Los Angeles Times | Sunday, October 5, 2014

New Apple of their eye

Roger Vincent, who covers commercial real estate, reports that investments from New York firms into L.A. commercial properties have surged in the last several years. Firms surpassed $4.4 billion in real estate purchases since the beginning of 2012, with buyers picking up office buildings, hotels, warehouses, apartments and raw land suitable for development. Read the story

Five teens killed in fiery O.C. crash

Catherine Saillant and Martha Groves, report that five teenagers died in an accident while driving on the 5 Freeway in Irvine on Saturday morning. The sole survivor, a 16-year-old boy, who was the driver of the vehicle, was taken to the hospital with a serious head injury. Authorities said that speed was a factor and that the driver apparently did not have a driver's license. Read the story

Europe, U.S. stew over food names

Evan Halper and Don Lee, report that as Europe and the United States discuss their trade pact, the naming of food has become a point of contention. European leaders say they can't allow cheese produced outside of Italy to be passed off as Parmesan or wine fermented outside of France to be labeled as a Chateau. With countries in Asia and Latin America agreeing to the Europeans' trade terms, the intellectual property battle has caused near panic in the U.S. agriculture industry. Read the story

Holding court in his town

Kurt Streeter, who writes news features, profiles Sacramento Mayor and former NBA player Kevin Johnson. The ex-basketball star has found new political celebrity status since he successfully kept the Sacramento Kings from leaving town. As a young Democrat, some see him as a prospective candidate for a statewide office, but with an already tainted past, he would have to defy expectations again. Read the story

Tracing the Ebola threat

Alexandra Zavis, Robyn Dixon, Molly Hennessy-Fiske and Monte Morin, follow the spread of the Ebola virus from Guinea to Dallas, writing that there were "missed opportunities and questionable decisions that now add up to more than 3,400 dead and a caseload that is doubling about every three weeks, according to the latest WHO estimates." Read the story