Bird in the hand

The LA District Attorney wants to know where Rod Wright lives. As in, whether or not he lives in his Senate district.

"The Los Angeles County district attorney's office has searched two homes in a probe of whether Democratic state Sen. Roderick Wright lives in the district he represents, officials confirmed Monday.

"David Demerjian, who heads the D.A.'s Public Integrity Division, told The Times that investigators searched two homes early Wednesday morning, but he would not divulge the addresses. One of the homes is in Wright's 25th Senate District and the other is in the neighboring 26th District.

"The searches stemmed from a tip his office received nearly a year ago, Demerjian said. The investigation is continuing, he said.

Wright, 57, reached through a home telephone number Monday, said he would have no comment on the investigation until and unless "there is something being brought forth."

John Howard reports the state's furloughs are slowing down the licensing of new doctors.  

"More than 5,100 work hours per month have been lost in the licensing and enforcement programs because of the three furlough days per month, they said. 

"The furloughs have significantly slowed board operations, particularly in our licensing program," said Candis Cohen, spokeswoman for the Medical Board of California."

Meanwhile, rumors of a settlement that would clear the way for an NFL stadium in the City of Industry have been greatly exaggerated, James Wagner reports. 

 "John Van de Kamp, a former Los Angeles County district attorney and California attorney general in the 1980s, said all sides are working "productively" through some "open issues."

"We'll know by the end of this week if there is a resolution," Van de Kamp said.

Van de Kamp released a six-sentence statement Monday in response to a report last week that an agreement "in principal" had been reached.

"Industry Mayor Dave Perez said Friday that all sides came to the tentative settlement agreement over a lawsuit filed by Walnut objecting to Majestic Realty Co.'s 75,000-seat stadium.

Meg Whitman is ready to formally declare her candidacy for governor , AP reports.  "Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman said she wants to cut state spending by another $15 billion and reduce California's existing state work force by 17 percent, even as the state has wrestled with budget shortfalls in recent years that have led to deep cuts in education and other core programs.

The Union-Trib's Dana Littlefield reports one of the defendants in the murder case involving the son of former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez has agreed to testify against his friends.

"Rafael Garcia, 19, admitted to one count of conspiracy to destroy evidence. He also agreed to testify as a witness in a San Diego Superior Court trial scheduled to begin Oct. 5.

The other men charged the case are Ryan Jett, 23, Leshanor Thomas, 20, and Esteban Nuñez, 20, the son of former state Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez. Mesa College student Luis Santos was killed Oct. 4, 2008, and three other people were wounded.

The LAT's Don Lee reports, " More than three decades of rapid growth in the country's foreign-born population came to a halt last year, census data show, as surging unemployment made the U.S. economy less attractive to outsiders.

"In California, which has a long history of attracting immigrants, the number of foreign-born residents actually declined, shrinking 1.6%.

"This is clearly a consequence of the economy, with the biggest impact on Mexican and low-skilled immigrants," said William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution who analyzed the census figures, which are to be officially released today. "It shows that these immigrants respond to the economy."

Well, now who are we supposed to blame?

And today is Election Day for Paul Krekorian, who is seeking a seat on the Los Angeles City Council.

"With a field of 10 candidates, much attention has focused on the three best funded-candidates: former Paramount Pictures Corp. executive Christine Essel; state Assemblyman Paul Krekorian; and Los Angeles school board member Tamar Galatzan, a deputy city attorney based in Van Nuys."
  

And finally, from our Don't Taze my Emu, Bro Files, AP reports, "Officers had to use a stun gun and handcuffs to capture an emu running loose on Interstate 20 in central Mississippi on Sunday. Police Officer Kiley Culpepper told WLBT-TV in Jackson, Miss. that motorists had been calling 911 since Friday to report sightings of two emus on I-20 and nearby U.S. Highway 80.

"The big bird was dodging traffic. Culpepper and deputies were able to surround the animal but has to use the Taser and handcuffs to finally get it off the road."

Handcuffs? Do emus even have hands?