As editor of this infernal rag, I have a hard policy about awards: screw' em. I'm convinced that most national judges will always pass us over and not even bother with our stories because they assume we suck because of our OC pedigree. So I tell my colleagues to only truly concentrate on three contests: those run by the LA Press Club, the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, and the OC Press Club.

And I'm proud to announce we've done great in the first two.

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Who did better work identifying Kwang Choi "K.C." Joy as the suspected murderer of Maribel Manriquez Ramos? Police investigators or a Yelper?

There's no doubt police quickly had 54-year-old Joy in their sights, as the suspect himself admits in a bit.

But someone on Yelp got clued in before Joy's arrest was announced.

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It's a good thing Lindsay Lohan blew off Morningside Recovery for the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage because the Newport Beach rehab may have closed with her in it!

Following an Orange County Superior Court judge's preliminary ruling that the Lido Village location violates city law, Newport Beach is now going back to court to force the closure of Morningside and six other rehabs.

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You have a day left to bid on a piece of Dita Von Teese, the burlesque superstar who went by Heather Renée Sweet when she knocked around University High School in Irvine. It's not a smooth, milky white body part up for auction on eBay but the stunning beauty's French blue, 1939 Packard 120 sedan.

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Orange County fire officials recently held a press conference to go over their strategies and, more importantly, warn the public about an ever-earlier fire season. The Orange County Register covered this, as it did Southern California's recent wildfires, but a media watchdog saw a huge hole in the coverage.

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Who knew you could use old issues of OC Weekly for something other than birdcage liner! Jenny Porrett, a fashion design student at Fullerton College found a way to preserve them forever instead--50 copies, to be exact. Recently, she was asked to participate in a design completion called OC Fashion Showcase. The designers had to create a piece using recycled materials and show them on the runway at the OC Mix.

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You never know how these film festivals are going to play out. There have been years when it seems as if I've seen documentaries and action-sports films at the expense of feature-length dramas, comedies and other genres. This year, the opposite is true.

Based on past Newport Beach festivals, I can rest assured there has been a solid slate of docs for 2013. But I can only say with certainty that ... with only hours to go on this final day to change my mind ... Terms and Conditions May Apply is the best I have seen.

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The New U was saved! The New U was saved!

Yes, those UC Irvine students buried financially in tuition, boarding, book and PBR costs that'll have them paying back government loans until they reach the Social Security age to be pulled out from under them, have approved a $3 fee to save the student newspaper, New University.

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Sadeghi's 2011 Weekly cover

See the update at the bottom of this post to review Judge Bauer's ruling in the official Minute Order.

ORIGINAL POST: APRIL 22, 8:00 A.M.: An Orange County Superior Court judge this month dismissed a defamation lawsuit by Shaheen Sadeghi after concluding the wealthy, often-controversial Orange County real-estate developer's legal action was an improper use of the court system to stifle public debate about his maneuverings.

Judge Ronald L. Bauer granted a case-ending motion by Walt Sadler, the attorney for Delilah Snell--owner of a small, successful Santa Ana business, The Road Less Traveled--after concluding her statements made for a 2011 OC Weekly profile about Sadeghi were "a matter of opinion and thus beyond the scope of provable defamation."

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Remember that dust-up several years ago when it was discovered Caltrans was not filling potholes or performing other routine maintenance on the 91 freeway linking Orange and Riverside counties? Seems that few other than Caltrans and the Orange County Transportation Authority knew about a non-compete clause that prevented such work because it would make the "free" lanes attractive to drive at the expense of "pay" (and perfectly paved) lanes. The controversy sprang to mind while reading about a survey calling such toll lanes "a proven time-saving next generation highway concept."

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