Water

Five people who were fishing Saturday off Point Dume were rescued from their sinking yacht, authorities said. The 42-foot vessel started taking on water, and someone on board put out a distress call to authorities about 10:50 a.m., said Inspector Frederic Stowers of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Two people were in the water and three were still on the yacht when help arrived. No one was injured, and the rescue was completed by 11:30 a.m., Stowers said. -- Ari B. Bloomekatz

Re "Please step away from the hose, sir," Aug. 16 In response to a recent inquiry, I am pleased to report that my most recent DWP bill showed a 28% reduction in water use over the same period last year. Over the last year, we have reduced our water use 27% when compared with the same 12-month period the prior year. We've cut our family water use -- like so many other Angelenos -- by reducing watering outdoors and taking simple steps to conserve water indoors. David Nahai Los Angeles The writer is the general manager of the DWP.

Re "Sprinkling less, gushing more," Sept. 19 The Times reports that some experts outside the DWP indicate that two-day-a-week watering of gardens may have contributed to the increase in water mains breaking. Before this, homeowners spread the load over seven days. If this conjecture is correct, it illustrates the folly of bureaucrats trying to micromanage how we use water. Instead of telling us how to use water, they should merely tell us how much water we can use. Then, if we use more, we should pay a penalty price for the excess amount.

Village Green: The L.A. Then and Now column in Sunday's California section about the Village Green community in Baldwin Hills said 250,000 gallons of water coursed through the streets after the earthen dam of the Baldwin Hills Reservoir developed a crack in 1963. It was 250 million gallons of water.

Village Green: The L.A. Then and Now column in the Sept. 20 California section about the Village Green community in Baldwin Hills said 250,000 gallons of water coursed through the streets after the earthen dam of the Baldwin Hills Reservoir developed a crack in 1963. It was 250 million gallons of water.

A Pomona-area water board member convicted of misappropriating public funds was sentenced Thursday to five years in state prison. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mike Camacho also ordered Three Valleys Municipal Water District board member Xavier Alvarez, 51, to pay $4,150.79 in restitution. Alvarez failed to disclose that he had been divorced for five years when he unlawfully applied for and received health insurance benefits for his ex-wife. He already was on probation for falsely claiming to be a Medal of Honor recipient.

A Wisconsin judge is tossing out a decision -- for now, at least -- that could have cost PepsiCo $1.26 billion after the soft drink maker didn't respond to a lawsuit alleging it stole the idea for bottled water. Two men claim that PepsiCo violated trade secrets and stole their idea to sell bottled water. They won a default $1.26-billion judgment last month after PepsiCo didn't respond. PepsiCo says a secretary who received letters relating to the case failed to act on them.