Local activist and former Benedict Canyon Association board member Lauren Steiner will lead the demonstration along with as many as 400 of her neighbors and fellow activists to call on Tribune Company board chairman Bruce Karsh to reject the proposed sale.

The rally site at the corner of Benedict Canyon Drive and Tower Road is located near the home of Karsh, who controls the largest percentage of shares in the Tribune Company and thus is expected to play a key role in deciding to whom the Times is sold.

“We need to let Bruce Karsh know that this is not just another business deal between billionaires,” Steiner said in a statement. “Our community and our very democracy is at stake if the Koch Brothers add the L.A. Times and the other Tribune papers to their vast network of propaganda vehicles for their radical, right wing agenda.”

Speakers at the event were scheduled to include Kathay Feng, Executive Director of California Common Cause, Rabbi Jonathan Klein, Executive Director of CLUE, Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice, Jodie Evans, co-founder of Code Pink and a satirical performance by Clifford Tasner of the Billionaires.

1. Murder-for-profit scheme suspected in Santa Monica slaying
2. Financial Adviser to Stand Trial in ’08 Montana Avenue Slaying
3. Jury to decide fate of Torrance house painter Michael Lubahn Clark in 1981 murder of wife
4. Santa Monica Priest Accused of Sexual Battery

1. 8th Annual Del Rey Day: Picnic in the Park
2. Del Rey NC Saves Summer Camp
3. LA Opera Comes to Marina del Rey
4. Possible New Farmer’s Market at Glen Alla Park

1. Summer Energy Use Could Strain Power Grid, Lead to Outages
2. CPUC mandates 50 MW of new energy storage in Southern California
3. Electricity rates to rise for Southern California Edison customers
4. Temperatures soar above 100 degrees across Southern California

1. Statistics, Psychology at Santa Monica Airport’s Annual Noise Workshop
2. Pentastar Aviation leaves Van Nuys Airport
3. L.A. Council urges free rent at Van Nuys Airport to save mechanics school
4. Plane Mufflers Could Relieve Santa Monica Airport Noise

1. Camp Kesem Camp For Children Whose Parents Have or Have Had Cancer
2. Village School Holiday Party at Mar Vista Family Center
3. Del Rey NC Saves Summer Camp
4. Camp Kesem Fundraiser March 7th/Save The Date!

1. Casden West L.A. Still Touts Devotion to City’s Mass Transit Movement
2. Groundbreaking Held For $350 Million Village At Santa Monica
3. Blvd6200 Makes It Official: Work started on the huge Pantages-adjacent…
4. First Look at Silver Lake’s 4100 Bar, Bates Motel Replacements

Campus spokesman Phil Hampton said the victim was discovered around 4:20 p.m. at the base of Boelter Hall at the university’s School of Engineering.

Hampton said the unidentified man appeared to have jumped or fallen off the structure, and UCLA police decided “there was no indication of foul play.”

It’s unknown whether the man was a student, a staff member or a visitor.

The investigation is ongoing.

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

WESTWOOD (CBSLA.com) — As a two-day strike began Tuesday at five of the biggest medical centers in the University of California system, medical workers say they are protesting low staffing levels and patient care, while officials contend that the strike is about pensions.

Thousands of union medical workers walked picket lines throughout the state, including at UC Irvine and the Westwood and Santa Monica campuses of UCLA Medical Center. The strike officially began at 4a.m. Tuesday morning.

The strike comes after nearly a year of stalled contract negotiations with UC administrators. Striking workers said they are protesting a range of issues, including patient care and current staffing levels.

“I am here for my patients, I’m really concerned about their safety,” said radiation therapist Jenny Takakura, who administers radiation to cancer patients.

“We’ve had three therapists that have left, and each time they’ve left they have not been replaced,” she said.

UCLA Chief Medical Officer Dr. Tom Rosenthal said there are no issues with patient care.

“UCLA scores in the 99th percentile nationally for hospitals for patient satisfaction,” said Rosenthal.

Ninety-seven percent of union workers voted to strike, according to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299, the union representing healthcare workers. The union represents nearly 13,000 healthcare workers statewide.

“If we are out here today, it means that there is a problem inside that hospital that has got to get fixed,” said AFSCME President Kathryn Lybarger, who says the strike is not about money.

“We won’t stand for the corner cutting anymore.”

“When somebody says its not about money, it’s about money,” said Rosenthal, who said union workers refuse to contribute an extra one percent to their pensions, which they say are underfunded.

“This is about pensions. There are no staffing issues even on the negotiating table,” said Rosenthal.

UCLA says patient care has not been interrupted by the strike, but that the hospital has taken precautionary measures including canceling all non-emergency surgeries and hiring 550 replacement workers in anticipation of the walkout.

Emergency Rooms at all locations remain open and fully staffed.

UC officials estimate the strike is costing a total of $25 million at all locations, with an estimated $5 million needed for UCLA alone.

EL SEGUNDO (CBSLA.com) — A man accused of sexually assaulting and robbing a woman while posing as a police officer was charged Wednesday with multiple felony counts.

Wesley Robert Stepp, 28, pleaded not guilty to second-degree robbery, first-degree burglary with a person present, three counts of sexual battery by restraint, false imprisonment by violence, impersonating a police officer and possession of a billy club.

His bail was set at $145,000.

According to El Segundo police, Stepp used a website Saturday to arrange a meeting with a woman at a South Bay Double Tree hotel.

Stepp allegedly identified himself as an officer conducting a prostitution sting and flashed a realistic badge.

“Once inside the room, he handcuffed and sexually assaulted the victim before taking cash and property and fleeing with a second suspect,” Lt. Jaime Bermudez said.

The 28-year-old was arrested Monday after police caught Stepp trying to use the woman’s credit card on surveillance video.

Meantime, authorities need the public’s help in identifying the other suspect.

This man is wanted in connection to the alleged rape and robbery of a woman at an El Segundo hotel. (credit: El Segundo Police Dept.)

He is described as a black man, 28 to 35 years old, 6 feet 1 inch tall, 170 pounds with a bald head and goatee.

Detectives believe there could be additional victims. Anyone with information should contact El Segundo police Det. Jeff Humphrey at (310) 524-2284.

1. El Segundo restaurant remembers Torrance High grad whose organs helped others survive
2. Empower LA general manager BH Kim looks into City Council race
3. Mike Bonin Wins Resounding Victory in Los Angeles City Council District 11 Primary
4. Former Silver Lake Neighborhood Council Chair Will Run for City Council Seat

1. New Child Molestation Claims Made Against Michael Jackson
2. Michael Jackson’s Secret Santa Monica Studio, Artwork Revealed
3. UCLA Chemistry Professor Ordered to Stand Trial in Death of Lab Assistant
4. Cirque Du Soleil’s Michael Jackson Show Performs In LA On Jan. 27-29

As of 11:30 p.m., with 22.4 percent of precincts reporting, Controller Wendy Greuel had 48.26 percent of the vote compared to Eric Garcetti’s 52 percent.

Half the vote was expected to come from vote-by-mail ballots, as turnout from the polls was less than stellar.

Garcetti thanked his backers at the Hollywood Palladium late Tuesday night.

“The results aren’t all in, but this is shaping up to be a great night. Let me start by saying thank you. Thank you to the thousands of you who volunteered in this campaign. And thank you to the voters of Los Angeles, who tonight, voted for strong independent leadership to lead this city forward,” he said.

Garcetti continued, “All of you out there, watching on TV and up here, have made this possible. We didn’t have the most money, or the biggest named endorsements, but we had something more important. We had a people-powered campaign. We had a commitment with that people power to let the voters of Los Angeles choose the next mayor.”

The councilman gave thanks to his opponent.

“I want to thank Wendy Greuel for her dedication to public service. She has given her professional life to making this city a better place. And I know she’ll continue on that mission,” Garcetti said.

Greuel also addressed a number of her supporters at Exchange LA, a downtown nightclub.

“No one said it was going to be easy or quick, but when you’re playing the championship of Los Angeles politics, sometimes the game goes into overtime. There is no one I’d rather have on my side when the game is close than Magic Johnson,” said Greuel. “The pressure is on until overtime victory is ours.”

Greuel said she knows more ballots will need to be counted.

“We know we’re not going to know tonight, probably we’re not going to know for awhile,” she said.

If elected, Garcetti, 42, would become the city’s first Jewish mayor. Greuel, 51, would be the first woman to have the job.

AGOURA HILLS (CBSLA.com) — Authorities have reason to believe a recent string of burglaries across Southern California may be connected.

The majority of the victims are of Southeastern or Indian descent, and live in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

Investigators say that the burglaries happened in the day-time hours, while the victims were at work.

“The whole experience has been so traumatic,” Sadhana Sharma, one of the victims, said. “Jewels, family heirlooms dating back to four and five generations, all my wedding jewelry..”

Sharma says that the burglars ransacked every drawer of every room, stealing most of the family’s most treasured belongings, partially including 18th century jewelry, antiques, an autographed NFL football, and cash.

Furthermore, Sharma reports that the thieves desecrated her family’s religious books and spiritual items.

It is believed that the thieves entered through the backyard gate and broke in through the kitchen window.

Detectives are looking at other cases that have a similar motive in order to discover a connection.

1. Greuel holds thin lead against Garcetti in early balloting
2. Voters Head to Polls for Historic LA Mayor’s Race
3. Wendy Greuel And Eric Garcetti Headed To Mayoral Runoff, According To New Private Poll
4. Wendy Greuel Edges Eric Garcetti In Fundraising, Has More Cash In Campaign’s Final Two Weeks

For the second time in just three days, an L.A.-area bike rider has been shot an killed by police, this time in Boyle Heights.

According to the L.A. Times, LAPD officers spotted a man described as known gang member carrying a gun while riding his bike near the intersection of South Gless and East 3rd streets. KTLA-5 says the rider, described only as between 18 and 28 years of age, threatened officers with his gun and was fatally shot following a brief foot pursuit.

No other details are available at this time.

1. L.A. Councilman Dennis Zine criticized for $1M sidewalk program before election
2. Major Cash Going Into LA City Elections
3. Candidates for City Controller to Square Off on Tuesday
4. Voters Head to Polls for Historic LA Mayor’s Race

1. Blunt Carmen Trutanich fights to keep city attorney’s job
2. L.A. city attorney battle: Carmen Trutanich and Mike Feuer exchange accusations
3. District Attorney Jackie Lacey endorses Mike Feuer for L.A. City Attorney
4. Councilman-Elect Mike Bonin Endorses Feuer for City Attorney