Minorities

Times are tough enough for Californians; they're even tougher for Californians' teeth. "One-quarter of all adults and 28% of children in California have untreated dental caries [cavities]," says Len Finocchio, a senior program officer at the California Healthcare Foundation, a health advocacy group. "Our research tells us that many people in California have been avoiding routine care that might have cost about $100 for a checkup and cleaning, and then find themselves in the emergency room, where they get only an antibiotic, a bill that can average over $600 and instructions to see a dentist."

A man was recovering Monday after a fight in a Dodger Stadium parking lot following Sunday's game, renewing questions about how quickly and effectively security responds once a game ends. The fight began about 9 p.m. after a minor traffic accident. According to Los Angeles police, Arthur Morales, 30, knocked the victim to the ground while his pregnant girlfriend watched, stunned. At that point, Morales' friends got out of the vehicle and joined in. "They held the victim down on the ground and ... the fourth one kicked and punched him in the head," LAPD Cmdr.

Across the nation, the number of minorities continues to rise and the white population continues to decline, according to U.S. census estimates released Thursday. Minorities now make up about 35% of the population in the United States, an increase of 5% from 2000, reflecting demographic changes seen most powerfully in the Golden State. "More of the country is going to be like California," said William Frey, a demographer with the Brookings Institution. Minorities make up 57% of the population in California.

SAN DIEGO - After six seasons in the minor leagues, Jim Eppard finally got the call to the Angels. In his first major league at-bat, on Sept. 8, 1987, he singled - off current Angels broadcaster Mark Gubicza. In his second at-bat, two days later, he singled again. Two hits, two at-bats, each as a pinch-hitter. This Eppard kid might have a pretty good future. Or, as it turned out, he might not. Eppard - who replaced Mickey Hatcher, the Angels' hitting instructor who was let go Tuesday - finished his brief major league career with 139 at-bats.

If there are scholarships and loan programs and government contracts set aside for blacks and Latinos, can there be similar set-asides for whites? That's one of the questions raised by a small organization in Texas that has decided to offer white men $500 college scholarships. "In a country that proclaims equality for all," says the Former Majority Assn. for Equality, "we provide monetary aid to those that have found the scholarship application process difficult because they do not fit into certain categories or any ethnic group.

He co-wrote the script for "Big Momma's House," the new Martin Lawrence comedy that is making fistfuls of cash for 20th Century Fox, and he's got projects in the works with Ice Cube and Chris Tucker. But when he called out of the blue last week, Darryl Quarles sounded peeved.

For fans of "The Bachelor" and its spinoff, "The Bachelorette," who have wondered why the veteran ABC dating franchise has never spotlighted a nonwhite contestant in the title role in any of their combined 21 seasons, the shows' creator has come up with at least a partial answer: People of color apparently don't want to be on the show. "We always want to cast for ethnic diversity," Mike Fleiss said in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, adding, "It's just that for whatever reason, they don't come forward.

The roller-coaster ride of the real estate market over the last 15 years has soared higher and plunged deeper for minorities nationwide than it has for whites, according to a study of homeownership released Tuesday. The declines in homeownership among African Americans and U.S.-born Latinos in recent years were especially sharp, according to the study by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center in Washington.

Millions of Americans aren't saving enough for retirement, but African American and Latino investors, on average, are further behind than whites and are more likely to be a greater burden to their families because they save too little and invest too conservatively, new research has found. "It's extraordinarily disconcerting," said Mellody Hobson, president of Ariel Investments, which along with benefits firm Hewitt Associates conducted a study of 401(k) participants.

Minority and low-income women in Los Angeles County are more likely to have limited access to healthcare and to struggle with chronic diseases, according to a new report by the county Department of Public Health. The report, "Health Indicators for Women in Los Angeles County," was released last week by the Office of Women's Health and the Office of Health Assessment & Epidemiology. Among the findings: African American women were far more likely to suffer from sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS, and to die from chronic illnesses.

SAN DIEGO -- Matt Kemp is expected to be ready to play again when he is eligible to be activated from the 15-day disabled list on May 29, according to trainer Sue Falsone. “That is our goal,” Falsone said. Kemp was placed on the disabled list Monday with a strained left hamstring. The next day, Kemp received an injection of platelet-rich plasma. He had blood drawn and spun to isolate the platelets, which clot and promote healing. The platelets were injected into the site of the injury.

This is how all new beginnings should be. All energy and smiles and positive vibes. Stan Kasten is on the move and taking it all in. He's greeting season-ticket holders as they enter the stadium. He's meeting with ushers, security personnel and ticket takers. He's walking the loge, the reserved and the field levels. He's talking to fans and ushers and complete strangers, and welcoming them all to Dodger Stadium. An attractive woman walks up and hugs the new team president.

DENVER — On the Dodgers' most recent day off, reliever Josh Lindblom visited the Dream Center in Echo Park, which offers residential drug rehabilitation programs and other services. Later on Thursday, he distributed food on skid row and took 15 to 20 homeless people to church. There weren't any news cameras or reporters around. "I'd be sitting at home anyways," Lindblom said. "It's a small, small sacrifice in the grand scheme of things. It was one of the most fulfilling days I've had all season.

Into baseball's landscape of dumb and dumber, you now have to add right-hander Angel Guzman.   Maybe the name is not sending off alarms of recognition, nor should it really. Guzman was a Dodgers' non-roster invite to spring training this spring. He appeared in five games and pitched well. He did not allow a run in 5 1/3 innings, with one hit and walk and two strikeouts. He did not make the club, and going way out on a limb here, I'm thinking he won't be anytime soon.

Fourteen months after the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak, a new Egypt is still a work in progress -- or possibly regress. The opposition that swelled Cairo's Tahrir Square has fractured into Islamist and secular factions. The Islamist-dominated parliament continues to compete for influence with the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. And last week a presidential election scheduled for May was thrown into confusion. First an administrative court suspended the work of a 100-member assembly charged with writing a new constitution, raising the possibility that a president will be elected before the nature of the new Egyptian state is defined.

SACRAMENTO — Halsey M. Minor, the Cnet co-founder and a high-tech business pioneer of the 1990s, tops the state of California's latest list of its 500 biggest income-tax delinquents. Minor and his wife, Shannon, both of San Francisco, owe California $10.5 million, tax officials reported Friday. Minor did not respond to telephone messages seeking comment. Minor's wasn't the only quickly recognizable name on the state list. Former Playboy model and "Baywatch" actress Pamela D. Anderson of Woodland Hills owes $524,241 in state income taxes, the list says.

If television's fall schedule is a white world (May 28), the reaction from minorities ought to be, "Whew." One need only scan the comedies on independent stations to see the low-brow stereotypes that all networks love. Unless our sole motive for getting up each day is booty worship, quality precedes equality as an issue. VAL BUTLER Irvine

Steady rain all but canceled Friday afternoon's one-hour practice session for the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Reigning Izod IndyCar Champion Dario Franchitti drove one lap around the 1.97-mile course on the city's seaside streets, then pulled his car in for the day. Scott Dixon, his teammate at Target Chip Ganassi Racing, also attempted a lap but hit a large patch of standing water, spun and crashed lightly into the wall. No other drivers went out on the 11-turn course.

Neither Major League Baseball nor Fox Sports plans to try to stop the sale of the Dodgers, virtually assuring that the deal will receive court approval on Friday. MLB and Fox, the Dodgers' two most formidable combatants in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, expressed relatively minor concerns on Tuesday, the deadline for parties to object to the sale. Frank McCourt, the Dodgers' outgoing owner, agreed last month to sell the team to Guggenheim Baseball Management for $2 billion. MLB has been frustrated by what it considers a lack of information about that transaction -- and a separate one in which McCourt and Guggenheim will jointly own the Dodger Stadium parking lots.