Steep

DUBUQUE, Iowa - Dr. Jack Dolehide remembers the trinity on display in his boyhood home in Chicago in the 1960s: There, in the center, was an iconic image of Jesus. On one side, Mayor Richard J. Daley, the city's legendary Democratic boss. On the other, President Kennedy. Then one day about 1969 or '70, the unthinkable occurred. Dolehide's father took down the politicians' portraits, ripped them into pieces and threw them away. He had become a Republican. Today, Jack Dolehide, 57, is a well-established physician in Dubuque and among many Catholics who plan to vote for Mitt Romney for president.

WASHINGTON - The unusually steep drop in the U.S. jobless rate just weeks before the presidential election has sparked howls of protest from some conservatives that the White House cooked the books to boost President Obama's chances. The outcry began Friday morning on social media just minutes after the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the September unemployment rate had plunged to 7.8% from 8.1% in August. And the debate raged throughout the day on talk radio and cable TV about whether Americans had gotten jobbed on the latest jobs report.

The religious overtones on Mumford & Sons' sophomore album come as no surprise. Though he's now known as the most visible figure in an international folk revival that also includes North Carolina's Avett Brothers and Iceland's Of Monsters and Men, frontman Marcus Mumford first circulated in the scene around the Vineyard, an international network of evangelical Christian churches (Mumford's parents are leaders of the community in the U.K.). So when he notes that "this cup of yours tastes holy," as he does here in "Whispers in the Dark," you figure the guy knows what holiness tastes like.

MUSIC Steve Martin may have built his career as a one-of-a-kind, surrealist stand-up, but his most recent turn as a bluegrass musician is no laughing matter. Paired with the group Steep Canyon Rangers, Martin's deft banjo playing goes from a left-field accessory on his '70s comedy albums to front and center on the 2011 album "Rare Bird Alert," and even though there's no comedy on this bill you're sure to go home with a smile. Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., L.A. 8 p.m. Sat. $55-$85 http://www.ticketmaster.com .

The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating whether members of its elite SWAT unit took advantage of their assignments to purchase large numbers of specially-made handguns and resell the weapons for steep profits, according to a report released Friday by the independent watchdog overseeing the department. The allegations, if true, could be a violation of federal firearm laws and city ethics regulations. The ongoing inquiry is the LAPD's second attempt to understand what happened with the handguns.

This is a short, steep hike that begins on a trail amid the mansions of La Cañada-Flintridge, with massive mountain and city views - a real workout with a real payoff. Drive into the area by taking the 2 or the 210 Freeway, exiting Verdugo or Foothill Boulevard, then take Chevy Chase Drive to Hampstead Road. Park on Hampstead Road, off Chevy Chase Drive. Follow the signs to the trailhead. Take the dirt path marked as Owl Trail. Note the warning: "Check your saddle. " There are some steep, unsteady sections ahead.

Stage 13: A 135-mile, mainly flat ride from Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux to the Mediterranean seaside resort of Le Cap D'Agde. It featured a short but incredibly steep Mont Saint-Clair climb just 14 miles from the finish that eliminated top sprinters such as Mark Cavendish, Matt Goss and Tyler Farrar from the pack contending for the win. Winner: Andre Greipel of Germany. The Lotto-Belisol sprinter scored his third stage win of the Tour by beating a pack that included all the top overall contenders, including yellow jersey holder Bradley Wiggins of Britain.

Residents of the quaint Santa Catalina Island community of Avalon say it was bad enough that Southern California Edison Co. has increased their water rates by 300% over the last five years. Now, the utility wants to raise them an additional 83% in order to pay for infrastructure improvements that could make its aging utility here more attractive to prospective buyers. The proposal, if approved by the California Public Utilities Commission, will hike average bills of $25.43 per 100 cubic feet of water to $55.67 - roughly nine times higher than is paid in Los Angeles.

Without Hugh Hefner's Playboy magazine and its philosophy of unfettered heterosexual hedonism through stimulation of all the senses, there would have been no LeRoy Neiman. Usually mischaracterized as simply a sports artist, he was actually much more than that. Neiman was the painter of the "Playboy Philosophy. " To be more specific, he was the artist for Playboy readers afraid that liking art was gay. Obituaries of the artist, who died Wednesday in New York City at 91, have duly noted his friendship with Hefner and longtime work for the magazine, starting in 1954.

The water bill at Maria Arizmendi's home in Bell has gotten so expensive that she's cut back on gardening and started using paper plates. Often, when it's time to shower, she heads over to the home of a friend, who is served by a different utility. Arizmendi, 70, said she pays about $50 a month for water, but her friend pays roughly $20 every two months. "There must be something that's not working right," said Arizmendi, a retired L.A. County employee who lives alone. "It just doesn't make sense what they put in these bills, and when you call, you can't get them to pick up, or you can't get an answer.