Correa

Ecuador is trying to salvage its campaign to enlist international sponsors to protect a pristine nature reserve in the Amazon, after an initial drive ended in disarray and doubts about whether President Rafael Correa would leave the park's oil riches untouched. Correa recently appointed former Foreign Minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa to head a new panel to seek donations from Arab and Asian countries for the 2.4-million-acre Yasuni National Park, one of the world's most biodiverse nature reserves.

QUITO, Ecuador - Ecuador's incumbent president, Rafael Correa, swept to an easy reelection victory Sunday, winning 58% of the vote according to a preliminary official sampling - an overwhelming margin that entitles him to a third term without having a runoff. The 49-year-old leftist economist easily outdistanced his closest finishers, banker Guillermo Lasso with 24%, former President Lucio Gutierrez with 6%, and banana exporter Alvaro Noboa with 4%, according to a snap count released by the national electoral commission.

A proposal to prevent repeats of the Bell scandal — in which city officials secretly granted themselves salaries of up to $800,000 — hung in limbo Monday, jeopardized by an unrelated dispute between two Southern California lawmakers. The measure, which would require many government officials in California to publicly disclose their compensation and perks, unanimously passed the state Senate in the morning. But it's unclear whether the measure will be taken up this year in the lower house.

SACRAMENTO - Imagine a lawmaker being allowed to read a proposed law before voting on it. For that matter - and this seems like a stretch - try to envision the public being offered an opportunity to express its view on a bill before legislators vote. Granted, this is a radical concept - at least during the final secretive, skulking days of a legislative session. We're talking usually late summer, although legislative sleight-of-hand can occur anytime, including the dead of winter.

Re: "Nativo Lopez's Successor Is Sworn In," Feb. 12: Your story made mention of a letter released by state Assemblyman Lou Correa (D-Anaheim) requesting an investigation by the state attorney general's office and Orange County district attorney's office into allegations by Santa Ana Unified Supt. Al Mijares regarding supposed ethical violations committed by board members John Palacio and me in our "dealings with district contractors." Surely you remember the Mijares letter timed for the expected political effect two days before the recall election?

I'd like to thank Jeri Elster ("The Devil You Know," by Melba Newsome, Jan. 27) for persevering within a justice system that has been functioning in the Dark Ages while alienating and discriminating against women, their bodies and sexual crimes. With her painful story, Elster has opened the door for changes in legislation that can bring justice sooner rather than later for victims of sexual crimes. Maria Velasquez Los Angeles The change in legislation carried by Assemblyman Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana)

The headline on Agustin Gurza's March 30 column claiming that I am an "Anti-Gay Activist . . . Dancing to the Wrong Beat" is a good example of dancing around the truth. When Gurza interviewed me, I emphasized repeatedly that I have no problem with gay Americans doing what they please in their private lives. However I and many others in my community must draw the line when the gay lobby decides it wants to force a "gay curriculum" on our children in our public schools (Assembly Bill 222 and Senate Bill 1260)

Tuesday Results (Inc.) designates incumbent Winners, when determined, in bold type and * Runoff candidates in italic type and ** Arcadia SCHOOL BOARD 3 vacancies 21 of 21 precincts FINAL Vote % James A. Bryant (Inc.) * 1,585 28.4 G. Michael Allison (Inc.) * 1,517 27.2 Robert E. Kladifko (Inc.) * 1,493 26.7 Gene F. Shepherd 985 17.7 Voter turnout 7.3% Compton Primary CITY COUNCIL 32 of 32 precincts FINAL First District Vote % Maxcy D. Filer (Inc.) * 1,884 58.1 John Steward 1,362 41.

SACRAMENTO - Imagine a lawmaker being allowed to read a proposed law before voting on it. For that matter - and this seems like a stretch - try to envision the public being offered an opportunity to express its view on a bill before legislators vote. Granted, this is a radical concept - at least during the final secretive, skulking days of a legislative session. We're talking usually late summer, although legislative sleight-of-hand can occur anytime, including the dead of winter.

LAREDO, Texas - This border city is trying to clear its name. It is so conjoined with its Mexican sister city across the Rio Grande, Nuevo Laredo, that the two are often referred to as "Los Dos Laredos," or simply Laredo. That was great for tourism in happier days. But as drug cartel violence exploded in Nuevo Laredo in recent years, pictures broadcast around the world of gunfights, decapitated bodies piled in abandoned minivans, and severed heads dumped in coolers often bore the same headline: "Laredo.

Four large, recent canvases by Mario Correa, which he collectively dubs "The Muslins," are as much prints as they are paintings. Weirdly, they also add some photographic elements into the unexpected mix. At Redling Fine Art, one horizontal and three vertical canvases -- all unstretched and hanging loosely -- are held to the walls by simple nails pounded into the upper corners. That construction metaphor continues in the imagery, which is framed along the frayed muslin edges by straight-edge lines of ink that recall chalk snap-lines.

For much of Tuesday night, Chivas USA appeared to take its quarterfinal matchup in the U.S. Open Cup for what it was — a glorified exhibition game. Goalkeeper Dan Kennedy sat. Other key players joined him for long stretches. It was Chivas' fourth game in 10 days. Fatigue was bound to play a role. And early, it did. By halftime, Chivas had failed to capitalized on nine shots against the Charlotte Eagles of the USL Pro league — the third tier of the North American soccer pyramid.

Ecuador's president, Rafael Correa, is weighing whether to grant WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's request for political asylum. The Australian-born Assange, who is fighting extradition to Sweden to face sexual-assault allegations, is holed up in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London. Whatever the fiery populist president decides, this is a bizarre story because Correa has shown little tolerance for freedom of expression in Ecuador. He's engaged in a war of words with the media, conjuring up archaic libel laws to go after newspaper owners and a columnist he disagreed with.

Chivas USA Coach Robin Fraser said he used the recent three-week break in the Major Soccer League schedule to "focus on the minor details that we need to improve on. " Apparently scoring goals wasn't among them. Either that or Fraser's lessons didn't take because Chivas proved just as punchless Saturday as it did before the break, losing, 3-0, to Real Salt Lake before an announced crowd of 13,816 at the Home Depot Center. How bad was it? Real Salt Lake 'keeper Nick Rimando had to make just three saves — and only one of those required him to move.

The MLB draft started with a surprise and a bit of history Monday when the Houston Astros selected 17-year-old shortstop Carlos Correa as the top overall pick. Correa pulled a small Puerto Rican flag out of his pocket as he approached the podium and waved it at the cheering crowd to share his moment with the folks back home. He's the first-ever No. 1 overall pick to come from Puerto Rico, which has produced such baseball greats as Roberto Clemente, Ivan Rodriguez, Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado.

When: 7:30. Where: Home Depot Center. On the air: TV: FSW, KWHY. Records: Chivas USA 4-6-2, Sounders 7-3-2. Record vs. Sounders: 0-1-1 (2011). Update: It's a strange predicament for a team with a conference-low eight goals in 12 games, but Chivas USA may actually have too many strikers. Juan Agudelo, acquired earlier this month in a trade with the New York Red Bulls, has returned from a short trial with the U.S. national team.

WASHINGTON - Hard economic times have helped push millions of Americans deeply into debt, plunging many into a dark world filled with relentless collection agents, aggressive lawyers and companies that profit mightily if they can get people to pay up. Aided by outdated laws and lax oversight, debt collection has become a $12-billion-a-year business as people increasingly have fallen behind on their bills for credit cards, student loans, hospital stays...

Texas Rangers pitcher Edwin Correa says his desire to stay with the team may waver if he is not allowed to observe his religion's Sabbath. Ranger Manager Bobby Valentine excused Correa, a Seventh Day Adventist, from 5 p.m. Friday to 5 p.m. Saturday last season in respect for the pitcher's religious beliefs. But Valentine may ask Correa to agree to a compromise in the arrangement during the 1988 season, his third in professional baseball.

Chivas USA has undergone more alterations than Kirstie Alley's wardrobe in its eight seasons as a Major League Soccer franchise. Chivas got its latest new era off to a noteworthy start Saturday with a 1-0 win over the Galaxy before an announced crowd of 18,800 at the Home Depot Center. The win was noteworthy in part because it was the first for Chivas against its stadium roommate since 2007 and just the sixth in 23 meetings overall, vaulting Chivas over the defending MLS champions in the Western Conference standings.

  Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa on Monday pardoned three owner-editors and a columnist at the El Universo newspaper who had been convicted of defaming him in a controversial press freedom case. Brothers Carlos, Cesar and Nicolas Perez and columnist Emilio Palacio had been ordered to pay $42 million in fines and serve three years in prison for publishing an allegedly libelous opinion piece by Palacio in February 2011 in the Guayaquil-based paper, the nation's second-largest.