Los Angeles Times - 02.08.2019

CALIFORNIA

F RIDAY, AUGUST 2, 2019::L ATIMES.COM/CALIFORNIA

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Construction crews
erected a chain-link fence
Thursday around the lot of
an L-shaped strip mall in
South L.A. where Nipsey
Hussle lived out his dreams
—and where those dreams
ended when he was gunned
down March 31.
The 8-foot-high fence is
around the parking lot and
Hussle’s store, the Mara-
thon Clothing, which has
turned into a magnet for
tourists but has been closed
since his death.
On Instagram, the lot’s
owner explained that the de-

cision was made to start the

“early development stages of

the forthcoming Nipsey

Hussle Tower.”

“The fence is part of a

larger plan that got hatched

a long time ago, so we see

that as a continuation of

that vision,” said Council-

man Marqueece Harris-

Dawson.

There also have been con-

cerns about safety in the

area.

The Los Angeles Police

Department increased pa-

trols at the lot and has been

working with the property

owner to install lighting and

other measures after some

tourists were robbed and of-

VISITORS take pictures Thursday near the site of rapper and activist Nipsey Hussle’s March 31 slaying.

Photographs by Gary CoronadoLos Angeles Times

Fence goes up around

Hussle’s clothing store

Rapper’s shop has drawn a stream of tourists since his fatal shooting

By Angel Jennings
and Cindy Chang

JADRIAN REYES of Sacramento on Thursday

visits the strip mall that houses Hussle’s Marathon

Clothing store. He was killed outside it March 31. [SeeHussle, B4]

SACRAMENTO — Gov.

Gavin Newsom has thrown

another roadblock in front of

a long-fought venture to

pump and market ground-

water from the Mojave

Desert, leaving the Cadiz

Inc. project facing a new

set of state environmental

reviews.

Newsom signed legisla-

tion Wednesday that re-

quires the project to under-

go scientific study and gain

approval from the State

Lands Commission before it

can withdraw water from the

Mojave and sell it to urban

Southern California.

Newsom said he signed

the bill to ensure the desert’s

fragile ecosystem is pro-

tected.

“Water has flowed under-

neath the Mojave for thou-

sands of years, sustaining

the Native Americans, big-

horn sheep, the threatened

desert tortoise and a variety

of other plant and animal life

that have made the Mojave

Desert their home,” the gov-

ernor said in a statement.

The governor added that

the new law would create

an “independent scientific

analysis” that would deter-

mine if “any major water

transfer project in the Moja-

ve will unreasonably affect

the environment.”

The project by Cadiz

has been the subject of a

two-decades-long political

drama. It was blocked by

the Obama administration,

then revived under Presi-

dent Trump.

The law signed by New-

som prohibits Cadiz, one of

the largest private land-

owners near the Mojave Na-

tional Preserve, from trans-

ferring water from a ground-

water basin near a national

preserve, national park or

other state and federal

wilderness areas unless

state lands officials deter-

mine it would not have an

adverse effect on ground-

water resources, habitat and

natural resources.

Scott Slater, president

and chief executive of Cadiz,

called the law a “troubling

precedent for infrastructure

development” but said the

company is confident it can

still move forward.

“We look forward to work-

ing closely with the gover-

nor’s office, the State Lands

Commission and other state

agencies as we complete this

public, and transparent pro-

cedural step,” Slater said in

a statement.

He added that the com-

pany believes that “a fact-

based evaluation of the proj-

ect conducted under the

governor’s watchful eye will

undoubtedly conclude we

can sustainably contribute

to this effort.”

State puts up

a roadblock

for desert

water project

Law requires new

environmental review

of Cadiz plan to pump

from Mojave aquifer.

By Phil Willon

[SeeWater,B5]

Even years later, tears
still flow easily for Maria
Barron when she describes
her efforts to rescue her
nephew, Anthony Avalos,
from his abusive Antelope
Valley home.
She had been a constant
presence in Anthony’s life —
potty training, consulting
with his teachers in pre-
school, hearing his boyhood
dreams about being a fire-
man. Before his death at age
10, the boy confided in her
and her husband about the
abuse, too.
“One of the last things he
said to me was, ‘I can’t wait
until you and Uncle David
can be my new mom and
dad,’ ” she said, sobbing at a

news conference Thursday

morning.

Yet she said she couldn’t

persuade the Los Angeles

County Department of Chil-

dren and Family Services to

grant her custody of An-

thony and his siblings, de-

spite reports of abuse and

neglect over several years.

Barron spoke up Thurs-

day to support a new lawsuit

by other relatives of Antho-

ny’s against the county, the

DCFS and one of its contrac-

tors, alleging that social

workers willfully disre-

garded concerns about

abuse and failed to protect

Anthony. They are seeking

$50 million in damages.

“DCFS turned a blind eye

to the situation, knowing

what was going on with

those kids — all the pain and

suffering they were going

through,” Barron said out-

side DCFS headquarters in

Koreatown.

Anthony’s mother,

Heather Barron, and her

L.A. welfare agency sued in boy’s death

Family of Anthony

Avalos alleges workers

willfully disregarded

concerns about abuse.

By Matt Stiles

[SeeLawsuit,B6]

ATTORNEYBrian Claypool, left, with members of the Barron family on Thurs-

day in Los Angeles, announces a $50-million lawsuit in Anthony Avalos’ death.

Gary CoronadoLos Angeles Times

GILROY, Calif. — Just

days ago, police cars

screamed through down-

town, rushing to the Garlic

Festival where a gunman

had killed three people and

wounded a dozen more.

News outlets from all

over the country descended

on this small city of about

56,000 to cover the latest

mass shooting. By the mid-

dle of the week, most of the

news trucks and reporters

had left, and life in the “garlic

capital of the country” was

returning to its usual pace.

Or trying.

Along Monterey Street,

Candy Martinez leaned on

the glass counter of a small

party and supply store

called Los Angelitos. The

last few days have been emo-

tionally exhausting, Mar-

tinez said. The shooting

stole the town’s tranquility.

“You’re living in fear a lit-

tle bit,” she said. “But you

have two options: You con-

tinue living or you stay home

because you’re afraid to go

outside.”

Like every other town

that has been visited by the

now-familiar plague of mass

shootings, Gilroy is begin-

ning the process of moving

on.

Many residents and busi-

ness owners already refuse

to speak about the tragedy.

For many, there is a special

hurt in the fact that one of

their own carried out the at-

tack.

Security was not some-

thing Martinez thought

much about — until now.

She said the city will host the

Garlic City Car Show in Au-

gust and theTamal Festival

in October. The Tamal Festi-

val is scheduled to take place

at Christmas Hill Park,

where the Garlic Festival

was held.

“I hope the city doubles

up the security,” Martinez

said.

Gilroy

reflects

on festival

slayings

Residents struggle to

process and move on

from shooting plotted

by one of their own.

By Ruben Vives

and Matthew Ormseth

[SeeGilroy,B4]

Aonetime Department
of Water and Power cus-
tomerwhose lawsuit over his
inaccurate bill triggered an
FBI investigation at L.A.
City Hall has filed a new
claim against the city.
Attorneys for Antwon
Jones say in the claim that
the city of Los Angeles — in-
cluding the DWP and city at-

torney’s office — knowingly

encouraged and participa-

ted in the “wrongful acts and

omissions” by attorney Paul

Paradis and others to de-

fraud him.

The city and others also

breached their fiduciary

duties to Jones, according

to the claim, “unjustly en-

riching themselves” at his

expense.

Jones filed his claim last

week. Claims are typically

submitted at City Hall be-

fore the filing of a lawsuit

and are lodged to preserve a

claimant’s right to sue. The

filing lists damages of over

$25,000 and includes accusa-

tions of unjust enrichment,

breach of fiduciary duty,

emotional distress and

more.

Jones’ filing comes as

City Hall is reeling over FBI

raidslast week tied to the

city’s response to the disas-

trous rollout of the DWP’s

customer billing software in

2013.

The ongoing controversy

first ensnared Jones several

years ago, according to court

documents.

Jones, according to the

filing, retained attorney Par-

adis for a lawsuit after he re-

ceived a $1,374 electric bill in

2014 from the utility — far

more than what he had been

DWP’s legal woes continue after FBI raid

Customer at heart of class-action suit files $25,000 claim against city

By Dakota Smith

[SeeDWP,B4]

Hey, bug lovers:

Bon appetit!

The Orange County

Fair shines a spotlight

on edible insects. B

Navy confirms

pilot’s death

F/A-18E jet crashed

near a site popular

with aviation buffs. B