LAW AND DISORDER

Police officers, with the help of federal marshals, nabbed the
suspected triggerman in the shooting of Frank Tacadena, a
60-year-old grandfather who was murdered while sitting in his car
on West Islay Street on September 13. Luis Gabriel Sosa, 26, of
Lompoc was arrested last Wednesday in St. Louis, Missouri, where he
was allegedly hiding out with family members. Sosa is now in county
jail on suspicion of murder. Sosa, who did not know the victim, is
a suspected member of the same Ventura gang as John Manuel Lopez, a
26-year-old Santa Barbara man who has a history of bad blood with
Tacadena. According to police, Lopez and Sosa were together when
Tacadena was shot; Lopez was arrested the next day and is in police
custody on suspicion of murder.

The Santa Barbara city cop who fired three shots at the
conclusion of a car chase last Friday – hitting a passenger in the
car with two of them – has been placed on paid administrative leave
while the matter undergoes both criminal and administrative
investigations. Enrique Alvarado – a Santa Barbara cop since
2002 – fired his weapon after his demands that the car’s driver
stop trying to free the vehicle from a brick wall went unheeded.
Two of the shots struck the car’s passenger Mike Hernandez, who has
since been treated and released from Cottage Hospital.

Santa Barbara City Attorney Steve Wiley is considering ordinance
language to reform campaign finance at the municipal level. An ad
hoc committee – comprised of Mayor Marty Blum and City
Councilmembers Roger Horton and Brian Barnwell – hopes to bring its
suggestions to the full council in early November for adoption next
year. The committee has shown no enthusiasm for public financing of
campaigns but has entertained the idea of allowing contributions
from individuals only, establishing maximum dollar amounts,
prohibiting contributions through intermediaries, and arranging for
equal time for candidates on public television.

Grocery store conglomerate Ralphs will have to pay some $70
million in restitution fees after a settlement was reached in the
criminal case stemming from their illegal rehire of employees
during the 2004 labor strike. In a scheme that is still under
criminal investigation, Ralphs used fake names and false Social
Security numbers to rehire a number of locked-out employees. The
ruling comes after Ralphs pled guilty to five felony charges in
late June. Twenty million dollars will go toward fines, while the
remaining $50 million will go toward reimbursing the workers’
union.