Burnings

Segregation, cross burnings and smallpox vaccinations. Very retro. John Gebler Los Angeles

This week, on Facebook, someone posted one of those preprinted witticisms that vie with cute kittens for the attention of people sharing stuff: "I don't know where YOU live, but the weather here is somewhere between bipolar and psychotic this year. " I live in the woods in Northern California at an elevation of 2,500 feet. In my backyard, fenced to keep the deer out, there are 30 rosebushes. Most years, the first flush of roses comes at the end of May, but there are a couple hundred roses in full bloom out back, an unusual sight at this elevation this early in the season.

While your article on brush burning (May 27) was informative, it betrayed a cavalier and insensitive attitude on the part of the Los Angeles Fire Department and the Los Angles Times toward the fate of wildlife affected by such "controlled" burnings. If these burnings are deemed necessary to maintain an ecological balance of nature, so be it. However, please spare us the macabre details about the immolated rabbits and the baby deer with singed hoofs who was separated from its mother.

The second day of searing temperatures and unseasonably strong Santa Ana winds kept firefighters busy Friday battling blazes that threatened homes in Ventura County, Glendale and Walnut, but the day ended with hope that cooling conditions would ease the siege. The day was filled with tense moments as the Springs fire lurched closer to homes near Thousand Oaks and a fast-moving blaze in Glendale prompted evacuations and temporarily shut down parts of a busy freeway interchange. Although the amount of burned acreage increased significantly Friday, the fires did not cause major damage to structures.

I'm beginning my 50th year in newspapering, and the very idea amazes me. I never thought I'd be able to do any one thing for half a century, but here I am, still pecking away in a field of words like a chicken at chow time, as hungry as ever. I tell you this even though it violates an unspoken rule in the City of Angles never to even hint at how old you might be. When I told a friend what I intended, he replied in a shocked tone, "You're coming out of the closet?" "I'm revealing my age," I said, "not changing my gender."

The release of a man imprisoned for setting his 6-year-old son afire has been delayed again, officials said. The new release date for Charles Rothenberg, 48, is Feb. 11, 1990. Rothenberg initially was to be released from the California Men's Colony here Dec. 11, then it was delayed until Jan. 9. The state twice added about a month to Rothenberg's jail time for circumventing mail room procedures. Parole authorities are searching for a community in which Rothenberg can be released.

For those who need further evidence that you can't believe everything you see on TV, along comes the tale of a New Jersey man who says he sustained third-degree burns on his feet after following an insomnia remedy touted by Dr. Mehmet Oz on his daytime talk show. The remedy was a “heated rice footsie,” which the show's website describes like this: “Simply pour rice into your socks, heat them in the microwave until they're warm, then wear the socks for up to 20 minutes while lying in bed.” What good would that do, you ask?

Ronnie Burns, 72, the son of George Burns and Gracie Allen who appeared occasionally with the comedy team on television in the 1950s, died of cancer Wednesday at his Pacific Palisades home, said his wife, Janice. Burns played himself on "The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show," which ran on CBS from 1950 to 1958, and "The George Burns Show," which ran for one season after Allen retired from show business in 1958.

Hundreds of youths went on a rampage in Huntington Beach on Sunday afternoon, pelting police officers with rocks and bottles, storming a large lifeguard station and overturning and burning police vehicles. Police said at least 12 people were injured, including five Huntington Beach officers and one Orange County sheriff's deputy. Thirteen people were arrested but scores of youths who threw bottles at officers or took part in the destruction escaped in the confusion.

Welcome to another exciting installment of Fun With Math! Today we're going to use basic addition and subtraction to show how running is better than walking for fat loss, no matter what your doctor says. I have no idea where the myth that walking a mile burns the same number of calories as running one originated, but I do know doctors are fond of telling it. My wife — a family physician — tells me that many of her colleagues have relayed this bit of metabolic misinformation. I see it as another example of telling people just what they want to hear: You don't have to work hard to achieve great results.

The Southern California wildfire season got off to an ominous start Thursday with a massive brush fire in Ventura County that officials fear is just a preview of dangerous months ahead. The fire showed in dramatic fashion how the region's record dry conditions and lack of rainfall can quickly combine with fierce Santa Ana winds to produce widespread havoc. Firefighters said the dry winter and spring left the brush much more combustible than they've ever seen it at this time of year.

A fast-moving brush fire powered by Santa Ana winds raged out of control Wednesday in Riverside County, forcing hundreds of people to flee their homes and creating a thick pall of smoke that stretched for miles and affected air quality in the region. The Summit fire, which had charred at least 2,950 acres near Banning, spread quickly after breaking out shortly after noon as hundreds of firefighters struggled to create containment lines and protect homes, officials said. The blaze destroyed at least one home and left one firefighter with minor injuries.

The Central Park Five, PBS, $24.99; Blu-ray, $29.99 This documentary (made by Ken Burns, his daughter Sarah and her husband, David McMahon) revisits the racial tensions of '80s New York, via the story of a white, female investment banker who was raped and beaten, reportedly by a "wilding" mob of black youths. The city found suspects and got convictions quickly, but the Harlem teens they jailed claimed their confessions were coerced and were eventually exonerated - after they'd served out their terms.

A brush fire caused by live-fire training at Camp Pendleton has burned more than 80 acres, the Marine Corps said Thursday afternoon. The fire is being fought by three trucks and a water tender. There are no reports of injuries or damage to structures and no threat exists to surrounding communities, the Marines said. tony.perry@latimes.com   ALSO: Exotic snakes on the loose at Torrance park Alleged O.C. drug dealer charged with murder in overdose death Coastal commissioner resigns after Vietnam 'carpet bombing' remark

CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuela's attorney general said Tuesday that seven people had been killed and 61 injured in post-presidential election clashes between police, supporters of newly elected President Nicolas Maduro and challenger Henrique Capriles, who has demanded a recount. Atty. Gen. Luisa Ortega Diaz also said that 135 people had been arrested since election results were announced late Sunday that gave Maduro a victory by 1.5 percentage points. Capriles, the governor of Miranda state, has charged that Maduro stole the election, citing 3,200 alleged irregularities in Sunday's balloting.

A 63-year-old man who was set on fire while sitting inside his sport utility vehicle outside a 7-Eleven store in Long Beach on Friday has died, authorities say. The victim was pronounced dead Monday morning at a local hospital, three days after the incident. Long Beach Police Department identified him as Jerry Payne. Raymond Sean Clark, a 38-year-old homeless man, was initially booked on suspicion of attempted murder and on two outstanding warrants Friday night. Authorities say they will now rebook Clark on suspicion of murder.

Whenever I hear about some amazing way to boost resting metabolism, my male-bovine-droppings detector goes berserk. Take the perennially popular one stating that 1 pound of muscle burns an extra 50 calories a day while at rest — so if you gain 10 pounds of muscle, your resting metabolic rate (RMR) soars by an extra 500 calories each day. Awesome! And also drivel. I'm more likely to believe bears use Porta-Potties and the pope is a Wiccan. Though its origins are uncertain, any number of fitness magazines have made the "50 calories per pound of muscle" statement.

Eleven months after PBS first aired Ken Burns' 11-hour documentary series "The Civil War," the nation is still caught up in that chapter of U.S. history, supporting a Civil War cottage industry of sorts. The award-winning series, currently in repeats on some PBS stations, has spawned a best-selling gift book (by Geoffrey Ward with Ric and Ken Burns; Alfred Knopf; $50), an audio book, a soundtrack and a video set. Civil War books, long out of print, have been reissued by publishers.

Police are trying to determine a motive for an attack in which a man sitting in his SUV was set on fire outside a 7-Eleven store in Long Beach. Raymond Sean Clark, 38, is accused of dousing the 62-year-old victim with a flammable substance while he was parked in front of the store at about 5 p.m. Friday, said Long Beach police Sgt. Aaron Eaton. There were reports that there had been an argument between Clark, who has been described as homeless, and the victim just before the attack, but Eaton said that had not been confirmed.

Officials in Nevada's isolated Pershing County want to make it perfectly clear: When it comes to the wild-and-wacky Burning Man festival held each year in their midst, they're not going to get burned financially. Not even close. The want to increase their bill for law enforcement and security for the Labor Day weekend bacchanal in the Black Rock Desert, on land overseen by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. So far, state legislators aren't buying any price increase plans. A Nevada legislative panel this week narrowly approved a bill to prevent the sprawling county (population 6,734)