L.A.'s close-knit Tongan community struggles with poverty

Dusk fell on the Imperial Highway apartment as Saia Holani scrambled to find a spare lamp, having handed off his own to a neighbor in need. Four of his children romped through the darkened living room, still in their Sunday best, as his wife offered...

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Retailers bulk up on safety measures for Black Friday

It's a retailer's worst nightmare: trampling, shoplifting and fighting on the busiest shopping day of the year. With several high-profile Black Friday incidents in recent years, merchants and shopping centers are on high alert. Security has been significantly...

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Shoppers carve out time for Thanksgiving bargain hunting

At 6 a.m. on a chilly Thanksgiving, hours before most Americans awoke, let alone began roasting their turkeys, Manny Rios Jr. was rushing into a Kmart store in Burbank. Fueled by free coffee and doughnuts catered by the retailer, the 47-year-old North...

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Selected new California labor laws

Most are effective on Jan. 1, 2014 Wage and Hour Laws Minimum wage: Raises the current $8-an-hour state minimum wage to $9 on July 1, 2014, and to $10 per hour on Jan. 1, 2016. Domestic employees: Creates a Domestic Workers Bill of...

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

L.A.'s DWP stops issuing shutoff notices amid billing problem

The head of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power said Wednesday that his agency has stopped issuing shut-off notices as it tackles problems associated with as many as 70,000 late or inaccurate customer bills. Faced with questions from City...

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

NFL Thursday: Lions, Cowboys and Steelers have upper hand

NFL today GREEN BAY (5-5-1) AT DETROIT (6-5) TV: Channel 11, 9:30 a.m. PST. Line: Lions by 6. Over/under: 50. Sam Farmer's pick: The Lions have lost two games in a row, and Coach Jim Schwartz's chair is getting toasty. But Detroit should be able...

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

O.J. Simpson denied new trial on 2008 convictions

LAS VEGAS — Disgraced athlete O.J. Simpson on Tuesday was denied a new trial on his 2008 convictions for robbery and kidnapping in Las Vegas, which sent him to prison for up to 33 years. Clark County District Judge Linda Marie Bell ruled that for now,...

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Identifying apartments at risk in quakes could take more than a year

Los Angeles city building officials have concluded that it would take inspectors more than a year to identify all the apartment buildings in the city that have a certain type of wood frame vulnerable to collapse in a major earthquake. City staffers...

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Kobe Bryant: Deal makes him 'want to run through a wall' for Lakers

— Kobe Bryant was all smiles during his news conference a day after receiving a two-year, $48.5-million contract extension. But sometime between saying this would "probably" be his last contract and later jabbing the NBA for vetoing the Chris Paul trade...

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Packers' Mike McCarthy says Aaron Rodgers unlikely to play Thursday

Green Bay Packers Coach Mike McCarthy said Monday the chances of quarterback Aaron Rodgers playing Thursday in the Thanksgiving game at Detroit are "slim to none." McCarthy isn't sure whether he'll go with Matt Flynn, who rallied the team from a 16-point...

12.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

S. Korea says 16th-century royal seal at LACMA may have been stolen

South Korean government officials want the United States to investigate the circumstances surrounding a 16th century Korean royal seal that they believe was stolen out of a shrine in Seoul before being acquired by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art....

12.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

49ers snap losing streak in 27-6 win over Redskins

LANDOVER, Md. — Colin Kaepernick completed 15 of 24 passes for 235 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions Monday night as the San Francisco 49ers broke a two-game losing streak with a 27-6 win over the Washington Redskins. Kaepernick outperformed...

12.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Nuclear deal with Iran is only 'first step' of difficult climb

GENEVA — Turning the fragile preliminary agreement on Iran's nuclear program into a stringent long-term deal will require even harder negotiations than those in the arduous months leading up to Sunday's signing ceremony in Geneva. New issues will be...

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Impressive win casts aside doubts about Manny Pacquiao's boxing future

In the last major fight Bob Arum promoted in the Far East, he walked out of a Philippines arena to a burning sun, mourning the destruction Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier delivered to each other in their third bout, the "Thrilla in Manila" in 1975. Sunday,...

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

When LAPD officers were accused, union dug up dirt to fight back

As far as news releases go, the one the Los Angeles police union put out was highly unusual. It dealt with Brian C. Mulligan, a Hollywood executive turned banker, who had been arrested by LAPD officers. In the news release, the union portrayed Mulligan...

12.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Newport Beach could get natural gas fire rings on two beaches

Newport Beach residents may soon be one step closer to roasting marshmallows beachside over natural gas-burning fire rings. On Tuesday, the city staff plans to recommend that the City Council approve participation in a pilot project with the South Coast...

12.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Herrington brothers' teams stay alive in high school playoffs

It's like old times for the Herrington brothers. Mike, 55; Rick, 53; and Dean, 49, won Southern Section football titles coaching together in 1995, '98, '99 and 2000 at Newhall Hart. Dean took over at Mission Hills Alemany as head coach in 2006 and brought...

12.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

UCLA, Arizona State look to change perceptions and forge new reality

UCLA was a weak crosstown underling to USC. Arizona State was undisciplined and would fade like a cheap paint job in the Tempe, Ariz., sun. These were things you could set your Rose Bowl watch by. Recognizing change can take time. As Arizona State...

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Wine review: 2011 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay

This is an elegant Napa Valley Chardonnay from Chateau Montelena, very much still in the style that won the famous Paris Tasting of 1976 and launched California Chardonnay onto the world wine scene. Silky on the palate, the 2011 has aromas of pear, citrus...

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Three L.A. restaurants that are good brunch bets

It's the holidays. The relatives are here, and you're tired of cooking and cleaning and then doing it all over again the next day. You need to get them out of the house — for brunch. Please, not a buffet. No mob scenes. You need a restaurant with a chef...

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Health campaign targets smoking in LGBT community

Gay, lesbian and bisexual adults in Los Angeles smoke at a rate more than 50% higher than their straight counterparts and suffer disproportionately from the ill effects of tobacco use, health officials reported Thursday at the introduction of a new countywide...

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Wine review: 2011 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay

This is an elegant Napa Valley Chardonnay from Chateau Montelena, very much still in the style that won the famous Paris Tasting of 1976 and launched California Chardonnay onto the world wine scene. Silky on the palate, the 2011 has aromas of pear, citrus...

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

EPA head laments lack of clean water in San Joaquin Valley

The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday that she was disappointed by the slow progress state, federal and local governments have made in bringing potable drinking water to small towns in the San Joaquin Valley. "We've got...

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

State senator burned out by polarization

State Sen. Bill Emmerson says he's so fed up with the California Legislature that he's giving up and getting out. The Hemet Republican says his legislative fire no longer burns, his passion for politics has cooled. "I'm totally frustrated, and it's...

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

U.S. tourist detained by North Korea

BEIJING — An 85-year-old tourist from Palo Alto was buckled in his seat last month on a plane preparing to depart Pyongyang, North Korea, when a flight attendant pointed him out to two men in uniform. They promptly escorted him off the plane. The man,...

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Wine review: 2011 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay

This is an elegant Napa Valley Chardonnay from Chateau Montelena, very much still in the style that won the famous Paris Tasting of 1976 and launched California Chardonnay onto the world wine scene. Silky on the palate, the 2011 has aromas of pear, citrus...

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Del Monte to pay $1.2 million to 100 Thai farmworkers

More than 100 Thai farm workers who alleged that they suffered discrimination working in Hawaii pineapple fields will receive $1.2 million in a settlement with Del Monte Fresh Produce, federal officials announced Monday in Los Angeles. Del Monte's agreement...

12.18 | 0 komentar | Read More