Mission Viejo's MacLean Recalled, Replaced by Anti-Recall Candidate [UPDATE: Yes, He Is… by 19 Votes]

Update, 5:01 p.m.: The final results for the election are out. MacLean has been recalled by a vote of 50.1% to 49.9%, with a 19 vote difference between the two sides. Dave Leckness will replace him. Full results here. Update, 10:50 a.m.: Niyaz Pirani at the Register is reporting that there are still 1,140 ballots …

Q&A: Rhett Miller of Old 97's on His Self-Titled Solo Album

​Long the handsome face of alt-country luminaries the Old '97s, Rhett Miller has also released four excellent solo albums, including one he made in high school. His latest is last June's self-titled outing, which betrays scattered moments of twang but otherwise proceeds from offbeat guitar-pop to robust rock. On the phone from his adopted home …

New UCI Research Will Have You Looking at Earthquakes and Lawns Differently

UC Irvine researchers have discovered new ways to look at earthquakes and your front lawn. No, not how shakers rip up your green playground. We're talking one study that dispels notions about how experts estimate the potential for the next so-called “Big One,” and a second that disproves the idea that urban “green” spaces—think residential …

Say Goodnight, Chuck?

A new Field Poll shows former congressman Tom Campbell (R-San Mateo) beating fellow Republicans Cary Fiorina and termed-out Assemblyman Chuck DeVore (R-Irvine) for the party bid to face Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer in the fall. The poll breaks down like this: Campbell: 30 percentFiorina: 25 percentDeVore: 6 percentUndecided: 39 percent ] A glass-half-full way for …

On the Line: Marque Hernandez of “The Worst Cooks In America”

Normally our On the Line feature runs on Tuesdays and features a professional chef whose cooking has captivated the hearts of Orange Countians. We ask a series of not-very-serious questions and publish the results. Well, for this extra edition of On the Line, which we're publishing on Thursday to avoid confusion with our usual rotation …

[Hole in the Wall] Gnarly Nayaritan at Mariscos Los Corales in Santa Ana

Gnarly Nayaritan Across Orange County, you’ll see restaurants claiming to specialize in mariscos estilo Nayarit—seafood prepared in the culinary style of the Mexican Pacific coastal state, a place as renowned as Baja and Sinaloa for preparing treasures from the sea. Almost all of them, however, are frauds, content to serve shrimp cocktails heavy on the …

Is There ANYTHING Salvageable from Chowhound's Ultimate OC Restaurants of 2009?

Well, we've mocked the Register's reader poll; we've mocked our own readers, but now the fine folks at Chowhound have released the results of 2009's “Ultimate OC Restaurants” poll. Sample size was, frankly, a little thin, but the results were better than either of the print papers' responses, perhaps because the Chowhound community tends to …