Torrance

Margie Carranza, Emma Hernandez Get $4.2 Million for Being Shot by Cops Hunting Dorner

The city of Los Angeles will pay $4.2 million to Margie Carranza and Emma Hernandez, the mother and daughter newspaper deliverywomen who had their small pickup--and, in the case of one, herself--shot up by LAPD cops protecting the Torrance home of a Chris Dorner target.Carmen Trutanich, the LA city ... More >>

Christopher Jordan Dorner Nightmare Fallout: $40,000 to Ladies Whose Truck Cops Shot Up

Remember those two ladies whose truck and, in the case of one, selves were shot up by Los Angeles Police Department officers freaked out during the manhunt for presumed cop killer-turned-charcoal briquette Christopher Jordan Dorner? The City of LA has agreed to cut Emma Hernandez and Maggie Carranza ... More >>

[UPDATED with Hot Gassing Defended:] Christopher Jordan Dorner War Is Over!

See the update at the end of page 5 on the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department defending the use of "hot gas," which could have sparked the cabin fire, on the suspect.ORIGINAL POST, FEB. 7, 9:48 A.M.: The word coming out of the Los Angeles Police Department this morning is meant to apply to t ... More >>

10 Who Have Been or Could be Mistaken for Manhunt Subject Christopher Jordan Dorner

Thanks to Facebook, fan sites and law enforcement alerts, it seems as if we have seen every known photo and video of Christopher Jordan Dorner created over the past decade or so.But that hasn't stopped lookiloos, his hunters and conspiracy theorists from confusing the 33-year-old with a whole bunch ... More >>

Michael Clark of Huntington Beach Guilty of Murdering Wife in Torrance 30 Years Ago

A Huntington Beach man was convicted Wednesday of killing his wife in Torrance 30 years ago before changing his last name and moving to start a new life in Orange County.After deliberating less than a day, the Los Angeles County Superior Court jury found 59-year-old Michael Clark--formerly Lubahn--g ... More >>

Mitsuwa's Hokkaido Fair This Thursday to Sunday

When Mitsuwa holds these festivals, it's always fun, even if the parking is atrocious.This week, it's the Hokkaido Fair, being held from Thursday to Sunday. Here are some highlights of this year's event as Mitsuwa's own website can only describe them: See Also: - Irvine Mitsuwa Marketplace Food C ... More >>

Chick-fil-A: "Tastes like Hate" Vandalism Hits SoCal Restaurant

Kevin Lara/OC WeeklyHours before a scheduled nationwide, same sex "kiss in" to protest the owner of Chick-fil-A's anti-gay marriage stance, police are investigating vandalism committed at a Torrance franchise of the fast food restaurant.Overnight someone committed a misdemeanor crime by spray p ... More >>

On the Line: Donald Williams of Curry House CoCo Ichibanya, Part One

Donald Williams was careful to explain that the operation is a team effort. There is no designated chef at Coco Ichibanya. Sauce, protein, starch, and perhaps a veg. There's a certain amount of assembly (and a whole lotta curry) involved. He also mentioned their next location in K-town, opening in t ... More >>

Mochi Cream, New Dessert Shop, Opens At Mitsuwa Costa Mesa

The Mitsuwa in Costa Mesa has a new sweet addition to complement its roster of savory food stalls like Santoka and Sky Express. Mochi Cream is a, well, mochi cream, specialist--a dessert that's made by wrapping the sweet, glutinous rice paste called mochi around flavored fillings like red bean.The p ... More >>

Michael Clark, Whose Wife Disappeared 30 Years Ago, Faces Trial for Her Murder

A Huntington Beach man has been ordered to stand trial for killing his wife in 1981 despite her body never being found.Torrance Police in April arrested Michael Clark, 58, who changed his last name from Lubahn, for the cold-case murder of his wife Carol Jeanne Meyer Lubahn.

It's No Secret Why Crowds Flock to Gomen For Lunch

Dave Lieberman​Stanton: once a stretch of cheap motels catering to theme park tourists before the advent of the 5 freeway, then an industrial-looking, dingy gangland with no "there" there, and now increasingly a city on the vanguard of Orange County's gastronomic revolution. Hyperbole? Perhaps... ... More >>

Huntington Beach Claims SoCal Edison Pockets Millions Set Aside for Street Light Repairs

​Huntington Beach is among eight Southern California cities that have formed the Coalition for Affordable Street Lights, which accuses Southern California Edison of pocketing millions in taxpayer money set aside for light pole maintenance and replacement.The coalition--which also includes Torrance ... More >>

Is Kula Becoming The Walmart of Sushi?

​Some may remember that before it sold $2 sushi on moving belts, Kula's previous incarnation was as a high-priced, made-to-order sushi bar in Century City. When it failed to catch on after about one year, the restaurant made the move to the then still unproven Diamond Jamboree in Irvine. It was he ... More >>

Mr. Chiizu Makes You Say, 'Cheese!'

[Trendzilla] IPhone app lets you create your own Japanese-style photo booth

First Taste: Ramen Yamadaya Costa Mesa

ProfessorSalt.comYamadaya's Kotteri ramen​They're finally open! Back in November we reported that Yamadaya's first Orange County restaurant was opening by the end of that month. They put up hand-written signs in their papered-over windows counting down the days. "8 Days," the sign promised, and ... More >>

Irvine Mitsuwa Marketplace Food Court To Host Santouka Ramen

​It would've seemed a safe bet to assume that the new Irvine Mitsuwa Marketplace going into the 13,800 square feet space at Heritage Plaza that was formerly Ace Hardware would contain a Santouka Ramen. At every single Mitsuwa Marketplace in the US (Costa Mesa; Torrance; Los Angeles; Santa Monica; ... More >>

Savory Spice Shop Opens at OC Mart Mix

Dave Lieberman​Just in time for the holidays, Savory Spice Shop has opened its second location, inside the OC Mart Mix at the SoCo Collection off the 405 freeway. The original branch of the chain has been open for a couple of years in Corona del Mar Plaza, where people whose cars cost as much as m ... More >>

Japanese Curry CoCo Ichibanya to Open in Irvine Nov. 25

ProfessorSalt.comCoCo Ichibanya's Pork Katsu Curry​Do you love Japanese curry but long for more heat in the otherwise-mild-mannered dish? The Japanese chain restaurant CoCo Ichibanya offers spice levels you can customize to your taste, all the way to a brow-sweating, nose-running level 10. "Comin ... More >>

Freshia Korean Market to Close Remaining OC Location :-(

ProfessorSalt.comFresh out of meat at Freshia Tustin​What used to be a great place to buy good-quality beef and unusual seafood items such as fresh monkfish and live halibut is shutting down this week. According to a store manager I spoke with, July 31 will be the last day for local Korean superma ... More >>

Hybrid Cars Lose Special Carpool Lane Privileges

dmv.ca.govCalifornians who drive hybrid cars will face a rude awakening tomorrow when they lose their special carpool lane privileges.​Since 2005, thousands of hybrid vehicles have been granted access to the carpool lane, even if there was only one person inside. Lawmakers OK'd the move as an ince ... More >>

Federal Judge in Santa Ana Sets Trial For First of Hundreds of Lawsuits Against Toyota In February 2013

​A Santa Ana-based federal judge has picked the bellwether case in the slew of freak-acceleration lawsuits lodged against Toyota. The trial, which will undoubtedly influence the litigation of the other cases, is set to start on Feb. 19, 2013, according to a timetable housed on the court' ... More >>

iPad-Equipped Restaurant Opens Tomorrow in Torrance; Cerritos in the Fall

​Our sister blog Squid Ink and other LA food sites have been writing about Stacked for months. The hook of the restaurant is that each table is equipped with an iPad from which you order and customize your burgers, pizzas and salads via dragging the ingredients on Apple's tablet computer. You pay ... More >>

American Airlines Now Sponsoring Fortunes in Chinese Fortune Cookies

​Two nights ago, my family and I went to Shanghai Palace in Torrance to celebrate my dad's birthday. As we reached the end of the meal, the waitress handed us our obligatory fortune cookies. Exciting! As I opened up the plastic wrapper, I wondered what fate would be revealed on that two-inch white ... More >>

Volcom Sues Jay-Z

[Mental Notes] More important, what's going on for Record Store Day in OC?

Sanrio.com and Select Boutiques Donating Net Proceeds to Japan Disaster Relief Tomorrow

​It's now the world's most famous mouthless white cat's turn to help out Japan: Tomorrow, Sanrio.com and select participating boutique locations will donate all net proceeds toward Japan disaster relief.The company (whose stateside headquarters is housed in Torrance) seems to be following in the f ... More >>

Pork Overload at Yamada-Ya Ramen

ProfessorSalt.comKotteri Tonkotsu soup with kakuni​Even though Orange County has its share of first-rate ramen shops, I'm afraid we've just been demoted to second-tier losers. There's an escalating pork arms-race waged by the new-school purveyors of tonkotsu (pork bone) soup in the South Bay like ... More >>

Mitsuwa Marketplace Offers 20-Percent Off Everything Today!

​For one day only, Mitsuwa Marketplace in Costa Mesa is offering 20-percent off everything in the market--yes, that includes ready-made sushi, bento boxes, meat and seafood--and yes, the place is a fucking madhouse.

Meg Whitman, Direct From My Mailbox

​Four fliers delivered to my mailbox this afternoon bring to mind instant images of Meg Whitman, your Republican nominee for governor of California. What follows is the actual order I pulled these fliers out of the box at Casa de Coker:

Hello Kitty + Skateboards = Art

[Trendzilla] Girl Skateboards all decked out, Sanrio-style

Celebrate Tax Day With a High-Tech Toilet, "An Inconvenient Tax" Film

Second prize: steak knives.​Ah, Tax Day. What better day to get a spritz up your butt crack?

The Restaurant Re-Tread: Café Hiro, Cypress

Monster Munching​Our own Edwin Goei has been lauding Café Hiro in Cypress for a very long time. Cypress isn't known for its culinary destinations, so when the opportunity came up to re-validate our capsule review, I jumped at it. While I was only able to visit once, I'm happy to report that it li ... More >>

Ethnic Eating 101: Korean, Part 1

phy @ flickr.com CC BY-NC-ND 2.0Korean restaurants have Seoul... get it?​Welcome to the new year of Ethnic Eating 101! Sorry for the unannounced hiatus; I was hung over--tequila is a delicious but cruel potion.While the wonders of Vietnamese cooking could fill up half a year's posts, the Vietnames ... More >>

At the Farmers' Market: Buffa... er... Bison

Lindner Bison​Don't call it buffalo. Buffaloes don't roam this continent, Brewster M. Higley VI notwithstanding. That lean, iron-rich meat you're about to chow down on is bison, and if you've been shopping at the Long Beach Southeast farmers' market in the Alamitos Bay Marina, it's grass-fed, huma ... More >>

Letters From OC Weekly Readers

Letters From OC Weekly Readers

Scholarship Established For Ex-Weekly Reporter Vu Nguyen

Vu Nguyen​The Public Affairs Reporting program at the University of Illinois at Springfield has created a website and scholarship in honor of former OC Weekly intern Nguyen Huy Vu, who died from a stroke on Mother's Day at the age of 34. Vu, who grew up in Orange County's Little Saigon, also worke ... More >>

Letters From OC Weekly Readers

A Very Zimmerman Christmas

Southern California's got a few neighborhoods known for their festive (or overkill, whatever you want) holiday displays, where entire blocks of houses do their very best to outdo and outlight each other: There's Candy Cane Lane in Torrance, Brea's got one off the Lambert exit of the 57, the Naples C ... More >>

Trendzilla

"I will not love you long time"

Letters

'There is no life left in the paper. No humor, no edge, no spank. You are plain and boring. I dont know what you did to all these good people to run away, but I can guess. I wont pick up OC Weekly The Digital Dump

Randy Lewis wants your old computers. The Smithsonian doesnt

The Digital Dump

Randy Lewis wants your old computers. The Smithsonian doesnt

BCD Tofu

'If They Get Beaten, Then They Asked for It'

Something to Share

Oranges Backhausdance troupe has a spirit like a willow tree

Stop Acting Scary

Visionaries are not just a living, breathing Benetton ad

Stuck In Dramaramaland

John Easdale is still all about the rock

The Layoff Planet

Bad Rap

Is Joshua Moore serving a 12-year sentence because of his taste in music?

Letters