Coast

Few markets crashed harder than Compton when California's real estate bubble burst. The city's northwest side saw the median home price plummet to $94,000 in 2009, down from $385,000 at the peak. Foreclosures dotted the streets. Families fled, leaving trash and old furniture behind. "There were a lot of empty houses. It was a big mess," said real estate broker Ruben Magdaleno of Re/Max VIP. These days, the working-class community has a new identity: comeback kid. Northwest Compton has posted the most dramatic price jump of any area in Southern California.

A storm surge propelled by a late winter storm pummeled the Northeast, causing widespread coastal flooding and destroying or severely damaging at least a dozen homes in Massachusetts, officials said. The building inspector from Newbury, about 40 miles northeast of Boston, spent Saturday surveying damage in the city's Plum Island neighborhood, where at least two homes battered by strong waves crumpled into the surf and others were threatened, Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency spokesman Peter Judge told the Los Angeles Times.

The ring's the thing Kobe Bryant's disapproval brought a smile to the face of Derek Fisher on Friday when the newest member of the Oklahoma City Thunder was told his former teammate was miffed Fisher had become another impediment to a sixth championship ring. Fisher is also going for his sixth ring, so let the chase commence. "I think at this point that's what it's about," said Fisher, 38. "I think I heard him say it a couple of days ago and it's no different for me. That's why we play, to win. "For me personally and for this team, of course we want to win a championship.

Like many California transplants, David Helvarg has repeatedly reinvented himself. He's been a freelance journalist, a television documentary filmmaker, even a licensed private investigator. He seems to have found his true calling with the sea, or more precisely marine conservation. It began in earnest with his 2001 book, "The Blue Frontier: Dispatches From the America's Ocean Wilderness. " Since then, he founded the Blue Frontier Campaign, becoming an environmental activist, hosting an annual summit for small coastal and ocean conservation groups to join his Seaweed Rebellion.

The Coast Guard on Tuesday suspended its search for four people, including two young children, who were believed to be missing after a distress call from what was said to be a sinking sailboat in the ocean south of San Francisco. Officials are investigating the possibility that the incident was a hoax. Searchers using aircraft and sea vessels found "no signs of distress, no signs of debris, no reports of missing people," Coast Guard spokesman Mike Lutz said. The agency will continue to investigate the case, including whether the initial distress call was a hoax, Lutz said.

Good news for local entrepreneurs: Tech Coast Angels' Los Angeles branch has launched a program to fund start-ups in 30 days or less. Michael Green, president of the L.A. branch of Tech Coast Angels , said the Screening2Deal in 30 Days program would speed up the process to get start-ups off the ground. The move is also designed to raise TCA's profile among entrepreneurs, who often seek out funding from more well-known investors or accelerators in the area, he said. "It was taking too long and the reputation unfortunately was these guys are old and slow," Green said of TCA. "We were getting plenty of deal flow -- we get 1,000 [applications a year]

A fascinating standoff between realism and stylization underpins “What May Fall” at Theatre of NOTE. Peter Gil-Sheridan's worthy, albeit quirky drama, in which a fatal plunge from a high-rise carries significant consequences for those who witnessed it, receives an inventive West Coast premiere. Inspired by an actual event in Minneapolis, the narrative frames realistic exchanges between some well-drawn characters with third-person commentaries amid the vignettes. There's hangdog Mercy (Christopher Nieman)

Bill Russell ... what more can be said about a basketball legend? Apparently plenty, thanks to a newly resurfaced video that is making the rounds on the Internet. In it, Russell goes coast to coast for a seemingly easy bucket for the University of San Francisco. Did I mention that Russell leaps over a defender's head and then lays the ball in the basket? Check out the video above, which was first posted on the Red's Army blog. Pretty incredible stuff ... even for a future Celtic.

Location: 157 N. Robertson Blvd., West Hollywood Hours: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays Info: (310) 247-1475

Thanks to the NBA's new CBA, the trade deadline was DOA. The reluctance of teams to assume future salaries or part with increasingly coveted draft picks under the constricting collective bargaining agreement meant that nearly all was quiet on the Western (and Eastern) fronts Thursday. Dwight Howard remained a Laker. Josh Smith stayed in Atlanta. Eric Bledsoe didn't have to buy change-of-address cards to denote he was a former Clipper. There was little movement of note, unless you count part-time starting shooting guard J.J. Redick going from one bad team (Orlando)