Southern California

Going legally broke has made a big comeback -- especially in the Los Angeles area -- despite a mid-decade revision to the U.S. Bankruptcy Code intended to curb filings. The number of Southern Californians seeking bankruptcy protection nearly doubled in 2008 from 2007 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court's seven-county California Central District, by far the biggest increase in the nation. Bankruptcy is still booming.

As the horse named Sombrero strained up a hill above Hansen Dam, Mary Benson leaned forward over his neck and surveyed the stunning landscape of sun-dappled oaks and trickling mountain streams. But the view broke her heart: A subdivision where horse trails used to be. Condos and houses that used to have stables behind them. One sign after another of the disappearing horse culture in her neighborhood. "We are losing an irreplaceable piece of the American culture . . .

Southern California home prices held steady for the third straight month in March, a sign that the housing slump may be near its bottom. The median sale price remained at $250,000 for the six-county region, which is less than half the median value of homes at the market's peak in 2007. But the fact that home prices have stayed the same since January could be an indicator that the market is beginning to stabilize -- which is considered key to a broader economic recovery.

Latino and Asian growth in the Inland Empire and other outlying areas is slowing while such traditional gateways as Los Angeles are experiencing a "mini-rebound" in their minority population, according to new U.S. Census Bureau data. Los Angeles County, for instance, saw a net gain of nearly 70,000 Latinos last year, a 1.5% increase in that population after two years of near-flat growth. In contrast, the Latino growth rate in Riverside County dropped by nearly half to 3.

The Halloween battle of the theme parks has begun. For decades, Knott's Berry Farm's Halloween Haunt has reigned supreme as Southern California's ultimate theme park for Halloween frights. The Buena Park amusement park started the after-hours tradition more than 30 years ago and is credited with inventing the Halloween mazes duplicated by theme parks nationwide. But this year, officials at Universal Studios Hollywood say they are extending that park's Halloween Horror Nights and relying heavily on its movie connections to knock Knott's from its monster perch.

An earthquake estimated at magnitude 4.5 centered about a mile south of San Bernardino jolted Southern California on Thursday evening but caused no major damage, according to authorities. The quake was felt just before 8 p.m. in downtown Los Angeles, parts of the High Desert, San Pedro and coastal and inland Orange County, but not as far south as San Diego. "It was a hard jolt that lasted no more than five to eight seconds," said San Bernardino Fire Department spokesman Steve Tracy.

Circling Valley Boulevard in Alhambra, lost in suffocating, 100-degree heat, I'm wondering: What could possibly justify leaving my air-conditioned office to stumble around this too-familiar Southern California bleakscape of tire outlets, big box stores, nail parlors and fast-food joints? A few minutes later, I've finally limped into 101 Noodle Express, and the answer is at hand. It's the restaurant's beef roll, something like a crispy Chinese pancake, rolled around thin layers of savory beef and topped with a homemade bean sauce.

Southern California home prices may have finally hit bottom, with median values rising last month for the first significant increase in two years, new data show. Along with the 6.4% rise in prices from May, fewer than half of the sales were foreclosures -- the first time that has happened in nine months.

Like a hit song rising with a bullet, Top 40 station KLSX-FM (97.1) continued its ascent up the radio rankings, but KIIS-FM (102.7) remained No. 1 in Los Angeles and Orange counties last month, even putting some distance between itself and the upstart, according to figures released Wednesday. From April 30 to May 27, top-of-the-pops KIIS increased its audience share from 4.9% to 5.3% of all listeners ages 6 and older, the Arbitron ratings service reported.

A landmark effort to transform Southern California's coastal waters into a network of havens for marine life has sparked a fierce debate over where to locate no-fishing zones that ecologists believe are needed to replenish the surrounding seas.