Honor

The most ballyhooed name change of the year became official Friday morning when a Los Angeles County Superior Court commissioner approved the former Ron Artest's request to become Metta World Peace. Amid labor discord that threatens to delay, if not wipe out, the NBA season, there is World Peace. Photos: Famous name-changers He is 6 feet 7, wears No. 15 for the Lakers and once participated in the infamous "Palace brawl. " Anyone now making his acquaintance will be meeting Metta World Peace.

A federal appeals court in Washington has upheld a key part of the Voting Rights Act, one that requires states and localities with a history of discrimination against minorities to "pre-clear" changes in their election procedures with the Department of Justice or a federal court. The reasoning behind the 2-1 ruling is persuasive; Chief JusticeJohn G. Roberts Jr.and other members of the Supreme Court should exercise judicial restraint by refusing to reconsider it. In an earlier, 2009 decision, the chief justice recognized that Congress has the power to enforce the 15th Amendment's guarantee of a right to vote.

When Richard Nixon died in 1994, The Times observed that he had "resuscitated his reputation and emerged as an elder statesman," but "he never got his freeway back. " The reference was to California 90, between the 405 Freeway and Marina del Rey, which state lawmakers had named in his honor in 1971. In 1976, with Nixon's image tarnished by Watergate, lawmakers quietly responded to the request of local Chamber of Commerce officials and took his name off the 2.5-mile roadway.

Fleet Week , which has been a New York City tradition since 1984, starts Wednesday (that's today) with a parade of tall ships and war ships that will be docked and open to the public through Tuesday. Members of the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard will be aboard ships and participating in parachute jumps and other equipment demonstrations. There are lots of free activities to go and see. In honor of Fleet Week, Gray Line New York honors all military personnel in uniform with a free tour of Manhattan on its double-decker buses.  The deal: Members of the military (all branches, not just sailors and Marines)

No Higher Honor A Memoir of My Years in Washington Condoleezza Rice Crown: 784 pp.,$35

A few days before filmmakers for the hit Fox TV series "House" were set to shoot a prison scene at a former boys correctional facility, the show's location manager, Nancy Haecker, got a phone call that made her stomach churn. Deputy State Fire Marshal Al Adams informed her that he could not clear the way for the July shoot because the vacant Fred C. Nelles Youth Correctional Facility in Whittier was overgrown and posed too much of a fire hazard. Determined not to disappoint her director, Haecker and her crew sprang into action.

At Little Rock National Airport, it's two for the price of one. No, we're not talking about airfares, but Clintons. The Arkansas capital's Municipal Airport Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to rename the airport in honor of the former president and the current secretary of State, a rare twin billing for the state's former first couple. The change won't be official until the Federal Aviation Administration signs off. Adams Field, the designation for the airport's aeronautical operations, will remain the same.

Lent 2012 offers observant Catholics and other Christians a unique opportunity to honor the sacrifices of Jesus Christ by first honoring his mother, Mary. Because of a quirky series of calender coincidences, Christians can use this year's Lent to also follow in the footsteps of St. Louis-Marie de Montfort. He was a French priest known for his deep commitment to Mary, and came up with a series of short prayers and spiritual practices to honor her called the Total Consecration . This year, the Catholic calendar lines up so that both Lent and the Total Consecration start on the same day. The next time that happens will be 2075, Father Ryan Wayne Erlenbush told The Times.

President Obama awarded the Medal of Honor to Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Petry, lauding his "extraordinary heroism" during a solemn White House ceremony Tuesday that marked just the second time since Vietnam that the honor was bestowed to a living recipient. Petry, an Army Ranger from New Mexico, lost his hand throwing a grenade away from two fellow soldiers during a fight with insurgents in Afghanistan's Paktia province in May 2008. Petry had already been shot in both legs but could have dragged himself around a wall to save himself.

Around Los Angeles, a water fountain, a football stadium, an airport terminal and a theater are named for Mayor Tom Bradley 1--May 7,1983-- Birmingham High School, Van Nuys 2--June 18, 1984-- Los Angeles International Airport 3--Nov. 21, 1985-- Los Angeles Theatre Center, Downtown 4--June 27, 1980-- New Otani Hotel, Downtown 5--June 16, 1977-- Bradley Senior Citizen Center, Watts 6--May 10, 1974-- Auditorium, 20th Street Elementary School, South Central

As cities and schools across California celebrated the 82nd birthday of slain gay rights activist Harvey Milk, Orange County elected leaders remained steadfastly silent. Activists, for the second year, asked Orange County supervisors Tuesday to recognize Milk's birthday with a proclamation, but the board declined the opportunity, as it did last year. One of the supervisors, Janet Nguyen, walked from the board room shortly after the activists began their presentation. Last year, Nguyen also left the meeting as the activists spoke.

Kareen Sandoval was among the first to spot her tree, a skinny little thing about 9 feet tall with dark shimmering leaves. "Look how beautiful you are," she said, reaching for the trunk. "I want you to grow big and strong and never get knocked down. " Along 8th Street in Westlake on Saturday, volunteers planted 62 trees, but this was about more than mere beautification. Every tree honored a mother from the neighborhood, each one a woman whose volunteer work has made a difference in Westlake and Pico-Union, just west of downtown Los Angeles.

Thirteen Los Angeles Police Department officers were recognized for heroism during a recent ceremony in Hollywood. Police Chief Charlie Beck last week presented the officers and detectives with the department's highest honors, the Medal of Valor and the Purple Heart. This was the second year the Purple Heart was bestowed on officers who suffered grave injuries in the line of duty. The officers included men and women, some injured or put at risk while on patrol, on undercover assignments or headed home after work.

Chandler NBA's top defender Tyson Chandler , the catalyst for the New York Knicks' defensive improvement, was voted the NBA's defensive player of the year. Chandler beat out Oklahoma City's Serge Ibaka and three-time champion Dwight Howard of Orlando to become the first Knicks player to win the award. Chandler received 311 points, including 45 first-place votes, from a panel of 121 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada.

SAN DIEGO - A Marine sergeant who criticized President Obama on Facebook was notified Wednesday that he is being dismissed from the service with an other-than-honorable discharge. Gary Stein, 26, a nine-year veteran who served in Iraq, will be demoted to lance corporal, and his discharge status will make him ineligible for most federal veterans benefits, after Brig. Gen. Daniel Yoo accepted the unanimous recommendation of an Administrative Separation Board. The panel found that he made disparaging comments about Obama that were detrimental to good order and discipline and violated military law. Civilian lawyers for Stein said they would continue to fight in federal court to prevent Stein from being dismissed or to win his reinstatement.

For her work in a Burbank classroom, Rebecca Mieliwocki earned a trip to the White House. Mieliwocki, a seventh-grade English teacher at Luther Burbank Middle School, was recognized Tuesday by President Obama as the National Teacher of the Year. She was cheered loudly at the event, which also honored the winners of each state's teacher of the year awards. Obama pointed out a particularly boisterous group. "This is Rebecca's crew right here, who are very proud. Auntie, cousins?"

(Sunday's episode of "The Pacific" — the eighth of the 10-part HBO miniseries — depicted the death of Congressional Medal of Honor recipient John Basilone during the first day of fighting on Iwo Jima. William Lansford, a Marine and Angeleno, also fought that day in Iwo Jima and recalls his friendship with the famous Marine gunnery sergeant and his last day.) In late 1944, after two years in the Pacific as a Marine with Carlson's Raiders, I rotated stateside and received a 30-day furlough.

A funeral service for Medal of Honor recipient John Finn, who died Thursday in Chula Vista at age 100, is set for 10 a.m. Thursday at El Cajon-Lakeside-Santee Mortuary and Cremation Service, 684 S. Mollison Ave. in El Cajon. A viewing is scheduled for 3 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at the same location. Burial will be in the Campo Indian Reservation cemetery.

This post has been updated. See below for details . Art continues to be very fashionable. In the wake of recent exhibitions that included last year's Rodarte show at LACMA and the late Alexander McQueen at New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art, another fashion designer has received honors from the fine art world. New York City's Museo del Barrio declared designer Narciso Rodriguez one of the "25 most influential Hispanics in America" in an announcment that it will be honoring the Cuban American next month during its annual gala.

Though she was raised by two teachers, Rebecca Mieliwocki never figured she'd end up in front of a classroom. She first aspired to be a lawyer, then worked in publishing. Unfulfilled, she decided to take up the family profession. And on Monday, after 14 years in the classroom, she was named the National Teacher of the Year. "I was not doing work that I felt was making a difference on the planet," she said. "It was shocking to me as anybody that being a teacher was absolutely the right fit. " Mieliwocki, a seventh-grade English teacher at Luther Burbank Middle School in Burbank, will be recognized by President Obama on Tuesday during a ceremony at the White House.