Los Angeles Times - 11.03.2020

LATIMES.COM WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2020B

CITY & STATE

A slow-moving storm

that moved into Los Angeles

County early Tuesday, slow-

ing the morning commute

and threatening to unleash

thunderstorms across the

area, was expected to taper

off Wednesday evening, but

scattered showers are pos-

sible through the rest of the

week as another low-pres-

sure system moves into the

region Friday.

The low-pressure sys-

tem— fed by a plume of sub-

tropical water vapor at the

lower and middle levels of

the atmosphere — was ex-

pected to bring 0.5 to 1.

inches of rain to the coast

and valleys of Los Angeles

County, with up to 3 inches

possible in the foothills and

mountains through at least

Wednesday, said Joe Sirard,

a meteorologist with the Na-

tional Weather Service in

Oxnard.

By Tuesday evening,

rainfall totals were 0.29 of an

inch in downtown L.A., 0.17 at

Los Angeles International

Airport, 0.40 in Avalon on

Santa Catalina Island, 0.

in Beverly Hills and 0.56 in

Malibu Canyon.

“The main concern really

is there could be some urban

flooding and ponding of wa-

ter on roadways, which

could make for some pretty

hazardous driving condi-

tions,” Sirard said.

“If people hear thunder,

the best thing they can do to

protect themselves is to go

indoors. People should use

common sense.”

Forecasters were also

warning of minor mud and

debris flows in recent burn

areas and rockslides along

mountain and canyon road-

ways, mainly across Santa

Barbara County.

A previously forecast at-

mospheric river carrying the

bulk of the subtropical mois-

ture is expected to remain to

the south of California,

which will result in lower

overall rainfall amounts

than meteorologists initially

predicted. The system will

still tap into some of that

moisture, but instead of con-

sistent downpours typical of

an atmospheric river, it’s

more likely to result in wide-

spread showers, forecasters

said.

Snow levels are expected

to drop to about 7,000 feet,

with eight to 10 inches of

snow possible at the “resort

level” above 8,000 feet.

The rain appears to be

just in time to help the re-

gion rebound from disap-

pointing precipitation totals

after a parched start to 2020.

A high-pressure ridge that

lingered over the eastern Pa-

cific Ocean for much of Janu-

ary and February rerouted

winter storms that typically

soak California during what

are usually the state’s

wettest months.

A total of 0.04 inch of rain

fell in downtown Los Ange-

les last month, placing it in a

tie with February 1899 for the

10th-driest February on

record.

Downtown L.A. also had

its fourth-driest combined

January and February on

record after just 0.36 inch fell

during the first two months

of 2020.

Forecasters and water

managers are hopeful that a

wet month, a so-called mira-

cle March, may help bolster

lackluster winter rain totals

and help keep the state out

of drought conditions.

A WOMAN runs on the sand in Redondo Beach beneath ominous clouds Tuesday morning. More showers are expected in the area today.

Christina HouseChristina House/Los Angeles Times

Rain may do its thing all week

The showers are just

in time to help the

region rebound from a

parched start to 2020.

By Hannah Fry and

Paul Duginski

Authorities are seeking
the public’s help in identify-
ing a man they say shot and
killed a pedestrian at the
border of the Westlake and
Pico-Union neighborhoods
earlier this year.
The Los Angeles Police
Department on Monday re-
leased a photo of the suspect
— described as an older man
with a long ponytail and
glasses — in the Jan. 6 killing
of 48-year-old Erik Perez.
Officers who responded
to the 900 block of South
Alvarado Street about 7:
p.m. that evening found
Perez lying on the sidewalk
with a gunshot wound to his
chest. He was later pro-
nounced dead at the scene.
Authorities say the
shooter was walking south
on Alvarado when he passed
Perez on the sidewalk. The
man then stopped, wheeled
around and shouted some-
thing at Perez.
As the two started walk-
ing toward each other, the
gunman pulled a handgun
from his waistband and shot
Perez once in the chest be-
fore running away down Al-
varado and east on Olympic
Boulevard, police said.
Anyone who may know
the suspect’s identity or
have additional information
is asked to call Det. Bradley
Golden with Central Bureau
Homicide at (323) 342-8960.
Tips also can be left anony-
mously at (800) 222-8477 or
lacrimestoppers.org.

Photo

shows

suspect

in gun

slaying

Police release image

of a man believed

responsible for Jan. 6

Westlake shooting.

By Luke Money

THIS MANis a suspect
in a fatal Jan. 6 shooting
in L.A.’s Westlake area.

Los Angeles Police Department

A cybersecurity firm that

worked for the Los Angeles

Department of Water and

Power is alleging in a new le-

gal claim that there are

widespread security gaps at

the utility and that the DWP

and city staff concealed

those vulnerabilities from

regulators.

Ardent Cyber Solutions

submitted a 10-page claim

against the city earlier this

year, alleging retaliation and

breach of contract. The firm

alleges that Mayor Eric

Garcetti personally ordered

its contract canceled as a

“retaliatory measure” after

Ardent alerted officials to

the utility’s physical and cy-

bersecurity problems, ac-

cording to the claim.

Rob Wilcox, spokesman

for City Atty. Mike Feuer’s of-

fice, declined to comment.

Claims are typically submit-

ted to the city before the fil-

ing of a lawsuit and are

lodged to preserve a claim-

ant’s right to sue.

Ardent worked out of

Figueroa Plaza, a pair of

downtown office towers that

house several city agencies.

The firm was one of several

companies named in an FBI

search warrant served at the

utility during agents’ raid of

city buildings last year.

Investigators searched

Ardent’s computers on the

day of the raid and sought

information about any secu-

rity reviews done by the firm

and documents related to

the DWP’s compliance with

industry security standards,

according to sections of the

warrant reviewed by The

Times and an eyewitness re-

port.

Federal agents also

sought evidence related to

litigation sparked by the

DWP’s botched rollout of a

new billing software system

in 2013.

In its claim against the

city submitted Jan. 10, Ar-

dent says its firm was hired

in April 2019 by the DWP to

perform cybersecurity work.

During the course of its

work, the firm scanned the

DWP’s “corporate IT net-

work” and concluded there

were an “extremely high

number of unpatched vul-

nerabilities,” according to

the claim.

Ardent’s top staff in-

formed DWP Board Presi-

dent Mel Levine and DWP’s

senior executives about the

security issues in an Aug. 12,

2019, email, the claim states.

In its claim, Ardent said

it told Levine and others

that it had uncovered

evidence that DWP and

city officials had made “false

statements and failed to

disclose material facts”

about the utility’s security.

City officials and DWP staff

“acted to conceal these

facts from federal and

state regulators, bond

rating agencies, purchasers

of municipal securities is-

sued by the LADWP and the

public at large,” the claim

states.

Later on Aug. 12, Garcetti

ordered Ardent’s contract

suspended, according to the

claim.

The claim alleges that the

city and the DWP breached

the contract with Ardent by

failing to pay the firm more

than $3 million.

DWP spokesman Joe

Ramallo said the utility

“strongly disagrees” with

Ardent’s allegations. He said

the Ardent contract was sev-

ered because of “concern

over their continued involve-

ment in critical cyber is-

sues.” Ramallo declined to

elaborate on those concerns

and said the U.S. attorney’s

office had advised the utility

that public disclosures

could hurt any investiga-

tion.

“We want to assure our

customers and stakeholders

that cybersecurity is of the

utmost importance to

DWP,” Ramallo said. “And

the appropriate steps have

been taken to ensure that

our cybersecurity is compli-

ant with all applicable laws

and security standards.”

Garcetti spokesman Alex

Comisar declined to com-

ment. The U.S. Attorney’s

Office also declined to com-

ment, said spokesman Cia-

ran McEvoy.

The firm’s most recent

business filing with the sec-

retary of state, made in No-

vember 2019, lists Ardent’s

president as Paul Paradis.

Paradis is a key figure in a

scandal stemming from the

city’s handling of a class ac-

tion lawsuit filed over inac-

curate DWP bills from the

2013 billing system. He was

hired by the city attorney’s

office for legal work related

to the fallout over the faulty

system. At the same time,

his company, Aventador,

won a $30-million, no-bid

contract from the DWP to fix

the billing system and for

cybersecurity work.

Paradis has denied

wrongdoing.

Aventador Utility Solu-

tions LLC renamed itself Ar-

dent Cyber Solutions in

March 2019, according to

state records.

Attorney Gregory W.

Smith, who is representing

Ardent in its claim against

the city, declined comment.

No one has been arrested

or charged in connection

with the FBI raid of the DWP

and the city attorney’s office.

Company files legal claim against DWP

THE L.A.Department of Water and Power has flaws in its IT system, Ardent Cyber Solutions LLC alleges.

Robert GauthierLos Angeles Times

A cybersecurity firm

says its contract was

terminated after it

uncovered problems.

By Richard Winton

and Dakota Smith

A 39-year-old man was
arrested Sunday after police
said he groped a woman who
was shopping in a Seal
Beach department store
with her baby.
Officers responded to the
HomeGoods at 12343 Seal
Beach Blvd. just before 11:
a.m. after receiving a call
that a man had grabbed a
woman’s buttocks while she
was shopping, according to
the Seal Beach Police De-
partment.
Authorities said another
shopper witnessed the inci-
dent and confronted the
man, who then left the store.
Responding officers found a
man nearby who matched
the suspect’s description.
Ruben Erick Diaz of Ri-
alto was arrested on suspi-
cion of sexual battery and
child endangerment.
Diaz was in custody at
Orange County Jail on Mon-
day morning with bail set at
$300,000.

Man is

held in

groping

of female

shopper

By Luke Money