Union-Tribune Publishing Co.

Are the Koch Brothers Trying to Buy the Los Angeles Times?

Update: The Koch Brothers respond, sort of. See next page. See also: Who Will Buy the Los Angeles Times?The latest rumor about the next owner of the L.A. Times, which is for sale, is a doozy. A bombshell. It's a doozy wrapped in a bombshell exploding inside a Drudge siren. Multiple sources te ... More >>

Who Will Buy the Los Angeles Times?

Why do so many rich men want to buy it? And how did it get to this point anyway?

Junior Seau Dead of Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound in Oceanside

Updated at the bottom with the San Diego County coroner confirming suicide as the cause of death. First posted at 12:27 p.m. Wednesday. Junior Seau, the hometown hero and onetime USC player who became a star linebacker for the San Diego Chargers, died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound thi ... More >>

Shaima Alawadi, SoCal Iraqi Muslim, Dies After Possible Hate-Crime Beating

The death of a Southern California woman from Iraq over the weekend set off a national furor, mostly via social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Shaima Alawadi, a 32-year-old Muslim woman, was beaten in her El Cajon home east of San Diego last week and died in a hospital Saturday, according t ... More >>

How to Find Gas at $1.46 Less Per Gallon (Really)

What if we told you we knew of a place where you could save about $1.46 a gallon on gas -- today? What if we told you, while you were in the neighborhood getting your cheap gas you could also dine on meals that have the foodie nation buzzing, get a huge discount on your prescription drugs, and take ... More >>

Drunk Driving Surfer Dives Into Cold Ocean, Successfully Evades Cops, They Say

Here's one way to avoid the DUI dance: With cops on your tail, drive to the edge of America, get out of your car, and dive into the ocean. (Seriously, don't try this at home, kids). It appeared to work for a 28-year-old suspect in San Diego yesterday morning. Any drunk-driving case against him is ... More >>

Justin Bieber Statutorily Raped by Teen Mariah Yeater? LAPD Looking Into it ...

Yeater on Facebook.​Forgive us if we gloat. But we brought this to your attention early on: The woman who has filed a paternity suit against Justin Bieber admits that she allegedly had sex with him when he was underage (he still is) and she wasn't. Turns out the LAPD figured this out too. Off ... More >>

Occupy San Diego: Man Reportedly Dead After Falling From Civic Center Garage

​[Update: Police say the man, who jumped off the eighth story of the parking structure, does not appear to have ties to the Occupy San Diego protest. The San Diego Union-Tribune says his political fliers read, "Important Message to Intelligent Earthlings From Your Creator." The OSD protesters held ... More >>

Freeway Shooter in San Diego Might be Headed North to L.A: Car Registered Here

Updated at the bottom: A suspect was detained in the San Fernando Valley. First posted at 4:18 p.m. Cops in L.A. County were on the lookout for a freeway shooter in a car that's registered in Lancaster. A series of at least four freeway shootings -- with one driver injured and a CHP officer target ... More >>

[Updated] Cars, Pedestrians Crossing Mexico-U.S. Border Stuck in Tijuana After Scaffolding Collapse

ReutersThe hellish line to San Ysidro just got worse.​Update: The wait time at the Otay crossing into the U.S. is over two hours, both in car and on foot. The southbound lanes into Tijuana have been re-opened, but border officials Tweet that they will not be "processing pedestrians or vehicles ... More >>

Gumby-Costumed Man Tries to Rob 7-Eleven in SoCal, Cops Say

Gumby.​Updated at the bottom with San Diego police telling us they don't believe it was a hoax. Two suspects turned themselves in. First posted at 6:03 a.m. on Sept. 7. Gumby tried to rob a Southern California 7-Eleven. You read that right. A man dressed in a full-on, head-to-toe Gumby cost ... More >>

Southern California Blackouts in San Diego, South Orange County During Heatwave

​Updated at the bottom: As power seems to be coming back on, California electricity officials issue a "flex-alert" for the entire state. A power outage affecting all of San Diego County has been reported today, and now we're seeing tweets that the lights have gone out in Dana Point, Laguna Ni ... More >>

Marvin Bada, SoCal Man, Gets 20 Years For Selling Ecstasy That Led to Fatal Overdose

tributes.comLaura Evvonne Luna.​A Southern California man who sold ecstasy to a former high school classmate who later died of an overdose got 20 years behind bars. The harsh sentence was the "mandatory minimum" under a federal law that states drugs you sell to someone who then dies after usi ... More >>

Esteban Nunez's Manslaughter Sentence Reduction by Schwarzenegger Challenged in SoCal Court

Arnold.​He called Democrats girly men and took money from corporate interests while decrying good-ole-boy ways of Sacramento. But perhaps nothing Arnold Schwarzenegger did while governor was more arrogant that slicing 9 years off of the 16-year manslaughter sentence of 22-year-old Esteban Nune ... More >>

Patrick Caleb Land Pleads Not Guilty After SoCal Prosecutors Say DNA Proves He Beat Dogs to Death

A golden retriever.​Cops say they got their killer -- through DNA no less. It's an expensive and timely investigative technique. But for a homicide, it's worth it, right? In this case, though, the victims were ... dogs. Twenty-five-year-old Patrick Caleb Land pleaded not guilty in San Diego S ... More >>

Marijuana Bust-Alert iPhone App Prank in L.A.'s '420 Times' Dupes San Diego Columnist Tom Blair: There's Not an App For That

420 TimesActually there's not an app for that.​It appears San Diego Union-Tribune columnist Tom Blair was duped by an April Fool's joke in L.A.'s own marijuana magazine the 420 Times. In a Monday column titled "What are these people smoking?" the journo blasts the Times for rolling out its "D ... More >>

WTF: Teens Allegedly Smuggle Marijuana Into California -- Where It's Legal!

Breaking news: Weed is available in California, legally.​Maybe these kids don't read. This is like bringing sand to the beach, offering up a joint at Charlie Sheen's house, or throwing a dollar bill into one of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' fireplace. It's simply uncalled for. In toda ... More >>

SoCal Man Roger Stockham Intended to Blast Detroit-Area Mosque, Authorities Say

Wayne County SheriffRoger Stockham intended to blow up a mosque, authorities say: But with M-80s?​Anti-Muslim terrorism in the U.S. of A? Maybe. Authorities allege that a 63-year-old Southern California man intended to blow up the biggest mosque in the Detroit area, which is arguably home to t ... More >>

Tucson Massacre: Jared Loughner Case Could End Up Being Heard In Southern California?

Loughner, accused of murder, times six.​A Southern California federal court judge was tapped to takeover the murder case of Jared Loughner, the 22-year-old accused of killing six people and injuring 14 outside a Tucson Safeway over the weekend. Because the Tucson region's U.S. District Court ... More >>

Governor Jerry Brown's New California Board Of Education Appointments Could Disable Compton 'Trigger'

A new State Board of Education might be Brown's way of pulling the trigger on charters​Jerry Brown announced his California Board of Education appointments yesterday -- and they're sure to throw a wrench in the spokes of the Parent Trigger movement. For a group of parents in Compton, this wil ... More >>

Are NFL's Chargers Coming To L.A? Rumors Abound That Staples Center Owner Phil Anschutz Has Taken A Stake In The San Diego Team

Los Angeles Chargers?​Updated with Earvin "Magic" Johnson's comments on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. First posted at 11:32 p.m. Tuesday. Laker legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson announced on Jimmy Kimmel Live! early Wednesday that he's teamed up with the Anschutz Entertainment Group to bring an NFL team t ... More >>

California Says You Should Be Able To Go To The Beach At 3 A.M., Despite L.A.'s Curfew

Mike Baird via FlickrCalifornia says you should be able to frolic at all hours.​Updated after the jump with quotes from Coastal Commission honcho Peter Douglas. First posted at 3:45. You know what kids go to the beach at night to do? Bad things. Trust us, we've been there. With that in mind ... More >>

Whitman's Housekeeper Problem

Scandal cuts into her support among Latinos

Comic-Con Stays In San Diego, Turns Down Los Angeles

​After flirting with Los Angeles, Anaheim and even Las Vegas, it looks like organizers of the annual Comic-Con convention will stay in San Diego for another five years. Nerds across L.A. are sighing right about now. Sorry guys, you'll have to catch Olivia Munn on G4 as usual. The good news: T ... More >>

Comic-Con: Man In Harry Potter T-Shirt Stabs A Fellow Convention-Goer

File photo of Comic-Con.​A Comic-Con attendee was stabbed over the weekend following an argument over a seat at the annual convention in San Diego that has become increasingly important to Hollywood and its appetite for comic-based franchise films. The scuffle happened Saturday afternoon at ... More >>

Mexican Official Charged In Drug Cartel Crackdown Had Access To LAPD Information

​An "international liaison" for the Baja California Attorney General's Office was charged as part of a federal crackdown on a major Mexican drug cartel, and authorities say he had access to Los Angeles Police Department data as well as that of other Southern California law enforcement agencies ... More >>

LAFD In 'Earthquake Mode' Following Swarm Of Shakers In The California Desert

​A swarm of temblors shook the desert county of Imperial east of San Diego Monday night, prompting the Los Angeles Fire Department to go into "earthquake mode" at 9:55 p.m. as a precaution, according to the LAFD's Devin Gales. The biggest of the shakers was a magnitude 5.7 that struck five mil ... More >>

Three Killed, 233 Injured In Baja Quake Felt Throughout Southwest

zikeyros via Twitpic: http://twitpic.com/1db211A sign fell on a car in the Mexicali area.​The death toll from Sunday's 7.2 Baja earthquake felt across the Southwest increased to three Monday, with at least 233 people, mostly in the Mexican border town of Mexicali, reporting injuries, according ... More >>

San Diego Proposes $753 Million Convention Center Expansion To Keep Comic-Con, Other Shows

An image from Comic-Con.​A $753 million expansion of San Diego's convention center aimed at holding on to Comic-Con and other shows has been proposed by that city's port and convention officials, with approval by the Port Commission expected Tuesday. The move would sweeten the pot for a capac ... More >>

Does San Diego's Comic-Con Want To Move Closer To Hollywood?

​San Diego's homegrown Comic-Con convention has grown from a meet-up of comic-book-obsessed nerds-in-costume to a must-stop pop culture phenomenon with influence that reaches the top echelons of franchise-crazed Hollywood. As such, there are rumblings that the summer gathering could leave S.D. ... More >>

Mother Is Looking For $?: Bank Robbery Suspect Arrested

In the ever expanding times-are-hard news file comes another desperate story: An unemployed mother of five was arrested in San Diego in connection with a series of bank robberies.FBIA woman suspected in a string of robberies is captured on video.​ Roxanne Renee Pennock was arrested after she ... More >>

Comic-Con Founder Sheldon Dorf Dies at 76

Shannon CottrellComic-Con 2009​ San Diego Union Tribune reports that Sheldon Dorf, founder of San Diego's Comic-Con International, died today at the age of 76 after suffering from complications of diabetes. The Union Tribune obituary tells the fascinating story of a freelance artist whose life ... More >>

Wednesday Edition: A Roundup of Today's Newspaper Food Stories

SapphireBlue22stack of newspapers​What's the country reading today food-wise? Here's a roundup of some of the food-related stories from other newspapers, many of which print their food sections on Wednesday. And remember, even if you don't actually buy papers these days (or not; this paper is ... More >>

Comic Con Trades Tights for Toques, Keeps Utility Belts

Home Box Office, inc."Synthetic blood products contain varied cellular content than actual blood." Comic Con is known for its masked, spandex-clad, fans -- not its cuisine. In fact, "bring your own lunch" tops most Comic Con survival guides. But, when the annual event once again opened its door ... More >>

Morning Sixpack: A News Roundup

The Thin Blue Pencil The LAPD union, which has $30 million invested with the new owners of the San Diego Union-Tribune, wants some editorial changes made at the paper. L.A. TimesA Wing and a Prayer A military T-38 Talon training jet crashed north of Edwards Air Force Base, outside Mojave, Thursday a ... More >>

Queer Town: Gay Marriage and the Religion Card

By the end of last week, the gays got married...even in San Diego County. But things turned a little weird for San Diego County Clerk Greg Smith, who was confronted with at least 14 employees who said same sex weddings and their religious beliefs did not mix. It was the first time gay marriage oppon ... More >>

Air Inferiority

Is “Run!” the new strategy against firestorms on California's urban fringe?

Like Wildfire

Fanning the flames of hate and stupidity

Style 2006: Hollywood Forever

Dressing the part in the land of eternal youth

Pains of the Father

The death of Lance Corporal Jesus Suarez del Solar

Foul Justice

After 10 years, critics of Three Strikes may get another chance with voters

The 2nd Annual List Issue

Matt Fong is no Boxer

So who is he, anyway?