Activists urge L.A. City Council to ban fracking and acidizing

In the morning while walking to her car, Michelle Kennedy sometimes detects a smell like cat urine. The asthma her 6-year-old suffers seems to have worsened.

Kennedy blames the oil and gas wells pumping in and near her South Los Angeles neighborhood. She was especially troubled to hear that acid was being injected in some shafts roughly a mile from her home.

Now Los Angeles could put a stop to several practices that Kennedy and her neighbors have lobbied against, at least inside its city limits. The City Council will discuss Friday whether to start drafting rules that prohibit all forms of "well stimulation" until they are sure that Angelenos and the water they drink are safe.

Environmental activists argue that acidizing, hydraulic fracturing and other controversial methods used to coax oil and gas from wells can taint water or trigger earthquakes when wastewater is injected back underground. Under an existing proposal backed by several council members, such technologies would be barred until state and federal regulations adequately protect people from their effects.

"We can't allow the safety of our neighborhoods that we represent to be jeopardized by dangerous drilling," Councilman Mike Bonin said at a packed committee meeting on Tuesday.

Hydraulic fracturing, often referred to as fracking, uses injections of water mixed with chemicals to break up underground rock, freeing oil and natural gas trapped in the shale. Local activists point to health complaints and cracking walls in homes close to county wells where fracking has already taken place.

Acidizing, which appears to be more common in the city, routinely uses chemicals including hydrochloric and hydrofluoric acid. Such chemicals can harm the skin and eyes, as well as respiratory and other bodily systems, said Angela Johnson Meszaros, general counsel for Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles. To stimulate production, "tens of thousands of pounds of acid are being pumped into these wells," she said.

When a neighbor told Lillian Marenco that acid had been used at nearby wells, she clapped her hands over her cheeks. "Oh, God," she said. A pungent smell lingers over the South Los Angeles home where Marenco lovingly tends her garden, down the block from a Jefferson Boulevard drilling site.

Acid has been used for "well stimulation" there in the last year, according to data reported to the South Coast Air Quality Management District. But disagreements swirl over what that means. The company that operates those wells, Freeport-McMoRan, says it undertook "routine maintenance operations" using low volumes of acid, not "acidizing" as activists have insisted.

The debate underscores a key question the city will face if it crafts an ordinance: How exactly to word it.

The "generic scope" of the existing Los Angeles proposal "could prohibit even routine well maintenance activities needed to ensure the mechanical integrity of wells and maintain conventional oil production," Freeport-McMoRan spokesman Eric Kinneberg wrote in an email to The Times.

Oil and gas companies argue that fracking and other well stimulation technologies are safe, proven ways to yield more energy and generate jobs. Nick Ortiz of the Western States Petroleum Assn. told council members at the Tuesday meeting that such methods had "never been associated with any confirmed case of groundwater contamination." Business groups such as the Valley Industry and Commerce Assn. also contended that Los Angeles doesn't need to roll out new rules because California lawmakers passed regulations on fracking last year.

"This is a solution looking for a problem," said Rock Zierman, chief executive of the California Independent Petroleum Assn. He pointed to a yearlong study of the Inglewood Oil Field, which found that hydraulic fracturing there had no effect on the environment or the health of people living nearby.

Environmental watchdogs countered that the Inglewood study failed to examine risks in the long term, such as chemicals possibly sullying groundwater. Other research has raised concerns, including a study published last year in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, which found much higher levels of methane in drinking water wells close to fracking operations in Pennsylvania. As for the state regulations mentioned by business groups, environmentalists say they didn't go far enough.

Under the new state law, "we're basically telling people, 'Let yourself be guinea pigs and we'll study this. If this is a problem, we'll tell you after the fact,'" said Brenna Norton, Southern California organizer for the environmental group Food & Water Watch.

If Los Angeles halts fracking and other well stimulation, it will be the first oil-producing city in California to ban the technologies, according to Zierman. Other cities and counties have already thrown their support to a statewide ban or moratorium, including Carson and Culver City.

Many local wells that use such techniques lie outside the city limits: Data reported to the air quality district since last summer show that acidizing, gravel packing or hydraulic fracturing have been used in at least 218 wells in the county, but only 17 are in the city of Los Angeles, according to a Times analysis. None of the city wells reported any hydraulic fracturing during that period.

People on both sides of the debate raise questions about the data: Zierman said the air quality district inaccurately categorizes the use of acid in "routine maintenance" as "acidizing." Environmental activists, meanwhile, think the data may be incomplete since it is reported by the oil and gas companies themselves.

The numbers underscore that for areas like Baldwin Hills near the Inglewood Oil Field, "it wouldn't do much until the county steps up and does something," said Gary Gless, president of Citizens Coalition for a Safe Community. "But I think it will put pressure on the county to do the right thing." Backers say a Los Angeles ban would also help spur a statewide moratorium.

Los Angeles currently has 1,880 active and 2,932 abandoned oil and gas wells, according to the state Department of Conservation. Zierman argued that preventing techniques such as acidizing could eventually push drilling away entirely, since "we have to be constantly reworking those wells to keep production up."

That sounds fine to some activists, who see drilling as incompatible with dense residential neighborhoods. "We're thinking they'll pack up and go home," said Donna Ann Ward, a West Adams resident and founder of the grass-roots group Cowatching Oil L.A. Without tools like fracking, "there's no money in it."

emily.alpert@latimes.com

Times staff writer Doug Smith contributed to this report.

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At closed event, sheriff's candidates debate department's future

At a closed-door debate in front of rank-and-file deputies, the candidates for Los Angeles County Sheriff acknowledged that the department must be reformed, but blamed management for the problems plaguing the agency.

In a recording of the members-only union event obtained by The Times, the candidates mostly took a diplomatic tone with the deputies, and at times served up the kind of red meat not often heard in front of general audiences.

Former Undersheriff Paul Tanaka, who has been criticized for helping foster a culture of abuse inside the jails, criticized the department's inmate education program.

"Deputies should not be teaching inmates how to read while they should be manning security posts, OK?" he said, prompting loud cheers.

In a statement to The Times, Tanaka said he wasn't opposed to educating inmates "as long as it does not take away from the limited resources which are needed to run the jails and protect the public."

In interviews afterward, the other candidates took aim at Tanaka, who seemed to be the crowd favorite based on applause. His opponents said Tanaka's comment showed his shortsightedness about the role education can play in keeping inmates from re-offending after they are released.

"To show that lack of compassion for people who can't read is exactly why I'm running," Assistant Sheriff Jim Hellmold said.

The candidates acknowledged during the debate, which took place last week, that the recent federal indictments against deputies and reports of poor hiring show that reform is needed. But they also assured the audience that they believed that a great majority of deputies follow policy.

Assistant Sheriff Todd Rogers told the deputies that he took exception with some outside criticisms of the department. Some time after Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell promised to "restore that shine and that luster to the badge," Rogers said: "Others talk about our badge being tarnished. With all due respect to all of them, my star is just as shiny as it used to be, and so is yours."

"This is an amazing time and an amazing race. We have deputies doing what they're told to do and they get indicted by the federal government ... the L.A. Times keeps telling us that the Sheriff's Department needs a new leader, someone from the outside with a fresh set of eyes," said Rogers, one of the two subordinates that outgoing Sheriff Lee Baca tapped to succeed him. "Instead of a fresh set of eyes, our department needs someone with an experienced and credible set of eyes."

In an interview with The Times, Rogers defended his stance, saying that during his career with the Sheriff's Department he fought corruption from within.

All of the candidates for sheriff participated in the debate, except for Patrick Gomez, a retired lieutenant who has twice run for sheriff and lost. This year marks the first sheriff's election in recent memory without an incumbent on the ballot. Last month, Baca, who had been sheriff for four terms and was preparing to run for a fifth, abruptly stepped down amid a string of scandals.

Of the candidates at the debate, former Cmdr. Bob Olmsted took the hardest line with the deputies, warning those in attendance that "if you like the way things are, if you're not ashamed of the corruption that's going on in this department ... you're not welcome on my team and I don't need your support."

Before retiring, Olmsted was in charge of some of the sheriff's most troubled jails. He said he tried to alert top brass about inmate abuse and aggressive deputy cliques. He has said that because he was ignored, he took his concerns to the FBI and the media.

Officials from the union that hosted the debate have been openly hostile with the sheriff's current civilian monitors. During the debate, McDonnell told union members that transparency and independent oversight should not be feared.

"People will try to help us if they know what we're facing," he said.

The debate was held at the county's Hall of Administration. In a statement, the president of the Assn. for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs did not address why it was closed to the media and the public, saying that the union "arranged the sheriff's candidates forum for our members to hear directly from the seven candidates"

None of the candidates expressed any significant policy opinions that contradicted their public statements. Much of the forum centered on pet issues for the rank-and-file, such as eliminating an unpopular overtime reduction plan.

At times, the debate grew awkward for the two candidates who come from other departments. Los Angeles Police Det. Lou Vince was asked whether he believed the Sheriff's Department was the best trained and most effective law enforcement agency in the country.

After some laughs from the audience, he said: "Of course I'm gonna say yes. I know where I am."

robert.faturechi@latimes.com

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Gov. Jerry Brown wants polluters' fees to help fund high-speed rail

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Jerry Brown wants long-term funding for California's high-speed rail project to come from the state greenhouse gas reduction program, expanding his commitment to the $68-billion project despite an ongoing legal battle.

His plan would annually shift a third of all "cap-and-trade" revenue, generated through fees on polluters, to help build the first leg of the rail line, which is supposed to stretch from Merced to the San Fernando Valley by 2022.

The proposal could provide billions of dollars for the bullet train over the next several years, although administration officials have not released specific estimates

"We believe it will be a growing source of revenue," said H.D. Palmer, spokesman for Brown's Department of Finance.

Brown hinted at his plans in January, when he proposed spending $250 million in cap-and-trade money on the rail project in the fiscal year that begins July 1. His latest proposal would guarantee more money for the project each year until the first leg is completed.

In addition, as the state repays $500 million it borrowed from the cap-and-trade fund over the next few years, $400 million would be made available for high-speed rail.

Voter-approved bonds for the bullet train have been held up by Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Michael Kenny, who said the state had failed to provide an adequate funding plan to start construction. An appeals court is considering the Brown administration's request to overturn the rulings.

Environmentalists and legislative analysts have questioned the wisdom of using the funds, saying cap-and-trade money should be committed to more immediate, tangible projects to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

"The best use of the cap-and-trade funds is to invest them in projects that are out there now" — such as improving energy efficiency — "that can get us near-term emission reductions," said Sierra Club California Director Kathryn Phillips.

Legislative analysts and some lawmakers have questioned the legality of using the money for the train, which won't help the state meet its goal of cutting emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.

"We have concerns about the administration making this legally questionable move a permanent component of the high-speed rail budget," said Sabrina Lockhart, a spokeswoman for Assembly Republicans.

Administration officials say building the bullet train is a valid use of cap-and-trade funding because the project will help reduce emissions in the long run.

Senate leader Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) has said he's open to Brown's proposal "if it's part of a credible funding plan" for completing the project.

The rail project has long been dogged by doubts over its funding. California voters approved a $9-billion bond measure for it in 2008, and the Obama administration provided an additional $3.2 billion in grants.

But the combined $12.2 billion would cover only a small fraction of the system's projected $68-billion construction cost.

If the state ultimately sells the bonds and lawmakers approve use of the cap-and-trade revenue, the project will still need significant new federal grants and investments by the private sector.

In Washington, House Republicans have vowed to stop future funding and are attempting to claw back past grants, asserting that the state has violated the terms of the federal contributions.

And the state has not begun to solicit private investors, saying that it has to start operating a partial system before they would have enough confidence to write checks.

Officials dismiss all of these risks as normal parts of an ambitious major infrastructure project, and they have vowed to stay the course.

The state hopes to start construction of a 29-mile segment through Fresno by July, putting the project about a year and half behind a schedule announced in 2012.

chris.megerian@latimes.com

ralph.vartabedian@latimes.com

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Monitor on Wilmington home's roof to provide air-quality answers

Japheth Peleti has no shortage of unpleasant stories from decades of living across a fence from a sprawling oil refinery.

He and his family have contended with rumbling noises that rattle their windows, coped with skunk-like odors, plumes of vapor and smoke and seen their whole block lighted up at night from the orange glow of refinery flares. "We're so used to it that it's become a normal part of life," Peleti said.

For nearly as long, the 48-year old has suspected air pollution from the Phillips 66 refinery is one reason most of his family suffers from asthma and other respiratory illnesses.

Now, they will be getting some answers from a shoe-box-sized air quality monitor mounted on their roof.

The low-cost, solar-powered device will gather real-time data on air pollution in this working-class neighborhood near the Port of Los Angeles, measuring concentrations of nitrogen oxides, fine particles and other pollutants as well as noise, temperature and humidity. The data will be posted online for public viewing.

The monitoring is part of a government-funded project launched Wednesday by Wilmington environmental group Coalition For a Safe Environment.

The initiative includes a website and mobile application for residents to lodge complaints of bad air, illegal dumping, chemical spills and other environmental problems. A task force of community and government representatives will meet monthly to review complaints and outcomes.

A related, 18-month study by cancer researchers at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health will assess the neighborhood's levels of benzene, a carcinogenic compound released into the air by oil refineries.

The project, called the Los Angeles Community Environmental Enforcement Network is the latest to focus on environmental hazards facing Wilmington, a neighborhood of more than 50,000 residents boxed in by the port complex, rail lines, industrial operations and three of Southern California's six major oil refineries.

The 87% Latino neighborhood has long been a battleground for environmental activists. Jesse Marquez, executive director of Coalition for a Safe Environment, said the new emphasis on collecting data from fence-line residents in Wilmington differs from past campaigns, which have relied on community meetings, door-to-door visits and fliers.

The monitors and online reporting system are being paid for with $30,000 in state and federal grant money. The state Department of Toxic Substances Control said it has assigned a staff scientist to help route complaints to the appropriate agencies.

The project is the fifth community-based reporting system launched in California in recent years, after similar efforts in the Coachella and Imperial valleys and Fresno and Kern counties. Wilmington will be the first to incorporate a home air pollution monitor. The group hopes to install more in neighborhoods adjacent to rail yards, port operations, refineries and other major polluters.

Wilmington ranks among the top 5% of communities with the highest pollution exposure in the state, according to a recent analysis by California environmental agencies. The main polluters are trucks and ships at the port and refineries that air quality regulators say are among the top five sources of smog-forming emissions in the Los Angeles Basin.

Under rules from the South Coast Air Quality Management District, refineries must monitor emissions of nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides, submit annual reports and undergo inspections at least every week. Restrictions on flaring — when refineries burn off gases to relieve pressure during a shutdown, start-up or maintenance — have cut the facilities' sulfur oxide emissions by 96% since 2000, air quality officials said.

"Our refinery regulations are the toughest in the country and, perhaps, the world," said Sam Atwood, a spokesman for the air district.

Atwood said the district expects results this year from a separate study it commissioned into the possible use of remote sensors similar to the one on the Peleti family's roof to monitor pollution levels near refineries.

In a statement, Phillips 66 said that while it is in compliance with its permit limits set by the air district, "we continuously strive to reduce emissions. Since 2008, we have lowered diesel usage in equipment by 75%, thus decreasing particulate matter released."

The Peleti family said they welcomed any new information on those emissions.

"I know the air is polluted," said Sarah Meafua, Peleti's 39-year-old sister. "I'd just like to see the results."

tony.barboza@latimes.com

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Monitor on Wilmington home's roof to provide air-quality answers

Japheth Peleti has no shortage of unpleasant stories from decades of living across a fence from a sprawling oil refinery.

He and his family have contended with rumbling noises that rattle their windows, coped with skunk-like odors, plumes of vapor and smoke and seen their whole block lighted up at night from the orange glow of refinery flares. "We're so used to it that it's become a normal part of life," Peleti said.

For nearly as long, the 48-year old has suspected air pollution from the Phillips 66 refinery is one reason most of his family suffers from asthma and other respiratory illnesses.

Now, they will be getting some answers from a shoe-box-sized air quality monitor mounted on their roof.

The low-cost, solar-powered device will gather real-time data on air pollution in this working-class neighborhood near the Port of Los Angeles, measuring concentrations of nitrogen oxides, fine particles and other pollutants as well as noise, temperature and humidity. The data will be posted online for public viewing.

The monitoring is part of a government-funded project launched Wednesday by Wilmington environmental group Coalition For a Safe Environment.

The initiative includes a website and mobile application for residents to lodge complaints of bad air, illegal dumping, chemical spills and other environmental problems. A task force of community and government representatives will meet monthly to review complaints and outcomes.

A related, 18-month study by cancer researchers at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health will assess the neighborhood's levels of benzene, a carcinogenic compound released into the air by oil refineries.

The project, called the Los Angeles Community Environmental Enforcement Network is the latest to focus on environmental hazards facing Wilmington, a neighborhood of more than 50,000 residents boxed in by the port complex, rail lines, industrial operations and three of Southern California's six major oil refineries.

The 87% Latino neighborhood has long been a battleground for environmental activists. Jesse Marquez, executive director of Coalition for a Safe Environment, said the new emphasis on collecting data from fence-line residents in Wilmington differs from past campaigns, which have relied on community meetings, door-to-door visits and fliers.

The monitors and online reporting system are being paid for with $30,000 in state and federal grant money. The state Department of Toxic Substances Control said it has assigned a staff scientist to help route complaints to the appropriate agencies.

The project is the fifth community-based reporting system launched in California in recent years, after similar efforts in the Coachella and Imperial valleys and Fresno and Kern counties. Wilmington will be the first to incorporate a home air pollution monitor. The group hopes to install more in neighborhoods adjacent to rail yards, port operations, refineries and other major polluters.

Wilmington ranks among the top 5% of communities with the highest pollution exposure in the state, according to a recent analysis by California environmental agencies. The main polluters are trucks and ships at the port and refineries that air quality regulators say are among the top five sources of smog-forming emissions in the Los Angeles Basin.

Under rules from the South Coast Air Quality Management District, refineries must monitor emissions of nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides, submit annual reports and undergo inspections at least every week. Restrictions on flaring — when refineries burn off gases to relieve pressure during a shutdown, start-up or maintenance — have cut the facilities' sulfur oxide emissions by 96% since 2000, air quality officials said.

"Our refinery regulations are the toughest in the country and, perhaps, the world," said Sam Atwood, a spokesman for the air district.

Atwood said the district expects results this year from a separate study it commissioned into the possible use of remote sensors similar to the one on the Peleti family's roof to monitor pollution levels near refineries.

In a statement, Phillips 66 said that while it is in compliance with its permit limits set by the air district, "we continuously strive to reduce emissions. Since 2008, we have lowered diesel usage in equipment by 75%, thus decreasing particulate matter released."

The Peleti family said they welcomed any new information on those emissions.

"I know the air is polluted," said Sarah Meafua, Peleti's 39-year-old sister. "I'd just like to see the results."

tony.barboza@latimes.com

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ex-Northridge skating rink employee held in foot fetish incident

An employee of a Northridge roller rink with a self-described "foot fetish" told police he repeatedly took young boys into a maintenance room and had them remove their socks and rub their feet on his hands or face to sexually arouse himself, court documents say.

Julian Christopher Flores, 19, said he engaged in that behavior at Northridge Skateland with about 200 boys over the course of a year, court records show. Flores' statement to police came a day after one boy told his grandmother about an encounter in the maintenance room, according to a search warrant affidavit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Following the interview at LAPD's Devonshire Station, police seized Flores' cellphone and laptop and found videos in which he instructed several unknown minors to remove their socks, the court documents allege. In one video, a boy asks, "Why would you let a 9-year-old who you hardly know, put their feet on your face."

Flores, who no longer works at Skateland, has been charged with one count of false imprisonment and one count of an attempted lewd act on a child, court records state. He has pleaded not guilty.

Los Angeles police served a search warrant on Northridge Skateland in January and are attempting to identify victims who were patrons from May 1 through Dec. 21 of last year.

Skateland general manager Courtney Bourdas Henn said she had not notified customers on her own because LAPD officials asked that she not do so while their investigation is ongoing.

Henn said Skateland "deeply regrets" the incident and "we are fully cooperating with the LAPD."

The incident that led to Flores' arrest occurred on Dec. 21. He approached a young boy who was skating at the rink on several occasions, attempting to befriend him, according to court records.

He told the boy, "I bet you can't take your socks off without using your hands," according to court records.

Flores then told the boy to meet him by the men's room. Once there, Flores unlocked an adjacent maintenance room and ushered the boy inside, the affidavit states. He placed the boy atop a washing machine and removed his roller skates.

Flores then heard the victim's name being called from outside the maintenance room door. He became alarmed, turned off the lights and told the boy to be quiet, the affidavit states. Flores left the room; the boy emerged later.

The boy's grandmother said she allowed him to go the restroom but became concerned when he seemed to be taking too long, according to court records. She began shouting his name and went into the men's room to look for him, but couldn't find him.

Shortly thereafter she saw Flores appear in a walkway, according to the documents. Her grandson appeared about a minute later and wasn't wearing his skates. The boy, whose name was redacted in court documents, then told her about the incident.

Flores admitted his role in the incident and told police that, had they not been interrupted, he would have had the victim "rub his feet on his hands and that he was going to play with" the victim's feet, the affidavit states.

Flores, who faces a maximum of eight years and four months in prison if convicted, is free on $150,000 bail, a district attorney's spokesperson said. He has been ordered to stay away from the boy and his family. His next court date is set for March 27.

Flores' defense attorney, Valerie Lopez, declined comment.

The prosecutor, Deputy. Dist. Atty. Elena Abramson, declined comment through a spokesman.

Police have asked that anyone with information contact LAPD Det. Daniel Aguirre at 213-486-0580 or, after hours, 1-877-LAPD-24-7.

scott.glover@latimes.com

Times staff writer Scott Glover contributed to this report.

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On gay issue, Arizona may heed national outcry this time

TUCSON — When Arizona took controversial stands in the past — refusing to create a Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and enacting a tough anti-illegal immigration law — state leaders shrugged off the criticism from out of state as the meddling of outsiders.

But now, after the Legislature passed a measure to bolster the rights of business owners to refuse service to gays and others on the basis of religion, Arizona leaders seem to be listening to a national outcry and are urging the governor to veto the bill.

So what's different this time?

Political insiders and observers say the change can be attributed to a number of forces at work: A growing acceptance of gay rights sweeping the nation, the power of social media and an economic backlash unleashed by the passage of the anti-illegal immigration law that is still fresh in the minds of those in the business community.

Republican Gov. Jan Brewer has said she has not made a decision on the bill, SB 1062, which the GOP-dominated Legislature approved last week. But some of her longtime advisors have said they believe she will veto the measure because of the negative reaction to the bill inside and outside the state.

Barrett Marson, who heads a public relations outfit in Phoenix, recalled that an uproar arose against Arizona in the 1990s when voters rejected a referendum to create a Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. But there is a significant difference between then and now.

"That was pre-Internet," Marson said.

Much of the outrage about SB 1062 spread via social media, especially Twitter. Republican leaders, such as former presidential candidate Mitt Romney and Arizona's U.S. senators, John McCain and Jeff Flake, have taken to Twitter to urge Brewer to veto the bill.

They have joined a loud chorus on social media — including celebrities such as Judd Apatow as well as Arizona business owners and residents — that has tweeted against the measure.

The tweets opposing the legislation are so numerous they have overshadowed the few who have taken to Twitter in support of the bill. Proponents say the measure is not discriminatory but intended to protect religious freedom. "Would you force a Muslim butcher to slaughter pigs b/c you want bacon?" read one tweet.

Arizona also became a target of criticism after Brewer signed the anti-illegal immigration measure, SB 1070, into law in 2010. But the outcry then wasn't as a great as the current controversy, partly because the immigrant rights lobby wasn't as powerful as today's gay community and its supporters, Marson said.

"Certainly there was a short-term economic hit from 1070 … but there aren't many illegal immigrants who are CEOs or management of Fortune 500 companies," he said.

The "economic hit" Marson referred to was boycotts of Arizona businesses following SB 1070. Shortly after SB 1062's passage last week, businesses and companies took to the Internet, saying they still welcomed gay, lesbian and transgender customers.

Marriott, American Airlines and Apple are among the companies and businesses that have come out against the bill.

Some of the same foes of the legislation have threatened to boycott Arizona if the bill becomes law, and that possibility worries these businesses — some remembering the sting of the SB 1070 boycotts.

Matthew Benson, a former spokesman and advisor to Brewer, believes she will veto the bill because of increased opposition from these companies, especially Apple — which Brewer has worked hard to bring to the state.

Apple announced last year it would build a plant in Mesa that could bring 2,000 new jobs to the state.

"Apple … that they, of all places, came to Arizona? This is a real point of pride [for] her," Benson said. "I can't imagine she would take any action that would put at risk that kind of momentum."

The high-tech industry tends to be staffed with younger employees, Benson pointed out. "The last thing they want to do is locate to a state that is intolerant or less than welcoming to all groups or people," he said.

The outcry can be attributed to the power of the gay community and its supporters in Arizona. At the same time there is a sea change in the mainstream nationally much more in favor of gay rights than in the past, political observers said.

David Liebowitz, a political consultant in Phoenix, said the passage of SB 1062, and the negative reaction against it, reflected another fact of Arizona politics: The Legislature is "wildly out of step" with most Arizonans. Despite the state's conservative reputation, the general public is often more mainstream than its representatives, Liebowitz said.

"The LGBT community in Arizona is a rising force in politics," he said. "I've lived here for almost 20 years.… We've gone virtually from no representation to the ability to be able to attract a lot of people who have become advocates in a hurry."

Meanwhile, the Legislature is considering a bill that could affect same-sex marriage, which is not legal in Arizona.

The bill, HB 2481, would expand the definition of minister to include various officials who may preside at weddings — such as judges and justices of the peace. Such a designation would allow the officials to decline to officiate at same-sex marriages on "sincerely held religious beliefs."

The state House may vote on the measure this week.

cindy.carcamo@latimes.com

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Supreme Court ruling expands police authority in home searches

WASHINGTON — Police officers may enter and search a home without a warrant as long as one occupant consents, even if another resident has previously objected, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday in a Los Angeles case.

The 6-3 ruling, triggered by a Los Angeles Police Department arrest in 2009, gives authorities more leeway to search homes without obtaining a warrant, even when there is no emergency.

The majority, led by Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., said police need not take the time to get a magistrate's approval before entering a home in such cases. But dissenters, led by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, warned that the decision would erode protections against warrantless home searches. The court had previously held that such protections were at the "very core" of the 4th Amendment and its ban on unreasonable searches and seizures.

The case began when LAPD officers responded to reports of a street robbery near Venice Boulevard and Magnolia Avenue. They pursued a suspect to an apartment building, heard shouting inside a unit and knocked on the door. Roxanne Rojas opened the door, but her boyfriend, Walter Fernandez, told officers they could not enter without a warrant.

"You don't have any right to come in here. I know my rights," Fernandez shouted from inside the apartment, according to court records.

Fernandez was arrested in connection with the street robbery and taken away. An hour later, police returned and searched his apartment, this time with Rojas' consent. They found a shotgun and gang-related material.

In Tuesday's decision, the high court said Fernandez did not have the right to prevent the search of his apartment once he was gone and Rojas had consented.

In the past, the court has frowned upon most searches of residences except in the case of an emergency or if the police had a warrant from a judge.

But Alito said police were free to search when they get the consent of the only occupant on site.

"A warrantless consent search is reasonable and thus consistent with the 4th Amendment irrespective of the availability of a warrant," he said in Fernandez vs. California. "Even with modern technological advances, the warrant procedure imposes burdens on the officers who wish to search [and] the magistrate who must review the warrant application."

He also said Rojas, who appeared to have been beaten when police first arrived, should have her own right to consent to a search. "Denying someone in Rojas' position the right to allow the police to enter her home would also show disrespect for her independence," Alito wrote for the court.

Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan joined Ginsburg in dissent and faulted the court for retreating from the warrant rule.

"Instead of adhering to the warrant requirement, today's decision tells the police they may dodge it," Ginsburg said.

She noted that in 2006, the court had ruled in a Georgia case that a husband standing in the doorway could block police from searching his home, even if his estranged wife consented. In Tuesday's opinion, the majority said that rule applied only when the co-owner was "physically present" to object.

The voting lineup seemed to track the court's ideological divide and its gender split, with male and female justices taking opposite sides. The six men — Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, Stephen G. Breyer, Anthony M. Kennedy and Alito — voted to uphold Rojas' consent to the search. The court's three women would have honored Fernandez's objection.

Fernandez was later convicted for his role in the street robbery and sentenced to 14 years in prison. After the California Supreme Court upheld his conviction, he appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court challenging the search of his apartment.

david.savage@latimes.com

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Asiana Airlines fined $500,000 for response to San Francisco crash

Imposing the first penalty of its type, the federal government has fined Asiana Airlines $500,000 for failing to promptly help passengers and their families after last year's crash in San Francisco.

A U.S. Department of Transportation investigation found that the South Korean airline violated the Foreign Air Carrier Family Support Act by taking up to five days to notify family members and failing to provide other basic assistance.

In a statement issued Tuesday, federal officials said Asiana did not "adhere to the assurances in its family assistance plan," a federally mandated set of procedures foreign airlines must follow to promptly assist passengers and their families after major aircraft incidents.

The agency said it took Asiana days to do such things as contacting family members, sending trained personnel and translators to San Francisco, and providing a phone number with information on the crash.

Three people were killed and more than 180 passengers and crew members injured when Asiana's Boeing 777 clipped a sea wall on July 6 and slammed into a runway at San Francisco International Airport. An investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing.

According to the Department of Transportation investigation, the airline took two days to successfully contact three-quarters of passengers' families and up to five days to contact several others.

Transportation officials said the airline took a day just to provide family members a telephone number for information. Before that, the only number generally available was a toll-free reservation line.

Federal officials said it also took two days after the crash for the airline to send enough trained staff and translators to San Francisco. Flight 214 originated in Seoul, and many of the 307 passengers and crew members aboard were from China or South Korea.

Overall, investigators said, five days passed before Asiana could get the necessary resources to carry out its response plan.

"The last thing families and passengers should have to worry about at such a stressful time is how to get information from their carrier," Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx said in the statement

Asiana Airlines said in a statement that it provided "extensive support to the passengers and their families following the accident and will continue to do so."

The fine was imposed under a consent order, which is a legal settlement with the federal government that describes the facts uncovered by the investigation and the reason for penalizing Asiana.

Without conceding any violation and to avoid litigation, airline officials signed the order, which requires Asiana to avoid any future violations of the family support act.

Under the agreement, Asiana will pay $400,000 within 30 days and be credited $100,000 for its costs to sponsor industrywide conferences about the lessons the airline learned from the crash.

The order states that Asiana takes its family assistance responsibilities seriously and acknowledges the difficulties fulfilling its legal obligations. Company officials said they tried to provide assistance immediately after the crash, but because of the Fourth of July holiday weekend, only 12 airline employees were on duty in San Francisco.

According to the order, Asiana officials believe the presence of the airline's chief executive on the scene a few days after the crash ensured that passengers and families received the help required by law and expected of a premier airline and a good corporate citizen.

Asiana officials also told investigators that it had few people in the United States trained to handle post-accident responsibilities and had to rely on its domestic airline partner for assistance. It took two days to get fully trained people to the airport and five days for Asiana to assume full responsibility for assisting the relatives of passengers.

Dozens of passengers who were aboard the flight have taken steps toward lawsuits against the airline and Boeing Co., the plane's manufacturer. The families of the three teenagers who were killed also have retained attorneys.

kate.mather@latimes.com

dan.weikel@latimes.com

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Chris Wondolowski leads the U.S. past South Korea, 2-0

With the U.S. in the final stretch before this summer's World Cup, Coach Juergen Klinsmann has challenged his players to step up and make a statement if they want to make the team.

Chris Wondolowski proved Saturday that he got the message, scoring goals in each half to lift the U.S. to a 2-0 win over South Korea before a sold-out crowd of 27,000 at StubHub Center.

Whether that will be enough to earn him a seat on the plane to Brazil remains to be seen. But it sure didn't hurt his chances with Klinsmann, who admitted he came away impressed.

"If you are committed, if you are hungry, if you give everything you have over a long period, sooner or later you get rewarded for it," he said of Wondolowski. "And for 21/2 years now we've been working together and in every training session and every day he came in he gave everything he has."

For the time being Klinsmann says the physical Jozy Altidore is his first-choice striker despite his recent struggles with Sunderland of the English Premier League, for whom he's scored once in 22 games. But Wondolowski is making sure that conversation isn't over, with his two goals Saturday giving him eight in his last nine games with the national team.

"For us, it's great to have now competition," Klinsmann said.

Wondolowski needed less than four minutes to get things started Saturday, hanging back and then diving toward a scramble in front of the net to head in the rebound of Brad Davis' deflected shot.

That was all the offense Nick Rimando would need, with the U.S. keeper making five saves to remain unbeaten in 10 games with the national team.

Wondolowski added a second score 15 minutes into the second half and it came in a similar fashion, with the San Jose Earthquakes striker latching onto a ball that inadvertently hit Landon Donovan on the foot and driving it past Korean keeper Sung-Ryong Jung.

"He's a pure finisher. He smells where the ball will fall in," Klinsmann said of Wondolowski. "He follows his first thought and just gets it done. And it's really a reward for his commitment, for his attitude, for his character.

"It's cool."

But it's nothing new for Wondolowski, who scored 72 goals and won Major League Soccer's most-valuable-player award in his last four seasons in San Jose. Yet he had started only four times and had never scored for the national team just seven months ago.

Now he's rushing to make up for lost time.

"I'm going to try to make the most of it," he said. "That's always been my mind frame since Day 1. And that's what it's going to be until the last."

Asked whether that would be enough to get him on the World Cup team, Wondolowski smiled.

"You can't play the numbers game at this situation," he said. "All you can do is you hope for a call-up and when you get one, try to make the most of it whenever you can.

"You know, just let your work do the talking."

Wondolowski's work spoke loud and clear Saturday.

kevin.baxter@latimes.com

Twitter: @kbaxter11

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Quotage: Mike Brown, Kyrie Irving and David West weigh in

Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving drives against Mavericks point guard Shane Larkin during a game earlier this season. (Tony Dejak / Associated Press / January 20, 2014)

By Ben Bolch

February 1, 2014, 8:45 p.m.

Picking himself up

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey, on his most controversial draft selection: "I take some sort of pride in that you could argue that Royce White is the worst first-round pick ever. He's the only one that never played a minute in the NBA that wasn't just a foreign guy staying in Europe. It just shows that we swing for the fence."

Here to stay?

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving, on rumors he had been telling people he wants to leave his team: "It's not about me and it's not about this controversy — 'Do I privately want out when my contract is up?' I'm still in my rookie contract and I'm happy to be here. And I'm pretty sure I'm going to be here for a long time."

Ready to grumble

Indiana forward David West, on the Eastern Conference coaches deciding not to pick Pacers teammate Lance Stephenson as an All-Star reserve: "I just think it's unfortunate that Lance didn't make it. It's a slap in the face. He has to use it as motivation."

Non-compete clause

Cleveland Cavaliers Coach Mike Brown, after a 100-89 loss to New Orleans that completed a 1-4 homestand: "Our competitive spirit is nonexistent. Maybe I need to shake some things up."

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Oregon has big second half to defeat USC, 78-66

EUGENE, Ore. — The Oregon Ducks seemed more relieved than excited.

Joseph Young scored 21 points, including a key three-pointer that touched off a 12-0 Oregon run midway through the second half Saturday, and the Ducks defeated USC, 78-66.

"It's always important to get a win," said Jason Calliste, who finished with 18 points. "But just the way that we played was more satisfying, I guess you could say."

Oregon (15-6, 3-6 Pac-12) led by as many as 17 points and had 16 steals, finishing one shy of the school record. Young had a career-high six.

The Ducks had lost six of their last seven games after opening the season with 13 straight wins and climbing as high as No. 10 in the AP rankings.

Byron Wesley finished with 19 points for the Trojans (10-12, 1-8), who have lost seven in a row to the Ducks.

"They just came out and really punched us in the mouth," Wesley said.

USC, now 0-5 on the road in conference, was plagued by turnovers, finishing with a season-high 22. The Ducks kept them off-balance by pressing on defense.

"I feel like each game that we play, we're getting better on defense," Young said.

USC led 38-34 at the break, but Young's three-pointer, four straight points from Calliste and Ben Carter's layup gave Oregon a 53-44 lead with 12:02 left.

"They did a good job both halves on their full-court and half-court pressure and we seemed to fumble balls and dribble a few off our feet. We threw it out of bounds. Just some unusual turnovers that we usually don't make," USC Coach Andy Enfield said.

The Trojans jumped out to a 12-6 lead on Wesley's jumper, but Oregon responded with a 7-0 run capped by Young's layup and free throw to take a 13-12 lead midway through the first half. USC tied it at 25 after Pe'Shon Howard's three-pointer, but the Trojans didn't pull back in front until J.T. Terrell made a pair of free throws and Omar Oraby dunked for a 31-28 lead.

Up next for Oregon is No. 1-ranked Arizona in Tucson on Thursday. But first, the Ducks will get a little break.

"Let's enjoy the Super Bowl and take a day off and unwind," Oregon Coach Dana Altman said.

The game was played on Phil Knight appreciation night at Matthew Knight Arena. All fans were given a souvenir bobblehead of the Nike co-founder, who was celebrating his 76th birthday. During a timeout, the fans serenaded their most famous booster with "Happy Birthday."

Altman even joked about the bobblehead, given that two of the Ducks' players were suspended for the first nine games of the season for selling team merchandise, an NCAA violation.

"Make sure the team doesn't get any so we don't put them on eBay," Altman smirked, then added: "That's the first time I've laughed in a month."

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Magic Johnson says he will stop complaining about the Lakers

Johnson took to Twitter to call a cease-fire on himself after weeks of probing, questioning and even haranguing the Lakers.

"I'm going to stop complaining. I'm going to support and encourage [team executive] Jim Buss and Coach [Mike] D'Antoni because I love the Lakers!" Johnson wrote Thursday night.

"It doesn't do the Lakers players, coaches or ownership any good for me to complain."

He also added, "I want to give Coach D'Antoni credit because offensively he's put the Lakers' players in positions to be successful!"

It's a rapid turn for Johnson after a rapid-fire month.

He started his barrage in mid-January while meeting with editors and writers at The Times to hype the upcoming Dodgers season as a part-owner of the team.

When asked about the Lakers, he couldn't hold back.

"This is what happens when you make the wrong decisions, two coaching wrong decisions, giving Steve Nash that deal, it's backfired," Johnson said at the time. "The biggest problem they're going to have right now … you've got to get a guy like Jerry West to be the face of the team.

"You've got to have someone helping Jim. He's got to quit trying to prove a point to everybody that he can do it on his own, get his ego out of it, and just say, 'Let me get someone beside me to help achieve the goals I want.'"

West was the Lakers' general manager from 1982 to 2000 and was hired a few years ago to be a consultant with Golden State.

Johnson, an unpaid vice president for the Lakers, has also been critical in recent weeks on Twitter, where he has more than 1.9 million followers.

He was annoyed when the Lakers lost to Chicago on an inbounds play last week.

"Only the Lakers let a man cut down the middle [and] score a layup with 0.9 seconds left in the game," he wrote.

D'Antoni not surprised

Of all the surprises this season, this wasn't one of them: Pau Gasol was left off the All-Star team.

D'Antoni thought he knew why. The Lakers were 14th in the Western Conference when the reserves were announced Thursday.

"When you're not in the top eight, top nine, I'm a firm believer that, you know what, numbers don't mean a whole lot if you're not winning," D'Antoni said Friday. "So you've got to be very careful about putting somebody on the All-Star team that doesn't have [victories]…unless you're in the East, probably."

Gasol, 33, played better in January, averaging 20.6 points and 12.1 rebounds before Friday's game against Charlotte.

"He's had All-Star numbers but he didn't have them all year. He had them the last couple of months," D'Antoni said. "To be fair to everybody else, it makes it tough."

Gasol, a four-time All-Star, hasn't made the team since 2011.

Blake Griffin, Kevin Durant and Kevin Love were voted frontcourt starters in the Western Conference by fans. The West coaches picked Dirk Nowitzki, Dwight Howard and LaMarcus Aldridge as reserves down low.

The point guards

Steve Nash, Steve Blake and Jordan Farmar won't all be ready to play Tuesday at Minnesota.

"I think Farmar's a little bit further [behind]," D'Antoni said. "They want to be a little bit more careful with him because of the last time what happened with him. Nash and Steve could, but we'll have to see."

Farmar has been sidelined twice by hamstring injuries. Nash has been out since Nov. 10 because of nerve damage in his back. Blake hasn't played since Dec. 10 because of a torn elbow ligament.

mike.bresnahan@latimes.com

Twitter: @Mike_Bresnahan

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After 'schedule loss,' Clippers rest up for Utah Jazz

The Clippers knew at some point the schedule would catch up to them, that it would test them.

That moment came Thursday night when the Clippers played their Pacific Division rivals and personal nemeses, the Golden State Warriors, on the back end of a back-to-back.

It didn't come as a surprise to Clippers Coach Doc Rivers that his team played mostly on empty.

The Clippers had returned home early Tuesday morning from a seven-game, 11-day trip to the East Coast and played the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night at Staples Center.

The Clippers were then sent back on the road to Oakland to play their ninth game in 14 days.

"There are definitely scheduled losses," Rivers said after Thursday night's game. "There's no doubt about that. But you can still win some of them. Listen, when I saw the schedule and you saw that game [at Golden State], I was like, 'Holy goodness! That's a hard game.' But still, give them credit. I don't want to take anything away from Golden State."

The Clippers never sustained anything in that game.

They scored a season-low 11 points in the third quarter. They made a franchise-low one field goal out of 15 attempts (6.7%) in that quarter.

The Clippers took Friday off but play the Utah Jazz on Saturday night at Staples Center.

"It won't be easy," Jamal Crawford said. "But we'll get home, get some rest, regroup and get back on our horse. Keep going. Keep going."

The Clippers then leave Sunday for a game at Denver on Monday night.

The Clippers return for a four-game homestand against the Miami Heat on Wednesday, Toronto Raptors on Friday, Philadelphia 76ers on Feb. 9 and Portland Trail Blazers on Feb. 12.

"I don't think this whole thing stops until after the Denver game," Rivers said. "We've got two games off or something. But it is what it is. At the end of the day, everybody goes through something like this at some point."

Clippers continue to impress

The Clippers, 11-3 since Chris Paul went down Jan. 3 at Dallas with of a separated right shoulder, have impressed many with their recent play.

They lead the Pacific Division and have the fourth-best record (33-16) in the tough Western Conference.

Reggie Miller, TNT's NBA analyst who watched the Clippers play at Golden State on Thursday night, liked what he saw from Los Angeles despite the loss.

"I think their schedule sets them up well," Miller said during the game. "It wouldn't shock me at all if they end up with the 2 seed in the West behind Oklahoma City."

broderick.turner@latimes.com

Twitter:@BA_Turner

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Critic's Notebook: Friedkin Blows Out the Candles on 'The Birthday Party'

Whoever is ultimately at fault in the conflict between actor Steven Berkoff and director William Friedkin that led to the postponement of the Geffen Playhouse's much anticipated production of "The Birthday Party," there's no denying that the botched handling of the situation was a loss for the Geffen, the artistic company and Los Angeles theater.

I was looking forward to reencountering this early Pinter classic more than almost any other production this season. The last revival I saw was ages ago off-Broadway, the Classic Stage Company's astringent 1989 production with Jean Stapleton and David Strathairn. The time has come for a fresh look at this comedy of menace, and Friedkin and Berkoff seemed just the men for the job.

Apparently too much so.

Pinter was forever fascinated by the territorial skirmishes of supposedly civilized men. But the atmosphere evidently grew too Pinteresque in the rehearsal room for Pinter's playwriting to flourish onstage.

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To say that I'm bitterly disappointed that a solution couldn't be found to the contretemps is an understatement. Berkoff's reputation for being difficult in rehearsal and the 0scar-winning Friedkin's relative inexperience as a theater director were clearly a combustible mix.

Normally an artistic director would broker a détente in such a situation or make the decision to replace an actor while there was still time to do so. Where was Geffen artistic director Randall Arney during this turmoil? Your guess is as good as mine, but playing referee to two brawling egos wouldn't seem to be his specialty.

This "postponement" leaves a gaping hole in the Geffen's season. According to Friedkin, a replacement wasn't found because several actors being considered to replace Berkoff weren't available and the part needs "one of the British lions to do this justice."

That's hogwash. This is Los Angeles, home to more actors than probably any city in the world. Pinter's plays have thrived in American hands. And the role hardly requires a star name for the production to succeed.

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After posting my frustration on Facebook this morning, I heard from an actor willing to fill in for Berkoff: Obie winner James Urbaniak. He'd be an inspired choice, but even if he were just kidding about his availability it shows how deep the bench is for local talent.

Think about it: it took just a few minutes for my Facebook scribble to go up and a credible name to emerge.

Arney shouldn't have accepted Friedkin's self-important avowal not to "produce anything that isn't up to my standard." A movie can be released at a later date. Theater hasn't the luxury of this kind of flexibility, and a nonprofit venue like the Geffen has a tough enough time keeping its financial house in order without this sort of manmade maelstrom.

This is indeed bigger than a director's temperament. While Friedkin carefully curates his reputation, artists and theatergoers are left in the lurch.   

Twitter: @charlesmcnulty

charles.mcnulty@latimes.com

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