MALIBU – The Los Angeles basin is in the midst of a dry spell that has lasted a good part of the winter. But the beginning of March brought significant amounts of rain, whose damage could only be added to that from storms that had afflicted a good portion of the nation, including Southern California, weeks earlier. In Malibu, officials to shut down a stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway as it winds through the west side of town as it nears the Pacific Coast. At one point, PCH was closed from western Malibu all the way to Ventura for fear of washouts that could lead to disastrous accidents and falling rocks, loosened by the onslaught of driving rain. Hillsides in western Malibu were especially vulnerable, after being exposed during last year’s Springs Fire, which burned thousands of acres in Ventura County and scorched parts of western unincorporated Malibu, leaving hillsides denuded of the vegetation that helps hold them in place during heavy rain.
WEST HOLLYWOOD – Bail has been rescinded, and Darren Sharper is now under arrest, facing a litany of charges in cities across the country for allegedly sexually assaulting at least nine women. The former NFL safety and NFL Network analyst had been free on bail until the newest charges were leveled by a woman who says she was drugged until unconscious after she and a friend went to a West Hollywood hotel room with the football star, who allegedly said he had to make a brief stop before continuing on with the women to a party. Both women say they were offered a shot of whiskey and passed out. One of the women said she awoke naked several hours later, with Sharper assaulting her sexually. The other woman also awoke, and “interrupted his actions,” according to a motion filed in a Los Angeles courtroom seeking to increase his bail. Sharper had earlier been set free from custody after posting $200,000 bail following an incident in which Los Angeles County Sheriffs deputies picked him up in January on a previous charge of sexual assault. He had pleaded not guilty before a judge in that case. While he was free, Sharper was charged with two counts of aggravated rape in New Orleans, where a warrant was issued for his arrest. The New Orleans warrants for Sharper also named an alleged accomplice. Sharper and Erik Nunez were allegedly involved in two rapes that occurred in New Orleans’ Central Business District on Sept. 23, 2013. With the new charges, the former NFL player is accused of raping nine women, and drugging 11. He has been accused of rapes in West Hollywood, Los Angeles, Tempe, Ariz.; Miami; and Las Vegas. The Los Angeles District Attorney’s office issued a statement saying Sharper would use zolpidem and morphine to knock the women out, and would assault them when they could not resist his actions. He was out on bail, apparently unaware of the New Orleans charges, when the West Hollywood assaults allegedly took place. When the women complained to police, he turned himself in to authorities at the Los Angeles office of his attorneys. Sharper played for the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, and New Orleans Saints from 1997 through 2010, and helped the Saints to a Super Bowl win in 2009.
SANTA MONICA – Actor Josh Brolin has entered rehab for substance abuse after a couple of violent incidents, including two which were caught on film in Santa Monica. A spokesman for the star of “Gangster Squad” told the entertainment website TMZ Brolin was being treated for addiction to alcohol at a facility in North Carolina. The widely publicized violent incidents were captured on video after Brolin allegedly got so drunk, he got into a scuffle with a cab driver at a fast-food drive through in Los Angeles. He started 2013 in jail, after he allegedly got so drunk in a bar in Santa Monica that he started a fight with another patron. These were not the first drunken incidents that earned the actor unwanted publicity. In 2004 he was arrested on a misdemeanor battery charge following an argument with his now-estranged wife, Diane Lane, and a 2008 bar fight in Louisiana. Brolin’s most recent film was “Labor Day,” which opened to limited release on Christmas.
MAR VISTA – A medical marijuana dispensary will not be coming to Mar Vista anytime soon. City Attorney Mike Feuer’s office says a permanent injunction has been issued that will block the establishment of a medical marijuana distribution center after constituents complained that the pot shop was not an appropriate business to open in the 3400 block of South Centinela Ave., where it would be surrounded by houses and apartments. Residents told a community meeting in October they wanted the business kept out of Mar Vista because it violates Proposition D, which voters approved in a bid to keep medical marijuana dispensaries out of the neighborhood. At issue were possible increases in crime because the proposed business could attract hard-core drug users in addition to people who genuinely need marijuana. Worries were also expressed over the possibility of traffic problems and declines in real estate values near the business.
WEST LOS ANGELES – Dianne Feinstein has introduced a bill in the U.S. Senate that would expedite efforts by the Department of Veterans Affairs to partner with private agencies to develop homes for disabled homeless veterans on its West Los Angeles campus. The Democratic lawmaker offered legislation that would let the department lease two run-down buildings on the 387-acre site to a private, nonprofit group to renovate as long-term therapeutic housing for disabled veterans. Advocates of the proposed legislation say Los Angeles County is the residence of nearly 7,000 homeless veterans, the largest concentration in the United States. An effort to rehabilitate the property for use by homeless veterans came to naught in 2009, after the advocacy group Common Ground ran into a legal roadblock over the lack of an enhanced use lease, which is needed before any work could be done on the property. And the ACLU warns that even if the work is done on the buildings, it’s not going to come close to meeting the needs of homeless veterans who stand in need.
BEVERLY HILLS – Kanye West’s troubles with the law have been eased, at least by a small measure. The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office says no charges will be filed against the controversial entertainer for allegedly punching someone at a Beverly Hills chiropractor’s office. The alleged victim says he took several hits after he tried to enter the office at the same time as West’s fiancée, Kim Kardashian. The D.A.’s office says the victim held the door of the office for Kardashian to pass through and “words were exchanged” with both parties saying a racial epithet was used. Kardashian is then said to have used her cell phone to relay the incident to West, who has been involved in other highly publicized violent incidents. In this case, West showed up at the office, and witnesses say he slugged the victim several times. The victim’s attorney said there were no significant injuries, and the victim declined to pursue charges after a monetary settlement was reached. West pleaded not guilty in November to charges of battery and attempted grand theft after he allegedly mixed it up with a member of the paparazzi at LAX.
