Christine

How deep did reporter Christine Pelisek get into the Grim Sleeper serial killer case? So deep that the victims' families demanded she sit in on one mass meeting with police. So deep that people she had never met delivered hunches and, in one case, a napkin smeared with a semen sample. So deep that the mystery figure killing young black women in South Los Angeles seemed to pop up everywhere, even in her dreams. When police finally identified and arrested Lonnie David Franklin Jr. last week in connection with a string of 10 killings dating to the 1980s, the credit went largely to an innovation that allowed criminals to be tracked through their relatives' DNA. But that the terrible, slow-motion slaughter even became known to the public owes to the obsessive reporting of Pelisek, a star investigative reporter for the LA Weekly.

Christine Johnson Smith, Broadway singer starred in 'Carousel' Christine Johnson Smith, 98, who originated the role of Nettie Fowler in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "Carousel" when it debuted on Broadway in 1945, died Wednesday at her home in Owensboro, Ky. The Glenn Funeral Home confirmed her death but did not give the cause. As Christine Johnson, she debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 1943 before taking the role in "Carousel." Richard Rodgers reportedly wrote the song "You'll Never Walk Alone" with Johnson in mind.

A few simple techniques can make the difference between a sore back (or other body part) and a strong, healthy one. CHRISTINE BURKE Co-owner and director of Liberation Yoga, Los Angeles Downward-facing dog: The body bends at the hips in an upside-down "V," with arms straight, hands on the floor and heels pressing toward the floor. The head is aligned with the spine. • Don't: Drop or hang into the shoulders. People do this in an attempt to truly stretch, but it prevents the joints from stacking properly and puts stress on the shoulders, elbows and wrists.

In late April 2007, Mike Penner published an article unlike any of the thousands he had written for the Los Angeles Times. It was brief, just 823 words, and placed without fanfare on the second page of the Sports section that had been his home for 23 years. Under the headline "Old Mike, new Christine," Penner explained that he would soon assume a female identity and byline, a decision that followed "a million tears and hundreds of hours of soul-wrenching therapy." It was "heartache and unbearable discomfort" to remain a man, he explained.

If there was a lesson in Tuesday's special election for the Los Angeles City Council seat previously held by City Controller Wendy Greuel, it was that money is no guarantee in a low-turnout city race. In an outcome that stunned some at City Hall, Assemblyman Paul Krekorian sailed to a 57%-43% victory over former film executive Christine Essel even though powerful independent groups, including the union that represents Department of Water and Power workers, set a record by spending more than $900,000 on her behalf.

Assemblyman Paul Krekorian claimed victory Tuesday evening in the bitter and expensive race for the Los Angeles City Council seat previously held by City Controller Wendy Greuel. Krekorian, the former head of the Burbank Board of Education who was elected to the Assembly in 2006, defeated former film executive Christine Essel by a 14% margin with all precincts reporting. Krekorian's win was a major rebuke to some of the city's most powerful unions, which flooded the race with hundreds of thousands of dollars in independent expenditures to support his rival.

It's voting day in Los Angeles' 2nd Council District, which runs from the hills of the northeastern San Fernando Valley to Ventura Boulevard, into the Hollywood Hills and over to the Sepulveda Dam. The victor will fill the vacancy left by former Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, which ends in 2011, then be eligible to run for three full four-year terms. The Times recommends a vote for Christine Essel.

As the Los Angeles City Council race between Assemblyman Paul Krekorian and former film executive Christine Essel drew to a close, outside groups shattered the record for independent spending in a non-citywide election since ethics officials began tracking those figures two decades ago. By Sunday evening, independent groups, including some of the city's most powerful unions, had poured nearly $1 million into the contest for the San Fernando Valley...