The Desert Sun California Section

LOCAL /
California

Anti-gay hate crimes nearly double in Orange County

Hate crimes against gays and lesbians in Orange County nearly doubled from 2011 to last year — from seven to 13, the Orange County Human Relations Commission said in an annual report released Thursday.

12:32 PM

LOCAL /
California

Los Angeles mayoral candidate Eric Garcetti arrives for an election night rally Tuesday in Hollwyood. Garcetti defeated Controller Wendy Greuel to become the city's next mayor after a campaign in which he depicted his rival a pawn of powerful labor bosses. Chris Carlson, The Associated Press

5 things to know about L.A.'s next mayor

Eric Garcetti has won the race to be the 42nd mayor of Los Angeles, becoming the first Jewish mayor in the city's history.

May 22, 2013

LOCAL /
California

FILE - The San Onofre nuclear power plant in north San Diego County, Calif., is seen in this March 1, 2010 file photo. The Los Angeles City Council is to consider Friday, Dec. 14, 2012, a resolution to oppose restart of San Onofre's Unit 2, unless Southern California Edison seeks a license amendment, which would trigger a court-like review that could take as long as two years. If approved, Los Angeles would become the largest government entity, by far, to go on the record opposing a restart of the troubled . (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi, File) AP

San Onofre restart delayed

Federal regulators have pushed back indefinitely a decision on the proposed restart of the troubled San Onofre nuclear power plant in California.

May 20, 2013

LOCAL /
California

Joe Fajardo poses holding his Powerball lottery ticket after buying it at a store Saturday, May 18, 2013, in the Barrio Logan neighborhood of San Diego. With the majority of possible combinations of Powerball numbers in play, someone is almost sure to win the lottery game's highest jackpot on Saturday night, a windfall of hundreds of millions of dollars — and that's after taxes. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) AP

Powerball numbers are in

Of course, the chances of winning the $600 million prize remain astronomically low: 1 in 175.2 million. And lottery officials said Saturday that 80 percent of the possible combinations have been purchased.

May 18, 2013

LOCAL /
California

Parking fees at California state beaches heat up

Sunbathers flocking to Southern California beaches are used to feeding the meter or paying a parking attendant. Not so along the less developed north coast where it's customary to ditch cars on the shoulder of Highway 1 to surf, swim or picnic.

May 18, 2013

LOCAL /
California

California Attorney General Kamala Harris, far left, arrives with former Assemblyman Mike Feuer, second from left, to announce the state's efforts to reduce gun violence with the Armed Prohibited Persons System (APPS) initiative at a news conference at the LAPD Headquarters in Los Angeles Friday, May 17, 2013. On display are firearms seized during recent APPS sweeps. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) AP

California AG meets with new task force on guns

California Attorney General Kamala Harris met with a new statewide taskforce of district attorneys Friday to study ways to reduce gun violence and enforce existing law.

May 17, 2013

LOCAL /
California

Hole in California law allows sex offenders to become addiction counselors

'Sexual psychopath.' That was the diagnosis a court-ordered psychiatrist gave Donald Robert Hoffman after he was convicted of molesting a 13-year-old boy in 1965. Hoffman, the psychiatrist determined, was a danger to others.

May 16, 2013

LOCAL /
California

Henry Diaz works on a problem in pre-calculus class at Desert Hot Springs High School on Tuesday. The students were preparing for an upcoming exam. Jay Calderon/The Desert Sun

Jerry Brown's proposal a big win for valley schools

A new state budget proposal with a heavy focus on public school education would spend at least $4.5 billion to prepare teachers for a standardized curriculum, pay down a debt to underfunded districts and send extra money to schools in poor, Spanish-speaking areas.