Los Angeles County

OC Beaches Again Score Well on Heal the Bay Report Card (with Usual Bummer Suspects)

Orange County beaches once again scored well on Heal the Bay's annual survey, with 95 of 102 testing spots being given an A or B during the summer. By the way, our county leads the state in number of testing spots.But it's not all sunshine and clean waves as two perennial dirty South County beaches ... More >>

Taco Nazo: OC's LA Fish Taco Cousin

This La Habra restaurant sells great fish tacos straight outta La Puente

Tasha Tells All...On LA County's Measure B Condom Law

Every Monday, adult superstart/OC girl Tasha Reign gives us her thought on life, sex, politics, and everything else in-between. For her inaugural column, Tasha weighs in on Measure B, an LA County initiative that passed in 2012 and now makes condom use mandatory on porn shoots. Enjoy!The Wrap on Wra ... More >>

[UPDATED with Victims and Property Reunited:] Julio Cesar Pachas Allegedly Had Sex with Minor, Porn of Her and Tons of Stuff Stolen from Cars Now on View (No, Not the Porn)

See the update at the end of this post detailing how many theft victims were reunited with their property at today's police viewing and how you can check if your stolen stuff remains.ORIGINAL POST, JAN. 9, 12:30 P.M.: Julio Cesar Pachas is "one of the most prolific vehicle burglars the Garden Grove ... More >>

End of the Line At La Habra Heights Cafe

[Hole In the Wall] American food with Mexican flourishes in the birthplace of the Haas avocado

William Douglas Agopian Admits to Being OC's Latest Pig at the Public Trough

​Move over, Robert Rizzo and Jeffery Hubbard: another public official who lives in Orange County but worked in Los Angeles County is corrupt as hell. William Douglas Agopian resides in Santa Ana, but the 61-year-old was the chief business officer with the Lynwood Unified School District, from whom ... More >>

Tony Scott Remembered With Cinematic Tribute at Regency South Coast Village Theater

As the Los Angeles County coroner continues to probe the apparent suicide of Tony Scott, and a private memorial service is held this weekend, an Orange County theater is whipping up a cinematic tribute to the British-born director. Regency Theatres South Coast Village in Santa Ana presents "In App ... More >>

Thieves Busted For Stealing $200,000 Worth of Swimsuits From Tustin Warehouse

It sounded like the perfect summertime crime. Early in the morning on May 27, six men cut through a fence and entered Tustin's Raj Manufacturing, the maker of swimwear lines such as St. John, Hurley, Guess and Reef. They grabbed $200,000 worth of bathing suits, loaded them into a white van and fled, ... More >>

[UPDATED with Ex-LA Deputy Ruled Sane:] Robert McClain Guilty of Torture and Sex Assaults on Wife and Her Lover

UPDATE, MAY 18, 10:26 A.M.: A jury Thursday concluded former Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy Robert McClain was sane when he brutally tortured and sexually assaulted his then-wife and her lover in 2008. On May 10, the same jury convicted the Irvine 34-year-old of aggravated mayhem, torture, forc ... More >>

[UPDATED with Corrected Details:] Arlet Hernandez Contreras, Fernando and Emmanuel Limas, OC Homicides Nos. 12, 13, 14: Shazer Fernando Limas May Face Death Penalty

UPDATE, MAY 8, 4:10 P.M.: A statement on the continued arraignment of Orange 31-year-old Shazer Fernando Limas, who could get the death penalty for allegedly killing his girlfriend and their two young boys, gives new ages for the children.Said originally by Orange Police to have been 2 and 4 years o ... More >>

Santa Fe Springs Swap Meet to Host Craft Beer Festival April 21

When you think of the Santa Fe Springs Swap Meet--you know, right off the 5 right when the beautiful, wide roadway of Orange County gives way to the choking, backed-up awfulness of Los Angeles County--what do you think of? Tchotchkes, un-shrink-wrapped DVDs, and tribute bands, right?

John Wesley Martynec Pleads Guilty to $300,000 Foreclosure Scam

​Seal Beach real estate agent John Wesley Martynec pleaded guilty last week to to stealing $302,000 from investors who thought he was buying and re-selling foreclosed homes for them.The Long Beach 36-year-old faces up to three years in state prison at his scheduled June 8 sentencing.

Newport Beach Film Fest Goes Freeway Dancing

​Every spring, the Newport Beach Film Festival exposes hidden cinematic gems to local audiences, and the 13th run coming up April 26-May 3 will no doubt provide many more of the same. But, let's face it, clunkers do somehow make it into the lineup, something that is bound to happen when you are sh ... More >>

44-Year-Old Man's Body Turns Up at Green Waste Site

​Having been referred to as human waste, I can sympathize with the former 44-year-old man from Artesia found in Rainbow Disposal's green waste transfer site in Huntington Beach Tuesday afternoon.How he got there--beyond, hopefully, being first placed in the proper-colored bin dedicated to organic ... More >>

Karen Anne Christiansen Gets 4 Years for Corruption Tied to Newport-Mesa Schools Chief

​Karen Anne Christiansen, the former Beverly Hills School District official who received racy emails and secret financial bonuses from future Newport-Mesa Unified School District Superintendent Jeffrey Hubbard, was sentenced today to fours years and four months in state prison for felony co ... More >>

Ahmad Mabrok Accused of Being Naked Hummer Limo Thief

YouTubeThey call him the streak.​A thief was fully clothed when he stole a Hummer limo at gunpoint in Irvine Saturday night.But, as a helicopter officer informed after the man who led cops on a bi-county chase jumped out of the stretch in Whittier and started running, "He's naked!"

[UPDATED with Jason Bitz was Unarmed, May Have Not Been Stealing Car:] Santa Ana Off-Duty Cop Shoots and Kills a Guy

​UPDATE, NOV. 3, 3:09 A.M.: Los Angeles County sheriff's investigators say Jason Richard Bitz was not armed when a Santa Ana police officer fired four times and killed the Long Beach 23-year-old in Lakewood Monday morning. The unidentified officer, who has been placed on administrative leave, had ... More >>

County of Orange, Already Stung in Court Trying to Reverse Lucrative Pensions to Sheriff's Deputies, Agrees to Pay Union's $1.3 Million Legal Fees

​Already stung by the California Supreme Court siding with deputies, who'd been granted the right to retire at age 50 with lifetime pensions that are 90 percent of their highest earned salaries, the county Board of Supervisors today announced it will pick up the law enforcement union's $1.3 millio ... More >>

[UPDATED with Sentence:] Sean Paul Delacerda, LA County Sheriff's Deputy, Gets 13 Years for Assaulting Ex-Girlfriend

​UPDATE, JULY 25, 8:26 A.M: Sitting on top of his ex-girlfriend so she could not escape and holding his hand over her mouth so she could not scream, Sean Paul Delacerda put the barrel of a gun he'd just placed a bullet in into his mouth and pulled the trigger.Click.The gun did not fire, but th ... More >>

Bruce Malkenhorst Sr., Vernon's Ex-Top Exec, Accepts Plea Deal

​A Huntington Beach resident who was formerly the city administrator of a tiny town in Los Angeles County has pleaded guilty to various public corruption charges against him.Nope, it was not  Robert Rizzo, but Bruce Malkenhorst Sr., the ex-top exec in the city of Vernon and dead ringer for th ... More >>

[UPDATED with Honor Roll Beaches:] OC Beaches Score Excellent Grades on Heal the Bay Report Card

Photo by Chasen Marshall/OC Weekly​UPDATE, MAY 27, 4:49 P.M.: The original report on Orange County's excellent showing on Heal the Bay's Beach Report Card left off the beaches that made the 2010-11 Honor Roll, and for good reason: the link to that list was broken.The link has since been repaired, ... More >>

LA County Settles Suit for $4.75 Million With Victims of '08 Crash Caused by Drunk Deputy Who OC Deputies Tried to Protect From DUI Test

​UPDATE, MAY 18, 4:29 P.M.: LA County supervisors have approved a $4.75 million settlement for two Anaheim residents, one of whom was critically injured, whose car was plowed into by a veteran Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy driving a department SUV under the influence in 2008.Robert Andrew M ... More >>

Just What We Needed--An Email Hoax Warning California Residents of 'Acid Rain'

Go ahead and sing in the rain. It's OK.​In case you weren't freaked out enough over last week's report of a radioactive plume heading this way (which officials say was innocuous), a prank email with the heading "Acid Rain Precautions" has been in circulation, warning California residents that part ... More >>

Northern Exposure at Clearman's North Woods Inn

The snow-covered log cabin of La Mirada still serves the meals that have made us obese and happy for a half-century

Why Doesn't the Mexican Translate All His Spanish Words?

[¡Ask a Mexican!] And does he advocate calling young girls a "white bitch"?

Are OC's Spray Haters Spreading Out to LA County?

​Los Angeles County investigators aren't drawing a connection between the hateful graffiti sprayed on two churches over the past weekend and recent incidents in Orange County, but don't let that stop us from doing so.Why? Because the cases sound so similar--and the targeted houses of worship are a ... More >>

Orange County Is Top Gun in Crime Guns Traced Here on Per Capita Basis

​When it comes to the total number of guns used in crimes, more can be traced to Los Angeles County than any other in Southern California, but on a per capita basis, Orange County is tops.That's the conclusion of data released by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and rep ... More >>

Best Online Coupon Sites

[Trendzilla] Gilt.com, Groupon.com, LivingSocial, Market for Drama and Rue La La Allow You to Get Your Coup-On

The Sex Offender Forecast: Fair

Six sex offenders tracked with global positioning system devices were arrested at the last Orange County Fair, surpassing the four arrested at the most recent Los Angeles County Fair and accounting for a large share of 17 such arrests statewide.Which just goes to prove my theory . . .

Long Beach Announces Injunction Targeting Gangs With Ties to Mexican Mafia

Wiki Commons​Targeting two of the largest and most violent street gangs in the area, the Long Beach Police Department and the city prosecutor's office announced a new type of injunction at a press conference today. This injunction, a civil order that prohibits documented gang members from partic ... More >>

3.7 Quake Shakes North OC and Long Beach

​I was sprinkling a light dusting of blueberries and Trader Joe's Organic Granny's Apple Granola on top of my bowl of Kashi Heart to Heart Honey Toasted Oat cereal at 9:06 this morning when it sounded as if something was trotting across the attic over the kitchen cabinets.My wife in bed with a col ... More >>

[UPDATED:] Video Shows Creeper on Bus Touching Girl's Leg, Trying to Unzip Second Girl's Pants: Cops; More Teens Come Forward

​UPDATE: Two more teenagers have come forward to allege the suspect toughed them inappropriately on a bus (see end of post) . . . Surveillance video shows Herath Premaratnea getting on and off Orange County Transit Authority buses for four hours on Monday, mostly along routes 55 and 47.

Angel Herrera Leal Convicted of Murder in Wrong Way Disney Way DUI Crash

​We told you last week about Angel Herrera Leal facing a murder charge in Fullerton's North Justice Center a December 2008 crash on the 5 freeway near Disney Way in Anaheim that occurred after the Los Angeles 30-year-old drove several miles the wrong way. Leal was found guilty by a jury today of ... More >>

Thomas Michio Taniguchi Learns it Pays to Discover--and That Crime Does Not Pay

​It pays to discover. In fact, Thomas Michio Taniguchi, who is already sitting a state prison cell serving a four-year term for credit-card fraud, just discovered he will be paying another seven years behind bars for his Discover Card misuse at 33 Orange County locations.The 50-year-old former Nor ... More >>

Fees Charged Students in Tustin and Long Beach Cited in ACLU Lawsuit Against State

​Fees charged to public school students in Tustin and Long Beach are part of the evidence the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is citing in a class action lawsuit filed today against the state of California and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.The suit contends the state is violating the Californ ... More >>

Hella This, NorCal: OC Beats You in Creation of Green Businesses

​When it comes to the creation of green businesses, those BART-riding, granola-gnawing, patchouli-oiling earth muffins in Northern California have nothing on Orange Countians.According to the Environmental Defense Fund's map of California's Green Economy, Orange County's 275 green companies ar ... More >>

Today's Vomit Inducing Story

​"Bell, one of the poorest cities in Los Angeles County, pays its top officials some of the highest salaries in the nation, including nearly $800,000 annually for its city manager."--Opening sentence in today's Los Angeles Times article by reporters Jeff Gottlieb and Ruben Vives. The story also no ... More >>

[UPDATED:] The 88! Auctioning A Guitar Lesson For Leukemia Fundraiser

​Update: We just found out that Adam Merrin, also from the 88!, is auctioning off a piano lesson for the same charity as well. Bid on that here.Aw, sweet. Keith Slettedahl, guitarist/vocalist for the Los Angeles-based rock group, The 88!, is auctioning off a one-hour guitar lesson. What will you ... More >>

Now, the Bad News for Orange County in Annual Beach Report Card From Heal the Bay

flickr user AndrewEick​As mentioned in the accompanying post on "good news" for Orange County in Heal the Bay's annual Beach Report Card, many OC beaches scored perfect A grades and, overall, our shoreline experienced its cleanest dry weather season in six years.But not everything smells like a r ... More >>

Orange County Skinhead Murdered in Monrovia--Why?

Anyone care to tell us what the N and S tattoos on Gentile stand for?​Last week was a tough one for Orange County's tight-knit, methed-up skinhead community. On Friday, of course, three members of the Candy-Ass Gang pleaded guilty to attempted murder with hate crime enhancements. Last Tuesday, 22- ... More >>

Long Wait For Waves at San-O

Photo by Jacob RepkoWaiting to get to the waves, around dawn outside San Onofre State Beach. Forecasts of an abnormally large summer swell in Southern California, particularly the southern parts of Orange County, northern San Diego County and northern Los Angeles County, have caused surfers to ... More >>

Crime Time: A Weekly Round-Up of OC Police Calls

The "Clean-Cut Bandit": Coming to a bank near you?MONDAY, JUNE 1Shroomin' in Lagoonan: Laguna Beach Police arrested three people at a La Mirada Street property for alleged possession of hallucinogenic mushrooms, heroin, Xanax, Levitra, Alprazolam and "numerous other unknown pills." Steven Christophe ... More >>

[Hole in the Wall] Manila Grille Takes the Pinoy Path

The Fire All the Time: Create Your Own Inferno News Story!

The Weekly's Head Count of the 48 New Faces Who Want to Be Your Next Sheriff

Hot Ticket

Los Angeles County firefighters who traveled the distance to fight recent blazes in San Diego County are being charged $100 for using the toll roads without paying the fee, the Register reported today. It seems that these "heroes" think they are the kings of the world who are magically exempt from ... More >>

Thursday's Headlines & Surprises: Is An OC lawyer also a Slumlord?

Relax, It's Just a Game: Scott Glover and Matt Lait at the Times reveal today that Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies have been playing on-duty law-enforcement competitions. According to an internal department e-mail obtained by the reporters, one game was called “Operation Any Booking,” i ... More >>

Beach Break: Five Outta Six Aint Bad

The results are in and Long Beach is the winner with five of the six most polluted beaches in Los Angeles County, says the National Resources Defense Council in its annual "Testing the Waters" guide. Mother's Beach lead the charge with violations of state health standards 59 percent of the time. T ... More >>

Ouch!

Why are county health officials in West Nile Denial?