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

• Coastal Commission Delays Fire Rings' Ruling

  published Mar 07, 2013

  Deciding it wants to await a state Air Quality Management District decision on Newport Beach's fire rings, the California Coastal Commission on Wednesday postponed its own ruling on the controversial ... More >>

• Bending Sticks: The Sculpture of Patrick Dougherty Screens Tonight at Cinema Orange

  published Mar 07, 2013

  A documentary about an artist who sculpts with sticks to create massive public art screens tonight as part of Cinema Orange, the ongoing film series that marries the Orange County Museum of Art with t... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Fund Collects Assistance for Annette Aoki, Mother of Ali Syed's First Presumed Victim

  published Mar 07, 2013

  A reader wondered if an online page he found to donate to Annette Aoki--the mother of Ali Syed's presumed first murder victim in Ladera Ranch, Courtney Aoki--was legitimate, especially in light of the... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Larry James Allred Cuts Deal That May Pin Him to Cell for 8 Years for Selling Fake Disney Pins

  published Mar 07, 2013

  Remember the two knuckleheads who dared try to import counterfeit Disney collectible pins and sell them on the InternetrHell, even Vlad Putin's too scared of the Mouse to pull that shit.The second of ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Teemu Selanne of the Anaheim Ducks: The Story Behind the OC Weekly People Issue Story

  published Mar 07, 2013

  "Tay-mu."With that answer to how you pronounce his first name, future NHL Hall of Famer Teemu Selanne proved to me that ESPN SportsCenter anchors do not know everything as for years I've aped their so... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Tustin Cop at DUI Crash Scene Injured in Second Suspected DUI Collision

  published Mar 06, 2013

  A Tustin police officer on the scene for the arrest of a suspected drunk driver who smashed into a pole was injured while sitting in his marked patrol car, which was rammed into by a car driven by a s... More >>

• [VIDEO:] Footage of TSA Test Flight Allowing Bats, Clubs and Small Knives Aboard Jetliner

  published Mar 06, 2013

  The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has announced that as of April 25, airline passengers will be able to carry on board such previously forbidden items as small knives, golf clubs, hoc... More >>

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  [UPDATED with I.D.:] Luis Santiago Gois Dies in Reverse of an Anacrime Drive-by

  published Mar 06, 2013

  See the update at the end of this post with the identification of the dead man.ORIGINAL POST, MARCH 4, 8:21 A.M.: What's the opposite of a drive-by shootingrThe shooting of someone driving by, which i... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  [UPDATED with Jeremy Lewis Death Deemed Random:] Ali Syed Left Suicide Note in Ladera Ranch Home Indicating Rampage Was Planned

  published Mar 06, 2013

  See Update No. 2 at the end of this post on police now saying construction worker Jeremy Lewis' death was random. See Update No. 1 on investigators exploring whether Ali Syed lured Lewis to the p... More >>

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  Teemu Selänne: No Flash In the Pan

  published March 7, 2013

  The Anaheim Ducks finished in fifth place and out of the playoffs in the National Hockey League's Pacific Division last season, but eternal... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Why Do OC Congressional Reps. John Campbell and Dana Rohrabacher Hate Womenr

  published Mar 05, 2013

  At the end of the day, at least veteran Orange County congressmen John Campbell and Dana Rohrabacher can say they don't hate all women. That's because they voted for one of two federal Violence Agains... More >>

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  Erik Forssell: The Film Guy

  published March 7, 2013

  The background image on the computer screen on Erik Forssell's desk in the Newport Beach Film Festival offices shows his then-very-pregnant... More >>

• Peter Herzog, Veteran Councilman in Pot Clinic-Busting Lake Forest, Slapped with DUI Charges

  published Mar 05, 2013

  The Orange County district attorney's office on Monday filed DUI charges against Lake Forest City Councilman Peter Herzog, who is accused of driving with a blood-alcohol content more than twice the le... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Let Fury Have the Hour Revists the Dark Days of Reagan-Thatcher to Paint a Bright Future

  published Mar 05, 2013

  Moving crap from one corner of my garage to another a couple of weekends ago, I set my eyes for the first time in years on an OC Weekly cover tied to a story I'd written. It was an illustration of Ron... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Todd Spitzer Postpones Violence Forum in Wake of Chris Dorner and Ali Syed Murders

  published Mar 04, 2013

  I began the second-to-the-last update on the Feb. 19 freeway-shooting rampage by mentioning Orange County Supervisor Todd Spitzer had hijacked an afternoon press conference by law enforcement. As a Lo... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  3 Chapman University Films Now Up in PBS Online Film Festival

  published Mar 04, 2013

  Today through March 22, the PBS Online Film Festival presents the works of directors plucked from the Los Angeles 48-hour film project, the California Student Media Festival, the LA Film Festival's Fu... More >>

• Karen Elaine Hanover, Convicted FBI "Spoofer," Claims Hers Were Retaliatory Spoofs

  published Mar 04, 2013

  A federal grand jury in December indicted Seal Beach real estate saleswoman Karen Elaine Hanover on mail fraud charges for an alleged commercial property investment scam that conned 50 marks out of ne... More >>

• Andrew Thomas Gallo, Drunk Driver Convicted of Killing Angels Phenom Nick Adenhart and 2 Others, Gets No State Supreme Court Relief

  published Mar 01, 2013

  It's another swing and a miss for Andrew Thomas Gallo, as the California Supreme Court denied the San Gabriel man's pitch for a review of his conviction on triple-homicide, drunken-driving, and hit-an... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  "Save Trestles" Forces Gird for New Incremental Battle With 241 South Toll Road Extenders

  published Mar 01, 2013

  Orange County environmentalists, state park lovers and others in 2008 successfully fought the Transportation Corridor Agency's 20-year-old plan to extend the 241 Toll Road through San Onofre State Pa... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Charles Phoenix Brings Brea Retro Disneyland

  published Mar 01, 2013

  Charles Phoenix's slideshows of found photos from kitschy '50s and '60s always seem to sell out but there are still tickets out there for March 16-17 "Retro Disneyland Slide Shows" at the Curtis Theat... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Bart Griffin Waits in Vain for an Apology from the Family of His Daughter's Killer, Gabrielle Jane Nestande

  published Mar 01, 2013

  On what would have been the late Courtney Griffin's 32nd birthday, her father in Austin was hoping to receive this gift from someone in the Nestande family of Newport Beach.An apology.It had not arriv... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Daniel Nestor, Luis Ramon Llanes and Ignacio David Morales Held in Fatal Shooting of Jorge Gonzales Valdez in Placentia Alley

  published Mar 01, 2013

  Three men have been arrested for the gang-related murder of Jorge Gonzales Valdez, who was gunned down in a Placentia alley Dec. 23. Daniel Nestor, 19, 25-year-old laborer Luis Ramon Llanes and Ignaci... More >>

• Jason Balcom Gets Death Penalty Nod from Second Jury for Grisly 1988 Costa Mesa Murder

  published Feb 28, 2013

  A Santa Ana jury today recommended the death penalty today for a man who'd been serving a 30- to 50-year sentence for rape in Michigan when he was linked to the 1988 assault and murder of a pregnant, ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  John Boehner, House Speaker, to Give Irvine's Great Park Ballon a Run for the Orangey

  published Feb 28, 2013

  On April 4, the orangest thing in Irvine will not be the Orange County Great Park balloon.It will be a certain speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.[INSERT BOTH FILLED WITH HOT AIR JOKE HERE.]... More >>

• William Ruehle, Ex-Broadcom CFO, Shares His Amazing Government Persecution Story at UCI

  published Feb 28, 2013

  "Something happened," William J. Ruehle matter-of-factly tells UC Irvine law students, who spent Wednesday's lunch hour being mesmerized by the former Broadcom chief financial officer's dissection of ... More >>