Welcome to L.A. TACO’s daily news briefs, where we bring our loyal members, readers, and supporters the latest headlines about Los Angeles politics and culture. Stay informed and look closely.
—The union representing officers of the Los Angeles Police Department has released a list of calls for service that it believes can be handled by unarmed responders. Craig Lally, President of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, said police officers are often sent to respond to too many calls that may be better suited for unarmed service providers. The union says it’s been working collaboratively with the City of Los Angeles to develop the list and is set to formally announce the proposals on Wednesday. The list includes "non-criminal and/or non-violent homeless and quality of life-related calls and "non-criminal mental health calls." Find the list in its entirety in report. [KTLA]
—Studio City: A 46-year-old man who was killed Sunday morning in a crash involving at least two vehicles on the Hollywood (101) Freeway in Studio City has been identified, authorities said today. According to the L.A. County Coroner's office, Fredrik Avanesian was the victim of the crash, pronounced dead at the scene of multiple blunt force injuries. The crash occurred around 2:45 a.m. Sunday on the westbound freeway at Laurel Canyon Boulevard, according to the California Highway Patrol. Firefighters and paramedics dispatched to the location at 2:42 a.m. rushed another person who was in the crash to a hospital, said Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department. That person's condition was not immediately known. [City News Service]
—Beverly Crest: A stretch of Mulholland Drive is expected to remain closed for at least a portion of today following a mud and debris flow that prompted the evacuation of a hilltop home in the Beverly Crest area. No injuries or physical entrapments were reported as a result of Tuesday's flow. Still, as a precaution, Los Angeles' Emergency Management Department announced early Tuesday afternoon that the section of Mulholland between Coldwater Canyon Avenue and Deep Canyon Drive was being ordered closed to through traffic "until rains cease.'' One of several terraced retaining walls on a one-third-acre residential property gave way and a portion of the backyard of a steeply terraced home gave way and slid approximately 50 feet downhill into a power pole and onto Mulholland Drive. [CNS]
—A local state of emergency has been declared in San Bernardino after roughly five feet of snow fell on its mountains, including Lake Arrowhead, in five days. The conditions trapped people in their homes and vacation rentals and students at science camps, as people were rationing food and other supplies while awaiting more information from local officials. The declaration is intended to secure state and federal assistance in clearing highways and neighborhood streets. More snow could hit the area today. [LAT]
—Linda Kasabian, the Manson Family member who served as the key witness in the Tate-LaBianca murder trials, has died at the age of 73. In exchange for her testimonies, Kasabian served no prison time for her role as a lookout during the murders of five people in Benedict Canyon and, the next night, two in Los Feliz, in the summer of 1969 in Los Angeles at the behest of cult leader [and possible CIA informant] Charles Manson. [People]
—The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to end the county's local emergency declarations due to COVID-19 at the end of
March, while warning that the move doesn't mean the virus no longer poses a threat. The board's decision came on the day the statewide COVID emergency declaration ended. Lifting the emergency declarations does not automatically mean that all COVID-related restrictions will immediately go away. [CNS]
—Vanessa Bryant has agreed to a $28.5m settlement in her lawsuit with Los Angeles County over photographs of the 2020 helicopter crash that killed her husband, NBA legend Kobe Bryant, and one of their daughters. The settlement includes the $15 million that Bryant was awarded after a civil trial last August, as well as extra funds to settle any potential claims from her daughters [Independent UK]
