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LA County Finds Health Code Violations in Skid Row LOS ANGELES (AP) — The city of Los Angeles is violating the county health code for hazardous conditions on Skid Row, including nearly 90 rats' nests, a dozen hypodermic needles and piles of human excrement and trash on sidewalks, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has found. The notice of violation stems from an extensive Health Department inspection last month of the 10-block area of downtown Los Angeles that houses the nation's densest population of homeless people, most of them mentally ill and substance abusers. Health officials ordered the...

Harvard-educated Manzanares, 50, who had been a popular and well- respected local judge for 15 years, resigned from his nearly 2-month-old post as city attorney in February after a stolen laptop was found in his possession. Felony charges of theft, embezzlement and tampering with evidence were filed against him June 13. < snip > Many friends and city officials declined to talk about the death and expressed anger at the district attorney and the media for how the case played out publicly. < snip > Latino leaders fear the same kind of witch hunt is happening with recently ousted Community...

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) - The city attorney was arrested for investigation of drunken driving after police spotted her driving the wrong way on a downtown street, officials said. "It's been a hard day," said Jennifer McGrath, 37, who was elected in 2002. McGrath was arrested shortly after midnight Wednesday, said Lt. Irwin Feuerstein, a spokesman for the Huntington Beach Police Department. She was booked into the city jail for investigation of misdemeanor drunken driving and was released on her own recognizance, he said. The results of a blood test are pending, Feuerstein said. McGrath declined to discuss the incident...

In a memo distributed in the run-up to Mayor Dick Murphy's State of the City address, San Diego City Attorney Michael Aguirre advises city officials to seek major pension benefit rollbacks in upcoming contract talks with municipal labor unions. "I'm trying to bring a realistic, needed reform that can restore the financial integrity of the pension plan and re-establish the fiscal strength of the city," Aguirre said in an interview yesterday. "If we do this, we can avoid bankruptcy. If we don't, it's almost certain we will go into bankruptcy at some point." Aguirre made his recommendations in a five-page...