Today’s News: Communities Feed homeless on Thanksgiving; Cops vow heavy Black Friday presence; Prop. 36 in action

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Happy Thanksgiving. From Skid Row to the San Fernando Valley, thousands of homeless people will get traditional Thanksgiving dinners today. Major League Baseball donated $10,000 to help feed up to 5,000 people at the annual Mozel Sanders Thanksgiving dinner at El Camino College’s Compton Center. The Laugh Factory in Hollywood will hold its 33rd annual free Thanksgiving Dinner, with comic entertainment to boot. L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will give his traditional “Prayer for the City” at the Midnight Mission. Government offices, courts, schools and banks are closed today. Metro buses, trains and subways are running on a Sunday schedule.

Cop shop. Overzealous shoppers beware: the LAPD will be keeping an eye you…After a smattering of Black Friday dustups last year, L.A. police are vowing to be out in force on what’s perhaps the most frenzied shopping day of the year. In addition to placing officers at retail hubs, the LAPD has been visiting stores across the city to discuss crowd control and offer tips about dealing with customers who lose their cool. L.A. Times

Solar deal. The L.A. City Council is boosting the amount of electricity the city gets from solar power – a move that brings L.A. closer to achieving renewable energy targets. The council approved two purchasing agreements, worth a combined $2.4 billion, with solar farms in Nevada and Colorado. State mandates require LADWP to generate 25 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2016 and 33 percent by 2020. AP

Labor rally. About a dozen demonstrators were arrested as a labor union rallied near LAX, disrupting flyers on one of the busiest travel days of the year. Police say about 1,500 people joined the demonstration. It was organized by the Service Employees International Union to protest working conditions at Aviation Safeguards, a company that employs security guards, baggage handlers and other LAX workers. Employees at the company recently voted to oust the union. L.A. Times

Threats followed. “A ticking time bomb.” That’s how a family member of one of the victims describes an elderly man who shot two workers at a Torrance senior facility before taking his own life. The man shot and killed 54-year-old Charlie Vanagher and 53-year-old Maria Leon in the lobby of the Golden West Tower on Tuesday. Vanagher’s daughter says her mother had reported the man’s violent threats to management and took stress-related time off due to his harassment. She accused the facility of failing to intervene. Torrance Daily Breeze

Strike out. A San Diego man who was serving 25 years to life for a burglary conviction is the first person to be released from prison as a result of changes in the state’s Three Strikes law. California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 36 earlier this month. It requires a third strike to be a violent or serious felony. 62-year-old Kenneth Corley served 16 years in prison. He was resentenced to 15 years and released after a judge heard testimony that Corley earned his GED in prison and had no disciplinary problems. AP