Routes

When the White House sent a last-minute invitation for Asif Ali Zardari to attend the two-day NATO summit, they were taking a highly public gamble. Would sharing the spotlight with President Obama and other global leaders induce the Pakistani president to allow vital supplies to reach alliance troops fighting in Afghanistan? But long before the summit ended Monday, the answer was clear: No deal. Zardari's refusal to reopen the supply routes left a diplomatic blot on a summit that NATO sought to cast as the beginning of the end of the conflict in Afghanistan.

When the White House sent a last-minute invitation for Asif Ali Zardari to attend the two-day NATO summit, they were taking a highly public gamble. Would sharing the spotlight with President Obama and other global leaders induce the Pakistani president to allow vital supplies to reach alliance troops fighting in Afghanistan? But long before the summit ended Monday, the answer was clear: No deal. Zardari's refusal to reopen the supply routes left a diplomatic blot on a summit that NATO sought to cast as the beginning of the end of the conflict in Afghanistan.

One of the hardest parts of Jim Pastor's job is convincing people that he exists: He's a milkman. "The reaction is always the same," Pastor said. "People say, 'Really? A milkman? Like in the old days?' They always have a hard time believing it." Pastor owns a Santa Ana-based delivery service that contracts with Rockview Farms, one of the largest family-owned dairies in Southern California. Each week, Pastor and his team of 14 milkmen drive their refrigerated trucks to more than 4,800 homes along routes in Los Angeles and Orange counties.

Robert Redford Before his superstar days, Redford appear in the Oct. 20, 1961, episode, "First-Class Mouliak," directed by William Conrad of "Cannon" fame Sam Peckinpah "The Wild Bunch" director cut his teeth in TV. He directed the "Mon Petit Chou" episode that aired Nov. 24, 1961, with guest Lee Marvin Boris Karloff Karloff joined fellow movie monsters Lon Chaney Jr. and Peter Lorre in the "Lizard's Leg and Owlet's...

After a long wait and more than 50,000 signatures on an online petition, cyclists will be happy to know that Google Inc. has finally added bicycle routes to Google Maps. In Google Maps, users can now find "Bicycling" in the tool's "Get Directions" drop-down box. After choosing the option, bikers can input two addresses and find the bike route that will get them to their destination. The mapping tool provides turn-by-turn directions and an estimated travel time. The new Google Maps bicycling feature is available in 150 U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York.

Riccardo Cassin, who was a legendary Italian alpinist fondly known as "Il Padre," has died. He was credited with more than 2,500 climbs and 100 first ascents around the world and discovered routes that 70 years later are still considered benchmarks reserved only for the sport's elite. Cassin, who started a premier climbing-equipment company in 1947, died Aug. 6 at his home in Piani Resinelli, a town north of Milan. He was 100. During a 60-year career, Cassin led hundreds of expeditions, including treks through the Alps, the Himalayas, the Caucasus and the Andes.

This week DASH, the shuttle service serving downtown Los Angeles, expanded its two routes. Buses operate every 10 minutes from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. weekdays, and every 15 minutes from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays. Fare is 25 cents, and the routes now serve the points shown on the map. There are also several transfer points near the Music Center and county buildings, and Arco Plaza and Library Square.

American Airlines, United Airlines and five other U.S. carriers asked the federal government to let them suspend flying without penalty on international routes during the next two years because of high fuel costs. The request seeks a waiver of so-called dormancy requirements. The airlines want to be able to halt flying during periods of low demand without losing authorization to resume the routes.

The Routes of Man How Roads Are Changing the World and the Way We Live Today Ted Conover Alfred A. Knopf, 334 pp., $26.95 An editor with whom I once worked dismissed undercooked ideas by saying, "That's a notion, not a story." Ted Conover's new book "The Routes of Man: How Roads Are Changing the World and the Way We Live Today" has notion written all over it. It's about highways and streets and pathways and what they tell us about progress and war and trade and humanity.

Re "Bus Line Changes Reroute Business," July 1 Catching Spring Street public transit has become more dangerous with the change in routes from Spring Street to Main Street. The change has disbursed bus riders to stops close to Needle Park and above Spring. More lighting and increased Los Angeles Police Department patrols simply aren't going to make the area safe enough after dark. The intersection of Third and Spring streets, where the state building is located, is already so perilous that the Department of Justice employs security personnel to escort employees who work after dark to the parking structure directly across the street.

Contrary to popular belief, the Corvette convertible the characters Tod Stiles and Buz Murdock drove on the existential black-and-white 1960-64 CBS series "Route 66" was not red and white. "The original ones were blue," said George Maharis, 83, who starred as the handsome, dangerous and hotheaded Buz, who set out to travel the country with Tod (Martin Milner), a clean-cut young man who had grown up in luxury only to discover after his father's death that most of the money was gone.

Tens of thousands of cycling, hockey and basketball fans will converge at Staples Center in a weekend packed with post-season games and the final stage of the 2012 Amgen Tour of California - events that authorities are warning will close streets and delay traffic in the downtown Los Angeles area. The biggest wrench in traffic will be crowds overlapping for the Kings game and the bike race Sunday. Street closures were scheduled to begin after the Lakers game Saturday night - along Figueroa Street from Pico to Olympic boulevards and on Chick Hearn Court/11th Street from Flower Avenue to Georgia Street - when two pedestrian bridges will be erected so Kings fans can cross the bike route Sunday morning for Game 4 of the NHL Western conference finals.

CHICAGO - As thousands of protesters marched in the streets, President Obama welcomed more than 60 world leaders to his heavily guarded hometown for a NATO summit that will start the clock for America and its allies to begin pulling combat troops from Afghanistan. The two-day summit, the largest in the 63-year history of the military alliance, came as White House officials made it clear they were furious overPakistan's continued refusal to reopen ground routes used to move fuel and other war supplies into Afghanistan, a six-month standoff that the White House had hoped to resolve before Obama arrived in Chicago.

To prepare to face Jamie Moyer on Friday night, Dodgers outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr. could watch videos of his past at-bats against the Colorado Rockies left-hander. Or he could talk to his father, Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn Sr., who also faced him. Rookie Scott Van Slyke could also solicit advice from his father, former All-Star Andy Van Slyke. Shortstop Dee Gordon's father, former pitcher Tom Gordon, was Moyer's teammate. And Manager Don Mattingly, playing for the New York Yankees, hit a home run against Moyer - 19 years ago. "I think Jamie pitched against my grandfather," jokedJerry Hairston Jr., a third-generation major leaguer.

Ready to ride the Amgen? The Nissan Ride Before the Pros will allow cyclists of all levels to ride on a five-mile course that will be part of the 2012 Amgen Tour of California's eighth and final stage that same day (May 20). The Beverly Hills-to-L.A. Live ride is free, but participants must register here . ... For those who prefer more inclines, Big Bear is doing something similar May 18, with a 35-mile trek from Snow Summit and back . Entry is $150 and participation is limited.

This is the last chance for the Lakers: Swagger or stagger into the playoffs. Sunday brings a top opponent to Staples Center, Oklahoma City, and the Lakers haven't exactly prospered in these types of game this season, going 1-4 against the Thunder and San Antonio. Their regular season officially ends Thursday at Sacramento, but this is the final time to remind all involved that they're still a factor in the Western Conference ... and they can even stay ahead of, gulp, the Clippers for third place.

I am writing to refute the misrepresentation and misinformation in the letter "Paving Over Isn't Answer" by Bill Crane of the Sierra Club. The Los Angeles Department of Transportation has not informed the Encino Hillside Traffic Safety Organization, of which I am president, that "opening up new routes for traffic alleviates a situation for a maximum of about two years." Rather, the Department of Transportation has recommended multiple cross-mountain routes--including a connection of Reseda Boulevard with a paved Mulholland Drive--as the only viable solution to the traffic problems in the Encino hills.

MapMyRun.com is an essential tool for travelers who wouldn't dream of skipping their run while they're away from home. Why just jog a few miles from your hotel when you can find trails and paths throughout the area rated by other serious runners?

E-ticketing on Amtrak has finally arrived - sort of. As of this week, rail passengers on Northern California routes may print out their train tickets before heading to the station, Amtrak says in a statement. Electronic ticketing is scheduled to be available for Southern California routes such as the Pacific Surfliner and others by the end of summer, though no start date was specified. Electronic ticketing is now offered for one-way and round-trip travel on the Capitol Corridor (Auburn-Sacramento-Oakland-San Jose)

TransCanada has revealed the route it would like to use to build the Keystone XL oil pipeline through Nebraska, where the $7-billion project has become mired in concerns over the nation's most important agricultural aquifer. A new report submitted by the Canadian pipeline company to the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality shows an alternative route for the pipeline, designed to carry diluted bitumen from the tar sands of Alberta province to U.S. refineries.