1949 Year

A vivacious, dark-haired young woman disappears, then is found dead. The investigation sends shock waves through the political establishment. The murder is never solved. The story that gripped New Mexico half a century ago began with the killing of a teenage waitress in Las Cruces. As it unfolded, it exposed public corruption, sent law enforcement officers to prison and put a lid on the state's flourishing gambling industry.

It wouldn't be a true celebrity without a face-lift. The Hollywood sign is set to undergo its most extensive refurbishing in nearly 35 years starting Tuesday, when crews will begin repainting the iconic white letters overlooking Los Angeles. Workers will strip the letters of their paint and pressure-wash the exposed corrugated metal before priming and repainting them white, according to the Hollywood Sign Trust. The back of the sign will also be scraped, sanded and painted. The project, expected to take 275 gallons of paint and 110 gallons of primer, should take eight to 10 weeks, trust officials said.

Teenagers looking for summer work will have a better chance of finding it this year, according to outplacement consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. The improving job market, the firm said, has eased competition for the low-skilled, low-paying jobs that traditionally go to teens on school break. The employment environment for high-schoolers and other young folks has made a dramatic recovery since falling to record lows in 2010, when the number of 16- to 19-year-olds working during the summer months was at its slimmest level since 1949.

A vivacious, dark-haired young woman disappears, then is found dead. The investigation sends shock waves through the political establishment. The murder is never solved. The story that gripped New Mexico half a century ago began with the killing of a teenage waitress in Las Cruces. As it unfolded, it exposed public corruption, sent law enforcement officers to prison and put a lid on the state's flourishing gambling industry.

Eileen Winters, 84, comedian Jonathan Winters' wife of 60 years, died after a long battle with breast cancer Sunday evening at home in Montecito, said their son, Jay. The couple met at the Dayton Art Institute after World War II. In 1949, the year after they were married, Eileen encouraged her funny husband to enter an amateur talent show. "The first time I heard him talk," she later recalled, "my jaw began hanging open. Did he make up all those things by himself?"

Teenagers looking for summer work will have a better chance of finding it, as an improving job market helps ease competition for low-skilled, low-paying jobs, according to outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas. The employment environment for high-schoolers and other young folk has made a dramatic recovery since falling to record lows in 2010, when the number of 16- to 19-year-olds working during the summer months was at its slimmest level since 1949. Last year, youth employment from May through June perked up 13.2%, or by 1.08 million jobs.

The white flakes blowing around last week were the result of wildfires, but California's higher elevations are getting a layer of powder more customary for this time of year. It's snowing, meaning Warren Miller's latest flick is out. Every autumn, the release of a new Warren Miller film signals the beginning of the ski season.

It wouldn't be a true celebrity without a face-lift. The Hollywood sign is set to undergo its most extensive refurbishing in nearly 35 years starting Tuesday, when crews will begin repainting the iconic white letters overlooking Los Angeles. Workers will strip the letters of their paint and pressure-wash the exposed corrugated metal before priming and repainting them white, according to the Hollywood Sign Trust. The back of the sign will also be scraped, sanded and painted. The project, expected to take 275 gallons of paint and 110 gallons of primer, should take eight to 10 weeks, trust officials said.

Forty years ago, a pair of young football coaches from the East Coast were preparing for their first season in the West. Their aim was to restore respectability to the Loyola University football program. By 1949, the new Loyola head coach, Jordan Olivar, and his top assistant, Jerry Neri, both in their mid-30s, had enjoyed great success in leading their alma mater, Villanova College of Philadelphia, to a 33-20-2 record during the previous six years.

Hungarian turnout was heavy in parliamentary and municipal elections under a new law requiring at least two candidates for each seat--a rare choice in Eastern Europe. Elections had been uncontested in Hungary since 1949, one year after the Communist Party consolidated power.

The white flakes blowing around last week were the result of wildfires, but California's higher elevations are getting a layer of powder more customary for this time of year. It's snowing, meaning Warren Miller's latest flick is out. Every autumn, the release of a new Warren Miller film signals the beginning of the ski season.

Forty years ago, a pair of young football coaches from the East Coast were preparing for their first season in the West. Their aim was to restore respectability to the Loyola University football program. By 1949, the new Loyola head coach, Jordan Olivar, and his top assistant, Jerry Neri, both in their mid-30s, had enjoyed great success in leading their alma mater, Villanova College of Philadelphia, to a 33-20-2 record during the previous six years.

Ella Freilich, 87, a Holocaust survivor who was the mother-in-law of U.S. senator and former vice-presidential candidate Joseph Lieberman, died Friday in New York of natural causes. Born in Rachov, Czechoslovakia, Freilich was the youngest of four siblings. In 1944, her family was sent to Auschwitz, where her mother and two sisters died. She was liberated in 1945. After World War II, she worked in Prague and in 1947 married Samuel Freilich.

The widow of Jackie Robinson, the first black man to play in baseball's major leagues, on Thursday urged students at a Long Beach school named for her husband to make the most of their chances in life. Rachel Robinson attended the dedication of the Jackie Robinson Academy, a 550-student, state-of-the-art school that officials called the first of its kind in the district.