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L.A. Today: Subway, Salazar, and More

Andrew Khouri |
February 21, 2011 | 7:00 p.m. PST

Staff Reporter

After a three-day weekend, Los Angeles kicks off the work week with plenty to talk about.

A report on the death of journalist Ruben Salazar will be released today. Salazar was killed in 1970 after a tear gas canister fired by a sheriff deputy struck him in the head. The former Times reporter and KMEX-TV news director had been taking a break inside a bar while covering a protest that devolved into a riot. Some have speculated Salazar was intentionally killed.

The Times received a draft of the report and says Sheriff Lee Baca will now allow the media to review documents related to his death. However, no copies or cameras will be allowed, and journalists must inspect the records under supervision of department employees. The draft report found no evidence of a targeted killing.

Banksy’s apparent arrival in Los Angeles follows a long tradition in a city revered for its murals. Via LAist: a few of the city’s gems.

Down south, graffiti has taken a more violent turn. Messages threatening to kill Gov. Jerry Brown and President Barack Obama were sprayed on walls in Santa Ana, the O.C. Register reports. Other violent and racist messages were found last month in the same area, the newspaper says.

Last week, Metro said it is studying a third option for a station in Century City. One possible Century City stop has raised the ire of Beverly Hills residents and the school district who are wary of tunnels existing under their homes and school. L.A. Streetsblog examines the controversy here, and Beverly Hills Patch reports the city's school district has approved $400,000 more to fight trains under Beverly Hills High School.

Budget cuts, in whatever form they arrive, will have tremendous consequences for local communities. This weekend the Times looked how proposed Republican cuts would affect the state.  A $20-million grant to speed construction of a light-rail line running down Crenshaw Boulevard, millions in Pell grants and K-12 funding, and more could be sacrificed to help reduce the deficit.

Reach reporter Andrew Khouri here.



 

Buzz

Craig Gillespie directed this true story about "the most daring rescue mission in the history of the U.S. Coast Guard.”

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