Orange Ca

Folks who know the civic-minded Hambarian family wonder how one of the clan's sons seemingly wandered so far astray, landing in an Orange County courtroom, accused of swindling millions of dollars from his hometown. Jeffrey Hambarian grew up in Orange, a small town with conservative values, his family steeped in an old-fashioned work ethic. His father, Sam, began collecting the city's garbage in the 1950s, tooling around in a road-weary pickup that spoke to his thriftiness.

Some Southern California cities fine residents for watering their lawns too much during droughts. But in Orange, officials are locked in a legal battle with a couple accused of violating city ordinances for removing their lawn in an attempt to save water. The dispute began two years ago, when Quan and Angelina Ha tore out the grass in their frontyard. In drought-plagued Southern California, the couple said, the lush grass had been soaking up tens of thousands of gallons of water -- and hundreds of dollars -- each year.

Some Southern California cities fine residents for watering their lawns too much during droughts. But in Orange, officials are locked in a legal battle with a couple accused of violating city ordinances for removing their lawn in an attempt to save water. The dispute began two years ago, when Quan and Angelina Ha tore out the grass in their frontyard. In drought-plagued Southern California, the couple said, the lush grass had been soaking up tens of thousands of gallons of water -- and hundreds of dollars -- each year.

For two months, Orange County's gay community turned out in force to the Lucky Strike bowling alley for Spin Tuesdays, a nightclub-style event with DJs spinning pop, dance and '80s music, and a velvet-rope entrance for as many as 1,000 bowlers, pool players and dancers.

A former Orange middle school teacher who had sex with three students was sentenced Friday to six years in prison as her attorney painted the boys as willing participants who looked at pornography and bought condoms to prepare for the encounters. Sarah Bench-Salorio, 29, a former Santiago Charter Middle School teacher and the wife of a one-time school board candidate, pleaded guilty in September to 29 counts of lewd conduct. She received the maximum sentence and must register as a sex offender.

A Santa Ana woman has been found dead inside her overturned SUV in Santiago Creek, officials said Tuesday. Lucia Arreola, 47, was found about 6:10 p.m. Monday by a California Highway Patrol helicopter pilot who discovered her vehicle off Santiago Canyon Road at the Santiago Creek bridge, officials said. It was unknown when the crash occurred or how long the vehicle had been in the creek bed, officials said.

For Tom Hall, 77, the disillusionment came during the 1970s when the Mormon Church wouldn't allow blacks to become priests. Carma Naylor, 64, says she began doubting the religion in which she had been raised after debating the meaning of the Bible with a Jewish friend who had been born again.

The lights have dimmed for good at the Century Cinedome in Orange, a 30-year-old complex of domed movie theaters where several generations of filmgoers viewed everything from "True Grit" to "Halloween: H20." Unable to compete with the growing number of multiscreen cinemas in the area, the theater quietly closed its doors in early January. According to Century Theatres employee Andrew Poulain, the theater complex, on West Chapman near the Santa Ana Freeway, will be demolished in early February.

Hours after agreeing to pay $100 million and make public secret files of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange, Bishop Tod D. Brown on Monday knelt in prayer for the victims of sexual abuse by priests. "We have done this in the larger hope of reconciliation and healing," Brown told about 100 worshipers at Holy Family Cathedral in Orange. "We hope that our actions can restore the trust that many have lost in the leaders of the church."

A 91-year-old Orange woman remained in critical condition Tuesday after losing her arms to an attacking pit bull that had frightened the neighborhood for more than a year. The victim, Ruby Sharum, was feeding her great-grandson's dog, Zion, on Friday when the dog attacked her, mauling both arms beyond repair, Orange police said. The dog has been euthanized. Neighbors said they were not surprised by the attack because Zion had turned on Sharum in the past.

In Old Towne Orange -- a mile-square district established during the citrus boom of the late 19th century -- reverence for the past is part of daily business. At the center is Plaza Square, where cars whip around the Victorian-era fountain and garden in a traffic circle once trod by horses and buggies. Around the plaza, old-fashioned soda fountains, barber shops and historic buildings mix with trendy fashion retailers and wine-tasting salons.

Don Chew leaned in close, crinkled his nose and offered a Cheshire smile that threatened to envelop his face. Yes, he said, he is well aware that his grand dream -- a foreign man pioneering badminton, a foreign sport, in a foreign land -- has been preposterous from the start. But, he said, here's the thing: "It's all coming true." Chew's American tale has its roots in his native Thailand. It incorporates faces from Laos, Vietnam, China, Malaysia and Indonesia.

St. Joseph Hospital in Orange is under state investigation for mistakenly doing knee-repair surgery on a patient's good knee, the third "wrong-site" procedure to occur at Orange County's largest hospital since January 2006. The Feb. 15 operation was intended to repair a patient's left knee but was "inadvertently performed on the right knee," according to a statement released by the hospital in response to questions from The Times.

A man has been arrested in a hit-and-run accident in Orange that left a 13-year-old skateboarder hospitalized with critical head injuries and broken legs, police said. Roberto Quintanilla, 28, of Anaheim was booked Wednesday on one count of felony hit and run and was being held today on $250,000 bail, said Sgt. Dan Adams of the Orange Police Department. The teenager was skateboarding in a marked crosswalk near a school at the intersection of Spring and Virage streets about 5:10 p.m.

Seventy-five animals seized from a Santa Ana pet shop last month will be available for adoption Saturday, officials announced. Fifty puppies, six kittens, 18 rabbits and a guinea pig were taken from Village Pets near South Coast Plaza after authorities found them in 101-degree temperatures with unclean water. The shop's owner, cited for operating the shop in substandard conditions, blamed the problems on a misunderstanding. The adoption is scheduled from 10 a.m.

A mother of three was charged Wednesday with attempting to set her husband and children afire as they slept. Hyang Lee, 39, is accused of placing the three children, ages 2 to 9, in bed with her sleeping husband in the early hours of Feb. 26, dousing them with lighter fluid and lighting a rolled piece of paper using a long barbecue lighter with the intention of setting them afire. Her husband awoke and struggled with her until he was able to douse the fire, authorities said.

As they often do, things turned heated awhile back in Orange Park Acres when the local church proposed doubling the size of its school, raising the ire of residents concerned about overdevelopment and increased traffic in the bucolic equestrian community. "Stop the Salem School Expansion!" declared signs on street corners. Residents walked petitions throughout the community. Hundreds of neighbors on both sides of the issue packed Orange City Hall for a hearing.

An ongoing dispute over a broken screen door led to Sunday's shooting spree in an Orange mobile home park that left two people dead and three others wounded, authorities said Monday. Joel Stanley Martin, 66, armed with a .22-caliber rifle, broke into his neighbor's home about 5 p.m. and shot two women, killing one, police said.

A teacher at a Roman Catholic high school in south Orange County was placed on leave this week after unspecified concerns were raised about student trips to Europe that he led. The principal of Santa Margarita Catholic High School in Rancho Santa Margarita also was suspended for failure to disclose the allegations to the diocese, church officials said.

A 27-year-old Pomona man died Saturday when the motorcycle he was riding went down in the Orange Crush freeway interchange. Authorities did not release his name. The 10 a.m. accident occurred in the transition lanes of the southbound Orange Freeway to the westbound Garden Grove Freeway, a California Highway Patrol spokesman said. No other vehicles were involved, he said.