RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA (CBSLA.com) — An 11-year-old Ladera Ranch girl is doing her part to help her best friend battling cancer. Ashley Bussell said she’s watched Katie Hawley’s family drive their beloved daughter back-and-forth to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles several times a week ever since Katie’s neuroblastoma returned in February. At first, Ashley felt helpless—until she came up with a plan to collect donations for gas money. “I wanted to take some of the stress off their shoulders while they’re going through this battle,” she said. Ashley partnered up with Jeff Jannings, the general ma ..read more

LADERA RANCH (CBSLA.com) — The suspect in an attack on a 12-year-old boy in Ladera Ranch may have been a teenager trying to rob the child, rather than an adult sexual predator. The teenage suspect, who may have been caught on surveillance video, told a boy on the playground of Ladera Ranch Elementary School to take his pants off, possibly in an attempt to rob him, Orange County Sheriff’s investigators said. He’s believed to be the same teenager who robbed a boy in the area two days earlier in a previously unreported crime. “The suspect closely matches the description of the suspect from Sunday ..read more

LADERA RANCH (CBSLA.com) — Investigators are today saying that an attack that happened in Ladera Ranch on Sunday night, in which a man with a knife assaulted two 12-year-old boys who were playing in a park, was not a sex crime, but an attempted robbery. Two young boys were playing in Founder’s Park when the suspect attacked them, dragging one of the boys before ordering him at knife point to take off his pants, leading to the belief that the crime was sexual. “I want to stress it’s not sex-related, and it’s not a kidnapping,” said Jim Amormino of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. “We’re ..read more

Ladera Ranch (CBSLA.com) — Two 12-year old boys were playing in a park next to a school on Sunday night when a man with a knife attacked and attempted to molest and kidnap them. Investigators have been talking with residents near Founder’s Park, where the attack happened around 7:30 p.m. Sunday night, trying to get more details of the incident. Authorities say one of the boys was able to run as the suspect grabbed the other boy and threatened him with a knife as he ordered the boy to undress. “The suspect grabbed the second boy [and] dragged him approximately 15 feet,” Jim Amormino of the Sher ..read more

Ladera Ranch just became home to a brand new interior lifestyles store called E Madison. Created by Courtney Ellis-Dever of Ellis Design Group, the store grew out of not only an overwhelming sense to bring something special to the local community but also to provide a way for people to ease in to decorating their homes. With over 15 years of interior design experience, Courtney began to realize that while some people are ready to make over their entire living space, others – most of us, are looking to take baby steps or have smaller budgets to work with. This store is for us. Everything in the ..read more

LADERA RANCH (CBS) — Authorities have arrested a 45-year-old woman suspected of embezzling at least $45,000 from dentists whose offices she managed in Ladera Ranch. Deborah Lynn Kessler of Canyon Lake in Riverside County was arrested Tuesday and booked on suspicion of forgery and grand theft, Orange County sheriff’s spokesman Jim Amormino said. Kessler is suspected of embezzling money from Todd Engel, who sold one of his Ladera Ranch practices last September, and another dentist who noticed discrepancies in his practice, Amormino said. When Kessler’s new boss confronted her, she stopped s ..read more

(CBS) — The son of Los Angeles Lakers radio color analyst Mychal Thompson, Klay, has been selected 11th in the NBA draft by the Golden St. Warriors. The Washington St. Cougar star played three years in the Pac-10 and has unlimited shooting range. He becomes the first player to be drafted out of Washington St. in the first round since 1980. Klay played his high school basketball at Santa Margarita High School. Thompson joins former Arizona Wildcat Derrick Williams as the only two players from the Pac-10 to be selected in the first 11 picks of the draft. The Pac-10 had just two players ..read more

CALABASAS (CBS) — Parents of children attending schools in the Las Virgenes Unified School District are being asked to ante up as the district faces a multi-million dollar budget shortfall. The LVUSD launched the “Save Our Schools Fund” in February after California cut the top-performing district’s funding by over $3.8 million. LVUSD is now asking parents to donate money in order to avoid the layoffs of 51 teachers. “What we’ve seen over the past three years is that the state just doesn’t have the wherewithal or the commitment to support public education. All we can count on the state right no ..read more

KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — A Ladera Ranch man was arrested and 50 pounds of marijuana was seized after a state trooper searched a car at a gas station just off Interstate 80 in south Kearney. The Nebraska State Patrol says a trooper struck up a conversation with the man at the station on Friday evening. A check of the driver’s identification showed that he had been driving although his license had been suspended. A search of the car yielded the pot and a pound of hashish. The driver was identified as 25-year-old Erik Monan, of Ladera Ranch, Calif. A Buffalo County jail spokeswoman said Monan ..read more

LADERA RANCH (CBSLA) — A Ladera Ranch father wants everyone to know that they are welcome at pride event in the community this week for his son and other LGBTQ+ teens. Keith said the neighborhood homeowner’s association gave the event organizers a permit to hold the Love Pride Parade, but later changed its mind because there would be more than 25 people. (Source: Morgane Sabin) “I think that we’re on the side of right,” the dad, Keith, said. “I think that all we’re doing here is supporting our children and we’re having a fun family event.” Keith said the neighborhood homeowner’s association ..read more