Subject: Traffic Accidents

• Real American Hero: Surf City Police Chief Ken Small

  If we must tee off on the Huntington Beach Police Department and its brass for running one of the most oppressive law enforcement agencies in the county--and you know we must; it's in our contracts--then it is only fair that we single out the same coppers for praise when they do something truly amazing. So here it goes: You, HBPD Chief Ken Small, shown here, are a real mensch.That wasn't so hard. Why do I feel so dirty?The reason for pointing the upward turned fickle finger of fate at Small, as

  June 2, 2009

• Cognitive Overload as a Motorsport

  There's good news if you're one of those people infuriated by the sight of some idiot behind the steering wheel with a cell phone pressed to his head talking and not paying attention while driving-- that idiot's days are numbered. Come Summer 2008, that idiot will be replace by the new and improved idiot behind the steering wheel with a cell phone headset welded to his head talking and not paying attention while driving. Governor Schwarzenegger is scheduled to sign SB1613 into law today. The

  September 15, 2006

• Illegal Fact-Stretching in Costa Mesa (Again)

  Last summer, a white out-of-towner murdered Costa Mesa resident Israel Maciel. The killer's identity, however, wasn't known before migra Mayor Allan Mansoor told the Daily Pilot that the incident "shows we still have work to do, but it takes time to remove the welcome mat. When you have job centers, soup kitchens and a high concentration of downscale rental units, it drives the city down, and I favor a multi-faceted approach to include stronger gang enforcement and overlay-zone revitalization, a

  June 18, 2007

• Wednesday's Headlines. No Surprises: Disney wins

  More dirt on Debbie? Yesterday we noted that Debbie Carona was doing her darndest to wriggle her way out of a case that's mainly against her husband. Wait a second, missy. Today, Christine Hanley and Garrett Therolf at the Times report that the sheriff's wife urged Orange County Fair Board directors to support a swap meet operator who donated thousands to her husband's political campaigns despite a proposal from rival firm. Hanley and Therolf are having tons of fun poking around the Costa Mesa

  November 28, 2007

• So you think your day was bad?

  An 84 year-old man in Laguna Woods was using a walker and fell over; then, while he was being treated by a firefighter, he was hit by a car, the LA Times reports. The man suffered broken bones, asphalt abrasions, and burns. He was listed as being in critical condition Sunday night. The firefighter, in a move that would make TJ Hooker proud, "instinctively jumped up in the air and landed onto the hood." He's fine. See what happens when you know your Shatner? (h/t LA Observed)

  December 17, 2007

• What You Missed Over the Weekend Part XVIII

  This weekend had so many festivals going on that both Navel Gazing and Heard Mentality were working through the weekend. First, we had Luke Y. Thompson pulling double duty blogging his little heart out at the Newport Beach Film Festival AND attending his big movie premiere in Hollywood. While Dave Segal and Erin DeWitt were off at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio listening their little ears off for our reading pleasure. Speaking of a festivals, Gustavo Arellano attended th

  April 28, 2008

• Quinton "Rampage" Jackson goes on a . . .

  . . . rampage. Of course he does. In what assorted Internet pundits are already calling the stupidest hit-and-run ever, Ultimate Fighting Championship superstar (and Irvine resident) Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, who was the subject of this 2007 Weekly cover story, was arrested yesterday in Balboa after slamming his truck into several vehicles, jumping a center divider and driving up onto a sidewalk, which forced several pedestrians to leap out of the way to avoid injury. Apparently the reason fo

  July 16, 2008

• The Mother of All Movie Curses?

  As you no doubt have heard by now, Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman was seriously injured in a car accident today. As you probably heard from Mark McGrath by now, Freeman's accident is now being lumped in with a supposed “Curse of The Dark Knight,” a spate of recent tragedies suffered by others involved in the production of the monster hit Batman movie that still reigns as No. 1 at the box office. For those keeping score at home, special effects technician Conway Wickliffe died while wor

  August 4, 2008

• [Hey, You!] Curb Your Machismo

  January 15, 2009

• Hey, You!

  Bitch On Wheels

  December 7, 2006

• Albertsons Wants Me Dead

  February 24, 2005

• The Car Crash Set

  June 24, 2004

• New Vice City

  November 20, 2003

• All Over the Road

  August 31, 2000

• Crash Test Dummies

  January 27, 2000

• [Hey, You!] Don't Drinko and Drivo

  May 14, 2009

• It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, 
Mad World

  June 18, 2009

• DEL TACO Crime of the Week?!?!?!

  The chain's biggest crime? Firing Dan...A reader once asked me why I pick on Taco Bell so much by highlighting the crimes that take place at the various outposts of the Irvine-based megachain. I was polite and explained that the Bell is perhaps the most widely-distributed culinary export we have, and that I would pick on Del Taco more if I could. I made the last line up, but it's actually true: it's hard to find crimes that occur at Del Taco, at least on a weekly basis. But for this week's editi

  June 19, 2009