Veteran politician Curren Price Jr. will face-off against first-time political candidate Ana Cubas on May 21 during the general election for the Los Angeles City Council 9th District seat.

Based on unofficial voting results from Tuesday, Price (27.22 percent) and Cubas (23.96 percent) were the top two vote-getters in a field of seven.

Cubas bested veteran politician Mike Davis (who collected 15.69 percent of ballots) as well as David Roberts, a longtime City Hall operative much like herself.

LANCASTER, Calif.—A pursuit that began with an armed bank robbery in Saugus ended in a hail of gunfire today on a Lancaster cul-de-sac, where the suspect brought his SUV to a stop and was fatally shot by deputies after apparently opening fire on them.

After winning what was described as a “razor close” election for California attorney general in 2010, Kamala Devi Harris and her team have been busy tackling issues as wide-ranging as truancy, transnational gangs, Medi-Cal recovery and mortgage fraud in a state so large that she sometimes flies six planes a week to cover it all—from her air-conditioned Sacramento offices to the air-conditioned tunnels in Calexico designed for trafficking guns, drugs and humans under the border.

In February 2012, a joint state-federal settlement was reached with the country’s five largest loan servicers—Ally/GMAC, Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo—to addresses a pattern of unfair and predatory mortgage-servicing practices. The terms of the settlement indicated that as much as $25 billion in relief could be provided to distressed borrowers and direct payments to federal and state governments. While $25 billion is a significant number, the most important number is the amount that will reach your community.

Bank of America is preparing to sell off hundreds of foreclosed homes in bulk as part of its ongoing effort to clear out its inventory of distressed assets.

Citing unnamed industry sources, Reuters reported late Thursday that B of A has put out word to institutional investors that it is accepting bids on up to 500 mostly vacant, single-family homes in California, Georgia, Florida and several other states. B of A inherited at least some of the properties four years ago when it acquired Countrywide Financial, which had been the country’s largest subprime lender.