Teabagging Chuck DeVore

Assemblyman Chuck DeVore (R-Irvine), who's in the middle of a longshot bid to become your U.S. senator, is cooing about his impending endorsement Sunday from the Tea Party Express, the national conservative movement that helped sweep Scott Brown to Ted Kennedy's former Senate seat in Massachusetts. ] Guess ol' Chuckie's not put off by the …

Unreported OC Jail Death: Suicide by Hanging or Cover-up?

In a remarkable display of openness, the Orange County Sheriff's Department opened its doors to a group of jail reform activists, lawyers and reporters on Wednesday, March 17. Accompanied by deputies, the group, including this reporter, toured the Orange County Men's Jail and Intake Release Center for three hours that morning, getting a rare up-close …

Political Rashomon: How U.S. Senate Campaigns View (or Spin) Same Poll

It's interesting to see how the campaigns of the leading contenders for the U.S. Senate seat held by Barbara Boxer are reacting to a new Field Poll. For the sake of argument (and parochialism), we're including Assemblyman Chuck DeVore (R-Irvine) among the leading contenders. The poll certainly isn't. It found that DeVore had support from …

Spa Week Wonders

So, last week we talked cheap spa treatments available year-round. This week? Not-so-cheap spa treatments that will be cheap for a limited time. During the twice-a-year National Spa Week, more than 800 spas across the country participate in inexpensive specials. All treatments—including facials, massages, gooey body wraps, schmancy pedicures and manicures, eco-friendly offerings—are just $50 …

The Bad Detective

Jose Roberto Ramirez says he was just the wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time. An inmate at the Orange County Men’s Jail who is currently awaiting sentencing for attempted robbery, Ramirez has a shaved head, stubbly goatee and arms covered with elaborate prison tattoos. He has spent almost all of the …

Queso Confundido

Dear Mexican: When I was in high school, everyone called Mexican students like myself “cheddars.” I’m not sure where this originated from or what it has to do with Mexican culture. When I have asked other Mexicans what this means, they are not sure, either. “Cheddar-packing” is a term used to describe a car full …

Wanted: Videos Aimed at Sinking the Breakwater

Surfrider Foundation has for years been trying to “sink the Breakwater,” that World War II-era, jetty-like, 2.5-mile-long contraption that was installed off the Long Beach shore to calm harbor waters but in the process kill ride-able waves. Shame, meetings, protests, education and cool t-shirts and posters have been employed in the past. The latest weapon: …

Quang Pham Leaves Race To Unseat Rep. Loretta Sanchez

If Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez hoped to enjoy watching a wildly bloody primary to determine her November Republican general election opponent, that scenario has become less likely this morning. Quang Pham–the well-spoken, first-time candidate who has been vying for the GOP nomination against Assemblyman Van Tran, Tan Nguyen and Kathy Smith–announced today that he's no longer …

Allan James Waters: After Fellow Deputies Let Him Leave Crash Scene, He Gets in Second That Leads to DUI Arrest, Injury

The Orange County Register's Kimberly Edds has a fascinating post today about California Highway Patrol officers determining an Orange County Sheriff's deputy was drunk Monday when he crashed his Mercedes into a Toyota, causing it and the elderly couple inside to collide with a tree in Laguna Niguel–just a half hour after the same deputy …