American Center

Most weekdays the line outside Clinica Monseñor Oscar A. Romero in Pico-Union starts forming long before the clinic opens at 8 a.m. Those waiting are women with children, the elderly, undocumented and unemployed, all hoping to get appointments for everything from prenatal care to counseling. Since its founding in 1983 as a resource for Central American war refugees, this storied clinic has become a key stopping point for thousands of immigrants who arrive every year in this neighborhood and those nearby.

Katsuma Mukaeda, a founder and former chairman of the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center in Little Tokyo, has died. He was 104. The veteran leader of the Southern California Japanese American community died Saturday at Hemet Valley Medical Center, two weeks before his 105th birthday.

Georgena Terry swears she wasn't trying to become the next Henry Ford. She was just messing around with a blowtorch in her basement when the bicycle idea popped into her head. Terry made a few changes to a simple concept and, like Ford, became a pioneer in her industry by making a product that has both comfort and reliability. Women who had pedaled around in pain for years say the Terry bicycle works wonders for them.

WASHINGTON - The Internal Revenue Service improperly singled out conservative groups for extra scrutiny of their applications for nonprofit status, a top agency official said Friday, setting off calls for investigations into an organization already under fire for its handling of secret political spending by nonprofits. Employees at the agency's Cincinnati nonprofits office, while screening a flood of applications from so-called social welfare groups last year, set aside about 75 containing the words "tea party" and "patriot" for more detailed review, said Lois Lerner, IRS director of exempt organizations.

Step carefully around the cow droppings as you head down the rutted dirt path, towel in hand, for your 10-minute curative bath in the "miraculous" mineral waters of the Kuldur Spa. A flimsy-looking statue of V. I. Lenin, painted a tinny shade of silver, points you toward the crumbling pink building that houses several dozen baths. Under the dim yellow light inside, you strip off your clothes in a frosted-glass cubicle and turn the rusty taps. A cockroach scurries along the wall.

Duane T. Ebata, the artistic director of the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center in Los Angeles, has died. Ebata, who had been on medical leave from the center for the last nine months, died Thursday of cancer at his home in Los Angeles. He was 49. Born in Hawaii but raised in Southern California, Ebata graduated from Cal State Long Beach in 1975 and taught in the equal opportunity program there from 1979 to 1984.

Officials have halted some excavation on the site of a planned Mexican American cultural center after complaints about the removal of skeletal remains that have been unearthed there. Miguel Angel Corzo, the chief executive of La Plaza de Cultura y Artes, released a statement on Friday saying "We believe it is in the best interest of both La Plaza and the larger community to put this section of our project on hold. " Fragile bones from dozens of bodies have been found on the site since October, buried beneath the surface in an area planned as an outdoor space and garden.

Antonia Guevara told the doctor that she felt a sharp pain that started on the left side of her throat, went down her neck and reached her heart. Gumersinda Umanzo wanted a mammograph. Maria Garcia was having lunch with her psychologist. Margarita Hernandez was receiving legal advice on her refugee status. The four women were in the same building.

Three decades ago, Paul Kim was a 15-year-old immigrant from South Korea who barely spoke English; he was living in a small Oklahoma town and wondering what future America held for him. This week, Kim, 44, whose Korean name Myung-Chun means "bright sky," was named a captain in the Los Angeles Police Department--the first Asian to achieve that rank in the city's history.

The American Music Center has awarded Los Angeles Times music critic Mark Swed a 2001 Letter of Distinction. The award, one of five Letters of Distinction that the organization will present on May 7, honors "substantial contributions to advancing the field of contemporary American music in the United States and abroad." Swed joined The Times in 1996 as chief music critic.