The Los Angeles Times plans to lay off even more employees with the recent decision to rid the local news section. California news will now be folded in the front section alongside national and foreign news.

Quoted from a memo sent by publisher Eddy Hartenstein:
"In the coming weeks, we will introduce a number of changes to the way we do business, including a new sectional line-up for the paper. These are necessary to facilitate greater efficiencies in how we approach our operations, production and distribution and, as a result, we expect to eliminate approximately 300 positions."

Editorial will be reduced by 70 positions.

Read more here.

All the key swindlers in the homeless patient dumping scheme that sucked hundreds of thousands of dollars from Medicare and Medi-Cal programs in fradulent claims last year have been indicted -- except, that is, for the bad boys in Tustin who were also allegedly involved in the scheme.

Last August a several months-long federal investigation culminated with the raids of three hospitals and the arrest of a hospital CEO in Los Angeles for alleged involvement a scheme that recruited homeless "patients" from L.A.'s Skid Row and then dumped them after they'd been "treated" at the hospitals involved in the fraud scheme.

Two of the three hospitals raided -- Los Angeles Metropolitan Medical Center and Tustin Hospital and Medical Center -- are owned by Tustin-based Pacific Health Corp., the same company that's also been busy managing other code-violating problems at Anaheim General Hospital, which it also owns.

Robert Bourseau, a co-owner of the third hospital raided last year (City of Angels Medical Center), was arrested this morning on federal charges of paying illegal kickbacks in the scheme. Former City of Angels vice-president, Dante Nicholson, was indicted yesterday. If convicted of the 12 counts in the indictment, the two face up to 65 years in prison and fines of up to $6 million.

Former City of Angels CEO Rudra Sabaratnam and Estill Mitts, a former "patient" recruiter already pleaded guilty to similar charges and are scheduled to be sentenced in March and June.

The federal investigation is still ongoing, according to the U.S. Attorney's office, and the only entities that remain completely unscathed by the federal raids are our Tustin-based friends.

First off, an "Ahoy, matey!" with a cherry on top to "Nice try," who justifiably mocks my bleary-eyed muffing of the photo selection for Speaking of Abandoned Ships, Save the Queen [Mary] Can't Save Itself. I'm next to positive the correct barnacle collector is shown here. And I disagree with Nice try's advice to "Stick to OC, guys." Two things:

1) Speaking of abandoned cities, OC Weekly adopted Long Beach when we were still in the cradle, as longtime readers know, whether Long Beach likes it or not.

2) The central figure in this story is a Newport Beach developer. Yes, Newport Beach is also a community onto itself, but I am 67.9 percent sure that, at least technically, it is in Orange County.

Jeffrey S. Klein is a controversial Newport Beach developer at that. As the Long Beach Press-Telegram reported in October '07 (sorry for scanning clips generated beyond the county line, Nice try, and sorry to everyone for not being able to link you to it as it's in the P-T's pay-as-you-read archives):

In his personal and professional life, the 57-year-old has amassed $700,000 in tax liens, $2.4 million in legal judgments and more than two dozen lawsuits against him over the last 12 years. Among them: a 1997 elder abuse and fraud case filed in civil court by his older brother, Robert Klein, famous in California for leading the 2004 stem-cell initiative. More >>

Ha, our South-County U.S. Rep (and, apparently, fledgling beardo) gets a shout out on last night's Colbert Report. For some reason, he's labeled "Jim Campbell," but nope, that's John.

Around the 2:20 mark:

I've only visited Foothill High in SanTana (but shush, don't say what city it's located in!) once, and I can't even remember the occasion. But I'm thinking of them right now, after another night of one of my favorite current television shows, Lost. One of its main protagonists, John Locke, grew up in Orange County. In the scene below, young Locke is seen getting stuffed in a locker during high school.

Notice anything weird?The high school in question is Cowin Heights High, and their mascot is the Knights. Foothill High is near Cowan Heights, and its mascot is the Knights. Why did Lost producers change the name and school colors of Foothill High, and what's with the misspelling of Cowan?

The clamor outside is made scarier by the fact that it's muffled, as if the kids next door are watching a slasher-flick at full blast. Felt in the stomach and feet: an incessant, pulse-heightening pound, bass-heavy and rhythmic from the stomping and drumming. Leaking through the doors into the ears: unintelligible barking, harsh talk, car horns and the occasional awful shriek.

To the "patriots" at the California Coalition for Immigration Reform's special meeting about "THE DEADLY THREAT OF ISLAM TO AMERICA," within the yellowing walls of the Garden Grove Womens Club, it sounds like jihad. The noisy Muslims outside aren't protesters; they're evidence. When the patriots entered the building, all they saw was a group of about 20 kids, standing on Chapman Avenue with signs and flags. But more than an hour into Wednesday's meeting -- the first CCIR gathering featuring a panel of speakers from the anti-Muslim Act! for America organization -- the racket outside becomes unmistakable in light of the information the guest speakers present: It must be the roar of a brown mob ululating, shouting "Death to Amerikkka!" in brusque Farsi, Molotov-ing Cadillac and impaling random passers-by.

But these patriots will be strong, they will be brave, they will as be fearless as Christmas. Christmas Atanous -- that's the woman up on stage, behind the eagle-adorned lectern, the slightly swarthy lady with to-the-shoulder Cleopatra hair and turquoise eyeshadow. She's incredible: Born in Iran as an Assyrian Christian (yes, they speak the same language as Jesus!), she endured unspeakable suffering at the hands of Muslims. She's seen family members murdered. She was forced to read that "unholy book," the Koran. She lived in a society where a Christian life was worth less -- literally worth less, she says -- than a donkey. So she came to America, the best nation on Earth.

More >>

Long Beach Press-Telegram and LA Business Journal report that Save the Queen has lost ownership of the Queen Mary.

Because no bidders came forward to buy a stake in Newport Beach developer Jeff Klein's Save the Queen, Garrison Investment Group, the company Klein previously hired to run day-to-day operations, assumed a 100 percent stake in Long Beach's borderline popular tourist attraction.

Save the Queen bought the ship's lease for $43 million in 2007 after the previous operator, Queen's Seaport Development Inc., filed for bankruptcy. Garrison, which previously loaned Save the Queen $33 million, bid just $25,000 to take over complete ownership rights at an auction held in New York City.

Here's a sign of these economically depressing times: The Orange County Sheriff's Harbor Patrol is selling 10 abandoned boats to the highest bidders at 9 a.m. Friday, reports the Log.com, "California's boating and fishing news site."

Vessels for sale include powerboats 28, 29 and 35 feet in length; sailboats 24, 27 and 29 feet in length; one 6-foot and two 8-foot inflatable tenders; a 9-foot, a 10-foot and three 12-foot kayaks; a 10-foot canoe; a 10-foot inflatable kayak; an 8-foot rowboat; an 8-foot Sabot; and 10-foot and 14-foot dinghies.

Johnnie Law will retain possession of the vessels for a 10-day redemption period after the auction, then the tubs will be released to their new owners. Pre-auction viewing begins at 8 a.m. at the Harbor Patrol office at 1901 Bayside Drive, Nouveau Riche.

Great, even if we can scrounge up enough between our sofa cushions for the anticipated "rock-bottom price," how the hell are we ever going to afford the monthly slip fees? 

The San Diego Chargers ended speculation about an immediate move to Orange or Los Angeles counties. But their announced marketing of themselves here and to the north is driving fears among fans they won't be sticking around long.

PonchoVilla on UnionTribune.com:
This one smells like a move. It always starts like this with rumors, speculations and then, 'Here is your chile relleno. Los Angeles Chargers? Anaheim Chargers? The new SDLA Chargers?

xli on SportingNews.com:
Separated by only 100 miles, it is very possible for the Chargers to become a SoCal team. San Diego might not like it, but it could be a gold mine.

slimsocal on UnionTribune.com:
2009 San Diego Chargers
2010 San Diego Chargers of Southern California
2011 Los Angeles Chargers?
Sure would make a good business sense.

Not everyone down south would mind a move. More >>