DANA POINT – When avid whale watchers Elissa and Jody Thompson didn't see any sea life during the first hour of their boat trip out of Dana Point Harbor, they thought something was up.
"We come out at least once a week and you see pods of dolphins...
CERRITOS – One by one they came to the microphone.
They talked of Courtney Aoki's flair for the theatrical, of her compassion, of the way she grabbed life with both hands.
But there was an underlying frustration that they could not save Aoki, 20,...
The 11th annual Kite Party convened Saturday in Huntington Beach, filling the skies of Surf City near the pier. More than 100 professional kite fliers from across Southern California and the world participated, offering demonstrations, flying kites...
ANAHEIM – Dressed in all black and flashing a large silver skull ring on each of his ring fingers, Chris "Captain" Campbell was getting ready to auction off more than 573 arcade games Saturday morning, 77 of those pinball machines.
Campbell, who...
PLACENTIA – A 19-year-old man was arrested Saturday morning in connection with a Wednesday night shooting that killed a man and wounded a teenager, police said.
Christopher Antonio Rodas, 19, of Placentia was arrested on suspicion of murder in the...
SAN DIEGO – One sailor died and five were rescued late Friday night after a boat sank during a race co-hosted by a Newport Beach yacht club.The crew of Uncontrollable Urge issued a distress call to the U.S. Coast Guard around 9:25 p.m., during the...
LOS ANGELES – A man who was convicted of first-degree murder after a stove he had stolen fell from the back of his truck and caused a deadly accident had his conviction overturned by the California Supreme Court in a unanimous opinion published...
SANTA ANA – Gen. William Lyon was told there was a political luncheon for him to attend Friday at his Lyon Air Museum, adjacent to John Wayne Airport. It was a good ruse to use on a man who has stayed active in the Republican party all his life....
Californians have consistently expressed overwhelming support for Proposition 13, but opinion polling – and a key ballot measure – has also shown voters open to tweaking aspects of the landmark reform.
How far they're willing to go may soon be...
LOS ANGELES – Metrolink's financial management has been so slipshod that auditors recently concluded the $194 million-a-year regional rail agency might not even be able to detect fraud in its accounts.
Their draft audit report is only the latest...
Critics of the San Onofre nuclear plant say a document released Friday bolsters their belief that the plant operator, Southern California Edison, knew in advance of design flaws that have kept the plant's two reactors offline for more than a year.
A...
A state panel voted Friday to reject the U.S. Navy's plan for offshore training, including the use of sonar that could harm whales.
The vote could set the stage for more conflict between the California Coastal Commission and the Navy. A similar...
ORANGE – Eighth-grader Kaitlyn Pham thought she knew the history of the Holocaust because of books she studied in school.But it wasn't until the 12-year-old heard the firsthand account of Ursula Levy that Pham truly began to understand the strength...
The Dana Point Symphony presented an evening of opera Friday for its second concert of the 2013 season.
The performance included selections from "La Gioconda," "Le Barbier de Seville," "Gianni Schicchi," "Madama Butterfly," "Les Pêcheurs de Perles"...
IRVINE – A pedestrian died Friday evening after he was struck by a car at an Irvine intersection, police said.
Officers at about 6:20 p.m. responded to reports of a vehicle striking a pedestrian at the Trabuco Road and Monroe intersection, Irvine...
The Dana Point Festival of Whales continues this weekend with a slate of events highlighted by a 5K/10K run and a stand-up paddleboard race on Saturday and the Whale of a Concert and BBQ on Sunday.
Free shuttle service will run among all event...
Tina Hoang, the 20-year-old Bellflower woman found dead Monday on the sand of Newport Beach, was a recent mother trying to get her life together while she faced several prostitution charges, a friend says.
"Whatever she may or may not have been...
To fill the need for 50 seasonal lifeguards, the San Clemente Lifeguard Department held tryouts at Marine Safety Headquarters on Sunday morning. About 60 aspiring lifeguards tested their skills during the swim-run-swim test.
Teddy Weise has been a...
She sets the microphones on a kitchen table. One for her and one for him.
Thuy Vo Dang then asks the questions. It takes only the first few minutes before Hai Dai Hoang stops to fight back tears.
For the next two hours, she asks about his memories...
Locals turned out Monday night in the San Clemente High School parking lot to participate in Food Truck Monday, a weekly event that supports the music department at SCHS.
"It's a really cool thing, and that way everyone in the family can pick...
A swarm of killer bees lit up the No. 3 fairway at San Clemente's Municipal Golf Curse on Feb. 28 when Golf Course Manager Gus Nelson decided to evict them from a eucalyptus tree.
Nelson, recounting the story Thursday, said he hired a professional...
SANTA ANA – An appellate court has rejected a bid by one of three former Fullerton police officers charged in the beating death of Kelly Thomas, a mentally ill homeless man, to keep his case from going forward.
The 4th District Court of Appeal...
MISSION VIEJO – Kaleidoscope Courtyards management said they have released the mall's surveillance tape from the day a Yorkshire Terrier was stolen from an SUV parked near the valet and have stepped up security at the five-story mall.
Pudsy, a...
Hi, I'm Legolas. I am a male English Spot dwarf mix rabbit. I am a little shy when I first meet new people, but I am warming up to humans.
I don't mind being held too much and I am learning to like other pets. I have good litter box habits and would...
Wearing sneakers and a polo shirt, his tattooed biceps pushing out his sleeves, Gabriel Corona doesn't look like the typical American Legionnaire.
But at 32, he is leading the charge to revitalize Costa Mesa's post, helping sustain a national...
SANTA ANA – A 25-year-old man died early Friday morning after his car hit a tree while traveling a rain-slick road, police said.The man was the only occupant of the 1997 Toyota Corolla, which crashed in the 2900 block of West MacArthur Boulevard...
A year-end report on the San Onofre nuclear plant shows it is among 14 across the nation that will receive additional inspections to resolve minor issues that arose in 2012.
In San Onofre's case, issues center on how requirements for compliance with...
SAN DIEGO – The California Coastal Commission has rejected a Navy explosives and sonar training program that critics said could harm endangered blue whales and other sea life.
Commissioners meeting Friday in San Diego said the Navy didn't have...
COSTA MESA – The sounds of buzzing tattoo machines and rock music will fill the Orange County fairgrounds this weekend for the sixth annual Musink Tattoo Convention and Music Festival, the first since a new state law put stricter safety regulations...
"Bullying-related suicide has now become the third-leading cause of death among our children.
"Experts tell us that one of six teens have seriously considered suicide, while one in 12 have attempted suicide.
"Bullied children are three times more...
Family Assistance Ministries was named Agency of the Year for 2012 by Second Harvest Food Bank at their Annual Agency Conference on Jan. 11.
Mary Gray Perdue, the agency's executive director accepted the award on behalf of its board, staff,...
A boundary change could be in the works for Newport-Mesa Unified School District if a luxury apartment developer manages to convince two school districts and a county commission to go along.
The 1,244-unit Uptown Newport Village project was discussed...
Musink Tattoo and Music Festival
The 6th annual festival features more than 300 tattoo artists from around the world, vendors, skateboarding contests, the Miss Musink Contest and musical performances from Bad Religion, Pennywise, Reverend Horton Heat...
Residents at Del Obispo Terrace in San Juan Capistrano recently held an auction to benefit the San Diego Zoo, auctioning off handmade quilts donated from the San Clemente Surf Side Guild.
These quilts were given to the residents who most needed them...
Jeffrey Adam loved to sail and enjoyed sharing his passion with others. That's how he met his friend Liz Fletcher, who received sailing lessons from Adam at Westwind Sailing.
After Adam's unexpected death in June 2011, Fletcher knew she wanted to...
NEWPORT BEACH – Police have identified the woman found dead on the beach as Tina Hoang, 20, of Bellflower.
Police said the matter is being investigated as a suspicious death, but have not commented whether the body showed signs of trauma, whether...
Showers and isolated thunderstorms are expected over Orange County on Friday morning and possibly into the afternoon, giving way to a mostly clear and warmer weekend, the National Weather Service forecasts.
Thunderstorms might produce small...
From the time Gustavo Peker was very young, he liked taking things apart to see how they worked.
Now he's the owner of Del Mar Watch and Clock Repair in San Clemente.
Peker, 47, a native of Argentina, learned watch repair in a watch making and repair...
The only thing Greg Hancock isn't foreign to is winning.
Hancock is a three-decade- long resident of Costa Mesa, but he's made his career on foreign soil as a speedway motorcycle rider.
Fifteen years removed from his first world title, and only two...
CAMP PENDLETON – In a split second, Pfc. Artem Lazukin used his left arm to heave his torso toward the ball and then just as quickly he hurled his arms up and spiked it back across the net, winning a point for the Wounded Warrior Battalion West....
The U.S. Navy and the California Coastal Commission might be heading for another conflict over offshore military training and potential harm to marine mammals – including the giants of the sea, blue whales.
At a meeting Friday in San Diego, the...
They've heard North Korea's threats before. Some local Korean Americans are concerned. Many others, however, see it more as political theater.
Orange County's Korean American community offered mixed reactions to North Korea's threat to launch a...
A jury has convicted a Buena Park physician of six counts of health care fraud for nearly $3 million in fraudulent claims to the Medicare system.
Dr. Augustus Ohemeng, 62, faces a maximum of 60 years in federal prison when he is sentenced June 17 by...
Citing green eggs with ham and wimpy kid's diaries, students shared their favorite books and stories to kick off the Read Across America celebration at Concordia Elementary School.
Parents were invited on campus March 1 to read with their children...
HUNTINGTON BEACH – Environmentalists have been fighting for nearly four decades to protect the 1,300-acre slice of rare open space along Pacific Coast Highway known as the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve.
The effort to preserve and restore the...
SANTA ANA – A Walnut man pleaded guilty Wednesday to illegally importing counterfeit Disney pins from China and selling them over the Internet as collectibles, prosecutors said.
Larry James Allred, 58, pleaded guilty to one count of trademark...
The Saddleback men's basketball team advanced to the California community college Athletic Association Southern California Regional finals on Wednesday night with a 56-46 win over East Los Angeles College at the Saddleback Gymnasium. Saddleback...
SANTA ANA – A Tustin man has been arrested and charged with raping a teenager in a park in 2012 after being linked to the crime through DNA using the Orange County district attorney's DNA database, prosecutors said Thursday.
Chase Jeffrey White,...
SANTA ANA – Two lawsuits have been filed, seeking to ensure that funds designated for housing for needy families are used for that purpose.
In one lawsuit filed Monday, attorneys from the Santa Ana-based Public Law Center sued in Sacramento County...
Don Romero remembers the moment 30 years ago when he decided to become a photographer. He was serving as a model in the Laguna Beach Pageant of the Masters and during breaks would wander the festival art exhibits. He came across the photography of...
PLASTIC SURGEON TO ADDRESS WELLNESS CONFERENCE
Dr. Arian Nowlavi, a plastic surgeon, will be the featured speaker at this year's Wellness Conference presented by the Guild of Saddleback Memorial Medical Center San Clemente. It's a fundraiser for the...
STATE OF THE CITY DINNER
San Juan Capistrano Mayor John Taylor will give the State of the City address during a dinner from 5:30 to 9 p.m. March 14 at El Adobe restaurant, 31891 Camino Capistrano. The event, presented by the Chamber of Commerce, is...
The Navy's proposal to expand its offshore testing and training programs off Southern California's coast will be reviewed at the California Coastal Commission's meeting Friday in San Diego, where discussion on the plan's safety procedures for marine...
Arnold Schwarzenegger, the action star and former California governor, will open Chapman University's Busan West Film Festival on Friday.
Schwarzenegger and writer/director Kim Jee-woon will present their recent collaboration, "The Last Stand," at...
The Black Cat Gallery in San Juan Capistrano will use up one of its nine lives at the end of March, according to manager Rich Thompson. The gallery, which features the works of about 60 local artists, will have to move out of its spot at 26775...
ANAHEIM – An assistant city clerk in this city – recently accused of forging documents years ago while working for Bell by an employee in that municipality – is in good standing in Anaheim, an official said Wednesday.
Bell City Clerk Rebecca...
SAN CLEMENTE – When Olivia Boisen hit the water Sunday during the lifeguard tryouts at San Clemente pier she froze while others raced past her for the open water swim.
"It was so cold and I freaked out," said the 16-year-old swimmer from Capistrano...
Nearly 70 drunken-driving suspects in San Juan Capistrano were apprehended last year by two of the city's best DUI enforcers. Sheriff's deputies Kasey Marshall and William Simandl, who serve in the city, were recognized this week by Mothers Against...
A Mission Viejo family has been reunited with its golden retriever/German shepherd mix after more than four months, and it appears their four-legged friend was about a quarter mile from their home all along.
James Ohnemus and his family had just...
SANTA ANA – Police are investigating the death of a man whose body was found Wednesday morning in a storage unit.A worker at a public storage facility in the 400 block of North Fairview Street called police about 10 a.m. Wednesday after noticing a...
GARDEN GROVE – Wyatt Coulombe, 12, popped his head out of his classroom at Enders Elementary School and saw an Army sergeant in fatigues walking toward him.
His eyes lit up. Wyatt ran to the soldier and threw his arms around him, hugging him tight....
A federal judge has reaffirmed a $7 million verdict against former Orange County Treasurer-Tax Collector Chriss Street.
The rejection of his appeal Tuesday came three years to the day after U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Richard Neiter ruled that Street...
SANTA ANA – A Stanton man convicted of murdering a woman and a string of rapes is a "gentle, soft spoken" person who grew up in a dysfunctional home without parental guidance and should not be put to death, a defense attorney told an Orange County...
Patricia Karns, a local woman who suffers from brain trauma, is offering $2,000 to anyone who returns Pudsy, a Yorkshire Terrier taken from her Cadillac Escalade.The 4-year-old hand-sized blonde pup has been missing since Feb. 22 when Churee Serrano,...
About a dozen people dressed in cowboy outfits stormed Tuesday's San Juan Capistrano City Council meeting to "hang" Mayor John Taylor.The mock mayor hanging is a tradition of the San Juan Capistrano Fiesta Association to mark the annual Fiesta de las...
SAN DIEGO – The California Coastal Commission has postponed a decision on the controversial issue of whether the city of Newport Beach can remove 60 fire rings on its beaches.
Commissioners on Wednesday decided to wait for a decision by the South...
LA HABRA – Computer servers at City Hall containing years of financial data have crashed – wiping out tens of thousands of digital files, city officials confirmed on Wednesday.
Two hard drives containing the city's financial records and journals...
NEWPORT BEACH – Police on Wednesday afternoon said the death of a woman found facedown in the sand is being investigated as a suspicious death.
The identity of the woman is being withheld while her next of kin is notified, police said. Autopsy and...
Mission San Juan Capistrano's new gatehouse entrance is open for business.
Dozens of community members, including city officials, church leaders, mission donors and those who worked on the $3.3 million gatehouse project came together Tuesday...
TUSTIN – A man suspected of driving drunk crashed into a power pole early Wednesday morning, and about an hour later a second man suspected of driving drunk hit an occupied police patrol car blocking the street after the first crash, officials...
LAGUNA HILLS – For first-year George Washington University student Marissa Salgado, one of the most exciting experiences of her freshman year involved reconnecting with her high school roots.
Salgado, 18, was one of three former Saddleback Valley...
The city of San Juan Capistrano will be pumping in more money to try to ensure the reliability of its controversial groundwater recovery plant.
The City Council voted 3-2, on Tuesday night in favor of an $88,714 contract with General Pump Co. to...
SAN DIEGO – The California Coastal Commission on Wednesday approved Newport Beach's plan to include a 71-foot translucent, faux lighthouse as part of the Marina Park project, overriding staff members' concerns that the tall tower would clutter and...
Southern California’s Mount Wilson is a lonesome, hostile peak – prone to sudden rock falls, sometimes ringed by wildfire – that nevertheless has attracted some of the greatest minds in modern science.
Today, Mount Wilson is the site of a more...
Activists traversed Orange County on Tuesday to call on Congress to support President Barack Obama's plan that would clear a path to citizenship for millions of immigrants who are here illegally.
The 50-plus-strong group traveled by chartered bus to...
Traffic lanes on the northbound I-405 have reopened after a crash left a motorcyclist dead Wednesday morning, the California Highway Patrol said.
The crash was reported at 7:48 a.m., north of the westbound 22, and involved a motorcycle and a...
Cloudiness and cool weather are on the rise in Orange County, a kind of drumroll to the main event: rain and mountain snow as a cold storm system passes over the region Thursday night and Friday.
Rainfall should be moderate, in the one-fourth- to...
SACRAMENTO – Relatives of an 87-year-old woman who died after a nurse at her retirement home refused a 911 dispatcher's pleas to perform CPR expressed satisfaction with the care she received, saying her wishes were to die naturally. Meanwhile, the...
Businesses along the 700 block of North El Camino Real in San Clemente might get a more pleasant presence with the City Council's decision to relocate an Orange County Transportation Authority bus stop.The bus stop on the northbound side will move...
LOS ANGELES – Two City Hall veterans claimed spots Wednesday in a runoff for mayor of Los Angeles, setting up a confrontation likely to turn on personality and style since the Democratic pair share much of the same policy turf.
City Councilman Eric...
Here are recent Sheriff's Department reports from San Clemente:
MARCH 5
• Suspicious person/circumstances. 4:36 p.m. 400 block of Linda Lane. Four men reportedly were shooting at one another with air guns.
• Check on person's welfare. 4:21 p.m....
ANAHEIM HILLS – The principal at the high school that allowed "Señiores and Señoritas Day" is unlikely to return to his job, district officials said this week.
Canyon High School Principal Greg Bowden, who has been on paid medical leave since the...
TUSTIN – Police say a construction worker killed during a shooting and carjacking rampage last month was the victim of a random act of violence, with investigators determining that a witness was mistaken in telling detectives that the man may have...
COSTA MESA – Detective Mike Delgadillo, a 32-year veteran of the Costa Mesa Police Department, died Tuesday night after being involved in a single-car accident while he was off-duty, officials said Wednesday. Delgadillo was driving beneath the 55...
DANA POINT – The city is one step closer to allowing short-term vacation-rental permits after the City Council narrowly voted to further develop an ordinance to regulate such rentals.
The council voted 3-2 on Tuesday night to move forward as long...
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO – The city will become the latest in Orange County to display the national motto, "In God We Trust," at its city hall.
On Tuesday night, the City Council voted unanimously to accept a donation from local church-goers to help...
SANTA ANA – Leaders of a union representing lawyers employed by the County of Orange say they will sue the county after the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday imposed contract terms that require the lawyers to pay more toward their pensions.
In a...
ANAHEIM – Authorities have identified an Anaheim man killed in what police suspect was a gang-related shooting.Officers investigating reports of a man injured and lying in the street in the 3400 block of West Olinda Lane about 5 p.m. Sunday found...
NEWPORT BEACH – Authorities have conducted an autopsy on a body found Monday on the beach but say they are awaiting the final results before determining the cause of the woman's death.
Police on Tuesday afternoon would not say whether the death of...
SANTA ANA – The trial of a former Huntington Beach police officer accused of sexually and physically abusing his ex-wife and former girlfriend ended abruptly Tuesday with most of the charges dismissed.James Roberts, 36, was charged with 20 felony...
A pro surf contest that has drawn the world's best surfers to Lower Trestles for 24 straight years has been canceled this year for lack of sponsorship, organizers announced Tuesday.
The Lowers Pro, an ASP Prime event scheduled to run April 30 through...
ORANGE – A preschool was on lockdown and nearby streets were closed Tuesday afternoon while police dealt with a "distraught" man inside a home, officials said.
The incident prompted a SigAlert on Taft Avenue between Cambridge and Tustin streets...
LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles voters are going to the polls Tuesday to choose a new mayor.
Polls show a tight contest between Councilman Eric Garcetti and City Controller Wendy Greuel in the race to replace term-limited Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa....
Here are recent Sheriff's Department reports from San Juan Capistrano. Details are provided when available:TUESDAY Disturbance. 8:21 a.m. 27000 block Mission Hills Drive. Disturbance. 7:25 a.m. Via Sonora and Calle Belmonte.MONDAY Shots heard....
Here are recent Sheriff's Department reports from Dana Point. Details are provided when available:TUESDAY Burglary alarm-audible. 3:45 a.m. 34100 block Del Obispo Street. Suspicious person/circumstances. 12:44 a.m. 26000 block Domingo Avenue. A...
One of the nation's leading credit-rating institutions, Moody's Investors Service, may soon begin holding California's state and local governments responsible for an estimated $328.6 billion in long-term pension debt – nearly triple the official...
ANAHEIM – Volunteers mixed concrete, shoveled wood chips, and assembled swings and slides Monday as they built a new playground in Schweitzer Park.
The playground is Anaheim's third from Kaboom, a nonprofit group that promotes and builds...
HUNTINGTON BEACH – City officials took a first look at tougher regulations for massage businesses after police reported a significant increase in the number of these businesses that serve as a front for prostitution.
Some massage therapists on...
Temperatures should continue to roll back through the week in Orange County, with a slight chance for rain that becomes a much stronger chance Friday, the National Weather Service says.
The cooling trend is the work of a low-pressure air system...
San Juan Capistrano's car dealerships are sponsoring part of the city's efforts to bring people in during the I-5/Ortega Highway interchange reconstruction.
The Capistrano Auto Center, a group of six dealerships formed in 2010 as a committee of the...
Dana Point residents will have another opportunity Tuesday night to weigh in on a hotly contested proposal to allow but regulate short-term residential rentals.
The City Council will hold a public hearing to discuss a municipal code amendment that...
IRVINE – It costs Irvine $15.06 per person to give free rides on the bright orange balloon at the Orange County Great Park. By April 1, it may cost riders up to $10.
New prices for balloon and carousel rides ($2 a trip) were recommended Monday...
SANTA ANA – A construction worker may have been lured to his death by an early-morning phone call from a Ladera Ranch man who is accused of going on a killing and carjacking spree last month, according to court documents reviewed by the Register....
The Saddleback men's basketball team continued its winning ways on Saturday night in the Southern California playoffs and up next is a date with East Los Angeles College in the regional semifinals on Wednesday night.
The Gauchos and Huskies will tip...
With work on the I-5/Ortega Highway interchange renovation officially under way, fences put up around the sites of businesses removed to make way for the construction are an attractive target for San Juan Capistrano taggers.
"Graffiti is always a...
NEWPORT BEACH – A woman in her mid-20s was found dead near the water Monday morning, authorities said.
At about 6 a.m., two people were walking on the beach when they discovered the woman facedown in the sand near Tower 71 in the area of Highland...
SANTA ANA – Firefighters contained a vegetation fire Monday that initially threatened the Red Roof Inn in Santa Ana, authorities said.
A fire next to the Discovery Center between Main Street and the I-5 was reported about 1:10 p.m., said Capt. Marc...
Lynette Duncan had the killers running scared. And it felt good.
The tears in the eyes of the grizzled, veteran parole officer confirmed she'd gotten her victim impact statement right. But she knew she'd done something important even as she was...
COSTA MESA – Police arrested a man Monday morning after they said he shot and injured a man during a robbery.
Kenneth Albert St. Sauver, 26, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, robbery and being a felon in...
As she watched a 2011 episode of ABC-TV's "Secret Millionaire" about a struggling Tennessee nonprofit that performed magical bedroom makeovers for medically challenged children, Denise Sutherland thought to herself, "I could do that."
She shared the...
Though Orange County has become more racially diverse over the past decade, white men continue to dominate its local seats of judicial power.
Last year about 74 percent of the county's Superior Court judges were white, according to a new report by...
Here are recent Sheriff's Department reports from San Clemente:
MARCH 3
• Citizen assist. 6:54 p.m. 400 block of South El Camino Real. A man said a customer asked for change for a $100 bill and that after the transaction he realized she had given...
ORANGE – A pedestrian died early Monday morning after being hit by a car on the northbound 5 to northbound 57 carpool lane connector.It was unclear whether the person had been walking on the freeway or had gotten out of another car, said Officer...
LOS ANGELES – Candidates for Los Angeles mayor are making a final sprint for votes ahead of Tuesday's primary election.
Polls show a tight contest between City Councilman Eric Garcetti and Controller Wendy Greuel, both Democrats.
Garcetti, who has...
SACRAMENTO – California Republicans on Sunday turned to a familiar face to lead the party back from the brink of irrelevance in a state that once was a GOP stronghold but is now home to a powerful Democratic political machine.
More than 1,000...
Some of the water flowing from Orange County taps might have arrived courtesy of the Sahara Desert, a new study of high-flown atmospheric dust reveals.
Dust particles tracked back to the Sahara Desert were shown to have "seeded" clouds over the...
The daily news is filled with disturbing social trends portending awful consequences around the corner, next year or for generations to come. The economy is sluggish, our safety net is unraveling, Social Security and Medicare are running out of...
California drivers, who pay some of the highest gasoline taxes in the nation, can expect to spend an additional 3.5 cents on every gallon starting this summer.
State tax regulators approved the increase this week, in part to keep tax revenue steady...
More than a year after a small leak of radioactive gas forced an extended shutdown of the San Onofre nuclear plant, the plant's future remains unclear.
And the fate of San Onofre will strongly influence future energy use in California as state...
ANAHEIM – A man died Sunday evening after police found him shot in front of an Anaheim apartment complex.
Police said the attack in the 3400 block of West Olinda Lane likely was gang-related.
Around 5 p.m., police received a call that a man was...
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE – Redevelopment plans for a popular Lake Tahoe campground and resort dating to the 1930s would eliminate parking along busy U.S. Highway 89 and cut the number of camp sites by nearly one-third, but for the first time offer camping...
A proposal to reduce the amount of state money that local law-enforcement agencies will receive to cover local costs related to a recent overhaul of the California correctional system has drawn concern from some local police chiefs, who argue they...
What's now a free ride on the big orange balloon at the Orange County Great Park could cost as much as $10 if the park's board of directors approves the price at a special meeting to be held at 2 p.m. Monday at Irvine's City Hall. A trip on the...
SACRAMENTO – — Lawmakers from both parties are seeking to expand a decade-old law that lets counties pursue court-ordered mental health treatment for those who refuse to get help on their own. The renewed focus on Laura's Law, which is in place...
LOS ANGELES – The air temperature in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum may have been reported as a constant, continual 70 degrees for decades, but the football fan of today can look forward to an accurate reading.
An engineering student at USC has...
NEWPORT BEACH – Anne Yelsey came all the way from Philadelphia. Kevin and Tanja Fournier from less than a dozen miles away, in Irvine. A 30-year old ritual brought them and 2,000 runners and walkers together in Newport Beach early on Sunday: The...
Early Sunday morning, 87 applicants arrived for the Huntington Beach Marine Safety Division and Ocean Lifeguard tryouts.
They would be physically challenged on a three-part test, in cool 55-degree water, with choppy waves and sprints along the sand....
As Pope Benedict SVI began his retirement, the Vatican summoned cardinals to the Holy See to start preparations for the election of a new leader of the Roman Catholic Church. The first General Congregation of Cardinals is set for Monday morning, with...
Dana Point residents kicked off the annual celebration of the migration of the gray whales this weekend, starting with a parade down Pacific Coast Highway Saturday morning. Dana Point residents turned out for the 42nd Festival of Whales, celebrating...
SANTA ANA – Rendy Andre Ichsan could be behind bars today.
He faced six years in state prison.
But Ichsan got a reprieve.
And he got his second chance from some people who didn't get one themselves — the family of the woman he killed.
•••...
The last time Todd Kline had appeared on a podium claiming a first-place prize, it was 1995 at an Association of Surfing Professionals World Qualifying Series contest in Japan.
It was one of his four WQS wins en route to a career in the surf...
COSTA MESA – Dozens of Orange County's best spellers whittled down to just one on Saturday – Sierra Vista Middle School's 14-year-old Alan Shi winning in a duel of letters against 13-year-old Thuy-Anh Bui from El Rancho Charter School.
Shi...
SAN FRANCISCO – A five-year scientific assessment of California's first marine protection zones established off the Central Coast has found that some struggling fish species are showing early signs of recovery, officials said on Thursday.
Joined by...
ECHO SUMMIT – It's official, and it's not good news for thirsty Californians: January and February have been the driest on record.
The monthly snow survey, anticipated by farmers and municipalities who depend on snowmelt to supplement water...
SANTA ANA – Passengers on early flights out of John Wayne Airport on Saturday morning experienced delays for about three hours after the airport's computer system failed after planned IT maintenance on Friday night.
Airline representatives had to...
From the surface, eelgrass often goes unnoticed by swimmers and boaters in Newport Harbor, and only during low tides can onlookers see the long, mangled messes of sea plants that patch the shoreline.
Eelgrass is one of about 50 species of vegetation...
Orange County Sheriff's deputies this morning apprehended an escaped Theo Lacy jail inmate at a motel in Oceanside.
Following a tip, deputies at 5:30 a.m. found Saith Na at the motel.
Na, 26, was missing during a routine jail inmate count about 10:30...
About 15 percent of offenders now being supervised by county probation after an overhaul of the California correctional system were convicted of new violations after their release from lock-up, while about a third of the offenders were temporarily...
SANTA ANA – Police have located a man believed to have broken into two apartments, holding one woman against her will and forcing her to cook for him and stealing from another, after discovering that the man suspected in the crimes was in custody...
FULLERTON – The tinny music of a band jamming at a nearby café filled the air at the Santa Fe Depot's pseudo-adobe buildings.
It's a little after 7 p.m. on a tepid Friday night. And the music is soon drowned out by the roaring of an Amtrak train...
The 20-year-old suspected of going on a killing, carjacking and shooting spree across Orange County last week that left four dead wrote a suicide note within an hour of the 911 call made by his mother from their home, authorities said Friday.
"Within...
WASHINGTON – The Homeland Security Department released from its jails more than 2,000 people who were facing deportation in recent weeks because of looming budget cuts and planned to release 3,000 more during March, The Associated Press has...
Huntington Beach – A new marijuana dispensary is open in Sunset Beach and operating without a business license, though its owners say that's because they've been given the run- around by city bureaucracy.
Patient Med-Aid opened Feb. 4 on Pacific...
ORANGE – Sheriff's officials are searching for a man missing Friday during a body count at the Theo Lacy jail, forcing them to put the facility on lockdown, authorities said.Jail officials weren't able to find the man during a routine inmate count...
A familiar face around town may soon become San Clemente's next city treasurer.
The City Council on Tuesday will consider appointing Joe Anderson, a former San Clemente City Council member, to succeed Pall Gudgeirsson as treasurer, effective March 20...
San Clemente High produced the firepower Thursday but Newport Harbor High produced the champ at this year's South Coast League individual surfing finals.
A solid swell greeted 36 surfers from four Orange County High Schools at Upper Trestles.
San...
COSTA MESA – The Orange County Fair Board voted Thursday to send the District Attorney's Office a report criticizing elements of the aborted fairgrounds sale.
Fair directors also consented to a forensic audit of the board's finances from that...
On Sundays in March at the Center for Spiritual Living Capistrano Valley, the Rev. Heather Dawn Clark will explore ideas for revealing the inner light of Spirit with the following concepts:
•Sunday – Not Living in the Shadows; musical guest:...
ANAHEIM – The parking lot was packed, the seats were filled, and the noise level rivaled that of a Stanley Cup Final.
But there was no game going on inside the Honda Center on Thursday afternoon.
Those boisterous fans in attendance were thousands...
Mission San Juan Capistrano will celebrate its new gatehouse from 3 to 4 p.m. Tuesday.Ortega Highway will be closed for the invitation-only event from 1 to 5 p.m. between Camino Capistrano and El Camino Real. The sidewalk on the north side will be...
HUNTINGTON BEACH – Two dolphin lingered in a shallow cove in the Bolsa Chica wetlands for at least four hours Friday before heading out to Huntington Harbour and toward the Pacific Ocean.
A rescue team from the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in...
LAGUNA HILLS – Dori blinked her stubby dark lashes over wide-set doe eyes as 9-year-old Catherine O'Donnell stared intently at the spindly-legged heifer calf.
For third-grader Catherine and hundreds of her peers at Valencia Elementary School, it...
SAN CLEMENTE – It could get noisy at Camp Pendleton on Friday as Marine Corps units do mine-clearing exercises in a designated impact zone between 6 a.m. and midnight.
The base said explosions will contain 1,750 pounds of linked C-4, detonated to...
SANTA ANA – The California Supreme Court has declined to review the case of a repeat drunken driver convicted in the 2009 high-speed crash at a Fullerton intersection that killed three people, including Angels rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart.
The...
Here are recent Sheriff's Department reports from San Clemente:FEB. 28 Suspicious person/circumstances. 12:23 p.m. 100 block of Avenida Presidio. A woman at the sheriff's substation reported what she believed was a case of a neighbor sexually...
SAN CLEMENTE – The San Clemente congregation of Saddleback Church is planning a big move on Easter Sunday, March 31, to a new home in the Talega Business Park.
Saddleback Church, based in Lake Forest, lists eight campuses on its website. The San...
Last Sunday wasn't all about Jennifer Lawrence and "Argo."
It was glitz and glamour in Orange County as well for the 12th annual A Tail of Two Cities fundraiser. The Oscar-themed event, presented by the Pet Project Foundation, benefits lost and...
LAGUNA NIGUEL – The north 5 connector to the north 73 will remain closed for several hours Friday after a truck carrying batteries overturned.
California Highway Patrol officer John Latosquin said the northbound 5 transition road to the northbound...
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO – San Juan Capistrano may become the next city to display the words "In God We Trust" at City Hall.
Councilman Derek Reeve is proposing that the City Council approve a resolution at Tuesday night's meeting that would display the...
Unhappy investors in the now-bankrupt Point Center Financial Inc. on Thursday demanded that Assemblywoman Diane Harkey resign from office and abandon her candidacy for the state Board of Equalization.
Harkey, R-Dana Point, and her husband, Dan,...
MISSION VIEJO – Martin Dugard said he stumbled into the writing life.Newly married at 25 years old, Dugard got what he thought he wanted: A corporate job with a suit, a brief case and a cubicle."Within two weeks within that corporate structure, I...
ORANGE – A chorus, an organ and the voices of parishioners filled Holy Family Cathedral on Thursday night as Orange County Catholics and other well-wishers gathered to pray in honor of the just-ended tenure of Pope Benedict XVI.
"Brothers and...
In the past decade, the Honda Center has hosted concerts that appeal to just about every age group, from classic rockers Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen to tween magnets Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus.
In between, the circus came to town, and...
FULLERTON – Video from a restaurant security camera shows Kelly Thomas walking between parked cars minutes before the confrontation with police that led to his death.That scene, and a former restaurant employee's testimony in a taped deposition,...
A change in the Register's advertisement policy – prompted by complaints from Anaheim council members targeted by political ads – is attracting accusations of favoritism from one affected advertiser and raising eyebrows among some in the...
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County is always looking for more volunteers.
Meet two of the newest recruits:
Chris Anderson of San Clemente and his Little Brother, Uziel of San Juan Capistrano
Growing up can be difficult for any child and this...
PLACENTIA – Three men have been charged with murder in connection with the death of a man killed in what was believed to be a gang-related shooting in a Placentia alley.
Daniel Nestor, 19; Luis Ramon Llanes, 25; and Ignacio David Morales, 21, are...
After a two-year hiatus, Restaurant Week returns to Dana Point on Friday, just in time for the Festival of Whales, the city's biggest event.
Restaurant Week actually is more than a week long, running through March 10. A dozen local restaurants are...
SANTA ANA – A judge on Thursday refused to dismiss sexual-assault and other charges against an ex-Santa Ana councilman accused of preying on women who worked for him in the county's public works department.
Carlos Bustamante has pleaded not guilty,...
After poring over dozens of personal histories and love stories submitted to the Casino San Clemente's Diamond Jubilee Bridal Giveaway the winner was selected, appropriately on Valentine's Day.
The giveaway became the grand finale to a year of...
The Dana Point Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9934 presented its Teacher of the Year award to Sue Larwood at the City Council meeting Feb. 19.
Larwood is a teacher at Don Juan Avila Middle School in Aliso Viejo.
At the council meeting, she was joined...
LAS VEGAS – A felon sought in a shooting and fiery crash that killed three people on the Las Vegas Strip was taken into custody Thursday in Los Angeles, police said.
Ammar Harris was arrested by a team of police and federal agents in North...
CAMP PENDLETON – Base officials have confirmed the identity of the Marine killed during a parachute training exercise on Tuesday in Perris.
Sgt. Caleb M. Medley, 26, of La Junta, Colo., enlisted in the Marine Corps on May 23, 2005. He served as...
SANTA ANA – A convicted rapist sat impassively in court Thursday as an Orange County jury announced that he faces the death penalty for the sexual assault and stabbing death of a pregnant, 22-year-old Costa Mesa housewife during a brutal six-week...
WASHINGTON — In a historic argument for gay rights, President Barack Obama on Thursday urged the Supreme Court to overturn California's same-sex marriage ban and turn a skeptical eye on similar prohibitions across the country. The Obama...
COSTA MESA – California Highway Patrol officers arrested a man after they said he crashed into a center divider, then attempted to flag down other drivers to flee.
An officer first noticed the man driving recklessly in a compact car on the...
COSTA MESA – Costa Mesa officials Tuesday traced about $15 million of the city's unfunded pension liability to a single 2008 City Council vote.
The union contract amendment sweetened the general employees' pension benefits retroactively, and...
Cody Canzoneri's life did a 180-degree turn when he moved from his native Texas to California two summers ago to make his home in San Clemente, where he would be able to surf Trestles every day.
One thing didn't change – the Texan, now 20,...
Like many Americans, Orange Coast College sophomore Lawrence Swift doesn't know much about the Korean War – the war in which his grandfather served.
But when the Huntington Beach resident came across photo negatives that his grandfather U.S. Marine...
Hi, I'm Aspen, a gorgeous tortie with a sassy attitude. I am a bundle of fun and I would love to come home with you. I am featured as the Cat of the Month at the San Clemente/Dana Point Animal Shelter, which means I will come with a carrier, food,...
Dana Point residents kick off the annual celebration of the migration of the gray whales this weekend. The 42nd Festival of Whales, celebrating the 5,000 mile migration of California gray whales from Alaska to Mexico, takes over the streets of Dana...
Timothy Wilson, president of the Dana Point Big Brothers Big Sisters and a junior at Dana Hills High School, agreed to answer a few questions about his experience as a Big Brother.
Q. How long have you been involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters?
A....
The Del Obispo Student Council and the Character Counts Committee, under the leadership of teacher Jessica Comstock, raised $1,751.19 to support Pennies for Patients.
Pennies for Patients is a nationwide organization that benefits the Leukemia &...
Dana Point Councilman Bill Brough said Thursday that he is running for state Assembly.Brough, who has served on the City Council since 2010, announced his bid for the 73rd Assembly District seat in 2014, when the term of Assemblywoman Diane Harkey...
Dirty Rico, Mako, Banjo, LaceFace, Hitman, Epok and Psihu are just a few of the people whom Brittney Potter does business with every day. Their names sound like they survived the zombie apocalypse, but really they are glass blowers.
Potter, 28, store...
A woman driving west on Garfield in Fountain Valley recently saw an unconscious man on the sidewalk. Concerned, she drove to a nearby restaurant and called 911.
The Feb. 21 call was patched through to the Metro Cities Fire Authority in Anaheim, which...
If a big earthquake struck in two minutes, how ready would you be to take care of yourself and your family over the next few days or weeks?
Do you have a plan? Emergency supplies? Know how to turn off the gas?
The city of San Clemente offers a free...
Meter readers may soon be going the way of the milk man.
First Southern California Edison began changing its electrical meters to "smart" meters, which can be remotely read and controlled. Now water districts across Orange County are piloting...
FULLERTON – An activist who pumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into elections and operated a contentious political blog that regularly attacked the city's police and public officials is shutting down the website.
A blog item posted on Friends...
MISSION VIEJO – Catherine Maloof's all-white tennis dress was perfect for the 80-degree Southern California weather.
Hand-in-hand with Jody Lenihan, the two skipped down Disneyland's Main Street toward Sleeping Beauty Castle on an October day in...
IRVINE – A DUI fatality statistic is not just a number on a page. It is a human being: A daughter, a son, a parent, a teacher, a friend.
That set the tone of the Orange County DUI Summit at Concordia University on Wednesday, and it came from...
SANTA ANA – Police seek the public's help in locating a man who broke into two apartments in a Santa Ana complex, holding one woman against her will, and forcing her to cook for him and stealing $100 from another woman.
Authorities released a...
With federal cuts set to kick in Friday, cities across Orange County are assessing the damage that will hit them if Congress doesn't reach a deal.
Some cities say they will be crippled by the cuts. Others say regardless of the decision in Washington,...
SANTA ANA – Police seek another man in connection with a kidnap for robbery and stalking case involving a security guard who authorities said pretended to be a police officer.Jose Fernando Paredes, 26, a guard for an Anaheim Hills security company,...
SANTA ANA – In its first six months at Santa Ana schools, a new set of federal standards has been deemed effective by teachers putting them to work in classrooms.
Under the "Common Core" standards first developed by federal education leaders in...
By LARRY WELBORN and VIK JOLLYSANTA ANA – A Stanton man sat teary-eyed in court Wednesday when a jury convicted him of the murder of a Sacramento woman and a string of rapes during a 26-month span that ended with his arrest in 2005.The verdict sets...
For all the doomful foreboding, the oddly named sequester cuts scheduled to take effect Friday would take weeks to begin to manifest themselves in Orange County and beyond. Some of the cuts would not materialize for months, giving Congress and...
Before his rampage against law enforcement, Christopher Dorner acquired a cache of weapons with a level of ease that surprised even him.
Authorities, court documents and those who met Dorner reported he owned a variety of firearms and accessories,...
