A 10th person has died this morning from injuries suffered in a horrific crash in Northern California involving a bus carrying L.A. high school students. The CHP says a Fed-Ex truck crossed the median on Interstate 5 north of the town of Orland, hitting the bus head on and igniting a huge explosion and fire. The dead include five students, three adult chaperones and both drivers. The bus was part of a caravan taking high schoolers from Southern California to Humboldt State University. It reportedly carried students from more than a dozen local high schools. More than 30 people are hospitalized, including 17 the CHP says are being treated for major injuries such as burns and broken bones. LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy says the district is proving counselors and support staff at the affected schools today.
Mayor Eric Garcetti is vowing not to let the L.A. Department of Water and Power raise rates this year, especially in the face of a chaotic roll out of a new billing system, and questions about what happened to $40 million in ratepayer money spent by two DWP related non-profits. During his first State of the City speech, Garcetti outlined efforts to keep film and TV production jobs in L.A, and said he’s working to create more green jobs. Garcetti says said he wants to draw more businesses to LA by phasing out the city’s gross receipts tax: And, in a bit of good news for commuters, Garcetti says a new lane on the 405 Freeway will open next month, five months ahead of schedule.
The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department says some of its deputies made a deadly mistake. They shot and killed a man who was a victim during a hostage standoff in West Hollywood Monday night. He was shot as he fled from a man with a knife who was holding three hostages and attacking them in a West Hollywood apartment. Sheriff’s officials say 30-year-old John Winkler, an aspiring producer and a visitor at the building, was mistaken for the attacker. The suspect, Alexander McDonald, has been charged with murder because he allegedly initiated a crime that led to Winkler’s death.
Southern California’s beleaguered aerospace industry is getting a shot in the arm. Boeing Co, says it plans to move 1,000 engineering jobs to Long Beach and Seal Beach over the next two years – most of them from Washington State. The engineers will work on both civilian and military aircraft. The announcement comes just days after Boeing said that production of the company’s C-17 transport plane would end in Long Beach in 2015 – several months earlier than previously planned. About 2,200 Boeing employees work on the C-17. Boeing says some could be moved to other jobs at the company.
Centinela Valley Union High School Superintendent Jose Fernandez earned nearly $700,000 last year – making him one of the highest paid public officials in the state, if not the country. But now, the Daily Breeze says the FBI is interested in what’s going in the small district and Fernandez could lose his job. The local school board voted unanimously to place Fernandez on administrative leave pending an investigation into his compensation. Union officials and some community members have been discussing a recall of board members if they don’t fire the superintendent. The district included schools in Hawthorne, Lawndale and Lennox.