David Thompson

"Down here around Solvang, Cabernet Franc doesn't develop as much of an herbal aspect as it sometimes does in other places. We get more rich berry flavors. I think the 1996 Buttonwood Cabernet Franc is a great example of that. I really like the flavors and the extraction they got. You can tell the grapes got really nice and ripe and developed very well."

Senior Circuit Judge David R. Thompson, a registered Republican named to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reportedly to "balance" the court's perceived liberal bent, died Saturday after 25 years on the bench that earned him a reputation as a moderate and "a quiet force of common sense and fairness. " He was 80. Thompson, who lived in San Diego, died at a San Francisco hospital after suddenly taking ill while in the city for 9th Circuit hearings last week. A lawyer in private practice before President Reagan nominated him to a new seat on the 9th Circuit, Thompson came from a San Diego legal dynasty spanning more than a century.

Jack Nisbet doesn't want to belittle the legacy of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. But when the renowned American explorers were working their way up the Missouri River drainage in the early 1800s, they used points charted by David Thompson, a British-born trader who'd already been there, done that. "You go into a good bookstore in the U.S., and there's a whole shelf of Lewis and Clark, and they were out two years," Nisbet said.

Times staff and wire reports Barbados Prime Minister David Thompson, 48, died Saturday at his private residence of pancreatic cancer, the government announced. Thompson, who became prime minister in 2008, had been ill since March and traveled to New York several times for treatment. In an address to the nation last month, Thompson said he was reshuffling his Cabinet to pass many of his responsibilities to other ministers. He said he chose to speak by radio instead of going on camera so people would focus on his message, not his appearance.

David Thompson's mom, Kay, knew something was wrong when he unexpectedly suffered four fractures in a year. Doctors soon had the reason: her son had common variable immune deficiency, a disease that makes it harder to fight off and recover from illness. A baseball player for as long as he could remember, Thompson was faced with losing the game he loved. Then 14, he was forced to give up hitting (several of his broken bones came with the simple swing of the bat) and to wear a back brace when he pitched.

David Thompson, 31, a three-time NBA all-star who once scored 73 points in a game, was released by the Seattle SuperSonics. The Sonics still retain the right of refusal if another team signs Thompson as a free-agent.

Most individual points in NBA games: 1990s David Robinson, 71 vs. Clippers 1980s Michael Jordan, 61 vs. Detroit and Atlanta 1970s David Thompson, 73 vs. Detroit 1960s Wilt Chamberlain, 100 vs. New York 1950s Elgin Baylor, 59 vs. Boston 1940s Joe Fulks, 63 vs. Indiana Source: World Features Syndicate

David Thompson's mom, Kay, knew something was wrong when he unexpectedly suffered four fractures in a year. Doctors soon had the reason: her son had common variable immune deficiency, a disease that makes it harder to fight off and recover from illness. A baseball player for as long as he could remember, Thompson was faced with losing the game he loved. Then 14, he was forced to give up hitting (several of his broken bones came with the simple swing of the bat) and to wear a back brace when he pitched.

Re "Her Cruelest Shock Came Last," April 15: The family members of Norma Bustamante are too quick to criticize the California Highway Patrol and other authorities who protect all of us every day. We all should know that excessive speed (perhaps 83 mph) causes injuries and death. We know that not wearing seat belts greatly increases the likelihood of injuries and death. In spite of the sad loss of a mother and the jeopardy and likely emotional injuries to her child, 5-year-old Ruby, we need to openly address the causes of the accident -- the willful breaking of our traffic laws -- rather than blame the traffic cops, who did not cause the accident.

Most individual points in NBA games: 1990s David Robinson, 71 vs. Clippers 1980s Michael Jordan, 61 vs. Detroit and Atlanta 1970s David Thompson, 73 vs. Detroit 1960s Wilt Chamberlain, 100 vs. New York 1950s Elgin Baylor, 59 vs. Boston 1940s Joe Fulks, 63 vs. Indiana Source: World Features Syndicate

"Down here around Solvang, Cabernet Franc doesn't develop as much of an herbal aspect as it sometimes does in other places. We get more rich berry flavors. I think the 1996 Buttonwood Cabernet Franc is a great example of that. I really like the flavors and the extraction they got. You can tell the grapes got really nice and ripe and developed very well."

Jack Nisbet doesn't want to belittle the legacy of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. But when the renowned American explorers were working their way up the Missouri River drainage in the early 1800s, they used points charted by David Thompson, a British-born trader who'd already been there, done that. "You go into a good bookstore in the U.S., and there's a whole shelf of Lewis and Clark, and they were out two years," Nisbet said.

Former City Manager David J. Thompson has lost a bid to argue in federal court that he was deprived of his civil rights in 1990 when the Manhattan Beach City Council reduced his pension by $60,000 a year. Thompson, 63, filed a federal lawsuit against the city in August in an attempt to win back his original pension of $139,000 a year. His suit also sought unspecified damages for defamation and breach of contract. But U.S. District Judge Mariana R. Pfaelzer dismissed the suit Nov.

Three enterprising college students have started a contraceptive delivery service, promising condoms at your doorstep within 15 minutes of a request. "It's to make a little money, but it's also to help people," said Matthew Harrison, 19, a freshman at the University of California, Berkeley. "It will help stop pregnancies and disease." Harrison, David Thompson, 18, and Edwin Ishoo, 22, founded the Protectel Co.

Re "Her Cruelest Shock Came Last," April 15: The family members of Norma Bustamante are too quick to criticize the California Highway Patrol and other authorities who protect all of us every day. We all should know that excessive speed (perhaps 83 mph) causes injuries and death. We know that not wearing seat belts greatly increases the likelihood of injuries and death. In spite of the sad loss of a mother and the jeopardy and likely emotional injuries to her child, 5-year-old Ruby, we need to openly address the causes of the accident -- the willful breaking of our traffic laws -- rather than blame the traffic cops, who did not cause the accident.

Former Manhattan Beach City Manager David J. Thompson, whose hefty retirement deal stirred such controversy that council members later reduced it by $60,000 a year, sued the city this week to win back his original pension. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Monday, also seeks unspecified damages for defamation, breach of contract and federal civil rights violations.

The furor over the former Manhattan Beach city manager's lucrative retirement deal grew last week as a former councilman charged that the ex-manager enlisted his department heads to deceive the City Council into giving him a "golden parachute." In an 11-page report, ex-Councilman Larry Dougharty laid out for the first time a council-eye view of the controversial pension, which left ex-City Manager David J. Thompson earning more in retirement than he did while he was on the job.