Sacred

I, too, find myself dismayed by the controversial F Street Bookstore in Escondido. It is, truly, an outrageous situation when the police and politicians are forced to obey the law! And all this furor because of a flimsy law known as "the Constitution of the United States of America"! Stand up, ye moral, in righteous indignation against this heinous loophole that threatens all we hold sacred! DOREN GARCIA Ocean Beach

The image of bandit Jesus Malverde turns up as a kind of venerated saint inside " Quitapesares (Solace)," a makeshift chapel by artist Maria Romero erected near the end of a large new exhibition at the UCLA Fowler Museum. On May 3, 1909, the outlaw was hanged from a tree in the town of Culiacán, capital of Sinaloa near the country's northwest coast, by the federal government of Mexican dictator Porfirio Diaz. He was left to rot in the sun. At least, that's what people say. Historians have found no evidence that the story is true.

Thank you for Howard Rosenberg's thoughtful and thought-provoking review of "Nothing Sacred" (" 'Nothing Sacred,' but Much Ventured," Calendar, Aug. 6). It should be noted that the National Catholic League's president initially condemned the show without having viewed it. The board members of our organization, Catholics in Media, having viewed the pilot, find "Nothing Scared" overall to be faith-building and redemptive, with the understanding that certain exaggerated sequences might cause concern to some Catholics.

MAKAWAO, Maui - "Don't ask for anything while you are in this canyon," Sydney Smith, my guide and a longtime Hawaii resident, said as we balanced precariously on rocks, descending deep into Maliko Gulch. "A film crew was once here, set up a tripod, lights, models and was just about to take photos, when the photographer said, 'Now we just need some wind.' A powerful gust came whooshing through the valley, knocking down the tripods and light reflectors. And then like that" - she snapped her fingers - "the wind vanished.

So now 117 priests, nuns and bishops say that the TV series "Nothing Sacred" is "a positive vehicle for discourse" (Morning Report, Nov. 18). Perhaps so, but tens of thousands to millions of other Catholics in the country obviously don't agree, as can be seen from the show's abysmal ratings. It looks as if the Catholic League's criticism of the show is speaking for somebody out there. The portrayal of the priesthood in "Nothing Sacred" is not what Catholics look for in their clergy.

Re: the letters responding to William A. Donohue's Counterpunch on "Nothing Sacred" ("No Limits to 'Nothing Sacred' Dialogue," Calendar, Aug. 18): The flaw in the reasoning of the letter writers is that they think it's OK for the beliefs and practices of a religion to be debated through the inaccurate and disrespectful portrayal of the beliefs and practices of its leaders. The offense taken by Donohue and the Catholic League at "Nothing Sacred" is certainly justified, as it is common sense and common courtesy not to misrepresent and mock religious leaders in our pluralistic and tolerant society.

Howard Rosenberg argues against ABC's decision not to air a "controversial" episode of "Nothing Sacred" ("Is a Priest With AIDS Too 'Sacred'?," Jan. 9). The episode revolves around a Catholic priest who breaks his vow of celibacy and contracts AIDS from a homosexual encounter. Funny that ABC would think that the subject matter was a bit too much. That one sentence alone is a laundry list of sins against God and the Catholic Church. It is also typical of the supermarket-tabloid subject matter the show engages in. I would like to applaud ABC for its restraint.

Regarding Catholic League President William A. Donohue's article, "A Political Agenda Mars ABC's 'Nothing Sacred' " (Counterpunch, Aug. 11): Once again, an apologist for a Catholic mouthpiece steps forward to protest a portrayal of a priest that doesn't match the party line. What else is new? Never mind the fact that, with so many negative stories of priests and ministers making print these days, a show about a priest who practices the gospel he preaches might just be a light unto people's souls.

Re "Wilderness Site May See Oil Drilling," May 31: How tragic that "the highest level of protection" for public land -- an area being designated wilderness within a national park -- isn't enough to spare it from oil and gas drilling. Is nothing sacred? Only the petroleum industry, apparently. Michael Diehl Glendale

An author and psychotherapist known for using humor, inspiring stories and magic tricks to illustrate his message will present a public workshop June 4 titled "Experiencing the Sacred in Daily Life." Jonathan Robinson, author of "Shortcuts to Bliss," has been featured in Newsweek, Self and New Age Journal magazines and has appeared on a number of TV shows, including Oprah Winfrey's. His public workshop at Unity Church of Tustin, 14402 South Prospect Ave., will begin at 1 p.m. and will cost $20.

SALT LAKE CITY - Poor Lakers. They lose even when they win. They hammered the similarly woeful Utah Jazz on Monday, 119-104, but damaged their lottery percentages for the draft. If the Lakers had lost, Utah would have caught them (and Boston) in the overall standings, forging a three-way tie for the NBA's fourth-worst record. BOX SCORE: Lakers 119, Jazz 104 Now the Lakers (26-55) will probably finish with the sixth-worst record and a 6.3% chance at the No. 1 pick at the May 20 lottery.

He's often the forgotten one in the Lakers' mash-up of who's coming-who's going after this season. It's easy to understand why Robert Sacre is overlooked even though he's one of only four Lakers under contract after June - three if you toss out Nick Young , who is expected to decline a player option for $1.2 million. In the race to analyze/criticize the $23.5 million coming to Kobe Bryant next season and the $9.7 million due to Steve Nash , Sacre's $915,243 just doesn't measure up. But he'll be here unless he's traded.

This week a video emerged online of a man BASE-jumping from the top of New York's 1 World Trade Center. The video is a lot of things: Thrilling and frightening. Extremely stupid also comes to mind. Yet another way of looking at it is as a grave desecration of hallowed ground, a veritable slap in the face to our collective national pain. That's the response the Port Authority, which owns and operates the building, had to the video, and to the news that the four men involved in the jump had turned themselves into police on Monday . “The Port Authority joins the NYPD in condemning this lawless and selfish act that clearly endangered the public,” the agency said in a statement . “One of the jumpers worked construction at the WTC and violated the spirit of respect and reverence for this sacred site that almost all connected with the WTC project feel.” James Brady, Kyle Hartwell, Marco Markovich and Andrew Rossig, three of whom parachuted from the top of the country's tallest tower in September, have been charged with felony burglary, misdemeanor reckless endangerment and misdemeanor jumping from a structure.

When Montebello Cantwell-Sacred Heart holds its basketball awards banquet, Coach George Zedan should award a hard hat and lunch pail to senior guard Joey Covarrubias for his toughness in surviving a series of defensive assignments against players who one day we'll be watching on television in college or the NBA. "We ask him to do a lot," Zedan said. "We ask him to be our Swiss Army knife. " College recruiters might want to set up a one-on-one interview with Covarrubias to hear his personal scouting reports after guarding many of the top players in Southern California over the last four months.

In early February, the Lakers ran out of players in an odd win at Cleveland over the Cavaliers, 119-108. On Thursday, Joe Borgia, the NBA's vice president of referee operations, gave his perspective (via NBA TV ) on the strange final minutes that saw Lakers center Robert Sacre finishing the game despite collecting his sixth personal foul. "We have to have five players on the court at all times," Borgia said. "If there are no available substitutes to come in the game, the player who fouls out has to remain in the game" The Lakers started the game short-handed, with Kobe Bryant, Jordan Hill, Pau Gasol and Jodie Meeks all out with injuries.  Nick Young bruised his knee during the game.

Jodie Meeks was the star of the Lakers' show last Sunday, outscoring Kevin Durant but also reminding his team of something less enthralling. He'll be a free agent in July. Almost all the Lakers will be, in fact. The latter isn't necessarily a bad thing for a 22-42 team scratching the depths of the Western Conference standings. INTERACTIVE: The Lakers ever-changing lineup But Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak will have a lot of work to do in a handful of months.

One of the great side benefits of visiting Japan is the food, especially the sushi and sashimi. But for those travelers willing to go the extra mile, there is a little-known city where visitors go to feed the locals rather than to dine among them. The city of Nara lies south of Kyoto, less than two hours from Tokyo by train, but to travel here is to journey back in time. From 710 to 784, it was the capital of Japan and known as Heijo-Kyo. Today it is a beautiful city of 370,000, full of temples and shrines and home to one of the world's largest wooden buildings and one of the largest known statues of Buddha.

Los Angeles is home to an industry that makes dramas and exports them around the world. But there's something wrong about the way our diverse city looks and sounds in big Hollywood films. With a few, notable exceptions, Latinos are usually in the background, doing yardwork or working as nannies, putting on the thick Spanish accents demanded by their scripts. Black characters are often wacky police officers, gangsters or single moms. Asians are technicians or immigrants who look confused.

Re "Vaccinations, not scare tactics," Editorial, Feb. 27 As The Times says, religious beliefs should not legitimize acts contrary to the compelling societal interest of improving public health with vaccines. Religion-rooted controversies lately have arisen largely due to the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993. This law was prompted by legitimate concern over federal infringement on Native American religious practices. However, opportunistic members of Congress decided to go further.

March Madness came a week early on Friday night in the opening round of the new Southern Section Open Division tournament. From No. 1-seeded Santa Ana Mater Dei requiring overtime to outlast No. 16 Montebello Cantwell-Sacred Heart, 66-59, to No. 3 Los Angeles Loyola opening a 23-point second-half lead, then barely holding off a frantic comeback by No. 14 Bellflower St. John Bosco, 70-67, it was a wild night for a tournament matching the best against...