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Can a value-hunting traveler truly be loyal to loyalty programs? Name : CooBoutique.com What it does: Rewards you with cash back for booking luxury hotels through its website and rewards points for sharing with your social network. What's hot: Cash is hot. I liked seeing how much cash other users were getting for their bookings as I was searching for hotels in the U.S. And when I looked up the member page (free), I saw that I could earn as much as 4% on my bookings.

One look at omnipresent Camelback Mountain and you might think the northeast Phoenix neighborhood known as Arcadia is on the outskirts of town where tumbleweeds blow effortlessly. But you'd be wrong - very, very wrong. Arcadia is where you'll find twentysomethings hanging out at recently opened gastropubs, young families walking to nearby parks, mini-malls with pizzerias and dive bars featuring Skee ball and foosball. This might sound like Los Angeles, but one glimpse of a helmet-less biker cruising down Campbell Avenue and you'll know you aren't in California.

Michele and Russell Poland's credit was shot, but they managed to buy their suburban dream home anyway. After a business bankruptcy and a home foreclosure, they turned to a rare option in this era of tightfisted banking - a subprime loan. The Polands paid nearly $10,000 in upfront fees for the privilege of securing a mortgage at 10.9% interest. And they had to raid their retirement account for a 35% down payment. Most borrowers would balk at such stiff terms. But with prices rising, the Polands wanted to snag a four-bedroom home in Temecula near top-rated schools for their 5-year-old son. By later this year, they figure, they'll be able to refinance into a standard loan.

We recently stayed at Dinah's Garden Hotel in Palo Alto. It's set in six beautifully landscaped acres, with a swimming pool, lake, ducks, blossoming cherry trees, Asian sculptures and large rooms with all the comforts you could want. Very reasonable rates and a helpful and gracious staff. Dinah's Garden Hotel, 4261 El Camino Real, Palo Alto; (650) 493-2844, http://www.dinahshotel.com . Lee Soskin Studio City

UCLA's spring game Saturday was going to cost UCLA students $7 for the bus ride to the Rose Bowl. Then Bruins Coach Jim Mora stepped in. And then athletic department officials rethought the matter. Mora had volunteered to pay for students' bus fare to the game, Josh Rebholz , UCLA associate athletic director of development, said on his Twitter account Wednesday night. On Thursday afternoon, athletic department officials decided to pick up the tab for the trip to the Rose Bowl.

WASHINGTON - House Republicans announced the first in a series of immigration-related bills that would attempt to reshape the system one piece at a time, a contrast with the comprehensive approach the Senate is pursuing. The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Robert W. Goodlatte of Virginia, was careful Thursday to say the two bills he would unveil this week - and "several" more after that - were simply starting points for debate. The effort does not preclude the broader overhauls being drafted by bipartisan groups in both chambers, he said.

Americans are turning a corner on gay rights, and slowly but surely, they seem to be dragging the Boy Scouts along behind them. Leaders of the organization recently proposed dropping its ban on openly gay Scouts, while continuing to prohibit gay adults from serving as scoutmasters. Although we're glad to see the Boy Scouts of America become more tolerant, however limited and belated that change is, it must waste no time before taking the next step as well. There is no valid reason to exclude gay troop leaders of either gender, and the Scouts' lack of acceptance smacks of old and ignorant prejudices against homosexuality.

In a grassy backyard in the small town of Griffin, Ga., about 25 miles south of Atlanta, actor Aden Young is rehearsing a fight scene for the upcoming Sundance Channel series “Rectify.” It's early August, and the steam heat has crew and onlookers grappling for the scant amount of shade available. But Young is practicing a series of complicated stunt punches and undercuts. Later in the air-conditioned lunch trailer, the only respite from the suffocating heat, the actor makes light of his working conditions.

The gilt-trimmed high-rises of Waikiki offer a seductive escape from L.A. But those who rent a car - a convertible, please - - can find a simpler side of Oahu on the North Shore, an hour or so away, where locals and tourists carry surfboards instead of Louis Vuitton purses (real or fake) and debates about where to eat focus on which food trucks serve the best garlic shrimp. Residents call it "the country," and they want to keep it that way. Haleiwa is the only real town on the North Shore, and it's mainly a line of one-story beach shops, cafes, bars and shave-ice outlets along the highway.

SAN ANTONIO - On the court here, surrounded by hostile screams and rattling balloons and at least one dude in a black Lucha Libre mask, the new Lakers were struggling to find themselves. Back in Newport Beach, their 140-character coach was doing his best to help. “Matador Defense on Parker. His penetration is hurting us.” “Gotta milk Pau in the post right now and D12. Will get good looks from it.” “Post. Post. Post.” Those were the direct quotes of Kobe Bryant sitting at home with his surgically repaired left leg elevated and his dander up during the Lakers' 91-79 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday in the playoff opener.