Strip Mall

Yorba Linda could give Irvine a run for its money as the white-bread capital of Orange County, a fact that makes the very existence of the slightly rough-at-the-edges Canyon Inn even more of an anomaly. Set in a nondescript strip mall on the southern edge of town, the inn can be easy to miss.

Authorities were still trying to determine Wednesday why a man opened fire with an assault rifle at an IHOP in Carson City, Nev., killing three uniformed National Guard members and a civilian woman before killing himself. They attempted to quell early theories that the lone gunman, Eduardo Sencion, 32, of Carson City, entered the restaurant Tuesday morning specifically to gun down the unarmed National Guard members. The attack appears to be a random barrage of violence, said Carson City Sheriff Kenny Furlong.

Many regard L.A.'s mini-mall proliferation as a blight spawned by our car culture, but did you know that these architectural eyesores house some of the best "dive" bars in town? Weeks of painstaking research produced the following list of holes-in-the-mall, most offering cheap drinks, dim orange lighting, legions of loyal customers and on-site parking.

Sometimes, you cannot conceive of how much love can be cooked into a falafel. Many falafel are sad, desiccated creatures made from powdered mix; it's the rare place that makes falafel from fresh ingredients. But Habayit Restaurant's falafel are beyond even that. The falafel are tiny little things, and they have a tendency to vanish just before you've figure out exactly what makes them quite so amazingly good. Take a bite and look inside: There isn't the dry sponge-like texture of reconstituted powdered garbanzo; there is, instead, all kinds of little chunks of things — beans, vegetables, herbs.

A 300-foot-long building facade at a Glendora strip mall collapsed into a parking lot Wednesday evening. The collapse occurred about 10 p.m. on Arrow Highway. "Apparently they had just put plaster and new signs up and the weight may have pulled it off," said Lt. John Doan of the Glendora Police Department. The 20-foot-tall wall did not strike any people or cars, according to police.

Firefighters quickly extinguished a blaze at a one-story strip mall around noon Sunday, a Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman said. Ten fire companies and four rescue ambulances responded to the blaze in the 5400 block of Whitsett Avenue and extinguished it in 27 minutes, preventing significant damage to the four mall units, depart- ment spokesman Brian Ballton said. Officials reported no injuries. The cause of the fire was under investigation.

A fire in a Tarzana strip mall early Sunday caused about $75,000 in damage, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. No one was injured in the blaze at Tarzana Plaza, in the 19000 block of Ventura Boulevard, Fire Department spokesman Bob Collins said. Investigators believe that an electrical short in the building's attic caused the fire. About 75 firefighters were dispatched to the scene shortly after receiving a call at 3:34 a.m.

Fire started by an electrical problem caused an estimated $700,000 damage to a strip mall, city fire officials said Monday. Ninety-five Los Angeles firefighters responded to the blaze Sunday night in the 6100 block of Lankershim Boulevard. A discount clothing and shoe store, a dry cleaner and a video store sustained fire damage and a self-service laundry sustained water damage, Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey said. No injuries were reported.

A fire at a strip mall Sunday injured two people and caused $1.4 million in damage, authorities said. An unidentified man was seriously burned and taken to a nearby hospital, and a firefighter suffered minor injuries and was treated, according to the Glendale Fire Department. Investigators have not determined the cause of the blaze, which was reported at 6:39 a.m. in the 4100 block of Pennsylvania Avenue.

A two-alarm fire raced through a strip mall Saturday night, gutting five stores and causing about $1 million in damage, fire officials said. Fire Department officials are still investigating the cause of the 11:40 p.m. blaze at the shopping center in the 1600 block of West Orangethorpe Avenue. No one was reported injured.

The first time, when the spotlight beckoned, she backed away from the stage. She was nearing 40, a size 14, her body "long instead of perky. " "I think we have a runner!" the emcee yelled. A group of dancers blocked her way. And then, to the brassy notes of an old show tune, they nudged her onstage to strip. Eight years later, here in this land of the thin, blond ideal, the woman who changed her name legally to Lili VonSchtupp draws crowds to a dive bar in Hollywood to celebrate real women with real bodies.

A mother putting her toddler into a car seat was killed and six men were wounded Tuesday in a rolling gun battle that started inside a Sacramento barber shop. FOR THE RECORD: Sacramento shootings: An article in the Dec. 15 LATExtra section about a shootout at a Sacramento strip mall gave incorrect call letters for a local television station. The station is KOVR Channel 13, not KVOR. ? At least two armed men walked into Fly Cuts and Styles and opened fire just before 1 p.m., authorities said.

Religious experience is, by and large, ineffable. This indescribability is, in fact, one of the defining characteristics of mysticism and other forms of spiritual awareness. As listening to a piece of music that moves us to tears may defy our ability to explain those tears, spiritual encounters often resist our desire to describe them. But we do have moving descriptions. William James' seminal 1902 book "The Varieties of Religious Experience" offers a parade of stories focused on a multiplicity of spiritual encounters.

I often lament have left Los Angeles, my hometown, to live in San Francisco, especially now that I have a son. After Kai was born, we found ourselves making the trek up and down Interstate 5 at least once a month. On our third not-so-pleasant jaunt past the sea of cows, Kai began screaming and would not stop. Yearning for somewhere fabulous to stop so we could cuddle him without the stench of manure and diesel, we vowed to start taking the nice way. Three years later (after chalking up more than 100,000 miles)

I discovered La Bella Roma, a family-operated restaurant tucked in a corner of a strip mall off Ramon Road in Cathedral City (near Palm Springs). The correct use of herbs makes it a pleasure to try the spaghetti, mostaccioli, rigatoni or linguine. La Bella Roma, 68-100 Ramon Road, Suite C-2, Cathedral City; (760) 202-8181; entrees from about $10. Sheppa Vanderkleij Indio

A teenage boy shot in a shopping center died Friday, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The 17-year-old and his two brothers, who were being followed by two men, pulled into a shopping center near Cerritos College on Thursday in the 12500 block of Alondra Boulevard, Deputy Aura Sierra said. The two men climbed out of their vehicle and one began firing, hitting the teenager, Sierra said. The two men then got back in their car and fled. Anyone with information is asked to call the Homicide Bureau at (323)

About 65 firefighters battled a four-alarm fire Tuesday that swept through a Huntington Harbour strip mall. No one was injured in the 6:50 p.m. blaze, which erupted at the Harbor Mall in the 16800 block of Algonquin Street, said Steve Hess, a spokesman for the Huntington Beach Fire Department. A bystander, however, was treated for injuries at the scene when he tripped over a fire hose and fell.

Pity the strip-mall bar. Far too often, lounges in Southern California strip malls lapse into liverishness, cultivating a vibe that's more about locals bingeing than meeting cool new friends. And while a number of notable new restaurants have flourished in mini-malls in and around Los Angeles lately, few bars have risen to the challenge. Enter Craig Trager, who has all but made a career out of turning nondescript bars into hip L.A. destinations.

ANAHEIM IS still the town Walt Disney made famous, but it's not just Walt's Anaheim anymore. The city's night life scene is growing, with recent additions such as the Ember Cafe and Music Club and the Heat Ultra Lounge. The new center of the scene, Heat, is in an unlikely spot: the Anaheim GardenWalk, an outdoor plaza in the vein of Downtown Disney and Universal City's CityWalk.