Which Way, L.A.?

New Money for the LAPD, New Report on LA Gang Violence

On Tuesday, two people were killed and two others injured in a shooting at Nickerson Gardens. That brings to six the number of violent deaths in LA's public-housing projects in the last month. This comes at a time when Attorney General Bill Lockyer has issued a new report on homicides in California. It says that, in most categories, they-re holding even or on the decline. The big exception is gang killings in Los Angeles County. Despite the increased murder rate, the state-s chief law enforcement officer says law enforcement is not the answer. We find out what he means and hear about short and long-term solutions for a problem that just won't go away from a journalist who covers the LAPD, the director of California's Crime and Violence Prevention Center and the head of the Watts Labor Community Action Committee. Making News: Reliant Resources Indicted on Manipulating Energy Prices For the past four years, state politicians have been saying that California-s energy crisis was a crime. Today, a federal grand jury agreed, handing down a six-count indictment against Houston-based Reliant Resources and four of its officers. Jessica Berthold, who is covering the story for the Dow Jones Newswire, says Reliant and its officers could face up to five years in prison and millions of dollars in fines. Reporter-s Notebook: Twentynine Palms Mourns Fallen Soldiers, Braces for More Bad News On Tuesday, 12 US Marines were killed in Ramadi, making that the worst single day of casualties for the Corps since President Bush declared the end of major combat. That is especially disturbing news at the world-s largest Marine Corps base at Twentynine Palms in California-s high desert, where Curt Schauppner is editor of the weekly newspaper, Desert Trail.