BRIEFLY.

Missing elderly man found OK

SUNLAND -- An 85-year-old man who went missing from his Sunland home was found Tuesday night in good condition, police said.

Jose Martinez, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease, was reported missing about 5 p.m. from his home in Sunland at 10924 Crockett St., near Sunland Boulevard, said Officer Jason Lee of the Los Angeles Police Department's Media Relations Section.

Martinez was found a few blocks from his home, Lee said.

-- City News Service

Slaying suspect still being sought

Police are still searching for Castulo Jurado Nevarez, a 68-year-old Pacoima man suspected of killing a neighbor in a dispute over a trash can, authorities said Tuesday.

Nevarez has been a fugitive since April 18, when police believe he shot Juan Gomez, 23, after Gomez moved trash cans from the street so his friends could park.

Detectives have been distracted from the case because of two other homicides in the area, including another dispute between neighbors this week that led to a fatal shooting, LAPD Detective Frank Bishop said.

-- Daily News

`Quiet' doors set for some homes

BURBANK -- Some residents near Bob Hope Airport will receive noise- insulating doors and windows thanks to a $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, Rep. Brad Sherman announced Tuesday.

More than 1,000 homes near the airport have already been insulated to reduce the impact of jet noise, according to Sherman's office.

The noise-reduction measures include new doors and windows, attic insulation, weather stripping and upgraded ventilation and air conditioning systems.

Homeowners can visit www.bradsherman.house.gov, to see whether they are eligible for the program.

-- City News Service

County OKs law on medical pot

An ordinance regulating medical marijuana dispensaries in unincorporated Los Angeles County won final approval Tuesday from the Board of Supervisors and will go into effect June 9.

The plan regulating dispensaries, including provisions to consume cannabis on-site, was approved on a 4-1 vote. Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich was the lone dissenter.

Medical marijuana dispensaries are defined as ``facilities that provide marijuana for medical purposes to patients or primary caregivers who have a related recommendation from a physician.''

California voters passed Proposition 215 in 1996, making it legal for certain patients to use marijuana for the treatment of their illnesses.

-- City News Service

Coalition focuses on voter sign-ups

Hoping to turn mass protests into political power, the We Are America Coalition announced plans on Tuesday to embark on a nationwide voter registration and citizenship drive.

With the help of Spanish-language radio disc jockeys, the group of union, church and immigrant rights groups expects to sign up voters in churches and parks throughout the summer.

It will also dispatch ``immigrant justice action center,'' roving vans that will have information on citizenship and voting.

The group is one of several that helped organize a May 1 rally against punitive immigration reforms.

-- Daily News

Chernof is new director of health

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to name Dr. Bruce A. Chernof the new director of the nation's second-largest health system.

As director and chief medical officer of the Department of Health Services, Chernof is the fourth director to hold the job since 1995, when the health department's financial woes nearly dragged the county into bankruptcy.

Chernof replaces Dr. Thomas Garthwaite, who resigned in November to take another job after weekly grillings by the supervisors over his handling of patient deaths at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center.

With a $1.4 billion deficit looming in just four years, Chernof last month released a cost-cutting plan designed to squeeze that shortfall.

-- Daily News

Teachers union presents its plan

The union representing Los Angeles teachers Tuesday presented initial contract proposals for next school year to the Board of Education, focusing on money, assessments and class size.

The salary-benefits proposal may require up to a 14 percent increase to keep Los Angeles Unified School District teachers among the top levels in Los Angeles County, according to the proposal.

The proposal also said the union will wait until after the state budget is approved before making an actual salary demand.

-- City News Service

Mistake averted in transit bond

The transportation bond plan the Legislature placed on the ballot last week almost omitted funding for many counties, but last-minute negotiating set aside $1 billion for counties, according to Assemblyman Paul Koretz, D-West Hollywood.

That meant Los Angeles County went from receiving nothing to getting $194 million to fix its roads, if the $20 billion measure passes in November.

According to Koretz's staff, the bond plan originally set aside $1 billion in a 50-50 split between cities and counties. Some later lobbying shifted this to the entire $1 billion only for cities, leaving Los Angeles County shut out of the $97 million it expected under that earlier plan.

-- Daily News