Mark

The gig: Don't call Mark Fuller, 58, a fountain maker. He prefers "feature creator." But he does make fountains -- spectacular ones. The company he founded, Wet, based in Sun Valley, has taken on some of the largest water fountain projects in the world. Projects: One of his latest creations is a 32-acre artificial lake at the foot of the world's tallest building -- the Burj Khalifa in Dubai -- with 1,500 water jets that can blast streams 500 feet in the air, plus 1,000 fog jets, all tightly choreographed to put on a computerized show to music.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas called Tuesday on the county Probation Department to hire more internal affairs staff to investigate employee misconduct. Ridley-Thomas' comments followed publication of a Times story revealing incidents in which probation officers were convicted of crimes or disciplined in recent years for inappropriate conduct involving current or former probationers, including several cases of officers molesting or beating youths in their care.

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford agreed Thursday to pay a $74,000 fine to settle an allegation that he breached the state ethics code 37 times by overspending on travel and making personal use of state airplanes and campaign funds. The settlement was detailed in a consent order issued by the State Ethics Commission and signed by the governor. It brings to a close one chapter of Sanford's well-publicized troubles, which began in June when the governor, who was married, traveled to Argentina to visit his lover but told aides he would be hiking on the Appalachian Trail.

Unless you're Australian, or have a long memory for short films, you've likely never heard of cane toads. But be prepared, they're coming at you. And in 3-D no less. "Cane Toads: The Conquest" had its world premiere at Sundance on Tuesday night before an audience that roared with delight at the amphibians' antics. The reception fulfilled the expectations of filmmaker Mark Lewis, who called it "just like 'Avatar,' except with toads." An Australian with a lively and playful sense of humor, Lewis has been to Sundance before, with the irreverent "The Natural History of the Chicken."

The bomb is dropped and the damage spreads. Mark McGwire admits he took steroids and family, friends and acquaintances are hit with the fallout. Also, former managers. This was going to be a fairly normal week in the off-season for Tony La Russa of the St. Louis Cardinals, McGwire's manager for all but a year and a half of his major league career. La Russa had a speech to make in Dallas early in the week for the benefit of his Animal Rescue Foundation and another for the same cause Sunday in St. Louis.

L.A. County Supervisors on Tuesday ordered the county's chief executive to review a $707,000 office renovation proposed by Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas earlier this month. Ridley-Thomas requested the review after he drew criticism for proposing the renovation Dec. 1 at a time when county finances are spread thin. "Discussion of the proposed repair and renovation work has become a needless distraction inflamed by misleading and erroneous information," Ridley-Thomas said in a statement released after the supervisors' unanimous vote.

Students experience a raft of emotions when they float into one UCLA professor's office. They giggle and gush over Tom Wortham's hundreds of glass figurines, fancy dolls, sheet music and scale models of Huck Finn. Wortham's shelves and file cabinets are stuffed with Mark Twain memorabilia tied to the all-American author's best-known work, "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." The retired English Department chairman insists he has no love for the knickknacks, toys and Huck-themed gadgets and artwork stacked in corners and mounted on the office's walls.

I was going through life As free as a lark, In the world of acting I was making my mark. In Second City, And then on T.V., Not thinking once About the big "C". I saved up my money, An apartment I bought. My wealth was my own, Or so I thought. I can't even tell you How often you cry. When the dreaded "C" Starts draining you dry. Friends try to console, And tell you they care. But deep down you feel That this is unfair.

Playwright Emily Mann's "Still Life" is a still play. The Obie Award-winning script calls for a lot of talking, a few slide presentations and very little physical action. And the play's three characters rarely move from their seats during the 100-minute show. But the San Diego Repertory Theatre's current production of "Still Life" is a powerful affair, full of passion and viability. "Still Life" springs from interviews Mann conducted with three people dramatically affected by the Vietnam War.