Parades

After Jaycee Lee Dugard was abducted and went missing for 18 years, Meghan Dorris, an elementary school classmate, went to college and traveled the world: Egypt, Costa Rica, Spain, Japan, Jordan. Two years ago, Dorris returned home. She remains close to high school friends, attends their weddings and keeps tabs on their growing families. "I just wonder what Jaycee would have done," Dorris, 28, said Sunday as she walked through town, a crisp breeze rustling aspens, sun sparkling on the cerulean lake.

Super Bowl hero Eli Manning acted like a quarterback Monday when it came time for his "I'm going to Disneyland!" moment: He passed. The New York Giants star was a no-show for a scheduled celebratory parade on Disneyland's Main Street, even though he shouted the familiar catchphrase on television Sunday night moments after his team's 17-14 victory over the favored New England Patriots.

Four firefighters who are suing the city were humiliated by taunts and sexual gestures from parade watchers after being forced to participate in last year's gay pride parade, their attorney told jurors Tuesday. "For three hours, it was a very unpleasant experience," Charles LiMandri said during his opening statement as the firefighters, in uniform, watched from front-row seats.

A judge declared a mistrial Monday in the case of four San Diego firefighters who alleged that they were sexually harassed during the 2007 gay pride parade. Jurors deliberated for four days before telling San Diego County Superior Court Judge Michael Anello that they were unable to reach a verdict. One juror told reporters that the jury was split 8 to 4 in favor of the firefighters, one vote short of the nine needed to decide a civil case.

As hard as it might be to believe, there was a time when some people didn't care for the Martin Luther King Jr. Kingdom Day Parade in South Los Angeles. Organizers lobbied hard to persuade people to even ride in the first one in 1986. Tom Bradley, Los Angeles' black mayor, didn't take part for its first six years. And some questioned whether the celebration was an appropriate tribute to the slain civil rights leader.

Some boogied, sang or cheered in the streets. Some lounged on lawn chairs or waved from their home balconies. Some quietly rocked on porches, baby on knee. In all, an estimated 120,000 people turned out for the 22nd annual Martin Luther King Jr. Kingdom Day parade Monday morning in South Los Angeles, the largest in Southern California celebrating the life of the slain civil rights leader. The parade, which traveled a 1.5-mile route headed west from Western Avenue down West Martin Luther King Jr.

The city of Los Angeles will mark St. Patrick's Day on Friday with a Main Street parade from El Pueblo Historic Monument to Pershing Square, where there will be free food and festivities afterward. Except for 9 a.m. in the assembly area, street closures start by 10:45 a.m. Friday. * Sources: Los Angeles Department of Transportation, Times reporting

Maybe next year they should hold the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Los Angeles' Little Dublin district. Except the city has no such Irish enclave -- which could explain the leprechaun-size turnout for the day-early St. Patrick's Day celebration Friday between Olvera Street and Pershing Square. Relatively few onlookers were along the nine-block parade route as bagpipers, school bands and vintage police cars and firetrucks made their way along an empty Main Street.

With gold- and orange-fringed parade floats and the sound of harmoniums playing traditional hymns, more than 10,000 members of the Sikh community paraded through downtown Los Angeles on Sunday. Many participants wore traditional Sikh turbans as they celebrated Baisakhi, a harvest holiday that commemorates a key moment in the development of the religion. On the minds of many were recent hate crimes, made all the worse as they were apparently provoked by mistaken identity. "People don't know.

Gov. Deval Patrick became the state's first sitting governor to march in Boston's gay pride parade, just days before state lawmakers were expected to vote on a ballot question that could ban same-sex marriage. The Democrat, who walked with Mayor Thomas Menino, said he wanted to keep Massachusetts a state where same-sex couples could marry. Patrick said the 2003 court decision that paved the way for same-sex marriage "affirmed the principle that everyone comes before the court as equals."