Southland

Few markets crashed harder than Compton when California's real estate bubble burst. The city's northwest side saw the median home price plummet to $94,000 in 2009, down from $385,000 at the peak. Foreclosures dotted the streets. Families fled, leaving trash and old furniture behind. "There were a lot of empty houses. It was a big mess," said real estate broker Ruben Magdaleno of Re/Max VIP. These days, the working-class community has a new identity: comeback kid. Northwest Compton has posted the most dramatic price jump of any area in Southern California.

Southern California's housing recovery surged last month as buyers scrambled for a short supply of homes. The median price reached $368,000 for all homes sold in the six-county Southland - a 24.7% increase from the same month a year earlier and the highest price in five years. The number of sales, 23,034, hit the highest level for a May in seven years, real estate information provider DataQuick said Tuesday. "We're deep into uncharted territory," DataQuick President John Walsh said, citing "razor-thin" inventory, pent-up demand, low interest rates and all-cash purchases by investors and wealthy individuals.

"Southland" is turning in its badge -- TNT has decided not to move forward with the cop drama. Its demise comes just weeks after its fifth-season finale, and while that episode brought a slight uptick in viewers, "Southland" wasn't a strong performer for the network; it hovered around the 1-million mark. Concerns grew for the show, about a group of LAPD officers, when word spread that three of its lead actors -- Ben McKenzie, Regina King and Shawn Hatosy -- were in pilots for new series.

Southern California residents will have to get serious about energy conservation, particularly this summer, now that the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station has been permanently shut down. Without that nuclear plant, which accounted for about 9% of the electricity generated in California, power supplies will be tight in parts of Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties for at least the next three summers, officials said. That means periods of reduced use of air conditioners, lights and swimming pool pumps for customers of Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric Co. "Losing 2,250 megawatts from the system is a big deal, and if we ask for conservation, we need them to respond," said Steve Berberich, chief executive of the California Independent System Operator, which manages most of the state's long-distance electric transmission system from a control room in Folsom, east of Sacramento.

'Southland' Where: TNT When: 10 p.m. Tuesday Rating: TV-MA-L (may be unsuitable for children under the age of 17 with an advisory for coarse language)

A list of shows across the Southland, with on-sale dates in parentheses. Staples Center : Bon Jovi, March 4 (now) Gibson Amphitheatre : KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas with AFI and Muse, Dec. 12-13 (Sat.) Angel Stadium: U2, June 7 (Fri.) Walt Disney Concert Hall: Dirty Projectors with the L.A. Philharmonic, Feb. 27 (now) Long Beach Arena: Slayer and Megadeth, Jan. 22 (Sat.) Honda Center: Bon Jovi, Feb. 26 (now) Downtown Palace Theatre: Julian Casablancas, Nov. 20 and 27 (now)

Indoor trampoline parks are springing into action throughout Southern California, along with leaping games of dodge ball, highflying basketball and rigorous calisthenics. Just ask Akory Coates, who lived out his basketball dreams for an hour recently at a Sky Zone trampoline park in Torrance. He jumped, he twirled in the air, his fingertips grazed the rim and he made four baskets. Not an easy feat for a 9-year-old, but a series of trampolines beneath his feet gave him all the lift he needed.

Where to see big bands: Baked Potato, 3787 Cahuenga Blvd., Studio City, (818) 980-1615, http://www.thebakedpotato.com CatalinaBar and Grill, 6725 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, (323) 466-2210, http://www.catalinajazzclub.com Charlie O's Jazz Club, 13725 Victory Blvd., Valley Glen, (818) 994-3058, http://www.charlieos.com Crowne Plaza's The Brasserie Lounge, 5985 W. Century Blvd. Los Angeles, on Thursdays, (310) 642-7500, http://www.crownplaza.com Jazz Bakery Moveable Feast, roving locations, (310)

The Southland's move-up market showed some signs of life as the region's median home price improved for the second consecutive month in May, new data show. The median home price rose 5.4% in May from the same month last year to hit $295,000, real estate research firm DataQuick reported Wednesday. That was a 1.7% improvement over the prior month. Sales throughout the Southland also improved, up 20.6% from May 2011 and 15.1% from April to hit 22,192. Helping boost the median was a narrower share of foreclosures selling as part of the market for previously owned homes.

A list of upcoming concerts across the Southland, with on-sale dates in parentheses. Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum L.A. Rising with Rage Against the Machine, July 30 (Fri.) Gibson Amphitheatre Alejandro Fernandez, Sept. 9; Gabriel Iglesias, Dec. 30; Cubafest with Willy Chirino and more; Fox Teen Choice Awards, Aug. 7; the Wiggles, Aug. 14 (Fri.); Kesha, Sept. 17 (Sat.) Hollywood Palladium Tiger Heat, May 26 (Thurs.) The Wiltern Stevie Nicks, May 26 (Fri.)

If you've been enticed by the recent spate of cheap lease deals on electric cars, good luck finding one. Southern California dealers are seeing heavy demand for battery-powered cars, now leasing for as little as $199 a month. Fiat dealers have waiting lists for the new 500e even though the car hasn't hit their lots yet. And Honda dealers have already sold out of the Fit EV since a $259 lease was announced Thursday. The reaction revealed pent-up demand for electric vehicles -- as long as the price is right.

Mike Low, a mixed martial arts matchmaker, remembers when he had trouble finding enough talent for his local fight cards. Not anymore. "Four years ago, I'd have to look for fighters, gym to gym. Now I get 50 emails a day from people pitching their fighters from here. And they're usually pretty good fighters," he said. The Ultimate Fighting Championship has taken hold across the country and the sport's boom has spawned about a dozen second-tier MMA pro circuits in Southern California.

After years of downsizing in Southern California, Boeing Co. said it will shift at least 300 engineering jobs on commercial aircraft to its longtime facility in Long Beach. During the next six to nine months, company employees will relocate from the Puget Sound region in Washington to the complex. The facility is next to Long Beach Airport and work done there includes assembly of the C-17 cargo jet for the Air Force. Boeing doubled down on Southern California by announcing Friday that it would establish a new engineering design center for commercial aircraft.

John Pemberton reaches into his back pocket, pulls out a small broom, bends low and sweeps the dirt left and then right, manicuring the white strip of rubber in the middle of the pitcher's circle. Upright again, he lifts the bill of his dark blue cap and tilts his head for a final inspection. Satisfied, he breaks into a trot and hustles over to first base. For nearly half a century, Pemberton, 77, has operated in the organized mayhem of high school, college and professional sports.

For Allan Taylor, whose grandfather served in World War II and whose father saw action in Vietnam, Memorial Day has one overriding meaning. "It's about paying homage to those who have served," said Taylor, who sailed aboard the New Jersey off the coast of Beirut in 1983. "For me, a third-generation military man, it's mandatory. " Taylor, 47, of Oxnard, was among thousands who lined Sherman Way in Canoga Park for a parade with the theme "Saluting the Price of Freedom. " Under sunny skies across the Southland, trumpets blared, drums boomed and batons twirled as patriots from far and wide commemorated the nation's fallen servicemen and servicewomen at parades and cemeteries.

The capital of car culture is increasingly making room for bicycles. A neon-green pathway runs down downtown's Spring Street, begging drivers to pay attention to cyclists. Hundreds of miles of less-flashy lanes are spreading across the region. And in April, about 150,000 bikers swarmed Venice Boulevard for the largest-ever CicLAvia. Now the next big thing in bikes is slowly riding in on three wheels. Pedicabs will hit the streets of Santa Monica this summer, and city officials hope the service will offer people on bustling Main Street a way to get around without their cars.

A list of upcoming concerts across the Southland, with on-sale dates in parentheses. Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Roger Waters, May 19 (Fri.) Staples Center Jay-Z and Kanye West, Dec. 11 (Fri.) The Forum Guns N' Roses, Dec. 21 (Mon.) Gibson Amphitheatre KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas with Blink-182, Dec. 10 (Wed.); Big Time Rush, Feb. 18 (Sat.) Honda Center Rammstein, May 17 (Sat.) The Satellite Just an Animal, Nov. 22; New York Night Train Soul Clap and Dance Off, Dec. 6; Lost Lander, Dec. 8 (now)

Top kickers Alex Ball, Westlake, 6-3, 200, Jr. Has booming leg. Brenden Beckley, Dana Hills, 6-1, 160, Sr. Made 14 field goals last season. Ryan Felix, Corona Santiago, 6-2, 205, Sr. Had outstanding summer. Matt Goudis, Chaminade, 6-1, 165, Sr. A punter-kicker standout since freshman year. Wes Harris, El Toro, 5-11, 185, Sr. Made seven field goals. Connor Loftus, Servite, 6-0, 180, Sr. Gets ball into end zone. Martin Meza, Alemany, 6-1, 175, Sr. Connected from 54 yards.

Aerospace giant Northrop Grumman Corp., plagued by setbacks with its pricey high-flying spy drones, has come up with a new version for the Navy that could keep the company's unmanned aircraft assembly line in Palmdale humming. An initial test flight - a relatively easy 80 minutes around the company's Palmdale plant - went off without a hitch. And that could have a major effect on the program's future in the Southland. The drone, called MQ-4C Triton, is a heavily modified version of Northrop's beleaguered RQ-4 Global Hawk, which has been dismissed as too expensive by the Pentagon and Germany's defense ministry.

Irvine grew faster than all but seven other large U.S. cities between July 2011 and July 2012, with its population vaulting to nearly 230,000 last year, new census data show. The pace of growth was nearly five times as fast as the Southern California average. The increase continues a pattern for Irvine, where population climbed an average of 4.8% annually between 2000 and 2010. It rose 3.4% the next year and 4.2% last year, according to census data released Thursday. City officials see the numbers as proof that its meticulous planning has worked.