BRIEFLY.

Two L.A. cops injured in crash

CHATSWORTH -- Two Los Angeles police officers on their way to a shooting at Chatsworth Park were injured Wednesday in a traffic collision, officials said.

The two officers, whose identities were not released, suffered non-life-threatening injuries, officials said. The collision occurred at Tampa Avenue and Plummer Street at 6:30 p.m.

One person was injured in the shooting but no other information was immediately available.

-- Daily News

Trash collection fee is approved

GLENDALE -- The City Council approved a $1.44 hike in the monthly trash collection fee, to $15.85 per single-family household.

The 10 percent increase, unanimously approved Tuesday night, is intended to offset higher waste-disposal costs. Fuel costs for the city's trash truck fleet have increased by 35 percent over the past year, according to a city staff report.

It's the second hike in two years. Last year, the city raised trash fees by 7 percent, from $13.47 to $14.41 per month. The new fee hike would bring an additional $1.3 million to the city's coffers.

Although three residents complained about the hike before the council Tuesday, officials said the city, which has its own dump, has among the lowest trash rates in Los Angeles County. Residents pay $30 a month in Burbank and about $29 a month in Pasadena.

-- Daily News

City will extend hybrids' parking

The Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to extend free parking for hybrid vehicles at city parking meters through 2007.

The city adopted a free-parking pilot project in 2004. So far, the Department of Transportation has reported only 261 hybrids taking advantage of the program during a recent one-day survey by parking meter attendants.

DOT estimates that the program will cost the city as much as $70,000 a year, or about 0.3 percent of the annual meter revenue.

However, with the growing popularity of hybrids, the City Council included a Jan. 1, 2008, sunset date to protect city revenue as more people buy the combination electric- and gasoline-powered cars.

-- Daily News

Woman's crash death is probed

VENTURA -- An investigation is ongoing into the death of a Woodland Hills woman who was struck by a car that knocked her from a highway overpass 30 feet to the ground below, police said Wednesday.

Ananda Colombo, 33, was driving her minivan Tuesday on the transition lane between southbound Highway 33 and the Ventura Freeway when the van began losing fluids, then the engine caught fire, California Highway Patrol Officer Ron Erickson said.

After she stopped and began unloading the van, Colombo was hit at 1 p.m. by a car driven by Jose Ramirez, 42, of Ojai, which slid through the fluids left by the minivan.

``He didn't hit her all that hard, but he pinned her against the guardrail, near the beginning of a bridge,'' Erickson said. ``That's when she fell over.''

-- Daily News

Crash involved off-duty deputy

THOUSAND OAKS -- An off-duty Ventura County sheriff's deputy remained hospitalized and in serious condition Wednesday after he lost control of his truck on a Thousand Oaks road.

Tim Simmen, 29, of Thousand Oaks was driving down Erbes Road with friend Mike Brown, also 29, of Ojai at 1:30 a.m. Sunday when his Ford F-150 drifted off the road and hit a power pole, a tree and a wall, said Capt. Ron Nelson of the Ventura County Sheriff's Department. There were no other vehicles involved.

Simmen's truck overturned, and he was thrown through the windshield and flew several feet, Nelson said. It's unclear whether he was wearing a seat belt.

Brown remained belted in the truck, Nelson said.

Both men were taken to local hospitals. The Sheriff's Department is investigating whether alcohol was a factor in the crash.

-- Daily News