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Mortgage rates shot higher Friday after a monthly government report on wholesale prices showed inflation is still persistent and hotter than most analysts had expected.
The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage jumped to 7.14%, according to Mortgage News Daily. That is the highest level in two months.
Mortgage rates hit their last high in October but then fell sharply over the next two months, leveling out at around 6.6% in December. They climbed back over 7% last Friday after another government report on consumer prices came in higher than expected.
“There are two ways to look at recent rate trends in light of the data-driven spikes over the past two weeks,” said Matthew Graham, chief operating officer at Mortgage News Daily. “On one hand, we can take solace in the fact that rates are still almost a percent lower than they were in October. On the other, the optimism for lower rates in 2024 has abruptly given way to skepticism.”
The drop in rates at the end of last year had caused optimism in the housing market as higher interest rates, coupled with high home prices, sidelined buyers in the fall. Sales of newly built homes soared 8% in December, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, with lower rates acting as the primary driver.
Homebuilder sentiment, based on an index from the National Association of Home Builders, has been rising for the past three months as builders reported that lower interest rates were driving buyer traffic to their model homes. In February’s report, builders said they expected mortgage rates to continue to moderate in the coming months.
“Buyer traffic is improving as even small declines in interest rates will produce a disproportionate positive response among likely home purchasers,” said NAHB Chairman Alicia Huey, a homebuilder and developer from Birmingham, Alabama. “And while mortgage rates still remain too high for many prospective buyers, we anticipate that due to pent-up demand, many more buyers will enter the marketplace if mortgage rates continue to decline this year.”
Demand has been strong, despite high home prices and very low supply of homes for sale. Adding to that, President’s Day weekend is considered to be the unofficial start of the all-important spring housing market.
But this new upswing in rates could drive buyers away. In January, when rates flattened from their declines, both signed contracts on existing homes and new listings weakened, according to Redfin, a national real estate brokerage.
LOS ANGELES — The UCLA men’s basketball team held their emotions in check and stayed together but after a wild scramble in the final seconds, they suffered a heartbreaking 70-69 loss against Utah at Pauley Pavilion Sunday night.
After being fouled twice in six seconds, sophomore guard Dylan Andrews had 13 seconds left to win the game. It took him less than seven seconds to size up his defender with a crossover and calmy drain a go-ahead jump shot. UCLA led 69-68 with 6.6 seconds to go.
However, after a wild scramble at the rim off a missed layup by Utah senior guard Deivon Smith, senior center Branden Carlson tipped in the game-winning shot with .2 seconds left.
Stefanovic, a junior guard from Belgrade, Serbia, who transferred to UCLA from Utah during the offseason, finished with a season-high 19 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore point guard Dylan Andrews had 15 points. Sophomore forward Adem Bona finished with seven points in 18 minutes after spending the game in foul trouble.
The Bruins (14-12, 9-6) sought but were not able to earn redemption after their embarrassing 90-44 loss to Utah on Jan. 11. Since that game, UCLA has won eight of their last 10 games but the Utes ended the team’s six-game winning streak on Sunday.
The team’s leading scorer, Sebastian Mack (13.5 points), a 6-foot-2 freshman guard from Chicago, was ejected midway through the first half after being called for a flagrant 2 foul for an apparent elbow to the neck/throat area of Utah’s 7-foot senior center Branden Carlson. Mack finished with four points and one rebound in eight minutes.
Utah (16-10, 7-8) was led by Smith and Carlson with 17 points each. Senior guards Gabe Madsen and Cole Bajema each added 11 points.
It was a slow start for the Bruins who trailed 7-0 early. UCLA missed their first three shots before Mack’s driving layup got the Bruins on the scoreboard with 17:05 left in the first half. Andrews drained a 3-pointer to make it 7-5.
A nice assist from sophomore forward Adem Bona to Andrews for a jump shot just inside the free-throw line put UCLA up 9-8 with 14:03 left in the first. UCLA freshman forward Berke Buyuktuncel’s offensive rebound and putback made it 11-8.
Mack, the team’s leading scorer at 13.5 points per game, was ejected with 9:53 remaining in the first after being called for a flagrant foul while trying to go through a screen set by Carlson. UCLA led 16-12 at the time. However, Madsen made both four straight free throws to tie the game at 16. Carlson returned to the game less than minutes later.
After review, it was ruled a flagrant 2 and Sebastian Mack will be ejected from the game after this play pic.twitter.com/qul0x9eLji
Bona’s three-point play put the Bruins up 21-18 with 6:55 to go in the first.
The Bruins were called for another technical foul, this time on Coach Mick Cronin with 6:04 remaining in the first. Madsen made one of two free throws. UCLA led 21-19 but the Utes retained possession.
Andrews, a 6-foot-2 180-pound point guard, muscled his way to the rim for a three-point play, which pushed UCLA’s lead to 24-19. Bruins freshman forward Brandon Williams made both free throws, which put UCLA up 26-19, their largest lead of the first half. Utah responded with a 5-0 run, which cut the Bruins’ advantage to 26-24.
After another back-and-forth stretch, Bajema made a tough layup through contact, which tied the game at 34 with 40 seconds to go before halftime.
McClendon’s corner jumper with 12 seconds left in the first half put the Bruins up 36-34 at halftime. Stefanovic had 13 points and six rebounds in the first half, including 8 of 9 from the free throw line.
Utah began the second half on an 8-2 run. The Utes led 42-38 with 17:35 remaining in the second.
UCLA senior center Kenneth Nwuba’s baseline spin into a vicious slam dunk and a transition layup by Stefanovic put the Bruins up 44-43.
A 3-pointer by Andrews gave the Bruins a 49-46 cushion with 12:52 left in the second half. Williams’ turnaround bank shot put UCLA up 53-48. Bejama’s 3-pointer cut it to 53-51. Back-to-back baskets by Stefanovic and Bona put the Bruins up 57-51 with less than eight minutes to go.
The Utes responded one more, on a 7-0 run, capped off by a three-point play by Smith. Utah led 58-57. Buyuktuncel went right back down and bullied his way inside to put the Bruins back up 59-58. Buytuktuncel followed that up with an even bigger basket, a 3-pointer to go up 62-58 with 5:20 remaining.
With the game tied at 64 sophomore guard Will McClendon drained a wide-open 3-pointer to put the Bruins up 67-64 with 2:24 to go. Smith’s tough layup cut it to 67-66 with 1:19 to go. The Utes called timeout down one, with 41.4 to go. Sophomore center Keba Keita’s layup put Utah up 68-67 with 19.7 left in the game.
UP NEXT
UCLA will host USC (10-16, 4-11) at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday, Feb. 24.
Los Angeles County can expect to see rain across the region beginning Sunday night and continuing through Wednesday, with the latest winter storm system forecast to bring the heaviest rain and threat of flooding along the Central Coast.
Compared with the historic storm that pummeled the region earlier this month, forecasters expect “much less rain” for the county this time but warned that the most intense precipitation will hit during the day Monday and Tuesday night. Over the next three days, downtown could see up to 2.4 inches of rain; Santa Clarita, 2.19 inches; Long Beach, 1.8 inches; and Torrance, 1.97 inches.
The rain may not be as intense as some areas farther north, but there are still concerns about the prospect for flooding, landslides and mudflows — particularly in the Santa Monica Mountains and Hollywood Hills — because of the soaking Southern California received from the previous storm, David Gomberg, a weather service meteorologist in Oxnard, said during an online media briefing Sunday afternoon.
A flood watch was in effect across broad swaths of California.
“Debris flows, mudslides, and landslides could happen just about anywhere within the flood watch area, as even L.A. County — which is expecting somewhat lower rainfall totals — took the brunt of the last storm, leaving them more susceptible to this kind of activity,” the weather service office in Oxnard said Sunday night.
Residents are urged to move parked cars out of low-lying flood-prone areas, to be alert for mudslides and rock slides on or below canyon roads and to prepare for possible flooding and power outages, the weather service said.
The slow-moving storm system began moving into the Central Coast region Saturday night, bringing light rain to Santa Barbara and western San Luis Obispo counties, officials said. The second, more powerful wave of the storm had arrived in Santa Barbara by Sunday evening. Officials warned of gusty winds, an increased chance of thunderstorms, and the possibility of high surf and coastal flooding.
By 8:20 p.m. Sunday, forecasters reported rainfall rates of between 0.3 to 0.5 inches per hour across the Santa Barbara area.
The Central Coast is expected to feel the brunt of this storm, according to the weather service. Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo county foothills and mountain ranges could see 8 to 10 inches of rainfall. The city of Ventura can expect to see up to 3.01 inches, and the city of Santa Barbara 5.66 inches.
High surf advisories are in effect through Tuesday across all beaches in the region, with waves of up to 20 feet expected in some areas. Strong rip currents are expected with large breaking waves at Morro Bay, Port San Luis and Ventura harbors.
There is also a brief risk of “weak tornado activity” during this period in San Luis Obispo County, Gomberg said Sunday.
The greatest threat for coastal flooding — particularly in Malibu and Santa Barbara — will be Tuesday morning, Gomberg said.
Once the system has passed, the state will have a few days to wring itself out before the arrival of another possible system next weekend, Gomberg said, this time coming out of the north and potentially colder.
Times staff writer Thomas Curwen contributed to this report.
The nine-race programs on Saturday and Sunday will go ahead as scheduled, with good weather predicted and first post time each day at 12:30 p.m., track officials said.
Additionally, Santa Anita will be open on Monday for simulcast wagering in the Grandstand Paddock Room, beginning at 10 a.m. Free parking and admission are offered.
The races that had been offered for Monday will now be offered as extra races Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 23-25.
Two Riverside County brothers pleaded guilty last week to mail fraud after scamming the United States Postal Service out of more than $2.3 million, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office of the Central District of California.
Anwer Fareed Alam, 35, and Yousofzay Fahim Alam, 31, of Temecula filed thousands of falsified insurance claims on packages in order to make a profit, according to the details of their plea agreements, which were released by the U.S. Attorney’s office Friday.
They each face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, according to the release.
From 2016 to 2019, the brothers used fake names and addresses to purchase USPS Priority Mail packages and postage that included insurance for lost or damaged contents. Then they submitted fraudulent insurance claims, alleging that the packages contained items of higher value that had been lost or damaged.
They would sometimes include fake invoices and even photos of items that were not actually inside the packages.
The pair cashed in thousands of insurance claim checks, the U.S. Postal Service Office of the Inspector General found, which investigated the case.
“Relying on the false information in the fraudulent insurance claim forms, USPS issued checks to the Alam brothers to cover their purported losses up to $100 in value plus the cost of shipping,” Ciaran McEvoy, a public information officer for the U.S. Attorney’s office, said in a statement Friday.
Together, the brothers maintained about 15 different post office boxes in Temecula, according to the release.
Recent in criminal activity has put the Burbank community on high alert, with a spate of incidents ranging from theft and vandalism to more severe crimes like assault, robbery, and arson. The following account details these events in chronological order, capturing the city’s struggle against this illegal behavior.
The series of incidents began on February 9, 2024, with a case of vandalism reported at 400 Block E Angeleno AV at approximately 9:30 PM. This act of property damage marked the beginning of a significant increase in crime over the following week.
By February 12, 2024, the situation escalated with a vehicle break-in/theft at 300 Block N Maple ST around 10:00 PM, followed closely by a motor vehicle theft at 2600 Block N Brighton ST at 6:00 PM, indicating a growing trend in property-related crimes.
The next day, February 13, saw a flurry of criminal activity starting early in the morning with a weapons incident at W Alameda AV/W Olive AV at 1:44 AM. The day continued with multiple theft/larceny reports at various locations, including 0 Block E Alameda AV at 10:15 AM, 200 Block E Cypress AV at 11:28 AM, and 1600 Block N Victory PL at 3:10 PM, among others. A burglary was also reported at 4200 Block W Kling ST at 9:30 AM, and the day concluded with a DUI incident at N Buena Vista ST/Vanowen ST at 8:17 PM.
On February 14, 2024, the crime wave showed no signs of abating. Early in the morning, drugs/alcohol violations were reported at 4100 Block Warner BL at 6:28 AM. The day witnessed several theft/larceny incidents, assaults at 1500 Block N Glenoaks BL at 2:14 PM and 100 Block E Alameda AV at 4:14 PM, and more cases of vandalism. The day’s crimes culminated with a vehicle break-in/theft at 800 Block E Orange Grove AV just before midnight.
However, the criminal activities took a more severe turn on February 15, 2024, beginning with drugs/alcohol violations at W Verdugo AV/S Lake ST at 1:42 PM. The afternoon and evening saw a robbery at N Kenneth RD/E Orange Grove AV at 6:55 PM, a theft/larceny at 1300 Block N Victory PL at 10:29 PM, and a disturbing case of arson at 500 Block S Buena Vista ST at 11:07 PM, adding a dangerous element to the ongoing crime spree.
The early hours of February 16, 2024, continued to bear witness to the city’s challenges with drugs/alcohol violations occurring at W Victory BL/N Orchard DR at 12:15 AM and E Palm AV/N Bonnywood PL at 1:06 AM, followed by another drugs/alcohol violation at S San Fernando BL/E Alameda AV at 3:17 AM.
These incidents have been reported by the Burbank Police Department to Crimemapping.
Participants came from all over Southern California Saturday as the city of Burbank hosted the inaugural Adaptive Sports Expo at McCambridge Park.
The park was transformed into an Olympic Village-like setting.
“Our Recreation Services Manager Jennifer Lev and Diego Cevallos, who is an assistant director, the two staff members worked hard to put it together,” Burbank Parks and Recreation Director Marisa Garcia said. “They went out to other cities that have put on similar events. They brought this to Burbank and worked with different sponsors and made sure the event was something we can all be proud of.”
Garcia said they have hoped to have at least 200 participants, but exceeded that number and also had more than 100 volunteers.
There were opportunities for competitors to participate in Beep Baseball, Parafencing, Boccia, Drum Circle, Power Wheelchair Soccer, Tennis for Autism, Tennis for Individuals with Down Syndrome, Visually Impared Judo, Adaptive Martial Arts, Wheelchair Basketball, Wheelchair Rugby, Wheelchair Tennis, Chair Yoga, Adaptive Golf, Adaptive Disc Golf and Piper’s Pals Baseball.
Athletes traveled from all over Southern California for the event.
Monster’s stock has climbed for decades, along with sales, which have grown consistently for 31 years straight.
Between Feb. 14, 1994, and Wednesday, Monster’s stock appreciated by about 200,000%. That means that if a consumer had invested $1,000 in 1994, the stake would be worth about $2 million today.
Analysts say several factors have driven Monster’s success. But a lot has to do with its leaders, co-CEOs and South African billionaires Rodney Sacks and Hilton Schlosberg, who capitalized early on a rather new market.
“Some of it is clearly right place, right time,” said Stifel consumer and retail managing director Mark Astrachan. “I think there’s an element to it as well of being really good at what you can do, because you can’t be as lucky as they’ve been for as long as they’ve been, without being really good at running a business.”
Monster Beverage is a holding company composed of subsidiaries that produce and manufacture drinks including energy, alcohol, teas and coffees.
In the third quarter of last year, the company posted net sales of $1.86 billion, a 14.3% increase from the same period a year prior. Its Monster Energy segment accounted for $1.71 billion of that.
Monster Beverage was founded as a family juice company, Hansen’s, in 1935. It was later named Hansen Natural Corporation.
Sacks and Schlosberg acquired it and took it public in 1990, after it had filed for bankruptcy in 1988. The company has since seen a complete transformation. Where it was trading for just pennies at that time, it closed at $55.02 a share on Friday.
Monster launched a few energy drinks in the 1990s under its previous name. But analysts said the company didn’t really take off until establishing an eponymously named drink in 2002.
“They built it the right way,” said RBC Capital Markets Managing Director Nik Modi. “They were very slow and methodical in how they built the distribution of the brand, making sure it was strong in every market that it was in, and every retailer that was in it was getting good velocity.”
Analysts said the leaders were good at knowing their customers, focusing on action sports and other events such as motocross, UFC, bullfighting and Nascar instead of traditional TV or magazine ads. It resonated with the younger blue-collar workers who attended those events.
“People are so passionate about this brand,” said Modi.
The company attracted the attention of beverage giant Coca-Cola, which entered into a strategic partnership with the company now called Monster Beverage in 2015.
At the time, Coke purchased a 16.7% stake in the company for more than $2 billion. That stake has grown to about 20% today.
Coke agreed to become Monster’s preferred global distribution partner, and the two companies traded the ownerships of several brands. Monster got energy drinks such as NOS, Full Throttle, Burn and Relentless, while Coke got Hansen’s Natural Sodas, Peace Tea and Hubert’s Lemonade.
“They’ve obviously been showing that they can grow globally,” said Modi. “And that’s effectively what they’ve been doing and what’s been driving most of the growth in the outperformance in the stock.”
LOS ANGELES — Former CBS chief executive and president Les Moonves has agreed to pay a $11,250 fine to settle a complaint accusing him of interfering with a police investigation of a sexual assault case, according to documents released Friday by the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission.
According to the documents, Moonves acknowledged working closely with then-Capt. Cory Palka of the Los Angeles Police Department in 2017 to obtain information about a sexual assault victim’s confidential police report against him.
Palka, who had provided private security for Moonves between 2008 and 2014 at the Grammy Awards, which CBS produced, notified network officials about the complaint against the executive in November 2017, the documents show.
Through Palka, they say, Moonves obtained an unredacted copy of the police report, which also included personal information such as the home address and phone number of the accuser. Moonves also met with Palka for an hour at a restaurant to discuss the complaint and ways to quash it.
Moonves was accused of three violations of city rules.
An attorney representing him didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Palka retired in 2021 as a commander after nearly 35 years with the LAPD.
Los Angeles’ Government Ethics Ordinance governs the conduct of city employees and forbids them from misusing or disclosing confidential information acquired through their work. The commission will meet next week to discuss the settlement.
Weeks after the #MeToo movement erupted with sex abuse allegations against film mogul Harvey Weinstein in 2017, Phyllis Golden-Gottlieb reported to police in the LAPD’s Hollywood Division that she had been sexually assaulted by Moonves in 1986 and 1988 when they worked together at Lorimar Productions.
Golden-Gottlieb, who went public with her accusations in 2018, died in 2022.
The police interference allegations against Moonves came to light in 2022, when New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a settlement in which CBS and Moonves agreed to pay $30.5 million for keeping shareholders in the dark while executives tried to prevent the sexual assault allegations from becoming public.
Moonves acknowledged having relations with three of his accusers but said they were consensual. He denied attacking anyone, saying in a statement at the time, “Untrue allegations from decades ago are now being made against me.”
The Los Angeles County district attorney declined to file criminal charges against Moonves in 2018, saying the statute of limitations from Golden-Gottlieb’s allegations had expired.
The city of Los Angeles outlined preparations Saturday for the approaching storm, which is forecast to drop bursts of moderate to heavy rain on already soggy Southern California in the coming week.
Mayor Karen Bass reported on the city’s comprehensive measures in place to manage the effects of the winter storm.
“We have been working diligently to recover from the storm that hit us earlier this month by covering potholes, protecting saturated land and more. Now, we must remain prepared for the additional rainfall coming to Los Angeles in the coming days,” Bass said.
“Our region has seen significant rainfall in recent weeks, which puts us at an increased risk of additional mudslides and power outages, so Angelenos, please stay prepared and stay off of the roads during the rain,” the mayor said. “We know the severe impact that weather can have on our roads and communities, and we are making sure Los Angeles is prepared and informed on behalf of our residents, including the unhoused Angelenos living on our streets, to get through this storm.”
To help more unhoused people get out of the rain, the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Homelessness Solutions will make more hotel vouchers available than previously planned, and outreach workers began late this week to offer help with a particular focus on areas such as the Los Angeles River and Sepulveda Basin, where there is extreme flooding, Bass said. People who need to access services can dial 211.
Doctors warn the public about Valley fever which is caused by spores of the fungus ‘coccidioides’ that live in the soil and can thrive after a rainy season. Gordon Tokumatsu reports for the NBC4 News on Feb. 15, 2024.
The Department of Water and Power, police and fire departments were preparing to respond to flooding, mudslides, downed power lines, fallen trees and lightning strikes. The department warned people to use caution around downed or dangling wires or poles and always assume they are live, and to avoid touching them. People were urged to call 911 to report down or dangling wires.
The Department of Building and Safety conducted grading assessments on mudslide-prone private property to identify risks and prepare with owners to manage mud and debris while city crews have installed sandbags and K-rails as needed, Bass said.
In advance of the expected rain in the coming days, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced preparedness measures the City has taken and urged Angelenos to take steps now to prepare, stay informed and utilize City resources to stay safe.
L.A. Animal Services had rescue teams ready to help evacuate and rescue animals. Pet owners were encouraged to make sure pets are inside during heavy rainfall, they are micro-chipped and wearing ID tags.
Life-threatening emergencies can be reported through 911. Angelenos can request help with less-urgent roadway flooding, tree limbs blocking roadways or mudslides by dialing 311 or by going online. People who want to receive local alerts about roadway closures, flooding and other storm impacts can register for NotifyLA.
CHICAGO — A new superseding indictment filed this week against one of the powerhouse players in the illicit drug trade in Chicago brings the story of a father and son’s differing paths to the forefront.
The fifth superseding indictment was filed against Ismael Zambada Garcia or “El Mayo”, 76, is the current top leader of the Sinaloa Cartel that controls a majority of the illicit drugs sold in Chicago.
El Mayo’s son took a differing path.
Jesús Vicente Zambada Niebla, known as “El Vicentillo,” turned on the cartel and is now in witness protection, the ABC 7 I-Team has learned.
The new indictment is underscored by what El Mayo’s son Vicente told authorities over the years from a Chicago jail cell, after pleading guilty to drug trafficking charges in November 2018, and was sentenced the next year to 15 years in prison.
The kingpin El Chapo remains at the center of this narco tale.
Chapo is locked up for life at the Supermax prison in Colorado, while his cartel co-founder, El Mayo, has assumed the Sinaloa throne and acts as overlord of the cartel that has dominated drug sales in Chicago, controlling 80 percent of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and fentanyl sales, federal authorities contend.
El Mayo has been under indictment in Chicago for fifteen years; A career fugitive with a $15 million U.S. bounty on his head, now facing the new indictment out of New York.
“We haven’t really had a photo of this guy probably for 25 years,” Jack Riley told the I-Team.
Riley is a legendary former head of the Drug Enforcement Administration outpost in Chicago, literally writing the book on El Chapo titled “Drug Warrior: Inside the Hunt for El Chapo and the Rise of America’s Opioid Crisis.”
Riley said with the declining state of U.S.-Mexico relations, capturing El Mayo is a long shot because he is protected and likely hiding out in the open.
“If I was a betting man, I’d bet on him getting away,” Riley explained. “I think he’s insulated enough. I think his health is not good, and he’s had the ability and the routine of staying one step ahead.”
El Mayo’s son “El Vicentillo” is thought to be in U.S. witness protection.
On the day Vicente was sentenced in 2019, the courthouse in Chicago was crawling with heavily armed guards.
Law enforcement sources tell the I-Team Vicente was recently released from the MCC in Chicago and a few weeks ago, the Mexican newspaper Zeta Libre Como El Viento published a purported photo of the druglord’s at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, in Arlington County, Virginia, allegedly escorted by authorities while being transferred to federal witness protection.
“If I was him, I’d have gone into the witness protection,” Riley explained. “At least initially, until he gets a feeling of what’s going on down south.”
Riley continued, “His father [El Mayo] certainly has influence, but there are a lot of, I think, alliances that have broken down since El Chapo was arrested.”
“[Vicente’s] cooperation led to additional indictments, so he’s got a lot of enemies,” Riley told the I-Team. “It doesn’t matter who his father is.”
Riley is pushing for the Sinaloa cartel to be designated by the United States as a terrorist organization; not just a drug trafficking group.
Considering the thousands of lives they take in Cook County and elsewhere. Riley said a terror group designation would free up additional funds-and allow for more aggressive tactics against cartel leaders here, at the border and in Mexico.
For sure, there was plenty of computer modeling available to indicate the Southland was in for a severe — and potentially dangerous — soaking. But based on their expertise, forecasters at the National Weather Service in Oxnard correctly anticipated that even the machine-calculated, eye-popping rain totals were probably an underprediction.
When it comes to such a serious storm event, getting the forecast as close to correct as possible isn’t just a matter of pride. Forecasters go to great lengths to assess a storm’s strength so they can accurately inform the public about the dangers it may pose.
“We don’t want to cry wolf and say, ‘Oh, we’re gonna get record amounts of rain, catastrophic flooding,’ and then you get about half what you think. And people are like, ‘That was no big deal,’” said Joe Sirard, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Oxnard. “And then they’ll tune us out. We don’t want that to happen.”
In this case, “We went a little bit above some of the models and, you know, we were right,” Sirard said.
A person walks under an umbrella at L.A. Live in Los Angeles.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Sirard said the first indications of a potentially significant rain event emerged about 10 to 12 days ahead of the storm’s actual arrival early this month.
To get an idea of a storm’s possible strength, forecasters look at data generated by supercomputers that produce “ensemble forecasts” made from a series of model runs based on slightly tweaked initial conditions, Sirard said.
But the forecast is quite uncertain that far out.
Say you’re trying to map out a forecast 10 days from now, when it looks like a storm is brewing. Half of the model runs might suggest 5 inches of rain will fall over a three-day period, but the other half could suggest less precipitation — sometimes significantly so.
Data like that might be too noisy to say anything with a great degree of confidence.
But as the storm draws closer, those models will start to align a bit more, giving forecasters a better idea of what to reasonably expect.
“And so that would increase our confidence levels,” Sirard said. “Once you get in that seven-day window … if these ensemble models are still showing, say, 60% hypothetically, 5 or more inches in a three-day period — already, our antennas are up. And it’s like, ‘OK, we got a potential for something significant coming in.’”
As forecasters get even closer to the storm’s arrival, they can employ higher-resolution, shorter-range forecast models.
Mud and debris flow from hills caused by heavy rain covered part of a parked car and knocked down the garage door of a home in the 10400 block of West Quito Lane in Los Angeles.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
At a certain point, there was enough confidence for forecasters to post an attention-grabbing warning on social media on Feb. 1, three days before the storm’s arrival: “We are expecting a major storm with dangerous, even life-threatening impacts!”
In subsequent days, local law enforcement and elected officials — from the city of Los Angeles to Santa Barbara County — held media briefings about the dire forecasts that included National Weather Service meteorologists.
Such coordination between meteorologists and politicians hasn’t always happened. Unforgettably, although the National Weather Service office in Monterey issued a flood watch three days before a significant storm landed on Dec. 31, 2022, San Francisco officials were caught unprepared by a record deluge that flooded swaths of low-lying parts of the city and left residents and business owners furious.
There have also been memorable misses. Fourteen years ago, an unexpectedly powerful, slow-moving rainstorm unleashed a torrent of mud that inundated more than 40 homes in La Cañada Flintridge, a far cry from an initial forecast of a light to moderate rainstorm.
The models for the storm earlier this month did adjust in the days leading up to the event. Initial projections about three to five days ahead of the storm suggested Santa Barbara and Ventura counties would get hit the hardest. But as it drew closer, there were growing indications that Los Angeles County would bear the brunt, said Ryan Kittell, another meteorologist in the weather service’s Oxnard office.
That ended up being the case.
The weather service also made late adjustments to what the computer models were showing. Over a four-day period, models said to expect 8 to 10 inches of rain in the San Gabriel Mountains and 4 to 5 inches of rain in downtown L.A.
Meteorologists thought the computer models were underpredicting the projected rainfall totals, so they added a couple of inches to that forecast, Sirard said.
Their instincts proved correct. The weather service’s final forecast was for 8 to 14 inches of rain in the mountains and foothills through Feb. 6. And that was very accurate — the highest rainfall amount recorded in the San Gabriel Mountains over that period was 13.86 inches.
“A lot of us have been here for 25 years. So we know the weather patterns of what can cause the maximum amount of rainfall here,” Sirard said. “You get the high amount of water vapor in the atmosphere, you get the strong jetstream aloft nearby, you have the strong southeast to south low-level flow — all that moisture throughout the atmosphere, from the ground to 20,000 feet or more — all gets squeezed up into the mountains.”
In some areas, the storm proved to be a rainmaker more prolific than even experienced meteorologists had anticipated.
Before the storm began, the weather service had forecast 6.37 inches of rain would fall over a four-day period in downtown Los Angeles. Some people might’ve been hard-pressed to believe such an astonishing amount: On average, downtown gets 14.25 inches of rain in an entire year.
For the four-day period ending at 9 p.m. Feb. 6, 8.66 inches of rain fell on downtown L.A.
Still, the range of the forecast totals helped accurately guide the kinds of warnings that needed to be issued. Once forecast totals in lower-lying cities reach “5, 6, 7, 8 inches, the impacts are pretty much the same” in terms of flooding and landslide risk, Kittell said.
That messaging helped fuel substantial storm preparedness, so officials and residents were not caught completely off guard when land began sliding in a number of hillside communities across L.A. County, including north of Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Westwood, as well as in Baldwin Hills and Hacienda Heights.
Pre-storm warnings also let residents know to stock and stack sandbags. And officials readied response teams like swift-water rescue crews that were needed across Southern California.
Shares of Intuitive Machines jumped for a second consecutive day after the company issued an update that said its moon lander mission “is in excellent health.”
In an update Friday afternoon, Intuitive wrote that the mission remains on track but that it has delayed the first attempt at igniting the lander’s engine. That represents a step Intuitive calls “engine commissioning,” or the first time the engine starts in the vacuum of space. The company noted it tested the engine “thousands of times” before the mission but that the process’ timeline needed to be adjusted after reviewing mission data.
Intuitive did not say when it expects to attempt the engine commissioning, but reiterated earlier statements that the lander is in “excellent health.”
Intuitive Machines’ stock jumped as much as 30% in early trading Friday before paring gains finish the day up 9% at $7.32 a share.
The stock surged 35% on Thursday after the IM-1 mission launched successfully. Since IM-1 launched, Intuitive Machines’ stock had gained 47% as of Friday’s close.
The company’s shares still trade below its post-SPAC merger debut pricing a year ago, however.
Andrew Chanin, CEO of ProcureAM, which runs the “UFO”space-focused ETF, emphasized to CNBC that he is “never shocked to see volatility related to a space company, especially a pure-play space company” and noted that the yet-unprofitable Intuitive Machines is a relatively small company by market size.
“We’re rooting for them. To the extent that they can show success here … hopefully that will bring more belief that this is something that’s doable,” Chanin said.
The IM-1 lander, carrying both government and commercial research payloads, is expected to spend about eight days traveling to the moon before making a landing attempt on Feb. 22.
“There’s a tremendous amount of focus on the moon right now. Most investors don’t have much, if any, space exposure currently and to the extent that the U.S. commercial businesses, [NASA], or foreign governments see success on the moon, it appears that it’s only going to encourage other entities to also ramp up their focus and spending on the moon,” Chanin said.
Alhambra High School snagged the top prize in the Los Angeles County Academic Decathlon, county schools officials announced this week at a banquet honoring the winners.
The team, coached by Jose Sanchez in the 47th annual competition, outpaced their foes in 10 subject areas to to win the prestigious contest.
“Congratulations to Alhambra High School and their coach for an outstanding performance in the Academic Decathlon,” said Dr. Debra Duardo, county Superintendent of Schools. “Their hard work, dedication, and passion for learning have paid off, and we are incredibly proud of all the decathletes for their accomplishments.”
Sixty-three teams, comprised of more than 460 students, competed in the brain games, which launched Jan. 18 and ended Feb. 3.
The top finishers:
1. Alhambra High School;
2. El Rancho High School, Pico Rivera;
3. West High School, Torrance;
4. Palos Verdes Peninsula High School, Rolling Hills Estates; and
5. North High School, Torrance.
The Roberta Kordich Coach Award, presented to the coach who best “motivates students to a higher level of learning and excellence” went to Matthew Cole from Rowland High School.
Event sponsor California Credit Union presented 15 students with scholarships ranging from $200 to $500.
The top five teams — along with Beverly Hills High, Redondo Union High and South High of Torrance — will move on to the state competition. The statewide tournament will begin March 6 and end with an awards ceremony March 24 in Santa Clara.
State winners will then move on to the National Academic Decathlon, April 25-27, in Pittsburgh.
Three California Highway Patrol officers were injured Friday in a crash while in pursuit of a driver near Sherman Oaks.
The crash was reported sometime before 11:30 p.m. near an off-ramp of the northbound 405 Freeway. There, three CHP officers in two patrol vehicles were chasing a driver in a vehicle stolen from Cal Poly Pomona.
Both patrol vehicles were totaled in the crash and one CHP officer was hospitalized. The extent of the injuries of all officers involved in the incident is unclear.
It is unclear what happened to the driver who instigated the chase.
In a major breakthrough, the Burbank Police Department has arrested three suspects linked to a series of armed robberies, including two in Burbank. The suspects have been identified as 48-year-old Abigail Luckey, a resident of Los Angeles, 34-year-old Antonio Bland, a resident of Lancaster, and 22-year-old Ronnie Tucker, a resident of Long Beach.
The first incident occurred in the early morning hours of February 2, 2024, when a man armed with a handgun robbed a 7-Eleven convenience store located at 3523 W. Burbank Boulevard. The suspect forced the store clerk behind the counter at gunpoint, emptied the cash register, and also took the clerk’s wallet before fleeing the scene.
A similar incident occurred just after midnight on February 8, 2024, at another 7-Eleven located at 2000 N. Hollywood Way. Two suspects entered the store, pointed a handgun at the clerk, removed the clerk’s wallet, and ordered him to open both cash registers. The suspects then removed cash from the registers and fled the scene.
Burbank Police Detectives investigating these robberies identified the vehicle used in the crimes and discovered that the same suspects were likely responsible for at least eight additional armed robberies in Los Angeles and Orange County counties.
With the assistance of the Burbank Police Helicopter, detectives located and established surveillance of the suspect vehicle on Tuesday, February 13th. Around midnight, the vehicle, occupied by the three suspects, drove to the City of Downey, where they attempted to commit a robbery at a donut shop and fled the scene in the car. Detectives contacted the donut shop clerk and confirmed the suspects indeed attempted to commit an armed robbery while inside. The suspects were followed to West Los Angeles, where they were stopped by Burbank Police Detectives near Arlington Avenue and Pico Boulevard in the Arlington Heights area.
At the time of the stop, the suspects were wearing the same distinct clothing and were in possession of the same handgun used in the prior robberies. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has filed five counts of robbery on Bland and Tucker, as well as one count of attempted robbery on Bland, Tucker, and Luckey.
Sgt. Steven Turner of the Burbank Police Department expressed his gratitude for the collaborative effort with multiple law enforcement agencies, including LAPD, Glendale PD, Tustin PD, Torrance PD, and Downey PD, who assisted with this investigation. “Many hours of follow-up investigation and surveillance resulted in the safe apprehension of the suspects,” said Sgt. Turner in a press release.
Financial executive Benjamin Griefer has purchased a 13,100-square-foot mansion in Hidden Hills for $23.7 million, or $1.3 million less than its asking price.
The chief operating officer of Calabasas-based Maverick Payments and his wife, Chantal, bought the new farmhouse-style estate at 5275 Round Meadow Road, according to the Robb Report.
The six-bedroom, eight bathroom estate, built last year on 1.4 acres, was listed in October at $24.995 million.
The two-story gabled mansion includes an expansive living room with a fireplace and automated walls of glass that open onto a covered terrace.
An adjacent dining area connects to a gourmet kitchen, with two islands and top appliances. A formal dining room has a temperature-controlled wine wall encased in glass.
The home includes a bookshelf-lined office, soundproof movie theater, gym and steam shower, lounge with a seated bar.
Upstairs, a master bedroom has a stone fireplace, with a sitting area that flows onto a balcony. It has “room-sized” closets, a luxe soaking tub, plus dual vanities and showers.
The grounds, dotted with mature oaks, has an infinity-edge pool with an oversized Baja shelf, with a spa next to an open-air cabana. An attached garage holds four cars.
Broker Marc Shevin of Douglas Elliman held the listing. Brokers Nicole Tekiela and Dennis Chernov of The Agency represented the buyers.
In the gated celebrity haven of Hidden Hills, the couple join neighbors including Kris and Khloe Kardashian, Matt Stafford, Lori Loughlin, Jessica Simpson, French Montana and Tristan Thompson, according to Robb.
Custom Content from the Los Angeles Business Journal
With the unique and uncharted scenarios that we have faced over the last few years, business owners, CFOs and other C-suite professionals have had to tackle more challenges than ever before. The economic climate has forced companies to make changes to the way they do business and to the way they approach their economic strategies, including the way they manage their taxes.
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NEW YORK — A judge has delivered a ruling Friday in Donald Trump’s New York civil fraud trial.
Trump could be hit with millions of dollars in penalties and other sanctions in the decision by Judge Arthur Engoron, who has already ruled that the former president inflated his wealth on financial statements that were given to banks, insurers and others to make deals and secure loans.
New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking $370 million and a ban on Trump and other defendants from doing business in the state. A penalty like that could potentially wound the real estate empire that helped Trump craft his image as a savvy billionaire businessman and vaulted him to fame and the White House.
Engoron is set to rule after two months of testimony from 40 witnesses, including Trump. Closing arguments were held Jan. 11. The judge is deciding the case because juries are not allowed in this type of lawsuit and neither James’ office nor Trump’s lawyers asked for one.
Engoron is expected to release his decision Friday, barring unforeseen circumstances that would necessitate a delay, court officials said.
It has already been a big week in court for Trump. On Thursday, a different New York judge ruled that Trump will stand trial March 25 on charges that he falsified his company’s records as part of an effort to buy the silence of people with potentially embarrassing stories about alleged infidelity. Trump says he is innocent.
If the schedule holds, it will be the first of his four criminal cases to go to trial.
James’ office has estimated that Trump exaggerated his wealth by as much as $3.6 billion. State lawyers contend Trump used the inflated numbers to get lower insurance premiums and favorable loan terms, saving at least $168 million on interest alone.
Trump has denied wrongdoing and his lawyers have said they’ll appeal if Engoron rules against him.
The Republican presidential front-runner testified Nov. 6 that his financial statements actually understated his net worth and that banks did their own research and were happy with his business. During closing arguments in January, he decried the case as a “fraud on me.”
Engoron is deciding six claims in James’ lawsuit, including allegations of conspiracy, falsifying business records and insurance fraud.
Before the trial, Engoron ruled on James’ top claim, finding that Trump’s financial statements were fraudulent. As punishment, the judge ordered some of his companies removed from his control and dissolved. An appeals court has put that on hold.
Because it is civil, not criminal in nature, there is no possibility of prison time.
BELVA ANAKWENZE Virtual CFO Abacus Financial Business Management
Belva Anakwenze, the principal of Abacus Financial Management Group, serves as an entertainment business manager for several creatives in Los Angeles. Her clients range from entertainers and their closely held companies to large entertainment tech companies. She also has several music live events and musicians. Anakwenze has been serving as a trusted advisor for many in the entertainment industry for more than 15 years. Her business continues to grow, serving many high-profile clients.
Anakwenze was selected to speak at SXSW 2024 on the topic of âWealth Creation for Creatives.â Also, in partnership with Patreon, Anakwenze launched a fresh new YouTube financial show for creatives called âThe Earn Upâ on Patreonâs Creator Hub YouTube channel. She also hosts, writes and executive produces the show, in which Anakwenze lends her expertise in helping creators manage their small businesses so they can focus on what they do best â create.
