An abandoned mansion with scenic views in the Hollywood Hills has turned into a four-story eyesore taken over by taggers and squatters.

Neighbors told NBCLA the house has been vacant for about a decade, but squatters started moving in over a year ago. In the last week, fresh graffiti appeared on the mansion, despite walls and fencing placed around the property designed to keep people out.

Records show John Powers Middleton bought the mansion in 2012. Then in October 2022, after it was declared a nuisance, LA’s Department of Building and Safety said Middleton must build a fence and secure the property.

When he didn’t, the city had to build the fence itself.

Video from NewsChopper4 showed the hillside mansion at 7571 Mulholland Drive covered with graffiti in what City Councilmember Nithya Raman’s office described as a “public safety issue with serious consequences for both neighbors and the surrounding community.” In a statement to NBCLA, Raman’s office said Friday that she has been in contact with the Los Angeles Police Department and the Department of Building and Safety about the residence.

“This owner is in egregious violation of the law and we are elevating the issue with the abandoned buildings unit at the Department of Building and Safety to ensure that the fullest extent of enforcement is being implemented urgently and swiftly,” Raman’s office said in the statement.

An abatement order was previously issued by the building and safety department, but Raman’s office said it was ignored by the property owner. The agency attempted to secure the property with fencing, but that “security measure was breached,” the statement continued.

The four-story, six-bedroom mansion with a large pool is perched on a hillside overlooking Los Angeles with views to the east and south. All levels of the exterior and the roof of the home, building in 2003, appear covered in graffiti. Many of the windows are shattered.

“This is really tragic,” said resident Pat Johnston. “This is a fire hazard for us.”

Los Angeles police said officers have responded to the property four times in the last two days.

The mansion isn’t the only target in the neighborhood for taggers, residents said.

“The guys who come tag, they’re tagging other houses on other properties,” said resident Mateo Herrerros. “I could care less about this house. It’s an abandoned house. The owner doesn’t care about it. I don’t really care about it. It’s just the element it brings.”

NBCLA is attempting to contact the property owner. Public records show property taxes have not been paid for years.

“There was a rumor they were going to tear this house down,” Johnston said. “I’d like that.”

A SpaceX rocket lifted off Friday from the Santa Barbara County coast in an early morning launch through low clouds.

The Falcon 9 rocket launched just before 7 a.m. from Vandenberg Space Force Base northwest of Santa Barbara. The rocket soared through a deep layer of clouds and carried 20 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit.

Liftoff! pic.twitter.com/u4pefHLdda

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 20, 2024

The first stage landed on a droneship at sea.

The rocket and its exhaust plume are sometimes visible for hundreds of miles as it soars along the coast, if skies are clear. Launches just after sunset and before sunrise usually provide the best views as the rocket reflects the sun’s rays against the backdrop of a darkened sky.

The rocket can produce a sonic boom as it soars along the Southern California coast.

SpaceX has a Starlink constellation of satellites orbiting Earth about 340 miles up, shuttled into space by the company’s rockets. The Starlink network is designed to deliver high-speed internet anywhere around the globe.

If light conditions are right, the satellites appear in a train as they parade across the night sky. The satellites are sometimes visible in the first few minutes after sundown and before sunrise when the sun is below the horizon, but the satellites are high enough to reflect direct sunlight.

Use the FindStarlink tracker to find the best upcoming viewing times.

At least 10 people who dined at a Valencia restaurant over the weekend were sickened in a salmonella outbreak, according to the Los Angles County Health Department.

Ava Pulaski, who was visiting Southern California, was one of the customers who fell ill after eating at Madre! restaurant in the northern Los Angeles County community.

“I went online, to leave a bad review, actually, and I saw everyone else’s,” said Pulaski. “I was like, ok, this is a serious issue.”

The restaurant’s owner told NBCLA a customer called him on Wednesday and said they tested positive for salmonella. Chef and owner Ivan Vasquez said he called the health department, which issued a notice of temporary closure due to the health hazard.

“It’s unfortunate that this happened at our restaurant,” Vasquez said. “We’re going to be working really hard with the health department with full transparency.”

A source of the contamination was not immediately identified. The restaurant will remain closed until that happens and sanitization is complete.

Salmonella can be contracted from contaminated food or by coming into contact with people and animals who are sick. Symptoms include gastrointestinal problems.

The health department offered the following tips to prevent its spread.

• Wash your hands after you use the bathroom or change a diaper.
• Wash all fruits and vegetables before eating them.
• Wrap fresh meats, poultry, and seafood in plastic bags at the market to prevent their liquids from dripping on other foods.
• Use a meat thermometer to check the inside temperature of meats to make sure they are fully cooked.
• Immediately wash cutting boards and counters used to prepare raw foods to avoid spreading the germs to other foods.
• Avoid eating raw eggs and foods that contains uncooked eggs (i.e. cookie dough, homemade ice cream, tiramisu, eggnog).
• If you have salmonella, don’t prepare food for others until your diarrhea has stopped.