Robert Rossi

The Securities and Exchange Commission has sued three overseas entities and a Swiss investor for insider trading in shares of pharmaceuticals group Rorer Group Inc. The company said Monday that it is in merger talks with an unidentified suitor, news that sent the stock sharply higher. In a suit filed late Wednesday, the SEC accused Fondation Hai of Monaco; Holding Protection Ltd.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has sued three overseas entities and a Swiss investor for insider trading in shares of pharmaceuticals group Rorer Group Inc. The company said Monday that it is in merger talks with an unidentified suitor, news that sent the stock sharply higher. In a suit filed late Wednesday, the SEC accused Fondation Hai of Monaco; Holding Protection Ltd.

College athletes, especially basketball and football players, spend more time on their sports in season than they do on their classes and get lower grades than students involved in other time-consuming extracurricular activities, a year-long study by the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. showed. The study, based on confidential questionnaires from 4,083 college athletes as well as students in other activities at 42 NCAA member institutions, was the first of its kind.

I don't get it. Why on earth was Kevin Malone on vacation with Johnny Damon out there being shopped by Kansas City? I guess he was worn out from not getting Alex Rodriguez and not getting Mike Hampton and not getting Charles Johnson and not getting a manager anyone has ever heard of. But perhaps I should look on the bright side. At least he didn't mortgage the future. We still have all the bright stars in the farm system, like . . . ERIC MONSON Temecula Yes! The Dodgers did not get Johnny Damon!

Robert Rossi has just had his nails cut, filed and buffed, his cuticles trimmed and his hands massaged--a basic manicure--at Leo's Hair Studio in Los Feliz. But take a closer look. Right there on the tips of Rossi's hairy fingers is a fresh paint job, a coat of Matte Nail Envy by OPI. He shakes his hands, air-drying the polish. Seconds later, Rossi slips on his jacket and is out the door to his job as acquisitions director for the Official All-Star Cafe chain.

An Orange County Superior Court judge, worried about a potential backlog of lawsuits, warned lawyers this week that they must work harder at settling disputes out of court. Judge William F. McDonald, in a memo being circulated within the legal community, announced that he and other jurists who hear legal arguments in civil cases will soon demand "literal compliance" with a widely violated local rule of court.

If a guest at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Los Angeles asks the concierge "is there a doctor in the house?" the inquiry usually nets physician Mike Oppenheim, who lives near Westwood, 10 miles away. With a remote telephone answering service and a telephone beeper fielding his calls, Oppenheim has developed an unusual part-time practice treating guests at about a dozen Los Angeles-area hotels for everything from the flu and stomachaches to sprained ankles and burns.

The heist was as brief as the spin of a roulette wheel, as dramatic as a Hollywood caper. While much of Las Vegas slumbered Tuesday, a gunman made off with $1.5 million in casino chips from the opulent Bellagio hotel and casino. What followed was something of a metaphor for this luminous gambling town. There was hype. Lots of it. And romantic notions of a real-life "Ocean's Eleven," in which a crack team of thieves plots to rip off the Bellagio and two other casinos on the Las Vegas Strip.

I am amused at the L.A. media's attempt to try to convince the L.A. population that the Dodgers really are a good team. Even Ross Porter on one broadcast exclaimed, "I don't know how the Dodgers, batting only .252, are having such a good July." Well, I'm here to tell you. My research into this inexplicable phenomena is twofold: During the last couple of weeks, the Dodgers have been playing sub-.500 teams, the doormats of baseball--Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Colorado, then back to Milwaukee.

Wearing a faded blue denim jacket, Chris Townsend walks across the patio at San Juan Capistrano's El Adobe restaurant to make sure there are enough quesadillas and tostadas for the 350 people who are filing in. It's Friday night, and the start of a "Big Chill" party with a theme taken from the 1983 movie of the same title.

Now that owner-to-be Frank McCourt has revealed his master plan for the Dodgers, I've put together a quick at-a-glance guide to Southland baseball. It's pretty simple: Angels=Lakers. Dodgers=Clippers. This should save everybody a lot of worrying and aggravation this season. Jeff Baskin Los Angeles I can't wait to see the Dodgers announce their new marketing campaign for 2004, "The Season of Payroll Flexibility." That'll sure bring the fans out! Until Dan Evans actually fields a team worth watching, I think I'll create some financial flexibility of my own and not renew my season tickets.