Stephen Bennett

PacifiCare Health Systems Inc., a Cypress-based health maintainence organization, said it has named Stephen Bennett as president of its fledgling Texas operation. Begun last July, PacifiCare of Texas has 216 members. Bennett, who joined the company in 1984, most recently was president of PacifiCare of Oregon, which has more than 13,000 members. A company spokeswoman said Bennett will continue to head the Oregon operation until a replacement can be found.

Two San Diego men face trial today on charges they killed a suspected drug dealer on Super Bowl Sunday two years ago. Stephen Bennett, 37, and Bernard Smith, 44, of Vista are charged with felonies related to a plan to steal money and cocaine on Feb. 5, 2006, from Brian Gray of Irvine. Smith is accused of shooting Gray. The men allegedly stole cocaine from Gray's home. If convicted, each faces a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole, according to the Orange County district attorney's office.

Stephen Bennett, a former executive director of the United Cerebral Palsy Foundation of Los Angeles and Ventura County, has been named chief executive officer of the AIDS Project Los Angeles. Bennett, 39, assumed the $100,000-a-year position this week after a nationwide search that lasted six months. Bennett, who also has extensive experience in the private sector, said he will focus on improving client services and building a stronger board of directors and fund-raising capabilities.

A retirement perk for elected department heads that will cost Ventura County government nearly $1 million over the next 10 years is being challenged by Supervisor Steve Bennett. Elected on a reform platform last fall, Bennett said he plans to bring a letter before the board next month asking members to reconsider the benefit, which he likened to a retirement giveaway that past review committees have openly condemned.

A New York lawyer who has long been an advocate for improved AIDS health care will become executive director of AIDS Project Los Angeles, officials of the nonprofit service agency announced Tuesday. Leonard H. Bloom, who served as health commissioner under former New York Mayor Ed Koch, succeeds Stephen Bennett as chief administrator of the county's largest community-based AIDS agency. APLA has a $14-million annual budget and provides services to 3,200 people with AIDS.

Two San Diego men face trial today on charges they killed a suspected drug dealer on Super Bowl Sunday two years ago. Stephen Bennett, 37, and Bernard Smith, 44, of Vista are charged with felonies related to a plan to steal money and cocaine on Feb. 5, 2006, from Brian Gray of Irvine. Smith is accused of shooting Gray. The men allegedly stole cocaine from Gray's home. If convicted, each faces a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole, according to the Orange County district attorney's office.

A retirement perk for elected department heads that will cost Ventura County government nearly $1 million over the next 10 years is being challenged by Supervisor Steve Bennett. Elected on a reform platform last fall, Bennett said he plans to bring a letter before the board next month asking members to reconsider the benefit, which he likened to a retirement giveaway that past review committees have openly condemned.

A 22-year-old man was sentenced Friday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the 2006 killing of a suspected drug dealer at his Irvine home. An Orange County Superior Court jury in April found Brandon Turner of Oceanside guilty of murder and three other felonies. Prosecutors say he and two other men shot and killed Brian Gray as part of a plot to steal money and cocaine from him on Super Bowl Sunday. Stephen Bennett, 37, and Bernard Smith, 44, both of Vista, are still on trial.

The Ventura City Council Monday approved a $215,000 upgrade of the council chamber's sound system and television cameras, part of a new public awareness program. City Clerk Barbara J. Kam said the sound system now in the council chamber is 21 years old and rapidly failing. However, the new audio-visual system will do more than end the era of broken microphones.

I was deeply troubled by your article. As chief executive officer of AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA), the largest AIDS service organization in California, I can attest to Mayor Bradley's unwavering support of people impacted by HIV. He was one of the first politicians in California to speak out about this disease and put the city's money at the disposal of homeless people with AIDS. Since the position of AIDS program coordinator was created in 1988, we've seen the city spend millions of dollars to fund a variety of programs for people with HIV. The city's AIDS office also created and adopted what has been called the nation's most comprehensive AIDS policy.

A New York lawyer who has long been an advocate for improved AIDS health care will become executive director of AIDS Project Los Angeles, officials of the nonprofit service agency announced Tuesday. Leonard H. Bloom, who served as health commissioner under former New York Mayor Ed Koch, succeeds Stephen Bennett as chief administrator of the county's largest community-based AIDS agency. APLA has a $14-million annual budget and provides services to 3,200 people with AIDS.

Stephen Bennett, a former executive director of the United Cerebral Palsy Foundation of Los Angeles and Ventura County, has been named chief executive officer of the AIDS Project Los Angeles. Bennett, 39, assumed the $100,000-a-year position this week after a nationwide search that lasted six months. Bennett, who also has extensive experience in the private sector, said he will focus on improving client services and building a stronger board of directors and fund-raising capabilities.

PacifiCare Health Systems Inc., a Cypress-based health maintainence organization, said it has named Stephen Bennett as president of its fledgling Texas operation. Begun last July, PacifiCare of Texas has 216 members. Bennett, who joined the company in 1984, most recently was president of PacifiCare of Oregon, which has more than 13,000 members. A company spokeswoman said Bennett will continue to head the Oregon operation until a replacement can be found.

After watching a sexually explicit movie in court, a jury agreed that the X-rated "Spermbusters" may be pornographic, but not obscene. Walter M. Epler, a clerk at Pussy Cat Adult Bookstore in Largo, was acquitted Thursday on a misdemeanor charge of distributing obscene material. He was charged after renting a "Spermbusters" videotape to an undercover sheriff's detective.

I first joined AIDS Project Los Angeles in June, 1983, as a volunteer and was hired as their first director of volunteers six months later. I continued with the agency until 1989 and witnessed many changes. I must take exception to the conclusion presented in your article (Times, Nov. 24) that Stephen Bennett is responsible for bringing the agency from the brink of bankruptcy. Although I had many differences with Frank Paradise, interim director of the agency before Mr. Bennett, it is my determination that it was he, not Mr. Bennett, who pulled APLA out of the hole.