Email Author MATT COKER

Awards

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

  "Douchebag Does Sundance"

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2013 Stories by MATT COKER

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  FEATURED STORY

  5 Worst Orange County Places Based on State Pollution and Demographic Data

  published May 06, 2013

  Daniel Weintraub, editor of the California Health Report, compared the census zip codes 92707 (Santa Ana) and 92657 (Newport Beach) on the online state Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  5 Best Orange County Places Based on State Pollution and Demographic Data

  published May 06, 2013

  The state EPA's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment has an online mapping tool that allows Californians to see a detailed report card for the places they frequent. A "pollution burden sco... More >>

• Robert Braithwaite, Hoag CEO, Lays Blame for Banning Abortions on Hospital's Incompetence

  published May 06, 2013

  You can almost see the nose of Robert Braithwaite, the CEO of Hoag Memorial Hospital in Newport Beach, growing. After Hoag's board finalized a partnership with Catholic health group St. Joseph Health ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Norris Phuoc Nguyen, Obsessed with Sandy Hook and OC Schoolchildren, Back in Custody

  published May 06, 2013

  Police spent 24 tense hours searching for a mental health patient obsessed with the Sandy Hook slayings and harming students of a particular teacher at a Garden Grove elementary school.But Norris Phuo... More >>

• Un Plan Parfait (Fly Me To The Moon) Wins 4 Top Newport Beach Film Festival Awards

  published May 03, 2013

  Un Plan Parfait (Fly Me To The Moon), the romantic comedy that sold out its Tuesday night French Spotlight screening and earned a repeat showing last night, was the big winner of 2013 Newport Beach Fi... More >>

• William David Robin, Alleged Fraudster, Has Judge Kill Case and Prosecutor File New Counts

  published May 03, 2013

  There William David Robin was, being tried in Orange County Superior Court this week for allegedly masterminding an $8 million real estate fraud scheme that caused 16 victims to lose their homes, when... More >>

• Michael Elliot Tomson, Gotcha Co-Founder, Gotcha'd by Cops for DUI and Coke Possession

  published May 03, 2013

  Gotcha Mr. Gotcha!Michael Elliot Tomson, the 58-year-old co-founder of the Gotcha surfwear brand, has been charged with felony DUI and possession of a controlled substance and misdemeanor being under ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Lindsay Lohan Ditches Newport Beach Rehab After 3 Minutes for Betty Ford Center

  published May 03, 2013

  See the update at the end of this post about Lindsay Lohan apparently spending three minutes in the Newport Beach rehab before resurfacing at the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage late Thursday.Linds... More >>

• Irvine Lake is First Orange County Pond to Host Drag Boat Racing in 20 Years, Claim Promoters

  published May 03, 2013

  For the first time in 20 years, Orange County is hosting a professional drag boat racing event--at Irvine Lake starting today and through the weekend, proving yet again that the only thing better than... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Kevin Michael Sianez, Cop-Turned-Illegal P.I., Cops to Defrauding and Intimidating But What About Getting Women to Screw His Dogr

  published May 03, 2013

  Former police officer Kevin Michael Sianez pleaded guilty Thursday to 17 felony counts of grand theft by false pretense, 11 felony counts of fraudulently using an access card, two felony counts of ide... More >>

• Renee George, The Artist Crew Member, Sticks with the Silent Treatment for Le Petit Nuage

  published May 02, 2013

  Renee George, whose short film Le Petit Nuage gets a repeat screening at the Newport Beach Film Festival tonight, sort of worked like Michel Hazanavicius in reverse. The Frenchman who wrote and direct... More >>

• Karen Elaine Hanover, Accused Fraudster, Loses Appeal of FBI "Spoofing" Conviction

  published May 02, 2013

  A couple months ago, this Navel Gazer allowed Karen Elaine Hanover, a Seal Beach real estate agent accused in federal court of running an investment fraud scam, to vent about what she claimed was misc... More >>

• See This Tonight at Newport Beach Film Fest: Terms and Conditions May Apply

  published May 02, 2013

  You never know how these film festivals are going to play out. There have been years when it seems as if I've seen documentaries and action-sports films at the expense of feature-length dramas, comedi... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Drew Colston Stelp Accused of Cross-County Robbery, Police Chase, Double Homicide Spree

  published May 02, 2013

  Drew Colston Stelp is one bad mofo. The 51-year-old already had a felony strike on his record when he launched into what authorities describe as a drug- and drink-fueled, cross-county crime spree that... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  More Than Just the Rates at Disney Hotels in Anaheim May Be Scary Soon

  published May 02, 2013

  This is just an idea so far from Disney World in Florida, so who knows if it will ever come to pass--or ever come to be in AnaheimrThe idea is to decorate resort-hotel rooms as though they are part of... More >>

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  Benjamin Felix Sanchez Held in Murder of Estranged Wife and Wounding of Her Lover

  published May 02, 2013

  A Santa Ana man has been charged with first-degree murder and other felonies in Riverside County for the fatal shooting of his estranged wife and wounding of her lover.Benjamin Felix Sanchez, 45, was ... More >>

• Trabuco Canyon Rescue Cost County $160,000

  published May 01, 2013

  You asked and the County of Orange answered: this cost to search for and pluck two young adults out of rugged Trabuco Canyon terrain last month was more than $160,000."Why do I have to pay for someone... More >>

• 5 Best Music Videos from Newport Beach Film Fest's Program Premiering Tonight

  published May 01, 2013

  Tonight at 8 at The Triangle, the Newport Beach Film Festival debuts its Music Videos program, which is part of the three-year-old Music Series of features and documentaries that focus on musicians. C... More >>

• Richard Curtis Morris Jr. Guilty of Hit on Strip Club Owner During "Mickey Mouse Mafia" Days

  published May 01, 2013

  The Weekly now has an eighth example of Orange County strip club-related mayhem.But it happened way back in 1987.The addition to our "From the Vaults" list comes courtesy of a 59-year-old man being co... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  See This Tonight at Newport Beach Film Fest: I Declare War

  published May 01, 2013

  F-bombs drop like lead balloons. Torture is an option. And if generals do not break the rules of engagement, they bend them mighty hard. But this is no Tarantino war flick, it's a kid's movie--for any... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Lawrence Witsoe, Tustin Attorney, in Federal Court for Trying Fix Client's Misdemeanor Case

  published May 01, 2013

  Trial is scheduled to begin right now in federal court in Santa Ana for a Tustin criminal defense attorney accused of conspiring with a Rialto police officer to fix a misdemeanor assault and battery c... More >>

• All Rise . . . Now Scatter as Cash-Stapped Orange County Plays Musical Courthouses

  published Apr 30, 2013

  Big changes are afoot in the Orange County court system thanks to a lack of state funding.The Harbor Justice Center in Laguna Hills will close July 1, and family-law cases handled in Santa Ana Superio... More >>

• Dana Rohrabacher's Path to Citizenship Would Include a Stop Where Immigrants Plead Guilty

  published Apr 30, 2013

  At least you can say this about Representative Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach): He's no Ken Calvert, the House Republican out of Riverside who says he might consider some kind of legal status fo... More >>

• Dr. Sri J. Wijegunaratne of Anaheim Guilty of Role in $1.5 Medicare Billing Fraud Scheme

  published Apr 30, 2013

  An Anaheim physician was recently convicted in federal court for his role in a $1.5 million Medicare fraud scheme, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.Dr. Sri J. Wijegunaratne, 58, was found guilt... More >>

• Tina Hoang, Whose Body was Found on Sand in Newport Beach, is Officially a Homicide Victim

  published Apr 30, 2013

  Remember Tina Hoang, the prostitute-turned-mom who was apparently trying to turn her life around before her body was found on the sand next to lifeguard tower No. 71 near West Ocean Front and Highland... More >>