BRIEFLY.

LAUSD cop's legs broken by truck

NORTHRIDGE - A Los Angeles Unified School District police officer suffered two broken legs when a pickup truck driven by a drunk-driving suspect slammed into his patrol car, pinning the officer between two vehicles, officials said Wednesday.

Officer Crawford Thompson was on patrol at 9:40 p.m. Tuesday when he saw paramedics treating patients for minor injuries sustained in a two-car crash. With only one Los Angeles Police Department car providing traffic control, the LAUSD officer stopped to assist, positioning his car to shield the paramedics and patients from oncoming traffic, officials said.

``He put his lights on and was going to start assisting,'' LAUSD spokeswoman Ellen Morgan said. ``The drunk driver hit his patrol car and pinned him between the front of his patrol car and the car in front of him.''

The officer is expected to fully recover, Morgan said. The paramedics already on scene treated the officer and three people in the pickup truck, all of whom were seriously injured.

- Daily News

Man kills himself in brother's firm

SIMI VALLEY - A man who had lost his job at a company owned by his brother apparently fatally shot himself Wednesday after entering the business with a handgun, police said.

Simi Valley police surrounded the building in the 700 block of Cochran Street and determined that the few employees who were there when the gunman arrived about 1:55 p.m. were able to evacuate safely.

After police were unable to reach the man by phone, a special weapons team entered the building and found him dead, apparently from a single gunshot, authorities said.

- Daily News

LAUSD gets help to improve fitness

NORTH HILLS - Northridge Hospital Medical Center will help the Los Angeles Unified School District come up with a plan to reduce childhood obesity and diabetes, district officials said Wednesday.

The district will use a $25,000 gift from the hospital to help reverse the unhealthy trends. As part of the effort, teachers, students, parents and elected officials attended an event at Sepulveda Middle School to kick off the obesity and diabetes prevent program.

Northridge Hospital has helped five LAUSD campuses in North Hills and Panorama City address the nutrition and physical fitness needs of students, parents and staff.

- City News Service

Animal-services contract adopted

GLENDALE - The Glendale City Council has voted unanimously to enter into a $15.2 million contract to receive animal-welfare services from the Pasadena Humane Society and Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for the next 16 years.

The council voted Tuesday evening to approve the contract. Officials said it would be too expensive for Glendale to build its own animal shelter.

The contract includes an immediate payment of $2 million to help the Pasadena Humane Society expand its facility.

- Daily News

Southland cutting outdoor water use

Southern California residents have reduced outdoor watering by nearly nine minutes a day over the past two years, which could equal yearly savings of $160 per house, a survey released Wednesday said.

The dollar amount is based on savings of up to 75,000 gallons annually that are possible if watering time is reduced by the average amount found in a survey by the the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

In the region, up to 70 percent of residents' water usage goes to lawns and other landscaping, a district official said. Other studies have shown that homeowners use twice as much water as they need outdoors.

- City News Service

Greuel questions spending controls

Councilwoman Wendy Greuel called Wednesday for a review of city rules allowing the general managers of the Water and Power, Airport and Harbor departments to execute contracts under $150,000 without approval from their boards of commissioners.

Overall, such purchases and contracts may exceed $100 million per year at the Department of Water and Power, she noted.

``Given the significant amount being expended in this manner, it is important to ensure that appropriate oversight is being provided,'' Greuel said in a written motion, which calls for city administrators to analyze the oversight of such spending.

Greuel, who represents the East San Fernando Valley, also introduced a motion Tuesday calling on the DWP to develop an incentive program for customers to install weather-sensitive ``smart meters'' for residential and commercial irrigation systems.

- Daily News