Stanton

Johnny Stanton, the standout quarterback for No. 1-ranked Santa Margarita (5-0), has a torn ACL that will require knee surgery, Coach Harry Welch said on Saturday. He is likely to miss the rest of the season. Stanton injured his knee last week during a 72-0 win over Carson, Welch said. He was cleared to play Friday against Ventura St. Bonaventure but was limping in the second half. Stanton rushed for 100 yards and passed for 132 yards in a 35-27 victory over St. Bonaventure. Junior quarterback Josh Canty is expected to take over for Stanton.

When his movie "John Carter" thudded into theaters in March, director Andrew Stanton escaped to New York and spent the next three weeks riding the subway, noodling on scripts and visiting with his daughter and some friends. For the first time since he started at Pixar Animation Studios in 1990 at age 24, Stanton was facing an unfamiliar sensation - the gut punch of a public failure in an industry that hardly shelters it. The film had forced Walt Disney Studios to take a $200-million write-down and helped lead to the departure of two top executives.

The Stanton that Alma Barba remembers was just a wedge of a place in the middle of a growing county. There were the strawberry fields and orange groves she'd pass on the way to school, and the town's well-rooted reputation as being impoverished and gang-ridden that she learned to endure. "It was Mayberry-small, but it was horrible," agrees Dave Shawver, who's lived here more than 40 years and has spent the last 24 on the City Council. Today, the gangs are mostly gone. But the poverty is real: The Orange County city is running out of money.

An Orange County pet store owner has accepted the apology and restitution from two puppy thieves and has asked authorities to drop criminal charges, a sheriff's spokesman said. The pet store got at least two communiques from the thieves - the first, received at the shop Friday night, in a package containing $600 in cash and a note of apology. Then on Saturday, one of the thieves called the store to apologize again and provided an additional payment to cover sales tax and other fees.

Public radio station KPCC hired former Los Angeles Times Editor Russ Stanton as vice president of content, responsible for the station's broadcasts, website and live events. Southern California Public Radio President Bill Davis announced the move Tuesday, saying he hired Stanton as part of a push by the station to improve its quality and extend its reach in Southern California. Whereas the other top public radio stations in the Los Angeles area focus on music or a combination of music and news, KPCC-FM (89.3)

After four years at the helm, Los Angeles Times Editor Russ Stanton is stepping down, with Managing Editor Davan Maharaj assuming the top newsroom job. Stanton, 52, joined The Times in 1997 as a business reporter in Orange County. He led the news organization for four years, a period in which it expanded its digital reach to more than 17 million readers each month and won three Pulitzer Prizes, including this year's Public Service award for exposing corruption in the city of Bell.

Besides being the only coach in California to have won CIF state bowl games with two schools, Harry Welch is a master teacher when it comes to developing quarterbacks. He's a perfectionist, which means his pupils will inevitably experience a love-hate relationship as he tries to bring out their skills. Whether coaching at Canyon Country Canyon, San Juan Capistrano St. Margaret's or his current assignment, Santa Margarita, Welch won't let a quarterback fail, but to reach the level of success that he demands requires commitment, sacrifice and extreme focus.

The first five games of the high school football season for No. 2-ranked Santa Margarita have all ended in victories, and now the Eagles can focus on the big picture: competing in the tough Trinity League. Quarterback Johnny Stanton rushed for 156 yards and scored three touchdowns, and running back Ryan Wolpin rushed for 200 yards and scored two touchdowns in a 38-27 victory over Los Alamitos on Thursday night at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach. The Eagles get next week off to prepare for an Oct. 13 Trinity League opener against Santa Ana Mater Dei. It's scary how formidable the Eagles might be in another month on offense considering they are starting only three seniors and rolling up points in large numbers.