Rehabilitation

Asthma sufferers have long relied on inhalers for relief from wheezing or coughing attacks. But as of Dec. 31, Primatene Mist -- the only available over-the-counter asthma inhaler -- was taken off shelves because of its adverse effect on the environment. Other inhalers are available, but these require a doctor's prescription. Some people with asthma aren't happy about the change, but lung doctors and asthma specialists agree that Primatene Mist wasn't the best option for patients anyway.

Paralyzed by a spinal cord injury in 1986, real estate developer Rogers Severson sought out a leading rehabilitation facility after doctors told the former college athlete he'd never walk again. Six months later, he walked out of Casa Colina Center for Rehabilitation in Pomona with the aid of a cane and the realization that he possessed what most patients there did not: excellent insurance and the personal means to pay for top-flight care. He vowed to help change that. Almost a year to the day after he was thrown from a mule, breaking two vertebrae, Severson stood before those gathered at a fundraising luncheon to benefit the charity he'd founded, the Spinal Cord Injury Special Fund.

PHOENIX — As hockey fever grips Los Angeles, Dodgers President Stan Kasten said he plans to explore whether the Kings could play in an NHL Winter Classic game at Dodger Stadium. "Facility-wise, we could certainly handle it," Kasten said. The NHL has yet to award its New Year's Day showcase to a warm-weather city. The Dodgers could offer baseball's largest stadium and the iconic backdrop of the San Gabriel Mountains. Kasten, former president of the NHL Atlanta Thrashers, said technology would allow ice to remain playable for an outdoor hockey game at Dodger Stadium but said he was unsure if the league would be interested.

Angels slugger Mark Trumbo, slowed all winter by a stress fracture in his right foot , will undergo a CAT scan on Feb. 28, after which he hopes to be cleared to run. Trumbo, who reported to camp with pitchers and catchers on Sunday, was diagnosed with the injury in the final week of 2011, a season in which he led the Angels with 29 home runs and 87 runs batted in. An expected five-month recovery delayed Trumbo's transition to...

Brian DeVries, the first violent sexual offender to graduate from a state treatment program, was granted unconditional release Monday after a judge ruled that surgical castration and seven years of intensive psychiatric treatment qualified the former predator to live free and unsupervised. DeVries, 45, wore a wide grin as a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge formally ended DeVries' regimen of mental health counseling, supervised living and tracking by global positioning satellite.

It was 9:15 on the night of May 27, and Cara Vanni was chatting with a friend on the phone, just like any number of San Clemente teen-agers. Suddenly the line went dead. A minute later, strangers appeared in her bedroom doorway. "My parents brought these three people into my room," Cara, 16, recalled. "At first I thought they were old friends of the family who were about to say they knew me when I was 4. They weren't."

Most employers would balk at hiring newly sober workers or those still battling drug or alcohol abuse. Not Jon Esformes, owner of Westwood Country Market and Cafe in Los Angeles. Esformes opened the business 14 months ago, serving brioche French toast, house-made granola, grilled panini and chopped salads to neighborhood families and businesspeople. He welcomes job candidates at various stages of recovery -- as long as they are qualified, willing and able to perform the work.

You don't have to be soft on crime to believe in the rehabilitation of criminals. But a federal judge who tried to ensure that a convicted defendant would participate in a drug rehabilitation program had his wrist slapped last week by the Supreme Court. The ruling was a faithful application of federal law, but it should motivate Congress to rethink its approach to incarceration. After a federal jury convicted Alejandra Tapia of smuggling illegal immigrants across the U.S-Mexico border, U.S. District Judge Barry T. Moskowitz sentenced her to more years in prison than called for under federal sentencing guidelines.

Michael Beasley said that an off-season stay in a rehabilitation facility was his "lowest hour," denied that he has a substance-abuse problem and apologized Friday to the Miami Heat organization. Beasley would not reveal any details of the treatment he received in Houston, other than acknowledging that he became "pretty upset" upon learning his stay would be considerably longer than first planned. That anger, he said, sparked a wave of troubling messages posted on his now-closed Twitter feed.

Oscar De La Hoya, who moved from Olympic boxing gold medalist and world champion to become the face of his own promotional company in the sport, has checked himself into a rehabilitation facility, TMZ reports. De La Hoya, 38, was in an undisclosed substance abuse facility in California, according to the website. Several of his associates at Los Angeles-based Golden Boy Promotions either declined to comment or did not return messages seeking more information about De La Hoya's treatment.

Dr. Jerome S. Tobis, a former professor and founding chairman of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at UC Irvine whose long career included a number of precedent-setting studies on physical therapy, cardiac rehabilitation and other subjects, has died. He was 96. Tobis, who was diagnosed with stomach cancer in July, died Feb. 3 at his home in Corona del Mar, said his daughter, Heather Tobis Booth. As an emeritus research professor at UCI since 1986, Tobis continued teaching residents and medical students until last summer.

Reporting from Pebble Beach — Tiger Woods, wearing a windbreaker and answering questions both humorously and seriously, spoke nearly 1,540 words of insight about his own game and that of his amateur playing partner this week at the AT&T National Pro-Am, Dallas quarterback Tony Romo. Woods, who finished first in his last tournament of 2011, his own event at the Chevron World Challenge at Sherwood Country Club, and third two weeks ago at a European Tour event in Abu Dhabi, makes his 2012 PGA Tour debut Thursday at Pebble Beach.

Peyton Manning has been medically cleared by two doctors, including the one who performed his neck fusion surgery, to resume his NFL career, unnamed people told ESPN. The people said the Indianapolis Colts quarterback was seen recently in Los Angeles by Dr. Robert Watkins , who determined the stability in Manning's neck would have allowed the NFL's only four-time most valuable player to play if he had a game this Sunday. But arm strength is apparently the issue because his ability to play depends on the nerves in Manning's arm regenerating to a satisfactory performance level.

Mark Trumbo said Wednesday that the stress fracture in his right foot will take about five months to heal, a timetable that will push the Angels slugger's rehabilitation to the start of spring training in late February. When Trumbo was diagnosed with the injury in late September, he said he hoped to resume baseball activities by mid-November. But after being examined Nov. 11 by Dr. Philip Kwong, a foot-and-ankle specialist, Trumbo was told to rest the foot for at least another month.

The gig: A 95-year-old sailor, inventor and entrepreneur, Stanley A. Dashew is probably best known for his invention of credit card embossing and imprinting machines in the 1950s that helped give birth to the plastic credit card industry. He has also invented other devices in such fields as shipping, mining and marine recreation. He personally holds 14 U.S. patents. Dashew and his late wife, Rita, were world travelers who supported efforts to strengthen international ties and promote peace.

Dear Liz: I'm 27 and have been working hard for the last few years to bring up my FICO credit score. I've paid off all my credit card debt and disputed errors on my credit report. I'd like to purchase a home in the next few years and am trying to get my score over 700 (I am currently at 615). I have three credit cards that I regularly use and pay off. Do you have any suggestions on how I can continue to bring up my credit score? Should I take out a personal loan? Should I apply for another credit card?

Federal funding for the $27.4-million rehabilitation of the historic Colorado Street Bridge in Pasadena has been restored. The Federal Highway Administration notified city officials Tuesday that the $20.2 million withheld because of concern over cost increases would be restored. The project had been estimated to cost $15.8 million, but hand-cast concrete work caused the budget to skyrocket. The money was freed after Pasadena-area members of Congress and Gov.

Jerry Robinson, the Raider linebacker arrested for possession of cocaine, said Thursday that he has become involved in an alcoholism rehabilitation program. "I did it for my own good," Robinson said, as he and the other veterans reported to camp. "I had to sit down and take a hard look at myself. I realize I can't drink anymore. "This is something we (Robinson and the Raiders) are doing together. This is not the law doing this, or the league doing this. "I'm fine.

A dubious milestone for Peyton Manning could be a devastating millstone around the neck of the Indianapolis Colts. The All-Pro quarterback, the league's only four-time most valuable player, is in serious jeopardy of missing Sunday's opener at Houston because he has not sufficiently recovered from off-season neck surgery. Entering his 14th season, he has never missed a start because of an injury. In a statement released Monday, the Colts — who typically are highly secretive about injuries — said that Manning's rehabilitation has "slowed" and that the quarterback "continues to deal with a complicated neurological recovery, the end date of which is unpredictable.

The owner of the Century Plaza hotel Thursday outlined a $2-billion proposal that calls for rehabilitating the Century City landmark as hotel space and condos and building two 46-story, mixed-use towers and a public plaza. The proposal, contained in a draft environmental impact report, marks a victory for preservationists, whose staunch opposition to initial plans to raze the concave modernist structure persuaded developer Next Century Associates to reconsider. The project would maintain the hotel's eligibility for listing as a city historic-cultural monument.