LAPD Devonshire Division to hold annual holiday toy drive

The Los Angeles Police Department Devonshire Division’s Police Activity League Supporters, or Devonshire PALS, will again sponsor a holiday toy drive that CSUN students, faculty and staff are encouraged to participate. The toy drive will run through Dec. 15, and the gifts will benefit underprivileged children ages 7 to 15 living in Northridge and North Hills. Organizers are looking for unwrapped toys, games, new books and cash donations to give to the children, and all donations will remain in the LAPD Devonshire area. According to Judy Nutter, director of community relations in University Advancement at CSUN, Devonshire PALS is an organization that CSUN provides outreach to throughout the year. For more information, please contact the LAPD Devonshire Division main line at 818-832-0663 or Nutter at 818-677-2123.

– Ryan Denham

Divers find four bodies after small plane crashes off coast

DANA POINT, Calif. (AP) – Divers found four bodies Tuesday aboard a small plane that crashed a few miles off the coast and sank about 200 feet, authorities said. The plane was believed to be carrying off-road racer Jason Baldwin and three other people when it went down over the weekend. The bodies were spotted by divers as they prepared to pull the plane up, said Jim Amormino, a spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. He said authorities could not confirm their identities until the bodies were recovered. Divers planned to bring the plane to the surface by placing floatation devices beneath it. The bodies will be removed, and investigators will study the wreckage for clues about what caused the crash. A National Transportation Safety Board investigator previously said the pilot of the aircraft was listed as Daniel M. Neuman of Foothill Ranch. Others believed by authorities and the Baldwin family to be on board were Jeffrey TenEyck and Rick Olausen, both longtime friends of Baldwin. The plane left Saturday from San Felipe, Mexico, and stopped at San Diego’s Brown Field to clear customs before taking off for John Wayne Airport in Orange County, authorities said. It was cruising along the coast at about 3,500 feet when there was a rapid descent, said Nicole Charnon, an NTSB investigator.

Airport employee union threats to stage Thanksgiving protest

LOS ANGELES (AP) – A union representing airport communications technicians and runway supervisors threatened to stage a Thanksgiving weekend protest at Los Angeles International Airport unless it receives the same lucrative contract that Department of Water and Power workers won from the city. The Engineers and Architects Association, which represents 8,000 city employees, gave the warning to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Monday and gave the city 72 hours to respond. The union is seeking a contract similar to one won in September by nearly 8,000 DWP electrical workers. It raises salaries by as much as 31 percent over five years. The contract provides a minimum cost-of-living increase of 3.25 percent each year, but allows salaries to grow by up to 6 percent each year to keep pace with inflation. Robert G. Aquino, executive director of the Engineers and Architects Association, said the union may deploy 200 to 300 workers to protest Sunday night at crosswalks near the arrivals terminals at the airport. “We would never do anything to impact passenger safety, but our demonstration will make it very difficult for people to get into and out of the airport,” he said. The mayor’s spokeswoman, Diana Rubio, said he has urged the union to reconsider. She said Villaraigosa supports giving unions the best contracts possible, but added, “The mayor strongly believes the city must be fiscally prudent so the residents of Los Angeles have the services they need and expect.”