Thursday, May 17, 2012
The 43-year-old is burned by rocks from San Onofre State Beach that mysteriously ignited. She is hospitalized with third-degree burns.
How rocks from a southern Orange County beach caught fire in the pocket of a San Clemente woman's cargo shorts, landing her in a hospital with third-degree burns, remained a mystery today. The 43-year old woman's children picked up the seven orange and green rocks on Saturday at San Onofre State Beach, which is popular with surfers and known locally as Trestles. The rocks combusted and set the woman's shorts on fire and continued to burn the wood floor of her Avenida Estrella house, according Capt. Marc Stone of the Orange County Fire Authority. The woman, whose name was not released, was hospitalized at Western Medical Center in Santa Ana with third-degree burns to her right thigh and knee, Stone said. He said the victim "stopped, dropped…
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
An analyst hired by environmentalists says the steps being taken by Southern California Edison won't work.
San Onofre could be on ice for 18 months before technicians finally fix the faulty generators that leaked radioactive steam in January, according to a report issued Tuesday by Fairewinds Associates, an energy consulting firm hired by an anti-nuclear group. "The damaged steam generators ... require major modifications with repair and outage time that could last more than 18 months if [Southern California] Edison and [generator manufacturer] Mitsubishi are even able to repair these faulty designed steam generators," the report states. The report, commissioned by the environmental group Friends of the Earth, said replacing the steam generators is the only real solution to the problem. Written by Arnie Gundersen of Fairewinds, the analysis …
Monday, May 14, 2012
If voters shoot down a November initiative to temporarily raise taxes, school districts statewide would face $5.5 billion in cuts, about $700 million worse than what the governor estimated in January.
Gov. Jerry Brown continues to lay his hopes for state fiscal soundness on a November tax initiative, but if it doesn’t pass, schools will face additional cuts that could chop three weeks off the next school year. On Monday, Brown revised the 2012-13 budget he first released in January. Called the May revise, his new figures reflect tax revenues that have fallen far short of earlier predictions. “It’s a difficult budget,” Brown acknowledged in a press conference. If voters approve his temporary tax hike measure, Brown’s revised budget would actually increase funding for schools by $15 billion in four years, or $2,500 per student. Brown called the tax initiative reasonable. “I think it’s fair, and I think it provides a reliable source of …
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Residents and commuters are invited to a series of meetings on proposals to add lanes between Euclid and the 605.
It’s no secret the 405 Freeway moves at a snail’s pace during peak hours. But some relief may be on the way. Residents and commuters are invited to a series of public hearings to learn about a proposed 405 Improvement Project and comment on an environmental impact report scheduled to be released May 18. “The 405 freeway has had limited improvements since 1989 and it's one of the most heavily traveled in the nation,” said Orange County Transportation Authority spokesman Joel Zlotnik. The project calls for widening the 405 between Euclid Street and the 605 Freeway. The environmental impact report will outline the effects associated with each of three construction alternatives. Plan 1 would add one general purpose lane in each direction and …
The iconic Coast Highway roadside eatery, rebranded by the Ruby's chain, has applied for a beer and wine license.
The roadside Ruby's at Crystal Cove between Laguna Beach and Corona del Mar—known and still remembered by most locals as the Shake Shack—has applied for a license to serve beer and wine. According to reports, the application was filed this week. Applications typically take up to two months to process. After being closed for several months, the Coast Highway landmark underwent an extensive remodel last year. It's now fully handicapped-accessible, has a bigger parking lot (still not big enough, some would grumble—this place is as crazy popular as ever, and you should consider yourself charmed if you manage to grab a space during the lunch rush), and a spiffy new umbrella-draped redwood eating deck with room for 60. And soon, you might be …
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Judge finds sufficient evidence to hold over Fullerton cops Manuel Ramos and Jay Cicinelli for trial. The beating of Kelly Thomas was shown for the first time during this week's hearing.
- GOVERNMENT
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Wednesday, May 9
Two Fullerton police officers were ordered today to stand trial for the beating death of schizophrenic transient Kelly Thomas. Officer Manuel Anthony Ramos, 38, is charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter, while Cpl Jay Cicinelli, 40, is charged with involuntary manslaughter and excessive force in the beating last July 5 at the Fullerton Transportation Center. The 37-year-old homeless man died five days later when his family took him off life support. The 38-year-old Ramos, a 10-year Fullerton police veteran, is free on $1 million bail, one of the highest ever posted in Orange County. Cicinelli, 42, is free on $25,000 bail. They are both on unpaid administrative leave. Ramos faces a potential sentence of 15 years to …
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Resident Dennis Holland's restoration of his 72-foot boat has come to an end.
He's been restoring his historic boat -- the Shawnee -- alongside his Newport Beach home for the past six years, but come September Dennis Holland's massive ship must be packed away. Holland had been working on the boat on his Holiday Road property for quite some time, but city officials said the work was in violation of a city law adopted in 2009. Newport Beach reached a tentative settlement of its dispute with Holland last month, however city officials said it was inaccurately reported that Holland would be able to rebuild the boat in his backyard. In a statement issued by the city on Monday, the terms of the settlement were outlined. According to the news release, the city did not agree to allow Holland to rebuild the boat in the …
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher says the technology is outdated and shouldn't be relicensed. "We can be safer and more efficient," he says after touring the reactor.
San Onofre is a technological dinosaur and should be replaced with a more modern nuclear reactor when its license expires in 10 years, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) said Thursday. "There should be no new licenses issued to light-water reactors," he said. "We should utilize those reactors that are in place because we've spent tens of billions of dollars, but we shouldn't work to extend their lives ... not because of how unsafe they are now, but because we can be safer and more efficient. We have to realize that this is 50-year-old technology." Rohrabacher spoke to the media outside the embattled plant Thursday afternoon after touring its security features. The congressman said he was impressed with the measures San Onofre had …
Monday, April 30, 2012
Three men on board the Aegean lost their lives during the deadly Newport to Ensenada Yacht Race. A fourth sailor remains lost at sea.
It is likely the four sailors aboard the Aegean – a yacht that was racing over the weekend in the Newport to Ensenada Yacht Race — were not wearing life jackets when their yacht took a deadly turn off the shore of northern Mexico. Some media outlets have reported that the Aegean crewmen were not wearing flotation devices when authorities say the yacht may have collided with an unidentified vessel, but an official with the U.S. Coast Guard told Patch that report could not be verified. “It is required practice to have life vests for everyone on board, but they are not required to wear them at all times,” Henry Dunphy, a Coast Guard spokesman, said Monday. "As far as if they were wearing life jackets when it happened, that cannot be confirmed…
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Newport Beach man asked to remove 72-foot boat from the side of his home as part of city ordinance.
- GOVERNMENT
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Saturday, April 28
Newport Beach reached a tentative settlement of its dispute with a cancer-stricken resident who has built a 72-foot boat in the side yard of his property, just before Monday's scheduled start of the trial on the city's nuisance suit, representatives of both sides said Friday. The dispute has dragged on for years as city officials have tried to get Dennis and Elizabeth Holland to remove the boat, the Shawnee, from his property. City officials say it violates an ordinance adopted in 2009 and filed a lawsuit against the Hollands in June. "I'm happy, I'm excited," Dennis Holland told City News Service. "It's a good thing, really. I have to take her all apart and then I have 120 days to do that. I can put it all back together behind the house …
T.Spayede
10:16 pm on Thursday, May 17, 2012
See above article on 'sunscreen' protection.... at and around ~100mi...of Sand-and- Oafree muffintops... (Similar thing occurred with Richard Pryor several years ago, I think. Tho, in that case he said the 'flameout' happened because he mixed 2% milk with non-fat ( his own meth od, apparently)). An investigation might also want to check any interaction between this nuke fasizzlity and any nearby … more ›