latimes--2020-01-29--Woody Phillips, for decades the king of L.A. barbecue, dies at 78

The smoke in the air would catch your attention on Crenshaw Boulevard and pull you right down Slauson Avenue to Woody Phillips ’ barbecue joint , a place of plastic menus , friendly faces and steaming plates of rib tips , chicken links and brisket , all with a brick-red barbecue sauce on the side .
Residents in Los Angeles might quibble over which of the barbecue houses in the neighborhood were best -- and there were and still are an abundance -- but Woody ’ s Bar-B-Que was always in the conversation .
“ You could smell it from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ author Lynell George , who grew up near Phillips ’ place .
“ It was how you knew you were almost home.
” Never far from the kitchen where the ribs crackled over oak logs , Phillips died Dec. 31 .
He was 78 and had been in poor health since a stroke a decade earlier .
Still , friends and family said , he remained a fixture at his restaurant on Slauson , as well as two other locations in L.A .
It many ways , Woody ’ s was part of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that was left battered by the 1992 riots , when black-owned restaurants had trouble hanging on as longtime customers steered clear of the area .
For regulars there was a family warmth to the place .
When the Raiders were still in town , fans would gather at Woody ’ s before the game .
After church on Sunday , it would fill up with well-dressed families .
And when the electricity flickered out during the riots , Phillips lit candles and fired up the oak logs , serving meals in the dim @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and he helped other people survive too , ” said his son Roderick Phillips , who operates the family barbecue pit in Inglewood .
Woodrow “ Woody ” Phillips Jr. was born Dec. 29 , 1941 , in Keatchie , La.
, a town of several hundred south of Shreveport , where farming was the only way to make a living .
The youngest of eight kids , Phillips was a self-starter from the beginning and found himself at home in the kitchen , where he cooked chops , greens and cornbread @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he moved to Houston and then Los Angeles , arriving in 1961 .
He went to work for McDonnell Douglas , working on instrument panels for the DC-10 .
Bored , he launched a gardening business and then a painting crew .
Still bored , he recalled the competitive fun of dodging his older sisters in the kitchen as a child , certain that his recipes were superior .
“ I wanted to be able to explode , to go as far as I thought I could go , rather than as far @ @ @ @ @ @ @ told The Times in 1993 .
So he set his sights on a barbecue place on Slauson he ’ d heard was in deep trouble .
From a doughnut stand across the street , he kept track of the number of customers who came and went and then made the proprietor an offer -- $ 3,500 for the lease and the business .
Woody ’ s was born .
Phillips was still trying to get the kinks out of his barbecue sauce the night before his rib joint opened in 1975 .
For @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the brew , adding and subtracting ingredients , keeping notes on what worked and what didn ’ t .
Finally , after 3½ hours of nursing the sauce along , he took a spoonful .
Perfection , he thought .
He simmered every vat of sauce for exactly 3½ hours the rest of his life .
“ It exudes from your pores for hours ; it seems less like a condiment than like a way of life , ” wrote the late L.A. Times food critic Jonathan Gold in 1992 .
“ It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ precisely to speak in tongues.
” Gold was as effusive about the barbecue itself .
“ Crusty pork ribs spurting with juice ; thick , blackened hot link sausages with the chaw of good jerky ; meaty little rib tips ; giant beef ribs ; charred , only occasionally stewey-tasty slices of well-done barbecued beef brisket that even Texans condescend to like , ” he wrote , adding that customers should likely have their own teeth .
Other locations opened .
One in Inglewood , another on Florence Avenue and , for a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ still another in Encino , directly across the street from a Tony Roma ’ s .
A cousin , Foster Phillips , also opened a pair of of rib houses , both named Phillips Barbecue .
But the original on Slauson remained the mother ship .
“ Those places really did bond people , ” George said of the cluster of barbecue stands along Slauson , Crenshaw and other thoroughfares .
“ Everyone had a favorite .
You ’ d branch out sometimes and try other places , but you always drifted back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his father was a generous man who took great joy in helping others .
He started a youth ministry which reached out to at-risk adolescents , particularly young gang members .
He said his father was so giving he was even willing to disclose the ingredients of his signature sauce .
“ He ’ d give you the ingredients , sure , ” his son said , “ but just not the amounts.
” Phillips is survived by his wife Jenetha ; children Greg , Tracy and Tyreke in addition to Roderick ; @ @ @ @ @ @

The smoke in the air would catch your attention on Crenshaw Boulevard and pull you right down Slauson Avenue to Woody Phillips’ barbecue joint, a place of plastic menus, friendly faces and steaming plates of rib tips, chicken links and brisket, all with a brick-red barbecue sauce on the side.
Residents in Los Angeles might quibble over which of the barbecue houses in the neighborhood were best -- and there were and still are an abundance — but Woody’s Bar-B-Que was always in the conversation.
“You could smell it from blocks away,” said journalist and author Lynell George, who grew up near Phillips’ place. “It was how you knew you were almost home.”
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Never far from the kitchen where the ribs crackled over oak logs, Phillips died Dec. 31. He was 78 and had been in poor health since a stroke a decade earlier. Still, friends and family said, he remained a fixture at his restaurant on Slauson, as well as two other locations in L.A.
It many ways, Woody’s was part of the cement that held together a neighborhood that was left battered by the 1992 riots, when black-owned restaurants had trouble hanging on as longtime customers steered clear of the area.
For regulars there was a family warmth to the place. When the Raiders were still in town, fans would gather at Woody’s before the game. After church on Sunday, it would fill up with well-dressed families. And when the electricity flickered out during the riots, Phillips lit candles and fired up the oak logs, serving meals in the dim light.
“He was a survivor, and he helped other people survive too,” said his son Roderick Phillips, who operates the family barbecue pit in Inglewood.
Woodrow “Woody” Phillips Jr. was born Dec. 29, 1941, in Keatchie, La., a town of several hundred south of Shreveport, where farming was the only way to make a living. The youngest of eight kids, Phillips was a self-starter from the beginning and found himself at home in the kitchen, where he cooked chops, greens and cornbread for his family.
After high school he moved to Houston and then Los Angeles, arriving in 1961. He went to work for McDonnell Douglas, working on instrument panels for the DC-10. Bored, he launched a gardening business and then a painting crew. Still bored, he recalled the competitive fun of dodging his older sisters in the kitchen as a child, certain that his recipes were superior.
“I wanted to be able to explode, to go as far as I thought I could go, rather than as far as someone else suggested,” he told The Times in 1993.
So he set his sights on a barbecue place on Slauson he’d heard was in deep trouble. From a doughnut stand across the street, he kept track of the number of customers who came and went and then made the proprietor an offer -- $3,500 for the lease and the business. Woody’s was born.
Phillips was still trying to get the kinks out of his barbecue sauce the night before his rib joint opened in 1975. For months he’d been tinkering with the brew, adding and subtracting ingredients, keeping notes on what worked and what didn’t. Finally, after 3½ hours of nursing the sauce along, he took a spoonful. Perfection, he thought.
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He simmered every vat of sauce for exactly 3½ hours the rest of his life.
“It exudes from your pores for hours; it seems less like a condiment than like a way of life,” wrote the late L.A. Times food critic Jonathan Gold in 1992. “It makes you breathe hard, if not precisely to speak in tongues.”
Gold was as effusive about the barbecue itself.
“Crusty pork ribs spurting with juice; thick, blackened hot link sausages with the chaw of good jerky; meaty little rib tips; giant beef ribs; charred, only occasionally stewey-tasty slices of well-done barbecued beef brisket that even Texans condescend to like,” he wrote, adding that customers should likely have their own teeth.
Other locations opened. One in Inglewood, another on Florence Avenue and, for a while, one in Las Vegas and still another in Encino, directly across the street from a Tony Roma’s. A cousin, Foster Phillips, also opened a pair of of rib houses, both named Phillips Barbecue.
But the original on Slauson remained the mother ship.
“Those places really did bond people,” George said of the cluster of barbecue stands along Slauson, Crenshaw and other thoroughfares. “Everyone had a favorite. You’d branch out sometimes and try other places, but you always drifted back to your favorite.”
Roderick Phillips said his father was a generous man who took great joy in helping others. He started a youth ministry which reached out to at-risk adolescents, particularly young gang members. He said his father was so giving he was even willing to disclose the ingredients of his signature sauce.
“He’d give you the ingredients, sure,” his son said, “but just not the amounts.”
Phillips is survived by his wife Jenetha; children Greg, Tracy and Tyreke in addition to Roderick; and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.


latimes--2020-01-29--Despite repeated high-rise fires, L.A. still doesn't require sprinklers in dozens of buildings

The high-rise that caught fire Wednesday on Los Angeles ’ Westside was not equipped with fire sprinklers , fire officials said , despite a fire in 2013 in the same building .
The fire Wednesday on the sixth floor of Barrington Plaza injured eight people , including a 3-month-old baby .
The cause was under investigation , but officials said it looked suspicious .
Here is what we know : Q : Why didn ’ t the tower have sprinklers ?
It ’ s because of a gap in L.A. 's fire safety rules .
After 24 people died in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ apartment complex near downtown in 1982 , the city required that more than 1,300 buildings built before 1943 be retrofitted with fire sprinklers .
In 1974 , in the aftermath of a catastrophic fire in Brazil , California had passed a law requiring all new buildings to have sprinklers installed .
As a result , high-rise buildings built in those gap years , between 1943 and 1974 , were not required to have sprinklers .
Los Angeles officials first made a push to retrofit all high-rises — commercial and residential — with sprinklers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Interstate Tower downtown killed one man and injured 40 .
But proponents opted to divide the proposal in two : one for businesses and one for residential .
Lawmakers approved retrofitting some 350 commercial buildings , but there was stronger resistance from the owners of residential buildings .
The costs to retrofit were too high , they argued .
It ’ s the same argument that was made in 2004 after a woman was critically burned in a tower in Koreatown .
That fire hit on the 11th floor of the Wilshire Tower @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , there was talk of tightening rules , but nothing was done .
A 2014 count by the city found 71 of the city ’ s roughly 200 residential high-rises did not have fire sprinkler systems .
What do we know about the 2013 Barrington Plaza fire ?
The 2013 fire started on the 11th floor , displaced as many as 150 residents and injured two people .
According to residents , several fire alarms failed to sound .
A door to the roof was locked , and the stairwells filled with choking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time , L.A. fire officials said the building was not equipped with a sprinkler system .
On Wednesday , fire officials told the Los Angeles Times that the building remained without sprinklers .
Because it was built nearly 60 years ago , it does not fall under state regulations later adopted that forced buildings taller than 75 feet to include such fire-suppression systems unless granted an exemption .
In 2014 , a group of tenants in the high-rise sued the building ’ s corporate owner for negligence .
How about other cities ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Times reported on sprinkler policies in other areas : After Boston ’ s Prudential Tower fire in 1986 , Massachusetts required all high-rise buildings to install sprinkler systems and gave owners 10 years to complete the process .
In New York , only residential buildings with four or more units constructed after 1999 were required to have sprinkler systems , though there were some exceptions .
Florida required all high-rise buildings to retrofit for sprinkler systems as part of the engineered life safety plan that was passed throughout the state in 1994 .

Hannah Fry, Matt Stiles, Luke Money, Joseph Serna

A man clings to the side of Barrington Plaza on Wednesday as flames engulf an apartment balcony. Firefighters brought the man down safely.
The high-rise that caught fire Wednesday on Los Angeles’ Westside was not equipped with fire sprinklers, fire officials said, despite a fire in 2013 in the same building.
The fire Wednesday on the sixth floor of Barrington Plaza injured eight people, including a 3-month-old baby. The cause was under investigation, but officials said it looked suspicious.
Here is what we know:
Q: Why didn’t the tower have sprinklers?
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It’s because of a gap in L.A.’s fire safety rules.
After 24 people died in a fire in the four-story Dorothy Mae apartment complex near downtown in 1982, the city required that more than 1,300 buildings built before 1943 be retrofitted with fire sprinklers. In 1974, in the aftermath of a catastrophic fire in Brazil, California had passed a law requiring all new buildings to have sprinklers installed.
As a result, high-rise buildings built in those gap years, between 1943 and 1974, were not required to have sprinklers.
Los Angeles officials first made a push to retrofit all high-rises — commercial and residential — with sprinklers in 1988 after a fire at First Interstate Tower downtown killed one man and injured 40.
But proponents opted to divide the proposal in two: one for businesses and one for residential.
Lawmakers approved retrofitting some 350 commercial buildings, but there was stronger resistance from the owners of residential buildings. The costs to retrofit were too high, they argued. It’s the same argument that was made in 2004 after a woman was critically burned in a tower in Koreatown.
That fire hit on the 11th floor of the Wilshire Tower on 7th Street. After the blaze, there was talk of tightening rules, but nothing was done.
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A 2014 count by the city found 71 of the city’s roughly 200 residential high-rises did not have fire sprinkler systems.
What do we know about the 2013 Barrington Plaza fire?
The 2013 fire started on the 11th floor, displaced as many as 150 residents and injured two people.
According to residents, several fire alarms failed to sound. A door to the roof was locked, and the stairwells filled with choking smoke, tenants said.
At the time, L.A. fire officials said the building was not equipped with a sprinkler system. On Wednesday, fire officials told the Los Angeles Times that the building remained without sprinklers.
Because it was built nearly 60 years ago, it does not fall under state regulations later adopted that forced buildings taller than 75 feet to include such fire-suppression systems unless granted an exemption.
In 2014, a group of tenants in the high-rise sued the building’s corporate owner for negligence.
How about other cities?
After the 2004 Koreatown fire, The Times reported on sprinkler policies in other areas:
After Boston’s Prudential Tower fire in 1986, Massachusetts required all high-rise buildings to install sprinkler systems and gave owners 10 years to complete the process.
In New York, only residential buildings with four or more units constructed after 1999 were required to have sprinkler systems, though there were some exceptions.
Florida required all high-rise buildings to retrofit for sprinkler systems as part of the engineered life safety plan that was passed throughout the state in 1994.


latimes--2020-01-29--Experts cite weather, the 'largest killer in aviation,' as likely key factor in Kobe Bryant helicopt

Experts cite weather, the 'largest killer in aviation,' as likely key factor in Kobe Bryant helicopter crash

The light haze that had settled on the runway of John Wayne Airport when Kobe Bryant , his 13-year-old daughter , Gianna , and six other passengers boarded a helicopter Sunday morning likely would not have posed much of a concern to a helicopter pilot with nearly 20 years of flying experience .
But conditions changed about a half-hour later , when the aircraft was flying over thickening clouds in the San Fernando Valley that reduced visibility predicted earlier in the day .
Visibility had diminished so much that the Los Angeles Police Department had grounded its own fleet of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kobe and his guests — a Sikorsky S-76 chopper built in 1991 — circled for roughly 13 minutes over Glendale awaiting clearance from air traffic controllers to continue its trip under special visual flight rules that would grant clearance to fly in weather conditions with less than the minimum visibility for regular visual flying .
Experts say that at that point , the pilot had a decision to make .
He could turn back , begin flying using the helicopter ’ s instruments and find a nearby airport to safely land , or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by colleagues as Ara Zobayan , continued the flight toward Camarillo Airport .
Minutes later , the helicopter crashed into a hillside in Calabasas , killing all nine people on board .
While less-than-ideal weather is not uncommon for experienced pilots , flying when visibility is decreasing poses an extreme danger , experts say .
“ The largest killer in aviation , bar none , is weather , ” said Michael Lenz , a retired safety program analyst with the Federal Aviation Administration .
“ The types of weather where this occurs aren @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but simply restrictions to visibility.
” Investigators combing the crash site this week are focusing on weather as one of the factors that may have contributed to the crash .
National Transportation Safety Board investigator Jennifer Homendy has asked the public to send in any photos that showed weather conditions near the crash site Sunday .
Investigators also are probing other aspects of the flight , including the pilot ’ s background , the airworthiness of the helicopter and whether a mechanical failure played a role in the crash .
“ Our mission @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but why it happened and how it happened to prevent … a similar accident from ever happening again , ” Homendy said .
On Tuesday , the NTSB announced that the helicopter was not equipped with a terrain alarm system that could have warned the pilot he was approaching a hillside .
Homendy said her agency had recommended 16 years ago that the FAA require all choppers carrying six or more passengers be equipped with a terrain-awareness and warning system .
Homendy said the FAA “ failed to act ” on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out any factors that may have contributed to the crash , those who are familiar with the aircraft and the conditions the pilot was flying in say mechanical issues are an unlikely cause .
A flight under visual flight rules , which the pilot was on , is based on the principle of see and avoid .
When operation of an aircraft under VFR isn ’ t safe , often because of inclement weather , FAA rules allow a pilot to fly under instrument rules , meaning the pilot navigates only by instruments @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the hills of Calabasas at 150 mph , air traffic control radioed him , telling him he was too low to be seen on radar .
Four minutes later , the pilot advised he was climbing to avoid a cloud layer .
He rose roughly 875 feet in less than a minute and then began a descending turn before slamming into the hillside , according to a Times analysis of flight data .
Randy Waldman , a helicopter flight instructor in Los Angeles , said based on the information provided by authorities , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and descent , the pilot could have become disoriented in the dense , patchy fog that had obscured some of the area and went into a fatal dive .
“ It ’ s very possible that it went from bad visibility to no visibility in a second , ” he said .
“ The top of the hillside that morning was completely obscured.
” When a pilot is flying using only sight , he or she uses the horizon to keep the aircraft level .
When Zobayan began making a left turn over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that ’ s “ where he lost sight of the horizon and got disoriented.
” “ At that point it was too late to do anything , ” Waldman said .
The FAA ’ s helicopter flying handbook states that losing all visual references during a flight “ can cause sensory overload ” for a pilot , who can then lose the ability to think rationally .
In some instances , instead of slowing the helicopter , a pilot will increase airspeed .
“ This can be caused by an oculogravic illusion .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ aircraft accelerates and decelerates .
Inertia from linear accelerations and decelerations cause the otolith organ to sense a nose-high or nose-low attitude , ” the handbook states .
“ Pilots falsely perceive that the aircraft is in a nose-high attitude .
Therefore , pilots increase airspeed.
” Steve Sparks , a former aviation safety inspector with the FAA , wrote in a February 2016 article for Heliweb Magazine that more than two-thirds of all weather-related helicopter accidents result in at least one fatality — a rate three times higher than other general aviation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ factor in many such crashes was the pilot ’ s decision to keep flying .
Lenz noted that the pilot could have switched to an instrument approach , which would have required him to take a path set by air traffic control , extending flying time .
He said pilots are “ result- and mission-oriented ” and can feel a certain pressure to complete a flight to the satisfaction of a client .
That factor may have been at play on Sunday , he said .
“ Of course , hindsight is always @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We can say maybe if they had turned around , they would be alive today , but we don ’ t know .
”

Investigators work Tuesday at the site in Calabasas where a helicopter carrying Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven others crashed.
The light haze that had settled on the runway of John Wayne Airport when Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and six other passengers boarded a helicopter Sunday morning likely would not have posed much of a concern to a helicopter pilot with nearly 20 years of flying experience.
But conditions changed about a half-hour later, when the aircraft was flying over thickening clouds in the San Fernando Valley that reduced visibility predicted earlier in the day. Visibility had diminished so much that the Los Angeles Police Department had grounded its own fleet of helicopters that morning.
The helicopter ferrying Kobe and his guests — a Sikorsky S-76 chopper built in 1991 — circled for roughly 13 minutes over Glendale awaiting clearance from air traffic controllers to continue its trip under special visual flight rules that would grant clearance to fly in weather conditions with less than the minimum visibility for regular visual flying.
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California The last flight of Kobe Bryant Tracing Kobe Bryant’s fateful last flight Sunday morning that ended with a horrific crash.
Experts say that at that point, the pilot had a decision to make. He could turn back, begin flying using the helicopter’s instruments and find a nearby airport to safely land, or press on. The pilot, identified by colleagues as Ara Zobayan, continued the flight toward Camarillo Airport. Minutes later, the helicopter crashed into a hillside in Calabasas, killing all nine people on board.
While less-than-ideal weather is not uncommon for experienced pilots, flying when visibility is decreasing poses an extreme danger, experts say.
“The largest killer in aviation, bar none, is weather,” said Michael Lenz, a retired safety program analyst with the Federal Aviation Administration. “The types of weather where this occurs aren’t usually severe like thunderstorms, but simply restrictions to visibility.”
Investigators combing the crash site this week are focusing on weather as one of the factors that may have contributed to the crash. National Transportation Safety Board investigator Jennifer Homendy has asked the public to send in any photos that showed weather conditions near the crash site Sunday. Investigators also are probing other aspects of the flight, including the pilot’s background, the airworthiness of the helicopter and whether a mechanical failure played a role in the crash.
“Our mission is not to just determine what happened, but why it happened and how it happened to prevent … a similar accident from ever happening again,” Homendy said.
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On Tuesday, the NTSB announced that the helicopter was not equipped with a terrain alarm system that could have warned the pilot he was approaching a hillside. Homendy said her agency had recommended 16 years ago that the FAA require all choppers carrying six or more passengers be equipped with a terrain-awareness and warning system. Homendy said the FAA “failed to act” on the proposal.
While experts have not ruled out any factors that may have contributed to the crash, those who are familiar with the aircraft and the conditions the pilot was flying in say mechanical issues are an unlikely cause.
A flight under visual flight rules, which the pilot was on, is based on the principle of see and avoid. When operation of an aircraft under VFR isn’t safe, often because of inclement weather, FAA rules allow a pilot to fly under instrument rules, meaning the pilot navigates only by instruments in the cockpit.
As Zobayan approached the hills of Calabasas at 150 mph, air traffic control radioed him, telling him he was too low to be seen on radar. Four minutes later, the pilot advised he was climbing to avoid a cloud layer. He rose roughly 875 feet in less than a minute and then began a descending turn before slamming into the hillside, according to a Times analysis of flight data.
Randy Waldman, a helicopter flight instructor in Los Angeles, said based on the information provided by authorities, and the pilot’s rapid incline and descent, the pilot could have become disoriented in the dense, patchy fog that had obscured some of the area and went into a fatal dive.
“It’s very possible that it went from bad visibility to no visibility in a second,” he said. “The top of the hillside that morning was completely obscured.”
When a pilot is flying using only sight, he or she uses the horizon to keep the aircraft level. When Zobayan began making a left turn over the hills in Calabasas, Waldman suspects that’s “where he lost sight of the horizon and got disoriented.”
“At that point it was too late to do anything,” Waldman said.
The FAA’s helicopter flying handbook states that losing all visual references during a flight “can cause sensory overload” for a pilot, who can then lose the ability to think rationally. In some instances, instead of slowing the helicopter, a pilot will increase airspeed.
“This can be caused by an oculogravic illusion. This type of illusion occurs when an aircraft accelerates and decelerates. Inertia from linear accelerations and decelerations cause the otolith organ to sense a nose-high or nose-low attitude,” the handbook states. “Pilots falsely perceive that the aircraft is in a nose-high attitude. Therefore, pilots increase airspeed.”
Steve Sparks, a former aviation safety inspector with the FAA, wrote in a February 2016 article for Heliweb Magazine that more than two-thirds of all weather-related helicopter accidents result in at least one fatality — a rate three times higher than other general aviation accidents. Sparks wrote that a common factor in many such crashes was the pilot’s decision to keep flying.
Lenz noted that the pilot could have switched to an instrument approach, which would have required him to take a path set by air traffic control, extending flying time. He said pilots are “result- and mission-oriented” and can feel a certain pressure to complete a flight to the satisfaction of a client. That factor may have been at play on Sunday, he said.
“Of course, hindsight is always perfect,” he said. “We can say maybe if they had turned around, they would be alive today, but we don’t know.”


latimes--2020-01-29--Last moments of Kobe Bryant's flight appear to be captured on audio recording

As authorities try to determine what caused Kobe Bryant ’ s helicopter to crash , killing him and eight other people Sunday , a new front porch-video appears to provide audio of the fateful flight ’ s final moments .
The chopper was taking Bryant and his group from Orange County to his basketball camp in Thousand Oaks .
The retired NBA player was scheduled to coach a game in which his daughter Gianna was scheduled to play .
Authorities said it could take months to determine the cause of the crash and have urged witnesses to come forward .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the crash from a Calabasas resident ’ s front-door camera .
The recording captures the sound of a helicopter flying nearby and then what appears to be a crash .
“ We heard a sputter coming through and then a boom , ” the resident told KABC-TV , adding she gave the tape to investigators .
The audio confirms what witnesses to the crash have said .
A Times reporter on the scene when the crash occurred reported hearing a massive boom , followed by a few seconds of silence .
Then a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Virgenes Road .
Jerry Kocharian , 62 , was standing outside the Church in the Canyon drinking coffee when he heard a helicopter flying unusually low and seeming to struggle .
“ It wasn ’ t sounding right , and it was real low , ” Kocharian told The Times on Sunday .
“ I saw it falling and spluttering .
But it was hard to make out as it was so foggy.
” The helicopter vanished into the sheet of fog , then there was a boom and “ a big fireball @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , 61 , was taking a break from setting up sound for a service at Church of the Canyon , which is below the crash site , when he heard the helicopter overheard .
“ Because of its proximity to the ground , I knew something was wrong .
It was hovering real low , like they were searching to land .
It was making a slow left turn .
It was about 9:44 a.m. , and then the impact happened .
I heard a crunch.
” NTSB investigator Jennifer Homendy said at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ helicopter was at 2,300 feet when it lost communication with air traffic controllers .
The helicopter was descending at more than 2,000 feet per minute at the time of impact .
“ So we know that this was a high-energy impact crash , and the helicopter was in a descending left bank , ” Homendy said .
The chopper hit the hillside at an elevation of 1,085 feet , about 20 to 30 feet above an outcropping of the hill .
But even if the pilot had been able to fly above that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hazards ahead .
“ There are actually other higher hills surrounding it , ” said Bill English , a lead investigator .
On Tuesday , the NTSB released the first images of the crash site in the form of a short video .
The video shows the charred wreckage of the helicopter , which broke apart on impact .
Much of what remained of the chopper was burned beyond recognition .
But a wheel and parts of the fuselage appear not to have been burned .

The site of the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven others.
As authorities try to determine what caused Kobe Bryant’s helicopter to crash, killing him and eight other people Sunday, a new front-porch video seems to provide audio of the fateful flight’s final moments.
The chopper was taking Bryant and his group from Orange County to his basketball tournament in Thousand Oaks. The retired NBA player was scheduled to coach his daughter Gianna’s team in a game.
Authorities said it could take months to determine the cause of the crash and have urged witnesses to come forward.
One video seems to capture audio of the crash from a Calabasas resident’s front-door camera. The recording captures the sound of a helicopter flying nearby and then sounds like a crash.
“We heard a sputter coming through and then a boom,” the resident told KABC-TV, adding that she gave the tape to investigators.
The audio confirms what witnesses to the crash have said. A Times reporter on the scene when the crash occurred reported hearing a massive boom followed by a few seconds of silence. Then a fireball erupted on a hillside off Las Virgenes Road.
Jerry Kocharian, 62, was standing outside the Church in the Canyon drinking coffee when he heard a helicopter flying unusually low and seeming to struggle.
“It wasn’t sounding right, and it was real low,” Kocharian told The Times on Sunday. “I saw it falling and spluttering. But it was hard to make out as it was so foggy.”
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The helicopter vanished into the sheet of fog, then there was a boom and “a big fireball,” he said.
Scott Daehlin, 61, was taking a break from setting up sound for a service at Church of the Canyon, which is below the crash site, when he heard the helicopter overheard.
“Because of its proximity to the ground, I knew something was wrong. It was hovering real low, like they were searching to land. It was making a slow left turn. It was about 9:44 a.m., and then the impact happened. I heard a crunch.”
NTSB investigator Jennifer Homendy said at Tuesday’s news conference that the helicopter was at 2,300 feet when it lost communication with air traffic controllers. The helicopter was descending at more than 2,000 feet per minute at the time of impact.
“So we know that this was a high-energy impact crash, and the helicopter was in a descending left bank,” Homendy said.
The chopper hit the hillside at an elevation of 1,085 feet, about 20 to 30 feet above an outcropping of the hill. But even if the pilot had been able to fly above that outcropping, he would have faced new hazards ahead.
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“There are actually other higher hills surrounding it,” said Bill English, a lead investigator.
On Tuesday, the NTSB released the first images of the crash site in the form of a short video.
The video shows the charred wreckage of the helicopter, which broke apart on impact. Much of what remained of the chopper was burned beyond recognition. But a wheel and parts of the fuselage appear not to have been burned.


latimes--2020-01-29--Gusty winds lash Southern California

Gusty winds lash Southern California

Strong winds whipped through the Southland overnight , shaking trees and mussing hairdos throughout the region .
Powerful gusts toppled at least one large tree , crushing a van on Fulton Avenue near Victory Boulevard in the Valley Glen neighborhood , KTLA-TV reported .
Wind gusts topped 60 mph at La Cumbre Peak in the Santa Ynez Mountains north of Santa Barbara and at Refugio State Beach .
Winds exceeded 70 mph at Whitaker Peak in the Angeles National Forest and the Montecito Hills , according to the National Weather Service .
“ We definitely did get some stronger gusts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said Lisa Phillips , a meteorologist with the weather service in Oxnard .
Breezy conditions are expected to stick around for at least the next day or so , Phillips said .
The weather service has issued a wind warning until 3 p.m. Thursday for the mountains of Los Angeles and Ventura counties and until noon Friday for the Santa Ana Mountains and foothills , the San Gorgonio Pass near Banning and other mountainous areas of San Bernardino and Riverside counties .
Potentially damaging winds could fell trees and power lines , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ such as big rigs should be cautious when traveling through high-elevation areas .

Strong winds whipped through the Southland overnight, shaking trees and mussing hairdos throughout the region.
Powerful gusts toppled at least one large tree in Los Angeles, crushing a van on Fulton Avenue near Victory Boulevard in the Valley Glen neighborhood, KTLA-TV reported.
Wind gusts topped 60 mph at La Cumbre Peak in the Santa Ynez Mountains north of Santa Barbara and at Refugio State Beach. Winds exceeded 70 mph at Whitaker Peak in the Angeles National Forest and the Montecito Hills, according to the National Weather Service.
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“We definitely did get some stronger gusts, especially in the mountains,” said Lisa Phillips, a meteorologist with the weather service in Oxnard.
Ward 3 Fierro / Down Tree / Down Powerlines / 7100 Block of Orchard / RIV #20-003132
Incident Information Fact Sheet:https://t.co/RbF1oyJGC3 pic.twitter.com/hs44teU2Hx — City of Riverside Fire Department (@rivcafire) January 29, 2020
In Riverside, firefighters were busy Wednesday responding to about a dozen wind-related damage calls, the majority of which were branches falling on power lines or on sidewalks, said Capt. Brian Guzzetta, of the Riverside Fire Department.
About noon, a 100-foot pine tree was toppled by high winds in the 7100 block of Orchard Street, crushing two passenger vehicles parked in front of a home. No one was injured.
About four hours later, another 100-foot pine fell into a house, igniting a fire inside the home.
Guzzetta said the electricity inside the home likely started the fire, as utilities in the newer area of the city are underground, and thus the fire wouldn’t have been started by power lines.
The people inside got out of the home unharmed before part of the house collapsed.
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By early evening, the winds in Riverside had died down, he said.
Further to the south in California, high winds knocked down several panels of a border fence under construction, landing in Mexican territory across the border from Calexico, Calif.
Breezy conditions are expected to stick around for at least the next day or so, Phillips said. The weather service has issued a wind warning until 3 p.m. Thursday for the mountains of Los Angeles and Ventura counties and until noon Friday for the Santa Ana Mountains and foothills, the San Gorgonio Pass near Banning and other mountainous areas of San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
Potentially damaging winds could fell trees and power lines, and forecasters warn that drivers of high-profile vehicles such as big rigs should be cautious when traveling through high-elevation areas.


latimes--2020-01-29--Fire at West L.A. high-rise sends residents scrambling for safety; two critically injured

A fire broke out Wednesday morning in a 25-story Westside residential building , sending residents climbing out windows and fleeing to the rooftop to escape the flames .
The blaze , which erupted on the sixth floor at the Barrington Plaza apartments in the 11700 block of Wilshire Boulevard , was reported shortly after 8:30 a.m. by fire crews , who were tending to a nearby blaze that had begun earlier .
At least 300 firefighters responded to help battle the fire and evacuate residents inside the building .
Eleven residents were evaluated at the scene for injuries and six @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : three men , two women and a 3-month-old baby .
Most were suffering from smoke inhalation .
One 30-year-old man required CPR and was listed in grave condition Wednesday afternoon , and another 30-year-old man was in critical condition , according to Los Angeles Fire Department Capt .
Erik Scott .
“ The preliminary information is the two most critically injured … were both in the unit of fire origin , ” Scott said .
Fire officials initially reported that some people had jumped from the building to escape the flames .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ jumping but were rescued by fire officials .
Residents crawled on their bellies through thick smoke to escape .
One man was seen clinging to a ledge before a fire ladder was hoisted up to him .
“ This could have been much worse , ” Scott said .
Fire officials said residents won ’ t be allowed back into the building overnight while they investigate the blaze , which was deemed suspicious .
Firefighters took an unconventional approach in battling the flames , hosing the building from the outside in an effort @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to tackle the flames inside .
The bulk of the fire was on the sixth floor of the 240-unit high-rise , though three other levels were damaged by smoke , officials said .
While some crews focused on the fire inside , others were tasked with evacuations .
At least 15 people , some in bathrobes , were airlifted to safety from the building ’ s rooftop .
Officials said it was the first time the fire chopper had been used in rescue efforts .
“ This was a herculean effort by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” said Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas .
“ It takes a lot of coordination , and our resources did a good job.
” After an intense , hourlong battle that was made more challenging by strong winds gusting up to 35 mph , firefighters were able to knock down the flames shortly before 10 a.m. LAPD Deputy Chief Justin Eisenberg said the Police Department and arson investigators were studying the blaze to determine whether it was criminal or accidental .
No one has been arrested in connection with the fire , he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ earlier in the morning about three blocks away also is part of the investigation .
Mackenzie Williams , 25 , said she was driving to work at Pure Barre — a fitness studio at Wilshire Boulevard and Granville Avenue — about 9 a.m. when she “ saw one firetruck pass by me , then I saw two , then I saw 10 , then I saw about 20 , so I definitely knew something was going on.
” After seeing smoke pouring from the building and the helicopter evacuations , she said , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over there.
” John Tavakoli was outside when the floor where his grandmother lives burst into flames .
As firefighters rushed to evacuate her and her neighbors , his initial horror settled into smoldering rage — another fire like this one had burned here a few years ago , but little had changed .
Like others , he blamed the revolving door of short-term renters for unsafe conditions in the building .
“ A lot of people Airbnb here.
” he said .
“ They party all night — they ’ re up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Meanwhile , he said , safety issues have gone unaddressed .
“ Our rent goes up , utilities go up , but one elevator ’ s always broken , ” he said .
Resident Gavyn Straus stood barefoot on the sidewalk , holding a towel around his American-flag bathing suit as he watched a sheriff ’ s helicopter hoisting stranded neighbors off the roof .
He had been in the pool swimming laps when he turned his head for a breath and noticed the smoke .
Right away , he leaped out of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ neighbors on his floor .
The smoke “ was like a black wall ” on the seventh floor , he said .
Higher up , he started banging on doors , telling neighbors to get out .
Twins Kristina and Kimberly Pagano , recent UCLA grads , were asleep in their apartment when the fire broke out .
They woke up to the sound of firetrucks .
Moments later , the building fire alarm went off , and they rushed outside .
Both immediately thought of the 2013 fire , believed to have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ building still allows residents to smoke in their units on designated floors , which the sisters had toured before moving in .
Like others , they said the building hosts a large number of short-term visitors .
“ We always see people with luggage , ” Kristina said .
Officials have said that there is no indication the fire was caused by anyone smoking inside or that it broke out in a unit rented as an Airbnb .
The building is covered by L.A. 's Rent Stabilization Ordinance , which limits annual rent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its units are exempt from that law , according to housing department spokeswoman Sandra Mendoza .
Under an ordinance that went into effect last year , Angelenos can not rent out their apartments for short stays if they live in a rent-stabilized unit .
The 2013 fire erupted on the 11th floor of the building , displacing up to 150 residents and injuring two people .
It also raised concerns about a lack of sprinkler systems in some buildings in Los Angeles .
The Barrington Plaza building was not equipped with a sprinkler @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was built nearly 60 years ago , it does not fall under state regulations later adopted that forced buildings taller than 75 feet to include such fire-suppression systems unless granted an exemption .
Los Angeles has a loophole in its fire code that allows 71 residential high-rises to house tenants despite having no fire sprinklers in the buildings .
The structures were built between 1943 and 1974 , when new codes required sprinklers .
Deputy Chief Armando Hogan said Wednesday the building still does not have sprinklers .
There have been repeated attempts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ systems , including a push after the Barrington Plaza ’ s last fire , but landlords at the time argued they would cost too much .
A year ago , the City Council again tabled a proposal to require sprinklers in all buildings .
One of the sponsors of the measure said the issue lost momentum amid opposition from landlords , but Councilman Mike Bonin said he will reintroduce a mandate for sprinklers in light of the latest blaze .
Curtis Massey , chief executive of fire safety consulting company Massey Emergency Management @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in modern high-rises quickly douse flames before they have a chance to spread .
“ It ’ s like an on-duty 24-hour firefighter that ’ s able to respond faster in most circumstances to a fire than the building staff or the fire department , ” said Massey , whose company has worked on fire preparedness plans for the Century Plaza and Wilshire Grand .
Modern fire safety features also include elevator and stairwell-pressurization systems that keep the smoke out of those areas , he said .
In 2014 , a group of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s corporate owner for negligence .
According to residents , several fire alarms failed to sound in Barrington Plaza as the October 2013 blaze spread .
A door to the roof was locked and the stairwells filled with choking smoke , tenants said .
“ The conditions at the supposedly high-end apartment building were atrocious , ” attorney Mark Geragos said at the time .
Resident Ivo Gerscovich ’ s 2-year-old daughter and father-in-law were found unconscious in a smoke-filled stairwell above the 20th floor during the 2013 fire .
“ It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said then .
“ It ’ s totally insane and indefensible.
” Ben Meiselas , an attorney with Geragos ’ firm , said the building “ is a relic of the 1960s.
” “ It conformed to codes of the 1960s , and since that time , they ’ ve availed themselves through grandfather clauses of the building codes of that bygone era , ” he said .
Meiselas said building owners should be required to prominently display whether their structures adhere to current codes .
“ You have this building that advertises @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but back in 2013 , at least , it really had fundamental safety issues , ” he said .
Residents said that they weren ’ t aware of any additional safety measures .
“ This situation really scares me , ” said Ploy Pengsomboon , who was able to evacuate from her ninth-floor unit only after smelling smoke and hearing firetruck sirens .
“ I ’ m scared if one day I ’ m in a deep sleep and something like this happens .
I didn ’ t get a chance to prepare @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out and shouldn ’ t let us learn about it ourselves.
” The blaring of a fire alarm woke 84-year-old Dan Karzen , who has lived in the Barrington Plaza for 20 years .
“ I had my pajamas on , so I had to hurry to put some clothes on , grab my phone and walk out the door of my 16th-floor apartment , ” Karzen said .
“ I knew it was bad because there was all this smoke.
” After leaving the building , he crossed the street to a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ await word from fire officials .
“ I don ’ t know when we ’ re going to go back in , and I don ’ t want to leave because all my stuff is up there , ” he said .
When Liz Bowers was jolted awake by sirens , she smelled smoke and immediately thought it couldn ’ t be another fire , remembering the 2013 blaze .
But when she looked out her window , there it was .
“ I was like holy ... it ’ s Tower A @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had a clear view of the flames and clouds of black smoke .
She could hear screams and windows blowing out from the heat of the flames .
Bowers ran downstairs to the public pool area shared by the two buildings and continued watching as firefighters worked to quell the flames and rescue residents .
After witnessing the dramatic events , she decided she ’ d had enough .
She needs to move out .
Bowers thought about all the times she could smell cigarette and marijuana smoke from her apartment , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , she said .
She spent three years knocking on the leasing office ’ s door , writing letters and making phone calls to building managers .
Eventually , she gave up .
“ They should have put sprinklers in after the [ 2013 ] fire , ” she said .
“ They let everybody smoke .
There ’ s a lot of Airbnb [ rentals ] .
You get all these people coming into party and smoke pot .
The landlords don ’ t care.
” Times staff writers Matt Stiles , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ J. Campa , Emily Alpert Reyes , James Rainey and Matthew Ormseth contributed to this report .

Hannah Fry, Alejandra Reyes-Velarde, Luke Money, Sonja Sharp

Friends and family reunite after the Barrington Plaza fire, which was under investigation by Los Angeles fire officials. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
Displaced residents reunite with friends and family at a temporary shelter after the Westside apartment complex fire. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
Firefighters hoist a ladder to the man trapped on the outside of the structure. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Residents are airlifted from the roof of the Barrington Plaza apartments by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
A man trying to escape flames walks along a ledge after fire engulfs the sixth floor of a 25-story residential building in Los Angeles. Firefighters were able to rescue the man. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
A fire broke out Wednesday morning in a 25-story Westside residential building, sending residents climbing out windows and fleeing to the rooftop to escape the flames.
The blaze, which erupted on the sixth floor at the Barrington Plaza apartments in the 11700 block of Wilshire Boulevard, was reported shortly after 8:30 a.m. by fire crews, who were tending a nearby blaze that had begun earlier.
At least 300 firefighters responded to help battle the fire and evacuate residents inside the building. Eleven residents were injured; seven were sent to a hospital for treatment, including a 3-month-old baby, and four were treated at the scene. Most were suffering from smoke inhalation. Two firefighters suffered minor burns.
One 30-year-old man required CPR and was listed in grave condition Wednesday afternoon, and another 30-year-old man was in critical condition, according to Los Angeles Fire Capt. Erik Scott.
“The preliminary information is the two most critically injured … were both in the unit of fire origin,” Scott said.
Fire officials initially reported that some people had jumped from the building to escape the flames. Authorities later clarified that two people contemplated jumping but were rescued by fire officials. Residents crawled on their bellies through thick smoke to escape. One man was seen clinging to a ledge before a fire ladder was hoisted up to him.
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“This could have been much worse,” Scott said.
Fire officials said residents won’t be allowed back into the building overnight while they investigate the blaze, which was deemed suspicious.
Firefighters took an unconventional approach in battling the flames, hosing the building from the outside in an effort to cool the units before allowing firefighters to tackle the flames inside. The bulk of the fire was on the sixth floor of the 240-unit high-rise, though three other levels were damaged by smoke, officials said.
While some crews focused on the fire inside, others were tasked with evacuations. At least 15 people, some in bathrobes, were airlifted to safety from the building’s rooftop. Officials said it was the first time the fire chopper had been used in rescue efforts.
“This was a herculean effort by the members of the Los Angeles Fire Department,” said Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas. “It takes a lot of coordination, and our resources did a good job.”
After an intense, hourlong battle that was made more challenging by strong winds gusting up to 35 mph, firefighters were able to knock down the flames shortly before 10 a.m.
Deputy Police Chief Justin Eisenberg said the Los Angeles Police Department and arson investigators were studying the blaze to determine whether it was criminal or accidental. No one has been arrested in connection with the fire, he said. The separate fire that started earlier in the morning about three blocks away also is part of the investigation.
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Mackenzie Williams, 25, said she was driving to work at Pure Barre — a fitness studio at Wilshire Boulevard and Granville Avenue — about 9 a.m. when she “saw one firetruck pass by me, then I saw two, then I saw 10, then I saw about 20, so I definitely knew something was going on.”
After seeing smoke pouring from the building and the helicopter evacuations, she said, “I just hope everyone is OK over there.”
John Tavakoli was outside when the floor where his grandmother lives burst into flames. As firefighters rushed to evacuate her and her neighbors, his initial horror settled into smoldering rage — another fire like this one had burned here a few years ago, but little had changed. Like others, he blamed the revolving door of short-term renters for unsafe conditions in the building.
“A lot of people Airbnb here.” he said. “They party all night — they’re up until 2 a.m. on a Tuesday.”
Meanwhile, he said, safety issues have gone unaddressed.
“Our rent goes up, utilities go up, but one elevator’s always broken,” he said.
Resident Gavyn Straus stood barefoot on the sidewalk, holding a towel around his American-flag bathing suit as he watched a Sheriff’s Department helicopter hoisting stranded neighbors off the roof. He had been in the pool swimming laps when he turned his head for a breath and noticed the smoke. Right away, he leaped out of the pool and dashed up to alert neighbors on his floor.
The smoke “was like a black wall” on the seventh floor, he said. Higher up, he started banging on doors, telling neighbors to get out.
Twins Kristina and Kimberly Pagano, recent UCLA grads, were asleep in their apartment when the fire broke out. They woke up to the sound of firetrucks. Moments later, the building fire alarm went off, and they rushed outside.
Both immediately thought of the 2013 fire, believed to have been sparked by a cigarette. The building still allows residents to smoke in their units on designated floors, which the sisters had toured before moving in. Like others, they said the building hosts a large number of short-term visitors.
“We always see people with luggage,” Kristina said.
“It’s like a hotel,” Kimberly agreed.
Officials have said that there is no indication the fire was caused by anyone smoking inside or that it broke out in a unit rented as an Airbnb.
The building is covered by L.A.’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance, which limits annual rent increases for tenants, but some of its units are exempt from that law, according to housing department spokeswoman Sandra Mendoza. Under an ordinance that went into effect last year, Angelenos cannot rent out their apartments for short stays if they live in a rent-stabilized unit.
The 2013 fire erupted on the 11th floor of the building, displacing up to 150 residents and injuring two people. It also raised concerns about a lack of sprinkler systems in some buildings in Los Angeles.
Barrington Plaza was not equipped with a sprinkler system at the time. Because it was built nearly 60 years ago, it does not fall under state regulations later adopted that forced buildings taller than 75 feet to include such fire-suppression systems unless granted an exemption.
Los Angeles has a loophole in its fire code that allows 71 residential high-rises to house tenants despite having no fire sprinklers in the buildings. The structures were built between 1943 and 1974, when new codes required sprinklers.
Deputy Chief Armando Hogan said Wednesday the building still does not have sprinklers.
There have been repeated attempts to require older buildings to install sprinkler systems, including a push after Barrington Plaza’s last fire, but landlords at the time argued they would cost too much.
A year ago, the City Council again tabled a proposal to require sprinklers in all buildings. One of the sponsors of the measure said the issue lost momentum amid opposition from landlords, but Councilman Mike Bonin said he will reintroduce a mandate for sprinklers in light of the latest blaze.
Curtis Massey, chief executive of fire safety consulting company Massey Emergency Management, said the sprinkler systems typically seen in modern high-rises quickly douse flames before they have a chance to spread.
“It’s like an on-duty 24-hour firefighter that’s able to respond faster in most circumstances to a fire than the building staff or the fire department,” said Massey, whose company has worked on fire preparedness plans for Century Plaza and the Wilshire Grand Center.
Modern fire safety features also include elevator and stairwell-pressurization systems that keep the smoke out of those areas, he said.
Fire on Wilshire & Barrinton outside our office #Brentwood pic.twitter.com/kI4nVUxYHr — shir (@HereIsShir) January 29, 2020
In 2014, a group of tenants in the high-rise sued the building’s corporate owner for negligence.
According to residents, several fire alarms failed to sound in Barrington Plaza as the October 2013 blaze spread. A door to the roof was locked and the stairwells filled with choking smoke, tenants said.
“The conditions at the supposedly high-end apartment building were atrocious,” attorney Mark Geragos said at the time.
Resident Ivo Gerscovich’s 2-year-old daughter and father-in-law were found unconscious in a smoke-filled stairwell above the 20th floor during the 2013 fire.
“It’s a deathtrap,” Gerscovich said then. “It’s totally insane and indefensible.”
Ben Meiselas, an attorney with Geragos’ firm, said the building “is a relic of the 1960s.”
“It conformed to codes of the 1960s, and since that time, they’ve availed themselves through grandfather clauses of the building codes of that bygone era,” he said.
Meiselas said building owners should be required to prominently display whether their structures adhere to current codes.
“You have this building that advertises itself as a class-A luxury building, but back in 2013, at least, it really had fundamental safety issues,” he said.
Residents said that they weren’t aware of any additional safety measures.
“This situation really scares me,” said Ploy Pengsomboon, who was able to evacuate from her ninth-floor unit only after smelling smoke and hearing firetruck sirens. “I’m scared if one day I’m in a deep sleep and something like this happens. I didn’t get a chance to prepare. They should tell everyone to get out and shouldn’t let us learn about it ourselves.”
The blaring of a fire alarm woke 84-year-old Dan Karzen, who has lived in Barrington Plaza for 20 years.
“I had my pajamas on, so I had to hurry to put some clothes on, grab my phone and walk out the door of my 16th-floor apartment,” Karzen said. “I knew it was bad because there was all this smoke.”
After leaving the building, he crossed the street to a strip mall, where he stopped to await word from fire officials.
“I don’t know when we’re going to go back in, and I don’t want to leave because all my stuff is up there,” he said.
When Liz Bowers was jolted awake by sirens, she smelled smoke and immediately thought it couldn’t be another fire, remembering the 2013 blaze. But when she looked out her window, there it was.
“I was like … it’s Tower A again,” she said.
She had a clear view of the flames and clouds of black smoke. She could hear screams and windows blowing out from the heat of the flames. Bowers ran downstairs to the public pool area shared by the two buildings and continued watching as firefighters worked to quell the flames and rescue residents. After witnessing the dramatic events, she decided she’d had enough. She needs to move out.
Bowers thought about all the times she could smell cigarette and marijuana smoke from her apartment, the result of little oversight from building managers, she said. She spent three years knocking on the leasing office’s door, writing letters and making phone calls to building managers. Eventually, she gave up.
“They should have put sprinklers in after the [2013] fire,” she said. “They let everybody smoke. There’s a lot of Airbnb [rentals]. You get all these people coming into party and smoke pot. The landlords don’t care.”
Times staff writers Matt Stiles, Dakota Smith, Colleen Shalby, Andrew J. Campa, Emily Alpert Reyes, James Rainey and Matthew Ormseth contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-01-29--How AB5 has instilled fear and confusion in California's arts community

What does it mean to be a “ fine artist ” ?
That ’ s the question vexing California ’ s performing arts community as it begins to grapple with the state ’ s new gig-economy law , which went into effect Jan. 1 .
Assembly Bill 5 is intended to reduce worker misclassification , making it harder for companies to treat workers as independent contractors .
Signed into law in September , it establishes a test to determine if workers are employees who should receive minimum wage , paid sick days and other benefits .
But the law ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the phrase “ fine artist ” without actually defining the term — already had led one opera company to postpone a production , prompted other small arts organizations to consider cutting programs and sent others scrambling to raise more money to comply with the law .
Under AB5 , some professions including travel agents , graphic designers and grant writers are exempt .
Fine artists are included in the list of exemptions , but there is no particular exemption for performing artists and no clarification if actors , singers , dancers or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has left the performing arts community in a state of fear and confusion .
“ We really have no idea how this will be enforced or how it might change over the next couple years , ” said Christopher Maikish , executive director of L.A. 's Celebration Theatre .
“ We ’ re having a lot of internal conversations about what does compliance mean and how do we get there.
” The term fine artist was intentionally undefined , said AB5 ’ s author , Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez ( D-San Diego ) .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ falls to the state ’ s Employment Development Department , she said .
The Times asked EDD for comment but has not received a response .
“ The administration has asked me not to do their job in how it would be defined or how it would be implemented , ” Gonzalez said .
“ We wanted to give a broader interpretation .
Defining it would have narrowed it.
” For the last year , the advocacy group Californians for the Arts has been working to create exemption language for arts industries and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ employment model , which is run largely on independent contractors .
“ In a highly creative industry , we ’ re really not the kind of employment models where you fit into this neat box , ” said Julie Baker , Californians for the Arts ’ executive director .
Converting an independent contractor to an employee typically increases staffing costs by 30 % , said M.J. Bogatin , an attorney and board member of California Lawyers for the Arts .
Those costs include insurance premiums , disability premiums , workers compensation , “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ costs of now administering these people as employees.
” Those who fail to comply with the law face fines .
Under AB5 , if a court finds a company or small arts organization willfully violating the law , penalties may run from $ 5,000 to $ 25,000 per violation .
For arts organizations staying afloat on grants and donations , both options — paying a penalty or facing a 30 % increase in costs — could be devastating .
L.A. choreographer and dance curator Deborah Brockus typically pays dancers a stipend for performing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ love to pay artists but we ’ re not getting enough actual income coming in for the gigs that we do , ” Brockus said .
“ All of us are terrified and all of us are just reining everything in and trying to figure out how we can not collapse and stay legal.
” A midsize dance company might pay its dancers a flat rate of $ 1,000 for weeks of rehearsal time and a weekend performance .
Under AB5 , the company might be required to pay minimum wage for those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ adding up to higher costs .
L.A. ’ s Skylight Theatre Company already had been affected by the Actors ’ Equity Assn .
2015 minimum wage rule for theater companies with fewer than 100 seats , said producing artistic director Gary Grossman .
The controversial rule prompted many small theater companies in L.A. to move from a stipend system to minimum hourly wage for rehearsals and performances .
With AB5 , Grossman expects a 17 % increase in costs for set , lighting , sound and video designers , who historically were hired @ @ @ @ @ @ @ barely succeed in what we ’ re doing right now with the minimum wage , ” Grossman said , referring to the Equity change .
Some in the performing arts have already begun difficult conversations about cutting costs .
According to a Californians for the Arts survey of 450 people working in the arts , 80 % said AB5 will affect their ability to offer programs and 57 % will have to close business or cease certain programs .
Under the guidance of its legal counsel earlier this month , Island City Opera @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decided to postpone indefinitely its March production of “ The Wreckers.
” The Ethel Smyth opera was Island City ’ s only scheduled production of 2020 .
“ It became clear that it seemed the law would probably apply to us and they weren ’ t going to have an exemption for performing artists or musical artists , ” said Artistic Director Eileen Meredith .
“ We can ’ t afford to be risky .
We just need to do what we can to get through this.
” AB5 is forcing a search @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Snehal Desai , producing artistic director of East West Players , the L.A. company whose mission is to develop artists of color and share the Asian American experience through theater .
The saddest thing about this bill , Desai said , are the financial stresses that emerge as companies spend more to get into compliance .
“ The first thing that gets cut is ancillary programs , which tend to be arts education and outreach programs to schools and students.
” Some feel they are facing unintended fallout from a law aimed at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for companies that have resources , ” said East West Players general manager Jeff Cason .
“ We understand the idea behind it , that we want to give our workers in California an opportunity to make a living wage .
But there is a vibrant gig economy that isn ’ t a gig economy just because we ’ re trying to stick people , but it ’ s a gig economy because we are truly gigging.
” Gonzalez countered by saying “ misclassification happens in every industry.
” “ There has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ very long time , and somehow we accept that because somebody loves the job that they do , ” she said .
“ This is aimed at ensuring that all workers , no matter who they ’ re working for , are properly classified if they are employees , ” Gonzalez added .
Performers should be “ fairly compensated and have the same standard protections that employees in other industries have , ” Mary McColl , executive director of Actors ’ Equity , said in a statement .
“ Theater is an inherently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ everyone who works in theater have access to workers ’ compensation and unemployment insurance ?
” In an effort to protect workers from exploitation , the law could damage L.A. 's performing arts community , Brockus said .
“ They ’ re hitting people doing everything they can to support their artists with what they have.
” As arts groups scramble for AB5 compliance , other industries have challenged the law , including freelance writers and independent truckers .
Gig-economy companies Uber , Lyft and DoorDash launched a campaign against the legislation .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ caught on the horns of AB5 are desperate for information on what they can and must do to abide by AB5 , ” Bogatin said .
“ I think we ’ re going to see a whole lot of community theater and smaller organizations disappear .
Just like the recession in 2008 — they are being slammed.
” Are you a California artist or arts organization impacted by AB5 ?
Submit your response here .

What does it mean to be a “fine artist”? That’s the question vexing California’s performing arts community as it begins to grapple with the state’s new gig-economy law, which went into effect Jan. 1.
Assembly Bill 5 is intended to reduce worker misclassification, making it harder for companies to treat workers as independent contractors. Signed into law in September, it establishes a test to determine if workers are employees who should receive minimum wage, paid sick days and other benefits.
For the record: An earlier version of this article referred to Californians for the Arts as a lobby group. The organization is an advocacy group.
But the law’s ambiguous language — specifically the use of the phrase “fine artist” without actually defining the term — already had led one opera company to postpone a production, prompted other small arts organizations to consider cutting programs and sent others scrambling to raise more money to comply with the law.
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Under AB5, some professions including travel agents, graphic designers and grant writers are exempt. Fine artists are included in the list of exemptions, but there is no particular exemption for performing artists and no clarification if actors, singers, dancers or musicians are considered fine artists.
That has left the performing arts community in a state of fear and confusion.
“We really have no idea how this will be enforced or how it might change over the next couple years,” said Christopher Maikish, executive director of L.A.’s Celebration Theatre. “We’re having a lot of internal conversations about what does compliance mean and how do we get there.”
The term fine artist was intentionally undefined, said AB5’s author, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego). Clarifying the exemption is a job that falls to the state’s Employment Development Department, she said. The Times asked EDD for comment but has not received a response.
Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) speaks at a rally after her measure to limit when companies can label workers as independent contractors was approved by a Senate committee in July. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)
“The administration has asked me not to do their job in how it would be defined or how it would be implemented,” Gonzalez said. “We wanted to give a broader interpretation. Defining it would have narrowed it.”
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For the last year, the advocacy group Californians for the Arts has been working to create exemption language for arts industries and educate the legislature on the common arts employment model, which is run largely on independent contractors. “In a highly creative industry, we’re really not the kind of employment models where you fit into this neat box,” said Julie Baker, Californians for the Arts’ executive director.
Converting an independent contractor to an employee typically increases staffing costs by 30%, said M.J. Bogatin, an attorney and board member of California Lawyers for the Arts. Those costs include insurance premiums, disability premiums, workers compensation, “a bunch of additional admin and the costs of now administering these people as employees.”
Those who fail to comply with the law face fines. Under AB5, if a court finds a company or small arts organization willfully violating the law, penalties may run from $5,000 to $25,000 per violation.
For arts organizations staying afloat on grants and donations, both options — paying a penalty or facing a 30% increase in costs — could be devastating.
L.A. choreographer and dance curator Deborah Brockus typically pays dancers a stipend for performing in shows.
“We all would love to pay artists but we’re not getting enough actual income coming in for the gigs that we do,” Brockus said. “All of us are terrified and all of us are just reining everything in and trying to figure out how we can not collapse and stay legal.”
A midsize dance company might pay its dancers a flat rate of $1,000 for weeks of rehearsal time and a weekend performance. Under AB5, the company might be required to pay minimum wage for those rehearsals and performances, plus benefits, adding up to higher costs.
L.A.’s Skylight Theatre Company already had been affected by the Actors’ Equity Assn. 2015 minimum wage rule for theater companies with fewer than 100 seats, said producing artistic director Gary Grossman. The controversial rule prompted many small theater companies in L.A. to move from a stipend system to minimum hourly wage for rehearsals and performances.
With AB5, Grossman expects a 17% increase in costs for set, lighting, sound and video designers, who historically were hired as independent contractors. “We can barely succeed in what we’re doing right now with the minimum wage,” Grossman said, referring to the Equity change.
Some in the performing arts have already begun difficult conversations about cutting costs.
According to a Californians for the Arts survey of 450 people working in the arts, 80% said AB5 will affect their ability to offer programs and 57% will have to close business or cease certain programs.
Under the guidance of its legal counsel earlier this month, Island City Opera, a Bay Area volunteer-run organization, decided to postpone indefinitely its March production of “The Wreckers.” The Ethel Smyth opera was Island City’s only scheduled production of 2020.
“It became clear that it seemed the law would probably apply to us and they weren’t going to have an exemption for performing artists or musical artists,” said Artistic Director Eileen Meredith. “We can’t afford to be risky. We just need to do what we can to get through this.”
AB5 is forcing a search for new donors — fast — said Snehal Desai, producing artistic director of East West Players, the L.A. company whose mission is to develop artists of color and share the Asian American experience through theater.
The saddest thing about this bill, Desai said, are the financial stresses that emerge as companies spend more to get into compliance. “The first thing that gets cut is ancillary programs, which tend to be arts education and outreach programs to schools and students.”
Some feel they are facing unintended fallout from a law aimed at massive corporations.
AB5 “was meant for companies that have resources,” said East West Players general manager Jeff Cason. “We understand the idea behind it, that we want to give our workers in California an opportunity to make a living wage. But there is a vibrant gig economy that isn’t a gig economy just because we’re trying to stick people, but it’s a gig economy because we are truly gigging.”
Gonzalez countered by saying “misclassification happens in every industry.”
“There has been massive misclassification in performing arts for a very long time, and somehow we accept that because somebody loves the job that they do,” she said.
“This is aimed at ensuring that all workers, no matter who they’re working for, are properly classified if they are employees,” Gonzalez added.
Performers should be “fairly compensated and have the same standard protections that employees in other industries have,” Mary McColl, executive director of Actors’ Equity, said in a statement. “Theater is an inherently dangerous profession. Why shouldn’t everyone who works in theater have access to workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance?”
In an effort to protect workers from exploitation, the law could damage L.A.’s performing arts community, Brockus said. “They’re hitting people doing everything they can to support their artists with what they have.”
As arts groups scramble for AB5 compliance, other industries have challenged the law, including freelance writers and independent truckers. Gig-economy companies Uber, Lyft and DoorDash launched a campaign against the legislation.
In the meantime, arts organizations “caught on the horns of AB5 are desperate for information on what they can and must do to abide by AB5,” Bogatin said. “I think we’re going to see a whole lot of community theater and smaller organizations disappear. Just like the recession in 2008 — they are being slammed.”
Are you a California artist or arts organization impacted by AB5? Submit your response here.


latimes--2020-01-29--Earthquake: 3.3 quake strikes in Oildale, Calif.

A magnitude 3.3 earthquake was reported Wednesday at 4:56 a.m. Pacific time in Oildale , Calif. , according to the U.S. Geological Survey .
The earthquake occurred two miles from Bakersfield , four miles from Shafter , seven miles from Rosedale and 11 miles from Lamont .
In the last 10 days , there has been one earthquake of magnitude 3.0 or greater centered nearby .
An average of 234 earthquakes with magnitudes between 3.0 and 4.0 occur per year in California and Nevada , according to a recent three-year data sample .
The earthquake occurred at a depth of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ earthquake ?
Consider reporting what you felt to the USGS .
Even if you didn ’ t feel this small earthquake , you never know when the Big One is going to strike .
Ready yourself by following our five-step earthquake preparedness guide and building your own emergency kit .
This story was automatically generated by Quakebot , a computer application that monitors the latest earthquakes detected by the USGS .
A Times editor reviewed the post before it was published .
If you ’ re interested in learning more about the system @ @ @ @ @ @ @ questions .

A magnitude 3.3 earthquake was reported Wednesday at 4:56 a.m. Pacific time in Oildale, Calif., according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The earthquake occurred two miles from Bakersfield, four miles from Shafter, seven miles from Rosedale and 11 miles from Lamont.
In the last 10 days, there has been one earthquake of magnitude 3.0 or greater centered nearby.
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An average of 234 earthquakes with magnitudes between 3.0 and 4.0 occur per year in California and Nevada, according to a recent three-year data sample.
The earthquake occurred at a depth of 10.2 miles. Did you feel this earthquake? Consider reporting what you felt to the USGS.
Even if you didn’t feel this small earthquake, you never know when the Big One is going to strike. Ready yourself by following our five-step earthquake preparedness guide and building your own emergency kit.
This story was automatically generated by Quakebot, a computer application that monitors the latest earthquakes detected by the USGS. A Times editor reviewed the post before it was published. If you’re interested in learning more about the system, visit our list of frequently asked questions.


latimes--2020-01-29--Earthquake: 3.5 quake hits near Ukiah, Calif.

A magnitude 3.5 earthquake was reported Wednesday morning at 4:30 a.m. Pacific time six miles from Ukiah , Calif. , according to the U.S. Geological Survey .
The earthquake occurred 34 miles from Clearlake , 45 miles from Healdsburg , 52 miles from Windsor and 59 miles from Santa Rosa .
In the last 10 days , there have been no earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater centered nearby .
An average of 234 earthquakes with magnitudes between 3.0 and 4.0 occur per year in California and Nevada , according to a recent three-year data sample .
The earthquake occurred @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Did you feel this earthquake ?
Consider reporting what you felt to the USGS .
Even if you didn ’ t feel this small earthquake , you never know when the Big One is going to strike .
Ready yourself by following our five-step earthquake preparedness guide and building your own emergency kit .
This story was automatically generated by Quakebot , a computer application that monitors the latest earthquakes detected by the USGS .
A Times editor reviewed the post before it was published .
If you ’ re interested in learning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ list of frequently asked questions .

A magnitude 3.5 earthquake was reported Wednesday morning at 4:30 a.m. Pacific time six miles from Ukiah, Calif., according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The earthquake occurred 34 miles from Clearlake, 45 miles from Healdsburg, 52 miles from Windsor and 59 miles from Santa Rosa.
In the last 10 days, there have been no earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater centered nearby.
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An average of 234 earthquakes with magnitudes between 3.0 and 4.0 occur per year in California and Nevada, according to a recent three-year data sample.
The earthquake occurred at a depth of 3.7 miles. Did you feel this earthquake? Consider reporting what you felt to the USGS.
Even if you didn’t feel this small earthquake, you never know when the Big One is going to strike. Ready yourself by following our five-step earthquake preparedness guide and building your own emergency kit.
This story was automatically generated by Quakebot, a computer application that monitors the latest earthquakes detected by the USGS. A Times editor reviewed the post before it was published. If you’re interested in learning more about the system, visit our list of frequently asked questions.


latimes--2020-01-29--Facebook could be forced to remove videos of violent crime under California proposal

Alarmed by a trend of people livestreaming violent crimes , a California state senator proposed Tuesday to require social media websites including Facebook and YouTube to remove photographs and videos of crimes posted by alleged perpetrators when a request is made by victims .
State Sen. Richard Pan ( D-Sacramento ) believes the bill would be the first of its kind in the U.S. Last August , Pan was allegedly shoved by a man who opposed his legislation to toughen vaccine requirements for schoolchildren , Senate Bill 276 , which was later signed into law by Gov .
Gavin Newsom @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suspicion of assault by the Sacramento Police Department after he livestreamed the confrontation on his Facebook page , where it remains though Pan has asked the company to remove the video .
“ Perpetrators of violence know that the more shocking and violent their crime is , the more likely they are to go viral , ” said Pan , a pediatrician .
“ We can not allow the perpetrators of violence to use social media platforms to personally benefit from the violence and criminal activity they committed.
” The senator cited a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and drew large Internet audiences , including an incident on Thursday in Montgomery , Ala. , in which a man was shot to death while streaming a Facebook Live video .
“ By last Saturday , the video had been viewed more than 377,000 times with 10,200 shares , ” Pan said .
Under Senate Bill 890 , social media companies would face civil fines of $ 1,000 for each day the photo or video is not removed following a request from a crime victim .
Pan ’ s proposal drew concerns Tuesday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ free speech and due process .
“ I understand his motivation for doing this given his own personal experience , but the bill is really problematic , ” said David Greene , civil liberties director for the Electronic Frontier Foundation , a nonprofit organization that advocates for civil liberties in the digital world .
“ It ’ s barred by federal law because it ’ s imposing liability on an internet platform for user content , which is something that is preempted by federal law.
” Green said video content can be “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ information that is in the public interest .
Some Republican lawmakers share Greene ’ s concerns , according to one top aide , who said that while the bill relies on a crime being committed , the demand for immediate action could mean there would not be time for a court to decide whether the law was violated in the video .
The legislation does not currently specify which crimes it pertains to , but Pan ’ s office said the bill is intended to apply only to violent crime .
Facebook officials @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but acknowledged after a 2017 incident that the issue is one they are grappling with .
In that case , a video of a Cleveland man shooting an elderly man at close range was livestreamed on Facebook after the alleged perpetratorposted a video indicating he planned to kill someone .
Pan said it took Facebook nearly two hours to disable the person ’ s account after the first video was reported .
At the time , Facebook ’ s vice president of global operations , Justin Osofsky , issued a statement saying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to such incidents .
“ As a result of this terrible series of events , we are reviewing our reporting flows to be sure people can report videos and other material that violates our standards as easily and quickly as possible , ” he said .
Pan said his proposal follows the lead of Australia , where legislation was approved last year to require social media companies to “ expeditiously ” remove violent postings .
The California bill is supported by the advocacy group Crime Victims United of California , said its president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not allow social media websites to be used as a tool to further harm victims and their families , ” Salarno said .
“ While social media companies grapple with how to combat the streaming of violent crimes , protections need to be in place to ensure the rights of victims are respected .
”

State Sen. Richard Pan, left, has introduced legislation to require social media websites including Facebook and YouTube to remove photographs and video recordings of crimes posted by alleged perpetrators.
Alarmed by a trend of people livestreaming violent crimes, a California state senator proposed Tuesday to require social media websites including Facebook and YouTube to remove photographs and videos of crimes posted by alleged perpetrators when a request is made by victims.
State Sen. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento) believes the bill would be the first of its kind in the U.S. Last August, Pan was allegedly shoved by a man who opposed his legislation to toughen vaccine requirements for schoolchildren, Senate Bill 276, which was later signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The alleged perpetrator was cited on suspicion of assault by the Sacramento Police Department after he livestreamed the confrontation on his Facebook page, where it remains though Pan has asked the company to remove the video.
“Perpetrators of violence know that the more shocking and violent their crime is, the more likely they are to go viral,” said Pan, a pediatrician. “We cannot allow the perpetrators of violence to use social media platforms to personally benefit from the violence and criminal activity they committed.”
The senator cited a series of recent crimes that were livestreamed and drew large Internet audiences, including an incident on Thursday in Montgomery, Ala., in which a man was shot to death while streaming a Facebook Live video.
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“By last Saturday, the video had been viewed more than 377,000 times with 10,200 shares,” Pan said.
Under Senate Bill 890, social media companies would face civil fines of $1,000 for each day the photo or video is not removed following a request from a crime victim.
Pan’s proposal drew concerns Tuesday that it would violate constitutional rights to free speech and due process.
“I understand his motivation for doing this given his own personal experience, but the bill is really problematic,” said David Greene, civil liberties director for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit organization that advocates for civil liberties in the digital world. “It’s barred by federal law because it’s imposing liability on an internet platform for user content, which is something that is preempted by federal law.”
Green said video content can be “protected speech” and could include newsworthy information that is in the public interest.
Some Republican lawmakers share Greene’s concerns, according to one top aide, who said that while the bill relies on a crime being committed, the demand for immediate action could mean there would not be time for a court to decide whether the law was violated in the video.
The legislation does not currently specify which crimes it pertains to, but Pan’s office said the bill is intended to apply only to violent crime.
Facebook officials declined to comment Tuesday on the legislation, but acknowledged after a 2017 incident that the issue is one they are grappling with.
In that case, a video of a Cleveland man shooting an elderly man at close range was livestreamed on Facebook after the alleged perpetratorposted a video indicating he planned to kill someone. Pan said it took Facebook nearly two hours to disable the person’s account after the first video was reported.
At the time, Facebook’s vice president of global operations, Justin Osofsky, issued a statement saying the company could do better in responding to such incidents.
“As a result of this terrible series of events, we are reviewing our reporting flows to be sure people can report videos and other material that violates our standards as easily and quickly as possible,” he said.
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Pan said his proposal follows the lead of Australia, where legislation was approved last year to require social media companies to “expeditiously” remove violent postings.
The California bill is supported by the advocacy group Crime Victims United of California, said its president, Nina Salarno.
“We cannot allow social media websites to be used as a tool to further harm victims and their families,” Salarno said. “While social media companies grapple with how to combat the streaming of violent crimes, protections need to be in place to ensure the rights of victims are respected.”