CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
May 14, 2013 | By Chris Megerian, Los Angeles Times
SACRAMENTO - In the last century, Californians have said yes to every request for money to help veterans buy homes. Since 2000, they have signed off on $1.4 billion in bonds for that purpose. But most of that money remains untapped. In fact, the state's home loan program for veterans, run by the agency known as Cal-Vet, is doing less and less each year to help servicemen and women returning from Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. Yet there's more money available for the program than in the agency's annual operating budget.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
May 13, 2013 | By Rick Rojas and Anh Do, Los Angeles Times
Dependable and steady, Maribel Ramos was a hard-charging Army veteran just a couple of weeks away from graduating from college with a degree in criminal justice. Beyond all else, friends agree, she was not the kind of person who'd simply walk away. But Ramos, 36, has been missing for 11 days, seen last on surveillance footage turning in her rent check at her apartment complex in Orange on May 2. She was reported missing the next day, a Friday, after she failed to show up for a speaking commitment at a veterans group event and then never showed at the softball game she'd played weekly for almost six years.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
May 11, 2013 | By Alan Zarembo, Los Angeles Times
Vietnam veteran John Otte did his best to forget the war. He got married, raised two sons and made a career working at credit unions. But as Otte neared retirement, memories of combat flooded back. Starting in 2005, he filed a series of claims with Veterans Affairs for disability compensation, contending that many of his health problems stemmed from the war. The VA agreed, and now the 65-year-old with two Purple Hearts receives $1,900 a month for post-traumatic stress disorder and diabetes - and for having shrapnel scars on his arms.
SPORTS
May 2, 2013 | By Dylan Hernandez
Josh Beckett has changed. The flamethrower has turned into a finesse pitcher. The cocky kid has become polite, even warm. This would all make for a nice story about a former phenom who is maturing and learning to deal with his age-inflicted limitations. Except for one thing: This 32-year-old version of Beckett has trouble getting hitters out. Beckett has failed to complete six innings in four of his six starts this season, including Wednesday night in the Dodgers' 7-3 loss to the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium.
SPORTS
May 1, 2013 | By Jim Peltz
The elite level of the National Hot Rod Assn.'s funny car drag racing is dominated by two multi-car teams, John Force Racing and Don Schumacher Racing, which have seven funny car drivers between them. But that's of no concern to one of the sport's soloists, veteran Cruz Pedregon. Pedregon, 49, leads the funny car championship standings after his win Sunday near Houston even though he's a single-car team, with Pedregon as driver, chief engine tuner and manager. It's the first time since September 2009 that a driver who does not work for Force or Schumacher has led the funny car standings in the NHRA's premier Mello Yello Series.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
April 30, 2013 | By Steve Chawkins, Los Angeles Times
Jack Shea, a Hollywood veteran who directed popular sitcoms such as "The Jeffersons" and who, as president of the Directors Guild of America, forcefully argued for minority hiring and local production, has died. He was 84. Shea's death Sunday at a Tarzana care facility was caused by complications from Alzheimer's disease, a family spokesman said. His first TV directing gig came when he was 27, a frightened novice who suddenly was asked to fill in when the director of the game show "Truth or Consequences" called in sick.