Irvine

Michele and Russell Poland's credit was shot, but they managed to buy their suburban dream home anyway. After a business bankruptcy and a home foreclosure, they turned to a rare option in this era of tightfisted banking - a subprime loan. The Polands paid nearly $10,000 in upfront fees for the privilege of securing a mortgage at 10.9% interest. And they had to raid their retirement account for a 35% down payment. Most borrowers would balk at such stiff terms. But with prices rising, the Polands wanted to snag a four-bedroom home in Temecula near top-rated schools for their 5-year-old son. By later this year, they figure, they'll be able to refinance into a standard loan.

A strike by University of California patient care workers Tuesday caused the cancellation of hundreds of surgeries, the closure of laboratory stations and the diversion of emergency room patients, officials said. The hospitals prepared for the two-day strike by postponing elective surgeries and hiring temporary workers, but services still were affected after thousands of employees took to the picket line at the medical centers in Los Angeles, Irvine, San Diego, San Francisco and Sacramento, where the UC Davis facility is located.

If the horrific garment factory collapse last month in Bangladesh has any silver lining, it is the response from more than 30 of the world's leading apparel companies - including Benetton, PVH, Abercrombie & Fitch, H&M, Inditex (Zara), Marks & Spencer and Tesco - to sign an agreement to protect the safety and lives of that nation's workers, who make the companies' products. The Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh is a historic advance over the voluntary private factory monitoring that has tragically failed to prevent the recent disasters in Bangladesh and in places around the world where clothes are stitched for the global market.

Bucking longstanding patterns in the United States, more poor people now live in the nation's suburbs than in urban areas, according to a new analysis. As poverty mounted throughout the nation over the past decade, the number of poor people living in suburbs surged 67% between 2000 and 2011 - a much bigger jump than in cities, researchers for the Brookings Institution said in a book published today. Suburbs still have a smaller percentage of their population living in poverty than cities do, but the sheer number of poor people scattered in the suburbs has jumped beyond that of cities.

Mark and Cindy Evans make the rounds of Southern California flea markets early, before most shoppers have gotten out of bed. Their favorite stops: The Groves Antique Market Held the first Sunday of the month from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Irvine Valley College, 5500 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine. Admission and parking are free. Dogs allowed. (949) 786-5277. Pasadena City College Flea Market Also held on the first Sunday of every month, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Due to a scheduling change, the market happens to be open this Sunday.

Bucking longstanding patterns in the United States, more poor people now live in the nation's suburbs than in urban areas, according to a new analysis. As poverty mounted throughout the nation over the past decade, the number of poor people living in suburbs surged 67% between 2000 and 2011 - a much bigger jump than in cities, researchers for the Brookings Institution said in a book published today. Suburbs still have a smaller percentage of their population living in poverty than cities do, but the sheer number of poor people scattered in the suburbs has jumped beyond that of cities.

SACRAMENTO - Facing a possible two-day strike next week by patient care and technical workers, the five large University of California medical centers are starting to cancel elective surgeries that had been scheduled as soon as Monday, officials said. Emergency care will not be shut and patients already in the five hospitals across the state will continue to receive care. But many elective procedures will delayed until after the potential strike, set for Tuesday and Wednesday, according to John Stobo, UC's senior vice president for health sciences and services.

Mimi's Cafe, a chain of French-inspired casual dining restaurants based in Irvine, may get a new expansion boost after being sold for $50 million. LeDuff America Inc., owner of Bruegger's Bagels, will take over control of Mimi's from Bob Evans Farms Inc., the companies said this week. Mimi's, launched in 1978 by a former American airman and named after his French paramour, has 145 restaurants in 24 states. But the chain has had several years of slumping same-store sales growth, hit by the same market pressures that have kept the full-service restaurant sector from growing as quickly as fast-food and fast-casual rivals.

Philip Hsiang and his wife, Mary Ann, used to pay almost $1,000 a year for a pair of cellphones under a family plan contract. But as recession gripped the economy a few years back, the Davis couple opted for low-cost prepaid phone service and never looked back. They shaved $800 off their annual phone bill, even though Hsiang could easily afford the pricier plan on his salary as an electrical engineer. "As a Chinese immigrant to the U.S., it's a virtue to be frugal," Hsiang said.

Patient care workers at the University of California's medical centers plan to stage a two-day strike next week, but the number taking part will be decided Monday in Sacramento County Superior Court. A judge is expected to rule on a request for a temporary restraining order limiting the number of workers who may take part in the walkout. According to UC officials, the focus is on workers considered essential for patient care. The union representing nearly 13,000 patient healthcare workers has notified UC that it plans to strike over contract issues from 4 a.m. Tuesday to 4 a.m. Thursday.

Patient care workers at the University of California's medical centers plan to stage a two-day strike next week, but the number taking part will be decided Monday in Sacramento County Superior Court. A judge is expected to rule on a request for a temporary restraining order limiting the number of workers who may take part in the walkout. According to UC officials, the focus is on workers considered essential for patient care. The union representing nearly 13,000 patient healthcare workers has notified UC that it plans to strike over contract issues from 4 a.m. Tuesday to 4 a.m. Thursday.

SACRAMENTO - Facing a possible two-day strike next week by patient care and technical workers, the five large University of California medical centers are starting to cancel elective surgeries that had been scheduled as soon as Monday, officials said. Emergency care will not be shut and patients already in the five hospitals across the state will continue to receive care. But many elective procedures will delayed until after the potential strike, set for Tuesday and Wednesday, according to John Stobo, UC's senior vice president for health sciences and services.

UC Irvine's chancellor pledged Wednesday to find and discipline whoever slipped a racist note into a black female student's backpack last week. The student found the note, which read "Go back 2 Africa slave," while she was in the science library on May 7, according to UCI police. The department is investigating what it is calling a hate incident. "When apprehended, the responsible individual(s) will face appropriate sanctions," Chancellor Michael Drake said in a statement on UCI's website.

So cool were the UC Irvine Anteaters, even when top-ranked and top-seeded Brigham Young had three set points and seemed poised to generate some momentum Saturday night in the NCAA men's volleyball championship match at Pauley Pavilion. Even when BYU had a 24-21 lead in the third set, the Anteaters were smiling and patting one another on the back. Maybe they knew something. By scoring the final five points of the match, UC Irvine beat the Cougars, 25-23, 25-22, 26-24, to become the first team since UCLA in 1996 to successfully defend an NCAA men's volleyball title.

Sometimes it takes a losing coach to give the best assessment of the next event. Penn State men's volleyball coach Mark Pavlik lost to top-seeded Brigham Young on Thursday night in the NCAA semifinals at Pauley Pavilion, and he saw second-seeded UC Irvine beat Loyola Chicago. Saturday at 6 p.m. the two teams each of which has been in the NCAA finals four times and won three titles (the Anteaters most recently a year ago) will meet for the third time this season. The Cougars (26-4)

Collin Mehring had been a growing boy and a somewhat unreliable contributor to the UC Irvine men's volleyball team for two years while being an intense student in the school's acclaimed computer science engineering program. And that's hardly surprising. Mehring is a walk-on. He almost didn't play volleyball in college. "You know," he said, "I wanted to be a student and didn't know if I could do both. " At the last minute, with a pep talk from his high school coach Mike Rubin - who was also Mehring's physics teacher at St. Francis High in Mountain View - Mehring decided to try to do both.

The Irvine Saturday farmers market is the largest and best in Orange County, but it's a mixed bag. It has some worthy local small farmers who come in person, along with more commercial farms, and even a few who have been sanctioned previously for cheating by agricultural authorities or other managers. Orange County Produce, owned by the family of the previous California agriculture secretary, A.G. Kawamura, farms on remnants of undeveloped local land, a bittersweet reminder of the county's past agricultural glory.

Irvine's investments in federal securities and money markets earned the city close to $10.4 million during the 1998-99 fiscal year, according to the treasurer's annual report for fiscal year 1998-99. The report, which has been unanimously approved by the Investment Advisory and Finance Committee, will be reviewed by the City Council tonight. Following Irvine's loss of more than $212 million in the county's 1994 bankruptcy, the council drafted a more conservative investment policy. Still, Irvine's current gains are expected to be partially offset by principal losses of $1.741 million.

The longtime campus newspaper at UC Irvine may be forced to cease printing in the next year if students fail to approved a quarterly fee to help sustain the weekly publication. Like newspapers across the country, rising printing costs have forced UCI's weekly New University to cut back, according to the paper's student editor. Once a robust 60-page newspaper, the paper has shrunk to 24 pages in the last six years and editors  have had their compensation chopped in half, now earning between $24 and $50 a week.