Orange County

The Trinity Broadcasting Network, which bills itself as the world's largest Christian network, is embroiled in a legal battle involving allegations of massive financial fraud and lavish spending, including the purchase of a $100,000 motor home for family dogs. Brittany Koper, a former high-ranking TBN official and the granddaughter of its co-founder, Paul Crouch Sr., was fired by the network in September after discovering "illegal financial schemes" amounting to tens of millions of dollars, according to a lawsuit filed in Orange County Superior Court.

Deborah Pauly, the outspoken Villa Park councilwoman who drew community ire when she protested outside an Islamic charity event, was removed this week from a leadership position with the Orange County Republican Party's central committee. Party officials said Pauly, who is running for county supervisor, has been a divisive figure. Her removal comes a month after Orange businessman Bob Walters mailed out letters supporting Pauly's candidacy on a "George Wallace for President" letterhead.

Marc Christian MacGinnis, who won a multimillion-dollar settlement in 1991 from the estate of his ex-lover, actor Rock Hudson, after convincing a jury Hudson had knowingly exposed him to AIDS, has died. He was 56. Known as Marc Christian, he died of pulmonary problems June 2 at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank. The details were confirmed Friday by his sister, Susan Dahl, who said she did not publicly announce his death earlier because of her brother's wish for privacy.

As cities and schools across California celebrated the 82nd birthday of slain gay rights activist Harvey Milk, Orange County elected leaders remained steadfastly silent. Activists, for the second year, asked Orange County supervisors Tuesday to recognize Milk's birthday with a proclamation, but the board declined the opportunity, as it did last year. One of the supervisors, Janet Nguyen, walked from the board room shortly after the activists began their presentation. Last year, Nguyen also left the meeting as the activists spoke.

David Joyce marched his way to the front of the U.S. immigration line using his pocketbook, sinking half a million dollars into a Vermont ski resort. The British citizen had spent years in a futile effort to secure green cards for himself, his wife and their 9-year-old son so they could relocate to sunny Florida. Then, a fellow emigre tipped him off to a little-known federal program that helps foreigners gain permanent U.S. residency by investing in American businesses. Graphic: Number of investors' visas to U.S. "In six months, we had our green cards," said Joyce, 51. "Considering everything we've been through, this was easy.

Raul Rambo is not in the mental health profession, but there are days -- many of them -- when it sure feels like it. Rambo sells tile. It is not an easy job. At Tile Expo, along Anaheim's stretch of State College Boulevard dubbed the Tile Mile, weighty decisions are made every day. A wrong choice could lead to misery and cost thousands of dollars. Families could be stuck with a hideous hue for decades.

Healthcare without insurance is like construction without power tools. It can be done, but it will take longer and require a lot more effort. And at times you'll feel like you're hammering your thumb. "Preventive care is one of the most difficult areas," said John Kim, head of the nonprofit Healthy City project, which has amassed data on medical and social resources in the Los Angeles area. "By the time you get care for the condition you're trying to prevent, you might already have it."

Orange County officials illegally diverted $73.5 million from local schools and colleges and used the money to balance their budget and cover day-to-day expenses, state officials alleged in a lawsuit filed Thursday. The lawsuit, filed in Orange County Superior Court, contends that it was unconstitutional for the county to grab the funds, which should be spent on cash-strapped local schools and state community colleges. The money fight erupted last year, when Orange County lost $48 million in vehicle license fees and redirected tax funds to the county that were supposed to go to schools.

DNA technology has helped link a Washington state man to the slaying of his estranged wife 25 years ago in Orange County, prosecutors said Thursday. William Gregory Mordick, 62, of Spokane is scheduled to be arraigned today on a count of murder with the special circumstance of murder for financial gain. If convicted, he faces life without the possibility of parole. Mordick is accused of driving to the Anaheim Hills home of his estranged wife, Katherine, on Jan. 22, 1983, and slashing her throat.

This orchard used to be the stuff Orange County was made of. Back in the heyday of the region's citrus production, this five-acre parcel of orange trees in Santa Ana was no aberration. Indeed, at one point, the county boasted more than 67,000 acres of orange groves. Pushed by urban development over the years, the county's groves have been whittled down to scant plots of land, with perhaps fewer than 80 acres left. The Sexlinger Orchard, which borders a park and sits across Santa Clara Avenue from a cemetery, has managed to remain untouched.

Hours after accused serial killer Itzcoatl Ocampo allegedly stabbed a homeless man to death in an Anaheim parking lot, he was interviewed by a veteran detective. When Ocampo was asked what sort of consequences he deserved, the 23-year-old answered without hesitation: the death penalty - lethal injection - or "whatever is quickest," the detective, Daron Wyatt, later told a grand jury panel. On Monday, Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas said his office had come to the same conclusion and announced that he would seek the death penalty against the former Marine.

Tom Fuentes, whose forceful leadership of the Orange County Republican Party confirmed it as an epicenter of GOP fundraising and political clout, has died. He was 63. Fuentes died late Friday at his home in Lake Forest, family spokeswoman Kathy Tavoularis said. He had liver cancer that had spread to his lungs and lymph system. Fuentes, chairman of the Republican Party of Orange County from 1985 to 2004, helped the party maintain its powerhouse status while boosting several candidates to victory.

A Newport Beach woman who arranged for a former NFL player to kill her wealthy boyfriend in a 1994 plot to collect $1 million in insurance money was sentenced Friday to life in prison. But sentencing for onetime New England Patriot linebacker Eric Naposki was continued to Aug. 10 after he refused to leave his courthouse holding cell. The prosecutor called Naposki's actions "a final blaze of no class and cowardice" by the man who fired six gunshots into the chest of Bill McLaughlin, who died in his Balboa Coves home.

INDIO, Calif. - In one corner stands a music promoter that made its mark in L.A.'s punk scene, throwing gritty events at warehouses and velodromes, giving voice to songs like "Beat Me Senseless" and "I Kill Children" before birthing an annual desert bacchanal that might be the world's most successful music festival. In the other corner is the master-planned community that put the O.C. in Orange County, where safety, schooling and temperance are hallmarks and a homeowners association can overrule one's choice of house paint.

The mother of a mentally ill homeless man who died after he was beaten by Fullerton police has reached a settlement with the city that will pay her $1 million, officials announced Tuesday evening. The agreement unanimously approved by the Fullerton City Council resolves Cathy Thomas' legal claims against the city involving the death of Kelly Thomas, 37. He died July 10, five days after his violent confrontation with Fullerton Police Department officers. Thomas reached the settlement after voluntary mediation with her attorney, city officials said.

The political mailer that arrived recently in Orange County mailboxes seemed from a different era, embossed with a tiny portrait of former Alabama Gov. George Wallace's face and the campaign slogan "Wallace for President, Stand up for America. " But the letter contained no direct mention of the fiery Southern politician, who gained a national reputation as a segregationist during the civil rights era, mounted four failed presidential campaigns and died in 1998. Instead, it was a plea to American Independent Party members to elect Villa Park Councilwoman Deborah Pauly to a seat on the Orange County Board of Supervisors.

When Reed Royalty endorsed Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen's reelection campaign last month, he praised her for seeking to reduce pension benefits for sheriff's deputies "that may be unconstitutional." It was a logical comment for Royalty, an advocate of low taxes and limited government who is president of the Orange County Taxpayers Assn.

A magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded near Newport Beach on Thursday evening. The temblor struck at 9:28 p.m. at an underground depth of 4.7 miles. The earthquake's force was recorded as far away as the Los Angeles Civic Center, 36 miles away. -- -- David Pierson

With an Amtrak Pacific Surfliner crossing over the new Trestles bridge on Monday morning, local transportation officials marked the completion of a multimillion-dollar project to replace the storied, but worn-down, wooden structure that has served as the gateway to a San Diego County beach regarded as a birthplace of Southern California's surf culture. The original Trestles, built in 1941, was an 858-foot stretch of wooden post-and-beam bridge. Although it remained strong, with more than 40 passenger and freight trains crossing per day, the trains were required to slow down to reduce vibration and wear and tear.

What an appealing slice-of-life California town, an easy day trip by car or train. Come for the history, stay for the food. This restaurant-intensive ranch town is the oldest community in Orange County. If San Juan Capistrano - or SJC - had a dating profile it would say: "Self-deprecating, authentic, still likes a good time. " The bed. Choices here are limited, though a new hotel is on the way. Till then, you have the Residence Inn Marriott, with one- and two-bedroom suites starting at $179 (33711 Camino Capistrano; [949]