Telephone Numbers

Prompted by the surging demand for new phone numbers, Orange County cities bordering Los Angeles County will get a new area code on Saturday. The change will affect telephone customers from Seal Beach to La Habra currently listed under the 310 code. Beginning Saturday, the new code for those customers will be 562. It will mark the second code change in six years for the area, and telephone industry officials predicted another change will become necessary in 2007.

Senate Majority Leader Ellen M. Corbett (D-San Leandro) is making a second attempt to regulate social network websites, including Facebook and Twitter, amid privacy concerns. With support from Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, Corbett has introduced a bill that would require the websites to remove personal identifying information on minors upon the request of their parents, and allow adults to have their own information taken down. “Unsuspecting children and teenagers are oftentimes prime targets for online predators that use these sites to prey on vulnerable young people," Corbett said in a statement.  A similar but broader bill by Corbett failed to win approval in 2011 after aggressive lobbying against it by a coalition of firms, including Google, Facebook and Twitter.

Aer Lingus (800) 474-7424, Internet: http://www.aerlingus.ie Aero California (800) 237-6225 Aeroflot Russian Int'l. (800) 995-5555, http://www.aeroflot.org/index.htm Aerolineas Argentinas (800) 333-0276, http://www.aerolineas.com AeroMexico (800) 237-6639, http://www.aeromexico.com Air Canada (800) 776-3000, http://www.aircanada.ca Air France (800) 237-2747, http://www.airfrance.fr Air Jamaica (800) 523-5585, http://www.airjamaica.com Air New Zealand (800) 262-1234, http://www.airnz.

The judge in the Jerry Sandusky trial on Tuesday ordered prosecutors to turn over the telephone numbers and addresses of those who say they were sexually abused by the former Penn State football coach, so that the defense can seek them out before the trial. The ruling comes as both sides are fighting through the pretrial stage in the closely watched case, which is scheduled for court in mid-May. Sandusky, 68, is charged with more than 50 counts of sexually abusing 10 boys over 15 years.

Here are phone numbers and Web sites for some of the larger hotel chains and groups: Amanresorts (800) 637-7200 http://www.amanresorts.com AmeriSuites (800) 833-1516 http://www.amerisuites.com Aston (800) 922-7866 http://www.aston-hotels.com Best Western (800) 528-1234 http://www.bestwestern.com Budget Host (800) 283-4678 http://www.budgethost.com Camino Real (800) 722-6466 http://www.caminoreal.com Choice (800) 4-CHOICE (424-6423) http://www.choicehotels.com Clarion (800) 252-7466 http://www.

SERVICES Social Security: 1-800-234-5772, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. M-F Medicare: 1-800-252-9020, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. M-F Medicare Advocacy Project 315 W. 9th St., Suite 1004, L.A. 90015 213-614-0991, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., M-F Countywide legal services plus information on Medicare and health insurance. Medi-Cal: Public information in L.A. County: 818-572-5851, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. M-F State Department of Social Services: 1-800-952-5253, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. M-F Veterans Administration 11000 Wilshire Blvd., L.

California Fair Employment and Housing Commission: For questions about family leave laws and other employment and housing issues: Los Angeles County: (213) 897-2839. Orange County: (714) 558-4159. San Diego County: (619) 237-7405. San Bernardino County: (714) 383-4711. Ventura County: (805) 654-4513. Family-Related Organizations: Andrus Older Adult Center, USC School of Gerontology, (213) 740-3493. Los Angeles Caregiver Resource Center, (213) 740-8711.

The California Public Utilities Commission granted another short reprieve on Thursday to South Bay telephone users by again delaying a vote on an unpopular proposal to split the 310 area code. The postponement, until the PUC's Oct. 16 meeting, gave the commission more time to assess whether recent and pending actions by the Federal Communications Commission would free up enough telephone numbers to avoid the need for a new area code in the region.

Senate Majority Leader Ellen M. Corbett (D-San Leandro) is making a second attempt to regulate social network websites, including Facebook and Twitter, amid privacy concerns. With support from Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, Corbett has introduced a bill that would require the websites to remove personal identifying information on minors upon the request of their parents, and allow adults to have their own information taken down. “Unsuspecting children and teenagers are oftentimes prime targets for online predators that use these sites to prey on vulnerable young people," Corbett said in a statement.  A similar but broader bill by Corbett failed to win approval in 2011 after aggressive lobbying against it by a coalition of firms, including Google, Facebook and Twitter.

Telephone numbers at The Times are changing. Beginning Tuesday, Feb. 17, readers and advertisers will be asked to use new telephone number prefixes. Except in Orange County, most extensions will remain unchanged. Here are the changes in Los Angeles, Orange County and in the San Fernando Valley: Previous Number New Number Los Angeles Office (213) 972-5000 (213) 237-5000 Display Advertising (213) 972-3000 (213) 237-3000 Editorial (213) 972-7000 (213) 237-7000 San Fernando Valley (818)

For tourist information about foreign destinations, contact the government offices below. Several no longer list phone numbers, so information is through their website only. For information about a country not listed, call the United Nations at (212) 963-1234, dial 0 and ask for the number of the country's U.N. mission or delegation. A helpful website is the Tourism Offices Worldwide Directory, http://www.towd.com . Anguilla: Anguilla Tourist Board, (877) 426-4845, http://www.

Google Inc.'s hot new software enables users to make cheap international calls, consolidate multiple phone numbers into one voice mail account and get e-mailed transcripts of their voice messages. But on Tuesday, Apple Inc. declined to make the call for its iPhone users. The Cupertino, Calif., electronics giant refused to allow Google to distribute its Google Voice application on iTunes, shutting out iPhone users from easily tapping into the much-anticipated service.

For the second time in two years, the powerful telecommunications industry has blocked a consumer-oriented bill that would have barred companies from charging land-line customers for unlisted numbers. On Tuesday, state Sen. Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills) put on hold for this year a bill that would have eliminated monthly unlisted-number fees.

The Federal Communications Commission voted to require telemarketers to continue complying with the national do-not-call registry, which bars them from dialing more than 157 million telephone numbers. The commission's order implements a law that made the 5-year-old list permanent. The law, enacted in February, prevented registrations from automatically expiring this year. Without the extension, consumers would have had to register their numbers again to avoid unwanted sales calls.

In California, where celebrities, billionaires and the rest of us prize a little privacy at home, the price of going unlisted is going up, big-time. Though cellphone companies charge nothing for unlisted phone numbers, consumers with traditional telephones connected by wires are often paying nearly $25 a year to stay out of the phone book and directory assistance. That adds up when you consider all the other add-on charges on phone bills.

When the wrong numbers started flooding in last year, John Dickson didn't just hang up. Instead, he said "Ho ho ho" and solemnly heard requests for laptops and light sabers from children seeking Santa. Dickson, who runs a website promoting Santa Barbara attractions, can be reached at 1-800-SANTABARBARA (1-800-726-8222).

Rick Nicholson is appalled. He's just heard that the Inland Empire, currently served by the 909 area code, may be hit with new area codes by year's end. "Oh no. That's my customers!" wails Nicholson, who sells T-shirts over the Internet emblazoned with "909" and skulls. "The Gothic kids, metal militia, the extreme motorcycle people -- the 909 is their claim to fame. It's their geography." Who knew?

Pressured by a lawsuit, Internet social network Facebook Inc. will adopt measures to prevent its 58 million members from sending text messages to recycled cellphone numbers. The settlement was announced Tuesday by attorneys for an Indiana woman who claimed Palo Alto-based Facebook had been profiting from text messages sent by its members after the intended recipients had given up the phone numbers. The lawsuit, filed by Lindsey Abrams of Patriot, Ind.

Shira Barlow had her new cellphone number for only two days when the flood of calls began. Birthday wishes, inquiries about locations for "in" parties, requests to get on guest lists at the hottest Los Angeles nightclubs. Most of the calls were placed between 2 and 4 a.m. on weekends. Some were annoying. Many involved slurred words. When the callers were told they had reached a UCLA college student, they refused to believe it. "Baby girl, how are you?" a man purred in a foreign accent.