Abby

It is beyond belief and understanding to read that the Los Angeles City Council adjourned on April 14, in memory of the late Abbie Hoffman. With all the problems of the city these politicians have nothing better to do than honor a radical. I well recall that the City Council did absolutely nothing to honor the late Howard Jarvis. No wonder our city is in a mess. H. HUGHES Los Angeles

"Ten more minutes and I would've jumped in the fountain," said John Wayne's daughter, Melinda, after the marriage Saturday of Wayne's youngest daughter, Marisa. Melinda spoke as, praise the Lord, the reflecting pool that decorates the center aisle at the Crystal Cathedral began to hiss with turquoise geysers, sending spray onto sweltering guests (many of whom fanned themselves with Crystal Cathedral postcards during the scorching, 20-minute ceremony).

Re "'Dear Abby' gave advice for over 40 years," Obituary, Jan. 18 As a lawyer, I had the privilege of representing "Dear Abby" columnist Pauline Friedman Phillips for many years and considered her not only a valued client but also a warm and caring friend. Phillips' wit and intelligence were legendary and she took her advisory role quite seriously. Often, before responding to a reader's inquiry, she would call upon her cadre of professionals to formulate the best constructive response.

Maintaining privacy in the digital age is no easy feat ? particularly if you are the subject of a movie. And yet Angela Wesselman-Pierce, the woman who holds the key to the mystery at the center of "Catfish," has remained a quiet enigma for more than eight months since the movie became a sensation at the Sundance Film Festival. She's avoided requests for interviews about the film, which is being marketed as a documentary thriller and has taken in more than $1.6 million at the box office since its Sept.

Dear Abby: A troublesome situation has just surfaced, and we're in need of a sympathetic ear. See, there's this new series debuting tonight, and like you, it's called "Abby." And like the people in your column, the characters have relationship problems. But a big part of their problem is the show they're in, and it's serious enough that a viewer can't help wondering if we're all going to make it together.

A coroner said Tuesday that Abbie Hoffman, a founder of the radical Yippie protest movement of the 1960s, committed suicide by taking a massive overdose of the sedative phenobarbital. The news came as his family and friends were preparing for a memorial service today in Worcester, Mass. The memorial will include a '60s-style peace march led by folk singer Pete Seeger from Hoffman's mother's house to the temple he attended as a child. The gray-haired, bearded, 52-year-old Hoffman was found dead on April 12, fully dressed in bed at his home in New Hope, Pa. The initial autopsy was inconclusive, pending toxicological tests.

An autopsy on Abbie Hoffman was inconclusive, but officials hoped toxicology tests would determine how the 1960s radical died. Friends and family said he had been was depressed and may have committed suicide. Hoffman, 52, was found dead in his bed by his landlord Wednesday night. Kate Fluehr, a spokeswoman for Bucks County Dist. Atty. Alan Rubenstein, said Friday that the laboratory tests to find the cause of death had begun, and the results would be announced this week. Hoffman's mother said at first that the family assumed that Hoffman had taken his life.

Abbie Cornish might not have been familiar with the work of 19th century poet John Keats or his muse Fanny Brawne when she first read the script for director Jane Campion's "Bright Star," but she says she immediately fell in love with the couple. Instantly connecting with their story informed her performance in the film, in which she plays Brawne, a spirited woman who carries on a brief and doomed relationship with Keats soon before he loses his life to tuberculosis. "There were so many different facets to [Fanny]

Hundreds of Los Angeles County employees flocked to the Hall of Administration on Tuesday to demand pay raises from the Board of Supervisors. Many who lined the steps wore purple Service Employees International Union shirts, blew whistles and waived flags bearing the phrase "Turn It Up. " Some also brought children to the rally - which coincided with the county's Take Your Child to Work Day - holding signs that said "My Mom Needs a Raise" and...