opens a wide margin over Nury Martinez while Mitch O'Farrell is ahead of John Choi.

Three veterans from Sacramento were making strong showings Tuesday in the Los Angeles City Council election, with two pulling ahead of their opponents and a third headed to a possible runoff in the San Fernando Valley, according to partial returns.

Feuer beats Trutanich; Galperin leading Zine

By Jean Merl and Abby Sewell, Los Angeles Times — Wed, 22 May 2013 00:40:00 PDT

Incumbent City Atty. Carmen Trutanich concedes to challenger Mike Feuer. Race for controller is close with Ron Galperin in front.

After an especially contentious campaign, Los Angeles City Atty. Carmen Trutanich conceded to challenger Mike Feuer late Tuesday, while attorney Ron Galperin was leading City Councilman Dennis Zine in partial returns for another citywide office, controller.

L.A. County D.A. plans to retry former Bell City Council members

By Corina Knoll, Los Angeles Times — Tue, 21 May 2013 21:10:00 PDT

Jurors delivered a mixed verdict on five defendants and acquitted a sixth on charges of misappropriating public funds by paying themselves huge salaries.

The Los Angeles County district attorney's office plans to retry the case against Bell council members accused of misappropriating public funds by overpaying themselves for sitting on city boards and authorities that rarely met, according to defense attorneys connected with the case.

UC hospitals cancel surgeries, divert patients amid strike

By Anna Gorman and Maria L. La Ganga, Los Angeles Times — Tue, 21 May 2013 17:50:00 PDT

The walkout by patient care workers shuts down some services at medical centers in L.A., Irvine, San Diego, San Francisco and Sacramento.

A strike by University of California patient care workers Tuesday caused the cancellation of hundreds of surgeries, the closure of laboratory stations and the diversion of emergency room patients, officials said.

Immigration cases make up 40% of federal prosecutions, study says

By Cindy Chang, Los Angeles Times — Tue, 21 May 2013 21:01:00 PDT

Many immigrants are being tried for crossing the border after being deported. Human Rights Watch says prison doesn't deter those desperate to rejoin relatives.

Immigration-related offenses are now the leading type of federal prosecution, constituting more than 40% of cases compared with 22% for drug crimes, according to federal crime data.

Measure to limit medicinal pot shops in L.A. is leading

By Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times — Wed, 22 May 2013 00:25:00 PDT

Voters faced three competing measures that featured similar language but would have benefited different groups of pot businesses. Proposition D took the early lead.

After years of futile attempts by lawmakers to regulate the medical marijuana industry in Los Angeles, a ballot measure to sharply limit the number of pot dispensaries in the city was leading in early returns Tuesday.

Ratliff holding slim lead in LAUSD race

By Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times — Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 PDT

Fifth-grade teacher Monica Ratliff is narrowly ahead of Antonio Sanchez. Nancy Pearlman leads David Vela for community college trustee in early returns.

The race for an open seat on the Los Angeles Board of Education was close in early returns with Monica Ratliff ahead despite financial support and union backing that made her opponent, Antonio Sanchez, a heavy favorite.

Overlooked by politicians, low-wage workers barely scrape by

Steve Lopez — Tue, 21 May 2013 20:39:00 PDT

The next mayor needs to address the problem of people who are forced to work two jobs and share apartments just to survive.

Last week, I visited a South Los Angeles woman whose story should embarrass us. It's a story that's not uncommon, and deserves the full attention of the next mayor of the city.

Garcetti, Greuel locked in tight battle for L.A. mayor's post

By James Rainey, Maeve Reston and Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times — Wed, 22 May 2013 00:23:00 PDT

The race was too close to call in early returns. They could face the prospect of waiting for a full count of vote-by-mail ballots.

Eric Garcetti held a narrow lead over Wendy Greuel late Tuesday as the two longtime city officials battled each other — and voter apathy — in the race to become the 42nd mayor of Los Angeles.