State parks agency's accounting problems began sooner than thought

SACRAMENTO — The California parks department had accounting problems for longer than previously revealed, according to an audit released Friday by Gov. Jerry Brown's Finance Department, and officials had no plans to spend $3.9 million in unused donations.

The audit said department officials had been inaccurately reporting the amount of money in two accounts since at least 1993. That's about a decade longer than finance officials identified this summer, when it was revealed that parks had a hidden surplus of $54 million.

The controller's office, which signs the state's checks, was getting correct information from the parks department, the audit said. But the Department of Finance, which works with the governor to create a state budget, was not. Finance officials were not comparing the two sets of data until this year.

Parks officials were "intentionally under-reporting fund balances to Finance for development of the Governor's Budget," the audit said. The audit did not assign blame or say why the money was reported inaccurately.

The review also raised questions about how well officials track donations, which have been a crucial lifeline for parks threatened with closure because of budget cuts. In one department account containing about $20 million in donations, $3.9 million hadn't been earmarked for projects. Of that, $1.5 million sat unused for at least eight years.

In a written response, parks officials said they have increased internal oversight of their budget and will tighten their procedures for tracking donations.

The audit is the second review this week to find accounting problems in the parks department. On Tuesday, the controller's office said payroll policies weren't being followed and some employees may have been paid more than they were entitled to.

Two more reviews are still underway, one by the state auditor and one by the state attorney general's office.

chris.megerian@latimes.com

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Obama offers scaled-back plan to limit tax increases

WASHINGTON — With the sudden collapse of House Speaker John A. Boehner's Plan B to avert most year-end tax increases, President Obama and congressional leaders face a daunting choice: compromise in the few days remaining before tax hikes and spending cuts kick in, or call it quits and soar off the "fiscal cliff."

Obama appeared in the White House briefing room late Friday to urge congressional leaders to at least prevent income tax increases on household income of less than $250,000, continue long-term unemployment benefits and delay the mandatory spending cuts set to begin in January.

"Call me a hopeless optimist, but I actually still think we can get it done," Obama said before leaving with his family to spend Christmas in Hawaii.

The president's plea was a retreat from the much broader deal he had sought during private talks with Boehner, which fell apart this week as the Ohio Republican pursued a separate course. By suggesting last-ditch action on priorities that are most important to Democrats, Obama is not likely to attract an enthusiastic GOP response.

Obama talked with Boehner by telephone before he spoke in the briefing room, and he met at the White House with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) — a trusted partner who could help craft a deal in the Senate. All sides expect to return to Washington next week.

"Everybody can cool off; everybody can drink some eggnog, have some Christmas cookies, sing some Christmas carols, enjoy the company of loved ones," the president said. "Think about the obligations we have to the people who sent us here."

Even this more modest request will probably run into opposition from Republicans as they weigh whether to seek a better agreement or stomach the tax hikes that will happen Jan. 1 if nothing is done.

The options carry political and practical calculations for all sides — and could determine not only whether every American sees a bigger tax bill, but also whether Obama's second term will be consumed by more chaotic budget debates.

Although Boehner's stature appears diminished by his failure to persuade GOP colleagues to support his tax plan — which would have raised taxes on incomes over $1 million — Republican support, or at least acquiescence, will be required for congressional action.

That includes Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate minority leader. Obama will face continued pressure to sweeten his budget plan so McConnell does not put up a filibuster fight.

McConnell is a close-to-the-vest operator eyeing his own run for reelection in two years. If a budget deal cleared the Senate, that would put pressure on Boehner to bring it to a vote — even if most of his Republican colleagues opposed it — and allow it to pass with Democratic support. That would threaten his authority as speaker, which stems, in part, from controlling what legislation comes to the House floor.

Boehner dealt himself a blow — and strengthened the Democrats' hand — with his Plan B, which conservatives rejected as a tax increase. The proposal would have kept most tax rates the same but allowed the scheduled increase on incomes above $1 million to take effect. The rate would have risen to 39.6% from 35%.

Despite the setback, Boehner reasserted himself Friday, accompanied by his sometime-rival, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia, in a public display of solidarity.

As for a deal, the speaker said, "How we get there, God only knows."

Obama must decide whether he is willing to make concessions to Republicans to achieve a broader budget deal. Many Republicans have signaled publicly, and privately, that they are willing to raise taxes as part of a deal to cut spending.

In negotiations with Boehner, Obama proposed raising taxes only on household income above $400,000 and cutting the inflation adjustment for Social Security and other government benefits.

The president had campaigned for reelection on keeping tax rates the same for the first $250,000 of income for families and $200,000 for individuals, but raising rates on income above that level. He returned to that stance Friday, when he made a pitch to Republicans to help enact a few stopgap measures. His party's left flank is unlikely to cheer another overture to the GOP.

"The slate is clean," AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said in a statement. Obama has "no obligation to radical Republicans," he said.

All parties were weighing whether a deal remained within reach or whether the fiscal cliff would provide strengthened leverage to fight what Boehner has called "trench warfare" into next year.

In a matter of months, a vote will be needed to raise the debt limit so the nation can pay its bills. That has the potential to create a replay of the 2011 battle that led to the current standoff. A new bill to keep the federal government functioning will also be due in the spring.

"Both sides need to recognize what the other can do," said David Winston, a longtime GOP strategist who is close to the House leadership. "Republicans and Democrats, the last thing they want to do is go off the fiscal cliff."

lisa.mascaro@latimes.com

christi.parsons@latimes.com

Michael A. Memoli in the Washington bureau contributed to this report.

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San Diego gun buyback nets a record 364 weapons

SAN DIEGO — An hour before the fifth annual gun buyback was set to begin Friday, a line of cars already snaked around a large empty lot and out into the street.

There was a monetary incentive — $50 for a rifle or shotgun, $100 for a handgun or assault weapon. But there was also another motive, represented by the commonly heard phrase "in the wrong hands."

"I don't need this shotgun sitting around and, with the break-ins in our neighborhood, I don't want it ending up in the wrong hands," said Bill Stowers, 59, an unemployed Teamster, who swapped his .12-gauge for a $50 gift card.

In Southern California, as well as elsewhere in the nation, the mass killing at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., last week has given new urgency to existing plans for weapon buyback programs.

In Los Angeles, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced this week that the gun buyback set for May will be held instead on Wednesday. The early scheduling will allow Los Angeles residents to take "concrete action" in response to the shooting, Villaraigosa said.

"Too often we wake up with another headline that reminds us we are too late," Villaraigosa said. "In Los Angeles, we believe we should stand together" to prevent similar incidents, he added.

Friday's buyback in San Diego, sponsored by African American ministers, had already been on the calendar before the Connecticut shooting. But at a news conference before the event, law enforcement officials promised similar exchanges within six months throughout the sprawling county, particularly in the corridor of Highway 78 that stretches from Escondido to Oceanside.

In four years, the San Diego buyback has collected 850 guns. Those that had been stolen are returned to their owners; others are destroyed by the San Diego Police Department.

Among this year's weapons turned in were military-style rifles, at least two fully automatic handguns and numerous handguns small enough to be easily concealed. Friday's collection tally was 364, more than in any previous year.

The buyback, held this year at the Tubman/Chavez Multi-Cultural & Family Center, is organized by the United African-American Ministerial Action Council. The first buyback was held in reaction to the 2008 killing of two teenagers walking home from a party.

"It's better for us to gather here for this purpose than to gather here because another of our youngsters has been murdered," said Dist. Atty. Bonnie Dumanis.

For this year's buyback, the Sheriff's Department provided $10,000 for gift cards, the district attorney's office $5,000 and an anonymous donor another $5,000.

"If we save one child's life, or keep one officer from being shot at, this has been worthwhile," said Sheriff Bill Gore.

In Los Angeles, gun owners can turn in their weapons at either the Los Angeles Sports Arena downtown or the Van Nuys Masonic Temple. Ralphs gift cards will be given in exchange, up to $100 worth for handguns, rifles and shotguns, and up to $200 for assault weapons.

Both sites will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, officials said. The Sports Arena is at 3939 S. Figueroa St.; the Van Nuys Masonic Temple is at 14750 Sherman Way. Weapons brought to a buyback site should be unloaded and transported in vehicle trunks.

tony.perry@latimes.com

kate.mather@latimes.com

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Huge expansion of U.S. protection for N. Calif. waters proposed

Federal officials Thursday proposed a massive expansion to federal protection of waters off Northern California from offshore oil drilling, seabed mining and ocean dumping.

The proposal would more than double the size of the national marine sanctuaries around the Cordell Bank and the Farallon Islands. When combined with the massive Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, the newly expanded system would protect more than a third of California's offshore waters from oil drilling, from Cambria in San Luis Obispo County to Point Arena in Mendocino County.

"This area is a national treasure," said Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Petaluma). "It needs and deserves permanent protection from oil and gas exploration."

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) described the expansion as a parting gift for Woolsey, who is retiring after representing the North Coast for 20 years. Woolsey and Boxer tried for eight years to get Congress to approve the expansion, but were repeatedly thwarted by Republican leadership in the House of Representatives or GOP senators who halted legislation with the threat of a filibuster.

Last month, California's congressional delegation lobbied President Obama to use the power of his office to expand these sanctuaries' boundaries by declaring them national monuments. The American Antiquities Act of 1906 gives the president such powers. President George W. Bush, impatient with government procedures, invoked the Antiquities Act to create the nation's largest marine protected areas, surrounding the Northwest Hawaiian Islands and the Northern Marianas Islands.

Although congressional Republicans didn't challenge Bush, they have repeatedly warned the Obama administration against such a tactic — particularly those lawmakers still fuming over President Clinton's designation of Utah's Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and others in his final days of office.

So, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that it will follow standard procedures under the National Marine Sanctuaries Act to adjust the sanctuary boundaries. Public hearings will commence in January, said David Kennedy, an assistant administrator with NOAA. He expects the process to be completed within two years. Congressional approval isn't required.

Unlike the network of marine reserves in California state waters, the national marine sanctuaries typically place no restrictions on fishing.

If the Cordell Bank and Gulf of the Farallones sanctuaries add the 2,770 square miles as Woolsey has proposed, the new protections would include three areas with seabed oil reserves that then-Interior Secretary James Watt tried to open for drilling in 1981, said Richard Charter, a Bodega Bay-based senior fellow with the Ocean Foundation. Those undersea oil fields are off Sea Ranch and Bodega Head in Sonoma County and Point Arena in Mendocino County.

"This is the antidote to James Watt," Charter said. "It just took a while to get here."

ken.weiss@latimes.com

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L.A. county, LAFD fire chiefs discuss regional dispatch network

Los Angeles County's two largest fire departments are exploring ways to connect their dispatch systems and ensure that the closest available rescuers are sent to victims during life-threatening emergencies, according to interviews and records.

Fire chiefs from the county, Los Angeles city and Glendale met recently to discuss creation of a regional network that would automatically deploy fire and rescue units based on their proximity to an emergency, regardless of jurisdictional boundaries, according to L.A. County Fire Chief Daryl Osby.

The chiefs have begun identifying emergency communications experts and contacting additional local agencies about developing a multi-agency dispatching system, Osby wrote in a report to the county Board of Supervisors.

The report, prepared at the request of Supervisor Mike Antonovich, follows a Times investigation of extended wait times for 911 medical rescuers along the city of Los Angeles' jagged borders. An analysis of emergency responses showed that the LAFD rarely calls on the county's fire agency for assistance, which contributes to the delays.

In more than 70,000 medical calls since 2007, LAFD sent its rescuers to victims when county firehouses were closer, The Times found. More than 1,300 cases involved cardiac arrests, where delays of seconds can be critical because irreversible brain damage can begin just four minutes after the heart stops beating.

Capt. Jaime Moore, an LAFD spokesman, said his agency was planning to purchase a new dispatch system that will be able to communicate with other departments, but whether that happens will depend on the costs involved.

"We all agree that situational awareness of surrounding resources and incidents would benefit all departments," Moore said.

Los Angeles Fire Commissioner Alan Skobin said the discussions about regional dispatching are a positive step forward.

"Any time that you can take out of the process will result in saving lives," said Skobin, who asked the LAFD for a similar review of dispatching policies after The Times report.

For years, fire agencies across the country have pooled resources, used technology and adopted "automatic-aid" systems that alert rescue units closest to callers in need. Some of the largest fire departments in California, including those serving Orange County, San Jose and San Diego, have linked their dispatch operations.

But Los Angeles County has lagged behind. The LAFD and the county Fire Department formally agreed in 1979 to move toward linking their dispatch centers, but never completed the task. As a result, dispatchers still must use phone lines to summon rescuers from nearby agencies, a sometimes cumbersome process that can add to delays, officials say.

Both departments also rely on aging computer networks to run their 911 operations. Spending the time and money needed to upgrade and link the current dispatch systems would be a "short-lived investment," Osby said in his report.

The better strategy would be to invest any available funds in new dispatch systems, he said. The county Fire Department is considering buying a new 911 computer system, Chief Deputy Mike Metro said.

"It would be nice," Metro said, but "it's a very, very expensive proposition."

Said Skobin: "This is timely. We have to build the momentum."

Document: County fire chief's letter on automatic aid

Investigation: Delayed 911 response a matter of geography and jurisdictions

Full coverage: Life on the line, 911 breakdowns at LAFD

robert.lopez@latimes.com

ben.welsh@latimes.com

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Hedge fund manager alleges Herbalife is 'pyramid scheme'

Herbalife Ltd. is girding for a fight against a Wall Street money man who's betting $1 billion that the company is nothing more than what he called a "pyramid scheme."

The Los Angeles maker of nutritional products rushed to defend itself Thursday against a hedge fund manager's accusation.

Hedge fund titan Bill Ackman accused Herbalife of paying its sales staff far more money to recruit new distributors than to actually sell its products.

That results in the roughly 2.6 million distributors at the bottom of the sales pyramid making little or no income, while a handful at the top hauls in millions, he said.

"This is the best-managed pyramid scheme in the history of the world," Ackman said.

The company denied the allegation and accused Ackman of trying to manipulate the stock. Herbalife shares slumped 10% on Thursday and are off 21% in the two days since Ackman announced that the company is in his sights.

"Today's presentation was a malicious attack on our business model based largely on outdated, distorted and inaccurate information," Herbalife said in a statement. "We are not an illegal pyramid scheme."

Herbalife, which bills itself as a so-called multilevel marketer, has beaten back similar accusations in the past. But the company has rarely faced a nemesis such as Ackman.

The 46-year-old billionaire has fashioned a career on high-stakes gambits in controversial companies. His fund firm, Pershing Square Capital Management, manages $12 billion.

Showdowns between companies and skeptical investors historically play out behind closed doors, especially in the normally sleepy pre-holiday period.

But in a measure of the aggressive tactics favored by an emerging breed of activist investors, Ackman launched a public blitzkrieg Thursday. He gave a flashy multimedia presentation to a packed conference room in New York that was streamed live on the Internet.

"I've never seen anything quite like it," said Timothy Ramey, an analyst at D.A. Davidson & Co. "I've never seen an investor spend 31/2 hours of time at a major venue being webcast and then make TV appearances to make his point. It's the largest orchestrated bull or bear case that I've ever seen."

The brawl has potential repercussions for both sides.

Ackman claimed to have spent one year doing intensive research on Herbalife's operations, an unusually extended period given Wall Street's thirst for immediate results.

Earlier this year, Ackman began betting that Herbalife's stock would fall sharply.

His fund is "shorting" more than 20 million shares of the company. In a short sale, an investor borrows stock and sells it immediately, hoping to later buy the shares at a reduced price and return them to their actual owner.

Ackman promised to donate all profit from his Herbalife bet to charity, and portrayed his public diatribe as intended for the public good.

"I'm very fortunate to have the means to pursue this," he said. "I am independently wealthy. When I believe in something, I can say what I want and do what is right."

For Herbalife, the fight threatens to damage its credibility among investors who have always been sensitive to claims that its business is illegitimate.

Herbalife, which was founded in 1980, sells a line of diet powders, bars, drinks and vitamins through a network of independent distributors in more than 80 countries. The company reported sales of $3.5 billion in 2011.

Its chief executive, Michael O. Johnson, was the highest paid executive in the United States last year, hauling in more than $89 million in salary, exercised stock options and other compensation, according to GMI Ratings, a corporate governance firm.

The company has fought criticism of its business model throughout its existence.

In 2008, for example, self-proclaimed fraud buster Barry Minkow shorted Herbalife's stock and then accused the company of a host of misdeeds. The company survived those accusations and Minkow ultimately went to prison on unrelated charges.

This was the second time this year that investors punished Herbalife because of questions about its business practices. Herbalife shares fell 20% in May after hedge fund operator David Einhorn asked pointed questions during an earnings call.

"We operate at the highest ethical and quality standards, and our management and our board are constantly reviewing our business practices and products," Herbalife said. "We also hire independent, outside experts to ensure our operations are in full compliance with laws and regulations."

Ackman and Herbalife engaged in a bitter and bizarre war of words, with Johnson saying the United States will "be better when Bill Ackman is gone."

Ackman interpreted the statement as a threat and said he has hired a security firm to protect him.

stuart.pfeifer@latimes.com

walter.hamilton@latimes.com

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Battle over nation's largest pot dispensary heads to U.S. court

SAN FRANCISCO — A showdown over the fate of the country's largest medical marijuana dispensary heads to federal court here Thursday, and the outcome could hint at what lies ahead as a growing number of states opt for legalization.

This fall, Oakland became the first municipality to sue federal prosecutors in an attempt to block them from shuttering a medical cannabis facility. Harborside Health Center, with facilities in Oakland and San Jose, has more than 108,000 members in its patient collective.

The first hearing in the high-profile case comes a month after Colorado and Washington voters legalized the use and sale of small amounts of recreational marijuana — prompting President Obama to raise the possibility of relaxing enforcement of some federal anti-pot laws.

"So what we're going to need to have is a conversation about, 'How do you reconcile a federal law that still says marijuana is a federal offense and state laws that it's legal?" the president recently told ABC News.

Medical cannabis advocates said they hope that Chief Magistrate Judge Maria-Elena James keeps those developments in mind as she decides whether to order an immediate stop to all Harborside sales.

"Clearly if people think that marijuana should be legalized completely in at least two states, then from our vantage point it should at least be legal for patients who need it for medical use," said Joe Elford, chief counsel for Americans for Safe Access, which has weighed in on behalf of six Harborside patients.

Harborside is viewed as an industry model for its laboratory testing of products and efforts to obtain strains laden with cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive component known to help with inflammation, seizures and other debilitating conditions.

The dispensary, which saw $22 million in sales last year — and paid $3.5 million in taxes — is also "alleged to be the largest on the planet," according to federal prosecutors who consider it a "superstore." In July, they filed a civil forfeiture action against Harborside's two landlords.

Among the matters James will consider: motions by both property owners to compel Harborside to stop sales immediately, and a request by the city of Oakland to put those issues on hold while its lawsuit moves forward.

That suit, filed against Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. and Melinda Haag, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California, contends that federal prosecutors missed a five-year statute of limitations to seize Harborside's properties and misled Oakland officials with a "pattern of false promises" that they would not go after dispensaries that were complying with state and local laws.

Thousands of patients will be driven into the illegal cannabis market — endangering themselves and driving up crime — if sales are halted, pro bono attorneys representing Oakland said. Included in their filings are a dozen exhibits on federally funded research and patents obtained by the U.S. government that point to medicinal value.

Federal prosecutors want James to boot Oakland from the case, contending that a U.S. Supreme Court ruling already bars a "medical necessity" defense in federal court and that they have always reserved the right to take action against any dispensary.

"There is a strong public interest in the enforcement of federal law, as well as in the protection of the public from drugs that federal regulatory authorities have not approved for medical use," they wrote in legal filings.

Attorneys for Harborside are pressing to keep the dispensary's two locations open as they prepare to fight the forfeiture action before a jury.

As for the property owners, they are "between a rock and a hard place," said attorney Geoffrey Spellberg, who represents Ana Chretien.

Chretien was hit with the forfeiture action six years after she leased her Oakland property "in good faith" to Harborside, which was "in complete compliance with state and local regulations," Spellberg said. "The federal government has now threatened us with this forfeiture.… We would like to come to a global resolution that addresses everyone's concerns."

lee.romney@latimes.com

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New chief of California's prisons named

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday named a vocal advocate of shorter sentences and community treatment to run the state's crowded and troubled prison system.

Brown announced the selection of Jeffrey Beard, 65, the retired former Pennsylvania prisons chief, to succeed Matthew Cate, who stepped down last month after four years as secretary of corrections in California. Cate is now leader of the California State Assn. of Counties.

Beard, whose appointment is subject to Senate confirmation, spent nearly four decades in corrections in Pennsylvania, starting as a counselor and advancing to prison warden, eventually spending nine years as department head. He completed an expansion of that state's prison system, including the addition of 32,000 inmate beds.

He left in 2010, advocating for laws that put more criminals into work-treatment programs instead of prisons, telling lawmakers that an "over-reliance" on locking up non-serious offenders did little to improve public safety.

Though an official start date was not announced, Beard joins Brown's administration at a critical time. The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has until Jan. 7 to produce a plan for reducing prison crowding or face the renewed threat of federal orders to release inmates early.

In addition, a federal receiver is attempting to negotiate terms for California to resume control over the delivery of healthcare to inmates. And the parole and healthcare divisions are laying off staff.

In announcing the appointment, Brown said Beard "has arrived at the right time to take the next steps in returning California's parole and correctional institutions to their former luster."

Beard's successor in Pennsylvania says Beard will fit right in.

"I think you guys hit a home run," said Pennsylvania Corrections Secretary John Wetzel.

Wetzel, who was appointed eight months after Beard retired, said the former director weighed in frequently with crucial advice and provided input on new legislation intended to reduce prison crowding in that state and on expanding community treatment and diversion programs.

In 2008, Beard lent support to a proposal to ease county jail crowding by sending felons serving more than two years to state prison. But it allowed for medical release and early release of nonviolent offenders who completed treatment and education programs.

Andy Hoover, legislative director for the Pennsylvania branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, said Beard played an active role in developing corrections policies and promoting them before the Legislature.

But Beard has critics as well, some of whom hold him responsible for expanding the use of solitary confinement in Pennsylvania and for a two-month moratorium on parole releases after the murders of two Philadelphia police officers. The moratorium caused such overcrowding that Pennsylvania began sending inmates to serve time in other states.

Hoover said Beard was caught in a political bind, carrying out policies he had not set. "He was in an unfortunate position," Hoover said. "It was very much out of his hands."

Corrections historian Dan Berger, who was working on his doctoral degree at the University of Pennsylvania at the time, disagrees.

"Beard does not have a good reputation on health and human rights in prison," Berger said. "He gives more rhetoric to sentencing reform than believes it."

After retiring in 2010, Beard joined Pennsylvania State University's Justice Center for Research, and he has worked as a private consultant to a number of states, including California. He advised Sacramento on litigation over the care and housing of mentally ill offenders and has toured California prisons.

Beard is not shy about voicing opinions on where the criminal justice system fails. In 2010, he told Pennsylvania lawmakers that heavy reliance on incarceration of low-level offenders "has proven to have limited value in maintaining public safety."

"We must stop treating all offenders the same and move away from the 'get tough on crime' philosophy of locking up less serious offenders for longer periods of time," he told them.

In a 2005 commentary in an industry publication, Beard called for a rethinking of "who really belongs in prison" and an end to the then-popular "scared straight" programs he felt increased the likelihood that freed inmates would commit future crimes. "We must have the will to put an end to feel-good and/or publicly popular programs that simply do not work," Beard wrote.

Corrections officials said Beard was unavailable Wednesday but released a single statement quoting the incoming secretary as saying he was "honored" to be appointed "for this important public safety position."

paige.stjohn@latimes.com

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Family, fans say goodbye to Jenni Rivera

Jenni Rivera was remembered in death the same way she was celebrated in life: on an illuminated stage, with thousands of fans chanting her name.

The singer, who was killed in a plane crash earlier this month, was honored Wednesday with what her family called a "celestial graduation," a musical memorial that packed the Gibson Amphitheatre with 6,100 people and drew hundreds more outside.

The more than two-hour farewell could have been mistaken for a concert, if not for the crowd's tears and the ruby-red casket on stage. In front of it was a cluster of white roses, the type of flower Rivera's family asked fans to bring. Behind it was a single microphone, left unused.

Family members — clad head-to-toe in white — praised Rivera as a "perfectly imperfect" mother and a guerrera, Spanish for "female warrior." Her father, Pedro Rivera, a noted singer of the Mexican ballads known as corridos, said goodbye by performing a song he wrote about her, "La Diva de la Banda."

Rivera's 11-year-old son, Johnny Lopez, addressed the sea of mourners in a white suit and red bow tie. His father died a few years ago.

"Mama, I've been crying so much these last few days. I miss you so much," he said, his voice breaking. "I hope you're taking care of my dad and I hope he's taking care of you, too."

He added: "I want to thank everyone for loving my mom."

Rivera, a Long Beach native, first gained fame via her banda music, a Mexican regional style heavy on machismo and brass instruments. A rare woman in the genre, Rivera often sang — in Spanish and English — about her chaotic personal life: three husbands, five children and struggles with her weight and domestic violence.

Rivera sold more than 20 million albums and, in recent years, had started to expand her business empire. She had a weekly radio program, clothing and cosmetics lines and a hand in several reality shows, including "I Love Jenni."

She and six others were killed Dec. 9 when a private jet that had departed Monterrey, Mexico, nose-dived 28,000 feet in 30 seconds and smashed into mountainous terrain. Rivera was 43.

"My sister, Jenni, died in a plane accident, but it was not an accident," Pedro Rivera Jr., a pastor and Rivera's brother, told the crowd in Spanish. "God has a purpose for all of us and God let us borrow her for 43 years and enjoy her."

It was clear how deeply Rivera had touched her legion of fans.

At the memorial, several well-known Latino singers performed, including Ana Gabriel, Olga Tanon and Joan Sebastian.

Outside, her fan base arrived early, blasting her music from cars decorated with tributes: "Jenni, we love you" and "We are going to miss you." They wore Jenni Rivera T-shirts and Jenni Rivera pins and waved handmade posters. One woman said Rivera was now performing "in a concert with God."

Lidia Farrias and her husband, Jose, drove three hours from Santa Maria. They didn't have tickets — the event sold out within minutes — so they shivered outside, eyes fixed on two jumbo screens streaming the memorial. Farrias said Rivera's frank lyrics had encouraged her to be a stronger woman.

"Whenever I listened to her songs, I felt like I could tackle anything," she said.

Denise Montalvo, 15, had left San Diego at 1 a.m. with her mother, aunt and two family friends. She admired Rivera for striving to obtain a better life, just like Denise's family. The teenager said Rivera wanted her funeral to be a celebration, reflecting her song "Cuando Muere una Dama" — "When a Lady Dies."

"We're trying not to be sad," she said.

That was hard for fans, particularly as the memorial wound down. One by one, each of Rivera's family members placed a white rose on her casket. Some whispered to it. Some kissed it. Then they walked away.

ruben.vives@latimes.com

adolfo.flores@latimes.com

Times staff writer Ashley Powers contributed to this report.

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Cerebus to sell its 95% stake in gun maker Freedom Group

Retailers are pulling back on sales of assault weapons and investors are abandoning gun makers' stocks as the nation's grief focuses on the funerals of the 20 children and six adults killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School rampage in Newtown, Conn.

Calling the deadly assault "tragic and devastating," private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management said Tuesday that it will sell its 95% stake in Freedom Group Inc., which makes the Bushmaster AR-15 rifle that police said was used in the attack.

The massacre was a "watershed event that has raised the national debate on gun control to an unprecedented level," Cerberus said. Shooter Adam Lanza also killed his mother and himself.

Cerberus said it was selling the Madison, N.C., company, which also owns the Remington gun brand, because it wanted to focus on its investments instead of playing "statesmen or policymakers." But skittish investors also may have influenced its decision.

The California State Teachers' Retirement System said Monday that it would review its holdings in Cerberus in early January because of its link with Bushmaster. Through its investment in Cerberus, CalSTRS owns 2.4% of Freedom Group.

Bill Lockyer, the state's treasurer, is considering whether CalSTRS and the California Public Employees' Retirement System, the two largest public pension funds in the country, should get rid of all investments in gun manufacturers.

Retailers are also taking unprecedented steps, which they did not take after last Tuesday's attack at a mall in Oregon; a July shooting rampage in an Aurora, Colo., theater; the January 2011 massacre in a Tucson supermarket parking lot; or other recent mass shootings.

Dick's Sporting Goods said it removed all guns from its store near Newtown "out of respect for the victims and their families" and suspended sales of modern sporting rifles in its stores nationwide.

"In light of the tragic events," Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said, it took down the information page for the Bushmaster Patrolman's Carbine M4A3 rifle from its website, though it continued to sell the gun in certain stores.

Cabela's, an outdoor products retailer, was still offering the Bushmaster AR-15 — equivalent to the M-16 military firearm — for $730 to $1,040 each on its website. But the site notes that the firearm is not available for sale at the company's Connecticut store.

"We haven't seen retailers do this before," said James Chartier, an analyst with research firm Moness, Crespi, Hardt & Co. "This time, people are reacting differently."

Meantime, security and protection firms said they are fielding more calls than ever. Sales for Bullet Blocker's armored vests and other protective gear, for instance, quadrupled over the weekend, the Massachusetts company said.

Salt Lake City body armor maker Amendment II said a sudden swell in orders for gear to shield children caused its server to crash and production to exceed capacity.

"We never expected something so tragic to happen," Chief Operating Officer Rich Brand said. "Now we're trying to scramble to see what we can do. This has become our No. 1 desired product right now, and we just can't keep up with demand."

Weapons retailers aren't suggesting that guns be banned, but they are questioning whether semiautomatic rifles and other high-impact weapons are appropriate in their stores, said Joe Feldman, a senior research analyst with Telsey Advisory Group.

"Every seller will be looking at their assortment of rifles and trying to reassess the right mix," Feldman said.

Some analysts said the number and the ages of the victims made the attack especially horrifying. Others believe that Americans, tired of the complacency that often follows such massacres, are ready for action.

The chorus of politicians calling for updated restrictions also is louder.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said she is gathering support for a bill to ban assault weapons as soon as the new Congress convenes in January. Feinstein wrote an earlier federal law prohibiting military-style rifles, but that expired in 2004.

In California, which has restricted the sale of assault weapons since 1989, Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris is looking to identify and close loopholes in the ban. State Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) said he was considering a number of initiatives to curb gun violence, including limits on ammunition sales and a ban on magnetic devices that speed up the rate of fire on semiautomatic rifles.

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