Los Angeles News headlines for Feb 14 2012

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• L.A. County Sheriff’s Department may revise policy on jail duty for deputies
  Deputies who spend their entire careers working in lockups could be promoted to chief under a new fast-track proposal. But a recent survey finds that 80% of deputies would not want to continue jail duty.
  
  Like the inmates inside Los Angeles County lockups, many of the jails’ deputies are itching to get back out on the streets. But sheriff’s officials are betting deputies will become more enthusiastic about jail duty if a new proposal to fast-track promotions inside the lockups is implemented.

  
  

  
  
• Activists press council to ease truancy fines
  Rally at Van Nuys City Hall urges lawmakers to revise policy allowing LAPD to cite students who are late to school. The ACLU says the law unfairly targets Latinos, blacks and low-income students.
  
  The two groups of high school protesters — one dressed as graduates with caps and gowns, the other donning orange jail jumpsuits — huddled together outside Van Nuys City Hall on Monday chanting: “Pre-med! Pre-jobs! Not pre-prison!”

  
  

  
  
• Houston found underwater in hotel bathtub, authorities say
  Investigators collected several bottles of prescription drugs from Whitney Houston’s suite at the Beverly Hilton. Detectives are still piecing together the last hours of the singer’s life and are awaiting toxicology results.
  
  Whitney Houston was found underwater in the bathtub of a Beverly Hills hotel suite, authorities said Monday as they continued to investigate her death, including examining prescription drugs found in her room.

  
  

  
  
• Nonprofits fear money in center’s care vanished
  About 200 small California groups may have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in donated funds.
  
  More than 200 nonprofit groups, from animals rights organizations to political activists, said most of their donated funds appear to have vanished after the organization that watched over the money suddenly ceased operations last month.

  
  

  
  

• Council Green Lights City Hall Park Makeover
  DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - Thedamaged City Hall lawn is set for a makeover, one that will take alittle green off the property for the sake of being a differentkind of green.
• The Collected Writings of Antonio Villaraigosa: Imagining the Mayor’s Literary Pursuits
  DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - Villaraigosa said he’s going to take a break whenhe leaves office in 2013, telling the class: “I want to take a timeout.
• The 14 Best Athletes in Downtown
  DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - Downtown Los Angeles is rich in many ways. While thereis a lot of cash here, the area also has a wealth of restaurants, aplethora of bars and a boatload of things to do after
• A Redistricting War of Words
  DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - OnWednesday, Feb. 8, more than 800 people flooded City Hall to voicetheir opinions on proposed maps that would vastly change the CityCouncil boundaries in Downtown. Initial m

• Battling Heroin Use in Simi Valley
  
  A number of young adults have died in Simi Valley over the last few months, victims of heroin overdoses. Now, locals are asking what can be done to stop this disturbing new trend.
  
  
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• Whitney Houston on "Tonight Show" (1999)
  
  In this archive clip from Jan. 13, 1999, singer Whitney Houston appears alongside Jay Leno. Clip provided courtesy of “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.”
  
  
• Police Commission To Take Up Impound Policy
  
  LAPD Chief Charlie Beck clarifies prior statements about the department’s current impound policies, which will be reviewed by police commission Tuesday.
  
  

• Lifestyle Expert Shares V-Day Tips For Cash-Strapped Lovebirds
  Cash-strapped this Valentine’s Day? Still don’t have a gift for that special someone?
• Crime Up In January In Sheriff’s Department Jurisdiction From 2011
  Overall reported crime in the areas patrolled by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in January increased by 7.09 percent from January 2011, according to preliminary figures released Monday.
• A Year Later, CBS2 Reporter Serene Branson Looks Back On Her On-Air Medical Emergency
  It was just a year ago when CBS2 reporter Serene Branson made international news when she suffered a migraine, causing her to speak incoherently during her on-air report outside the 2011 Grammy Awards.
• Suspected Kidnapper Dies In Fight With Victim
  A 51-year-old man who died following a fight at a gas station in the unincorporated Athens Village area had kidnapped the 44-year-old man he fought with, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department homicide detectives determined Monday.
• Mavs Edge Clips 96-92 To Close Out Grammy Trip
  Dirk Nowitzki scored 22 points, 11 in the final 6-plus minutes, Shawn Marion added 16, and the Dallas Mavericks held on to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 96-92 on Monday night.
• Fans Memorialize Whitney Houston In Front Of Hotel Because She Has No Walk Of Fame Star
  A memorial to the late Whitney Houston has been growing outside the Beverly Hilton because the singer, lauded by the likes of Dionne Warwick and cultivated by ubiquitous talent finder Clive Davis, has no star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.