Red County, California

From the City of Anaheim:

Please be advised all lanes of the 91 freeway between Imperial Hwy. and Weir Canyon Rd. will be closed on Sunday, Oct. 23 from 12:30 – 7:30 a.m. due to planned work by the City of Anaheim. High voltage power lines that span the freeway are being relocated as underground utilities. The closure is required to remove the overhead lines. The closure includes the 91 Express lanes in both directions.

Changeable Message Signs will be in place to alert motorists of the construction activity and available detours. Dates and times may change due to unforeseen operational factors or inclement weather.

Closure information and recommended detour routes are as follows:

CLOSED: Eastbound SR-91 from Imperial Hwy. to Weir Canyon Rd., all lanes, including 91 Express lanes.

DETOUR: Exit at Imperial Hwy., right at Imperial Hwy., left on Santa Ana Canyon Rd., left on Weir Canyon Rd. to eastbound 91 on-ramp.

CLOSED: Westbound SR-91 from Weir Canyon Rd. to Imperial Hwy., all lanes, including 91 Express lanes.

DETOUR: Exit at Weir Canyon Rd., right at Weir Canyon Rd., left on La Palma Ave., left on Imperial Hwy. to westbound 91 on-ramp

CLOSED: Eastbound and westbound loop on-ramps at Imperial Hwy. to SR-91 will be closed. Changeable Message Signs and detour route signs will be in place.

In addition Caltrans has announced partial lane closures Monday-Friday, Oct. 24-28, due to construction work. Detour signs will be provided.

–From 10 p.m. – 4 a.m. the eastbound SR-91 (lanes #3 and #4) from Imperial Hwy. and Weir Canyon Rd. will be closed.

–From 11:59 p.m. – 4 a.m. Weir Canyon Rd. between northbound Weir Canyon on-ramp to westbound SR-91, and southbound Weir Canyon Rd. on-ramp to eastbound SR-91 will be closed. Either northbound or southbound Weir Canyon Rd. will be closed. Freeway ramps on respective side of Weir Canyon Rd. will also not be accessible.

For more information please call the Caltrans Public Information Line at 949-724-2000, or visit www.dot.ca.gov/dist12/sr91_widening.htm.

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The City of Anaheim has tentatively scheduled the removal of 20 Blue Gum Eucalyptus trees along Santa Ana Canyon Road the week of Oct. 24. The City’s Public Works Tree Maintenance staff, all of whom are certified arborists, along with independent plant pathologists have proactively inspected all Eucalyptus trees, including approximately 100 Blue Gum species, along Santa Ana Canyon Road from Imperial Highway to Fairmont Drive and determined to replace up to 20 trees due to damage from disease. The arborists are currently inspecting all Eucalyptus trees throughout Anaheim to ensure the trees are healthy and growing properly.

During this tree evaluation process, the arborists will also prune any City Eucalyptus tree as needed as a precaution for the upcoming wind and fire season.

Anaheim Public Works maintains more than 1,037 Eucalyptus trees throughout the City, 408 of which are of the Blue Gum species. The replacement trees will be planted within 60 days.

For more information please call Anaheim’s Public Works department, at 714-765-5176.

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From the Los Angeles Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation:

A member of the LulzSec hacking group was arrested this morning for his role in an extensive computer attack against the computer systems of Sony Pictures Entertainment, announced André Birotte Jr., the United States Attorney in Los Angeles; and Steven Martinez, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office.

Cody Kretsinger, 23, of Phoenix, Arizona, was arrested this morning by FBI agents without incident. On September 2, 2011, a federal grand jury returned an indictment filed under seal in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles charging Kretsinger with conspiracy and the unauthorized impairment of a protected computer. The federal indictment was unsealed this morning upon Kretsinger’s arrest.

From approximately May 27, 2011, through June 2, 2011, the computer systems of Sony Pictures Entertainment were compromised by a group known as “LulzSec,” or “Lulz Security,” whose members anonymously claimed responsibility on LulzSec’s website. Kretsinger, also known by the moniker “recursion,” is believed to be a current or former member of LulzSec. The extent of damage caused by the compromise at Sony Pictures is under investigation.

According to the indictment, Kretsinger resided in Tempe, Arizona at the time the alleged criminal activity took place. In order to carry out the attack, Kretsinger allegedly sed a proxy server in an attempt to mask or hide his Internet Protocol (IP) address. The indictment alleges that Kretsinger and other coconspirators obtained confidential information from Sony Pictures’ computer systems using an “SQL injection” attack against its website, a technique commonly used by hackers to exploit vulnerabilities and steal information.

The indictment alleges that Kretsinger and his co-conspirators distributed the stolen information, including by posting the information on LulzSec’s website, and then announced the attack via its Twitter account. The indictment further alleges that, in order to avoid detection by law enforcement, Kretsinger permanently erased the hard drive of the computer he used to conduct the attack on Sony Pictures.

LulzSec is known for its affiliation with the international group of hackers known as “Anonymous.” Anonymous, according to the indictment, is a collective of computer hackers and other individuals located throughout the world that conduct cyber attacks, including the dissemination of confidential information stolen from victims’ computers, against individuals and entities they perceive to be hostile to its interests.

In the recent past, LulzSec has been linked to the hacking or attempted hacking of numerous targets, including various websites that represent governmental or business entities, among others.

Kretsinger will make an initial appearance before a federal magistrate in U.S. District Court in Phoenix today. The government will request that Kretsinger be removed to Los Angeles, the district in which he was charged, to face prosecution. If convicted, Kretsinger faces a statutory maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. This investigation was conducted by the Electronic Crimes Task Force (ECTF) in Los Angeles. The ECTF is comprised of agents and officers from the FBI, United States Secret Service, Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, United States Attorney’s Office, Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, and the California Highway Patrol.

This case is being prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles.

An indictment merely contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at trial.

From the Los Angeles Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation:

A man who operated a Ponzi scheme that targeted members of the Korean American community was sentenced Monday to 78 months in prison, announced André Birotte Jr., the United States Attorney for the Central District of California, and Steven Martinez, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office.

Euirang “Chris” Hwang, 38, received the sentence from United States District Judge James Selna. On December 7, 2010, Hwang pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud charges relative to his role in the investment scheme in which approximately $8.5 million was collected from 65 victims throughout California. In addition, Judge Selna ordered Hwang to pay $7,003,654.00 in restitution.

On March 9, 2010, Hwang, a naturalized United States citizen, and co-defendant, Sang Yi, were arrested by the FBI at a home in Corona. The couple was charged with four counts of wire fraud in an indictment returned in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana on February 3, 2010. Hwang was the founder and chairman of Irvine-based investment firm, Pinupito. Hwang and Yi have been incarcerated since their arrest.

Hwang and Yi promised investors annual returns of up to 45 percent with false representations that Pinupito generated income by buying and developing smaller companies in Korea, then selling them for a large profit. Investors were falsely told that Hwang was a billionaire and that his profitable company had extensive holdings in Korean businesses and real estate. The money collected from investors was not used to finance Pinupito’s operations, but rather was used to pay for, among other things, luxury car leases, personal expenses and returns to existing investors. The defendants marketed Pinupito to members of the Korean-American community, soliciting some investors during meetings held at Korean-language churches.

During the sentencing hearing, victims addressed the court to relate how the scheme has adversely affected their lives and financial situations.

Yi, a South Korean citizen, was the president and secretary of Pinupito, and exercised control over Pinupito’s finances and bank accounts. Yi pleaded guilty in January 2011 to federal wire fraud charges and is scheduled to be sentenced in 2011.

The case against Hwang and Yi is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and is being prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California.

Way, way too much fun:

An English bulldog who loves to surf — and snowboard — and skateboard.

Stick around to the end of the video to see the dog exploit a skateboard park.

(Hat tip: Barry Ritholtz at The Big Picture.)

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