Lewd Conduct

The principal of El Modena High School, who was put on leave after being arrested on suspicion of lewd conduct in a public place, resigned Wednesday, said Kimberlee Nichols, president of the Orange Unified School District board. Fullerton police had arrested Brent Bailey, 56, in December during a sting in a restroom near Brea Dam, district officials learned last week. He is expected to be charged with a misdemeanor, police said.

Opera diva Dame Kiri Te Kanawa testified Thursday that she pulled out of planned concerts with an Australian pop singer after she was shocked to learn that women flung underwear at him during performances and that he displayed it like a trophy. Concert promoter Leading Edge Events is suing New Zealand-born Te Kanawa, 62, and her former manager, Nick Grace, for up to $1.

A local group of environmental scientists and philanthropists broke its own rule this week and met with a Christian group to discuss the possibility of joining forces to solve environmental problems. The Bioneers and representatives of the faith-based Eighth-Day Project met in Pacific Palisades in the spacious living room of actress Barbara Bosson. The exchange Tuesday night underlined a national trend of secular environmental groups networking with faith-based coalitions with the same goals.

XM Satellite Radio shock jocks Opie and Anthony apologized Friday for airing a homeless man's crude comments that he'd like to have sex with Condoleezza Rice, Laura Bush and Queen Elizabeth. The remarks were made on their show Wednesday by a guest the duo call Homeless Charlie. As the name of each woman came up, the guest said he would like to have sex with her -- using language not fit for print.

The former principal of an Orange high school was convicted Thursday of masturbating in a public park. Brent Bailey, 56, resigned this year as head of El Modena High School after being arrested in December by a plainclothes police officer in a restroom at Fullerton's Brea Dam Trails park. He pleaded guilty at a Fullerton court Thursday to engaging in lewd conduct, a misdemeanor, and was sentenced to three years' probation.

The 12-year battle to shut a notorious strip joint in San Bernardino got a major boost Thursday when a judge issued a tentative order closing the Flesh Club and fining the owner $25,000. "Lewdness is lewdness, and covering it with a patina of 'free expression' is a fiction which the law will not tolerate," San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge Donald Alvarez wrote in a 15-page statement that detailed sexual activity at the club.

washington -- In the latest personal conduct controversy to roil Capitol Hill, Sen. Larry E. Craig (R-Idaho) has pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct after being arrested by an officer investigating lewd-conduct complaints in a men's restroom. On Monday, Craig denied engaging in any inappropriate behavior and said he regretted his plea. "At the time of this incident, I complained to the police that they were misconstruing my actions," he said in a statement.

Seeking to salvage his reputation and quell the media storm stirred by his guilty plea to disorderly conduct charges, Sen. Larry E. Craig of Idaho on Tuesday denied making a sexual advance to an undercover officer in a men's room. "I am not gay and never have been," the Republican lawmaker declared at a Boise news conference with his wife, Suzanne, at his side. But even as he denied wrongdoing, Senate GOP leaders called for an ethics investigation.

A 79-year-old Roman Catholic nun pleaded no contest to indecent behavior with a child for alleged sexual encounters with two male students at a church convent and school where she was principal during the 1960s. Norma Giannini entered the pleas in Milwaukee the day her trial was to begin. She faces up to 10 years on each of two counts when sentenced Feb. 1.

Microsoft Corp. quickly shut down Santa Claus' Web privileges after it found out the automated elf it created for kids to instant message with was talking naughty, not nice. Last year, Microsoft encouraged kids to connect directly to "Santa" by adding northpolelive.com to their Windows Live Messenger contact lists. The Santa program, which Microsoft reactivated this month, asked children what they wanted for Christmas and could respond on topic, thanks to artificial intelligence.