Yorba Linda

Marine Cpl. Claudio Patino IV was a warrior, seemingly for his whole life, his family and friends said. As a child, he would brandish a toy gun and pretend to be a soldier. He staged play fights with his siblings, sometimes making believe that coyotes were their foes. He organized a fight club to do battle with his friends. On June 22, Patino died while fighting. The 22-year-old rifleman from Yorba Linda was "killed by small-arms fire, while conducting dismounted combat operations against enemy forces" in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province, on the Pakistani border, according to a statement issued by the Marine Corps.

Peter Bourjos, the new whiz kid in center field, showed why he can be a game-changer Friday night, turning Angel Stadium into a backdrop for his own highlight reel, and Scott Kazmir took another step forward in his recovery from a shoulder injury. If this were April, May or even June, these would be significant developments for the Angels, reasons to be optimistic about the future. But in mid-August, with the Angels scrambling to get back into contention in the American League West, they were mere footnotes in a 3-0 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays that further muddled the Angels' outlook.

The death of Rick Centanni of Yorba Linda was announced Friday over the intercom at Esperanza High School in Anaheim. Class of 2008. Member of the football team. Marine lance corporal killed earlier this week by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. Just 19. A secretary put Centanni's yearbook, the one in which his photo shows off his broad shoulders and wide smile, out at the front desk. Students, she knew, were sure to ask to see it. This isn't the first time this has happened at Esperanza.

Jon Welch's sixth-grade teacher had a bit of a problem with him. The energetic youngster would sit in his chair and whirl around. "She said, 'He's spinning circles in my classroom,' " his mother, Gina Storll, recalled, laughing. "He was a fun kid to be around, but he had trouble focusing on the mundane things." So he turned the world into his own landscape of wild exploits. Whether the prankster, the punk scenester or the guy crazy -- and half asleep -- enough to punch a bear in the face through a camping tent (the bear ran away)

You know those destinations you feel obligated to visit but don't really want to? Travel section readers do. We asked them to tell us about some of the places they were certain weren't right for them, and here's what they said. Sometimes, the destination was a wonderful surprise; other times, not so much. Read more online at latimes.com/placeswehate. Utah, Colorado road trip What I expected: Thirty hours in a cramped, six-cylinder speeding bullet with our in-laws, two dogs, a suitcase full of bargain basement books-on-tape (intrigue!

Stop the woofing Re "A last blast, then home," Jan. 23 While reading of the helicopter rescue of a German shepherd mix from the Los Angeles River near Vernon last week by L.A. Fire Department firefighter Joe St. Georges, I was angered to read that "some criticized the use of city resources to rescue a dog." Interesting that there is criticism over spending money to save a dog but silence about what we spend every day at city shelters to kill dogs. My heartfelt thanks to all of those involved in the rescue, and for knowing that all lives have value.

Why can't we be more like Spain? Regarding "Madrid to Barcelona in a Flash" by Bruce Selcraig, Jan. 17: While Spain and other industrialized countries continue building high-speed-train networks and maintaining their infrastructure, our infrastructure continues to fall apart, our country continues to wage wars and is building roads, bridges, dams and public buildings in Afghanistan. This year alone we are spending $100 billion in Afghanistan. Are we dumb or what? As my dad would have said: "That is America."

Today, looking back, as I search for a way to describe the year past, every good and bad day, I'd like to thank those who gave me a lift: Polanski and Manny. Arnold? A gift. I thank the Assembly as well as the Senate: They promised to lead, but they never once meant it. They mangled the budget! It wasn't much fun: Maybe next year they'll get something done. Oh, wait, I've forgotten to cover all bases: The lawmakers managed to hand out staff raises.

Re "A blow to American Muslims," Nov. 7 It's not fair to the world's 1.5 billion Muslims to have to defend themselves and their religion every time a tragic incident is committed here or anywhere else by an individual who happens to be a Muslim. Islam does not advocate violence. We as Muslims do not condone such cowardly acts. Islam is a religion of peace and coexistence with all mankind. Mustafa Murgos Hemet :: Physicians take an oath to do no harm. Soldiers swear to protect their nation.