Cooler

A rainstorm bringing wet conditions and cloudy skies to Southern California could bring thunderstorms to the area Monday night and Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service. Up to half an inch of rain is expected in the region through Tuesday, with temperatures hovering in the 60s during the day, which is about five to 10 degrees cooler than normal for this time of year, the weather service said. There's a chance of thunderstorms Monday night and a 50% chance of rain and thunderstorms Tuesday.

A cooler holding bottled water and books was left on a Times Square sidewalk, prompting police to clear thousands of people and call in the bomb squad Friday, less than a week after a Pakistani American claiming to have militant links allegedly tried to blow up an SUV a block away. Three blocks were closed to pedestrians and traffic for a little more than an hour, starting about 1:15 p.m., after someone noticed the cooler near 46th Street and Broadway. The area, which last year was turned into a pedestrian mall outfitted with chairs, cafe tables and umbrellas, was crowded with people enjoying lunch outside on the warm afternoon.

Aided by calmer winds and cooler temperatures, fire crews began gaining control Saturday of a fast-moving blaze that scorched large swaths of rugged mountain terrain and forced mass evacuations in Ventura County. By late afternoon the so-called Springs fire, having engulfed about 28,000 acres since its Thursday start, was 56% percent contained and all mandatory evacuation orders were lifted. Though the blaze has damaged 15 homes and five commercial buildings, no residences have been destroyed and no injuries have been reported, officials said.

It wasn't happening for Benito Santiago with baseballs. It wasn't happening with baseballs for any Padre as they were one out from losing their third consecutive game Friday night in front of 52,521 paying Hat Night customers. So Santiago figured, maybe he could get a base hit with something else. Maybe, say, a water cooler. Following his groundout to Pirate starter Bob Walk in the ninth inning, Santiago returned to the dugout, grabbed a big orange container off the bench and flung it. "I thought, maybe I can put something in play," he said.

Summer marches on in the San Fernando Valley with temperatures in the upper 80s and low 90s this week--slightly cooler than the weekend--as patchy low clouds and fog move into the region. The fog will be "not a massive amount, but just enough to keep us on our toes," said Gary Ryan, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

DEAR SOS: Ciudad, the Two Hot Tamales' restaurant in downtown Los Angeles, serves an amazingly refreshing drink with mint and lime. Do you think they'd share the recipe? KELLY KRIEBS Hermosa Beach DEAR KELLY: This is a great tasting drink sans alcohol that the gals--Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger--call Minty Lime Cooler. Add a shot of rum and you have a mojito, just in time for el Ano Nuevo. Minty Lime Cooler Active Work and Total Preparation Time: 5 minutes 1/2 cup lime juice 1/3 cup sugar 1/2 cup mint leaves 1 (12-ounce)

Believing he was about to be killed by a woman bandit, the night manager of a Hollywood Jack-in-the-Box restaurant disarmed her with a perfect "rear gun take away" early today, then literally slammed her into the cooler. Police said the manager, Nageed Halaka, 23, wrested the gun away from suspect Carla McClain, 22, then pushed her ahead of him into the walk-in refrigerator and slammed the heavy door behind them both during the 7 a.m. robbery attempt.

Bear sighting: An item in the National Briefing in the Oct. 18 Section A said a bear wandered into a grocery story in Hayward, Wis., on Friday and headed for the beer cooler. It was Thursday.

This is in reply to Mark Adams' letter ("Cool Summer," Sept. 15) as to the impact on temperature statistics of moving the downtown weather station to the USC campus from a DWP location. DWP hydrographers record weather observations at several locations, including the L.A. Civic Center site that formerly was also home to the Weather Service's reporting site. Our statistics for the Civic Center show cooler than normal temperatures this summer--specifically 2.9 degrees cooler than normal in June, 1.2 degrees in July and 2.7 degrees in August.

Hundreds of battle-weary firefighters made the transition to mop-up mode Sunday as the 28,000-acre Springs fire in Ventura County was declared 75% contained, with full containment expected Monday. Several engine companies were sent home Sunday as hand crews worked to establish a fire break more than a mile long in the Hidden Valley area to complete containment of the blaze, which burned from Thousand Oaks to the ocean. "We're going to have this thing out by tomorrow," Ventura County Fire Capt.

Assisted by cooler temperatures, firefighters made significant progress overnight against the massive wildfire in Ventura County, which is now 30% contained, officials said early Saturday. The National Weather Service lifted its red-flag warnings Friday evening, saying that weather conditions were no longer ripe for wildfires. Cooler temperatures are expected throughout the weekend, and humidity also should rise. Inland areas should experience a 15- to 20-degree drop from Friday's highs going into the weekend, said Bonnie Bartling of the weather service.

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.

When the first modern office buildings sprung up in America at the end of the 19th century, it was an unquestioned expectation that employees would show up for work there every day. Like the factory workers who came before them, office workers usually clocked in and out, and they sat at their desks - most arranged in highly regimented rows - from morning until early evening, under constant supervision. Even trips to the water cooler were often monitored. With the development of computers and more advanced telecommunications in the 1970s, some employees began to imagine a day when it might be possible to work from home, free from oversight and more in control of their work day. Today, working from home is becoming so common that the idea of making every employee come into the office five days a week seems almost tyrannical.

LONDON — The distance between the places they play beach volleyball and indoor volleyball in these London Olympics is less than three miles. They are also light-years apart. They play beach volleyball at a place called Horse Guards Parade. The beach is a concoction while everything around it is historic, important, landmarks of wars and heroes of peace. It is a little like putting a tattoo on the Mona Lisa. But it is temporary and no offense is being taken. The crowds of summer tourists would be here anyway.

Working up a sweat is a good thing when it comes to exercise, but being too hot may make you throw in your workout towel too soon. A study finds that holding a hand-cooling device while exercising may help obese women keep moving longer. The small study, presented this week at the American Heart Assn.Epidemiology and Prevention/Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism 2012 Scientific Sessions in San Diego, examined the effects on various markers of health and fitness from holding a hand-cooling device during a workout.

A fire that has burned more than 15 square miles in Kings Canyon National Park and the Sierra National Forest is growing more slowly. Fire officials said shorter days and cooler temperatures have helped contain the lightning-sparked fire that started in mid-July. Park officials say it's too risky for firefighters to actively fight the blaze, which is burning in a rugged, remote area. So officials have been monitoring it with a Webcam. Meanwhile, officials said a fire burning in Sequoia National Park, which has charred 6 square miles, is about 85% contained after cooler weather over the weekend.

Shoppers in a grocery store got an unexpected surprise when a 125-pound black bear wandered inside and headed straight for the beer cooler. The bear stopped Friday night at Marketplace Foods in Hayward, about 140 miles northeast of Minneapolis, sauntering through the automatic doors and heading straight for the liquor department. It calmly climbed up 12 feet onto a shelf in the beer cooler, where it sat for about an hour. Officials from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources tranquilized the animal and took it out of the store.

The heat wave that has scorched Southern California for several days is expected to ebb starting Monday as temperatures cool and humidity falls. The region will have cooled as much as 15 degrees by midweek after reaching highs of 93 in downtown Los Angeles, 97 at Getty Center and 108 in Chatsworth on Saturday, forecasters said. But the heat remained at full strength Sunday, prompting the weekend's second excessive heat warning from the National Weather Service. Many took refuge at beaches, pools and air-conditioned shopping malls.

It was dog days at the dog park. Whereas on most sunny afternoons the park near the Silver Lake reservoir is abuzz with tail-wagging, ball-fetching canine exuberance, the place was nearly empty for a while Saturday as temperatures across Southern California hit triple digits. "I was just wondering where everybody is," said Peter Brightman, 45, of Silver Lake. "What are they doing that's cooler?" PHOTOS: Sizzling temperatures in the Southland Brightman, a tattooed counselor at a residential treatment facility, was sharing a table and some umbrella shade with the park's only other human patron, Gabriel Smalley of Los Feliz.