LOS ANGELES TIMES News, Mar 09, 2012

The Morning Fix: 'Lorax' to live in first place. Britney joining 'X Factor'? Los Angeles Times Box office projections from the Los Angeles Times and Variety. I'ma slave for you. Britney Spears is near a deal to go work for Simon Cowell as a judge on his musical competition show "The X Factor," according to the Hollywood Reporter. See all stories on this topic »

LA Times gets rid of star ratings for restaurants Boston.com As of this week, the LA Times announces, it will no longer run star ratings with restaurant reviews. From the announcement: "Star ratings are increasingly difficult to align with the reality of dining in Southern California -- where your dinner choices ... See all stories on this topic »

The Crossbow Incident: A South Korean's breaking point Los Angeles Times (Matt Douma, For The Times / March 8, 2012) By John M. Glionna,Los Angeles Times It began when an out-of work math professor who had just lost a decision in civil court confronted the judge with a crossbow. Now, five years later, the entire South ... See all stories on this topic » Los Angeles Times

PETA opens Echo Park headquarters with bark and bite Los Angeles Times By Gale Holland, Los Angeles Times People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals did a few things right when it opened its new West Coast headquarters in Echo Park last month. First, PETA spent $7.4 million buying and renovating its 82-year-old building, ... See all stories on this topic »

L.A. Politicians Increase Amount of Money They Can Receive From Unions ... LA Weekly (blog) Indeed, the only story out this morning on the city's fat new contribution limits is a post on the Los Angeles Times news blog. (It's behind a paywall, so good luck with that.) And, of course, some bloggin' rage from former LA Daily News editor Ron ... See all stories on this topic »

US wine collector accused of passing fake bottles San Luis Obispo Tribune In a 2006 profile in the Los Angeles Times, Kurniawan boasted of buying nearly $35 million in wine that year, sometimes dropping $75000 on a single case, and he talked of his own skill at sniffing out forgeries. Investigators said in court papers that ... See all stories on this topic »

New Medal of Honor will go inside fighters' psyches Kansas City Star In a telephone interview with the Los Angeles Times, the soldiers, now retired from active duty, identified themselves only by their first names, Nate and Kevin, in order to protect their identities and those of the troops who served with them. See all stories on this topic »

Los Angeles Lakers (23-16) at Minnesota Timberwolves (21-19), 8 pm (ET) Sacramento Bee Kobe Bryant led all scorers with 30 points, while Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum had 19 points apiece for Los Angeles, which blew a 21-point lead in the second half. "I was out there kind of loafing around and having a good time," Bynum admitted postgame. See all stories on this topic »

Audit: Ca. hospital had financial ties to vendors Sacramento Bee The Los Angeles Times reports Wednesday ( http://lat.ms/zX739H) the Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System paid $21 million to the firms over five years, some of it in apparent violation of conflict-of-interest laws. Investigators found 11 cases ... See all stories on this topic »

The Note's Must-Reads for Friday, March 9, 2012 ABC News (blog) The Note's Must-Reads are a round-up of today's political headlines andstories from ABC News and the top US newspapers. Posted Monday through Friday right here at www.abcnews.com ABC News' Devin Dwyer: “Obamas Dine in DC with Campaign Sweepstakes ... See all stories on this topic »

China reaches out with happy talk Asia Times Online In an article titled "World Bank tells China to reform state sector to ensure stability" (I'm pretty sure the print-edition headline was just "World Bank tells China to reform"), the LA Times' Dave Pierson and Don Lee wrote: The World Bank, ... See all stories on this topic »

Maxwell Keith, lawyer in Manson case, dies at 87 San Luis Obispo Tribune AP Exclusive: Kidnapping suspect promised work The Los Angeles Times(http://lat.ms/xuvfLy) says Keith defended former prom queen Leslie Van Houten during her two trials and also defended Charles "Tex" Watson. Keith argued that Charles Manson ... See all stories on this topic »

Bankruptcy Didn't Make the Sky Fall In Orange County City Watch Portentously described in a Los Angeles Times headline as a “Referendum on OC's future,” Measure R was rejected on June 27, 1995 in a landslide – 61 percent to 39 percent – by voters incensed that county leaders expected them to pay for a mess they ... See all stories on this topic »

North Carolina's death penalty debate Sacramento Bee The case of the first inmate to test this law, convicted killer Marcus Reymond Robinson, is currently being heard, and as Los Angeles Times staff writer David Zucchino reported recently, it's being watched carefully in other states. See all stories on this topic »

Germany's Biggest Tabloid Bids Farewell To Topless Page One Girl NPR (blog) The AP reports that more than 5000 women have appeared on the cover since 1984. The Los Angeles Times spoke to Tobias Froehlich, a spokesman for Axel Springer, the multimedia company that owns Bild. He said he doesn't think removing the feature will ... See all stories on this topic »

Discover Yahoo! With Your Friends Yahoo! Sports (blog) [Dallas Stars Blog] • Jack Johnson on facing the Los AngelesKings on Thursday night: "I've got a lot of guys on the [Kings] who'll probably be lifelong friends, but we're no longer teammates. They're the enemy [Thursday night]." [Dispatch] • Huzzah! See all stories on this topic » Yahoo! Sports (blog)

Lindsay Lohan red hair: Actress ditches platinum blonde to go back to her... Daily Mail Entertainment Weekly asked in a headline. While Hitfix.com critic Ryan McGee wrote: 'She looks scared to death out there.' Meanwhile, The Los Angeles Times said the performance gave the impression that Lindsay's 'comeback train is stuck at the station. See all stories on this topic » Daily Mail

Automated Retailing Goes Hollywood Sacramento Bee This exciting system was recently featured on KTLA News and in the Los Angeles Times. About AVT: AVT, Inc. is a leading developer of self-service retailing systems, custom vending machines, and automated retail stores. AVT's stock is traded through the ... See all stories on this topic »

Bad: No more Norm Dicks. Good: No Dennis Kucinich here. Crosscut The Los Angeles Times headline: "Romney fails to deliver knock-out blow." After the primary, a Romney campaign advisor indicated Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul aren't in this way, that only "an act of God" can stop Mitt now. See all stories on this topic »

Iron Mike Tyson can handle the truth: Live at MGM Grand Las Vegas this April newjerseynewsroom.com The LA Times reports that the six-night gig, entitled "Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth -- Live on Stage," will run April 13-18 in the 740-seat Hollywood Theatre, with the former champion boxer telling what it's like to have been feared, reviled and pitied ... See all stories on this topic »

Sports wire Columbus Dispatch The Blue Jackets beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-1 tonight in Nationwide Arena. The Blue Jackets have won four consecutive games for the first time since they won five in a row in Nov. 2010. Center Mark Letestu sandwiched a pair of goals around the winner ... See all stories on this topic »

Six Shocking Stories of Travelers Gone Wild SmarterTravel.com (blog) On a 15-hour flight from Los Angeles to Sydney last month, my fellow row-sharer on our string of four chairs—two unoccupied—immediately stretched out across three of them (with his head on my armrest). I was too stunned to react quickly, ... See all stories on this topic » SmarterTravel.com (blog)

The One Group Acquires The Nightclub and Beach Club at The New Tropicana LasVegas Sacramento Bee The ONE Group (One, STK, Asellina) and partners Remi Laba and Aymeric Clemente of Bagatelle America (New York and Los Angeles) will introduce toLas Vegas the original Bagatelle Champagne party brunch—made famous in New York's Meatpacking District ... See all stories on this topic »

Dennis Kucinich: Conscience of the Congress truthout Back in 1979, I interviewed Mayor Kucinich for the Los Angeles Times, where I was working, and for Playboy. The Playboy interview caused him some discomfort with his solid base of Catholic voters, but they and other Clevelanders were warm to his... See all stories on this topic » truthout

Realtors begin smiling again Albany Times Union 28, 2012, Realtor Mark Prather poses for a photo at his real state services company, Buy America offices in La Palma, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) In this photo taken Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2012, Realtor Mark Prather poses for a photo at his real ... See all stories on this topic »

Sandra Fluke on Her Role in the Contraception Controversy: 'I Would Do This Again' TIME “It can be overwhelming at times,” she tells TIME from Los Angeles, “but what I am trying to focus on is my main goal in the situation, and that is continuing to advocate on behalf of women affected by the contraception regulation and making sure that ... See all stories on this topic » TIME

British hostage killed in Nigeria: latest Telegraph.co.uk News of the botched raid is also the main story on LaRepubblica's website under the headline "Italian hostage killed in Nigeria", noting that he was kidnapped last May. La Stampa also carries the story on its website, saying the raid was carried out ... See all stories on this topic » Telegraph.co.uk

Hicks: Amanda Bynes ditches cop San Jose Mercury News By Tony Hicks Amanda Bynes drove away from the scene yesterday while anLA cop was writing her a ticket. Who says celebrities believe they're more special than the rest of us? Bynes was pulled over for talking on a cell phone while driving Wednesday ... See all stories on this topic »

Hinkle: Nation wondering: what happening to language? Richmond Times Dispatch Meanwhile: sentence fragments, participial phrases running amok – starting in New York and Los Angeles, then blanketing the entire nation. Law enforcement puzzled. FBI, no leads yet. Investigations ongoing. And now a theory: Nightly news to blame. See all stories on this topic »

Finally: Real estate firms' drought may be ending Contra Costa Times 5, the phones started to ring" with would-be buyers and sellers hoping to make a deal, says Prather, whose ERA Buy America Real Estate Services is in LaPalma, Calif., on the border between Los Angeles and Orange counties. That quickly lifted the mood ... See all stories on this topic »

100 Californians on new Forbes list of global billionaires Sacramento Bee (blog) ... about 10 times what she spent on her unsuccessful gubernatorial run. The poorest of the 100 California billionaires, No. 1153, is Charles Munger, a Los Angeles lawyer who is Buffett's business partner and whose wealth was tabbed at $1 billion. See all stories on this topic »

Record-Breaking Artist Mikhail Tank Premieres Darksoul Theatre (a Dream Since ... Sacramento Bee By Darksoul Theatre LOS ANGELES, Mar. 8, 2012 -- /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- The artist who brought you Soul Photography (2009), the world's first virtual ticketed show, at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, set a 2010 Guinness World Record, and stayed at a ... See all stories on this topic »

Dr. Matthias von Herrath works in dogged pursuit of diabetes La Jolla Light ... La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology. In December, internationalheadlines were generated with the announcement of von Herrath's creation of the first real-time movies of the cellular destruction underlying type 1 diabetes in mouse models. See all stories on this topic »

Movie review: 'Silent House' marks an experiment in terror Sacramento Bee "Silent House," which is based on the 2010 Uruguayan film "La casa muda," is also highly effective in its use of sound and art design. Because it's shot in one long flow, we see the layout of the rooms and what's in those rooms. See all stories on this topic »

Wonkbook: Why a rising unemployment rate could mean a real recovery Washington Post (blog) Imagine two jobs reports today: In one, we add 200000 jobs, and unemployment falls to 8.2 percent. In another, we add 200000 jobs and unemployment rises to 8.4 percent. The first jobs report will probably result in better headlines for the Obama ... See all stories on this topic »

Organic Spa Magazine Appoints Rona Berg as Executive Editor Sacramento Bee Berg has been quoted for her expertise in USA TODAY, New York magazine, Real Simple, The Los Angeles Times, ABC.com, Glamour, hollywoodlife.com, Wall Street Journal, Redbook, Good Housekeeping, Health, ivillage.com, totalbeauty.com, lovingyou.com, ... See all stories on this topic »

NYT Dissects Global Success of 'Goose-Stepping' K-Pop Singers The Chosun Ilbo The New York Times published a feature article on March 5 on the secrets behind K-pop's worldwide popularity. Under the headline"Bringing K-Pop to the West," the article talks about how K-pop is spreading and attracting audiences around the world. See all stories on this topic » The Chosun Ilbo

Stuart Dean Highlights Restoration and Maintenance Solutions to Building ... Sacramento Bee Major markets served include New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, DC/Virginia, Phoenix, Charlotte, Miami, Atlanta, Cleveland, Chicago, St. Louis, Houston, Dallas, San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles, Tustin, San Diego, Toronto, and Vancouver. See all stories on this topic »

Sexy burger ad's success is music to Park Ridge producer's ears Niles Herald-Spectator Kleiner has been writing and producing music full-time since he relocated from Park Ridge to Los Angeles not long after the song, “What Part of Forever,” which he co-wrote for pop-music artist Cee Lo Green, appeared on the “Twilight Saga”'s “Eclipse” ... See all stories on this topic »

The paper clip, 9 March European Voice (blog) Corriere della Sera and La Stampa have the Italian reaction. The Wall Street Journal reports on a stand-off between Spain and the European Commission over the size of Spain's 2012 budget deficit. The Financial Times says that there is a growing sense ... See all stories on this topic »

Zac Lee Rigg: Five MLS storylines to watch in 2012 Goal.com America "My crack in-house analytics staff has compiled the data and turned out a 46 percent chance that they will repeat," former Los Angeles general manager Alexi Lalas told Goal.com. "While the Galaxy have improved in terms of the players they brought in, ... See all stories on this topic » Goal.com America

Daily Headlines for March 9, 2012 | edspresso By Daily News This week I heard two stories, one inspiring and one terrifying, that seemed to me to really effectively epitomize the diverging forces that make up America's education reform debate. Because ... L.A. Unified Board Games Los Angeles Times, CA, March 9, 2012. In the once-in-a-decade redrawing of school board districts, some close to the current process see the mayor's guiding hand. Orcutt Parents, Union Discuss Charter Teacher Issue ... Metro West DailyNews, MA, March 9, 2012 ... edspresso

Sean Young, J-Lo and Sacha Baron Cohen ... - Los Angeles Times Sean Young, J-Lo and more: Headline-making moments of Oscars 2012 ...There are some reports that she allegedly slapped the guard when he turned her away from the event because she didn't .... Most Viewed; Most Emailed; Latest News ... www.latimes.com/.../la-na-nn-sean-young-j-lo-oscars-2012-20...

LA schools ban blindfolds in lessons after scandal | Latest National ... The Los Angeles Unified School District has barred lessons involving blindfolds and ... Latest National Headlines ... they ate cookies smeared with his semen, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday ( http://lat.ms/AgoEYx). ... Carrillo told reporters at a news conference that he filed 20 claims, which are precursors to lawsuits, ... www.star-telegram.com/.../lewd-conduct-by-1-teacher-prompt...

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: L.A. TIMES GETS IT ... This page is a compendium of items of interest - news stories, scurrilous rumors, links ... L.A. TIMES GETS IT WRONG: L.A. Board of Education OKs proposal for new ... School board redistricting: The headline on an earlier version of this online ... 4lakidsnews.blogspot.com/.../la-times-gets-it-wrong-la-board-..

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