Harbor

The Angels Gate lighthouse, graced by its distinctive vertical black stripes, gleams brighter at the entrance to Los Angeles Harbor today after an extensive restoration project. "Ain't she pretty?" asked Allan Johnson of the Cabrillo Beach Boosters Club, brushing his fingers across the octagonal base of the structure that has shined a reassuring beacon for coastal skippers entering the harbor for 99 years. On the eve of Thursday's unveiling forU.S. Coast Guardbrass and other dignitaries, San Pedro civic leaders made a final inspection of the cast-iron, wood and stucco tower that rears 73 feet into the air above the end of the breakwater, two miles offshore.

JEJU ISLAND, South Korea -- To the South Korean military, this picturesque island is the perfect place to build a naval base: a strategic location guarding the country's southern flank from possible invasion. To its residents, its small-town feel, harbor and coral reefs make it close to perfect just the way it is. The conflict between the two visions has turned into a South Korean David and Goliath story, with Mayor Kang Dong-kyun of the town of Gangjeong leading the majority of its 1,930 people in fighting the giant.

On Tuesday morning, 80-year-old Bobby Salisbury took the last of his items from his boat moored at Colonial Yacht Anchorage in Wilmington and stuffed them inside his gray Nissan off-road truck. "I'm the happiest guy today," he said sarcastically. For years, Salisbury has lived at the marina. Then last month, the Los Angeles Harbor Department ordered him and more than 90 other tenants to leave by May 1, calling the dock and 138 slips in Berth 204 too dilapidated to be safe.

The Clippers' victory over Memphis on Saturday eased some of the distractions that had enveloped the team amid talk of tension in the locker room, inconsistent effort on the court and speculation about Coach Vinny Del Negro's job security. But breaking a three-game losing streak was what mattered most to the players. "It's not just important for us to continue winning for other purposes, it's important for everything," guard Randy Foye said. "We need to be successful, man. "I've never been to the playoffs before, so I'm going to do everything in my power to try and make that happen.

No matter what happens in an already bumpy and unpredictable season, there's one player who can take the Lakers to a higher level. It's no surprise. It's Kobe Bryant. He had 36 points, nine rebounds and six assists Friday in the Lakers' 111-99 victory over the Phoenix Suns at Staples Center. He had 18 points in the third quarter, pushing the Lakers to a 20-point lead. He also rescued them in the fourth quarter after the lead was chopped to five. Regardless of their record (18-12)

The psychiatric emergency services at two county-run hospitals are so overcrowded that mentally ill patients have to sleep on mattresses on the floor, health officials acknowledged this week. The packed conditions at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center and Harbor-UCLA Medical Center make it more difficult to de-escalate the emotions of patients who arrive at the hospital agitated and anxious, said Christina Ghaly, deputy director of strategic planning for the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services.

Reporting from La Jolla -- Kyle Stanley said his game plan is to play boring golf, which might not be the best slogan to sell the PGA Tour. But it is working for Stanley, a 24-year-old from Gig Harbor, Wash., who has a one-shot lead after two rounds of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. Stanley shot a second-round 68 on Friday on the tougher South Course for a two-day total of 14-under-par 130. He is a stroke ahead of Brandt Snedeker (64), who had hip surgery less than three months ago; and two shots ahead of tour rookie Sang-Moon Bae (67)

The Port of Long Beach has reached a tentative agreement with one of the world's biggest cargo shipping companies on a 40-year, $4.6-billion lease. The deal involves the port's largest-ever terminal upgrade and expansion, known as the Middle Harbor project. Port officials are finalizing the deal with Hong Kong-based Orient Overseas Container Line, more commonly known in industry circles as OOCL. With a fleet of 84 owned and chartered ships, OOCL ranks as the world's 12th largest ocean shipping line.

Joe Buscaino is not a dockworker, and yet everyone at the longshoremen's union dispatch hall near the Port of Los Angeles seemed to know him. They approached from all sides -- a stream of friends, former classmates, athletes he had once coached and even a few proud relatives. Some slapped Buscaino on the back. Others posed with him for pictures. Nearly each interaction ended with the same pledge: "You've got my vote. " Buscaino, a 37-year-old police officer whose only previous political experience was a stint in 1992 as president of his senior class at San Pedro High School, is the favorite to win Tuesday's runoff election against state Assemblyman Warren Furutani for an empty seat on the Los Angeles City Council.

The tide was just high enough for Skip Staats to take his wooden dinghy up to the sea wall, where he likes to sit and sip coffee in the morning sun. Had it been any more shallow he might not have been on the scene to help save a family of four whose van plunged off the Balboa Island ferry and into Newport Harbor early Friday. Staats, 46, is credited with rescuing two children and their father from the sinking minivan, which was shoved into the water when it was rammed from behind by a Mercedes-Benz.