Overview
- City Council voted 11-2 to create a reward program offering up to $5,000 for felony tips and $1,000 for misdemeanor cases, with the ordinance now awaiting Mayor Karen Bass’ signature.
- LAPD arrested Concepcion Vasquez, 53, and Jose Garcia Avila, 51, in Mission Hills after a theft-in-progress call; officers recovered about $50,000 in copper wire and are searching for two additional suspects.
- Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 476 last week, requiring recyclers to verify sellers and keep detailed records, prohibiting possession of specified public scrap without documentation, and increasing penalties for noncompliant buyers.
- City data show more than 37,000 streetlight repair requests so far in 2025, with over half awaiting service as of September and fewer than 200 field staff contributing to 9–12 month repair timelines.
- Officials disagree over causes of outages, with the Bureau citing roughly half of requests tied to wire theft and Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez pointing to deferred maintenance; the darkened Sixth Street Bridge rewiring is estimated at over $2.5 million.