Artificial Turf

California's attorney general wants to put a new spin on the old admonition "Don't step on the grass!" The warning could read "Don't roll on the artificial turf" if Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown and local law enforcement officials prevail in a lawsuit filed late Tuesday against three top makers of the green plastic playing fields and grasslike indoor-outdoor carpeting. The complaint filed in Alameda County Superior Court alleges that the three manufacturers violated California's Proposition 65 environmental law by knowingly failing to disclose that their products contain lead.

Santa Anita officials announced Monday that its synthetic track will undergo a complete overhaul beginning July 14, the day after the current Hollywood Park meet ends. Ron Charles, Santa Anita president, said five to six weeks are being allotted for the project, although it could be finished in three weeks.

Racing is scheduled to resume at Santa Anita today for the first time in six days. The Arcadia track lost an unprecedented three straight race days, Saturday through Monday, because of heavy rains and the ongoing drainage problem with the facility's new synthetic surface. Ron Charles, Santa Anita president, said Wednesday that he had a very productive meeting with trainers and owners to discuss the situation and possible options.

At the end of last summer's Del Mar thoroughbred racing meet, one somber statistic overshadowed all others: 19 horses were dead, victims of catastrophic injuries at the track. One veteran horseman described the seaside venue that season as "a killing field." But incidents of track fatalities were hardly unique to Del Mar.

A new era in California racing begins today with the start of Hollywood Park's autumn meet. Gone is the traditional dirt surface, replaced by a synthetic surface known as Cushion Track. All major thoroughbred venues in the state have been mandated by the California Horse Racing Board to switch to a synthetic surface of some kind by the start of 2008. The arrival of Cushion Track has prompted some optimism heading into the 36-day season in Inglewood.

HOMEOWNERS know that in one field of life, nothing less than perfection is acceptable. The rules of the lawn are very clear: no bare patches, Fido-induced brownouts, weeds, anemic blades or lusterless shades of green. The quest for perfect grass is grueling enough that some might sell their souls to get it. Deberoh Gruver did, and she couldn't be more delighted. The Riverside teacher's lawn is perfect 365 days a year.

Holy Turf War | "I see myself as a sort of evangelical artificial turf man," says Venice architect Glen Irani. "I do it because my mission is to eradicate decorative lawns from the face of the Earth." Though Irani laughs when he says this, he makes it clear that he considers the millions of carefully tended lawns around the Southland an environmental disaster in the making. "Millions of tons of fertilizer are used on decorative lawns every day ...

The same Metrodome artificial turf that last April 30 contributed to an injury that forced former Angel Troy Glaus to sit out most of 2004 because of shoulder surgery, sidelined another Angel third baseman Sunday. Lou Merloni, making only his second start of the season, sprained his right ankle when his spike got stuck in the turf as he made a throw after fielding Lew Ford's fourth-inning grounder and the utility infielder had to leave the game.