Email Author MATT COKER

Awards

• 2011 - Southern California Journalism Awards/LA Press Club, published February 4, 2010

  "Douchebag Does Sundance"

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2010 Stories by MATT COKER

• City and Army Corps of Engineers Celebrate Partnership to Reconfigure the Breakwaters

  published Nov 30, 2010

  Time was, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was perceived as a foe--or, at least, slow on the uptake--when it came to the proposed reconfiguration of the Long Beach breakwaters, which surfers, environm... More >>

• Embassy Suites Irvine, Hotel Facing Worker Complaints and Union Push, is Sold

  published Nov 29, 2010

  HEI Hotels & Resorts just sold the 293-suite Embassy Suites Irvine-Orange County Airport for an undisclosed price.The Norwalk, Conn.-based investor in hotel properties reportedly says the sale w... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Santa Ana Has a Desire Named Streetcar

  published Nov 29, 2010

  An interstate high-speed train that would stop in Anaheim and another linking the town that Walt Disney built with the town the mob built (Las Vegas) get all the media attention, but a California Plan... More >>

• [UPDATED:] Paul Gentile Smith Gets Life for 1988 Near-Decapitation Murder of Friend

  published Nov 29, 2010

  Update, Nov. 29, 1:04 p.m.:  Long Beach 50-year-old Paul Gentile Smith, who was found guilty earlier this month of stabbing, torturing and murdering his long-time high school friend in 1988, wa... More >>

• Bloodsuckers Star in This Week's Orange County Interwebs Horror Show

  published Nov 29, 2010

  This week's look at things said from or about Orange County on the Interwebs features maggots, leeches, intestinal worms, ornamental surgeons, greedy lenders, Cal State Fullerton Titans, San Francisco... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Sexually Aggressive Kids More Likely to Have Seen Violent Porn, Claims Local Research

  published Nov 29, 2010

  Viewing violent x-rated material may contribute to sexually aggressive behavior among 10-17 year olds, according to a Santa Ana-based research firm. Youth who look at violent porn are six times more l... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Huckabee Pimps Book About Putting Christ Back in Christmas (Like That'll Ever Happen)

  published Nov 26, 2010

  Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor who presumably did not have his way with Monica Lewinsky, signs books at the Borders book store in Tustin Saturday.The onetime and possibly future president... More >>

• [UPDATED:] Gay Cameraman Sues Sacha Baron Cohen Over Prop 8 Riot in Bruno

  published Nov 26, 2010

  Update, November 26, 3:51 p.m.: A cameraman has dropped his lawsuit against Sacha Baron Cohen over an alleged assault at a Prop 8 rally in West Hollywood.Mike Skiff, who is openly gay, cited his own "... More >>

• Mission Viejo is Safest Place to Live, Shops at Mission Viejo is Safest Place to Leave Your Car

  published Nov 26, 2010

  If you reside in Mission Viejo, congratulations, you sleep at night in the safest city in Orange County, according to rankings based on FBI crime data.Meanwhile, if you are a purse, stereo or other va... More >>

• Celebrate the Day After Thanksgiving by Avoiding Seal Beach's DUI Checkpoint

  published Nov 26, 2010

  You're overstuffed with turkey, waterlogged with egg nog and slammed with yams--not to mention recovering from another forced dysfunctional family get-together. So, it might be tempting to bridge the ... More >>

• [UPDATED:] Eddie Jurado Duran, OC Homicide No. 41: 14-Year-Old Found Shot to Death in Stolen Car

  published Nov 26, 2010

  More than two months after 14-year-old Eddie Jurado Duran was found dead in the driver's seat of a stolen car parked in a Santa Ana alley, two teens believed to have been occupants in the vehicle have... More >>

• Juan Carlos Villanueva Wins This Week's Ugly Police Mugshot Competition

  published Nov 26, 2010

  It be interesting to know what goes through the head of someone about to have his/her police mug shot snapped. Do you think, "Should I go with the Magnum or the Innocent Until Proven Guilty poser" Is ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Paging Samuel L. Jackson! Flying Snakes Invade Long Beach Convention Center!

  published Nov 26, 2010

  The heart of the matter on the Long Beach Convention Center Grand Ballroom B stage was Chrysopelea paradisi. And what are Chrysopelea paradisi, you askr They're freakin' flying snakes, that's what th... More >>

• American Team Mortgage of Mission Viejo Accused of Mortgage Fraud in Oregon

  published Nov 25, 2010

  American Team Mortgage of Mission Viejo improperly charged 32 Oregon homeowners for loan application fees and repeatedly violated that state's Unfair Trade Practices Act and Mortgage Rescue Fraud Prot... More >>

• [UPDATED:] Carlie Rose Attebury, El Modena High Band Teacher, CONVICTED of Unlawful Sex with 15-year-old Boy

  published Nov 24, 2010

  CLICK HERE FOR UPDATE WITH ATTEBURY'S SENTENCE rUpdate, November 24, 7 p.m.: Former El Modena High School band teacher Carlie Rose Attebury, 31, of Orange, was convicted today of four felony co... More >>

• Ismael Calixto Ortiz, Wanted in '05 Santa Ana Rape, Apprehended After Hopping Border

  published Nov 24, 2010

  In a brushy area of Imperial Beach in San Diego County early Monday, a Border Patrol agent confronted two Mexican nationals who illegally entered the United States. The agent managed to detain one man... More >>

• Remember Dana Rohrabacher's Vehement Defense of His Pal (and Felon) Tom DeLayr

  published Nov 24, 2010

  As Tom DeLay moseys into a possible life prison sentence after being convicted today of federal money laundering charges, let us turn to his pal and Huntington Beach's Surfin' Congresstool, Dana Rohra... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Are Medical Marijuana Dispensaries a Convenient Target Now That Prop 19 Failedr

  published Nov 24, 2010

  Yes, short-term memory is challenging for many of you. But try extra hard thinking back to the not-so-distant past when marijuana legalization in California seemed to be a lock. Alas, Prop 19 was smok... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  [UPDATED:] Lucas Anthony Tang, Toddler Who Plunged to His Death at Staples Center, Was From OC

  published Nov 24, 2010

  Update, November 24, 11:25 a.m.: The Los Angeles Police Department's juvenile division is still investigating the death of Lucas Anthony Tang, who fell from a luxury box at the Staples Center Sunday n... More >>

• Trial Begins Monday for Alleged Killer of Charles Lewis Jr., "Mask" of MMA and TapouT Fame

  published Nov 24, 2010

  UPDATE: Click here for details on conviction of the accused.The trial for the man accused of killing Charles Lewis Jr., the 45-year-old Huntington Beach resident better known as mixed-martial arts c... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  And Now for Something Completely Different: Mexica Movement's Anti-Thanksgiving Event

  published Nov 24, 2010

  While you are shopping today for turkey, trim and giblets, Mexica Movement members are preparing for a totally different holiday celebration.From 3-6 p.m. Thursday, the union of the indigenous people ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Bear Mountain Opens Today, Completing SoCal Ski and Snowboard Pre-Thanksgiving Trifecta

  published Nov 24, 2010

  Bear Mountain in Big Bear opens today, joining sister resort Snow Summit and Mtn. High in Wrightwood in welcoming skiers and snowboarders before Thanksgiving.Well, paying skiers and snowboarders anywa... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Tony Diep, Feces-on-Library-Spreading, Death-to-Cops-Threatening Bum, Gets 2 Years

  published Nov 23, 2010

  If you can say one thing about Tony Diep it is this: the 47-year-old transient really had a bug up his ass over the Santa Ana police officer who provided security at the city's central library downtow... More >>

• Guillermo Vera, OC Homicide No. 60: Allegedly Beaten to Death by Daughter's Boyfriend

  published Nov 23, 2010

  A report of a man down on a front lawn about a half block from the Orange County Register complex in Santa Ana late Sunday night led police to the body of the homeowner, 59-year-old Guillermo Vera.Pol... More >>

• Alberto Solis Guzman Convicted in 4-Year-Old's Death; His Girlfriend Up on Murder of Her Son

  published Nov 23, 2010

  Read update with Guzman's sentence here.Alberto Solis Guzman has been convicted of assaulting his girlfriend's 4-year-old son with great bodily injury to the child's head resulting in his death, but... More >>