The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • Page 8

Anijete LATEXTRA TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014 LATIMES.COMLANOW New PACin LAUSD election Brown enacts raft of new laws Barbara Davidson Los Angeles Times DEMOLITION OF an old bridge, above, to make way for a Metro station will cause a 57-hour closure of the Century-Aviation intersection near LAX. Officials are advising people to avoid the area or take transit. CRUNCH TIME LAX-area intersection closing for weekend The committee joins others in the race to replace a school board member who died. By Howard Blume A new political action committee has formed to influence the outcome of Los Angeles school board races, filling a gap created when a group of civic leaders, which includes former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, decided to sit out next month's key upcoming election. The new organization, Great Public Schools Los Angeles Political Action Committee, joins other outside groups involved in the campaign to replace Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte, who died in December.

The Aug. 12 special election pits George McKenna, a retired senior school district administrator who finished first in a June primary, against Alex Johnson, education advisor to Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas. The new campaign committee is controlled by Dan Chang, who most recently headed the nonprofit foundation created to raise money for the L.A. Unified School District. Through last weekend, Chang had reported raising nearly $100,000 in support of Johnson.

Chang's operation is vying to fill the void left by Villaraigosa, who left the mayor's office in 2013. As mayor, Villaraigosa acted as chief fundraiser of Coalition for School Reform, a political action committee established as a counterweight to the teachers union, United Teachers Los Angeles. The coalition delivered See LAUSD, AA4 Airport intersection closure The intersection of Century and Aviation boulevards is scheduled to be closed from 9 p.m. Friday until 6 a.m. Monday as crews remove a bridge to make way for a new Metro station.

Suggested detour Planned stations Planned rail 4 I Manchester Blvd. 0" to last from 9 p.m. Friday until 6 a.m. Monday. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti last week released a video urging people to use public transit and avoid driving in the area.

"Because we planned ahead, Carmageddon never happened on the 405. So let's plan ahead again," Garcetti said. "Avoidtheareaifyoudo not need to be there and, if you must, allow for extra travel time and use public transit." After this weekend's work, one lane in each direction will be closed on Century Boulevard for up to 16 months to allow for construction of the station on the 8.5-mile Crenshaw light rail line, set to open in 2019. The work required to remove the bridge this weekend "is not a lot but it's enough to screw everything See Crunch, AA4 By Javier Panzar Southern California drivers have survived "Jamzilla" and "Carmageddon" but this weekend's "Century Crunch" road closure near one of the main entrances to Los Angeles International Airport might be the worst one yet, officials said Monday. Starting Friday night, the intersection of Century and Aviation boulevards a main artery to LAX that 92,000 motorists pass through every day will be closed for 57 hours to allow crews to demolish an old railroad bridge and begin construction of a new Metro station.

Southbound Aviation Boulevard between Arbor Vitae and 104th streets will also be closed. The closure is expected 0 Century Blvd. GREEN LINE Aviation LAX Station Transportation Authority, Google, ESRI JON SCHLEUSS Los Angeles Times One bill would cut deportations by lowering maximum misdemeanor sentences by one day. By Patrick McGreevy SACRAMENTO Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday signed into law a measure aimed at reducing deportations of legal immigrants who are convicted of misdemeanors.

The measure, SB 1310, was one of 24 bills signed by the governor, among them a ban on homeowners associations fining members who, during periods of declared drought, let their lawns go brown because of lack of watering. The legislation aimed at reducing deportations of noncitizens who are legal residentscuts the maximum possible misdemeanor sentence in California by one day, from one year to 364 days. Under federal immigration law, a felony is a crime punishable by 365 days or more, in which case a noncit-izen legal resident can face deportation, according to state Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens). Deportable crimes that carry a maximum one-year sentence include theft, fraud and forgery.

"As a result of the differences between state and federal sentencing laws, some legal residents are torn from their families for committing minor crimes, such as writing a bad check," Lara said. The new law, which takes effect Jan. 1, will affect thousands of legal residents in California each year who might otherwise face a deportation hearing, said Zachary Nightingale, an immigration attorney in San Francisco. Each year, 10 of all deportees are legal permanent residents, and 68 of them are sent out of the country for minor, nonviolent crimes, according to the American Immigration Council, an immigrant advocacy group in Washington. "The governor signed SB 1310 to help ensure legal residents won't be deported for minor crimes," said Jim Ev-See Bills, AA2 Historian Curt Gentry dies at 83 His works include "Helter Skelter" and popular biography of J.

Edgar Hoover, aas Charges in fatal heist, shootout Suspect faces murder and kidnapping counts in Stockton gun battle. AA3 New terminal at LAX approved Facility will include gates to handle largest wide-bodied aircraft now in service. AA3 Incinerators going unused U.S. spent millions in Afghanistan for devices to prevent toxic smoke. AA2 Complete Index AA2 Lottery AA2 California AA3 Obituaries AA5 Weather AA6 Terminals LAX i Sources: Los Angeles County Metropolitan LUIS SlNCO Los Angeles Tin i Defendant says she didn't cause nightclub death PASSERSBY cool off at a fountain in Exposition Park in downtown Los Angeles on a day in March when the temperatures soared into the high 80s.

2014 off to California's hottest start on record One of two women facing charges in Kim Pham's death takes stand in murder trial. By Adolfo Flores One of the two women accused in the fatal beating of a 23-year-old nightclub patron denied Monday that she kicked the young college graduate in the head during a brawl in downtown Santa Ana. Candace Brito, 27, said that during the brawl she was knocked to the ground, and then she tried to kick Kim Pham in the back, not the head. Brito and Vanesa Zavala are charged with murder in the Jan. 18 fight, which drew enormous attention because initial reports indicated bystanders outside the club milled around, filmed the fight or angled for better views rather than come to Pham's aid.

Prosecutors have tried during the ongoing murder trial to establish that the defendants kicked Pham in the head after she was knocked to the sidewalk. But on Monday, Brito in a calm, firm voice said she punched Pham because the Huntington Beach resident had been fighting with one of her friends, whom she identified as Amelia. Brito said she was immediately thrown to the ground and momentarily By Hector Becerra Associated Press CANDACE BRITO testified she meant to kick Kim Pham in the back, not head during brawl. lost sight of her friends. "I was scared.

There was a lot of guys surrounding us," Brito said. "I saw men grabbing Amelia. They didn't seem like they were trying to stop the fight. They just seemed like they were grabbing Amelia." A forensic pathologist said Pham died of blunt force trauma to the head but that it was impossible to tell whether it was one blow or a combination that caused her to die. Eyewitnesses testified that the fight started when someone from Brito and Zavala's group bumped into Pham as she stood with friends outside The Crosby, a nightclub, which has since closed.

See Club brawl, AA4 weekend. Across the state, the bone-dry and hot conditions have been contributing to the eruption of more fires than usual. Through Saturday, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reported more than 3,400 vegetation fires, burning more than 51,000 acres. An average year would see about 2,500 fires, scorching 30,000 acres, said CalFire Capt. Amy Head.

The difference is particularly obvious in places that are normally known for green landscapes, said Head, who lives in Sonoma County. "In the winter and spring around Sonoma County, you're driving around and there's nice, green rolling hills everywhere," she said. "It was odd to drive around and see brown hills everywhere. "We got a little rain and everything See Heat, AA6 The sun was so strong this year in Joe Del Bosque's cantaloupe fields that some of the melons could have used sunscreen. The surface of the fruit got sunburned, which looks bad and in some cases affects taste.

The San Joaquin Valley grower had to throw those away. The first six months of 2014 were the hottest January-through-June on record in California, the National Weather Service said Monday nearly five degrees warmerthanthe 20th century average and more than a degree hotter than the record set in 1934. And July isn't shaping up any better, with a heat wave coming that could send temperatures above 100 degrees in parts of Los Angeles County, especially on Thursday and Friday and through the.