L.A. County can’t find thousands of probationers

County probation officials say they’ve lost track of almost 2,000 people on probation. The L.A. Daily News reports that the unaccounted offenders have warrants out for their arrests and make up more than 20 percent of those in the county taking part in Governor Jerry Brown’s prison realignment plan. The probation department says law enforcement teams are searching for the missing probationers…Meanwhile, California is getting a little more breathing room when it comes to dealing with prison overcrowding. A federal three-judge panel has given the state an additional month to comply with its order to release or transfer thousands of inmates to reduce the state prison population. The new deadline is at the end of February…A coalition of conservative groups says it’s well on its way to collecting enough signatures for a ballot measure challenging a new state law designed to make life easier for transgender students. The L.A. Times reports the coalition says it has gathered nearly 500,000 signatures, just a few thousand shy of the number needed to get the measure on the ballot next June. The law allows transgender students to play on sports teams and use bathrooms of the gender they identify with, instead of their physical characteristics…LAUSD’s drive to provide every student and teacher with an iPad is going to cost more than first thought. The tablet computers are actually being purchased for about $100 more than was previously disclosed. LAUSD could still buy the devices at the lower price, but first it will have to spend at least $400 million on the tablets…And finally, marine scientists say the fact that two rare oarfish have washed up on Southern California beaches in the last week may not be a coincidence. A U.C. Santa Barbara researcher tells the L.A. Times that the deep-sea dwellers may have been carried by a current from still waters to more turbulent shore areas, where they are not equipped to survive. Scientists hope the discoveries will shed more light on the mysterious, ribbon-like fish. They are sending tissue samples to researchers around the world.