In order to fix its budget deficit, the City of Orange has elected to slash funding for several sectors, including the school crossing guard program. 

The city is responsible for filling the positions, and there were 14 part–time crossing guards at schools across the city – but not all – before the program was cut. 

According to city officials, not having the crossing guards saves Orange around $425,000 a year. 

It’s not just patrols outside schools that have been nixed; Orange has also cut out some annual events to save money, including the city’s annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony.   

Orange Mayor Dan Slater told KTLA’s Chip Yost that they also reduced funding for the library and essentially had a “hiring freeze” and were simply not filling open positions in an attempt to reduce spending. The cuts have saved the city about $5.5 million, which still doesn’t cover the entire $19 million deficit. 

“[The deficit] is not anything new – we’ve had budget deficits going back to about 2010 – but we are finally trying to address that,” Mayor Slater said. “Tough times call for tough measures, and we can’t spend money we don’t have.” 

Budget cuts aren’t the only tactic officials are using to minimize the deficit. City residents will be able to vote on a citywide sales tax increase on the November ballot to raise more revenue. 

Officials also said they are looking for sponsors for events such as the annual Christmas tree lighting so that they can keep community traditions alive. 

Police have issued a warning to residents in West Los Angeles, including the neighborhoods of Bel-Air, Brentwood, Pacific Palisades and Westwood to take extra caution due to a rise in residential burglaries.

Three masked suspects seen on surveillance video attempting to break into a Bel-Air home on Roscomare Road Saturday is the most recent incident where police say thieves targeted an upscale neighborhood.

Investigators believe as many as six suspects armed with tools were involved in the attempted burglary but were scared off by Los Angeles police responding overhead.

The suspects fled the area before officers arrived at the home.

In Brentwood on Friday two male suspects broke into a home in the 300 block of South Bunday around 10:30 p.m.

The suspects did gain entry and got away with items taken from the home.

Another Brentwood home was hit earlier this month as well. On Aug. 15, police responded to a home on San Vicente Boulevard where thieves broke in.

It was unclear if the residents were home at the time of the two Brentwood incidents.

Burglars at another Bel-Air home were chased off shortly after gaining entry on Aug. 8. but it was unclear if any items were taken.

The incidents have prompted the LAPD to issue an alert warning residents about organized crews of usually two to four males taking jewelry, handbags and cash from homes.

The burglars have been known to ransack rooms looking for valuables and often have a getaway car parked outside with someone acting as a lookout, the Santa Monica Mirror reported.

The getaway vehicles are often rentals with dealer plates or stolen plates, according to police.

Burglars may also be using wifi jammers to interrupt the signal or residential security cameras and use handheld radios to communicate, the Mirror reported.

Residents were given several suggestions to increase their home security:

• Install surveillance systems
• Secure sliding glass doors
• Bolt down safes, add GPS trackers
• Join watch programs
• Check for hidden recording devices

Residents were also urged to share information with neighbors and be on the lookout for drones in the neighborhood.

A bear was spotted in San Bernardino County sauntering onto the deck of a cabin where it proceeded to have a something of a “spa day,” video shows.  

The incident occurred on Sunday afternoon at a cabin in Forest Falls.  

Video shows the adolescent bear nonchalantly approaching the deck, giving everything a good once over and immediately directing its attention to the hot tub. 

The jacuzzi cover wasn’t even a little bit of a challenge for the bear, who got low, grabbed it with its mouth and, like a pro, propped it up with its paw before standing up on its hind legs and tossing the cover open.  

According to the cabin owner, the bear spent a little bit of time playing in the jacuzzi, with a particular focus on the floating chlorine device.  

Before long, the bear moved to a small, inflated pool on the deck, testing the water with his paw and tasting one of the pool floats.  

The homeowner tells KTLA that the cool down didn’t last long because the bear’s claws punctured the pool, sending water gushing through deck and onto the ground below, which was apparently too much ruckus for the animal because it took off running into the woods.