Laser

Five teenage boys have been arrested on suspicion of shining a handheld laser at a law enforcement helicopter that was patrolling downtown over the weekend, police said Tuesday. The green laser beam, which is bright enough to temporarily impair a pilot's vision, was aimed at the helicopter about 9:30 p.m. Saturday. A Burbank police pilot and a Glendale flight officer were aboard the aircraft, and they guided patrol officers to the area where the light came from. Police later arrested five juveniles, ages 13 to 16, on suspicion of shining a laser at an aircraft, a crime that carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $2,000 fine.

A cosmetologist from a Costa Mesa salon has been charged with illegally performing a medical procedure using a laser on a customer that resulted in second-degree burns, the Orange County district attorney's office said Thursday. Tuyet H.T. Luong, 36, of Anaheim was giving a manicure to a client at MC Beauty Center in Costa Mesa when the client complained about a scar on her abdomen from a tummy tuck, prosecutors said. Authorities said Luong told the victim she could flatten the scar using a laser-type device, and the victim agreed to the procedure.

Newport Corp., an Irvine-based maker of laser and optical equipment, said Tuesday that it would fire as much as 10% of its workforce and shift more manufacturing to lower-cost facilities in China. Newport had about 2,000 employees as of December, according to Bloomberg data. The restructuring will improve Newport's operating profit by $11 million to $14 million in 2009, the company said. The company said it still expected third-quarter revenue of $106 million to $112 million and fourth-quarter sales of $115 million to $125 million.

A 36-year-old man from Orange who allegedly shined a green laser beam at three commercial jets and a police helicopter in May appeared in federal court Monday, authorities said. Dana Christian Welch faces three charges of having "willfully interfered with and disabled, with a reckless disregard for the safety of human life" pilots flying Alaska, Delta and United airlines planes attempting to land at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, according to a grand jury indictment released by the FBI. Powerful laser beams aimed in pilots' eyes can cause temporarily blindness.

A parolee faces state and federal charges after allegedly aiming a laser device at three commercial airplanes landing at John Wayne Airport on Wednesday night. Dana Welch, 36, of Orange was arrested Thursday morning and is suspected of pointing a powerful green beam at planes being flown by Alaska, United and Delta airlines about 10:40 p.m.

U.S. health regulators plan to review whether a popular type of laser eye surgery is improving patients' lives, a senior Food and Drug Administration official said. Daniel Schultz, director of the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said this week that a number of concerns had been raised about patient satisfaction with the vision correction procedure, known as laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis, or Lasik. An agency advisory panel will hold a public meeting to discuss the issue, Schultz said.

Bill Clinton, elegantly attired in a black suit and eye-popping orange tie, stood in the bed of a pickup on a brisk Dallas morning addressing a sparse crowd the other day.

Police have arrested a man on suspicion of pointing a laser at a Huntington Beach police pilot as he was flying a helicopter. Luis Roberto Chacon was taken into custody Saturday night after he allegedly aimed a laser attached to a toy handgun at the helicopter. The pilot traced the source of the laser to a Garden Grove home where the man, 23, was arrested. Police said such an act can cause temporary blindness and endanger airborne pilots.

A teenager playing with a laser he got as a Christmas gift has been arrested on suspicion of pointing it at a commercial jet and a Newport Beach police helicopter, officials said Thursday. It was the third arrest this week in Orange County involving lasers allegedly trained on aircraft. Early Sunday, Garden Grove police arrested a 52-year-old man after the Federal Aviation Administration received a report from an airline pilot about a laser.

Interior designer Michaela Scherrer has launched a line of one-of-a-kind pillows crafted with leather that has been washed, etched or laser-cut or made with remnant pieces of vintage linen. "I don't like to waste anything," says Scherrer, whose memorably peaceful solarium at the recent Beverly Hills Garden & Design Showcase featured lavender-filled pillows that enticed visitors from nearby rooms. "I wanted to create something high-end chic with a casualness to it."