The four-hour onslaught started shortly after midnight and sent firefighters scrambling to douse fires in 21 locations in Hollywood and the neighboring city of West Hollywood. In nearly every case, the fire started in a parked car.

Authorities ruled out any possible link to terrorism while bracing for another round of fires and continuing the search for a suspect.

"We are hoping for the best but anticipating and preparing for the worst," Los Angeles City Fire Chief Brian Cummings said.

Los Angeles officials urged continued public vigilance Friday and offered at least $35,000 in rewards for information leading to the conviction of an arsonist or arsonists.

County supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky says the county is offering a $25,000 reward and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is adding another $10,000 to the reward.

The city council is drafting a motion to add another $25,000 to that sum, but councilman Tom LaBonge urges citizens to come forward with any information they have immediately.

Dozens of people were rousted from their homes, power was disrupted in several neighborhoods and Los Angeles police were put on alert in the Hollywood area. One city firefighter was treated and released from a hospital after a fall from a ladder while battling one blaze. No other injuries were reported.

All of the fires on Friday were in a 2-square-mile area and most were in densely populated residential neighborhoods where residents would likely be asleep.

"This is the most dense part of Los Angeles and West Hollywood. We have 20,000 people per square mile living in this area. One fire out of control could cost dozens of lives," said John Duran, mayor of West Hollywood where four of the fires were set.

"Turn yourself in whoever you are. Stop it, stop it. We will not tolerate this in West Hollywood, in Los Angeles or anywhere in our neighborhoods," Duran said.

Authorities were interviewing witnesses and looking for any video footage that may have captured the person, or people, responsible for the spate of crimes. Investigators from four agencies met for a strategy session, while Los Angeles officials summoned investigators from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa praised the coordination of the agencies, saying they're "working around the clock to investigate these crimes and they're pursuing every single lead."

We will "be preparing for what may be coming tonight," said Los Angeles County fire Battalion Chief Tom Sullivan.

Fire officials couldn't say whether the rash of fires was the work of a copycat. There was a series of other arson fires early Thursday, also in Hollywood. Two people have been arrested and remain in custody for those blazes, officials said.

One of the homes was in Laurel Canyon, where Morrison and his girlfriend once lived, neighbors said. The winding road was the inspiration for the Doors' hit "Love Street," and the house was listed for nearly $1.2 million earlier this year, according to real estate website Zillow.com.

Sandy Gendel, who owns a nearby restaurant, said he heard explosions from what he later determined were likely car tires. He saw flames 30 feet high coming from the deck of the former Morrison house and a gutted Mazda Miata.

"It was just like a towering inferno," Gendel said.

Jeff Dorman, who lives in the neighborhood, said he and his wife were awakened by noise in the street.

As he and his neighbors watched the firefight, he said they worried about embers floating toward their houses because they are so close together. They also were concerned about a firebug being loose in their neighborhood.

"One spark could have been a huge problem," Dorman said. "The fire department did a fantastic job."

City Councilman Tom LaBonge said the arsonist is mostly targeting underground parking in mid-century type apartments that have no security gates and putting some kind of incendiary device under cars.

"These are not trash can fires on street corners. We are just a second away from tragedy," he said.

Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Jaime Moore said car fires spread to adjacent buildings in at least three cases, and investigators were looking for patterns that might link the blazes.

Moore said it is plausible that one person in a car, on a motorcycle or on a bike could have set all the fires, considering the limited area the blazes broke out in.

Hollywood is served by the Los Angeles city police and fire departments. Adjacent West Hollywood is a separately incorporated city served by the Los Angeles County fire and sheriff's departments.

Source:  ap

“For those who will

“The position of the artist is humble; he is essentially a channel.”
Piet Mondrian, Sculptor & Visual

• A California law will add gays and lesbians and people with disabilities to the list of social and ethnic groups whose contributions must be taught in history lessons in public schools. SB48 also bans teaching materials that reflect poorly on gays or particular religions.Opponents have filed five potential initiatives to repeal the requirement outright or let parents remove their children while gays' contributions are being taught.
• Booster car seats will now be required for children up to age eight, or four feet nine inches tall. SB 929 will require some kids who have been out of a car seat for a while to be sent to sit right back in them.The current law was based on age and weight instead of height and required children to be strapped in to a booster seat until age six or 60 pounds.
• Californians will soon be allowed to register to vote in elections via the Internet as a result of SB 397. The county will be able to match the voter’s signature at the polling place with records at the Department of Motor Vehicles.Currently, the signature that is collected at the polling place is only compared to the paper registration signature, with potentially allows for greater voter fraud.
• PG&E is going to be required to install automatic and remote shut-off valves for California’s pipelines. SB 216 was brought about largely because of the San Bruno explosion in September 2010.The pipelines in San Bruno had manual shut-offs which required a technician to be in the area to come turn them off. This resulted in the San Bruno fire to continue for hours, killing a number of people and detroying many homes.
• SB 746 will no longer allow children under age 18 to use ultraviolet tanning beds to get that golden glow.The current law prohibits those under 14 years of age from using tanning beds and requires children ages 14 to 18 to have specified consent from a parent or legal guardian.
• Stores will be banned from selling infant formula or over-the-counter drugs that have lost their nutritional or pharmaceutical value. AB 688 details that any retailer who violates this may be assessed monetary and administrative penalties by an enforcement agency or the State Department of Public Health.The current law punishes such crimes as a misdemeanor.
• The state school curriculum is now required to align with Common Core State Standards, which is mandated to be adopted by the State Board of Education, as stated in AB 250.The curriculum framework would be designed in a way that would increase student creativity, innovation, critical thinking, problem solving, and other essential life skills in the four core areas of English, math, science, and history.
• School districts that have athletic programs are going to be required to withdraw an athlete for the rest of the day who is believed to have a concussion or head injury. Under AB 25, the athlete is obligated to have a written release by a licensed physician to be able to return back to his or her sport.Every year, the parents or legal guardians of all athletes will also have to sign a concussion and head injury information sheet before the athlete participates in an athletic activity. This law does not require the same regulations for physical education.
• Anyone who received three or more DUI’s is going to be subject to having their driver’s license revoked for up to 10 years because of AB 1601. The courts will be authorized to take away an offender’s driver’s license. However, the offender may apply to receive their driver’s license back after five years, if certain conditions are met.Currently, the law only allows the court to invalidate a driver’s license for three years.
• A new law, known as AB 144 will make it a misdemeanor to openly carry an unloaded handgun in a public place, with the exception of authorized security guards and retired peace officers. The law also details that it is a misdemeanor to expose a handgun inside of a motor vehicle in certain public areas.The existing law makes it illegal to carry a concealed handgun, even those that are carried openly in belt holsters.

Source:  KCRA.COM/AP

North Korea carried out a meticulously choreographed funeral for late leader Kim Jong Il on Wednesday and affirmed that the country was now in the "warm care" of his young son, extending the Kim family's hold on power to a third generation.

Footage broadcast on North Korea's state television showed Kim's youngest son and successor Kim Jong Un walking next to his father's hearse as it made its way slowly through cold, snowy Pyongyang. Dressed in a dark overcoat, he bowed his head slightly against the snow, and raised his right arm in salute.

Walking behind was Jang Song Thaek, Kim Jong Il's brother-in-law and a vice chairman of the powerful National Defense Commission who is expected to play a crucial role in helping Kim Jong Un take power.

Tens of thousands of mourners stood in heavy snow as they passed by. Soldiers stood in lines with their heads bowed.

Kim Jong Il, who led the nation with an iron fist following his father Kim Il Sung's death in 1994, died of a heart attack Dec. 17 at age 69, according to state media. Kim Jong Un is already being hailed as the "supreme leader" of the party, state and army.

A private ceremony is believed to have been held earlier Wednesday in the inner sanctum of the Kumsusan Memorial Palace with Kim Jong Un and top military and party officials.

Foreign dignitaries in the city had been asked to gather at a sports stadium shortly before noon to be taken to Kumsusan to see the hearse pass at the start of the funeral procession through Pyongyang, according to a diplomat who asked that her name not be used due to the sensitivity of the details.

The young Kim made his public debut just last year with a promotion to four-star general and an appointment as vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers' Party.

But in the days since his father's death, the campaign to install him as the next leader has been swift, with state media bestowing him with new titles, including "great successor," "supreme leader" and "sagacious leader."