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Neighborhood watch joins private security to guard graffiti towers in downtown LA

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    LOS ANGELES, California (KCAL, KCBS) — There’s still a long way to go, but one small section of the infamous graffiti towers in downtown Los Angeles is showing glass once again.

“It’s always been this, so I am curious to how it is going to be now,” resident Oscar Meza said.

Crews began cleaning up Oceanwide Plaza on Wednesday, with 24-hour security making sure new graffiti doesn’t hamper the effort. The new owner of the building, KPC Square, said the barbed wire and fencing will still surround the property. A neighborhood watch group also said they’ll help the private security guard the towers.

“As a neighborhood organization, we are going to watch it,” said Debra Shrout, the board chair of the South Park Neighborhood Association.

Shrout’s home overlooks the three towers, giving her a front-row seat to the project’s progress, pauses and tagging. She said for the first time in years, there’s hope for what the development could bring to downtown LA. Shrout said part of bringing that hope back is making sure the property feels like it belongs to the community.

KPC Square said the cleanup should be done in less than 90 days. While the initial cleanup was a test run, the company plans to choose a contractor to finish the work within two weeks.

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Harvard to pay $53 million after morgue manager sold body parts

▶ Watch Video: Former morgue director at Harvard Medical School pleads guilty to trafficking stolen body parts Harvard University has agreed to pay a $53 million settlement after its former morgue manager stole and sold body parts donated for scientific research, with a court reportedly approving the plan on Tuesday. Cedric Lodge, who managed the morgue at the prestigious Harvard Medical School before being fired in 2023, was sentenced to eight years in prison in December after pleading guilty to trafficking stolen remains. Investigators said Lodge and his wife took body parts from the school "without the knowledge or permission of his employer, the donor, or the donor's family" and shipped them to buyers in other states since 2018. Harvard University said in a letter on Monday that it will seek the court's permission to set up "two class action settlement funds totaling $53 million." "We are grateful to be working together with the plaintiffs to move forward in a way that prioritizes support for families and the (organ donation program) and avoids prolonged litigation," read the letter co-signed by Harvard Medical School Dean George Daley and Bernard Chang, dean for medical education. Lodge's violations "were despicable, abhorrent, and a flagrant betrayal of our values as a medical community," they said. "We reaffirm our deep sorrow and empathy for the families of donors who may have been impacted." A judge gave preliminary approval to the settlement plan on Tuesday, the Harvard Crimson reported.Former Harvard Medical School morgue manager Cedric Lodge leaves federal court in New Hampshire, June 14, 2023. Steven Porter/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
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