Straw

It was evidently good enough for Gilligan and Robinson Crusoe. But is coconut water a healthy choice for people who aren't stranded on a deserted island? A longstanding treat in tropical regions across the globe, coconut water hit U.S. supermarkets a few years back and is now being marketed with a vengeance. Sometimes billed as nature's sports drink, the slightly sour beverage has also acquired a reputation for being able to improve circulation, slow aging, fight viruses, boost immunity, and reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease and stroke.

Mitt Romney has won the Wyoming caucus straw poll, according to the state Republican Party in Casper. The former Massachusetts governor received 39% to Rick Santorum's 32%. Ron Paul was next at 21% and Newt Gingrich got 8%. The results, compiled during a series of precinct caucuses, are non-binding but will have an impact on the selection of at-large delegates at the state convention in April. The selection of the first 12 Wyoming delegates to the Tampa convention will begin on Super Tuesday at county conventions, which take place over several days.

A suspect who was tricked by an enterprising police detective into leaving his saliva on a soft drink straw at an Orange County Taco Bell pleaded guilty to two rape charges Monday in a case that even his lawyer said represented a legitimate yet unusual use of DNA evidence. Brea Police Det. Susan Hanna had been working on the case for months and thought Robert William Bradford Jr. was her man when she invited him out for a meal at Taco Bell, saying she wanted to pick his brain about the case.

Mitt Romney won a presidential preference straw poll of party activists at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, giving him a morale boost after a trio of losses earlier in the week that suggested the Republican base was still cool to the tentative front-runner. Romney was the choice of 38% of the 3,408 CPAC attendees who voted in the poll, and Rick Santorum finished second with 31%. Newt Gingrich won 15% and Ron Paul had 12%. Romney, Santorum and Gingrich addressed the conference on Friday.

It happens every year. Spring arrives, and flowers appear — and not just in your garden but on all kinds of fashion accessories. This year, the fashion bloom is especially bountiful. Designers including Dolce & Gabbana, Valentino and Juicy Couture have worked flower embellishments all over their shoes and bags — in rosettes, embroidery, appliqué and straw. And in all manner of design, color and application. "Flowers never go in or out of style. They're a timeless design element," says Jody Kuss, executive vice president of merchandising for Coach, whose new Natalie handbag pairs a classic straw tote with leather floral embellishments "It's a great contrast in textures," she says.

One could say that nicotine is the straw that broke the Camel's back! JIM HULGAN Azusa

Hats are a la mode this season, whether on the beach or the catwalk. On the beach, savvy sun worshippers know that a hat will protect the scalp from burning and peeling while shading the face, neck and ears. On the catwalk, Dior's haute couture collection for spring-summer 2010 featured tilted-top hats with dainty veils attached. For this same season, the always-cheeky Isaac Mizrahi designed his own spin on the boater with a casual straw tone for day, and satin black and silver for evening.

At the beginning of the 20th century, millinery was so commonplace that many women decorated their own hats. But with the social movements of the late 1960s, fashion became more casual and upscale hats fell by the wayside. Today, there are only a handful of famous milliners, notably Brits Stephen Jones and Philip Treacy and recent Target collaborator Eugenia Kim, based in New York. But over the last few years, hats have started to come back into vogue, and now L.A. native Rehn Dudukgian, 28, is hoping to join the roster of great hat designers with Bijou Van Ness, her new line of couture creations that fuse the romance of 20th century European fashion with pure Hollywood glamour.

The little factory south of town that converts rice wastes to electricity is a sweet deal for everyone. It relieves 21 rice mills of the expensive landfill disposal of rice hulls, and spares residents of the Sacramento Valley from the noxious smoke of rice straw burning in the fields. The Pacific Gas & Electric Co. gets power without the financial and environmental encumbrances. Electricity users may turn on their toasters without visions of oil sheiks or leaking tankers. Even the makers of concrete, ceramics, glass and computer chips welcome the burning rice's ash, which is also used to oxidize and solidify toxic waste spills.

After all that has been said and done regarding Magic Johnson, is it really necessary to erect a life-size monument at the Forum? As far as I'm concerned, this is the last straw. Please! Enough about Magic. MARTA G. TRUJILLO Torrance

This post has been corrected. See the note at the bottom for details. Reversing his embarrassing string of setbacks earlier this week when he lost Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri to Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney eked out a narrow win in the straw poll tied to Maine's multiday caucuses Saturday, defeating Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, who was the only other candidate to actively campaign in Maine. The peculiar Republican contest in Maine -- where caucusing began in some towns in late January and will continue in others after Saturday's presidential preference poll -- was viewed as something of an afterthought because many Republicans expected Romney to have the Republican nomination all but sewn up. Instead, the contest took on new importance as a test of the former Massachusetts governor's organizational strength after his losses Tuesday night.

It was almost as if the Michele Bachmann campaign expected no one to show up at all. Bachmann kept a light schedule Monday, with her first stop at a diner so small that there was no room for her. It was so packed with cameras, reporters and a smattering of customers that an aide said Bachmann wouldn't come in unless a few people moved. "But she will be appearing down the street at the Diggity Dog," the aide said. A walking tour of well-worn storefronts seemed a world away from those heady days in August when Bachmann won the Ames Straw Poll, which landed her on the cover of Newsweek.

Newt Gingrich emerged the winner in a Sunday night straw poll of tea party voters after he and three other Republican presidential candidates courted more than 23,000 activists during a tele-forum sponsored by the Tea Party Patriots coalition. Gingrich won with 31% of the vote. Second place went to Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, who won 28%. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won 20%, and former Sen. Rick Santorum won 16%. All four participated in a pre-poll call with activists, in which they each spent 10 minutes responding to questions from participants and gave a 90-second closing pitch for support.

Pakistan and the United States have been here before: a crisis followed by saber rattling, recriminations — and moves behind the scenes to patch things up. This time feels different. The rage coursing through Pakistani society over the Nov. 26 airstrike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers suggests there may be permanent damage to a relationship already scarred this year by the killing of two Pakistani men by a CIA contractor, and by the U.S. commando raid that killed Osama bin Laden.

For months, Herman Cain floated under the radar as other candidates for the Republican presidential nomination were poked, prodded and scrutinized by a voracious national media. A businessman with no elective office experience, Cain could say anything he wanted — and did — because few were paying attention. Then Cain unleashed his catchy 9-9-9 tax reform plan. He won a straw poll in Florida and vaulted into the top tier, tying or besting front-runner Mitt Romney in some polls.

David Zelag Goodman, a screenwriter best known for such 1970s films as the controversial psychological thriller "Straw Dogs" and "Lovers and Other Strangers," a comedy that earned him an Oscar nomination, has died. He was 81. Goodman died Monday at an assisted-living facility in Oakland of progressive supranuclear palsy, a brain disorder, said his daughter, Kevis Goodman. "He was a man for all seasons," said his close friend Zev Braun, a film and television producer. "He went from biblical scholar [as a young man]

I suggest the recent resurgence of the Dodgers in the last two months is largely due to the efforts of one man in the entire organization. Forgiving the blunders he has made in the past regarding Sutcliffe, Cey, Lopes and others, I strongly believe that Trader Al Campanis is really the straw that stirs the Dodger drink. The Cabell deal he made this year was a masterpiece of bartering. ROBIN KATZ Sepulveda

The Commerce Department said Monday that it has made a final determination that hats, caps and visors from China are being sold in the United States at less than fair-market value. As a result of the finding, cash deposits or bonds will be imposed on the imported head wear, which include items made from certain natural and man-made fibers but not hats made of straw, felt or wool.

Still basking from his surprise win in a Florida straw poll, Herman Cain, the businessman turned GOP presidential aspirant, tried on Monday to build on his 15 minutes of fame by insisting he really is an authentic candidate and more than just a lucky recipient of protest votes. Speaking on NBC and CNN, Cain pushed his message that people picked him in the weekend's Florida straw vote because he was expounding a receptive program. He denied that his votes were a protest against front-runner Rick Perry's poor performance in last week's debates.