🌱 Catalytic Converter Thieves w/Guns + Cahuenga Water Main Break

Morning, Los Angeles, and happy National Blueberry Pancake Day! Let's get you started this Friday with everything you need to know going on in Los Angeles today.

Catalytic converter thieves are running rampant, and now we learn they’re prepared to shoot. Also, what happens when the same water main breaks twice in one month? Finally, will Congresswoman Karen Bass be the next Los Angeles Mayor?

First, today's weather:

Pleasant with variable clouds. High: 73 Low: 50.

Here are the top five stories today in Los Angeles:

1. Catalytic converter thieves have been honing their skills. The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department highlighted a theft from Sunday in the 16000 block of Ballentine Place. Caught on camera, the officers explain that “one suspect was directed to cover the front door of the victim’s residence as the others stole the catalytic converter from the victim’s vehicle. The suspect covering the front door appeared to be armed, holding a firearm partially concealed in their front sweatshirt pocket.” In Long Beach, a man intervening in a catalytic converter theft was shot. (L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, Patch)
2. If you were driving around the 2300 block of Cahuenga Boulevard before 2 a.m. Thursday morning, you were caught right in the middle of a water main break. Officials determined that a 12-inch cast-iron water main burst. This particular pipe was installed in 1931. “There was another break about a quarter-mile away on the same water main last month.” Residents are frustrated and say that the city needs “to invest some money to fix it because every week there's some type of problem.” (ABC)
3. Congresswoman Karen Bass (37th Congressional District) announced on September 27 that she was running for Mayor of L.A. Fast forward to January 27, and she is considered the front-runner. “This is just a man-made disaster and we need a FEMA style response. I’m running for mayor to lead the emergency response that L.A’s homeless catastrophe requires. L.A. needs decisive leadership. We need action and urgency. We need follow-through to get the job done,” she said. Her most well-known competitors are City Councilor Joe Buscaino (15th District), City Councilor Kevin de Leon (14th District), and City Attorney Mark Feuer. (LA Sentinel)
4. What are the odds of a mountain lion hanging out in your backyard or walking down your driveway? The National Park Service studied the cats’ behavior and found that they “rarely venture into residential neighborhoods, opting instead for forested landscapes of chaparral and sage scrub.” According to a Thursday report, “the big cats also tended to shy away from heavily modified and landscaped areas, including golf courses and cemeteries.” The mountain lions known as P-22 and P-41 appear to be the exceptions to the rule. (KTLA)
5. We learned Wednesday that Leonardo DiCaprio sold his 1926 Tudor-style home in L.A. for $4.9 million. It was previously owned by Moby, who sold it to DiCaprio for $4.19 million in 2018. Initially, DiCaprio was asking $5.75 million when listing the “five-bedroom, seven-bathroom house in the Los Feliz Oaks area” in August. On a side note, DiCaprio sold his Malibu property in November for $10.3 million. (Mansion Global)

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Today in Los Angeles:

• Rhone opens in Century City at Westfield Mall (10 AM)
• The Holiness in the Ordinary: A Video Installation by Janine Brown at Gallery 825 (10 AM)
• Free Sing-along Sessions for Seniors from Music Mends Minds (online) (11:30 AM)
• California Deathfest Day I at 1720 (5 PM)
• The Globe Theatre Los Angeles presents Peaches And Cream - A R&B And Hip Hop Throwback Party (10 PM)

From my notebook:

• El alcalde Eric Garcetti anuncia el periodo de solicitud para la TERCERA RONDA del Programa de Cheques de Recuperación se ha extendido hasta el 7 de febrero! Subvenciones de $5,000 están disponibles para 5,000 pequeñas empresas. (Instagram)
• A Koreatown Little Bangladesh neighbor announces that the Ktown Writers Group is expanding into a Book Group! If you are interested in joining the first meeting (on Zoom), be there Tuesday, February 8, 6:30-8:30. They'll be discussing Jason Reynold’s multi-award winning novel. (Nextdoor)
• Our South Chesterfield Square neighbor wants recommendations for foundation repair/replacement. (Nextdoor)
• A kind Boyle Hts Northeast neighbor found two dogs near Cesar Chavez and Soto. Friendly and uncollared, not street trained. The older one has a leg injury. Are they yours? (Nextdoor)
• A West Adams neighbor is looking for a company that can waterproof a stucco wall and repair it. It's not a full remodel, but it's not a small hole in the wall, either. (Nextdoor)

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That's it for today! I'll be back in your inbox tomorrow morning with your next update.

— Sylvia Cochran

About me: Sylvia Cochran works out of sunny Southern California and has been freelance writing full-time since 2005. She loves dogs, cats, books, plays Best Fiends (don't judge), embraces social justice, and tries to live out Micah 6:8.