Apache

Meet Colt Prattes: He's the young man who costars with Pink in the video the pop star released Tuesday, for her new single "Try. " Sensual, stunning and a bit sad, "Try" has a fiercely choreographed interpretation of the Apache dance, one that's earned praise for Pink and the able-bodied Prattes. The Ministry called Colt at home in Las Vegas and uncovered the following essentials: He's been a dancer since high school: And he did it for the ladies. "I kind of got into it to meet girls," Prattes admitted, but he followed the craft to the University of Cincinnati, where he received a bachelor of fine arts.

Meet Colt Prattes: He's the young man who costars with Pink in the video the pop star released Tuesday, for her new single "Try. " Sensual, stunning and a bit sad, "Try" has a fiercely choreographed interpretation of the Apache dance, one that's earned praise for Pink and the able-bodied Prattes. The Ministry called Colt at home in Las Vegas and uncovered the following essentials: He's been a dancer since high school: And he did it for the ladies. "I kind of got into it to meet girls," Prattes admitted, but he followed the craft to the University of Cincinnati, where he received a bachelor of fine arts.

Apache Petroleum Corp., a limited partnership that explores for, develops and produces oil and natural gas, will acquire the interest of Davis in the assets that APC, Apache and Davis acquired from Occidental Petroleum. The firms had jointly agreed to acquire the assets from Occidental on June 30 for $444 million. APC then entered into an agreement to purchase Davis' 50% interest by Dec. 31 for $222 million.

This year's L.A. Taco Festival was a great excuse to take a subway, explore Mariachi Plaza, and listen to live banda music, while supporting the Jovenes Inc. foundation in its efforts to help at-risk Boyle Heights youth. The tacos, as you'd expect, were delicious, although the temperatures were high and the lines were long. Taquerias are as popular as the Dodgers in this part of town. I had a great time. But on the walk back to the car, I couldn't help myself.

Shares of beleaguered BP jumped 8% Monday on hopes for the latest attempt to stop the gulf oil leak and reports that BP may be turning to Apache Corp., a Houston-based exploration and production company, for a $10-billion asset sale. BP's U.S.-traded shares closed at $36.76, up 36% since the company hit a 14-month low in June but down 39% from the stock's value on April 20, when the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded and sank, leaving a well gushing oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

The movie "Gunsmoke: The Last Apache" (CBS, Aug. 4) was a clean, enjoyable movie to watch. I wish there were more such movies on TV. Trudy Gagnon, Temecula

I'm not sure of your sources for your editorial, but it is obvious that you have missed the wealth of positive accounts about the AH-64 Apache's performance in the Persian Gulf. I think your readers would be well served if you allowed them to read how well the Apache is doing there--it's ready, willing and able to perform any mission the Army may require. In a recent statement to the news media, McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Co. President Tom Gunn cited his concerns about media attacks on the Apache.

I had a "feel good" lump in my throat all day after reading about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's role in the Apache reservation high school basketball program, indeed, in his immersion into the Apache tribal culture (Feb. 2). What a joy it must be for this man to find this peace. I have always admired his quiet manner and his absence of need for adoration. I am happy for him, for the contribution he is making and what he is receiving. DENNIS DAVIS Anaheim

This just in: Dorothy Benally of Beclabito needs a reliable sheepherder. He must be willing to take the flock up into the mountains for at least two months. Call collect . . . . The squaw dance for Frank Woody at Ojo Encino has been postponed . . . . And to anyone who's listening, Elmer Bigben would like the people of Red Mesa to leave messages at the chapter house. Rise and shine.

Editor's Note: The following essays by Sherman Alexie, J.D. McClatchy, Robert Pinsky, Mona Simpson and Ted Kooser are included in a recent anthology published by Milkweed Editions, entitled "The Most Wonderful Books: writers on Discovering the Pleasures of Reading." They are reprinted here with the kind permission of the publisher and the authors. * I learned to read with a Superman comic book. Simple enough, I suppose.

After the first five days of football practice in a dusty corner of Compton, Hell Week rises to a new boil. Jimmy Nolan, the new coach of the Compton Centennial Apaches, is wondering how he can unlock the potential in his young football team when he doesn't even have the keys to the stadium. Some days he scales the wrought-iron gates. Some days, his players climb with him. "Right now we may not be too good at football, but we're great at hopping fences," Nolan says.

Apache Corp. said Tuesday it agreed to buy a handful of BP's oil and natural gas fields throughout North America and Egypt for $7 billion, though the oil giant's Prudhoe Bay, Alaska operations were not part of the deal. Apache Corp., known for purchasing mature oil and gas properties and wringing more value out of them, will scoop up BP properties in Alberta and British Columbia, as well as the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico and Egypt's Western Desert. All told, the Houston oil and gas company will add estimated proved reserves of 385 million barrels of oil equivalent to its portfolio.

Beleaguered petroleum giant BP agreed Tuesday to sell oil and natural gas fields in the United States and other countries to rival Apache Corp. for $7 billion in its biggest move yet to raise money to pay reparations for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The company announced plans to sell its Permian Basin fields in Texas and New Mexico — acquired as part of the purchase of Los Angeles-based Arco in 2000 — as well as properties in Canada and Egypt. Apache was said to be interested in BP's Alaskan assets, but they weren't part of the deal.

Shares of beleaguered BP jumped 8% Monday on hopes for the latest attempt to stop the gulf oil leak and reports that BP may be turning to Apache Corp., a Houston-based exploration and production company, for a $10-billion asset sale. BP's U.S.-traded shares closed at $36.76, up 36% since the company hit a 14-month low in June but down 39% from the stock's value on April 20, when the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded and sank, leaving a well gushing oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

Deonte Burton scored 24 points and teammates Kevin Smith and Thomas Hammock each added 15 as host Compton Centennial upset defending champion Harvard-Westlake, 78-70, in a semifinal game of the Southern Section Division 3A boys' basketball playoffs Friday night at Lynwood High. The third-seeded Apaches (25-5) trailed, 39-34 at halftime and 56-52 after three quarters, but rallied to take a 65-63 lead on a layup by Kurt Davis with 3:18 remaining. Davis finished with 11 points and put the game out of reach when he rebounded a desperation three-pointer from the corner by Harvard-Westlake guard Austin Kelly and dribbled the length of the court for a dunk to put Centennial ahead, 76-68, with 15 seconds left.

Descendants of imprisoned Chiricahua Apaches, who were the last American Indians to lay down their arms in the late 1800s, are telling their forefathers' story on film for the first time. Crews ultimately composed mostly of Apaches will shoot the documentary called "Wild Justice," featuring interviews with the few living ex-prisoners and prisoners' relatives. Some of it will be filmed aboard a train along routes that began 28 years of confinement for the Apaches in Florida, Alabama and Oklahoma.

Phillip Cassadore, spiritual leader of the 10,000-member Apache tribe on the San Carlos Indian Reservation and an independent presidential candidate in 1972, died Tuesday. Cassadore, 53, suffered heart failure and died at Tucson Medical Center. He was considered the San Carlos Apache tribe's foremost medicine man and advocated a return to traditional Indian ways. He took over as tribal leader in 1956 after the death of his father, Chief Broken Arrow.

What beautiful memories "Arizona's Apache Trail Yields a Cache of Ruins" [Weekend Escape, March 21] evoked. In 1948, my then-wife and I made the Apache trail part of our route from Flagstaff, Ariz., to Tucson. The vast solitude and the loneliness were almost frightening, but the ever-changing vistas were magnificent. I'm certain they are little changed today. Evidently, the road isn't. We were driving a new Studebaker convertible, and that pretty little car was never the same after that trip.

What beautiful memories "Arizona's Apache Trail Yields a Cache of Ruins" [Weekend Escape, March 21] evoked. In 1948, my then-wife and I made the Apache trail part of our route from Flagstaff, Ariz., to Tucson. The vast solitude and the loneliness were almost frightening, but the ever-changing vistas were magnificent. I'm certain they are little changed today. Evidently, the road isn't. We were driving a new Studebaker convertible, and that pretty little car was never the same after that trip.

The $29 airfare from Burbank to Phoenix was my cue. I had recently read about the centuries-old cliff dwellings in Arizona's Tonto National Monument; the upper, larger dwelling, the article said, is accessible only on ranger-led tours November to April. This was my chance. It was also an opportunity to spend an uninterrupted few days with my daughter Elena, 15, doing mom-and-kid stuff.