J. Patrick Coolican

The LAPD's unique method for finding and arresting Lonnie David Franklin, Jr, is called familial DNA tracing -- using DNA from a crime scene to find a brother, uncle or son of a perpetrator if you can't find the perpetrator himself. Although Franklin's DNA wasn't in a massive California felon......

By Steve La, J. Patrick Coolican and Clarissa Wei The arraignment of the alleged "Grim Sleeper," Lonnie David Franklin, Jr., has been postponed until August 9. Cameras were barred from the courtroom by the L.A. Superior Court Judge, who ordered the 57-year old alleged serial killer held without bail until......

A new study from UCLA researchers has one in four California having never seen a dentist. There's a lot of illuminating, and heartbreaking findings in the study, published in the journal Health Affairs. There were significant disparities shown between races and whether the family had private insurance or some sort......

The mood of bond buyers offers a pretty clear measurement of a government entity's prospects for the future. If investors believe a given government has its fiscal house in order and a solid economic future, they'll snap up debt -- essentially lending it money -- as a sound and safe......

Los Angeles has been lucky to be part of the Streetsblog family, along with New York City, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco. As in the other cities, the local version here is an important source of news and advocacy around the general proposition that streets don't just belong to cars......

Rep. Laura Richardson, D-Long Beach, has been cleared of any wrongdoing after a seven-month investigation by the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. Washington Mutual foreclosed on a Richardson home in Sacramento and sold it unbeknownst to Richardson. The bank then canceled the sale. The investigation focused on whether......

A new report from from the Trust for America's Health confirms it: We're not as unhealthy as the rest of really unhealthy America. Sure, we're pretty unhealthy, but for now let's take in the good news and celebrate with a Double Down. California is America's 41st fattest state, sitting in......

It may seem strange, but parking and parking requirements are a key reason L.A. is the L.A. we know and, uh, love and/or hate. We have parking requirements -- meaning a restaurant or store owner (or sometimes even a bar) has to provide a certain number of off-street spots --......