POLICE PANEL OKS NEW REGULATIONS FOR CYBER CAFES.Byline: James Nash Staff Writer More than a year after a pair of shootings near a Northridge Internet cafe The high-tech equivalent of the coffee house. However, instead of playing chess or having heated political discussions, you browse the Internet and discuss the latest technology. CDs, DVDs, games and other "cyber stuff" are also generally available. , Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. city officials on Tuesday proposed 14 rules to apply to the businesses, including curfews for youths, video surveillance and limits on noise. Led by Councilman Dennis Zine, city officials in 2002 began calling for more regulations on businesses where patrons congregate at computers, play video games See video game console. and drink coffee. The call for more regulations came after two people were injured in a melee at a Northridge cafe in December 2002 and a man was followed home from the same business earlier that year and killed. Zine said Tuesday that while he wasn't aware of any more recent violence at cyber (1) From "cybernetics," it is a prefix attached to everyday words to add a computer, electronic or online connotation. The term is similar to "virtual," but the latter is used more frequently. See virtual. cafes, he remained convinced of the need for more rules. ``When we have people being shot and killed in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. , we need to do something about that,'' Zine said. ``I don't want to hurt the cyber cafe business, but we do need to regulate the activity, particularly with the students who use the cyber cafes.'' The new rules are less controversial than the city's 2003 requirement that the roughly 30 cyber cafes in Los Angeles apply for special operating permits, which cost about $4,000 to $5,000. Some cyber cafes went out of business rather than apply for the permits. Early this year, in a case involving cyber cafes in Orange County, an appellate court A court having jurisdiction to review decisions of a trial-level or other lower court. An unsuccessful party in a lawsuit must file an appeal with an appellate court in order to have the decision reviewed. ruled that a city could not require the special permits for cyber cafes, and Los Angeles officials backed down from their plan. The city no longer is asking cyber cafes to pay a new fee, but would require them to install a video surveillance system, ensure adequate lighting and provide a waiting room for people in line for computers. The city also dropped an earlier proposal to require the businesses to have guards. Lt. Debra Kirk of the Los Angeles Police Commission's investigations division, who helped draft the new rules, said they strike a balance between the concerns of the businesses and people worried about violence. ``We took into account a lot of the concerns of the businesses - that they not be charged anything unreasonable,'' Kirk said. An owner of NetStreet Cafe - the Northridge business outside of which the melee occurred in 2002 - said he has no complaints about the proposed rules. ``I don't think that being open for 24 hours Adv. 1. for 24 hours - without stopping; "she worked around the clock" around the clock, round the clock is necessary for this kind of business,'' said co-owner Charles Lee Charles Lee may refer to:
James Nash, (213) 978-0390 james.nash(at)dailynews.com |
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