La Opinion Newspaper

Detectives said Friday that the husband and wife found fatally shot inside their West Covina area home Wednesday night were victims of a murder-suicide. Carlos Alejandro Balotta, 45, a La Opinion newspaper editor, shot his wife of 18 years, Maria Hildebrandt Balotta, 35, after a quarrel shortly after 10:30 p.m., deputies confirmed. The couple's 14-year-old son Tito apparently struggled with his father over the gun. The father shot himself during the struggle, and the boy was injured.

Officials of La Opinion, the nation's largest Spanish-language newspaper, on Monday declared war on its newest competitor, telling the publisher of a new daily called Hoy to "bring it on." Hoy's Los Angeles edition premiered Monday. It is published by Chicago-based Tribune Co., which publishes editions of Hoy in New York and Chicago and also owns the Los Angeles Times.

A federal court judge found Monday that two immigration officials "very seriously" and intentionally interfered with a Spanish-language newspaper photographer in the course of covering news and awarded him and his paper nearly $300,000 in damages. Referring to actions of the agents during incidents involving photographer Octavio Gomez, U.S. District Judge Mariana R. Pfaelzer said "the conduct was outrageous and it was intentional."

The two largest Spanish-language newspapers in the United States said Thursday that they had joined forces to create a publishing empire that would compete with major media companies for Latino readers. Executives said the merger of the parent companies of La Opinion, the dominant Spanish-language daily in Los Angeles, and El Diario/La Prensa, its New York counterpart, was the first step toward building a network of newspapers serving the nation's fastest-growing minority group.

The founding family of the nation's largest Spanish-language daily newspaper, La Opinion, has hired UBS Investment Bank to find an investor to buy back the 50% stake in the paper owned by Tribune Co. The buyout would end a partnership between Tribune, which also owns the Los Angeles Times, and the Lozano family, which founded La Opinion in 1926. La Opinion is published in Los Angeles and has a circulation of 125,862.

The two largest Spanish-language newspapers in the United States said Thursday that they had joined forces to create a publishing empire that would compete with major media companies for Latino readers. Executives said the merger of the parent companies of La Opinion, the dominant Spanish-language daily in Los Angeles, and El Diario/La Prensa, its New York counterpart, was the first step toward building a network of newspapers serving the nation's fastest-growing minority group.

In a landmark demonstration of the growing Latino influence in California politics, the four major candidates for governor addressed the hopes and tensions of a changing population Saturday in a forum hosted by the state's two largest Spanish-language media companies.

Officials of La Opinion, the nation's largest Spanish-language newspaper, on Monday declared war on its newest competitor, telling the publisher of a new daily called Hoy to "bring it on." Hoy's Los Angeles edition premiered Monday. It is published by Chicago-based Tribune Co., which publishes editions of Hoy in New York and Chicago and also owns the Los Angeles Times.

The Los Angeles Times and La Opinion on Wednesday announced a pilot program to market and distribute the newspapers jointly in an effort to increase The Times' reach into the Latino community while helping La Opinion expand its distribution. Times Mirror Co. owns 50% of La Opinion, the nation's leading Spanish-language newspaper, with a daily circulation of 107,000. Under the nine-week program to begin Aug.

La Opinion, the nation's largest Spanish-language daily newspaper, announced plans to launch business service centers for the Latino community in Southern California in partnership with Gigante USA, a major Mexican supermarket chain opening its first stores in the state. The centers, to be called SERVICentro La Opinion, will offer notary public and translation services, classified ad placements and business resource information, La Opinion officials said.

The founding family of the nation's largest Spanish-language daily newspaper, La Opinion, has hired UBS Investment Bank to find an investor to buy back the 50% stake in the paper owned by Tribune Co. The buyout would end a partnership between Tribune, which also owns the Los Angeles Times, and the Lozano family, which founded La Opinion in 1926. La Opinion is published in Los Angeles and has a circulation of 125,862.

Increasing his influence over the governing body of the University of California, Gov. Gray Davis on Friday announced two more appointments to its Board of Regents: Westwood One radio network founder Norman J. Pattiz and La Opinion newspaper executive Monica C. Lozano. Pattiz of Beverly Hills is the founder and board chairman of Westwood One, the nation's largest radio network. An active Democrat, Pattiz is a close friend of the governor and a major contributor to his political campaigns.

Detectives said Friday that the husband and wife found fatally shot inside their West Covina area home Wednesday night were victims of a murder-suicide. Carlos Alejandro Balotta, 45, a La Opinion newspaper editor, shot his wife of 18 years, Maria Hildebrandt Balotta, 35, after a quarrel shortly after 10:30 p.m., deputies confirmed. The couple's 14-year-old son Tito apparently struggled with his father over the gun. The father shot himself during the struggle, and the boy was injured.

The Los Angeles Times and La Opinion on Wednesday announced a pilot program to market and distribute the newspapers jointly in an effort to increase The Times' reach into the Latino community while helping La Opinion expand its distribution. Times Mirror Co., parent of The Times, owns 50% of La Opinion, the nation's leading Spanish-language newspaper, with a daily circulation of 107,000. Under the nine-week program to begin Aug.

La Opinion, the nation's largest Spanish-language daily newspaper, announced plans to launch business service centers for the Latino community in Southern California in partnership with Gigante USA, a major Mexican supermarket chain opening its first stores in the state. The centers, to be called SERVICentro La Opinion, will offer notary public and translation services, classified ad placements and business resource information, La Opinion officials said.

In a landmark demonstration of the growing Latino influence in California politics, the four major candidates for governor addressed the hopes and tensions of a changing population Saturday in a forum hosted by the state's two largest Spanish-language media companies.

La Opinion Announces Zoned Editions: La Opinion, the nation's largest Spanish-language newspaper, announced daily zoned editions in Orange County and the San Fernando Valley, beginning Monday. The zoned editions will be the first-ever by a Spanish-language newspaper in the United States. La Opinion, with a circulation of 101,000, is 50% owned by Times Mirror, publisher of the Los Angeles Times.

Most Latino parents believe bilingual programs are good for their children and give generally high marks to the overall quality of education in the Los Angeles Unified School District, according to a new poll commissioned by the newspaper La Opinion and television station KVEA Channel 52. Sixty-eight percent of the respondents said they favored bilingual education and 26% opposed it.