CAR HITS SO. CAL NURSING HOME, KILLS MAN, 89: LA MESA (AP) — A runaway car has crashed into a San Diego County nursing home and killed an 89-year-old man.
Police say the Audi sedan was parked at the top of a hill in La Mesa on Tuesday but the driver didn't set the parking brake or put the car in gear.
The car rolled backward about 260 feet, arcing across a road and smashing more than three feet into the room of Henry Hashiguchi.
The car bumped Hashiguchi's chair, knocking him to the floor.
His niece tells the paper that Hashiguchi suffered head injuries and never regained consciousness. He died at a hospital.
JUNE MOUNTAIN SKI RESORT WON'T REOPEN THIS WINTER: JUNE LAKE (AP) — The eastern Sierra ski resort June Mountain won't reopen this winter.
June Mountain, the sister resort to Mammoth Mountain, has failed to make a profit in 26 years.
Mammoth Mountain Ski Area chief Rusty Gregory says June Mountain is closing for the summer and won't reopen for the winter ski season. The company owns both resorts.
The Los Angeles Times (http://lat.ms/OsPJcC) says the closure will give the company time to evaluate the resort's future.
Mammoth Mountain is a popular ski destination for Southern Californians.
The less-crowded June Mountain, about 20 miles north of Mammoth, is near June Lake and southeast of Yosemite National Park.
LAWMAKERS TO VOTE ON WRITING BANK SETTLEMENT INTO LAW: SACRAMENTO . (AP) — State legislators are set to vote next week on bills that backers say would make California the first state to write into law much of the national mortgage settlement negotiated this year with the nation's top five banks.
The bills approved Wednesday by a special committee would require large lenders to provide a single point of contact for homeowners who want to discuss loan modifications. They bar lenders from foreclosing while they consider alternatives to foreclosures.
They would also let homeowners sue lenders to stop foreclosures or seek monetary damages if the lender violates state law.
The measures cleared the Democrat-dominated committee on a party-line vote.
They are set for votes in the full Legislature on Monday with backing from unions and consumer groups and opposition from business and banking organizations.
SALINAS DEVELOPER ARRESTED FOR DEFRAUDING BANKS: SALINAS (AP) — A Salinas housing developer has been arrested and charged with defrauding banks of millions of dollars.
U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag said Tuesday that 60-year-old Muhammad Safadi was arrested Tuesday and charged with bank fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and making a false statement to a financial institution.
The Monterey County Herald (http://bit.ly/MUiQ50 ) reports that Safadi built 14 single-family houses in Salinas' Rancho Amistoso subdivision.
Officials say Safadi and his nephew Scott Safadi sold at least 12 houses to unqualified buyers and falsified loan documents. Those homes later went into foreclosure.
According to the grand jury, the banks lost more than $5.5 million, while the two Safadi men netted more than $4.5 million,
2 ASSAULTED IN RAMPAGE WITH FIRE EXTINGUISHER: LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles police say at least two people were injured when a person went on a rampage with a fire extinguisher at a Canoga Park adult day care center.
Police spokesman Richard French says officers were called to the center at about 1 p.m. to respond to reports of gunfire, but it turned out the loud noises inside were being made by the person smashing things with a fire extinguisher.
French says two people sustained non-life threatening injuries: One was sprayed in the face with the extinguisher and the other was hit on the head with it.
French says the suspect is in custody.
LA COUNCIL VOTES TO STRICTLY ENFORCE CLEAN AIR ACT: LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles officials have voted unanimously to approve stricter enforcement of the federal Clean Air Act, including a provision that requires coal-fired plants to reduce mercury and other toxic air pollution.
City News Service reports the city council voted 10-0 on Wednesday to regulate the city's coal-fired power plants, which provide about 39 percent of the city's electricity.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has vowed to comply with the new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards and eventually eliminate coal as an energy source.
Environmental groups applauded the decision, saying ending the use of coal will improve health and bring clean energy jobs to the region.
The EPA estimates the stricter standards will prevent 11,000 deaths and 130,000 asthma attacks annually.
JUDGE WON'T DISMISS CHARGES IN PIT BULL KILLING: SAN DIEGO (AP) — A judge has refused to dismiss involuntary manslaughter charges against two San Diego women whose pit bulls killed a 76-year-old neighbor.
KGTV-TV says Tuesday's ruling involved Alba Cornelio and her daughter, Carla. Each faces up to four years and eight months in prison if convicted.
Authorities say two pit bulls got through a gap in a fence and attacked Emako Mendoza in her yard last year as she went outside to get the morning newspaper.
She lost part of an arm and a leg and died on Christmas Eve.
Their attorney argued Tuesday that the women properly fenced the animals, which had earlier attacked a man and his puppy. A prosecutor argued that they knew the dogs were dangerous and didn't do enough to fix the fence.
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