L.A Times - Crime and Courts

Buzzing of Santa Monica Pier leads to questions about aviation safety

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The pilot who flew his Soviet-made jet close to the pier has lost his license, but the use of military jets by civilian pilots is a broader issue.

Racing at speeds of up to 350 mph, the Soviet-made military jet made several low-altitude passes at the Santa Monica Pier, seemingly keying on the popular Ferris wheel as frightened onlookers scattered, some screaming.

California's best years have passed, voters say

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

In a survey of 1,500 registered voters, 80% say the state is on the wrong track. Respondents express little confidence in state politicians and candidates, even as support for Obama remains high.

Frustrated at California's woes, voters are sharply pessimistic about whether the next governor will be able to move the state in the right direction, and most believe California is in the midst of a long-term decline, a new Los Angeles Times/USC poll shows.

Three's a crowd when it comes to Eastside schools

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The addition of the Mendez learning center disrupts age-old campus loyalty -- to Roosevelt or Garfield highs, which are locked in a 75-year rivalry.

Things were a bit discombobulated last week on the Eastside, where a generations-old allegiance to Roosevelt Senior High School has been upset by a new relative: the recently opened Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez Learning Center.

Hard knocks at a resort's door

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Konocti Harbor Resort and Spa, a blue-collar playground built by a plumbers union half a century ago so that its members could afford to vacation like the 'rich kids,' is set to close Tuesday.

The line cooks had matching stickers pasted to their chef's jackets one Saturday night in mid-October, brave words for a bleak reality: "We are the future of Konocti."

Furniture store has a front seat on Echo Park's transformation

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Established in the 1940s as Stone Bros. with a heavily Jewish clientele, La Popular is seeing its Latino customers give way to actors and college students.

There are two ways to read the giant neon sign in front of Neil Stone's Echo Park furniture store. And either way is fine with him, so long as it draws attention.

Teachers hope students click outside school cliques

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

This week, campuses will participate in Mix It Up Day, a program that encourages students to avoid self-segregating, which experts say can affect school culture and increase tensions.

At Hawthorne High School recently, students easily identified areas where different groups hang out: the basketball players are in a corner near the cafeteria, the rockers near the stage, ditchers and smokers near the school gates and the JV football players and cheerleaders near the field.

Bill Clinton, George W. Bush cancel appearances in L.A., N.Y.

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The 42nd and 43rd presidents back out because promoters of the February panel discussion 'insisted on billing it as something it wasn't,' Clinton spokesman says

Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush on Saturday abruptly pulled out of a joint appearance scheduled for this winter in Los Angeles after growing unhappy with the way the event was being promoted.

Melody Ross touches the world

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Friends and strangers respond to the tragic death of a Long Beach girl killed in gang crossfire.

Sixteen years. Not long enough.

Bangladeshis, Koreans stake out their pieces of L.A.

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

A yearlong border skirmish comes to an end as the two ethnic groups agree to the boundaries of Little Bangladesh, a four-block stretch within Koreatown.

There was no telling how many people would show up Tuesday morning to discuss, one last time, how much of Koreatown should be surrendered to the Bangladeshi community.

Santa Anita racetrack played a role in WWII internment

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The extensive grounds were used as the nation's largest assembly center to house about 19,000 Japanese Americans before they were relocated to camps.

A plaque near the entrance on the sprawling grounds of the Santa Anita racetrack is the sole reminder of the track's place in World War II history as the nation's largest assembly center for Japanese Americans on their way to internment camps.