Gardens

Gainey Ceramics, the La Verne company known for its glazed planters, urns and decorative pottery, confirmed Thursday that after more than 60 years, it is suspending its ceramics manufacturing Jan. 31 and ending one of the last operations of its kind in Southern California. Chief Executive Steve Gainey declined to be interviewed, but in a letter to customers dated Wednesday, he cited personal reasons for wanting to retire. Though ceramics production will stop, a spokeswoman said, the company will continue to manufacture lightweight containers made of fiberglass.

For 95 years, Grant Park loomed over downtown Ventura without drawing much notice. Now, with the help of a city government willing to lease the park's 107 acres for $1 a year and a group of residents willing to raise millions for a botanical garden, it's sprung to life. On Saturday, hundreds of residents, their dogs and their kids trooped up a new mile-long trail with seed-filled Dixie cups, dumping them in spots where California bluebells, golden lupine, white yarrow, mission red monkey flowers and a host of other plants might bloom in the spring.

Mistletoe may symbolize love and prompt a kiss this time of year, but what if it's killing your trees? Nancy Miller of Canyon Country wrote to the SoCal Garden Clinic about her problem: Ten years ago we planted two elms from 36-inch boxes. About five years ago, after the leaves fell, we could see mistletoe sprouting in spots. Online resources said not to pull them out. Instead, we sprayed a product, Florel, that inhibits flowering and has stickiness to stay on the leaves. That worked for that year.

Long Beach junior-welterweight Cleotis “Mookie” Pendarvis will headline a Florentine Gardens boxing card in Hollywood on Friday night. Pendarvis (16-3-2, five knockouts) will seek to move up from the No. 15 International Boxing Federation ranking in the fight vs. Michael Clark (43-7-1, 18 KOs). Tickets start at $35, doors open at 7 p.m. Friday. The southpaw Pendarvis, 26, has formerly sparred against the likes of Amir Khan, Timothy Bradley, Oscar De La Hoya and Victor Ortiz.

Actress-singer Shirley Jones of "The Partridge Family" and her husband, comedian Marty Ingels, have listed their Encino home for sale at $2.1 million. Described as ranch-style in the listing, the 5,400-square-foot house sits on nearly three-quarters of an acre with waterfalls, a swimming pool and gardens. Built in 1957, the home features two family rooms, an office, a game room, four bedrooms and six bathrooms. There are family room and master bedroom fireplaces. Jones, 78, made her name in musical films including "Oklahoma!"

Darden Restaurants Inc.'s second quarter was far from appetizing, as the owner of Olive Garden and Red Lobster watched its net income plunge 37%. The Orlando, Fla., restaurant company saw the sour numbers coming. Earlier in December, citing a litany of factors including negative blow-back over its response to the new national healthcare law, ineffective promotions and Superstorm Sandy -- for its decision to lower expectations for the quarter. The prophesies came to pass: On Thursday, Darden executives said same-store sales at U.S. restaurants open at least a year tumbled a disappointing 2.7% for its three main chains for the period ended Nov. 25. At Olive Garden, which has struggled for months to counteract disappointing sales with refreshed stores and national specials, sales sank 3.2%.

Watching water stream under parked cars and through the gutters every time it rained made Alice Abler cringe. "What a terrible waste," Abler recalled thinking, pondering all the pollutants being swept down drains and into waterways. Her chance to act came with a new program that provides homeowners with free rain gardens installed in their yards. These shallow depressions surrounded by dirt berms and planted with climate-appropriate flowering plants are designed to hold rainwater from rooftops and paved surfaces and keep it from flowing to streets.

A 312-unit, gated residential property in Corona has has been sold as demand for apartments in the Inland Empire grows, a real estate brokerage said. Irvine apartment developer and manager Western National Group bought the garden-style Parcwood Apartment Homes complex at 1700 Via Pacifica from Essex Property Trust, according to broker Jones Lang LaSalle. The new owners are expected to upgrade the 1980s-era property and raise rents. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but a real estate expert familiar with the property valued the deal at $43 million.

A gunman at Fashion Island in Newport Beach apparently fired more than 50 rounds in a parking lot at the busy shopping mall Saturday before he was apprehended by police, authorities said. Marcos Gurrola, 42, of Garden Grove, was arrested in the parking lot near the Macy's department store shortly after allegedly firing the shots about 4:30 p.m., said Kathy Lowe, a spokeswoman for the Newport Beach Police Department. Officers on bike patrol apprehended Gurrola as he was standing by a white Honda.

NEW YORK - Boos have rarely turned to laughs so quickly. New York Knicks fans let the Lakers have it during pregame introductions, jeering Mike D'Antoni (because he used to be their coach) and Kobe Bryant (because he's Kobe Bryant) with equal vocal power. By the end, though, the product the Lakers put on the court drew cheers of amusement and derision Thursday at Madison Square Garden. Actually, it started in the first quarter, long before the Knicks' 116-107 victory.