Rabbits

Security at Denver International Airport aims to protect cars from vandalism and theft, but there's a new threat at the its expansive parking lot. Ravenous rabbits. Officials say the animals are causing hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars in damage to cars by devouring the wires under the hood. Officials with the U.S. Agriculture Department's Wildlife Services in the Denver area are removing at least 100 rabbits every month, but the problem persists. The airport is surrounded by prairie, and the rabbits are seeking warmth and food in the parked vehicles.

Disney's frenetic live-action/animated comedy "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" was the second-highest-grossing film of 1988, earning more than $156 million. The comedy won three Academy Awards and transformed its lead, British actor Bob Hoskins, into a bona fide Hollywood star. But more importantly, the film marked the first time beloved animated characters from rival studios - such as Disney's Mickey Mouse and Warner Bros.' Bugs Bunny - appeared together. The traditionally hand-drawn animated film heralded a renewed appreciation of the Golden Age of animation and spawned the modern-era of animation, especially at Disney.

The Easter bunnies are out in force at Long Beach City College. And not in a good way. The college's liberal arts campus, with its large grassy areas, has historically been a dumping ground for people who no longer want their pet rabbits. School officials, saying that they have had enough, are starting a campaign to reduce the number of the furry creatures on campus. But not in a bad way. By the last count, taken several months ago, well over 300 rabbits were on the grounds, digging holes and chewing their way through thousands of dollars' worth of landscaping.

Security at Denver International Airport aims to protect cars from vandalism and theft, but there's a new threat at the its expansive parking lot. Ravenous rabbits. Officials say the animals are causing hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars in damage to cars by devouring the wires under the hood. Officials with the U.S. Agriculture Department's Wildlife Services in the Denver area are removing at least 100 rabbits every month, but the problem persists. The airport is surrounded by prairie, and the rabbits are seeking warmth and food in the parked vehicles.

They were described as "cute little critters" that bring happiness and solace to residents. They were lauded for their playfulness and for being part of the reason some people had moved into the neighborhood. The speakers at the microphone weren't talking about the members of the Seal Beach City Council, although the council members appeared to be fine fellows and four of the five were wearing colorful Hawaiian shirts. The speakers were talking about the rabbits.

Regarding "A Shot for Freedom?" [June 28]: How sad that the writer feels the best way to celebrate Independence Day is to pick up a weapon and kill something. Marge Hackett Ojai Thanks for the story on the upcoming rabbit season. The rabbits are plentiful this year, and many hunters will be enjoying this simple pleasure. Peter Balwan Glendale

[ SYLVILAGUS BACHMANI ] In the late afternoon, about the time bats begin to flit about in the deepening dusk, brush rabbits sally forth from hide-outs located deep in the chaparral of California's coastal mountains and Sierra Nevada foothills. Along trails or meadow edges these small rabbits may be extremely abundant, especially in mid-summer when litters of three to six young venture out for the first time.

Ferrets have been brought in to clear a cemetery near Salisbury in southern England of a colony of rabbits that burrow under the tombstones and eat mourners' floral wreaths, officials said.

South African authorities are closing Robben Island for two weeks in November to try to get rid of thousands of rabbits that have overrun the island where Nelson Mandela spent 18 years in prison. Robben Island Museum officials said there is no alternative but to implement a "humane culling program" with local animal welfare groups.

The article "Senior Citizens Decry Poisoning of Rabbits," (Oct. 20) makes it sound as if most of the Leisure World residents are in favor of the cottontail rabbits that infest our community. However, 300 petitions represent less than 2% of our population. It's another example of the vocal minority getting all the attention. Several months ago we were literally overrun by rabbits. On one particular lawn you could count four of them every evening. There were another three around and about my house.

Actress Elizabeth Banks, notable last year in "The Hunger Games," "What to Expect When You're Expecting" and "People Like Us," is on tap to help celebrate the launch of the limited-edition BabyGap Peter Rabbit Collection at The Grove on Saturday. Banks is slated to do a reading of "The Further Tale of Peter Rabbit," Emma Thompson's sequel to the Beatrix Potter classic. The event is scheduled from noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday at the Gap at The Grove, 189 The Grove Drive, Los Angeles.

Lucille Bliss, who provided the voice of the cartoon character Crusader Rabbit in the early days of television and gained recognition a generation later as the voice of Smurfette in the 1980s television hit "The Smurfs," has died. She was 96. Bliss died Nov. 8 from natural causes at an assisted living center in Costa Mesa, according to the Orange County coroner. Bliss parlayed a childhood love of radio theater into a career as an animation voice actress that stretched more than 60 years.

War is hell on mothers. That's the impassioned intel from “Year of the Rabbit,” Keliher Walsh's wrenching, lyrical roundelay of nurture and destruction, being given its world premiere by Ensemble Studio Theatre Los Angeles at the Atwater Village Theatre. On Hana S. Kim's minimalist set, a thicket of bamboo poles slash the stage, evoking the jungles of Vietnam, the Persian Gulf and Washington, D.C., flashpoints of America's anxious imperialism. In the late 1960s, JC (Meshach Taylor)

Adults know veteran actress Emma Thompson for her Oscar-winning performance in "Howards End" and other grown-up film fare, but their kids may be more familiar with her as "Nanny McPhee" or Professor Sybill Trelawney in "Harry Potter" or the voice of Queen Elinor in "Brave. " This fall, the 53-year-old actress hopes to reach an even younger audience with her picture-book debut, "The Further Tale of Peter Rabbit," which takes the impish, ever-nibbling bunny beyond Mr. McGregor's garden and into the Scottish countryside for an adventure involving an overgrown radish and a giant, kilt-wearing rabbit.

In big cities, altering zoning regulations is like trying to change the official language. But in the town of North Haven, Conn., a rabbit has managed to, um, jumpstart the process in remarkable time. Late last month,  Sandy, a Flemish Giant rabbit weighing in at 20 pounds -- not an atypical girth for this breed -- and owner Joshua Lidsky and family were sent a letter from a zoning officer informing them that rabbits and livestock could not be kept on property, such as theirs, that measured less than two acres.  But what started as a local dust-up between a local resident and town officials turned into a viral tale of furry heartbreak, with TV news footage of the languid lapin being cuddled by Lidsky's doting 7-year-old daughter, Kayden, going national and the North Haven Town Hall barraged with calls and emails in support of the rabbit.

Successful, micro-targeted neighborhood music festivals have been proliferating — including Make Music Pasadena, the Eagle Rock Music Festival, Venice's Abbott Kinney Music Festival and Echo Park's Culture Collide — and now we can now add "The Nice Stretch of West Hollywood That's West of Fairfax Avenue but East of the Sunset Strip Festival. " Sunday's festival is actually called the Hudson Block Party, and for a second year the classy-casual bar and restaurant that throws it has booked an unexpectedly buzzy bill of local and national acts, including White Rabbits, LP and Haim.

Thank you for writing about Dutch rabbits (Pets, April 7). They are truly a joy! We have a steel gray male for a pet. He adds a lot of joy and happiness to our lives. As a matter of fact, we named him Sunshine (Sunny for short) because of the sunshine he adds. As far as I know, however, Dutch rabbits do not have white tails, as indicated in your drawing. I believe that a well-marked Dutch rabbit should have a tail of the dark color. Please tell me if I'm correct in this assumption.

A Granada Hills man was sentenced Thursday to 20 days of community service and two years probation for killing four rabbits in Sepulveda Dam Wildlife Refuge, and his companion was sentenced to one year on probation and a $150 fine for trespassing, authorities said. Van Nuys Municipal Judge Alan Ellis ordered 20-year-old Karen Akopyan to work on a Caltrans cleanup crew after Akopyan pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor charges, said Don Cocek, the deputy city attorney who prosecuted the case.

Herman Cain, who at one point was in the lead of the Republican presidential primary, has been trying to land back in the spotlight since dropping out of the race in December. His latest venture, Sick of Stimulus, intended to bring attention to the alleged wasteful excess of President Obama's stimulus packages. Instead, by showing a rabbit being shot out of the air, it ended up attracting the attention ofYouTube's moderators. Sick of Stimulus' ad, simply titled " Rabbit ," puts America's small businesses in the titular role, right before a girl places the rabbit into a catapult and launches it into the air, where it's soon shot to bits.

Presidents Day 2012 is a day to officially remember our first president , George Washington - cherry tree lore and all. But while we're at it, let's take a look at the lore of a few other American leaders. There's plenty to be found. President Reagan will always be remembered for reaching   an arms-reduction treaty with the Soviet Union and for helping to make it possible for Mikhail Gorbachev to begin restructuring Soviet society. But his unintentionally funny lines are also memorable.