Peter Smith

SANTA FE, N.M. - Peter Smith steered his silver Chevy TrailBlazer down a rough dirt road, rolling to a stop at the edge of a dry, sandy wash called the Gallina Arroyo. "Here's the scene of the crime," he said. Two years ago, Smith cleaned out and graded a few hundred yards of the arroyo that winds through the 20-acre tract he and his wife, Francoise, own in the hills south of Santa Fe, not suspecting that he might be committing a federal offense. But in June 2011, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sent a letter informing him that by failing to obtain a permit before blading the bed of the arroyo with his tractor, he had violated the Clean Water Act. The corps issued a warning but did not impose fines or penalties.

The highest-ranking American at UNESCO has resigned before an audit of contracts that his office awarded. Peter Smith, former president of Cal State Monterey Bay, said opponents had thwarted his reform drive and even threatened to kill him. He joined the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in 2005 and was assistant director general for education.

The highest-ranking American at UNESCO has resigned before an audit of contracts that his office awarded. Peter Smith, former president of Cal State Monterey Bay, said opponents had thwarted his reform drive and even threatened to kill him. He joined the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in 2005 and was assistant director general for education.

The Pepperdine men's tennis team, which is ranked No. 4 in the nation, will find out today where it will open play in the NCAA championships on Friday. The second round is Sunday. The Waves (23-2) have defeated No. 2 UCLA, No. 6 Duke, No. 13 Texas Christian and No. 15 Texas this season, but have lost on the road to No. 1 Stanford and No. 9 Texas A&M. "We have proven during the course of the season that we are deserving of a top 5 national ranking," Coach Peter Smith said.

Peter Smith, the Pepperdine men's tennis coach for the last five years, has been named to the same position at USC. Smith, 37, replaces Dick Leach, who retired as the Trojans' coach last week after 23 seasons, his final one capped by the national championship USC won 11 days ago. "It's a challenge," Smith said. "But it's momentum too. The ball is rolling, with that incredible title.

SANTA FE, N.M. - Peter Smith steered his silver Chevy TrailBlazer down a rough dirt road, rolling to a stop at the edge of a dry, sandy wash called the Gallina Arroyo. "Here's the scene of the crime," he said. Two years ago, Smith cleaned out and graded a few hundred yards of the arroyo that winds through the 20-acre tract he and his wife, Francoise, own in the hills south of Santa Fe, not suspecting that he might be committing a federal offense. But in June 2011, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sent a letter informing him that by failing to obtain a permit before blading the bed of the arroyo with his tractor, he had violated the Clean Water Act. The corps issued a warning but did not impose fines or penalties.

How not to come off as a second-rate Raymond Chandler is a problem that afflicts every contemporary writer of hard-boiled fiction. Peter Moore Smith solves it by copping to it -- "Los Angeles," his second novel (after "Raveling"), can be described as a postmodern mystery of the highest order and, at the same time, an unabashed homage to the noir genre. The voice we hear in "Los Angeles" belongs to Angel, an aspiring but so-far-failed screenwriter.

Re-warmed brat pack Angst . Ennui, drugs and alienation abound in yet another chronicle of life among the well-to-do but loveless kids of the Eastern Seaboard. Peter Smith's pedestrian novel takes the form of an internal monologue--a polluted stream of consciousness that is too derivative to be interesting, but not quite terrible enough to be funny.

As surely as 1776 is the date of the Declaration of Independence, or 1850 is the year California joined the Union, so 1981 is the best year there has ever been for gardening books written by Americans. I don't mean there was a record number of them that year. (There seems to be a record number every year.) I mean that two books of extraordinary quality were published. Eleanor Perenyi brought out "Green Thoughts." Henry Mitchell published "The Essential Earthman." Not forgetting Katharine White, Roger Swain and many another fine gardening writers, these two are about the best we have.

How not to come off as a second-rate Raymond Chandler is a problem that afflicts every contemporary writer of hard-boiled fiction. Peter Moore Smith solves it by copping to it -- "Los Angeles," his second novel (after "Raveling"), can be described as a postmodern mystery of the highest order and, at the same time, an unabashed homage to the noir genre. The voice we hear in "Los Angeles" belongs to Angel, an aspiring but so-far-failed screenwriter.

Peter Smith, the Pepperdine men's tennis coach for the last five years, has been named to the same position at USC. Smith, 37, replaces Dick Leach, who retired as the Trojans' coach last week after 23 seasons, his final one capped by the national championship USC won 11 days ago. "It's a challenge," Smith said. "But it's momentum too. The ball is rolling, with that incredible title.

The Pepperdine men's tennis team, which is ranked No. 4 in the nation, will find out today where it will open play in the NCAA championships on Friday. The second round is Sunday. The Waves (23-2) have defeated No. 2 UCLA, No. 6 Duke, No. 13 Texas Christian and No. 15 Texas this season, but have lost on the road to No. 1 Stanford and No. 9 Texas A&M. "We have proven during the course of the season that we are deserving of a top 5 national ranking," Coach Peter Smith said.

As surely as 1776 is the date of the Declaration of Independence, or 1850 is the year California joined the Union, so 1981 is the best year there has ever been for gardening books written by Americans. I don't mean there was a record number of them that year. (There seems to be a record number every year.) I mean that two books of extraordinary quality were published. Eleanor Perenyi brought out "Green Thoughts." Henry Mitchell published "The Essential Earthman." Not forgetting Katharine White, Roger Swain and many another fine gardening writers, these two are about the best we have.

Re-warmed brat pack Angst . Ennui, drugs and alienation abound in yet another chronicle of life among the well-to-do but loveless kids of the Eastern Seaboard. Peter Smith's pedestrian novel takes the form of an internal monologue--a polluted stream of consciousness that is too derivative to be interesting, but not quite terrible enough to be funny.

I'd like to ask Jonathan Gold's permission to enjoy Metallica's "soul music," since I'm black. PETER SMITH Los Angeles

The UC Irvine men's tennis team was swept, 9-0, by Cal State Long Beach Friday afternoon at Long Beach. No. 1 singles player Richard Bergh defeated Bruce Man Son Hing, 6-3, 6-4. Peter Smith, the no. 2 player for the 49ers (5-2) Peter Smith, defeated Ken Derr, 6-2, 6-0. In women's action: UC Irvine 8, Brigham Young 1--The Anteaters lost to the 14th-ranked Cougars in the first round of the BYU Invitational in Utah. Uma Rao defeated Jennifer Stoker 6-4, 6-3 for UCI's only win.