Memorials

Los Angeles City Atty. Carmen Trutanich on Tuesday said his inquiry into the city's role in providing support for the Michael Jackson memorial may have unearthed some "criminal aspects," although he added that he could not discuss details. Trutanich's assistants are investigating events leading up to the July 7 memorial, including which city officials authorized the deployment of thousands of police officers. The city spent an estimated $1.

Dodger Stadium has been home, over the years, to iconic moments that have transcended sports -- in 1987, when Pope John Paul II held Mass under a 52-foot steel cross erected in the bleachers; in 1966, when the Beatles held the stadium's first concert amid deafening screams; in 1976, when outfielder Rick Monday raced across the grass to snatch an American flag away from protesters trying to light it on fire. On Saturday, an unlikely chapter was added when the stadium was handed over to the Los Angeles County Fire Department for a memorial to two firefighters killed in a wildfire high in the Angeles National Forest.

Legislation to create a statewide registry of veterans' memorials has been approved by a Senate committee, said state Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), who drafted the bill. The registry would provide the public with information on the locations and status of veterans' memorials throughout the state. There are more than 500 such memorials in California, but many haven't been maintained because their locations are unknown.

The estimated 100 million people killed under communist regimes were remembered Tuesday in the nation's capital as President Bush accepted, on behalf of the American people, a monument honoring their sacrifice. "Evil is real and must be confronted," Bush told the audience at the dedication of the Victims of Communism Memorial. Among the invited guests were ambassadors from Eastern European nations subjugated by the Soviet Union in the aftermath of World War II.

Three weeks after Susan Smith was sentenced to life in prison for killing her two young sons, two granite markers were erected Saturday in the boys' memory. The monuments sit about 60 feet from John D. Long Lake, where 14-month-old Alex and 3-year-old Michael were drowned. "If you have a family, you just have to be touched by it," said Gregory Lee of Leesburg, Va., a father of three who visited Saturday.

MAIN HEROES: The county has numerous war memorials but the oldest, and perhaps the most serene, is the Spanish-American War tribute, above, overlooking the lake at Irvine Regional Park. Sitting behind a Civil War howitzer, the stone memorial was dedicated in 1926 to the 113 men of Company L, volunteer infantry out of Santa Ana. Also included is a plaque made of metal from the U.S.

Officials expressed concern Tuesday about cracks and wear and tear on the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials and said an architectural survey has found that it would cost more than $12 million to repair them, about twice what the memorials cost originally. National Park Service officials said they plan to go through with the repair work after further studies but saw little danger to the 2.5 million tourists who visit the monuments annually.

Media conglomerate Viacom Inc., which owns BET and MTV, announced a donation Tuesday valued at $1.5 million to help build a memorial to Martin Luther King Jr. on the National Mall in Washington. Viacom pledged $1 million in cash plus promotions for the memorial that will include public service announcements across the company's networks and its billboards in New York's Times Square, Chief Executive Philippe Dauman said.

Memorials to war veterans were decorated with flowers planted by workers of the Boyle Heights Beautification Project last week as part of the program's effort to improve the area. The program, which was started in 1989, has three crew members and a weekend crew of community service workers who pick up litter, empty trash cans, paint over graffiti and steam-clean sidewalks six days a week in commercial sections of Boyle Heights.

On the eve of his departure for the state Senate, outgoing Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alarcon on Thursday unveiled an artist's sketch of a proposed memorial for police officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty. "I think we constantly have to remind ourselves of the challenges our police and firefighters face and what they sacrifice for us," said Alarcon, who has proposed Panorama City as a site. "This week the point was made given the loss of Officer [Brian] Brown."