Friday, September 30, 2011

2 convicted of racial hate crime in San Fernando Valley shootings

Two gunmen were convicted of a racial hate crime and attempted murder in an unprovoked attack in May 2010 on two African American men in the west San Fernando Valley, the district attorney's office said Friday.

Francisco Vasquez, 34, of Simi Valley, and Anthony Gonzales, 19, of Canoga Park, yelled a racial slur and then opened fire on the black men after a confederate dropped them off in rival gang territory, prosecutors said.

The victims were not gang members; one was struck in the leg and the other was unharmed.

The getaway driver, Ali Fateh, 19, led police on a chase that ended in a crash, killing a fourth gang member, Joel Gomez, who was a passenger in the car. Fateh, a Winnetka resident, was convicted of second-degree murder and evading a police officer causing death, but cleared of the hate crime charge.

All three defendants face multiple life prison terms at their sentencing Nov. 4.

The case, tried before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert Perry, was prosecuted by Deputy Dist. Atty. Daniel Akemon of the hardcore gang division.

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Feds give $37 million to California colleges for science education

Lawyers for hunger-striking inmates want meeting with Gov. Brown

Radical cleric killed by drone was twice arrested with prostitutes in San Diego

-- Gale Holland

School stabbing victim, 17, dies of injuries [Updated]

Three stabbed at South Gate high school

The victim of the lunchtime stabbing at South East High School in South Gate died Friday evening, and another student has been booked on suspicion of murder, authorities said.

The 17-year-old girl, a senior, was stabbed in the side and back, allegedly by her estranged boyfriend. She died of complications during surgery at St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood about 7:45 p.m., said Los Angeles Unified School District Police Chief Steve Zipperman.

“It appears she was his girlfriend and they were going through difficulties,” Zipperman said.

Abraham Lopez, 18, also a senior at the school, is being held without bail, Zipperman said.

The girl was not identified pending notification to her family, he added.

L.A. Unified Supt. John Deasy said counselors and support staff will be available to talk to students, staff and family at the school.

[Updated at 10:40 p.m.: The parking structure at St. Francis Medical Center was briefly evacuated late Friday because of a bomb threat that was connected to the stabbing, said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Benjamin Grubb. Details of the connection were not available, he added.

The sheriff's homicide bureau will be handling the murder investigation, Grubb said. Detectives were at the crime scene Friday night working on the case, he said.

The department's arson and explosives detail handled the bomb threat, he added.]

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Teacher punished students for saying "Bless You" in class

Family finds, rescues man who plunged off cliff six days earlier

Michael Jackson fans from overseas gather at Conrad Murray trial

-- Gale Holland

Photo: A Los Angeles City Fire Department crew is shown on the scene of the stabbing attack Friday at South East High School in South Gate. Credit: KTLA-TV Channel 5

School stabbing victim, 17, dies of injuries

Three stabbed at South Gate high school

The victim of the lunchtime stabbing at South East High School in South Gate died Friday evening, and another student has been booked on suspicion of murder, authorities said.

The 17-year-old girl, a senior, was stabbed in the side and back, allegedly by her estranged boyfriend. She died of complications during surgery at St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood about 7:45 p.m., said Los Angeles Unified School District Police Chief Steve Zipperman.

“It appears she was his girlfriend and they were going through difficulties,” Zipperman said.

Abraham Lopez, 18, also a senior at the school, is being held without bail, Zipperman said.

The girl was not identified pending notification to her family, he added.

L.A. Unified Supt. John Deasy said counselors and support staff will be available to talk to students, staff and family at the school.

ALSO:

Teacher punished students for saying "Bless You" in class

Family finds, rescues man who plunged off cliff six days earlier

Michael Jackson fans from overseas gather at Conrad Murray trial

-- Gale Holland

Photo: A Los Angeles City Fire Department crew on the scene of a stabbing attack Friday at South East High School in South Gate.

Credit: KTLA

The sea runs deep in new biography of John Olguin, longtime director of the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium

Olguin 2
John Olguin taught us to love the ocean.

Indeed, it was Olguin’s job to argue the case for protecting the sea as longtime director of the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro.

The ocean was central to his married life, too. All of their lives, Olguin and his wife, Muriel, slept under the stars -- rain or shine -- on a large bed on the porch of their San Pedro home, and awakened to the barks of sea lions and the calls of gull below.

Olguin, who in 1999 was named Citizen of the Century by the Los Angeles Times, died in January at the age of 89.

The first biography, An Ocean of Inspiration: The John Olguin Story, from Rocky Mountain Books of Surrey, B.C., Canada, casts a warm and intimate eye on his remarkable life. It was co-writtenby three close friends and colleagues: Stefan E. Harzen, chairman and chief executive of The Taras
Oceanographic Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to marine mammal conservation; marine mammal researcher Barbara J. Brunnick;and Mike Schaadt, the current director of the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium.

Their research for this chronicle, which was launched a decade before Olguin died, was driven by great admiration and begins when he was born to an impoverished Mexican family in San Pedro.

"We had access to his archives and photographs," Harzen said. "He was an extremely hard worker, and had a wonderful view of the world in the sense that he tried hard to understand the really important things in life -- and reached out to share what he had learned with others."

Olguin worked as a lifeguard in 1937, at 16, and graduated from San Pedro High School in 1941. He won a Silver Star while in the Army from 1942 to 1945, serving in New Guinea, the Philippines and Japan.

He went on to organize the world’s first commercial whale-watching program for children in 1971 and presided over grunion watches in which thousands of onlookers dashed to the beach fronting the aquarium to witness the reproductive mayhem of the silvery, slender fish riding in on the swells to mate on the sand.

He found the love of his life in Muriel. The couple stayed fit by rowing 24 miles from San Pedro to Santa Catalina Island in a little boat packed with a thermos of coffee, warm clothes, sleeping bags, their little poodle, Pico, and his guitar. They also carried flares and a battery-powered light to row at night.

Their vibrancy, passion and influence come to life in these pages: “The couple ventured out to sea: pulling the oars -- not hard, just steady -- and leaning back to use their own weight to draw through the water. That’s what got them the mileage. As John used to say, “Five miles to a peanut butter sandwich!”

 

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Southwestern pond turtle making a comeback in San Diego County

Agency seeks to end sea otter relocations, to allow them off SoCal

 

-- Louis Sahagun


Photo: John Olguin. Credit: Los Angeles Times

Marines from Camp Pendleton and Twentynine Palms killed in Afghanistan

Two Marines from Southern California bases were killed Wednesday during combat in Afghanistan, the Pentagon announced Friday.

Staff Sgt. Nicholas Sprovtsoff, 28, of Davison, Mich., and Sgt. Christopher Diaz, 27, of Albuquerque, N.M., were killed in Helmand province, long a Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan on the border with Pakistan.

Sprovtsoff was assigned to the 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion at Camp Pendleton. Diaz was assigned to Headquarters Battalion, Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center at Twentynine Palms.

-- Tony Perry in San Diego

 

Southland weather: Scattered showers will clear by Saturday afternoon

Scattered showers to clear

Spotty showers and thunderstorms along the west side of Los Angeles and Long Beach that popped up Friday evening are expected to last through Saturday morning, the National Weather Service said.

The relatively heavy moisture is a remnant of tropical storm Hilary off Mexico's west coast and will be accompanied by relatively warm temperatures: 70s at the beaches and low 80s inland, weather service spokesman Bill Hoffer said. 

Rain also fell in La Crescenta, Hesperia, Hemet and Palm Springs, Hoffer said.

The first cold storm of the season is expected to arrive from the Gulf of Alaska on Wednesday afternoon, bringing a 40% chance of rain and cooler daytime temperatures of the 60s to low 70s, and into the 50s overnight.

The chance of rain drops to 20% by Thursday night, and should give way to partly cloudy skies by Friday.

ALSO: 

Number of homeless in downtown Long Beach drops

Teacher punished students for saying "Bless You" in class

Conrad Murray's heart patient says he felt abandoned by doctor

-- Gale Holland

Photo: Storm clouds from tropical storm Hillary roll ashore and leave a smattering of rain at the Korean Friendship Bell in San Pedro.

Credit: Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times

 

Football player who broke up high school stabbing identified

Three stabbed at South Gate high school

A football player who was stabbed while helping to break up a lunchtime attack on a student at a South Gate high school Friday morning was identified as junior Jorge Garcia.

Garcia, an offensive lineman, was hospitalized and is not expected to play in South East High School's game Friday night against Garfield High, coach Derwin Henderson said.

A witness said Garcia was stabbed in the arm when he jumped in to help a school dean stop an unidentified student from stabbing his girlfriend.

The girl was seriously wounded and remains hospitalized, authorities said. The dean's wounds were not life-threatening.

The boyfriend, who was not injured, was arrested at the scene. The school was on lockdown for two hours.

ALSO:

Teacher punished students for saying "Bless You" in class

Family finds, rescues man who plunged off cliff six days earlier

Michael Jackson fans from overseas gather at Conrad Murray trial

-- Gale Holland

Photo: A Los Angeles City Fire Department crew on the scene of a stabbing attack Friday at South East High School in South Gate. Credit: KTLA

Judge rejects attempt to close California salmon fishery

Salmon
A federal judge Friday killed an effort by a group of Central Valley irrigation districts to stop commercial salmon fishing off the California and Oregon coasts, rejecting claims that the federal government acted improperly when it reopened the season this year.

In one of his final rulings as a U.S. District Court judge, Oliver Wanger summarily dismissed a lawsuit filed by the San Joaquin River Group Authority, which argued that to help low salmon populations recover, there should be no commercial catch.

The irrigation districts were concerned that if Central Valley salmon populations don't rebound, they would be forced to release more water to support salmon migration in the lower San Joaquin River and its tributaries.

Chinook salmon numbers had dropped so much that federal managers in 2008 and 2009 closed the commercial season and permitted only a small catch last year. This year, citing rising numbers, they approved a limited season.

Wanger, who has handled many of the state's most contentious water cases in his two decades as a federal judge, stepped down from the bench Friday to return to private practice.  

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California salmon fishing reopens, but trollers still worry

Removal of 4 Klamath dams would lift salmon count, studies find

Judge orders U.S. to revise salmon safeguards

 --Bettina Boxall

Photo: A salmon fishing boat heads to sea in Half Moon Bay, Calif. Credit: Don Kelsen / Los Angeles Times    

Deasy warns L.A. school board to stay neutral on bidding over campuses

L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy has cautioned school board members to avoid taking sides over who should control 15 new and 22 low-performing campuses next year.

Deasy was responding to complaints that school board member Bennett Kayser is openly backing plans being developed by three groups of district teachers for academies at South Region High School #8, a campus set to open next year in Maywood.

The school board is expected to choose the winning bidders early next year. Under a board policy, new and low-performing schools can be taken over by groups inside the district or those from outside, including charter operators.

“This causes me great concern,” Deasy wrote in a Sept. 30 memo to the seven-member board. “Highly visible board member involvement during the planning and submission process could have a major chilling effect on competing stakeholders at those schools.” He added: “Such activities raise substantial questions with many as to … fairness and impartiality.”

He asked board members to “reserve their public statements.”

 Kayser, whose recent election this year was heavily funded by the teachers union, had written a “to whom it may concern” letter of recommendation for the three plans offering “my full support.”

“I know they will provide an enriching and successful education environment for our students,” he wrote in his Sept. 20 letter, which could be used to attract additional backing for the teacher-led plans.

The subsequent protest came from groups that strongly backed creating the bidding process.

“Board Member Kayser has abdicated his responsibility to be a fair arbiter,” advocates wrote in Sept. 28 letter. They called on Kayser “to immediately recuse himself from voting on … recommendations.”

Signatories to the letter include Families That Can, a parents group closely allied with charter schools; Inner City Struggle, a community group usually allied with school board president Monica Garcia; and Families in Schools, which has helped monitor the bidding for schools and generally sided on policy debates with charter schools rather than the teachers union.

Also signing the letter was Yolie Flores, who preceded Kayser in representing District 5 on the school board. Flores now heads Communities for Teaching Excellence, a nonprofit that is advocating for changes to teacher hiring and evaluations that have been opposed by the local teachers union.

Radical cleric killed by drone was twice arrested with prostitutes in San Diego

Anwar2 
Anwar Awlaki, the American-born cleric and jihadist killed by a U.S.-backed drone strike in Yemen, spent several years in San Diego but was gone before the Sept. 11 attacks.

He once told a reporter that his years in San Diego were "uneventful": a stint as a graduate student at San Diego State, some preaching at a small mosque in La Mesa, and a friendship with two students from Saudi Arabia who were later among the 9/11 hijackers.

What he didn't mention were two arrests and misdemeanor convictions for soliciting prostitutes along the infamous street-walker strip of El Cajon Boulevard.

In August 1996, Awlaki paid a $400 fine and was ordered to attend an AIDS awareness seminar. In April 1997 he paid a $240 fine and was sentenced to community service.

--Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: Anwar Awlaki. Credit: Site Intelligence Group 

 

14 tons of marijuana seized by U.S. Border Patrol

1000 BundlesU..S. border authorities intercepted a tractor-trailer loaded with 14 tons of marijuana destined for the Los Angeles area in what is believed to be one of the largest drug busts ever by the U.S. Border Patrol.

A canine officer doing a routine inspection at the State Highway 86 checkpoint near Salton City detected the load, which was hidden inside large wooden crates. Agents pulled out more than 1,100 bundles of marijuana, worth an estimated $22.6 million. The 35-year-old driver was arrested.

The seizure is the latest in a series of enormous marijuana busts along the California-Mexico border. In November, U.S. authorities in San Diego seized 25 tons of marijuana, and two weeks later an additional 20 tons. Both loads were discovered in warehouses linked to Mexico by tunnels.

Last October, Mexican authorities seized 134 tons of marijuana in Tijuana -- the largest bust in Mexican history. Those drugs were believed to belong to the Sinaloa drug cartel, Mexico’s most powerful organized crime group, authorities said.

The Drug Enforcement Administration declined to comment on the ongoing investigation of Wednesday’s seizure, which was the largest in Imperial County history. 

ALSO: 

Number of homeless in downtown Long Beach drops

Teacher punished students for saying "Bless You" in class

Conrad Murray's heart patient says he felt abandoned by doctor

--Richard Marosi

Photo: An agent inspects marijuana bundles. Credit: U.S. Border Patrol

Lightning strikes ignite brush fires in San Diego County backcountry

Lightning strikes Friday afternoon caused several small brush fires in the backcountry of San Diego County, according to Cal-Fire, which has dispatched firefighters to the blazes to prevent them from spreading.

The fires near the hamlets of Boulevard and Sunshine Summit are threatening structures. Fires also broke out north of the Manzanita Indian Reservation and off Sunset Highway on Mt. Laguna.

The fires began between 2:30 and 4:30 p.m.

--Tony Perry in San Diego 

 

Feds give $37 million to California colleges for science education

Federal grants totalling nearly $37 million and aimed mainly at improving science, engineering and math education have been awarded to 34 California community colleges that serve large numbers of Latino students, California Community Colleges Chancellor Jack Scott announced Friday.

The money can be used to purchase lab equipment, enhance tutoring programs, build new facilities and develop new courses, among other things. 

Among Southern California campuses receiving the awards from the U.S. Departmentof Education: Glendale Community College, Antelope Valley College, Cerritos College, Pasadena City College, Santa Monica College, Los Angeles Mission College, Los Angeles Harbor College, El Camino College and Oxnard College. The grants range from about $840,000 to $1.2 million each.

“This is tremendous news for our system and even better news for those who will directly benefit from these grants,” Scott said in a statement. “The funds will help Hispanic students achieve their educational goals while improving the pool of highly skilled individuals who can strengthen California’s economy and compete globally.”

ALSO: 

Number of homeless in downtown Long Beach drops

Teacher punished students for saying "Bless You" in class

Conrad Murray's heart patient says he felt abandoned by doctor

-- Larry Gordon

Reader photos: Southern California Moments Day 273

Click through for more photos of Southern California Moments.

Star-struck: Tourists gather around musician Larry Poling in Santa Monica in this Sept. 23 photo by Ram Vasudev.

Every day of 2011, we're featuring reader-submitted photos of Southern California Moments. Follow us on Twitter and visit the Southern California Moments homepage for more on this series.

Ex-Beverly Hills schools chief may face more corruption charges

Prosecutors are seeking additional criminal charges against the former superintendent of the Beverly Hills Unified School District.

Jeffrey Hubbard, 54, who now serves as the top official at Newport-Mesa Unified School District in Orange County, faces two felony counts of misappropriation of funds related to his former job, the Daily Pilot reported.

The Los Angeles County district attorney's office plans to take recently acquired evidence to a grand jury in hopes of securing additional charges and possibly joining them with the two felony charges the D.A.'s office already filed.

"We learned of the details that give us a reason to file additional charges fairly late in the game," Deputy Dist. Atty. Max Huntsman said after Hubbard's pretrial hearing Friday.

Huntsman declined to specify what the possible charges would involve, saying only that they would be similar to the counts already filed.

Huntsman said the D.A.'s office received the evidence after Hubbard had already been charged with the first two felonies, and expediting the process with a grand jury allows his counsel to join the cases and save time.

Hubbard's attorney, Sal Ciulla, said in court that if additional charges were brought he would fight them. Hubbard has pleaded not guilty to the other two counts and has said that he would not accept a plea bargain.

The D.A.'s office was unable to present its additional evidence to a grand jury previously because of a scheduling conflict, but plans on making the case for more charges before Hubbard's trial begins, tentatively on Nov. 10, Huntsman said.

The other defendant in the case, Karen Anne Christiansen, to whom Hubbard is accused of making payments without required school board approval, is expected to go to trial the same day.

Hubbard is accused of giving Christiansen an additional $500 for a car allowance and about $20,000 without the approval of the school board for BHUSD, where he worked as a superintendent before joining Newport-Mesa in 2006.

If Hubbard does not go to trial in mid-November, the case will probably begin after the winter holidays. His trial is expected to last seven days or less.

Hubbard took a leave from Newport-Mesa to prepare for the trial but is back on the job this fall. Several members of the school board have stood by him, saying they believe he is innocent.

ALSO:

Teacher punished students for saying "Bless You" in class

Family finds, rescues man who plunged off cliff six days earlier

Michael Jackson fans from overseas gather at Conrad Murray trial

-- Lauren Willaims, Times Community News

Agency overseeing oil, gas exploration gets shakeup

Gulf oil spill 
The Obama administration fulfilled a vow made just after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill to reorganize and revamp the beleaguered agency that oversees the domestic offshore oil and gas exploration and production.

The April 20, 2010, Macondo well blowout killed 11 men and spewed nearly 5 million barrels of oil into the ocean. It also revealed that the Interior Department agency tasked with managing the vast offshore energy sector, the Minerals Management Service, was plagued by conflicts of interest, inadequate resources and weak regulations.

The administration swiftly did away with MMS after the gulf oil disaster to create an interim agency. On Saturday, with the restructuring completed, two new agencies are set to emerge: the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), which would regulate the leasing of offshore blocks for energy development, and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), which would be responsible for the permitting and inspections of offshore oil and gas projects.

A year ago, the Interior Department created an independent unit that collects royalties from the oil and gas production. Michael Bromwich, who oversaw the interim agency that followed MMS, will continue as interim director of BSEE until a permanent director is found.

Several candidates for the directorship have turned away the administration’s overtures because of the political fights they knew they would have to endure, Bromwich said at a meeting with the media Friday.

The Interior Department has come under withering political criticism from congressional Republicans and representatives from the Gulf Coast and Alaska for allegedly moving too slowly to grant drilling permits. Recently, Rep. Jeff Landry (R-La.) compared ocean energy employees in the Interior Department’s New Orleans office to the Gestapo because they could not meet with him on an unannounced visit.

Tommy Beaudreau was named as the director of BOEM. An Alaskan whose father worked in the state’s oil industry, Beaudreau was a partner with Bromwich at a Washington law firm before going with him to MMS shortly after the well blowout. Industry officials and environmentalists have said Beaudreau was the architect behind many of the sweeping changes to the old agency.

The agencies are certain to be buffeted by proponents and opponents alike of offshore oil and gas development. Next week, the Republican-led House Natural Resources Committee, an ardent critic of the Obama administration’s offshore policies, is scheduled to hold a hearing on a federal report that investigates the causes of the blowout and rig explosion.

Earlier this week, environmentalists filed a lawsuit to block the Interior Department’s conditional approval of Royal Dutch Shell’s plan to drill in the Beaufort Sea off Alaska.

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Death toll from listeria-tainted canteloupes rises to 15 

Decision postponed, again, on Yellowstone snowmobile rule

-- Neela Banerjee in Washington

File: Boats skim oil and then ignite oil collected on the surface of the water as crews work in July 2010 to clean up the massive oil spill into the Gulf of Mexico. Credit: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times

Tanker truck struck by freight train in South Gate

A tanker truck carrying up to 100 gallons of oil was hit Friday by a freight train in South Gate.

The truck driver suffered minor injuries in the 11:52 a.m. accident near Nardine Street and Salt Lake Avenue, said Matt Levesque, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

A hazardous materials team was on the scene to clean up what was described as nontoxic vegetable oil on the Union Pacific train.

Some of the material made its way into a nearby storm drain, but fire officials said they blocked the drains to prevent any more from getting through.

It was unclear what caused the accident. 

The truck driver was taken to a hospital with minor injuries, Levesque said.

Union Pacific spokesman Aaron Hunt said it appeared the truck driver tried to beat the train over the tracks when the train struck the vehicle.

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Student describes chaos at scene of school stabbing

Conrad Murray lied about drugs, paramedic testifies

Man who drove off cliff ate bugs, leaves for 6 days, doctor says

-- Ruben Vives

Long Beach names first female deputy police chief

Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell and Deputy Chief Laura FarinellaA 21-year veteran of the Long Beach Police Department made history Thursday evening when she was promoted to become the department's first female deputy chief. 

Laura Farinella, along with five other police employees, was appointed to her new post during a ceremony at the Long Beach City Council chambers, according to a department statement. 

Farinella began her career in Long Beach as a patrol officer in 1990 and was promoted to corporal, sergeant and then lieutenant.

She supervised the North Patrol Division, then the Communications Division before rising to commander, according to the statement.   

Farinella holds a bachelor's degree in communications from Chapman University and a master's degree from Cal State Long Beach University. She is a 2004 graduate of the Leadership Long Beach Program.

Farinella currently serves as liaison for the Chief's Gay & Lesbian Advisory Group.

She is a member of the Command Officers Assn., the National Assn. of Women in Law Enforcement and the Long Beach Police Officers Assn., among other groups.

ALSO: 

Number of homeless in downtown Long Beach drops

Teacher punished students for saying "Bless You" in class

Conrad Murray's heart patient says he felt abandoned by doctor

-- Ruben Vives
Twitter.com/latvives

Photo: Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell and newly sworn Deputy Chief Laura Farinella. Credit: Long Beach Police Department

Carlsbad schools briefly locked down after email threat

Brendan O'Rourke
Schools in the northern San Diego County city of Carlsbad were briefly locked down Friday after officials received an email threat of violence at one of the schools.

The threat was quickly investigated and found to not be credible.

The lockdown was in place from 11:12 a.m. to 11:45 a.m., officials said.

Kelly Elementary School, where a man jumped a fence last year and began firing a gun randomly before being tackled by construction workers, is part of the Carlsbad school district. Suspect Brendan O'Rourke faces charges in the shooting, which wounded two girls.

ALSO:

Student describes chaos at scene of school stabbing

Conrad Murray lied about drugs, paramedic testifies

Man who drove off cliff ate bugs, leaves for 6 days, doctor says

-- Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: Brendan O'Rourke in court last October. Credit: Charlie Neuman / San Diego Union-Tribune

Are Barefoot Shoes Really Better?

Barefoot running may be trendy, but for scores of runners who train on urban streets or rocky trails, running without foot cover isn’t an option. As a result, many runners have switched to minimalist sports shoes that add a thin layer of protection without detracting from the feeling of running barefoot.

But do minimalist running shoes really reduce wear and tear on a runner’s body?

The American Council on Exercise, a nonprofit group that reports on fitness, recently sponsored a small study to learn more about the popular footwear. Researchers from the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, asked 16 women, all healthy recreational joggers ages 19 to 25, to spend two weeks getting used to running in the Vibram FiveFingers, a snug, glovelike shoe that weighs less than five ounces. The women were advised to use the shoes, the best-selling brand of barefoot sports shoes, three times a week for up to 20 minutes a day.

The women then returned to the lab, where researchers analyzed their form, foot-strike patterns and the force at which they hit the ground under three different running conditions — with regular running shoes, barefoot and while wearing the Vibram FiveFingers.

The researchers found that half of the women who switched to barefoot running or minimalist sports shoes failed to adjust their form, resulting in more wear and tear on their bodies, not less.

The study showed that when the women were wearing traditional running shoes, they all used a rear-foot strike, meaning they landed predominantly on their heels. But when the women switched to barefoot running or the Vibram FiveFingers, only half of them adjusted their form, as recommended, to a forefoot strike pattern, which entails landing mainly on the ball of the foot. The other half of the women kept the same form whether running barefoot, in Vibrams or in their cushy running shoes — landing first on their heels as they propelled themselves along.

Women who used the correct form experienced lower-impact forces on the foot while running barefoot or in Vibrams. But among the women who didn’t change their form and continued to land on their heels, the impact forces created by barefoot and Vibram running were nearly twice as high as in regular athletic shoes.

“People who run, they’ve run in shoes for so long, landing on their heels, that some of them are going to continue to do that,” said John P. Porcari, professor of exercise and sports science. “When you land on your feet, the force gets transmitted up the kinetic chain — to feet, to ankles, to knees, to hips, to back. That’s why runners can have injuries from their toenails to their belly button.”

Cedric Bryant, the chief science officer for the American Council on Exercise, said the study shows how important it is for new barefoot and Vibram runners to pay attention to form and slowly transition out of traditional shoes.

“Take the slow and steady approach,” he said. “Rather than going out and trying to run your typical distances at your typical speeds, give yourself ample time to adapt and adjust to this new style.”

The council recommends that runners who want to switch to barefoot or minimalist shoes begin with brisk walking. Once they start running, new barefoot and Vibram runners need to shorten their stride and focus on landing on the forefoot as opposed to the heel. Someone who has been running four or five times a week should try the minimalist shoes for only a portion of one of their runs until they adjust to the change, Dr. Bryant said.

“The key thing our study seems to suggest is that it’s really important you take some time to really adjust your running form or running style,” said Dr. Bryant.

In addition, the study found that all the runners bent less at the knee while running barefoot or in Vibrams, a change in form associated with fewer injuries. However, compared with barefoot runners, shod runners and those in Vibrams showed more pronation, which is the natural side-to-side movement of the foot during running. Excessive pronation is associated with more injuries.

While the research shows that runners who are able to change their form may benefit from going barefoot or wearing Vibrams, longtime runners who are doing fine may think twice about making the switch.

“If you’re not injured, I wouldn’t change anything,” said Dr. Porcari. “If you’re constantly getting injured, you may want to try these things. Maybe, biomechanically, shoes just aren’t for you.”

Man who drove off cliff ate bugs, leaves for 6 days, doctor says

Man plunges from cliff
A doctor who treated a 67-year-old Lake Hughes man who survived for six days on bugs and leaves after his car plunged off a cliff said the man was "quite scared but also quite hopeful" during the ordeal.

David LaVau could hear cars passing on the road above the deep ravine where he was stuck with a dislocated shoulder and a fractured back, he told the nurses at the hospital after he was rescued Thursday night.

“As he was down there eating bumblebees and ants and leaves, he could visualize the cars passing by above and hear them,” said Dr. Garrett Sutter, who was working in the emergency room at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia when LaVau was airlifted in.

LaVau remained in his car overnight after the Sept. 23 crash and the next day crawled out, only to see a dead man in another car that had apparently plunged over the cliff before him, said CHP officials, who had no additional information on that crash.

"It's astonishing he did as well as he did," Sutter said Friday in a news conference at the hospital. "When I heard the details of his story, I was shocked to see how well he was doing. He took quite a plunge off that cliff."

Relatives formed a search-and-rescue effort and found his car car Thursday evening off Lake Hughes Road north of Castaic.

Conrad Murray lied about drugs, paramedic says

Paramedic
A paramedic who responded to Michael Jackson's home the day of his death echoed a series of prosecution witnesses in his testimony Friday, describing Dr. Conrad Murray as "frantic" in the moments after the singer had stopped breathing.

Richard Senneff, one of several paramedics who attempted in vain to revive an unresponsive Jackson, testified that Murray told him the singer had no underlying medical condition, and that he had given him only the mild sedative Lorazepam for sleep. The doctor said he was treating Jackson only for dehydration and exhaustion, Senneff recalled.

Watch live: Full coverage of Conrad Murray's trial

At no time did Murray mention propofol, the surgical anesthetic that led to his death.

"Simply, that did not add up for me," Senneff said. The doctor in the house, the IV pole, and the IV connected to Jackson did not match up with what the physician was telling him, he testified.

Senneff said he arrived believing they had a good chance of reviving Jackson, given Murray's representation that the patient had "just" lost consciousness when the 911 call was made. Yet by all indications -- his cold skin, dry eyes and dilated pupils -- Jackson appeared already dead, the paramedic recalled.

Even as paramedics and emergency hospital personnel got ready to declare the star dead, Murray insisted he felt a pulse in Jackson's right thigh, Senneff said.

RELATED:

Jackson chef: Conrad Murray never asked me to call 911

Conrad Murray’s heart patient says he felt abandoned by doctor

Conrad Murray case: Cheaper monitor may have meant 'life or death'

-- Victoria Kim and Harriet Ryan at Los Angeles County Superior Court

Photo: Paramedic Richard Senneff testifies Friday at Dr. Conrad Murray's manslaughter trial in downtown Los Angeles.   Credit: Al Seib / Los Angeles Times

Newport Beach Library adds Kindle e-books to digital shelves

Kindle users can check ebooks out of Newport Beach Library
Newport Beach Kindle users can now borrow about 1,000 different titles from the library from the comfort of their homes.

The Newport Beach Public Library last week added Amazon Kindle-compatible e-books to its digital shelves, the Daily Pilot reported.

Patrons can now download books straight to their Kindle, or any mobile device running the Kindle app, for up to two weeks, said Genesis Hansen, library reference and Web services coordinator.

After the time period, which the user can select, the books become unreadable, she said.

"There's no late fees," she said. "It's great."

The option comes just in time for the announcement of Amazon's newest product -- the Kindle Fire, a full-color tablet that lets users not just read books, but browse the Web, stream movies and TV shows and play games.

The addition to the library's e-books selection is in response to growing demand, Hansen said.

The library has offered other e-books -- compatible with other readers, computers, MP3 players, smart phones, iPods and iPads -- for years, and Hansen said she has seen interest grow.

"They're very popular, and their use has been going up and up every year," she said.

Hansen said many in the community already have Kindles and that she expects to see Kindle-compatible e-books increase use of the e-readers.

The library's Kindle-compatible e-book selection is also growing, as more money is being put toward it, Hansen said.

The library partners with the Southern California Digital Library to pool money to buy more titles and share the access, she said.

ALSO:

Teacher punished students for saying "Bless You" in class

Family finds, rescues man who plunged off cliff six days earlier

Michael Jackson fans from overseas gather at Conrad Murray trial

-- Britney Barnes, Times Community News

Photo: Newport Beach Public Library patrons can use their Kindles to download e-books from the digital shelves. Credit: Shannon Stapleton / Reuters

 

Conrad Murray’s heart patient says he felt abandoned by doctor

Conrad Murray supporters
A former patient of Michael Jackson's doctor testified that he felt desperate, frustrated and abandoned when Dr. Conrad Murray failed to keep crucial appointments about his heart around the time of the pop star's death in June 2009.

Robert Russell, who had received two operations from Murray between March and June of that year following a heart attack, said he felt he was "at the end of the rope" after the physician canceled two important appointments about treatments for his heart.

"I was dismayed, flabbergasted; I felt left out, I felt abandoned," Russell testified Friday.

Watch live: Full coverage of Conrad Murray's trial

Russell, who was a commission salesman when he was treated by Murray in Las Vegas, said he had initially been happy with Murray's care and felt he owed the doctor his life. He said that when Murray told him he would be leaving the country to care for one patient, and later mentioned that the patient was Michael Jackson, he was happy for the doctor. Later, he said, that turned into frustration and a feeling of abandonment, he said.

"I kind of felt second fiddle," he said. "But this was about my life."

Under cross-examination by Murray's attorney, Russell said the doctor gave him personal attention and took the time to talk to him and counsel him about exercise and eating, and that the procedures he received from the cardiologist had held up well.

"Your prognosis is pretty good considering you had a heart attack?" Attorney Ed Chernoff asked.

"Yes, sir," he responded.

RELATED:

Jackson chef: Conrad Murray never asked me to call 911

Michael Jackson fans from overseas gather at Conrad Murray trial

Conrad Murray case: Cheaper monitor may have meant 'life or death'

-- Victoria Kim and Harriet Ryan in Los Angeles County Superior Court

Photo: A supporter of Dr. Conrad Murray stands outside the courthouse this week. Credit: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times

Crime alerts for Sunland, Eagle Rock and 10 other L.A. neighborhoods

Crime reports are up significantly for the latest week in 12 L.A. neighborhoods, according to an analysis of LAPD data by the Los Angeles Times’ Crime L.A. database.

Eight neighborhoods reported a significant increase in violent crime. Sunland (A) was the most unusual, recording three reports compared with a weekly average of 0.5 over the last three months.

Eagle Rock (I) topped the list of five neighborhoods with property crime alerts. It recorded 19 property crimes compared with its weekly average of 8.8 over the last three months.

One neighborhood triggered alerts for both violent and property crime.

Alerts are based on an analysis of crime reports for Sept. 21–Sept. 27, the most recent seven days for which data are available.

Ben Welsh, Thomas Suh Lauder

Rain possible over the weekend, with mild temperatures

Los Angeles could get a little rain over the weekend, but it probably won't affect anyone's day plans, according to the National Weather Service.

Clouds will start rolling in Friday night, with a 20% chance of showers and thunderstorms to follow overnight, the weather service said.

"Really, nothing until after midnight," said NWS weather specialist Bonnie Bartling.

Showers could roll into Saturday morning, with high temperatures expected to hit the 70s in coastal areas and the 80s inland Saturday and Sunday afternoon.

Bartling said because temperatures don't appear to be dropping much during the forecast period, Angelenos should be prepared for a slight increase in humidity.

ALSO:

Teacher punished students for saying "Bless You" in class

Family finds, rescues man who plunged off cliff six days earlier

Michael Jackson fans from overseas gather at Conrad Murray trial

-- Matt Stevens

Family finds, rescues man who plunged off cliff six days earlier

Lake Hughes man survives plunge down mountain
The family of a 67-year-old Lake Hughes man celebrated his return Friday after he plunged off the side of a mountain while driving through the Angeles National Forest, then survived for six days eating bugs and leaves and drinking creek water.

Relatives told KTLA they formed a search-and-rescue effort and found David LaVau's car Thursday evening off Lake Hughes Road north of Castaic. They alerted the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

"I hugged him, and we both cried," Sean LaVau told the TV station.

The family was able to access David LaVau's cellphone and credit card records, which showed no activity since Friday. Based on that, family members said, they narrowed their search to Lake Hughes Road.

They spotted the car and Sean LaVau said he slid down the mountain in a frantic effort to reach his father.

"We got credit cards, we got cellphone [records], we broke into his Facebook," Sean LaVau said. He said his 12-year-old daughter was able to break into her grandfather's cellphone and listen to voice-mail messages.

LaVau was airlifted in a helicopter to a hospital. His family said he sustained a broken collarbone and bruises.

There were reports Thursday night that another person was in the car with LaVau, but no details were immediately available. There were also reports that another car, possibly with the body of a man inside, had plunged off the cliff before LaVau's, but it was not clear how it ended up there.

The incident was being investigated by the California Highway Patrol.

 











ALSO:

Teacher punished students for saying "Bless You" in class

Michael Jackson fans from overseas gather at Conrad Murray trial

Ex-model who ate husband's body parts claimed to be battered wife

-- Esmeralda Bermudez and KTLA News

Photo: Car crash survivor being taken to a hospital. Credit: KTLA-TV

Cooking With Yogurt

At my house, yogurt is a snack food, a dessert or something to be mixed in a smoothie. But as Martha Rose Shulman explains in this week’s Recipes for Health, yogurt can add flavor and texture to a number of savory dishes. She writes:

In countries where yogurt is part of the culinary landscape, it’s used in many savory dishes. I love the way it contrasts with spicy foods in India and is served, spiked with pungent garlic, as a cool topping with many hot dishes in Turkey and the Middle East.

To thicken yogurt, simply put it into a cheesecloth-lined strainer set over a bowl and refrigerate for several hours. Or buy already thick Greek yogurt or lebna in Middle Eastern markets. But whatever you do, buy organic yogurt that has only two ingredients on the label: milk and live active cultures. I used plain low-fat (not nonfat) yogurt in this week’s recipes; full-fat yogurt will work too, but nonfat is too watery and often quite sour.

Here are five new ways to cook with yogurt.

Turkish Hummus With Yogurt: This dish is much like the familiar Middle Eastern chickpea purée, but instead of tahini, the chickpeas are blended with yogurt.

Grilled Albacore With Yogurt-Dill Sauce on a Bed of Arugula: Based on a recipe for red mullet from “Classic Turkish Cooking” by Ghillie Basan.

Mache Salad With Yogurt Dressing: The mild, subtle mâche, also known as lamb’s lettuce, contrasts nicely with the sharp, pungent garlic-spiked yogurt.

Summer Squash, Tahini and Yogurt Dip: From Paula Wolfert’s book “The Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean,” a simple combination of cooked squash, drained yogurt, garlic and tahini that proves you can make yogurt dips with just about any vegetable.

Eggplant, Bulgur and Tomato Casserole with Yogurt Topping: A vegetarian moussaka, with bulgur standing in for meat.

Alleged flasher arrested in South L.A. park

A Cudahy man has been arrested for allegedly exposing himself to a young woman doing community service work at Col. Leon Washington Park in the Florence district.

Pablo Posas Reyes, 19, was arrested by L.A. County sheriff’s parks bureau deputies Wednesday morning, according to a  department report.

Posas Reyes drove to the park and struck up a conversation with the 19-year-old woman, police said.

As she spoke with him, she noticed he was exposed and fondling himself.

She ended the conversation and called sheriff’s deputies, who arrested him.

ALSO:

Glendale police shoot and kill gunman

Man in mountain car crash survived 6 days on leaves and bugs

Conrad Murray trial: Paramedics expected to describe chaos, evasion

 -- Sam Quinones

twitter.com/samquinones7

Glendale police shoot and kill gunman

Glendale police shooting
Two Glendale police officers killed an armed man early Friday after he was reportedly walking the streets firing a pistol, authorities said.

No officers were hurt in the shootout, although a patrol car was struck by a bullet, said Sgt. Tom Lorenz, a spokesman for the Glendale Police Department.

The gunman had not been identified early Friday, he said.

The incident will leave sections of San Fernando Road and Glendale Avenue closed for much of the morning as the investigation proceeds, Lorenz said.

The incident began at 2:30 a.m. with a call of shots fired near the intersection of Brand Boulevard and San Fernando Road.

Conrad Murray trial: Paramedics expected to describe chaos, evasion

Conrad Murray

Prosecutors in the trial of Michael Jackson's doctor are expected to call to the stand Friday paramedics who have testified that they arrived at the singer's Holmby Hills mansion to find Jackson lifeless and his doctor evasive about what had happened to his patient.

The paramedics responded to the home after the chaotic moments described by Jackson's security personnel. They said Dr. Conrad Murray performed inadequate CPR and gathered medical evidence before ordering them to call 911.

Full coverage of Conrad Murray's trial

At a hearing earlier this year, veteran paramedic Richard Senneff testified that by the time he arrived, Jackson looked like "a hospice patient" and appeared to have been dead for at least 20 minutes.

Could EU border harmonisation bring rabies back into the UK?


This stray dog from Bali has a red collar, indicating that he has been vaccinated against rabies (Photo: Getty)


Wednesday was World Rabies Day, not that you’d have known it from the complete lack of coverage in the British media. Although rabies still kills 55,000 people a year, it’s one of those “foreign” illnesses that doesn’t seem relevant to UK residents. The United Kingdom has been rabies free for over a century: the last case of classical rabies acquired in this country was in 1902. The occasional cases occurring since then have all been in humans who’ve been abroad, usually through dog bites.


The global difficulty in controlling rabies relates to the fact that animals are infectious for a period before they start to show signs, so that they can spread the disease when they still look utterly normal. It’s only as the disease advances that the animals show obvious signs of being unwell. If apparently normal dogs spread the disease, how can it be stopped?


This is a major public health concern in many countries. Six people have died of rabies in Shanghai so far this year. Two thousand humans die of rabies every year in Bangladesh; twenty thousand die annually in India. Can you imagine the panic in this country if even a fraction of these statistics were to be replicated here?


Traditionally, governments have attempted to control rabies by kneejerk reactions in the face of outbreaks, sending out death squads to shoot or poison all dogs in an area. Around twenty million dogs are killed every year in this way, yet still, rabies continues to thrive.


The World Society for the Protection of Animals is promoting an alternative global approach: mass vaccination of dogs in countries where rabies is endemic. Vaccinated dogs are given a red collar, so that they can easily be identified as “safe” animals. Last year, WSPA funded Bali’s first island-wide mass vaccination programme, including 210,000 dogs. In the first six months, the project saw a decrease of over 45 per cent in cases of canine rabies, and a reduction of 48 per cent in rabies related human deaths in comparison to the same period in the previous year. WSPA is now working with several governments across the world to implement similar models.


What about the situation in the UK? The UK’s rabies free status has been maintained for most of the past century by a strict policy of quarantining all imported dogs and cats for six months. In the past decade, this has been relaxed, in response to a double pressure, first to ease European border controls and second, to make it easier for owners to travel internationally with their pets.


Pet passports have been issued to dogs and cats that have been microchipped for identification, vaccinated against rabies, then blood tested to ensure that they have responded adequately to vaccination. A six months delay had to pass after this blood test, before import, to allow for that tiny proportion of animals that could be incubating the disease at the time of their vaccine. This system has run for a decade and has been widely judged to be safe and effective.


But the UK border controls to European countries will be eased further from the start of 2012: the post-vaccine blood test and six month delay will no longer be needed. This has been welcomed in some quarters (it makes travel to Europe easier and cheaper for British dog owners) but others have expressed concern. The barrier to rabies entering the UK will be lowered further.


If rabies ever does reach these shores again, how effectively will our government veterinary services (currently being “rationalised”) be able to respond to the crisis? If rabies enters the British wildlife ecosystem, will it ever be possible to eradicate it? Or will we need to take the approach taken by most other European countries and North America: compulsory vaccination of all pets against rabies?


Perhaps one day those WSPA red collars will become a common sight on British streets too.



Fort Bragg murder suspect, deputies exchange gunfire but he eludes capture

Tom Allman news conference

Mendocino County Sheriff Thomas Allman said in a Thursday evening news conference that Fort Bragg double-murder suspect Aaron Bassler fired on three law enforcement officers as they searched the thickly wooded hills about 14 miles east of this coastal community earlier in the day.

The deputies fired about 10 shots in self-defense, he said. They were not injured. Allman did not know how many shots Bassler fired, or if he had been wounded in the exchange.

Allman added that the searchers had seen Bassler but had not had voice contact with him. They believe they have him contained in a roughly six-square-mile area.

“We believe that we have really and truly encircled him in a way that tomorrow will bring resolution,” the sheriff said. “Through the tactics and through the intelligence gathering we’re to the point of having an understanding that we’re close to resolution. But I’ve said that for 34 days.”

Bassler, 35, has been charged in the Aug. 27 shooting death of Fort Bragg City Councilman Jere Melo, a former mayor and private timber company security contractor; and the Aug. 11 killing of Mendocino Land Trust land manager and conservationist Matthew Coleman.

The search has pulled in support from the U.S. Marshals Service and a host of state agencies. On Friday, more reinforcements will arrive, including K-9 search teams from the Orange County Sheriff's Department. The three men Bassler fired on Thursday are Alameda County deputies -- part of a team of about 40 searchers who have been rotating through the continuous search.

Allman said Bassler is in an area near Northspur but declined to offer more details. He called on residents to "stay out of the forest."

"We’re asking them to be aware of their own safety," he said. "We’re asking them to use their brain on this one and let law enforcement do their job." If authorities get any indication that Bassler has left that six-mile area and is heading east toward the town of Brooktrails, Allman said he would “activate reverse 911” to warn residents. But for now, there is no indication that the suspect is moving that way.

The killings and subsequent search have placed the tourist-friendly area on edge. The historic Skunk Train, which runs past the location of Melo's killing, was temporary closed down. Law enforcement have been riding it since it reopened.

Allman said Thursday that any decision to shut down would be up to the train operator. "We are not closing it down," he said.

Aaron Bassler Fingerprint evidence and a photograph from an automatic camera indicate that Bassler has been breaking into vacation cabins in the area. One resident reported two weapons missing, adding to a cache that Bassler is believed to have amassed.

While searchers have left notes for Bassler asking him to surrender peacefully, until the incident Thursday afternoon they have not had contact with him since a search dog grappled with him near his mother's house on Sept. 4, returning with his backpack.

Allman said the density of the forest is complicating the search, because infrared technology cannot penetrate the foliage from the air. But he said the search will continue overnight.

Bassler’s father, Jim Bassler, has said his son suffered from paranoia and delusions and was fixated on aliens and Chinese red stars. He had been ordered into counseling in 2009 after a federal arrest for lobbing packages containing musings and drawings on such subjects onto the Chinese Consulate’s property in San Francisco.

But Jim Bassler said his son was resistant to help. He moved into the forest more than four months ago after the sale of his grandmother’s house, where he had been living alone.

According to officials, Bassler fired on Melo when he and a co-worker were searching for what they suspected might be a marijuana plot. Instead they encountered a heavily armed Bassler and a stunted poppy batch that he is believed to have cultivated for personal use.

Officials later tied Bassler to the killing of Coleman in a different area on Aug. 11. They now say DNA evidence places him at the scene.

RELATED:

Fort Bragg manhunt raises mental health questions

Fort Bragg fugitive's fingerprint found in burglarized cabin

Fort Bragg councilman killed while investigating pot operation

-- Lee Romney in San Francisco

Top photo: Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman holds up a picture of the man authorities believe is Aaron Bassler during a news conference earlier this week. Credit: Associated Press

Inset photo: Aaron Bassler Credit: Mendocino County Sheriff's Department

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Man in mountain car crash survived 6 days on leaves and bugs

Car Crash victim Angeles National Forest
A 67-year-old man whose car plunged 200 feet down a mountain in the Angeles National Forest survived for six days by eating bugs and leaves and drinking creek water, his family told KTLA TV Channel 5 Thursday night.

David Lavau was with another person in the vehicle when it went off Lake Hughes Road north of Castaic on Friday.

His car was spotted Thursday evening by family members and friends who had formed a search party. They alerted the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

"I looked down and saw my dad's car," Sean Lavau told the station. "My heart dropped."

Long Beach police seek suspects in 2010 slaying

Long Beach homicide suspects
Long Beach police Thursday released sketches of two men suspected of helping kill a man who had come to the city to buy a car.

Franklin Robles was killed during a robbery Aug. 9, 2010, in the 1400 Block of W. 16th Street in Long Beach. Robles lived in Lake Elsinore.

Police described one suspect as Latino,  5-feet, 5-inches  tall, with a medium build, short hair, small goatee and multiple tattoos on both arms. The other man is described as Latino,  5-feet 7-inches tall with a medium build, shaved head and pudgy face.

Since January 2007, at least 187 homicides have been reported in Long Beach, according to a Times Homicide Report database.

Anyone with information is asked to call Det. Malcolm Evans or Det. Todd Johnson at (562) 570-7244.

ALSO:

Fullerton officer Manuel Ramos released on bail

Parents jailed after toddler eats cocaine in Atascadero

Two-thirds of Californians support death penalty, poll finds

— Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

Sketch: Long Beach homicide suspects. Credit: Long Beach Police Department

1 dead, 1 rescued from wrecked car in Angeles National Forest

Car Crash victim Angeles National Forest
Los Angeles County firefighters Thursday night helped rescue a victim and pronounced another person dead from a car accident that apparently occurred several days ago in the Angeles National Forest.

The survivor was airlifted by helicopter to a hospital from the site on Lake Hughes Road in the vicinity of Warm Springs Mountain, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said.

The department said it was told by people at the scene that the car had crashed five days ago.

The name and condition of the victim was not known. The person was initially spotted by family members who had formed a search party, according to a report by KTLA-TV Channel 5.

No other details were immediately available.

ALSO:

Fullerton Officer Manuel Ramos released on bail

Parents jailed after toddler eats cocaine in Atascadero

Two-thirds of Californians support death penalty, poll finds

— Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

Photo: Car crash survivor being taken to a hospital. Credit: KTLA-TV Channel 5

At night, a red tide glows blue along the San Diego County coast

168175.ME.0929.red-tide.2.DPB
 
Find a dark spot on the San Diego County coastline after night falls and you might be be treated to a spectacular neon blue light show.

Bioluminescent waves, which glow a vivid blue as they crash ashore, have been dazzling nighttime visitors to the beach this week. Photographers have been snapping photos of the otherworldly surf as it has increased in intensity over the last few days.

The electric blue glow is caused by an algae bloom commonly referred to as a “red tide.” The organism,  a phytoplankton called Lingulodinium polyedrum, has bloomed since late August, turning the water a brownish-red color in the daytime, according to UC San Diego scientists.

The movement of the waves turns the tide a brilliant blue, visible only after night falls.

It’s caused by a chemical reaction on the cellular level, according to Scripps Institution of Oceanography Professor Peter J. Franks, who calls the phytoplankton “my favorite dinoflagellate.”

“Why favorite?” Franks wrote in an email Q&A posted on the blog Deep-Sea News. “Because it’s intensely bioluminescent. When jostled, each organism will give off a flash of blue light created by a chemical reaction within the cell. When billions and billions of cells are jostled -- say, by a breaking wave -- you get a seriously spectacular flash of light.”

Though it is hard to predict how long it will last, experts say it could stick around for several more weeks or months.

The algae produces a mild toxin that can accumulate in some sea creatures, but it is not harmful to people. It is safe to swim in too, UC San Diego experts said, though increased ear and sinus infections have been reported during blooms.

The striking surf has awed nighttime visitors to the San Diego-area shoreline, who have shared photographic evidence widely online.

The glowing images have lit up blogs and social networks, awing observers like Kevin Baird, who posted a photo of the bioluminescent surf on his Twitter feed, likening it to “SpongeBob's aurora borealis.”

“How do i recreate that in my reef tank?” Jeremy von Kuster wondered after watching the red tide Wednesday night at Torrey Pines.

Any sort of fast motion can agitate the plankton--breaking waves, swimming fish and even footprints in the wet sand. For an eerie experiment, try capturing some ocean water in a bottle and shaking it to generate a vivid glow.

One family at Tamarack Beach in Carlsbad was collecting the seawater in bottles to generate just that effect, the North County Times described: "If you dump the bottles in the toilet and turn off the lights, it will light up the whole bowl,” Duane Collings, of Oceanside, told the newspaper. “It's a trip.”

--Tony Barboza

Photo: A visitor near the pier in Oceanside, Calif.,  watches flashes of neon blue in the crashing waves. Credit: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

Suspected homicide victim found near Lake Arrowhead is identified

Authorities have identified the man whose body was found Wednesday night in the office of the historic Antler’s Inn near Lake Arrowhead and whose death is being investigated as a homicide.

The victim was identified as Daniel Rubalcava, 56, of Twin Peaks, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. An autopsy is scheduled to determine cause of death.

Deputies were called to the inn on California 189 in Twin Peaks at 10:40 p.m. Wednesday and found Rubalcava’s body upstairs. He apparently had suffered blunt-force trauma to the head, authorities said.

The investigation into Rubalcava’s death is continuing.

ALSO:

Fullerton officer Manuel Ramos released on bail

Parents jailed after toddler eats cocaine in Atascadero

Two-thirds of Californians support death penalty, poll finds

– Phil Willon

Woman sentenced for dragging dog 2 miles with pickup

A Lancaster woman accused of dragging her dog more than two miles behind her pickup has pleaded no contest to felony animal cruelty charges, officials said Thursday.

Cecilia Bojorquez, 46, was driving more than 50 mph as her brown cocker spaniel, with a rope tied around its neck, was dragged along the asphalt in the July 28 incident, officials said.

An off-duty animal control officer spotted the dog jumping out of the bed of the pickup with the rope around its neck as the Dodge barreled along the roadway in Lancaster.

"Horrified, he attempted to catch up to the truck, honking his horn and flashing his lights," the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control said in a statement.

"The dog's injuries were so severe, the emergency hospital humanely euthanized her," agency Director Marcia Mayeda said. The incident, she said,  was one of the "more agonizing animal cruelty and neglect cases in recent memory."

Bojorquez was sentenced Monday to 3 years’ probation, 45 days of community service and $300 in fines and court costs. She was also ordered to take animal cruelty classes.

ALSO:

Fullerton officer Manuel Ramos released on bail

Parents jailed after toddler eats cocaine in Atascadero

Two-thirds of Californians support death penalty, poll finds

— Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

3.3 quake strikes near Oakland

A shallow magnitude 3.3 earthquake was reported Thursday afternoon two miles from Oakland, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The temblor occurred at 4:47 p.m. Pacific time at a depth of 9.3 miles.

According to the USGS, the epicenter was three miles from Alameda, three miles from Piedmont and 12 miles from San Francisco City Hall.

In the past 10 days, there have been three earthquakes magnitude 3.0 and greater centered nearby.

Read more about California earthquakes on L.A. Now.

— Ken Schwencke

Image credit: Google Maps

Popular Hawaiian musician charged in L.A. sex crime case

Cecilio Rodriguez A member of one of Hawaii's most popular musical groups has pleaded not guilty in Los Angeles County Superior Court to sex crime charges involving two underage girls in the late 1990s, officials said Thursday.

Cecilio Rodriguez, 66, of the duo Cecilio and Kapono, is charged with two counts of committing lewd and lascivious acts in Los Angeles County with a child younger than 14, according to a criminal complaint.

The victims are sisters and reported the incident to the Sheriff's Department in June, said Sandi Gibbons, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.

Document: Criminal complaint in Cecilio Rodriguez sex crime case


The first incident took place between Nov. 6, 1997, and Nov 5. 1999. The second occurred between May 6, 1996 and May 5, 1998, the complaint alleges.

Rodriguez formed the group with Henry Kapono on Oahu's picturesque North Shore in 1973, according to the group's website.  Known by their fans as "C&K," Rodriguez and Kapono have been on tour in California.

Rodriguez was being held in Los Angeles County Jail in lieu of $200,00 bail, according to Sheriff's Department booking records. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Oct. 13. at the Compton Courthouse.

ALSO:

Fullerton officer Manuel Ramos released on bail

Parents jailed after toddler eats cocaine in Atascadero

Two-thirds of Californians support death penalty, poll finds

— Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

Photo: Cecilio Rodriguez. Credit: Rodriguez's Twitter account

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