Judge rejects contempt of court for Costa Mesa official

An Orange County Superior Court judge this month refused to hold Costa Mesa Mayor Pro Tem Steve Mensinger in contempt of court for revealing evidence that someone put him under surveillance, court records show. On Dec. 13, Judge David Hoffer denied...

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Calabasas crackdown on old homes has owners crying foul

Calabasas is known for its gated neighborhoods and its wealthy residents — people like Justin Bieber, Tommy Lee and Kourtney Kardashian. But for the last few years, the city's attention has been focused on people living in some of its oldest houses,...

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Resolved: to make a keep-able resolution

If my New Year's resolution holds in 2014, this is the last time I'll wind up staring blankly at my computer screen as my column deadline bears down. I've been thinking about what to write all week, in between shopping, cooking, kicking back and outings...

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Accused prankster pleads not guilty to recording calls to coaches

A man accused of making prank calls to several well-known sports coaches and then illegally recording them pleaded not guilty Monday to one felony count of eavesdropping. Prosecutors have said that Kenneth Edward Tarr, 32, posed as a recruiter for pro...

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Judge will rule on legitimacy of jewel thief Doris Payne's bail money

A Riverside County Superior Court judge is expected to rule this week on whether the money an 83-year-old career jewel thief wants to use to post her jail bond is from a legitimate source. The hearing over Doris Payne's $65,000 bail is scheduled for...

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Federal stance on tribal casinos touches off California fights

SACRAMENTO — Obama administration policies stimulating an expansion of tribal gambling have touched off new battles over proposed tribal casinos in California and elsewhere. Since President Barack Obama took office, the Department of the Interior has...

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Medi-Cal braces for New Year's jolt as Obamacare kicks in

It's one of the next big hurdles for the Obamacare rollout: What will happen when hundreds of thousands of low-income Californians shift from county health plans to the state's huge Medi-Cal system on Jan. 1? Judging from a similar surge in 2011, patients...

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Community pushes for stoplight at intersection where teen was killed

Yaneth Palencia wrote a petition to the city's transportation department in 2005, urging officials to install a traffic signal or stop sign at the crosswalk near Normandie Avenue and 42nd Street in her neighborhood, south of downtown. "We note that...

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Claremont church Nativity scene replaces Jesus with Trayvon Martin

On the lawn of a Claremont church, just like at many churches at this time of year, cutouts of wise men on camelback head toward a makeshift stable, a meager wooden structure where Mary and Joseph have huddled inside. But instead of an infant Jesus...

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Veterinary nonprofit tends to animals in wake of Typhoon Haiyan

As aid workers from around the world descended on the Philippines to help the people hit hardest by Typhoon Haiyan last month, Springer Browne headed toward the devastation for a different reason: the animals. The 31-year-old Newport Beach native made...

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Northern California counties revive an old idea for a breakaway state

YREKA, Calif. — Farmers, ranchers and onetime loggers were among those who packed a church community room here in August to listen to a former state lawmaker convey his vision of a cleaved — and more governable — California. The theme was familiar,...

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Korean War POW finally laid to rest

Sixty-three years after his capture during the Korean War, Army Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Gantt was laid to rest Saturday in an Inglewood cemetery with full military honors in the presence of his widow. Clara Gantt, 94, said she was happy that she had lived...

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L.A. is on track to set dry-weather record

As 2013 draws to a close, it is headed for the record books as the driest year in downtown Los Angeles since 1877, when official measurements began. Only 3.60 inches have fallen at the National Weather Service station at USC since Jan. 1, about half...

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College recruiters give low-income public campuses fewer visits

The Webb Schools, a private high school in Claremont, is a magnet for college recruiters from around the country and the world. This fall, 113 Ivy League and other schools sent representatives to the campus — more than the 106 students in the senior...

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One in four GPS devices on criminals in L.A. County were faulty

One in every four GPS devices used to track serious criminals released in Los Angeles County has proved to be faulty, according to a probation department audit — allowing violent felons to roam undetected for days or, in some cases, weeks. The problems...

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Neighbors criticize proposed Costa Mesa homeless facility

Condominium residents near the site of a proposed homeless recovery complex in Costa Mesa are criticizing the plan, saying that the project has the potential to harm their neighborhood and pose a risk to their children's safety. Earlier this month,...

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Produce inspectors keep farmers markets honest

On a recent Saturday morning, Ed Williams stood off to the side at Santa Monica's downtown farmers market, scrutinizing a bright red mango like a detective trying to solve a mystery. "It looks damaged by hot water treatment, which is only used on imported...

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Newport Beach candidate taking donations in bitcoins

When Newport Beach City Council candidate Michael Glenn thinks of freedom, that includes the freedom to choose how to donate, be it with dollars, pesos or bitcoins. Glenn claims to be the first local politician to accept campaign donations in the...

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Police kill man suspected of setting fire to home, apartment

A man set fire to the apartment shared by his ex-girlfriend and their 2-year-old son early Thursday, authorities said, then set his mother's home ablaze before being killed by Torrance police when they found him with a knife on a middle-school campus....

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Woman, 24, killed in drive-by shooting in South L.A.

Denise Piazza was inside her upstairs apartment when the shots resounded on Christmas Day. There weren't squealing tires or a revving engine like you'd expect to hear after a drive-by shooting, she said, just the five or six loud pops about 5 p.m. Wednesday,...

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Giving thanks to all this Christmas, one cookie at a time

Outside a Subway restaurant in West Hollywood, Michael Hope adjusted his Santa hat, stuffed a festive Christmas bag with cellophane-wrapped cookies and prepared to make his first delivery. "OK, let's see who's working," said Hope, 36, as he walked into...

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Soil contamination could halt plans for new Jordan Downs housing

As if the task of transforming one of the city's most notorious housing projects into a new "urban village" wasn't daunting enough, Los Angeles has run into another hurdle in the redevelopment of Jordan Downs: concerns over contaminated land. City officials...

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