Happy Holidays (and Count Yourself Lucky)

Not to be the holiday party buzzkill, but a quick glance at the leading local stories in the L.A. Times from the 21st through today is enough to inspire most of us to count our yuletide blessings. Here's a smattering:

Officer kills knife attack suspect
A rookie Los Angeles police officer shot and killed a 27-year-old man early Monday after the man attacked his former roommates with a 6-inch butcher knife, police said.

Man is shot to death in Los Angeles
A man was shot to death on Christmas night outside his apartment in Silver Lake, authorities said.

Hollywood woman, 56, dies in fire
A 56-year-old Hollywood woman was killed Saturday night when she was trapped by flames inside her home after an artificial Christmas tree apparently caught fire, officials said.

3 security guards are shot outside nightclub
Three security guards were shot and seriously wounded outside a nightclub early Saturday, police said.

Girl dies, 2 men injured as car slams into a wall
A girl died and two men were injured Saturday after their car slammed into a wall and tree and burst into flames, authorities said.

Killings of youths tied to L.A. County child protection system soar in 2006
The 79 homicides were more than twice the 37 at-risk children slain in 2005.

Area's homeless can't find shelter
Even the supplemental cold-weather services are filled to capacity on cold and windy nights.

11 taken to hospitals after Blue Line train hits firetruck
About 250 rush-hour commuters were aboard when accident occurred at Washington and Central, a 'notorious bad intersection.'

Suspect held in hate crime slaying of girl, 14
Los Angeles police detectives have arrested a Latino suspect in the killing of a 14-year-old African American girl in what police say was a hate crime.

4 accused of smuggling women for prostitution
Four women from Guatemala have been arrested as part of a scheme in which young women were lured into the U.S. with promises of good jobs and forced to become prostitutes in Los Angeles.

Memorial service puts name, face on year's dead in skid row
The event gives 'these people the honor of saying, your life meant something,' mayor says.

Fiery crash kills 3 teenagers
The youths die early Wednesday after the driver veers off Los Feliz Boulevard and strikes a tree near Griffith Park. Two passengers pulled from the vehicle survive.