Friday’s Headlines
On Wednesday, I was finishing up a story about how efforts by LAPD and the District Attorney to frame Shamond “Lil AD” Bennett for an attack on police officers that never happened finally fell apart when my phone started buzzing. LAPD had arrested Bennett and the prominent gang interventionist he worked for at 2nd Call, Skipp Townsend, on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder. The sobering news sent shockwaves across the city, but particularly across South Central, where Townsend has spent decades working to broker peace and break cycles of violence by offering employment and training to those ready to accept it.
The L.A. Times has an excellent rundown of what is known about the case thus far. My previous coverage of Bennett’s previous arrest and LAPD’s aggressive treatment of both he and Townsend can be found here.
My subsequent coverage of the vigil held in honor of 2nd Call employee Reginald “BA” Foreman, who was killed while working as part of a Destination Crenshaw cleanup crew in August, and Townsend and Bennett’s participation in the vigil is here.
My reporting about the dropped case against Bennett and its significance will be posted at Streetsblog L.A. later today.
In other news:
- Mapping the 2026 election (The Basin)
- How Mayor-elect Raman will remake L.A. City Hall (LAT)
- Distant polls, spotty mail obstruct Native American voting 6 years after law meant to help them (CalMatters)
- Wow Climate Won Absolutely Everywhere (Climate Colored Goggles)
- Historic African American Firefighter Museum in South LA vandalized (CBSLA)
- Heat and Santa Anas are on the way (LAT); thousands could face power shutoffs (KTLA).
- Can 700,000 cubic yards of sand save San Clemente’s threatened railway from El Nino? (LAT; LAist)
- Caltrans says 2 video billboard structures along the 405 are violating state law and may need to come down (LA Local)
- The election may be over, but democracy requires active participation. LA Public Press has ways to remain involved in the fight for change (Public Press)
- Pursuit ends with police shooting in Koreatown (NBCLA; KTLA)
- Pedestrian dies after being hit by 2 vehicles in Van Nuys; hit-and-run driver sought (NBCLA; ABC7)
- 7-year-old dead, father seriously hurt after hit-and-run crash in South LA (NBCLA)
- Caltech, Dr. Lucy Jones launching disaster resilience center to bring science and policy together (Daily News)
- Coyote becomes first mammal seen using 101 wildlife crossing: ‘This is amazing’ (LAist)
Get national headlines at Streetsblog USA; state headlines at Streetsblog CA
