News in brief | The Argonaut Newsweekly

Sewer Replacement Work Begins in Marina del Rey

Posted by The Argonaut | Jul 11, 2018 | Mar Vista/Del Rey, News, News in brief, Playa Del Rey, Playa Vista/Playa del Rey |

Tunneling and trench work to replace an aging sewer line that runs under Via Marina began last weekend near Marquesas Way, temporarily reducing traffic flow to a single lane in the immediate work area. The Venice Dual Force Main Project connects the city’s Venice Pumping Plant on Hurricane Avenue to the Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant in Playa del Rey, replacing an existing line that sanitation officials say is more than 50 years old and at severe risk of rupture. “We expect tunneling activities to occur for several months in the marina,” said Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation Engineer Gevork...

Homeless Man Suspected of Starting Venice Pier Fire

Posted by The Argonaut | Jul 11, 2018 | News, News in brief, Venice |

Arson investigators from the Los Angeles City Fire Department are still looking for the person responsible for the June 26 fire that closed down the Venice Pier for several days. LAFD spokesman Brian Humphrey clarified that investigators believe that the fire was caused by a single homeless man attempting to access electricity under the pier and not a homeless encampment living there, as had been previously reported. Firefighters received a call at approximately 4:37 a.m. reporting flames at the pier, said LAFD spokeswoman Margaret Stewart, and found “a 15-foot section of the pier that was well involved in the...

Court Grounds Santa Monica Airport Closure Challenge

Posted by The Argonaut | Jul 11, 2018 | News, News in brief, Santa Monica |

A federal court has dismissed a lawsuit challenging last year’s FAA consent decree allowing Santa Monica officials to close Santa Monica Airport after 2028. Plaintiff Barry Rosen had sought to invalidate the agreement and force the city to reverse last year’s reduction of the airport’s runway from 5,000 to 3,500 feet, which restricts jet traffic. U.S. Central District Court Judge Philip S. Gutierrez dismissed the case on July 5, ruling that Rosen did not have standing to continue pursuing a case that has been rejected and amended multiple times since last year. “With this ruling, as with several similar rulings from other courts in the past eight months, the U.S. District Court reaffirms the validity of the historic agreement between the city of Santa Monica and the FAA as a Consent Decree,” Mayor Pro Tem Gleam Davis said in city statement released Wednesday. “Despite frivolous legal challenges over the past year, the city kept on course to improve the lives of residents by shortening the runway and reducing large jets flying over our neighborhoods by over 80%.” — Joe...

Marina ‘Bitcoin Maven’ is Headed to Federal Prison

Posted by The Argonaut | Jul 11, 2018 | Marina Del Rey, News in brief |

A Marina del Rey woman who went by the name “Bitcoin Maven” on a web platform arranging digital currency transactions has been sentenced to a year in federal prison after pleading guilty to money laundering and running an unlicensed currency exchange business, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday. Theresa Lynn Tetley, a 50-year-old former stockbroker and real estate investor, oversaw transactions valued as much as $9.5 million, one of which facilitated money laundering for a man who’s been charged with selling large amounts of marijuana, cocaine and oxycodone on the dark web. The IRS and DEA busted Tetley with...

Vandal Defaces LeBron James Mural in Venice

Posted by The Argonaut | Jul 11, 2018 | News, News in brief, Venice |

Not everyone in Los Angeles is excited about NBA superstar LeBron James joining the L.A. Lakers. A mural of James in a Lakers uniform painted Friday on the side of Baby Blues BBQ in Venice was defaced over the weekend, the vandal spray-painting “LeFraud,” “We don’t want you” and other insults over the fresh artwork. Prolific local muralist Jonas Never, who also painted the “Touch of Venice” mural on Windward Avenue, co-created the “King of L.A.” mural with street artist Menso One. Never repaired the mural on Sunday, telling TMZ Sports it was an easy fix. According to Sports...