Here are some of the stories for the Southland on Wednesday...
Cathedral Shooting Investigation
Authorities are investigating a shooting at an Orange County megachurch. Police received a call at 9:45 a.m. Wednesday that a shooting has occurred at the Crystal Cathedral. Reportedly a dispatcher claims the incident is not a homicide. According
to reports from the scene, a person shot himself at the altar. The Cathedral, which seats about 2,900 people opened in 1980. It's located at 12141 Lewis St., near the intersection of the Interstate Freeway 5 and the Garden Grove Freeway 22. According to the group's website, "the Crystal Cathedral is the home base for the international Crystal Cathedral Ministries, including a congregation of over 10,000 members and the internationally televised 'Hour of Power.'" (NBCLA.COM)
Budget Battle
Democrats are renewing their effort to pass a plan to fix a multi-billion dollar state budget deficit. Another all-night legislative session failed to break the log jam. Senate leader Darrell Steinberg says his fellow Democrats intend to stay in session until they can get the remaining Republican vote they need. Republican state senators upset with tax increases in the $42 billion budget proposal ousted their leader in a late-night coup. (NBCLA.COM)
Local Economy in Trouble
The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation says this morning that the economy could bottom out by this summer and then make a modest recovery. In its 2009-20010 economic forecast ... the corporation says the U-S economy will shrink by nearly 3 percent in 2009 and then grow about a percent-and-a-half in 2010. Unemployment around the nation is forecast to average 8-point-7 percent this year and increase to 9-and-a-half percent next year. The corporation says that the newly enacted stimulus plan will start to show positive impact by the end of this year. Turning to the Southland ... the
corporation is forecasting a record 2-point-2 percent slide in non-farm employment in Los Angeles County this year and says the region will continue to struggle this year.
Young Girl Shot
A manhunt is under way this morning for whoever opened fire into a home in South L-A ... wounding a 6-year-old girl. The victim was shot in the chest and the arm. Authorities say she's hospitalized in serious but stable condition at this hour. She's expected to pull through. The shooting occurred in the 300 block of West 47th Street at around 7-25 last night. Police say the shooting is believed to have been gang-related. It is being blamed on the passenger in a white minivan with two men inside. Anyone with information on the shooting is urged to call the L-A-P-D's Newton Station detectives at 3-2-3 8-4-6 6-5-7-2. (NBCLA.COM)
Sag Talks Continue
A second straight day of negotiations between the Screen Actors Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers is planned for today. The two sides met Tuesday for the first time since November. The SAG contract covering motion picture and television production expired June 30th ... but production has continued under the old agreement. The main sticking points are the amount of pay for programming shown over the Internet and D-V-D sales.
Mammoth Find
The George -C- Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits has a really big announcement this morning. Workers excavating an underground garage on the site of an old May Company parking structure have uncovered the nearly intact skeleton of a mammoth and the largest known cache of fossils from the last ice age. The museum already has the world's largest ice age collection. The newly announced find will double it. It's the first time that mammoth remains in such good condition have been discovered around the tar pits. (NBCLA.COM)
Bag Fee
A proposal to charge consumers 25 cents for using a plastic or paper single-use bag at grocery and retail stores was unanimously endorsed today by the Los Angeles City Council. AB 68, introduced by Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, D-Santa Monica, would allow retailers to charge consumers a quarter for each single-use bag they use for their purchases. Of that 25 cents, store owners would keep 5 cents and the remainder would be forwarded to the state to fund programs that promote litter prevention and cleanup.
