🌱 Police Can’t Hold Mid-City Vandal + Fire At Auto Shop On Avenue 55

Hi neighbors; today is International Read Comics in Public Day! It’s Sylvia, your well-informed host of the Los Angeles Daily. Here’s all the community news you need to know today.

• ⚠️ A transient is vandalizing property on Longwood
• 🚒 A mezzanine fire above an auto shop was extinguished quickly
• 🚓 An allegedly stolen BMW caused traffic havoc on Sunset and Wilton

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🌤️ First, today's weather:

Some low clouds, then sun. High: 82 Low: 64.

🌡️ FYI: To locate a cooling center in Los Angeles, call 3-1-1, reach out to the Los Angeles Public Library Public Information Office at (213) 228-7555, or find your nearest location and its hours on the current list of county facilities.

⛽ Three Of The Cheapest Gas Stations In Los Angeles

• Berri Brothers at 3860 E 3rd St., $4.59
• United Oil at 4700 W Slauson Ave., $4.85
• Mobil at 1502 S Robertson Blvd., $4.89

🤔 Homelessness Poll Results
CNN reports that Los Angeles County has a homeless population of “more than 66,400 people.” The numbers are increasing. We asked if you think that city governments are doing enough. Are there better solutions? You responded! After tallying the votes, 27.8% favor more infrastructure investment, 16.1% want federal involvement, 1.7% say faith-based groups need to step up, 4.8% want the military to open its bases, and 48.3% ask for justice system involvement.

📰 Here are the top five stories in Los Angeles today:

1) A transient is allegedly vandalizing the Mid-City neighborhood around “21st Street and Longwood Avenue.” Having caused “tens of thousands of dollars in damage,” residents said they’re not feeling safe anymore because they “know he’s roaming around.” Video footage shows him “cutting electrical and internet wires, starting fires and breaking outdoor faucets and pipes.” We learned on Friday that the LAPD has not found him, but “because most of the man’s previous arrests are misdemeanors, police cannot keep him in custody.” (KTLA)

2) On Saturday morning, firefighters were called to 119 South Avenue 55. There was a fire “at a mezzanine above a one-story auto shop.” It only took 12 minutes to put out the flames. (Patch)

3) Were you caught up in the traffic snarl near Sunset Boulevard and Wilton Place on Friday? A driver in an allegedly stolen white BMW i8 tried to shake the cops following the vehicle. The car ended up “crashed on a sidewalk and several other vehicles stalled in the middle of the street.” “Police say the suspect took off after the collision. He was taken into custody shortly after.” (ABC)

4) It is official! The late Vicente Fernández, known as the king of ranchera music, was honored with a street renamed for him. On Friday, the “street leading into the Pico Rivera Sports Arena was renamed Avenida Vicente Fernández.” Vicente Fernández Jr. was present for the celebration. (ABC)

5) The Los Angeles City Council announced on Friday that it “would incentivize affordable housing projects” in “higher resource neighborhoods. Targeted locations are “commercial zones, transit areas and corridors” but also “publicly owned land, parking zones and land owned by faith-based institutions.” (NBC)

📆 Today in Los Angeles:

• August Breakfast Club Cruise-In at the Petersen Automotive Museum (8 a.m.)
• Just Jazz Sunday Brunch at the Strada Eateria & Bar (1 p.m.)
• George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’ at the A Noise Within Theatre (2 p.m.)
• Chamber Music LA presents Music Box 2022 at the Zipper Concert Hall (3 p.m.)
• Rebelde Coffee and Tavern hosts Comedy Try-Outs (4 p.m.)

📓 From my notebook:

• 'This is Regeneration: Black Cinema, 1898–1971' is the newest exhbit at the Academy Musuem. 🎥 Located in the Marilyn and Jeffrey Katzenberg Gallery, 'Regeneration' features rarely seen excerpts of films, documentaries, newsreels, and more. (Discover Los Angeles via Instagram)
• Recycled water stations will provide a sustainable way to keep up on outdoor watering and help ease the burden of recent restrictions. 📍Check out a station or visit LADWP for more information about the program. (Mayor Eric Garcetti via Instagram)
• A Winter Gardens-East LA neighbor is looking for a good taco caterer. (Nextdoor)
• Our Mount Washington North neighbor is wondering about a dog barking really loudly and persistently in the canyon every night around 1 - 3 a.m. Does anyone else hear this or know whose dog this may be? (Nextdoor)
• A neighbor in the Hyde Park NE area wants to know why the Donut Shop on Crenshaw and Hyde Park is closed. (Nextdoor)

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Events:

• Torrance Antique Street Faire (August 28)
• Seeking 5 Sweet Middle School Girls to Write Foodie Review (August 28)
• Illuminations: Chelsea Randall & Francesca Khalifa, pianists (August 28)
• "Accentuate the Positive" this fall (September 16)
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You're all caught up for today! I'll see you around.

— 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.

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Los Angeles Daily? Contact me at losangeles@patch.com