Names

Trial judges are, on the books, elected officials, and even the vast majority of those whose names never appear on a ballot are subject to election challenge every six years. Should voters not call them to account for their performance, as they do with any other politician, on election day? Should they not encourage opponents to challenge incumbent judges? Or are judges different from members of Congress or city councils? Judges are most definitely different. The last thing we want or need in California is trial judges who sit on the bench with one eye on justice and the other on how any particular ruling is going to play with the public.

MEXICO CITY - Responding to mounting concern about disorder in the Mexican state of Michoacan, officials announced Thursday that an army general would take over as its public security chief, overseeing both state and federal security forces. The appointment of the general, Alberto Reyes Vaca, was announced by state officials but had been arranged in coordination with the federal government. For President Enrique Peña Nieto's administration, the move is part of a promised new focus on the southwestern state, long a hotbed of drug cartel violence.

Emily again topped the list of most popular baby girl names last year, registering as No. 1 for the 12th straight time. Jacob led among names for boys for the ninth year in a row. New parents didn't stray far from past habits in 2007 when naming their babies. Only one name, Elizabeth, is new to the top 10 list, returning after a two-year absence. Samantha, which previously ranked 10th, dropped to No. 12, according to the new list from the Social Security Administration. Besides Jacob, other top picks for boys were Michael, Joshua and Matthew.

In exactly one week, Los Angeles will wake up with a newly elected mayor. The lucky leader of 4 million restless campers with cracked sidewalks could be Wendy Greuel, the business-suited Valley kid who worked for Mayor Tom Bradley and President Clinton and would be the first female mayor in city history. Or it could be Eric Garcetti, who seems to have done everything in his 42 years except pitch for the Dodgers and kayak to Borneo, and whose adopted daughter may one day celebrate both a bat mitzvah and a quinceañera . Last week, I wrote about a Greuel visit to Tolliver's barbershop in South Los Angeles, where she was relaxed and sharp in front of a crowd that thinks she's the one. Today I'll report on my outing with her opponent, who, like Greuel, helped create some of the city's problems but now promises to deliver peace and prosperity to one and all. L.A. ELECTIONS 2013: Sign up for our email newsletter When Garcetti walked into a Westwood Village pizza parlor late Monday night, he was not recognized until after he'd selected artichokes, olives, onions and peppers as toppings.

We're at the point where any San Diego Chargers victory can be summarized in two words. This goes back to Nov. 19, when between updates I saw a 24-7 San Diego deficit against Denver turn into a 35-27 Chargers victory and I text-messaged a friend to ask what happened. My buddy's reply: "LT happened." Flash-forward to Sunday, when the Chargers had to deal with a strong Oakland Raiders defensive effort, a shaky performance by quarterback Philip Rivers and a 14-7 Raiders lead in the fourth quarter.

If you're over 40, you probably remember that first time someone called you "Ma'am" or "Sir. " It almost surely hurt, no matter how young and fit you felt. Evidently, your age was showing in those wrinkles and sags. Some decide to live with it; others do everything they can to obliterate the evidence. Today there are more nonsurgical options than ever to erase lines, thanks to new developments in the world of fillers. Thirty years ago, a filler such as Zyplast (cow collagen) would be injected to bring a line or scar up to the level of the surrounding skin.

The name of the game is historical accuracy. Everyone agrees on that. What historians cannot agree on is the name given to Los Angeles when its Spanish founders formed it Sept. 4, 1781. The early settlers meant to name the town after angels; that much is known. But for more than 75 years, local historians have been quarreling over its actual moniker. Some contend it was El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora de los Angeles. Others assert it was El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reyna de los Angeles.

MAPQUEST won't be able to find it. The mail carrier may ignore it. But who wouldn't want to be invited to Wit's End, Best Rx or even a place called Somewhere? Giving a house a name adds instant character and is a winsome tradition in many laid-back beach towns. Long before some surfside communities had streets and addresses, houses just had names.

The Product: Experts have been saying for years that there's no such thing as a magic pill for weight loss. But who knows? They used to think no pill could treat bacterial pneumonia or erectile dysfunction. At a time when scientists are unlocking new secrets about our appetites and metabolism, it seems at least remotely plausible that the secret to a slimmer body could someday fit into a capsule. Maybe it's already there.

The parents of a 17-year-old boy in Santa Barbara County grapple today with the realization that their son has, by God, tossed away his given name and henceforth shall be known, legally, as Trout Fishing in America. Say it once. Say it twice. Oh, go ahead, say it three times. Trout Fishing in America. Yo, Trout? Excuse me, Mr. America? The name is the title of a rather odd book. The young man read it. Liked it. Liked it a lot. Took it as his legal name early this month.

CHICAGO - All the pieces seemed to fall into - and, in one case, out of - place this season for the Angels to have their most regular lineup in years. The infield was set. The trade of Kendrys Morales to Seattle assured that Peter Bourjos , a favorite of General Manager Jerry Dipoto , would start in center field and slugger Mark Trumbo would have a spot. And the March trade of outfielder Vernon Wells to the Yankees removed any temptation for Manager Mike Scioscia to tinker with the lineup by playing Wells too much.

Last week's column, about my misadventures with a rescue dog, was not universally embraced by pet owners. For those who missed Part 1 of the saga, my wife, daughter and I were in the market for a pup, and Dogs Without Borders needed a temporary home for a timid, low-slung Corgi mix named Hannah. We committed to fostering her for a week, with the idea we might want to adopt her permanently. But things didn't go terribly smoothly, and some readers reacted as if I'd left a puddle on the living room floor.

TEHRAN - The run-up to Iran's June presidential election took a dramatic turn Saturday with last-minute candidacy announcements by two controversial political figures: former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, top aide to outgoing incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In the final moments before the five-day registration period expired, Rafsanjani and Mashaei arrived via separate entrances at the Interior Ministry, where all would-be candidates were required to sign up by 6 p.m. Saturday.

Re "Accent on the saying power," Column One, May 7 Regarding the dispute over the proper way to pronounce neighborhood names in Los Angeles such as Los Feliz, in English there is a standard way to pronounce words from foreign languages. It is incorrect English to attempt to change the accent one is speaking in the middle of a sentence. Yet there is a deplorable tendency among some now to show off their language chops by referring to, say, Italy's former prime minister as "SEEL-vyoh Bairrr-la-SKOHNNN-ee.

Hours after Republican members of Congress sharply questioned Hillary Rodham Clinton and the State Department's handling of the terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, the former secretary of State did not explicitly mention the controversy in an appearance Wednesday night. But she did reference partisan bickering in the nation's capital as she accepted an award in Beverly Hills. "We truly, still today - despite all of our partisan wrangling, and the gridlock that sometimes seems to take hold - we stand up for the rights and opportunities of all people," Clinton said in a speech that largely focused on U.S. policy toward Asia.

The union representing Los Angeles Department of Water and Power employees won a temporary restraining order Tuesday, preventing the release of workers' names with their salaries until each employee has had more time to argue that the identity disclosure could pose a safety risk. The names of DWP employees who don't file an objection via their union will be released May 21, election day in the city mayor's race. The decision, by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge James C. Chalfant, essentially removes DWP management from the process of notifying employees that the agency's payroll data has been requested by The Times.

In a ceremony that featured tributes from patients and firefighters, the Burn Center at Sherman Oaks Hospital saluted its 25th anniversary Thursday by renaming the acclaimed facility after its founder and medical director. With the help of children who had been his patients, Dr. A. Richard Grossman unveiled a sign declaring it the Grossman Burn Center at Sherman Oaks Hospital.

It's strange how "scandal" gets defined these days in Washington. At the moment, everyone is screaming about the "scandal" of the Internal Revenue Service scrutinizing conservative nonprofits before granting them tax-exempt status. Here are the genuine scandals in this affair: Political organizations are being allowed to masquerade as charities to avoid taxes and keep their donors secret, and the IRS has allowed them to do this for years. The bottom line first: The IRS hasn't done nearly enough over the years to rein in the subversion of the tax law by political groups claiming a tax exemption that is not legally permitted for campaign activity.

SAO PAULO, Brazil--Roberto Azevedo of Brazil has been elected the first Latin American director-general of the World Trade Organization , the global body charged with moving forward stalled trade agreement talks. The choice of Azevedo over close rival Herminio Blanco, from Mexico, was seen as a victory for Brazil's goal of increasing its influence through multilateral institutions, as well as for Brazil's focus on a more “gradual approach to removing commercial barriers” and a significant role for the state, said Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo . At the national level, Mexico is more supportive of the types of free trade agreements favored by the United States and the European Union, who were said to have backed Blanco.

The phone jangles in the bright white-walled computer shop off Hillhurst Avenue, and Ariel Belkin picks it up. "Los FEE-lus Hi-Tech," he says. "This is Ariel. " After the call comes his confession. Photos: It's all in the name The 30-year-old tech whiz, who also plays guitar in a band, moved to Los Feliz from the Valley a year and a half ago. Back then, he resolved to pronounce his new neighborhood as Los Fey-LEASE. The Spanish pronunciation, he says, is the "the right way. " But pretty soon he caved to the weird stares and smug corrections from locals and switched to the more common anglicized pronunciation.