Members of a Van Nuys family had to leave their home Sunday after a water main broke near their apartment building, flooding an underground garage and nearby streets.

Thousands of gallons of water spilled when the 12-inch cast iron pipe broke about 6:15 a.m. in the 14700 block of Vanowen Street, said Erik Scott, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Vanowen between Cedros Avenue and Kester Avenue remained closed while crews worked to repair the main, said Terry Schneider of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

About 150 to 200 customers were without water service, Schneider said.

Firefighters were using multiple pumps to remove water from an underground parking garage at a two-story apartment building at 14762 Vanowen St. Fifteen to 20 cars may have been damaged.

A father, mother and daughter were displaced from a unit that suffered water damage and were being  assisted by the Red Cross to find temporary shelter, Scott said.

Officials said the cast iron main was “older” but were unable to immediately determine its age or whether cold weather played a role in the break.

“Sometimes there are more main breaks when there are severe temperature fluctuations and we had some cold weather last night,” Schneider said. “But it’s not possible to tell if that was the cause.”

-- Carla Rivera

A boisterous crowd of pro-union demonstrators gathered on the steps of Los Angeles City Hall on Saturday, loudly voicing support for unionized workers in Wisconsin and expressing concern that the perennially forceful labor movement in California could one day face a similar crisis.

“If it can happen in Wisconsin, it can happen anywhere,” said Pasquale Gazillo, a merchant marine and member of the Marine Firemen’s Union, referring to Wisconsin’s long history as a union stronghold. “States like that, they’re the ones that started the eight-hour work day and made sure workers got paid if they got sick. The Republicans are pushing and if that state falls, the rest of the country is going to be in trouble. This could set workers in this country back 100 years, even more.”

For roughly two weeks, Wisconsin protesters and politicians have been in a standoff over the governor's proposal to strip most public employees of their collective bargaining rights. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker says the state is broke and must make drastic spending cuts. Unions say Republican leaders are trying to wipe them out.

The pro-union demonstration in Los Angeles was one of many held throughout the nation Saturday.

Among those in attendance was retired Teamster Larry McKinney, who spoke of how thankful he was to have had a long career laying pipe and helping build public infrastructure in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Describing himself as “working class,” he said that because he was a union member, he and his wife were able to raise two children and enjoy retirement without too much worry.

McKinney said unions in Wisconsin had compromised enough, and he faulted the governor for refusing to negotiate over collective bargaining rights. “This governor is trying to take away rights that people fought for 60 years ago, and in one swift move,” he said. “He’s just going to trash rights that people bled for? Come on, that’s not right.”

McKinney scanned the crowd, which appeared to be about 2,000 people, and predicted that the battle in Wisconsin could end up being positive for labor. “I think this is going to help the union cause,” he said. “It’s firing people up. If politicians can treat people in a union this way, imagine how they would treat other people without the protection of a union.”

Such hope was a commonly heard theme. Many expressed confidence that the public would end up siding with labor despite concerns that union benefits weigh on government coffers.

“If you want to solve the budget problems, you don’t do it on the backs of working people. You start with taxing the rich,” said Irene Gonzalez, a Los Angeles County probation officer. She said she had just returned from two days of protests at the Wisconsin state house, an experience that filled her with pride. The local labor movement should worry, she said, because California’s massive budget deficit could mean that union rights will eventually be attacked.

“It is going to come to us,” she said. “People need to wake up. If they don’t wake up, by the time they do it is going to be too late. So that is why we are here.” 

-- Kurt Streeter

Snow has fallen in San Francisco, Monterey, and the San Joaquin Valley, and the intensely cold arctic storm was expected to bring snow to the foothills across the Los Angeles area Saturday, the National Weather Service said. 

The storm was expected to pass into Southern California around sunrise Saturday, bringing snow to levels as low as 1,500 feet. Snowflakes could fall on the the Santa Monica Mountains, in the Antelope and the Santa Clarita valleys, and in the higher elevations on the northern edge of the San Fernando Valley, such as Porter Ranch, said Curt Kaplan, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. 

As for foothill communities like La Crescenta and Altadena, “absolutely, they’ll be getting some snow for sure, at least a dusting of it,” Kaplan said. 

In San Francisco, Friday's sunny skies turned snowy in hilly neighborhoods like Twin Peaks after dark, according to meteorologist Mark Strobin of the National Weather Service in Monterey.

"So far, it's just been a dusting," Strobin said. Trained spotters for the weather service have reported snowflakes sticking to the wooden fences and beams, but there have not been any reports of snow sticking to the ground in the hills, much less at sea level in the city, Strobin said.

Still, snow has fallen at sea level just outside the weather service's offices in Monterey. "It's pretty exciting," Strobin said, although the snow melted once it hit the ground.

The prospect of the first significant snowfall in San Francisco in 35 years brought much anticipation this week. The website http://isitsnowinginsfyet.com/ heralded the snowflakes' arrival overnight by posting images of snowmen.

The arctic storm also brought snow to the San Joaquin Valley city of Arvin, at an elevation of 400 feet, and in the hills above the Central California coastal city of San Luis Obispo, Kaplan said. 

As to whether the storm would be cold enough for snowflakes to dust the ground near the Hollywood sign, chances were looking slim. Kaplan said the weather service has updated its forecast to say snowfall in the L.A. area would be as low as 1,500 feet, higher than a previous forecast of 1,000 feet.

The Hollywood sign on Mt. Lee is at an elevation of about 1,600 feet. 

"I don't think it'll be down to the Hollywood sign," Kaplan said. "But who knows?"

-- Rong-Gong Lin II

Related: Historical snowfall in the Los Angeles area

San Francisco is consumed by the chance of snow

Rains falling in L.A., but snow possible in low-elevation areas

The Los Angeles City Council voted 11 to 1 on Friday to pave the way for a $258.8-million transfer from the Department of Water and Power to city coffers.

The drama-free discussion was a sharp contrast to last year, when DWP officials threatened to withhold part of their transfer unless council members agreed to increase electricity rates.

That threat led to a lengthy showdown between the DWP, the council and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

A 22-year-old student arrested in the shooting death of his vocational school instructor was charged with murder Friday, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office announced.

Law Thien Huynh is accused of killing Roberto Herrera, 44, a security guard training instructor at Coast Career Institute in Los Angeles.

Huynh allegedly argued with the instructor Wednesday before leaving the classroom, returned with a firearm and shot Herrera in the head at near point-blank range, Lt. Paul Vernon of the Los Angeles Police Department said at the time.

In hopes of becoming legal medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles, 229 applicants filed by the Feb. 18 deadline to participate in a lottery that will select 100.

This is the city’s second attempt to find a way to separate legal from illegal dispensaries. The first relied on an expired ordinance and was ruled unconstitutional by a judge.

The city clerk’s office released the number of applicants Thursday but declined to provide any information on them. The city attorney’s office is deciding whether the information can be made public, noting that some dispensaries have threatened to sue to challenge the selection process.

The lottery is another small step in the city’s fraught attempts to reduce the number of dispensaries, which had exploded into the hundreds.

Holly L. Wolcott, the clerk’s executive officer, said it’s unclear when the lottery will be held. The office must first review the eight-page applications to determine whether the collectives meet the criteria to be included in the drawing.

Among other requirements, the collectives had to submit at least three documents proving they have been in business since Sept. 14, 2007, and must have at least one of the same operators since that time. City officials have said they believe that fewer than 135 collectives can meet the requirements.

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Medical marijuana case appears headed back to trial

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-- John Hoeffel

A prosecutor asked Thursday that the trial of Michael Jackson’s doctor be delayed because of what she said was the failure of the defense to share information about its planned case, including the findings of its star forensic witness.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor left the scheduled March 24 start of Dr. Conrad Murray’s trial in place, but said he shared the prosecution’s frustration and reminded defense attorneys that they could be fined or barred from calling witnesses if they did not comply with legal obligations to turn over the materials.

“Dr. Murray is entitled to have a speedy trial, but it’s not trial by lack of information,” Pastor said.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Deborah Brazil complained that with only a month before trial, Murray’s lawyers have not handed over a report or notes about the expected testimony of Dr. Paul White.

The defense acknowledged in court that White, a Dallas anesthesiologist with an expertise in propofol -- the drug that killed Jackson -- is its most important witness. But defense attorney J. Michael Flanagan insisted the expert had not prepared a report and had communicated his findings verbally. Those findings, Flanagan said, included the opinion that Jackson was addicted to Demerol and that Murray did not cause Jackson’s death.

Pastor urged Murray’s lawyers to provide more information about White's testimony to the prosecution.

“I’m just finding it very difficult to believe that a renowned forensic expert in any subject is going to take the stand without having documentation in front of him,” the judge said.

Murray, 57, is accused of involuntary manslaughter in the June 2009 death of the pop icon. His lawyers have suggested that Jackson self-administered the fatal dose of propofol.

RELATED:

Michael Jackson's doctor ordered to stand trial in pop star's death, stripped of medical license

Michael Jackson case: Dr. Conrad Murray pleads not guilty

Judge questions Conrad Murray's hiring of lawyer who once worked for Michael Jackson defense team

-- Harriet Ryan

Downtown's historic Union Station will be purchased by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority for $75 million under a deal approved Thursday that will clear the way for the expansion of transit operations and new development on the property.

The MTA board decided to buy the famous rail hub from Catellus Operating Limited Partnership, which is owned by ProLogis, based in Colorado. The deal, which is expected to close in 30 days, includes 38 acres and 5.9 million square feet of development rights.

“Los Angeles Union Station is absolutely critical to the current and future mobility of our region,” said county Supervisor Don Knabe, chairman of the MTA board. “We now have the ability to retain the historic nature of Union Station and prepare it to serve as a world-class 21st century transportation hub.”

MTA officials wanted control of the station to help accommodate an expected surge in passengers from the proposed Westside subway extension, a planned downtown connector for the region’s light-rail lines, increased bus service and the state’s high-speed rail system if it is built.

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New search warrants issued as Bell corruption probe widens

LAPD probes substandard construction in blaze that killed firefighter

Third person charged in murder resulting from argument over best Mexican state

-- Dan Weikel

Photo: Credit: L.A. Times

The Hollywood Hills house where a collapsing ceiling killed a firefighter has been declared a crime scene, police confirmed Thursday.

The 12,500-square-foot home in the 1500 block of North Viewsite Drive is surrounded by yellow crime tape, with a police cruiser parked in front to bar access to the property without police permission and supervision.

“It has been declared a crime scene,” said Officer Diana Figueroa of the Los Angeles Police Department. “It’s an active criminal investigation at this time.”

Firefighter Glenn Allen, 61, died last Friday of injuries he sustained when a water-soaked ceiling collapsed during a Feb. 16 blaze. Investigators believe the ceiling filled with water when the plastic pipe connecting a sprinkler system melted.

[Updated at 7:54 a.m.: David Lara, a spokesman for the city's Building and Safety Department, said last week that investigators hoped to have preliminary findings sometime this week on whether design and construction issues might have had anything to do with the ceiling collapse.]

The Los Angeles City Ethics Commission has cleared Councilman Richard Alarcon in an investigation focused on a traffic-reduction proposal that could have benefited his wife.

Heather Holt, the agency's newly named executive director, sent a letter earlier this month saying that Alarcon did not misuse his position in 2007 when he called for a one-block stretch of Wakefield Avenue in Panorama City to be downgraded from a busy highway to a quieter "collector" street.

Alarcon's then-fiancee, Flora Montes de Oca, owned property on that block and had been looking to develop as many as nine townhomes there. Had Alarcon's traffic motion been approved, Montes de Oca could have been spared forfeiting 2,850 square feet of the property to the city when developing the site.

Holt had no comment. But her letter stated she was rejecting the recommendation of her predecessor, LeeAnn Pelham, who stepped down Jan. 15. Pelham had concluded that there was probable cause to believe that Alarcon violated a city law that prohibits officials from improperly using their offices to benefit others financially.

Holt said she was not convinced that a "reasonable person" would agree and argued that Alarcon's proposal also would have helped other residents.