Los Angeles News (BETA)

Remaking state government Several groups are working for change. Among them:

Organizations say pushing for a California ballot measure in 2010 would be 'rushed and risky.' Some also fear the effort may divert critical funding from social-service programs. Despite insisting just a few months ago that they wanted to go back to the ballot in 2010 to try to amend the state Constitution to allow same-sex marriage, many of the state's gay-rights groups now say that is too soon.

He replaces most members, prompted by reports of problem practitioners continuing to work for years as cases against them drag on, endangering patients. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger replaced most members of the state Board of Registered Nursing on Monday, citing the unacceptable time it takes to discipline nurses accused of egregious misconduct.

Some city officials had called for the Jackson family or AEG, the company that owns Staples Center, to pay the estimated $1.4 million for police, fire and traffic service. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, back after a nine-day vacation in South Africa, on Monday did his best to snuff out a smoldering debate over whether the city should try to recoup its expenses for the Michael Jackson ...

Officials say both blazes are 50% contained and warn people to take precautions in fire-prone areas. Hot, dry weather and drought-parched hills are stoking another busy fire season for Southern California as firefighters battled blazes near Castaic and Camp Pendleton on Monday.

Shaking doesn't affect flight operations.

O.C. projects among those receiving federal funding.

The lifestyle magazine's July reader issue ranks the city's beaches as No. 1.

One year after bank's failure, depositors fight on.

Many officers sent home because of low mooning turnout

The hot weather of the last couple of days will persist through next weekend, with Inland valleys and deserts in the low 100s each day. The Coachella Valley will continue to bake, with highs exceeding 110 degrees, National Weather Service forecasters in San Diego said.

Summer fare in Riverside and Corona features movies and concerts with music as varied as Dixieland and cumbia all at no charge. The Concert in the Park Series in Corona is held from 7 to 9 p.m. on Thursdays.

The Perris Union High School and Menifee Union school district boards will consider withdrawing a petition to create a district offering kindergarten through 12th grades in Menifee at separate meetings today and Wednesday.

Norco officials have a new site in mind for a plant that would turn horse manure into power, and the change may delay the project by a year. The city had been hoping to build the plant, which could generate as much as 4 megawatts of power, next to a wastewater treatment facility on River Road just north of Prado Basin Park.

Moreno Valley is set to partner with developers and nonprofit organizations to reduce its inventory of foreclosed homes and apartments, using a major infusion of federal funding.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is trying to quell the escalating debate over who should pick up the estimated $1.4 million tab for police, traffic control and other services related to Michael Jackson's memorial service.

Reed Diehl, a former University of California lineman who spent time in the Tennessee Titans' camp in 2001, has pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering.

Voters in a Los Angeles-area district are picking a new member of Congress Tuesday. Democrat Judy Chu is favored to be the next representative for the 32nd Congressional District. It's a heavily Democratic area that covers part of Los Angeles and its eastern suburbs.

A California girl, who vanished seven years ago, has turned up in Omaha and her mother has been arrested. Omaha police said they got a tip from someone who had seen a photo of the then 7-year-old girl in a flier about missing children. The tipster recognized the girl as the now 14-year-old daughter of a friend, 58-year-old Joyce Thomas.

A Los Angeles coroner's official says toxicology reports that may determine the cause of Michael Jackson's death could be completed this week.

Firefighters launched an air-ground assault on a brush fire that broke out today in the Angeles National Forest near Pyramid Lake and scorched about 350 acres by mid-afternoon.

CARSON, Calif - David Beckham says his issues with Los Angeles Galaxy teammate Landon Donovan have been resolved.

Back in Los Angeles after an overseas vacation, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa slammed his own staff for asking the public to help pay for the Michael Jackson memorial and said taxpayers - not the singer's family or Staples Center - should foot the bill.

One of the LAPD's "Top 10 Most Wanted" gang murder suspects has been arrested, police announced today. Search our database of the "LAPD's Most Wanted."

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nine months into the fiscal year, the federal deficit has topped $1 trillion for the first time ever.

In an effort to close California's budget deficit, some analysts have suggested cutting Cal Fire budget by $55 Million.

San Gabriel Valley's 32nd Congressional District is gearing up to elect its next representative on Tuesday.

Traffic is backing up on the northbound 5 Freeway near Pyramid Lake as crews battle a brush fire.

There are some good deals out there during the recession.

Fire crews are keeping an eye on the Angeles National Forest as the fire alert level goes from "High" to "Very High."

The Los Angeles school board is scheduled to vote Monday on a bold plan that would give communities rather than the district the power to decide how new schools operate.

Back in Los Angeles after an overseas vacation, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa slammed his own staff for asking the public to help pay for the Michael Jackson memorial and said taxpayers - not the singer's family or Staples Center - should foot the bill.

South Bay courthouses and others around Los Angeles County will be open Wednesday, but it certainly won't be business as usual.

Hawthorne will make ends meet this fiscal year with the help of employee union concessions and department cutbacks, if the City Council approves a proposed budget Monday night.

With her savings dwindling, unexpected medical costs mounting and little income, Evelyn Edgell's only option may be to cash in on her one major asset: her home. The 85-year-old Del Aire resident is among a flood of seniors looking into reverse mortgages.

Local families have sent boxes of letters to Sacramento, called on elected officials for help and testified in front of state legislators, urging them to allow hundreds of Ventura County students to stay at their chosen schools.

Dawn Simmons, author of the book, “Securing Your Marriage in a Blended Family,” which offers her perspective on creating one home from two, walks with her husband Don on the beach at Naval Base Ventura County.

Citing the economic downturn, the developer of The Collection at RiverPark in Oxnard has pushed back the opening of the 600,000 square-foot retail center to late 2010.

Food and wine tastings will be paired with efforts to promote local tourism and economic development Saturday during the first in a series of Taste of Ventura County shuttle tours.

The California Department of Housing and Community Development on Monday allocated $3.6 million for a 25-unit housing program in Oxnard and $1 million for a 66-unit complex for farmworkers in Piru.

LONG BEACH - Police continued their search Monday for a prowler who attempted to enter a woman's Belmont Shore apartment over the weekend.

The Los Angeles Unified school board is scheduled to vote today on a bold plan that would transfer the power of deciding how new schools operate from the district to the community.

LONG BEACH - Hoping to save all or part of one of the city's oldest commercial buildings and create a link to other areas downtown, redevelopment officials are in pursuit of those who can revive the nearly 104-year-old American Hotel.

The flowers had been intended for George Duarte's 22nd birthday, but instead his family found themselves laying the bouquet under a Norwalk freeway overpass where the young father died Saturday. Map of local homicides

The weather is hot outside and it's going to stay that way for awhile, which means difficult days for firefighters battling a local wildfire. RELATED LINKS: Complete forecast

POMONA - A broken circuit and failed air conditioning at the south Pomona courthouse forced judges on Monday to hear cases outdoors, in an adjoining parking lot.

Thousands of Los Angeles County residents have signed up to receive e-mails and text-message alerts under a new program that provides high-tech notifications in case of an emergency.

The Obama administration has announced that it will require employers who receive federal contracts to use an electronic system to check the legal status of workers.

POMONA - The owner of a historic house that burned down on Saturday is blaming firefighters for their slow response time and lack of action.

The number of laid-off teachers for the upcoming school year stands far smaller than originally feared, thanks to federal stimulus money.