Eric Garcetti Wins Race for L.A. Mayor

Eric Garcetti is thge new mayor-elect of Los Angeles, deffeating Wendy Greuel, the L.A. Times reports:

Garcetti will be the first elected Jewish mayor of the city. At 42, he will also be the youngest in more than a century. He is scheduled to take office July 1.

"Thank you Los Angeles," Garcetti wrote in a Tweet posted at 2:52 a.m. "The hard work begins but I am honored to lead this city for the next four years. Let's make this a great city again."

During early returns Tuesday, Greuel led the mayor's race by a slight margin. But as the night wore on, Garcetti's lead grew. Election tallies from the City Clerk's office posted at 1:38 a.m., with nearly 73% of precincts reporting, showed Greuel had fallen eight points behind Garcetti.

After seeing those numbers—Greuel 46%, Garcetti 54%—she called Garcetti at 1:42 a.m. to concede the race.

Read a profile here of Garcetti's activism in LGBT rights from Frontiers writer Karen Ocamb.

Two Additional Meningitis Deaths Identified in Southern California

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation said yesterday it had identified two previous deaths it attributed to a deadly form of meningitis, NBC Los Angeles reports:

Rjay Spoon, 30, of downtown Los Angeles died on Dec. 16; and an unidentified 30-year-old San Diego State University student who lived in Chula Vista died on Dec. 10.

Casey Hayden, who was Rjay Spoon's partner, said he woke up one night to find Spoon vomiting. Spoon's symptoms puzzled doctors until it was too late, he said.

"We went to the hospital and the first thing they said it was was a drug overdose," Hayden told reporters Tuesday. "Then they said it was extremely advanced HIV, which was not the case. He was negative."

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation told the L.A. Times it gave hundreds of vaccinations on Monday to people who showed up at its facilities:

The organization, which initially ordered about 1,000 doses and plans to acquire more, said it would continue providing the shots as needed.

The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center has provided an FAQ about bacterial meningitis on its site for those of you with questions about the disease and where you can get vaccinated.

Orange County, CA Man Convicted of Murdering Boyfriend

An Orange County man was convicted on Wednesday of murdering his boyfriend, then stealing his money, his car, and other items, the L.A. Times reports:

Prosecutors said that in June 2010, Fuentes had been in a relationship with Pedro Cerecer for about a month, and that by June 5, Fuentes had plotted for several days to kill Cerecer and steal his property. On that day, prosecutors said, Fuentes went to Cerecer's Santa Ana apartment and waited for Cerecer to fall asleep.

Prosecutors said that Fuentes beat Cerecer with a decorative rock, killing him. He took Cerecer's credit cards, cellphone and household electronics, including a flat-screen television. He loaded it into Cerecer's Toyota sedan and fled.

Fuentes faces a minimum of life in prison without parole.

Let's Take an Old School Helicopter Tour of Hollywood: VIDEO

Back when helicopters were basically glass bubbles with lawnmower engines attached to them and Judy Garland and Eddie Fisher were playing the Hollywood Bowl...

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Gay L.A. City Council Candidate Mike Bonin Elected; Other Gay and Mayoral Candidates in Runoff

Gay L.A. City Council candidate Mike Bonin has won his District 11 race, replacing his boss Bill Rosendahl in the seat, the L.A. Weekly reports:

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Bonin earned 17,566 votes or 61.19 percent. Since he grabbed more than 50 percent of the vote in the primary, there will not be a runoff for CD 11, which covers neighborhoods on the Westside.

When Rosendahl announced that he was not running for another four-year term, Bonin quickly jumped into the CD 11 race and grabbed numerous major endorsements from politicians, neighborhood groups, and labor unions.

The paper also reports:

Bonin is one of several gay candidates across Los Angeles who made an impressive showing on Tuesday night. Others include L.A. City Controller candidate Ron Galperin, who will face Dennis Zine in a May runoff, and L.A. Council District 13 candidate Mitch O'Farrell, who heads to a runoff as well. Underdog mayoral candidate Kevin James is also gay.

James and Councilwoman Jan Perry were in a dead heat for third in the mayoral race, which will be a run-off between City Councilman Eric Garcetti and Controller Wendy Greuel:

The top-two finishers in Tuesday’s election will face off in what is expected to be a bruising May 21 runoff. Only 16% of the city's 1.8 million registered voters cast ballots in the election.

Standing on a stage lined with supporters Tuesday evening, Garcetti thanked the those in the crowd for their help and said he’s ready to get to work on winning the runoff election in May. Garcetti held a slim margin over Greuel and a significant lead over the six other candidates in the mayoral race, returns showed.

L.A. Police Chief Turns Down 'Gay Pride' Invite in 1975 Letter, Says He'd Gladly Celebrate 'Gay Conversion Week'

Saw this letter floating around on social media over the weekend. A lot has changed in 38 years. Though not everywhere.

Writes Police Chief E.M. Davis:

As you no doubt expected, I am declining your invitation to participate in the celebration of "GAY PRIDE WEEK." While I support your organization's constitutional right to express your feelings on the subject of homosexuality, I am obviously not in sympathy with your views on the subject. I would much rather celebrate "GAY CONVERSION WEEK" which I will gladly sponsor when the medical practitioners in this country find a way to convert gays to heterosexuals."

(via david mixner)