Usa Local News

26 October 2011

City Will Continue to Collect Fines for Existing Red-Light Camera Tickets

The Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to continue to paying a contractor to collect fines from about 50,000 drivers who have not paid traffic tickets for being caught on camera running red lights before July 31.

The council voted over the summer to end its photo red-light program at the end of July because of disputes over the cameras' safety benefits, the nearly $480 price of the tickets and concern that the contract violated the city's boycott of Arizona. American Traffic Solutions, which managed the camera program, is based in Arizona.

At the urging of Councilman Mitchell Englander, the council voted 11-2 to continue paying American Traffic Solutions about $11,000 per month because of the outstanding tickets. The police department needs access to the company's database of photos and evidence in order to collect outstanding fines.

Assistant Chief Legislative Analyst June Gibson told the council that the city continues to generate revenue by collecting the fines, making it worth the cost of paying the contractor.

In September, the tickets generated about $107,000 in revenue for the city. Gibson said the city can and should end the contract when the cost of the contractor exceeds the ticket revenue.

Gibson said news over the summer that the Los Angeles County Superior Court was not enforcing the tickets caused a steep drop in the number of people paying the fines -- about 39 percent between July and August. She predicted the Los Angeles Police Commission, which is monitoring the revenue generated from the tickets, would likely vote to stop collecting the fines by January or shortly thereafter.

Councilmen Paul Koretz and Paul Krekorian cast the dissenting votes.

"I thought we voted to kill this red-light camera program. It seems not to die. I think we need to put a stake through its heart at some point," Koretz said.

Englander fired back.

"We've ended the photo red-light program. The stake is in the heart ... now we still have to deal with the body," he said referring to the 50,000 unpaid tickets.

The city has a legal and fiduciary responsibility to continue collecting the fines as long as it is not costing the city a dime, Englander said. "In fact it's not."

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"No Doubt" Obama is an American Citizen: Perry

Rick Perry now is saying that he has no doubt that President Barack Obama is an American citizen.

The Texas governor made the comment in an interview with Bay News 9's "Political Connections" in Tampa, Fla., and the St. Petersburg Times.

Perry said that he was just -- in his words -- "having some fun with Donald Trump" when he stoked widely debunked claims that Obama was born outside of the United States.

Perry says he wasn't expressing doubts about Obama when he raised the issue in a series of media interviews. In one he said that the birth certificate issue as "a good issue to keep alive."

On Tuesday, he refused to answer a reporter's direct question about whether he believed the president was born in the United States.

For the latest on Rick Perry's run for the White House, click here to see our special Tracking Rick Perry section. View videos, photos, and stories on the Texas governor's presidential run.

Cowgirl Museum Opening Sandra Day O'Connor Exhibit

It's been 30 years since Sandra Day O'Connor became the first woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.

An exhibit about her life opens this week at the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in Fort Worth.

O'Connor is an El Paso native who spent summers on her family's Arizona ranch that initially didn't have electricity or water.

She said Wednesday she was pleased with the exhibit. She said her time on the ranch taught her responsibility and how to solve problems on her own.

The 3,000-square-foot exhibit opening Thursday features some items from her family's ranch and a robe from her time on the Supreme Court. She retired in 2006.

In 2002 she was inducted into the Cowgirl Hall of Fame.

Bernie Madoff Wife: We Attempted Suicide One Christmas Eve

Ruth Madoff says in her first interview that she and her husband, Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff, were so stricken about the crimes that they once attempted suicide together.

Madoff made the comments in an interview with "60 Minutes." An excerpt was released Wednesday.

Madoff tells Morley Safer that she and her husband were so distraught one Christmas Eve that they decided to take a bunch of pills -- Ambien and possibly Klonopin.

"I don't know whose idea it was, but we decided to kill ourselves because it was so horrendous what was happening," Ruth Madoff says. "We had terrible phone calls. Hate mail, just beyond anything and I said '...I just can't go on anymore.'"

She says they had sent a package to their son, Andrew, with sentimental items, including jewelry, because they planned to kill themselves.

But the plan failed.

"We took pills and woke up the next day....It was very impulsive and I am glad we woke up," she says.

Their son, Mark, committed suicide by hanging himself last year.

Bernie Madoff is serving 150 years in prison.

Court Rejects Challenges to California's New Election Maps

The California Supreme Court unanimously rejected two Republican challenges to the state's new electoral maps.

The state's high court on Wednesday rejected petitions challenging the validity of the state Senate and congressional redistricting maps recently adopted by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission. The court voted 7-0.

Voters approved the redistricting commission to independently draw California's legislative and congressional districts. A 14-member commission was created when voters approved Prop 11 in November 2008.

The panel in July approved final versions of the district maps for Congress, the state Assembly and Senate, and the state Board of Equalization, which administers sales and use taxes.

Republican leaders contend the Senate and congressional maps failed to comply with the Voting Rights Act and claim the new maps do not meet constitutional criteria.

Not long after the maps were approved in August, the California Supreme Court issued an order requiring potential lawsuits to be uploaded to the court's website. The process was an effort to expedite legal challenges so the court could rule on the objections in time for the June 2012 election -- the first time the maps will be used.

PropZero: Maps Aren't Worth Challenging

Marinesâ€™ Tuition Assistance Restored

The amount the U.S. Marine Corps will pay for Marines to attend classes was restored to $4,500 per year Wednesday.

The change comes just days after News4’s John Schriffen spoke to three Marines upset that the figure had been slashed to $875.

The Department of Defense allows enlisted soldiers of all branches to spend $4,500 a year for their education. On Monday, the secretary of defense decided to include this in a comprehensive review of benefits for all branches of the military, Schriffen reported.

Meanwhile, the DOD told the Marine Corps to change it back.

The overall budget hasn’t changed, though, so money for classes could run out, but until it does, Marines are again able to take as many classes as members of other branches of the military.