The race for campaign money among candidates for the Los Angeles Board of Education would suggest a sleepy, low-stakes election, but appearances are deceiving: An electoral shootout is still expected between the city’s teachers union and L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in the March 8 election.

The latest filings, which were due last week, cover the last quarter of 2010. Four of seven school-board seats are up for grabs in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

As of year-end, the most money has accumulated in District 5, where one-term incumbent Yolie Flores is not running for reelection. Luis Sanchez raised about $80,000 trying to establish himself as the frontrunner. Most observers expect he’ll claim the endorsement of Villaraigosa and the campaign funds that come with that. The mayor is vying to maintain a friendly majority on the seven-member school board. Sanchez is currently chief of staff to school board President Monica Garcia, the mayor’s closest ally on the board.

Bennett Kayser, a teacher, raised $1,900, more than half that amount a loan from himself. John Fernandez, a retired teacher, recorded no fundraising — not one dollar. But that picture will alter because he’s the endorsed candidate of United Teachers Los Angeles, the teachers union.

District 5 spans Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Eagle Rock and the southeastern portions of the L.A. Unified School District, including the cities of Huntington Park, Bell and South Gate.

A rules change in this election cycle will affect how money is donated and controlled. For the first time, donors to candidates will be limited to $1,000 contributions, said David Tristan, deputy director of the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission.

The big money in this race is likely to come from independent expenditures — again with the teachers union and its allies pitted against the mayor and his allies. Before it's over, hotly contested campaigns could easily exceed a million dollars in spending.

To wit, in District 7, candidate Jesus Escandon reported raising $59 in the last quarter, but the union has endorsed Escandon and is expected to make a run at unseating one-term incumbent Richard Vladovic, a mayoral ally. Vladovic raised $50,676 in the last quarter of 2010.

A third candidate, Roye Love, has loaned himself $1,000 toward his campaign.

The union also is backing District 1 two-term incumbent Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte, who raised $3,200 in the last quarter and reported having just $170 cash on hand. Challenger Eric Lee raised $7,943.

District 1 covers substantial portions of south and southwest Los Angeles.

District 3 stretches roughly across the western half of the San Fernando Valley. There, one-term incumbent Tamar Galatzan reported raising $25,246. Challenger Louis Pugliese had no fundraising to report.

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-- Howard Blume

The Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy who was shot in the face by an East L.A. gang member came out of sedation Thursday after the first of several planned surgeries to reconstruct his face, an official said.

Doctors initially feared that Deputy Mohamed Ahmed, 27, would lose an eye, but sheriff’s spokeswoman Nicole Nishida said surgeons are still hopeful.

Ahmed and his training officer were on patrol near Floral Drive and North Brannick Avenue on Tuesday night when they saw Nestor Torres, a 37-year-old parolee, parked in a red zone. The training officer recognized Torres, and as deputies got out of their cruiser, Torres got out of his car and fired at Ahmed, authorities said.

The training officer tried to wrestle the gun away from Torres, deflecting the weapon as it was pointed at his chest.

The officer fired at least two shots, fatally wounding Torres. Ahmed was rushed to a nearby hospital. On Wednesday night, doctors performed facial reconstruction surgery.

An East L.A. gang member out of prison on parole was identified Wednesday by sheriff's officials as the person who shot a deputy in the face.

Nestor Torres, 37, was on parole with prior felony convictions for shooting into an inhabited dwelling and possession of a firearm when he allegedly shot Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Mohamed Ahmed, 27, Tuesday night, authorities said.

Ahmed and his training officer were on a routine patrol near Floral Drive and North Brannick Avenue when they saw Torres and a woman inside a vehicle parked in the red zone.

The training officer recognized Torres, and as deputies got out of their cruiser, Torres got out of his car and allegedly fired at the officers, authorities said.

 The training officer tried to wrestle the gun away from Torres, deflecting the weapon as it was pointed at his chest. The officer fired at least two shots, fatally wounding Torres.

A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy may lose an eye and will undergo surgery Wednesday after being shot in the face by a reputed gang member on parole in East Los Angeles, authorities said.

Doctors have said Deputy Mohamed Ahmed, 27, appears not to have suffered any brain damage but was still in critical condition, said Lt. Don Slawson of the sheriff’s homicide bureau.

“His vitals and brain waves all seem to be OK. We are fortunate in that respect,” Slawson said. “But doctors have said losing an eye is a distinct possibility.”

Ahmed’s training officer, who suffered abrasions and bruises from the incident, was treated and released from the hospital, Slawson said.

The shooting occurred Tuesday night while Ahmed and the other officer were on a routine patrol near Floral Drive and North Brannick Avenue and saw a woman and a man inside a vehicle parked in the red zone.

A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy was shot in the face Tuesday night in East Los Angeles after he and his training officer were attacked by a reputed gang member on parole, authorities said.

The suspected gunman was fatally shot by the training officer after a struggle ensued, authorities said.

Deputy Mohamed Ahmed, 27, was taken to a local hospital and may lose sight in one eye, said a source familiar with the incident. The Sheriff's Department  initially reported that the deputy had been shot in the cheek.

Ahmed did not appear to have suffered any brain damage and was listed in critical condition. He joined the department in April 2007.

“I'm grateful that the wound does not appear to be life-threatening,” Sheriff Lee Baca told The Times as he was on his way to the hospital.

The shooting occurred while the two deputies were on routine patrol near Floral Drive and North Brannick Avenue. They saw a woman and a man in a vehicle parked in a red zone.

As the deputies exited their cruiser, the man got out of the vehicle and allegedly fired at the deputies, according to the source, who asked not to be named because the preliminary investigation had just been launched.

The training officer tried to wrestle the gun from the suspect, apparently deflecting the weapon as it was pointed at his chest, the source said. The officer fired at least two shots, fatally wounded the suspect.

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Deputy wounded in East L.A. shooting incident

-- Andrew Blankstein and Robert J. Lopez

Photo: Shooting scene. Credit: KTLA

A Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputy was shot in the cheek Tuesday night in East Los Angeles during an incident in which the alleged gunman was killed, authorities said.

"I'm grateful that the wound does not appear to be life-threatening," Sheriff Lee Baca said when contacted by The Times as he headed to the hospital.

The shooting occurred after the male suspect was confronted by two deputies on Floral Drive.  Preliminary information indicates that a struggle ensued and gunfire broke out, said Nicole Nishida, a department spokesman.

Investigators were responding to the area.

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Sheriff's deputy shot in East L.A.

-- Andrew Blankstein and Robert J. Lopez

A Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy was shot Tuesday night in East Los Angeles.

The shooting occurred on Floral Drive. The deputy was transferred to a hospital and his condition was not known, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said.

It was unclear what happened to the gunman. No other details were immediately available.

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-- Andrew Blankstein and Robert J. Lopez

Temperatures throughout Southern California are expected to approach freezing as revelers count down the hours to New Year's Day.

The Arctic air blowing into Pasadena could bring temperatures down as low as 35 degrees overnight, creating a rough night for revelers camping out on Colorado Boulevard in advance of the Rose Parade, said Bill Hoffer, spokesman for the National Weather Service office in Oxnard. A frost advisory will be in place after midnight for Pasadena, the San Gabriel and San Fernando valleys, and the Santa Monica Mountains.

Downtown Los Angeles, Long Beach, the Orange County coast and the Inland Empire will see lows in the 30s overnight, while the San Fernando Valley could see lows in the 20s.

"It could be mighty uncomfortable," Hoffer said. "It could affect some less hardy individuals."

A man dressed in pink hospital scrubs and a Darth Vader mask robbed a bank inside a grocery store Friday  in Rowland Heights, but Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies said they didn't have to go far to find him.

The man, who was not immediately identified, was a "courtesy clerk" at the same Albertsons grocery store in the 19000 block of Colima Road where a Bank of America branch was located, said sheriff's Capt. Mike Parker.

At about 11 a.m., a man carrying a hatchet and dressed in a Darth Vader-type mask, pink scrubs, a black wig and gloves approached a bank teller and demanded money.

Sheriff's officials would not say how much was taken from the bank but during their investigation determined that the thief worked in the Albertsons supermarket. He was arrested about three hours later at another location, Parker said.

"The robber's elaborate disguise did not keep from getting caught later on," Parker said.

[Updated at 12:33 p.m.: The suspect was identified as Gregory Sanchez, 46, of West Covina. He is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail, authorities said. He was arrested about three hours later at the same Albertsons where he works and where the crime took place, Parker said. An earlier report said Sanchez was arrested at a different location.]

-- Andrew Blankstein

Top photo: Bank surveillance image of a man brandishing a hatchet while wearing a disguise.

Credit: Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department

Bottom photo: Gregory Sanchez

Credit: Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department 

Gold Line trains were running at reduced speeds Monday afternoon after power was knocked out on one of the tracks and lightning strikes caused damage, officials said.

Delays were reported on the Eastside section of the line because of damage caused by lightning, the MTA said. Shuttle buses were running between the Maravilla and and Mariachi Plaza stations.

[Updated 6:04 p.m. Power has been restored and trains are back to normal service between Mariachi Plaza and Maravilla stations, the MTA said.

A previous version of this report said lower speeds were in effect between the Southwest Museum and Mission stations on the L.A.-to-Pasadena portion of the line. Trains on that section of the line were not running at lower speeds, the MTA said.]

-- Robert J. Lopez