News garden 2008-03-26 Andanh.com

La Habra man, 18 others indicted in alleged mortgage scam Tue, 25 Mar 2008 00:45:53 +0000
Federal authorities said today they indicted Charles Head of La Habra and 18 others in an alleged mortgage scam involving more than 100 homes nationwide. Three United States Attorneys are prosecuting the case following an “Operation Homewrecker” investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service. In the first of two indictments, prosecutors [...]

Carrington said to seek $200 million in funding Mon, 24 Mar 2008 18:00:38 +0000
Carrington Capital Management, which last year bought Irvine-based New Century Financial’s loan servicing operation, is trying to persuade investors to lend it $200 million to replace bank loans, according to the Web site of the UK’s Financial Times. The move could be the latest sign hedge funds are having difficulty getting financing from banks. Here’s more from [...]

Bigger loan limits help 75% of O.C. home inventory Mon, 24 Mar 2008 07:01:33 +0000
Home market watcher Steve Thomas at Re/Max Real Estate Services in Aliso Viejo reports, “Lenders are scrambling in preparation for the new conventional and the FHA loan limits of $729,750, which are just beginning to hit the market. The new loan limits will have a profound impact on demand. At 10% down, the old $417,000 [...]

Roundup – AIDS vaccine in trouble Mon, 24 Mar 2008 22:00:01 +0000
AIDS, marijuana, flu, circumcisions and prayers are part of today’s buzz from the biomedical world. This sampling comes from blogs and Web sites nationwide that comment on medicine and medical devices: AIDS VACCINE ‘DISASTER’ Work on an AIDS vaccine is ‘dead in the water,’ reports ABC News. At the forefront of the debate is Dr. Robert Gallo, co-discoverer [...]

Shopping list for Southern California computer system Mon, 24 Mar 2008 21:00:24 +0000
For his SocalTech blog, Benjamin Kuo compiled an informative and amusing list of computer-related products made in Southern California, presented as a shopping list for anyone who wants to build a system with components from only Southern California companies. Products range from a wireless music system from Sonos in Santa Barbara to an Internet-linked alarm [...]

Western Digital to cut 800 jobs, mostly in Malaysia Mon, 24 Mar 2008 20:18:45 +0000
Hard-drive maker Western Digital is laying off about 800 employees, mostly in Malaysia, as it stops making magnetic media and polished disks for other companies. The Lake Forest-based company acquired those operations in September as part of its purchase of Komag. Western Digital said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 21 that [...]

Alsius medical temperature-contol systems head to China, Mexico Mon, 24 Mar 2008 18:00:56 +0000
Irvine-based Alsius Corp. announced today that it has won regulators’ OK in China and Mexico to market its devices for regulating patients’ body temperature. Alsius systems use heat-exchange catheters that cool or warm the patient’s core temperature via a saline solution that circulates in a closed loop. The catheters are inserted into a vein in [...]

B.Braun recalls potentially tainted blood thinner Mon, 24 Mar 2008 17:22:52 +0000
Irvine-based B. Braun Medical Inc. is recalling 23 lots of heparin blood thinner because they might contain a potentially fatal contaminant. The recall, announced Friday, follows U.S. Food and Drug Administration reports of as many as 19 deaths of patients injected with the contaminated blood thinner, which is used as a method for preventing blood clots, [...]

Blizzard innovation tip No. 5: appeal to varied customers Mon, 24 Mar 2008 08:00:07 +0000
This is one of a daily series of 11 lessons about innovation that can help many types of businesses that seek to be more creative. Each lesson is based on the innovation techniques of game company Blizzard Entertainment, developer of the wildly popular World of Warcraft game. The company’s first three techniques were presented in [...]

Mystery Diner reviews East Coast Bagel on Culver Drive Mon, 24 Mar 2008 21:52:12 +0000
I like my bagels double-toasted with a bit of butter. Sometimes I go off the beaten path and opt for jalapeño cheese. If I am feeling adventurous, I may even decide to go with lox, tomato, a slice of onion and some capers. The other day I was in the mood for a bagel, so I [...]

At a Japanese temple, dog and priest pray together Mon, 24 Mar 2008 17:08:37 -0700
Chihuahua named Conan joins in the ritual with his master, a Buddhist priest.

Magazine ideas: Make living with pets more enjoyable Mon, 24 Mar 2008 10:45:17 PDT
The joy and happiness pets bring to a household far outweigh the messes they make or the value of personal belongings they destroy. That said, there are ways for animals and humans to cohabit more neatly.

What's Happening
Application forms for the Alyce McCracken Memorial Scholarships, sponsored by the Sierra Nevada Association of Realtors, are available in the counseling offices of each high school or directly from the realtors association by calling (775) 885-7200.

Fred Hall Show comes to Del Mar
It's a week later this year, but with many kids out of school for spring break, the annual Fred Hall Fishing Tackle and Boat Show at the Del Mar Fairgrounds should draw more families than ever this week.

Mayor says city should maintain Rose Center Tue, 25 Mar 2008 09:53:25 -0700
Westminster Mayor Margie Rice says it is a financial strain for the Rose Center Foundation to pay for maintenance contracts to take care of what is a municipal building

Borrowing costs drop, media asleep Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:18:02 +0000
Randy Johnson, author of “How to Save Thousands of Dollars on Your Home Mortgage” and a broker in Newport Beach is a guest blogger today with this… In addition to the subprime borrowers and other homeowners with toxic loans, there has been a great deal of concern expressed about the potential damage to the economy due [...]

Tell us, ‘Have O.C. mortgage rates bottomed?’ Tue, 25 Mar 2008 07:01:48 +0000
On Friday, we blogged that Scott A. Anderson, a senior economist at Wells Fargo, said that mortgage rates had bottomed and should move up. His logic: the yield on a 10-year Treasury — 3.33% on Friday — barely covered inflation. He expects the yield to rise. (Note: Treasury yields and mortgage rates are only loosely [...]

Second breast-surgery death - - Florida girl dies Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:26:18 +0000
A high school cheerleader in Florida died Saturday (March 22) apparently as a result of breast augmentation surgery, ABC News reported today. Stephanie Kuleba, 18, apparently had a fatal reaction to anesthesia during the surgical procedure. The death came four months after the death of Donda West — the mother of singer Kanye West — [...]

Florida girl dies after breast enhancement surgery Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:23:28 +0000
A high school cheerleader in Florida died Saturday (March 22) apparently as a result of breast augmentation surgery, ABC News reported today. Stephanie Kuleba, 18, apparently had a fatal reaction to anesthesia during the surgical procedure. The death came four months after the death of Donda West — the mother of rapper Kanye West — [...]

CEO dies, but tiny Synthetic Blood marches on Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:33:02 +0000
Robert Larsen, 79, a founder of Synthetic Blood International, died Sunday, four months after he returned to the company to lead it when former Chief Executive Officer Robert W. Nicora resigned. The tiny Costa Mesa-based company announced his death late Monday (March 24) and said Chris J. Stern, the company’s board chairman, has been elected as [...]

Blizzard innovation tip No. 6 — fail often Tue, 25 Mar 2008 07:05:28 +0000
This is one of a daily series of 11 lessons about innovation that can help many types of businesses that seek to be more creative. Each lesson is based on the innovation techniques of game company Blizzard Entertainment, developer of the wildly popular World of Warcraft game. The company’s first three techniques were presented in [...]

Cartoonist Dan Golden designs rugs with punch Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:00:00 PDT
Cartoon posters, cartoon napkins, even cartoon plates, but cartoon rugs? Former San Franciscan Dan Golden is producing a line of rugs, made in New York, from a series of his very sardonic cartoons. They are not for everyone, but his friend Ford Lininger...

Green stuff Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:00:00 PDT
American Rhododendron Society De Anza Chapter and San Francisco Peninsula Camellia Society Program includes tours of the USGS gardens, plant sale, lecture, more. 5 p.m. Mon. U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Rd., Conference Room A, Bldg. 3 (meet on...

Limonaia's wares a handcrafted mix for spring Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:00:00 PDT
Simply because it appealed to her, Jessica Goldfarb named her new home decor and gift shop Limonaia - after a room in old Italian villas used to store lemon trees each winter. It's an anachronism, she admits, but so what? Her years of world travel and...

Spring home and garden tour information wanted Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:00:00 PDT
The Home&Garden section will publish its annual spring home and garden tours calendar April 9. Any Bay Area group that has a home tour, garden tour or plant sale scheduled to take place during the next three months is invited to send in information about the...

Shearing shrubs makes them shapely, at a cost / Some plants tolerate pruning, others can't so flower Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:00:00 PDT
Q:At my workplace, we have an outdoor patio with six non-fruiting pear trees surrounded by a hedge of rosemary. Our "gardening" company comes several times a year to prune the trees and the hedges. Today, while the trees are blooming, the pruners are making...

Plenty of ideas blooming after Garden show Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:00:00 PDT
We staggered out of this year's San Francisco Flower and Garden Show with a head full (each) of ideas, a deck of business cards, a sheaf of flyers and too much merchandise. The garden show is a good place to look for innovative tools and techniques, spot...

Gregory's house plans evoke hero Cliff May Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:00:00 PDT
A book he just wrote about Southern California architect Cliff May serves as inspiration for former Sunset Magazine editor Daniel Gregory in his new role at Houseplans.com, a Web site run out of Novato that sells house plans designed for individual urban...

Home events Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:00:00 PDT
Camron-Stanford House The last surviving Victorian home on Lake Merritt, with period interior. Docent-led tours available. Call for hours. $3-$5. 1418 Lakeside Dr., Oakland. (510) 444-1876. www.cshouse.org. Cliff May and the Modern Ranch House Daniel P....

Tovara's flowers add color to mixed plantings Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:00:00 PDT
Common name: Virginia knotweed Genus/species/cultivar: Tovara virginiana 'Variegata' Note: This genus keeps taxonomists occupied, as evidenced by recent name changes and much confusion: Synonyms include polygonum and persicaria, but Tovara v. 'Variegata'...

Keep great room flexible with useful furniture Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:00:00 PDT
Q:I have a great room at my vacation home that's a problem. It's 15 by 21 feet with a front door on one 15-foot wall, opposite a three-wide slider, and the kitchen on one 21-foot wall, with an 8-foot fireplace on the opposite wall. Can you help me with...

Remodel coaches help homeowners navigate hurdles / Experts act as therapists, give advice and help p Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:00:00 PDT
Kristin Lund and her husband, Peter Coccoluto, did not have the nerve to stand up to their architect. They had selected her from the seven they interviewed as the best qualified to renovate their 1820s Colonial-style farmhouse north of Boston. She was well...

London garden can cure what ails you Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:00:00 PDT
Every year, Rosie Atkins, curator of London's Chelsea Physic Garden, writes a check for 5 pounds to pay the garden's annual lease. The garden has paid the same amount - $10 - each year since 1722, when, after nearly 50 years in existence, the garden had...

Home improvement: Seamless showers Sat, 17 Nov 2007 00:00:00 PST
Q: The grout in our tile shower kept getting black and moldy, no matter how many times we treated it, so we called a tile setter to give us an estimate to replace the tile. He said there was extensive water damage behind the tile, and we needed to hire a general contractor to tear it all out, replace the wallboard, wood framing and any other damaged material they might discover before he could install new tile.

Thanksgiving table decorations: Expert tips for setting the holiday table Sat, 17 Nov 2007 00:00:00 PST
The staff at A Chef's Affair catering in Granite Bay is as well known for setting a beautiful table as it is for its food.

FDIC gears up for bank failures Wed, 26 Mar 2008 18:20:42 +0000
The Associated Press reported Tuesday that federal bank regulators plan to increase staffing 60% in coming months to handle an anticipated surge in troubled financial institutions. Here’s more: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. wants to add 140 workers to bring staff levels to 360 workers in the division that handles bank failures, John Bovenzi, the agency’s [...]

Poll taken, lesson learned Wed, 26 Mar 2008 07:01:07 +0000
Andrew Galvin writes: A week ago, I posted an ill-considered item on this blog. In it, I took a political stance about “bailouts” that was intended to be provocative. My purpose was to put forward an extreme point of view, not necessarily my own, in the hope that you, the readers, would post comments expressing [...]

Blizzard innovation tip No. 7 — divide the work and conquer Wed, 26 Mar 2008 08:00:09 +0000
This is one of a daily series of 11 lessons about innovation that can help many types of businesses that seek to be more creative. Each lesson is based on the innovation techniques of game company Blizzard Entertainment, developer of the wildly popular World of Warcraft game. The company’s first three techniques were presented in [...]

Beauty Source opens at Orchard Hills Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:44:16 +0000
Beauty Source has opened its third Orange County store at Orchard Hills Village Center in Irvine. The shop offers skincare, makeup and hair care products.Skincare lines include Dermalogica, Yonka, Murad, MD Formulation and DDF. Makeup lines include Jane Iredale, Napoleon Pardis, Bare Escentuals and Trucco. Hair care lines include Bumble & Bumble, Kerastase and Ojon. Beauty Source [...]

Salmon fishing ban possible this year Fri, 14 Mar 2008 20:08:22 PDT
Federal fisheries managers took the first step Friday toward imposing what could be the strictest limits ever on West Coast salmon fishing amid a collapse of the central California chinook salmon fishery.

Hit prime Western Slope, bypass crowds Thu, 13 Mar 2008 01:23:28 PDT
Living in eastern Colorado, going to Breckenridge, or Keystone or Copper is not a "ski trip." That's just going skiing. Now, heading to Aspen, or Steamboat or Telluride, that's a ski trip. Specifically, it's a ski trip that threatens to break your bank account.

What's a summer without salmon? We'll find out Wed, 26 Mar 2008 06:00 EST

Although the Pacific Fishery Management Council won't select its final plan to manage West Coast salmon fisheries until its April 7-12 meetings in Seattle, a former member of the council believes there will be no ocean or Central Valley salmon fishing...

Trout plants -- Published March 26, 2008 Wed, 26 Mar 2008 06:00 EST

Trout stocked this week:

Outdoors calendar -- Published March 26, 2008 Wed, 26 Mar 2008 06:00 EST

Gobbler season - Spring wild turkey hunting season opens for a seven-day run, closing May 4. Information: (209) 957-4867; dfg.ca.gov/about/hunting/.

Pickers primed for abalone Wed, 26 Mar 2008 06:00 EST

An estimated 33,000 abalone pickers will get their first chance on Tuesday when red abalone season opens in waters north of San Francisco Bay.

Fish finder -- Published March 26, 2008 Wed, 26 Mar 2008 06:00 EST

The Sacramento River is the tale of two fisheries. The water above Rio Vista is basically clear and trollers are finding striped bass, but few greater than 6 pounds, typical of the early-spring run when the smaller males come first.

Q & A with Buck Deaner, fishing expert Wed, 26 Mar 2008 08:08:09 PDT
Customers and competitors alike consider Buck Deaner to be among the most knowledgeable anglers in the central San Joaquin Valley. Deaner, 59, who works at Fisherman's Warehouse in Fresno, has spent a lifetime fishing for trout, bass, salmon, rock cod, kokanee -- you name it -- and is happy to pass along what he knows.

Downtown venue helps Sportsmen's Show show keep its balance Tue, 25 Mar 2008 22:22:20 PDT
Creating a successful sports expo is a balancing act.

Sunday's catch Mon, 24 Mar 2008 07:00:00 -0000

Student recounts trip to Africa
Inspired by a presentation on polio prevention and immunization at the 2007 Rotary Youth Leadership Academy, South Tahoe High School senior Brittney Cummings recently shared her remarkable experiences on her two-week trip and National Immunization...

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