MAN PLEADS NO CONTEST TO CHOKING PELICAN AT MALIBU: LOS ANGELES (AP) — A transient pleaded no contest to misdemeanor animal cruelty for choking a brown pelican to death near Malibu Pier.
The Los Angeles County district attorney's office says 30-year-old Sergio Diaz was sentenced Friday to 60 days in jail and a year's probation.
Alvarez was arrested Aug. 22 when a witness reported the choking to a sheriff's deputy.
According to prosecutors, Alvarez said he failed to catch any fish so he caught the bird to eat.
California Brown pelicans are no longer endangered but are still a fully protected species in the state.
The state Department of Fish and Game noted earlier this summer that many pelicans are showing up on beaches and fishing piers and urged people to avoid feeding them so they don't become habituated to humans.
SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR'S FINAL TRIP PLANNED: LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mounted atop a Boeing 747, the space shuttle Endeavour will fly over key NASA sites as it is ferried from Florida to its future home at the California Science Center in Los Angeles.
The shuttle will depart Kennedy Space Center on Sept. 17 and fly over Florida's Space Coast, then head west over Stennis Space Center in Mississippi and the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans before landing near Houston.
NASA says the journey continues on Sept. 19 with a refueling stop in El Paso, Texas, and flyovers of White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico and Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California, where it will overnight.
On Sept. 20, the shuttle heads north over San Francisco and Sacramento, and finally south to Los Angeles.
CITY FIRES LIFEGUARDS FOR RAP VIDEO PARODY: EL MONTE (AP) — Fourteen employees at a California aquatic center have been fired after a video posted on the Internet showed them performing a parody of a viral Korean music video.
Thirteen lifeguards and the pool manager at the municipal El Monte Aquatic Center were fired Wednesday. City officials said the video violated prohibitions on use of city property and did not meet standards for employee conduct.
"The tone and the content of the video was much less than the professional conduct that we expect of our employees," said city spokesman Robert Alaniz.
The clip, uploaded last month to YouTube, features several workers in their uniform swimsuits, mimicking scenes from Korean rapper PSY's "Gangnam Style" video.
Some dance under water and on diving boards. Other parts of the video include a line of female lifeguards rubbing sunscreen lotion on each other's backs and a male lifeguard wearing a fanny pack standing over another gyrating in an elevator.
CALIF. DRIVERS CAN USE PHONES TO PROVE INSURANCE: SACRAMENTO . (AP) — California drivers will be able to use their smartphones to show they have auto insurance under a bill approved by Gov. Jerry Brown.
AB1708 gives Californians the option of presenting their proof of insurance on a handheld device during traffic stops. Brown announced he signed the measure Friday.
Democratic Assemblyman Mike Gatto of Los Angeles sought to clarify the state's vehicle code, which doesn't mention electronic devices.
Though many insurance companies already have smartphone apps that display customer information, the law left law enforcement officers in a gray area during traffic stops. Other states have been considering similar changes to their laws.
Gatto has said his bill will also make it easier for motorists because they won't have to rummage through their glove compartments searching for insurance papers.
