Conferences

A cottage industry has sprouted in the environmental movement, but it has nothing to do with wind turbines or carbon offsets. The green scene has been flooded with conferences, conventions, trade shows and other events trying to capitalize on the popularity of sustainability and concerns about climate change. Most of the meetings deal directly with environmental issues such as carbon emissions, conservation or alternative energy. Even some industry trade shows, such as electronics and textiles, have green elements, including special pavilions and panel discussions.

Miami Heat forward Udonis Haslem was suspended by the NBA for Game 6 of his team's series against Indiana. Haslem committed a flagrant foul against Indiana's Tyler Hansbrough during the second quarter of Game 5 on Tuesday night, shortly after Hansbrough struck Miami's Dwyane Wade and opened a cut over his right eye. Haslem and Hansbrough were assessed flagrant-1 fouls on the respective plays. If they had been issued flagrant-2 fouls, they would have been ejected.

A recent state study concludes that there's a $5.4-billion funding shortfall for fast-growing firms in Los Angeles and Orange counties. Other statistics show Southern California companies playing the bridesmaid quarter after quarter, while Silicon Valley firms attract most of the venture capital flowing into the state.

First, the feared traffic nightmare didn't materialize Sunday, when cycling and hockey fans minded their transit rules in the morning. Then another doomsday scenario was averted when the Coyotes and goalie Mike Smith cooperated by shutting out the Kings. Result No. 1: Traffic flowed on the road and at Staples Center. The hockey game ended in regulation, meaning the NBA playoff game between the Clippers and Spurs could start on time. Result No. 2: The road it is for the Kings.

President-elect Barack Obama sent an explicit message Tuesday to international negotiators of a new global warming treaty that, under his administration, the U.S would move to slash its own greenhouse gas emissions by more than 80% by mid-century, and "help lead the world toward a new era of global cooperation on climate change."

Nearly 2,400 women converged on sacred Indian ground last weekend for the third WomenChurch conference, seeking a vision of unity amid a mosaic of cultural and religious expressions. Participants seemed to generally agree on the conference theme, "WomenChurch: Weavers of Change," but it was clear that the road to change, in this case, is paved with debate, introspection and self-criticism. Speakers at the April 16-18 gathering at Albuquerque's downtown convention center minced no words.

When the NAACP's conference ended here last week, civil rights leaders left behind a portrait of black men in crisis. Too many young black men, said the civil rights group, are underemployed, alternately feared and reviled, and living at risk. Now come the men of Sigma Pi Phi, a once-secret black fraternity that celebrates the professional and material success of black men.

It looks like 2012 is shaping up to be a big year for conventions and conferences. Room bookings for groups are up nearly 6% from February 2012 to January 2013 compared with the same period in 2011-12, according to data from TravelClick, a New York company that provides e-commerce products and services to the hotel industry. The good news for conference and convention goers is that daily group rates for the rest of the year are down 1.1%, according to TravelClick. So what cities will host the most meetings this year?

If the heads-bowed, eyes-closed appeals to God seemed too bland at National Day of Prayer gatherings on Thursday, then Christians itching for a saber-rattling fight against Satan may be attracted to a May 15-17 conference in Van Nuys on what advocates call spiritual warfare. A conference brochure promises to teach how "repentance uproots the enemy" (Satan) and "how to identify and destroy strongholds" (of the demonic). One talk is titled: "You Can Be a Winner in the Invisible War." C.

College football is a billion-dollar business … here are my two cents: Super conferences appear on the way, so let's get on with it. Rearrange the deck chairs, cut the checks, board up office windows, consolidate and reconfigure. "Things change," Oklahoma Coach Bob Stoops said this week as his school contemplated a move from the Big 12 Conference to the Pac-12. Fine, but let's disassociate "collegial" as college's root relative. This isn't collegial, this is cut-throat.

Now the Kings will feel some heat. Not so much in the Western Conference finals. They still  have a 3-1 series lead on Phoenix. But the Coyotes' 2-0 victory at Staples Center on Sunday afternoon sent things back to the sweltering desert for Game 5 on Tuesday, where life will be a less-than-comfy 106 degrees, according to accuweather.com. Shane Doan's two goals will force the Kings to sweat out one more game, spoiling Sunday's coronation plans that had even brought owner Philip Anschutz out of hiding.

The Clippers didn't go easily when they could have, when many thought they would have. They played Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinal series against the San Antonio Spurs right up to the final few seconds of the game Sunday night. Still, in the end, the Clippers dropped a 102-99 decision to the Spurs at Staples Center, getting swept out of the playoffs. Chris Paul had been the Clippers' savior all season, their closer. But he couldn't save the day this time, missing two shots late when the game hung in the balance.

Nearly every time Andrew Bynum muscled his way inside, two barricades stopped his imposing presence. One roadblock came in the form of Thunder center Kendrick Perkins, whose physical approach to defense suddenly prevented Bynum from bullying his way to the basket. The other barrier simply reflected Bynum missing routine hooks, post-up shots or "bunnies," as he likes to call them. The Lakers' 99-96 victory Friday over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinal playoff series featured Bynum shooting only two of 13 from the field, leading him to say, "My touch today was a little off around the rim. " Yet, Lakers Coach Mike Brown gushed afterward that Bynum "was an absolute monster.

The end is near, no matter what the Clippers say, no matter which cliche they attempt to utter, no matter how much more stars Chris Paul and Blake Griffin try to coax out of their bodies. And the end of the Clippers' season could come as soon as Sunday, as soon as they are finished playing Game 4 to complete a rare playoff back-to-back at Staples Center. In what Paul described as a "devastating" defeat, the Clippers squandered a 24-point second-quarter lead and were pushed to the brink of elimination by the San Antonio Spurs, who defeated them, 96-86, Saturday afternoon in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals.

The Clippers don't view this situation as a mountain they can't climb, despite the San Antonio Spurs' owning a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinals series. Despite losing the two games by an average of 16.5 points, the Clippers still see an opportunity to get back into the series. They cling to the hope that they will play better, that being home for Game 3 Saturday afternoon and Game 4 Sunday night at Staples Center will be an impetus for them. "We're not completely out of this," Blake Griffin, who has a sprained left knee, said after practice Friday.

Kings left wing Dwight King could have given the expected answer when he was talking about previous influences in his life, namely if any of those folks reminded him of Coach Darryl Sutter. Rich Sutter, right? Rich, the younger brother of Darryl, was an assistant coach when King played junior hockey for Lethbridge, Canada, of the Western Hockey League. King called both Sutters "great men," but thought of someone else from back home in Saskatchewan who comes close to Darryl.

Utah and Colorado officially joined the Pacific 12 Conference in July, but Kyle Whittingham , Utah's football coach, predicts more schools will soon follow. "It's inevitable that there are going to be four super-conferences in Division I football with 16, maybe even 18 teams in each conference," he said Tuesday during the weekly Pac-12 football coaches' conference call. "I'm not saying I'm in favor or against. I just think that's where it's headed, and I don't see any way around that.

Thank you for the wonderful reports from Nairobi. Hendrix's reporting made me feel I was there with her. Her insights and background information made both conferences much more intelligible and meaningful. I only regret that her articles were printed in the View section rather than on Page 1--where they really belonged. HENRIETTE SIMON Los Angeles

The realities of a lockout-shortened season will confront the Lakers one last time. They have been playing back-to-back games for months, but the playoffs aren't exactly the best time to endure a second game in a 48-hour span. Particularly when your opponent is the Oklahoma City Thunder, whose starters have an average age of 24.6. The average age of the Lakers' starters? A relatively geriatric 29.2. The Lakers have no choice but to slog through the second game of a back-to-back situation Saturday night at Staples Center in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals.

As a young Lakers fan growing up in Los Angeles, Russell Westbrook had a prime spot for those slow-rolling celebrations down Figueroa. As point guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Westbrook has presided over a parade of Figueroa playoff defeats to his onetime favorite team. "Ever since coming back to play in my rookie year, it's been weird playing here," said Westbrook, a former UCLA standout, whose team entered Friday's game against the Lakers with a 0-3 playoff record against them at Staples Center.