Los Angeles Times

9/6/2010: Front Page: They go to bat for this stadium delivery man

Pete Bonfils has thrown more pitches than any man who has ever worn a Dodgers uniform. Given up more home runs too. Yet even the most die-hard Dodgers fans have never heard his name or seen him throw because Bonfils does most of his work before the...

9/6/2010: Front Page: This shrimp goes fine with oil

After the BP oil spill, the organizers of one of America's more unusual civic celebrations began fielding the phone calls, the ones that invariably asked: Are you really going to have it this year? In response, they erected abig billboard on U.S. 90...

9/6/2010: Front Page: Drug cartels cripple oil operations

The meandering network of pipes, wells and tankers belonging to the gigantic state oil company Pemex have long been an easy target of crooks and drug traffickers who siphon off natural gas, gasoline and even crude, robbing the Mexican treasury of...

9/6/2010: Front Page: HAITI: LIVING IN LIMBO

The shattered stores along Boulevard Jean-Jacques Dessalines in Port-au-Prince may never recover from the earthquake that struck Haiti in January. These days, the boulevard is bustling with activity, with women and men selling used socks, stalks of...

9/6/2010: Front Page: Bell impounded cars to boost coffers, police say

As city administrators' salaries were rocketing in Bell and council members' stipends were among the highest in the state, the city went on an aggressive push to increase municipal revenue by impounding cars in the city, police officers say. Officers...

9/6/2010: Front Page: DATA DELIVERY

As Dr. Robert Steele works at Loma Linda University Medical Center, Melissa Genove inputs patient information. A medical scribe, Genove handles complex new electronic medical record systems that can slow doctors. HEALTH, E1

9/6/2010: Front Page: U.S. soldiers help repel Iraq attack

At least 18 people died as Iraqi troops battled insurgents in a major assault in Baghdad.

9/6/2010: Front Page: Obama to seek tax credit boost

The $100-billion plan would expand credits for businesses that invest in R&D.

9/6/2010: Front Page: At Telluride, a fast ‘127 Hours'

The audience was riveted to Danny Boyle's latest, a true action movie.

9/6/2010: Front Page: Hurd's next stop?

Mark Hurd, ousted from HP a month ago, may join software giant Oracle.

9/6/2010: News: Fiorina is effective on TV

Political rookie Carly Fiorina should book every televised debate with U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer that the senator will permit. The Republican Senate nominee is trying to do just that, actually. But Boxer has been skittish, as incumbents usually are, not...

9/6/2010: The World: Fit for a mini Indian highway

He's watched the cheap Chinese toys come in, a flimsy, massproduced onslaught. That's of little concern. He's doing something more meaningful, something that will last. Balwinder Singh slowly works the sandpaper around the cargo bay of the miniature...

9/6/2010: The World: Basque rebels make a truce offer to Spain

Weakened and on the run, the Basque separatist group ETA said Sunday that it was declaring a cease-fire in its armed campaign against the Spanish government and that it was willing to try to achieve its aims through democratic means. It was the latest...

9/6/2010: The World: Guatemala mudslides kill 38

nahuala, guatemala — Torrential rains from a tropical depression caused landslides that have killed at least 38 people in Guatemala — some of them rescuers who had come to save people already trapped by a wall of mud. In the village of Nahuala, about...

9/6/2010: The World: Scores die as 2 boats capsize

Two boat capsizings in one weekend on the Democratic Republic of Congo's vast rivers have left 70 people dead and 200 others feared dead in unrelated incidents that were both characterized by heavily loaded boats operated with few safety measures,...

9/6/2010: The World: FOR THE RECORD

Mosque hate crime: An article in Sunday's Section A about a hate crime at a Madera, Calif., mosque omitted the attribution for a quote. It was Marciela Garcia, the receptionist for Dr. Muhammad Anwar, who said: “I've seen these Muslim doctors help...

9/6/2010: The World: Journalist from Japan released

A Japanese freelance journalist who was abducted by apparent Taliban militants in Afghanistan five months ago has been freed by his captors, reports said. Kosuke Tsuneoka, a veteran of war zones, was released Saturday and was at the Japanese Embassy...

9/6/2010: The World: Afghan dam poses a monumental challenge

There may be no better symbol of American involvement in southern Afghanistan — initial success, current frustration and an uncertain future — than the giant Kajaki Dam. Built in 1953 by the U.S. government, the 320-foot high, 887-foot-wide dam was...

9/6/2010: The Nation: Seeking common ground

Politicians have deemed the area around New York's “ground zero” hallowed ground. Protesters have paraded signs proclaiming, “No sacrilege at holy ground,” and others have called it the site of a “sacred burial.” And it's true that the neighborhood,...

9/6/2010: The Nation: ISLAND ENTERPRISE

The shattered stores along Boulevard Jean-Jacques Dessalines may never reopen. But amid the colonial-style columns and wide, arched entries, one group of women won't let a little dust get in the way of beauty. They've set up a sidewalk salon, where...

9/6/2010: Monday Business: Logistics firm needs to locate its niche market

Marc Schnell is a fixer. Companies such as Quiksilver Inc. and Smashbox Cosmetics have hired his logistics firm to take care of problems with incoming goods. He has, to cite some examples, hired temporary workers to replace too-small snaps on a...

9/6/2010: Monday Business: Study your rivals but don't get carried away

Dear Karen: How can I get data on my competitors? Answer: Join professional groups, attend trade shows and subscribe to industry publications. Such organizations often publish surveys and trend reports that will give you insights on what others in your...

9/6/2010: Monday Business: THE WEEK AHEAD

MONDAY U.S. financial markets and government offices are closed for Labor Day. TUESDAY Japan's central bank concludes two-day meeting on monetary policy. WEDNESDAY President Obama is expected to speak about the economy. Federal Reserve reports on...

9/6/2010: Monday Business: How national groups can help

Dear Karen: What's the point of joining national small-business groups? Answer: Lobbying groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Federation of Independent Business track political issues that affect private companies. “They follow...

9/6/2010: Monday Business: Kelmar Industries

Business: Founded in 2003, Kelmar provides businesses with third-party logistical services, including warehouse storage, distribution, repackaging, assembly, mail-order fulfillment and repair of imported cargo Owner: Marc Schnell Employees: 1 full...

9/6/2010: Monday Business: A robot can stand in for you at work

Late one July night, Mountain View Fire Capt. Verne Chestnut and his team were checking out a fire alarm at an office building when he saw movement at the front door. But the thing waiting there, as if to greet them, was not a person. It was a robot...

9/6/2010: Monday Business: Hotel guests' top craving: free Wi-Fi

A comfy mattress and a hot breakfast are still important to hotel guests, but free wireless Internet access is the most desired amenity, according to a new survey of 53,000 travelers. The survey by J.D. Power & Associates found that free Wi-Fi was the...

9/6/2010: Opinion: Standing up for teachers

Re “Teachers blast Times for rankings,” Aug. 30, “School board ends evaluation silence,” Sept. 1, and “Group urges new teacher evaluations,” Sept. 2 Ranking teacher effectiveness by student test scores ignores the fact that education isn't a factory...

9/6/2010: Opinion: The unemployed

Pleaders, state governments started designating a Labor Day holiday on the first Monday in September more than 120 years ago. The day has always been tinged with melancholy — it marks the unofficial end of summer. This year, however, the holiday is...

9/6/2010: Opinion: OPINION L.A.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer wants voters to make decisions the way she does: easily and uninformed, says Paul Thornton.

9/6/2010: Opinion: BLOWBACK

Recent reader responses include pieces on Judge Vaughn Walker's sexuality and the Palestinian prime minister.

9/6/2010: Opinion: OPINION L.A.

In his latest installment from Afghanistan, cartoonist Ted Rall changes his travel plans to avoid Taliban violence.

9/6/2010: Op-Ed: A man and his pen

He never lost his sense of outrage. My friend Paul Conrad, who died Saturday at 86, was the premier editorial cartoonist of his generation and, for many years, this newspaper's most visible public face. Outrage informed his journalism and animated his...

9/6/2010: Sports: Boise has big plans for BCS

Boise State versus Virginia Tech at FedEx Field, in Maryland, on Labor Day night, is more than a game — it's a game-changer. It's about coaches, cheerleaders, fans and players, for sure, but it's also about pigskin politics. To have a game so...

9/6/2010: Sports: AY-YI-YI, SKIPPER!

The questions come at Joe Torre every day, sometimes as fiercely as a Clayton Kershaw fastball, sometimes with the trickiness of a backdoor slider. Will he return to manage the Dodgers next season? If he's not sure, which way is he leaning? Will his...

9/6/2010: Sports: Nadal's march toward history has met with little resistance

Rafael Nadal easily navigated another pothole on his road to history Sunday, a history with which he has not quite come to grips. Besides the best game in tennis at the moment, the Spanish star had everything going for him in his thirdround U.S. Open...

9/6/2010: Sports: KURODA CAN'T STOP GIANTS

SAN FRANCISCO 3 DODGERS 0 The Dodgers play three games with the first-place Padres in San Diego starting Monday, a series that could have been a crucial showdown in the National League West for the Dodgers, except for the Dodgers' mediocre play of...

9/6/2010: Sports: Santana gets great support

Right-hander's strong six-inning effort is backed up by home runs from Abreu and Napoli.

9/6/2010: Sports: Carson has talent, class

Colts football team shows all that's good about prep sports, Eric Sondheimer writes.

9/6/2010: Sports: On the mound

Pete Bonfils has pitched batting practice for the Dodgers for nearly 30 years, and marvels at his good fortune.

9/6/2010: Sports: Isner feels effects

Energy is lacking after a grueling summer, and 18th-seeded player loses to 12th-seeded Youzhny at the U.S. Open.

9/6/2010: Sports: Neuheisel sees some good the day after

UCLA's coach says better times are ahead in light of loss at Kansas State.

9/6/2010: Sports: Kiffin in no hurry to make major changes

USC's coach says defense can't be judged solely by its struggles in Hawaii.

9/6/2010: Baseball: Rangers' Lee won't make next scheduled start

The Texas Rangers will take a cautious approach with pitcher Cliff Lee, who will not make his scheduled start Tuesday at Toronto because of a sore back. Lee, whom the Rangers acquired in July from Seattle, threw a bullpen session Sunday and said his...

9/6/2010: The Day In Sports: Day (66) leads by one shot

Australia's Jason Day capped an exciting day at the Deutsche Bank Championship on Sunday with a routine birdie to take the lead after the third round at Norton, Mass. Day watched a three-shot lead evaporate in two holes, only to get it back on the...

9/6/2010: The Day In Sports: Storm reaches WNBA finals

Sue Bird made a tiebreaking three-pointer with 2.8 seconds remaining, and the Seattle Storm advanced to the WNBA finals with a 91-88 victory over the defending-champion Mercury at Phoenix, closing the game with a 15-0 run. Diana Taurasi, who finished...

9/6/2010: The Day In Sports: STORM ADVANCES

Lauren Jackson, left, and Sue Bird react to Bird's three-pointer as Seattle Storm beats Phoenix Mercury to make WNBA finals.

9/6/2010: College Football: One game won't lead to changes

Don't expect any sort of defensive overhaul as USC prepares for its home opener Saturday night against Virginia. Coach Lane Kiffin watched his team give up nearly 600 yards in the Trojans' season-opening victory Thursday at Hawaii. Then he came back...

9/6/2010: College Football: Bruins can't afford to put up a false front

UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel says he saw “enough good things” on the Kansas State game tape to convince himself that “there are better days ahead.” That, however, would seem to hinge on future tapes' not turning into highlight reels for opposing running...

9/6/2010: College Football: UNC assistant coach resigns

John Blake, the associate head coach of the North Carolina football team, resigned from Coach Butch Davis' staff Sunday. School officials said Blake's resignation was effective immediately. In a statement issued by the university, Blake said he...

9/6/2010: College Football: PLAY IT FORWARD

Five things to watch this week in college football: 1Penn State Coach Joe Paterno easily notched career victory No. 395 with Saturday's 44-14 home victory over Youngstown State, but gettingNo. 396 this weekend is going to be a Bear because the...

9/6/2010: College Football: Stewart wins at Atlanta

hampton, ga. — Ten drivers have locked up spots in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. No one is feeling better about his chances than Tony Stewart. The car owner raced the No. 14 Chevy to his first win of the year, pulling away from Carl...

9/6/2010: College Football: Jets' Revis ends holdout, agrees to new contract

Darrelle Revis and the New York Jets agreed to a new contract, ending the All-Pro cornerback's holdout a week before the team's season opener. The team announced the agreement in principle early Monday but released no contract terms. Revis' holdout...

9/6/2010: Calendar: IT'S NOT THE HEAT, IT'S THE HUMANITY

A crowd estimated at 20,000 jammed L.A. State Historic Park downtown on Saturday for the annual FYF Fest. The lineup featured 35 bands, including the Rapture, Panda Bear, !!!, Dead Man's Bones, Washed Out and Local Natives. The festival, in its seventh...

9/6/2010: Calendar: A sex icon's hottest topics

As Brigitte Bardot approaches her 76th birthday, her starlet aura has been enjoying a broad resurgence — and the woman herself, plenty of attention. In the year since her widely commemorated 75th birthday, a fashion elite — Dior, Lagerfeld and...

9/6/2010: Calendar: Couple graduate to ‘Having Fun Now'

Even though Jenny Lewis and Johnathan Rice are one of L.A. indie rock's most doeeyed couples, their debut album together as Jenny & Johnny emerged from a breakup. They'd split with one of their favorite musicians — Bob Dylan. “We were at this jam...

9/6/2010: Calendar: Home is where the crime is

“Winter's Bone” and the Australian suspense-drama “Animal Kingdom” offer a new spin on crime families.

9/6/2010: Calendar: Cat in the Hat goes to class

Children might not realize it as they watch the new series with the Cat in the Hat, but they're learning science.

9/6/2010: News: A new way to take it outside

EARLY BIRD: Xino The third-floor dining terrace at the newly revamped Santa Monica Place mall opened with a wine bar, a Spanish restaurant, a sushi restaurant, a Mexican place, a pizzeria and more, some of them from relatively big-name chefs. What to...

9/6/2010: News: Happening Monday

POP MUSIC Vanaprasta This experimental Silver Lake quintet doesn't have a label, but its yet-to-be released album, “Healthy Geometry,” is hotly anticipated. Hear the band's unorthodox rhythms, soaring vocals and bluesy monster riffs at the debut night...

9/6/2010: News: LANDSCAPE:

A waiter passes a photo mural of a reclining, tattooed woman in the dining room.

9/6/2010: News: QUITE A VIEW:

The outdoor patio features a bar and plenty of heaters for when the wind picks up.

9/6/2010: News: Xino Restaurant and Lounge

Where: 395 Santa Monica Place at Santa Monica Boulevard and 4th Street, Santa Monica. When: Open for lunch and dinner from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m Sundays through Tuesdays, 11 a.m. to midnight Wednesdays and 11 a.m. to 2 a.m Thursdays through...

9/6/2010: News: Mystery sidetracked by romance in Saudi Arabia

“City of Veils,” Zoë Ferraris' mystery novel set in Saudi Arabia, offers a sensitive look at life in the city of Jeddah. The novel has a strong sense of place — the author knows the territory. Ferraris lived in Saudi Arabia in the 1990s, and her plot,...

9/6/2010: News: The Met expands its reach

new york — The close-ups were so tight you could see a tear slowly trickling down the tenor's face — and that the soprano's fingernail polish didn't match the color on her toes, though she did nail the high C. It was a live performance of the...

9/6/2010: News: A modern-day Greek tragedy

“Incendies,” which screened here this weekend, opens with the last wishes of a single mother who has instructed her twin children to find a father and brother they never have met. The request is unusual, but what the young woman and man discover as...

9/6/2010: News: Diana Athill's life is well examined

In a recent interview, Diana Athill, longtime British editor of such writers as Philip Roth, V.S. Naipaul, Norman Mailer, Jean Rhys and John Updike, pondered her mother's objections to her own first book, “Instead of a Letter,” published in 1962. “I...

9/6/2010: News: It's feline ingenuity

The Cat in the Hat is back — again — with his red bow tie and rave-ready stripey soft topper. This time he comes not, as he did in the first book to bear his name, only to make “fun that is funny” but rather in the name of science: “The Cat in the Hat...

9/6/2010: News: Ashamed of losing her home

Dear Amy: We were forced by the weak economy to leave our home of 22 years. The kids have no idea we lost their home to foreclosure (they're in college in other states). I am so angry and disappointed in my husband. I'm so ashamed. How do I remedy...

9/6/2010: News: Bruce Campbell is far from ‘Dead'

Bruce Campbell is starring in USA's spy romp “Burn Notice” as the wisecracking Sam Axe, but for some fans, he'll always be Ash, the beloved hero of Sam Raimi's cult favorite “Evil Dead” trilogy: 1981's “The Evil Dead,” 1987's “Evil Dead II” and 1992's...

9/6/2010: Comics: CROSSWORD

ACROSS 1 Moved on all fours 6 “Snow” veggie 9 Action film high point 14 Break off completely 15 Select, with “for” 16 Like Cheerios 17 Open-mouthed 18 Watch or clock 20 Second floor of a home, say 22 Your and my 23 John who played Basil Fawlty 24...

9/6/2010: Comics: HOROSCOPE

Aries (March 21-April 19): There is much you could dwell on if you weren't such a positive person. You will direct your thoughts instead to the one who makes you smile. Taurus (April 20-May 20): It may take you longer than usual to get it all...

9/6/2010: Comics: BRIDGE

When a lifelong procrastinator passed on, her obituary included this: “To honor Ann's memory, her funeral will begin 10 minutes late.” A good declarer may need to procrastinate. He must manage his entries, perhaps by waiting to take a winner or to...

9/6/2010: Monday Prime-Time TV: CRITTERS FRITTER:

A blue jay and his raccoon buddy do their best to do as little work as possible in the new series “Regular Show” at 8:15 p.m. Cartoon Network

9/6/2010: Lat Extra: L.A. school named for Gore

Al Gore has had some tough breaks — like losing the presidency after getting more votes than the other guy — but the noted environmentalist achieved a singular honor last week, becoming the first vice president to have a Los Angeles school named after...

9/6/2010: Lat Extra: 4 campaigns, 4 distinct styles

The California campaigns for governor and senator can look like one big unwieldy whole, moving inexorably toward November, cluttering television screens and radio airwaves and mailboxes statewide. Close up, they are four campaigns distinct in style and...

9/6/2010: Lat Extra: Deputies' 911 response times grow

Los Angeles County sheriff 's deputies are getting to the scenes of 911emergencies significantly later than they were before budget cuts last March, according to a recent analysis of Sheriff's Department records. Last month, response times were a full...

9/6/2010: Lat Extra: Violent slaying retold in court

The young man, wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and shackled at the waist, was poised on the witness stand, politely addressing attorneys as “sir” and “ma'am” as he matter-offactly described the night he and other gang members took turns stabbing a...

9/6/2010: Lat Extra: Donations to Cooley a conflict, some say

Rene Cota was stunned when he searched the Internet and came across a $1,500 campaign contribution reported recently by Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley, who is running for state attorney general. The shocker, he said, was the donor — David...

9/6/2010: Lat Extra: Her network aided grieving

Helen Krogh, founder of a support group for widows, dies at 78.

9/6/2010: Lat Extra: Major meeting in North Korea

Secretive confab may introduce a leader-tobe: Kim Jong Eun.

9/6/2010: Lat Extra: Police kill man on busy street

He was wielding a knife in a Westlake shopping district.

9/6/2010: Lat Extra: Weather:

Clear after early fog. Downtown L.A.: 77/60.

9/6/2010: California: County's food pantries feel the pinch

Thousands of people turn to the Lutheran Social Services Community Care Center in Van Nuys for help putting food on the table. Last week, a sign went up on the door: “We're sorry but we ran out of food.” With demand for assistance continuing to rise,...

9/6/2010: California: AID FIGURES CAUSE ALARM

Welfare payments to children of illegal immigrants in Los Angeles County increased in July to $52 million, prompting renewed calls from one county supervisor to rein in public benefits to such families. The payments, made to illegal immigrants for...

9/6/2010: Obituaries: LAPD officer acquitted in gun exporting case

A federal court jury last week acquitted a Los Angeles police officer of attempting to illegally export guns to Belize for a private security business he owned. Federal prosecutors had alleged that LAPD Officer Johnny Augustus Baltazar illegally...

9/6/2010: Obituaries: Mixed-media artist and printmaker

Patrick Merrill, 61, a mixed-media artist and printmaker who was curator of Cal Poly Pomona's art gallery from 1997 to 2009, died Tuesday in Diamond Bar after battling colon cancer, the university announced. Merrill had a studio in Covina where he...

9/6/2010: News: READY TO ROLL

Diego Alcazar, 4, of Fontana sits atop an old tractor at the Los Angeles County Fair in Pomona. The annual extravaganza runs through Oct. 3.