Wealthy People

Call it urban warfare for the rich and richer. Mexico City's elite is up in arms over plans to build roadway tunnels and overpasses through lovely suburban neighborhoods, a project that critics say would push the city's destructive sprawl into forests and a vital aquifer when fresh air and water are already scarce. Potential beneficiaries of the project are inhabitants of an even wealthier suburb, not to mention the politician who would get a boost from the high-profile works.

As Democratic leaders prepare to bring healthcare legislation before the full House and Senate for votes this month, they soon must decide who will be taxed to pay for expanding coverage -- the wealthy or the insurance companies. Legislation emerging from the House would slap a surtax on upper-income people. But many Democrats, especially in the Senate, fear the political fallout over voting to raise anyone's income taxes. The most prominent Senate bill would impose a tax on insurance companies that provide expensive policies, sometimes dubbed "Cadillac" plans.

Financial crisis? What financial crisis? The owners of a new ultra-luxury hotel maintain an air of confidence in the face of adversity. The 234-room Pangu Plaza, which opened in December, charges as much as $17,750 a night for a suite. The sushi bar, where the cheapest lunch special is $265, cooks its rice in mineral water flown in from Japan. The walls in the hotel are covered with silk, the floors with marble -- Italian of course. "The Chinese new rich have plenty of money.

After four months of testimony that cast a harsh light on the operatic lives of East Coast social royalty -- with tales of greed, abuse and bitter family feuds -- a jury today convicted legendary philanthropist Brooke Astor's son of tricking her into changing her will. The jury, which deliberated 11 full days, found Anthony D. Marshall guilty on 14 of the 16 counts against him, including grand larceny involving the theft of cash and art, possession of stolen property and conspiracy to defraud Astor.

Though some duffers are content to hit the public links in their golf shoes from Big 5, others make a sport out of gearing up for the game. Here's how to turn the fairway into a runway. -- $21,000: Pimp your ride. Chino-based American Custom Golf Cars Inc. sells tricked-out GM-licensed electric buggies made to look like Hummer H3s and 2007 Cadillac Escalades. The four-seaters can be upgraded with 18-inch wheels, DVD players, satellite radio, leather interiors, tilt steering and a hard top.

Comic actor John Ritter died on his daughter's 5th birthday in September 2003. The next day, his widow, actress Amy Yasbeck, told the girl that her dad's death was unavoidable. Since then, Yasbeck has come to believe the story she told their daughter Stella was wrong. "The doctors told it to me like I was 5 and I told it to her like she was 5," Yasbeck said in an interview with The Times. "The truth is, it's a lot more complicated and it's a lot more sad."

Need a getaway? Never mind the packaged 10-day Caribbean cruise or the condo in Maui. Misty Ewing, right, of travel network Virtuoso says affluent vacationers today are all about doing something different. (Think dinner on the Great Wall of China or after-hours tours of the Louvre.) Virtuoso's travel agents plan trips for Fortune 500 CEOs and owners of professional sports franchises. Here are Ewing's suggestions for adventurers willing to flash the cash: $55,950 I'm leavin' on a jet plane.

Put away the quarters and funnels and break out the crystal. Big spenders sip and swish rather than gulp and chug. And their bar accouterments are as swanky as their spirits. New on the shelves: $2,000 For its 130th anniversary, Veuve Clicquot is kicking its champagne up a notch. Only 3,600 bottles of this limited edition Yellowboam bubbly have been created. These labels are made of exotic leathers -- ostrich and alligator.

Some of us toss Fido some scraps off the dinner plate and call it a night. But for those channeling Leona Helmsley, the hotel magnate who left $12 million to her Maltese, Trouble, there's no shortage of over-the-top products to pamper a pet. At Three Dog Bakery in Santa Monica, owners Rocky and Hannah Keever are experts. Customers routinely ask to see the priciest pet paraphernalia, without even looking around the store.

He can't keep his backside on the bench, not when the clock is running and one of his stars is dribbling down the lane. He bounds to his feet, frizzy mullet springing crazily around his ears, eyes locked on his girls, Diana, Tina, Sue, the players he lured from the U.S. to catapult his team to greatness. At the start of the quarter, he sends them onto the court with his ritual, lingering embrace and a pat on the lower back.