Sex Offender Group Homes Are Cause For Concern, According To LA City Council

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Citing concerns over illegal residences that serve as group homes for sex offenders, the Los Angeles Police Department was asked Friday to look into what other cities are doing to house the criminals and, from that, increase its efforts to limit their concentration in certain areas.

The City Council's Public Safety Committee asked for the report in 60 days, prompted by concerns that some landlords have illegally been housing too many sex offenders, often near parks and schools.

"State law allows six or fewer, but we have some buildings with 20, 30 or 40 people living in a home," Councilman Mitch Englander said. "Many of them are sex offenders. We end up with some very shady characters that are housing these people. They don't register, and we need to look at a way we can provide protection for the community."

Capt. William Hayes, commanding officer of the Robbery-Homicide Division, said the LAPD has a program where it checks on sex offenders to make sure they are complying with the terms of their probation and that they have registered.

Of the 12,000 registered sex offenders believe to be living in Los Angeles, Hayes said last year the department reached out to more than 8,400.

In addition to routine compliance checks, he noted officers respond to citizen complaints regarding the housing of sex offenders. Procedurally, the department coordinates with Parole and Probation to ensure there is no over-saturation of sex offenders in a particular part of the city.

However, Hayes cautioned about creating too tight of a residency requirement that could render the offenders homeless and thus required to re-register every 30 days.

"Making it more stringent turns this population into transients rather than living in homes with specific addresses," Hayes said. "They can register as transients, but what that means is we have no idea where they are until they register again. And they can register anywhere in the state, so you don't know where they are." ___

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Chris Christie Nudged By Gun Rights Group In Key Primary State

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By David Jones

NEWARK, N.J., Aug 2 (Reuters) - A gun-rights group in the bellwether presidential primary state of New Hampshire has warned New Jersey Governor Chris Christie that signing gun control bills passed by his state's Legislature could have consequences if he runs for president in 2016.

The Pro-Gun New Hampshire coalition urged its members this week to call and email Christie to ask him to veto the proposed laws, posing a political dilemma for Christie as he seeks re-election in November in the Democratic-leaning state while also eyeing the national stage.

Christie has a September deadline to sign a number of firearm-related bills seen by their supporters as necessary for tackling gun violence, and the gun rights group is targeting four of those measures.

One bill would ban .50 caliber rifles, another would require police to report lost and stolen firearms to a federal database, a third would create a system for instant background checks during gun purchases and a fourth bill would ban gun sales to anyone on a watch list of militants.

"This is an acid test," said Sam Cohen, executive vice president of Pro-Gun New Hampshire, which describes itself as the state's largest gun rights group.

"If he decides to support these horrible bills, then we in New Hampshire are going to do everything we can to tell our voters not to vote for him in the New Hampshire primary," Cohen said.

Christie, a rising star in the Republican Party who rejected appeals from fellow Republicans to run for president in 2012, said in a television interview in January that he would be "more ready" to campaign for the White House in 2016 after finishing his work as the governor of New Jersey.

New Hampshire, which has played a significant role in past elections by holding the nation's first presidential primary, is known to have a strong libertarian streak. The state allows nearly every resident to obtain a concealed weapons permit unless he or she is a convicted felon.

A spokesman for Christie did not return calls.

Brigid Harrison, a professor of political science at Montclair State University in New Jersey said Christie had been careful about tipping his hand on gun control, because he is running for re-election in heavily Democratic New Jersey but understands the pro-gun values of anticipated Republican primary voters in the 2016 race.

"What we've seen is him walk a fine line by delaying decision-making," Harrison said.

State Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in this month's special election to replace the late Frank Lautenberg, said Christie had been carefully weighing his political future with regard to his position on gun control.

"Yes, he is going to pay attention to the threats that are being issued by the gun rights groups," she said.

Oliver added that severe gun violence in New Jersey cities like Newark, Trenton, Camden and other urban areas made gun control a serious issue in the state.

"If he could take politics out of the equation, I do believe Governor Christie would sign some of those bills," she said.

Christie in June vetoed a bill that would ban state pension fund investments in firms that sell or make assault weapons. (Editing by Alex Dobuzinskis; and Jackie Frank)

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Eva Longoria, opening group donate to the Latino arts and culture

WASHINGTON - organizers of a concert gala and the series of events that celebrate Latino culture during the second takeover of President Barack Obama donating is earnings to help raise the national profile of Latino arts and culture.

On Friday, the actress Eva Longoria and others announced $170,000 are giving to the friends of the American Latino Museum, which aims to build a museum on the National Mall. That group will make awards range between $25,000 and $50,000 for the Smithsonian Latino Center, the bottom of heritage Latin Americans of the Foundation of the National Park and the Kennedy Center to support Latino cultural programs.

A co-Chairman of the event Latin Inaugural, who is now Finance Chairman for the Democratic National Committee, said that gifts are symbolic to begin to develop the philanthropy of latinos that latinos have a prominent place in the cultural institutions of the nation.

"Represents our investment in institutions that are responsible for telling the American story," said Henry Muñoz III. "He is saying now that we are beginning to develop a generation of patron of the arts, of involvement in the arts that will pave the way for a more complete history".

The money also supports the promotion effort to urge Congress to authorize a national Latino Museum. A bill passed by the Senate, but is awaiting action in the House.

Munoz took a Presidential Commission calling in 2011 for an American Latino Museum to be constructed as part of the Smithsonian Institution. Longoria also served on the Commission, together with the actor Emilio Estefan and others.

In a written statement, Longoria said Latinos "you are leaving their mark on politics, culture and the arts" throughout the country.

Latinos played a prominent role in the second election of Obama and the inauguration, after raising funds and turning the vote. Hispanics voted 7 to 1 for Obama over Republican Mitt Romney. Latino dollars also helped to make a difference, said Munoz.

"This is the time to begin to develop philanthropy Latin."It is very important, he said. "I'm hoping that this increasingly more known as the Brown age." It is important for us to support our own."

The gift to the Smithsonian will support an next exhibition titled "our America: the presence in Latin American art" at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The Kennedy Center leads training for ethnic minority arts organizations, and the National Park Foundation has a fund to help preserve the significant sites in the history of Latin.

___

Brett Zongker covers art and culture for The Associated Press. They follow him on Twitter. https://twitter.com/DCArtBeat

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