Complaints

DISTRAUGHT over the results of cosmetic surgery on her nose, Katherine Chen did what many people do when they're unhappy with a doctor. She consulted a malpractice lawyer and filed a complaint with the Medical Board of California. But the 22-year-old college student didn't stop there. Chen logged onto her home computer and wrote a tearful review about her experience, posting it to a website that encourages consumers to rate their healthcare providers.

Ever since Miss California Carrie Prejean declared onstage last month at the Miss USA Pageant that she believed gay people should not have the right to marry, she has battled her critics in TV interviews, been championed by groups opposed to same-sex marriage and pretty much eclipsed the woman who beat her to become the reigning Miss USA. (Does anyone even remember what state the winner was from?) But that's nothing compared to what Prejean did to the Miss California organization.

Cash4Gold.com, the metal refinery that offers fast money to those who mail in baggies full of jewelry, has hit on a formula that would make 13th-century alchemists weep: It's found a way to turn desperation into gold. And in this economy, that's a growth business. The Florida company ponied up enough bullion Sunday to buy 30 seconds of famously expensive Super Bowl airtime, capping an ascent from the basement of late-night "as seen on TV" marketing.

A veteran LAPD officer in the West Valley Division appealed her suspension without pay before a police Board of Rights hearing Tuesday, saying the action occurred after she complained about a "No Fat Cops" poster in her supervisor's office. Johnneen Jones, an officer for 12 years, says she objected to the poster because at 5 feet 6 and 180 pounds, she considers herself overweight. Activists from the National Assn. for Advancement of Fat Acceptance showed up in support of Jones.

Like many Nordstrom salespeople, Michelle Darby joined the retail chain after falling in love with its tradition of service, a legendary system in which individual "sales associates" operate almost as entrepreneurs, splashing lavish attention on customers and sometimes earning big commissions. Darby, a 42-year-old career woman who has worked for the past 10 months in one of Nordstrom's Southern California stores, says she has been nervous ever since.

In a display case in a room off the Inner Peristyle Garden at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Malibu, there is a small statue of a satyr, an ancient Greek half-man, half-beast figure that, when closely scrutinized, is obviously aroused. Nearby, a vase from about 510 B.C.--attributed to Euthymides, a contemporary of the famed Greek vase maker Euphronios--is vividly illustrated with a scene depicting a couple engaged in what is clearly steamy foreplay.

Sandra Sotelo declared a victory for herself and neighbors. The Amboy Avenue resident expressed pleasure in her successful effort to close two adjacent houses along the street recently opened as havens for recovering drug and alcohol addicts. "We won," Sotelo said. "We worked as a community, we pulled as a community to fight all of this." Sotelo and others gathered more than 300 signatures in the past month protesting the homes because they feared trouble with the occupants, she said.

Many Internet users who have erected personal Web sites at GeoCities reacted angrily Tuesday after learning that the contents of their sites will belong to Yahoo Inc. as part of the merger between the two companies. The new policy, spelled out in the "terms of service" for members of the community sites offered by the newly combined company, gives Yahoo the "perpetual, irrevocable" right to any material on GeoCities pages. The change affects about 4.

Proud grandfather and grieving husband, 71-year-old Bill Goodwin stands at his kitchen sink, rinsing his false teeth and talking about sex. "I can go four, five, six girls in one night," he says, thrusting out his chest, with its short shelf of well-preserved pectorals. "You can see it doesn't hurt me. I'm in great shape."

What does AmEx want? That's a question American Express cardholders are asking more and more these days as the company turns the screws on long-standing customers and seems determined to show as many as possible the door. Similar moves by leading card issuers drew a scornful response from President Obama, who told industry leaders last week that "the days of any-time, any-reason rate hikes and late-fee traps have to end." But AmEx, which pocketed $3.