130 Years

From its inception on Dec. 4, 1881, the Los Angeles Times has been an integral part of this great city. Our metropolis has changed dramatically over the last 130 years, but one thing has remained constant: The Los Angeles Times has landed on doorsteps -- and now computer screens and cellphones -- every single day. Our commitment to covering the news -- the first draft of history, as Phillip Graham famously called it -- is unwavering....

From its inception on Dec. 4, 1881, the Los Angeles Times has been an integral part of this great city. Our metropolis has changed dramatically over the last 130 years, but one thing has remained constant: The Los Angeles Times has landed on doorsteps -- and now computer screens and cellphones -- every single day. Our commitment to covering the news -- the first draft of history, as Phillip Graham famously called it -- is unwavering....

For more than 130 years, Nowell's moss in northwestern England has not been known to fruit. But scientists have now found tiny cigar-shaped spores on a rock wall -- the first time since 1866 that the moss is known to have reproduced sexually. "I was absolutely overjoyed," said Fred Rumsey of London's Natural History Museum, who made the find in the Yorkshire Dales. Scientists are seeking ways to further l'amour.

The corn dog and churro stands are ready. So are the stomach-churning carnival rides and the critters at Uncle Leo's Barn, where Leo Vanoni is celebrating 50 years of setting up his barnyard exhibit, a noisy collection of pigs, goats and chickens that has entertained generations of children and adults at the Ventura County Fair. "It never gets old," said Vanoni, who will turn 90 later this month and has attended the fair since the 1920s. "The people are the ones who really make it.

A man convicted of raping and sexually mutilating a 7-year-old boy was sentenced today to more than 130 years in prison, three times the standard term for the crime. In sentencing Earl Shriner, Pierce County Superior Court Judge Thomas R. Sauriol said the case left him more troubled and outraged than any in his 37-year legal career. "I don't think that I have ever heard of a case that borders on extreme cruelty more than this one," Sauriol said.

Employees at the 130-year-old Chattanooga Times emptied their desks and said their goodbyes while putting out the morning newspaper's final edition. The Times has merged with its afternoon rival, the Chattanooga Free Press. The first edition of the combined Chattanooga Times/Chattanooga Free Press comes out Tuesday morning. Chattanooga, once the home of fiercely competitive family-owned newspapers, had been the last Tennessee city with two dailies and one of 53 U.S.

A man convicted of residential burglary was sentenced Friday to a minimum of 130 years in prison under the "three strikes" law. Angel Martinez, 34, was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Richard Weatherspoon to 25 years to life on each of five burglary counts and ordered to serve the terms consecutively. Because the Orange County district attorney's office deemed Martinez a career criminal, the judge was allowed to add five years. Martinez was arrested Aug.

The Olympic Club, a 130-year-old refuge for affluent white men, has agreed to admit women following years of legal wrangling with the city, both sides in the historic agreement said Tuesday. "I wish that we had been able to achieve this years ago . . . and without a lawsuit," City Atty. Louise Renne said. "I hope this sends a message to private clubs throughout San Francisco and the nation that they cannot exclude members because they are women or minorities."

In the Sacramento Bee's founding editorial in 1857, editor James McClatchy vowed in the florid prose of the period that his journal would rely "upon a just, honorable, fearless course of conduct" and "make those men enemies who are enemies of the country." Above all, he promised, "the object of this newspaper is not only independence but permanence." This week, McClatchy's great-grandchildren announced that permanence may now require them to give up some independence.

With the help of film star Tony Curtis and a $2-million tree, Hungarian Jews are trying to restore Europe's largest synagogue in Budapest. Work on repairing the huge 130-year-old building in the former Jewish quarter, weakened by World War II bombs, neglect and the last three severe winters, has already begun with a $5-million contribution from the Hungarian government.

Nineteenth century sea captains gratefully followed its piercing ray through inky nights to find safe harbor in Los Angeles and to avoid foundering on the rocky coastline. The ornate wooden Point Fermin Lighthouse in San Pedro, whose beacon was extinguished decades ago, now beckons those who want a peek at a forgotten profession and a quaint lifestyle.

The old brick building on Commercial Street had lasted a century, first as a small-town newspaper office, then as an antique gallery. In just a few seconds, it was gone, ripped apart by a wind that let nothing stand in its way. More than a block from the small mountain of bricks that remained, antique dealer Ron Bertalotto found an old metal sign that once hung from the building's exterior. It read, "1884," the year it was built. Bertalotto, 49, tossed the sign into the back of his truck.

For more than 130 years, Nowell's moss in northwestern England has not been known to fruit. But scientists have now found tiny cigar-shaped spores on a rock wall -- the first time since 1866 that the moss is known to have reproduced sexually. "I was absolutely overjoyed," said Fred Rumsey of London's Natural History Museum, who made the find in the Yorkshire Dales. Scientists are seeking ways to further l'amour.

The crowds usually come to the fairground exhibition hall for trade shows or to get a peek at the fancy horses. But on display here Sunday was the new face of Georgia politics. Nearly a month after a staggering electoral upset by Georgia Republicans, hundreds of them flocked to the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter to greet Sonny Perdue, who is about to become the first GOP governor here in 130 years.

In Orange, when they say life revolves around the Plaza, they mean it. Take Steve Ambriz. When he got married, the first thing he did was drive the limousine into the Plaza and treat his new bride, Bridget, to a spin on the traffic circle. They laughed. They honked the horn. They went around and around. "It was great," he says. The postnuptials were the height of decorum compared with Ambriz's days with the Orange High School football team.

The French left won control of Paris City Hall on Sunday in municipal elections that spelled the end of 130 years of right-wing rule over the capital and shook the power base of conservative President Jacques Chirac. The Socialist Party candidate for mayor, Bertrand Delanoe, clasped his hands over his head and called his historic victory the "renewal of democracy" in Paris. "I'll be the mayor of all Parisians," he promised.

A man accused of fleecing his fellow Capistrano Beach church members and other investors of millions by promising them returns of 60% or higher was convicted Thursday of fraud charges by a federal jury in Los Angeles. James B.A. Niven persuaded about 170 investors, many of them members of Calvary Chapel, to invest $7.7 million in his company, but after less than five hours of deliberation, the jury agreed with prosecutors who said that Niven spent the money on himself.

The McGrath family has carved a wide swath in the county's agricultural history over the last 130 years. There's even a street or two and a state park named after them. The first McGrath, an Irish immigrant named Dominick, began farming in the county in 1871, and McGraths have been growing food ever since. Dominick had 13 children, most of whom became farmers.

The McGrath family has carved a wide swath in the county's agricultural history over the last 130 years. There's even a street or two and a state park named after them. The first McGrath, an Irish immigrant named Dominick, began farming in the county in 1871, and McGraths have been growing food ever since. Dominick had 13 children, most of whom became farmers.

Employees at the 130-year-old Chattanooga Times emptied their desks and said their goodbyes while putting out the morning newspaper's final edition. The Times has merged with its afternoon rival, the Chattanooga Free Press. The first edition of the combined Chattanooga Times/Chattanooga Free Press comes out Tuesday morning. Chattanooga, once the home of fiercely competitive family-owned newspapers, had been the last Tennessee city with two dailies and one of 53 U.S.