Suspect in brazen rape on L.A. bus arrested

The woman boarded the 217 Metro bus in Culver City at about 5 p.m., on her way home from her special education school. The 18-year-old with the mental capacity of a 10-year-old had only recently been allowed to start taking the trip on her own.

A stranger boarded behind her.

He followed her to the back of the bus, authorities said, and without warning began raping her.

The attack lasted for 10 minutes Wednesday afternoon as the bus traveled south through Baldwin Hills, making two stops as the rape continued, authorities said. There were several people on the bus when the two boarded, but some exited during the attack, possibly unaware of what was happening at the back of the bus.

The assailant only ended the attack as the bus was reaching its final stop, where he left the bus, authorities said.

The brazen crime reverberated around the sprawling Metro system Friday. Portions of the rape were captured on a surveillance camera and Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department officials arrested a suspect, Kerry Trotter, Friday morning just hours after releasing still photos of the alleged attacker.

Authorities said Trotter, 20, is a parolee and a transient who had previously been investigated on suspicion of sexual assault.

"It was a crime of opportunity," said sheriff's Sgt. Dan Scott. "Unfortunately, [the victim] was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He followed her onto the bus and assaulted her."

Metro officials were quick to note that sexual assaults and other violent crimes are relatively rare on its network of buses and rail lines. Three rapes have been reported this year on a system that recorded millions of commuter trips.

But despite the numbers, passengers said Friday that the rape left them uneasy. In a region where getting around is usually about being in a car alone, bus commuters say mass transit exposes them to all kind of people and situations, both good and bad.

Faydra Caldwell, 23, said every time she rides the bus she instinctively notes what other passengers are wearing in case she might have to report them to the police. It's a habit she has developed since her phone was snatched by another bus rider.

"You don't know what people are capable of doing," said Caldwell, a student at West L.A. College.

Another rider, John Wilson, said that a few months ago he had to shove a man off the bus because the man was patting a woman's head and making sexual remarks. No one else intervened.

"The bus driver was really angry at me," said the 54-year-old church executive. "He said, 'Don't take the law into your own hand.' I said, well, you weren't doing anything and the passengers sure as hell weren't."

In this week's incident, both the suspect and the victim got onto the bus at about 5 p.m. at the corner of La Cienega and Jefferson boulevards, near the new Expo Line rail station.

Sheriff's officials said they doubt the bus driver or the passengers on the bus knew what was happening. Scott said detectives believe Trotter was riding buses looking for potential victims.

"He immediately went to her and began the assault," Scott said. "…The suspect had his back to the front of the bus. People generally think of a rape as some kind of attack where someone's thrown down. Its not always the case."

"The victim did not scream," he added. "The victim told our detective that she was shocked, and didn't know what to do, and was in fear of her safety and her life."

Detectives are seeking riders on the bus, including one passenger they believe may have witnessed the incident, though they can't be sure. He "did not jump up and scream rape or that someone was being assaulted," Scott said.

Trotter has a history of run-ins with the law, according to records. Last year, he was convicted of drug possession. In April, he was convicted of grand theft and sentenced to a year in jail, but did not serve his full sentence. In June he was arrested again, and in September admitted to violating probation. He was released from jail Sept. 28. On Oct. 15 he was arrested again by Redondo Beach police and served 10 days in jail. Records did not include specifics on that offense.

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First Person: Unfriending a Facebook Friend to Save a Friendship

Yahoo News asked voters to share stories about relationships gone sour during the election — and how they’re working to mend fences. Here’s one person’s story.

FIRST PERSON | Because of the election,I had to ignore one of my oldest friends.

My name is Kathy Foust from Knox, Ind., and I am in my late 30s. If there is one thing I have learned during my time on this Earth, it is the value of relationships that span the decades and embrace even the worst personality flaws.

I met Matt when we were teens. We had both gotten into trouble and as a result, we each were sent to live in a residential placement for wayward teens. There, we experienced some travesties that can only serve to bring a group of people closer. Attempted suicides, attempted arson, violence, tears, broken hearts, friends with self-made wounds from the war in their hearts, and pretty much every other teenage dilemma that could possibly manifest itself in physical form were all part of our daily lives.

We lost touch, but found it again on Facebook. A small group of us reconnected and care as much for each other as we ever did.

I almost let politics change all that with Matt. What teenage years and the trauma of all that we went through could not tear apart, the 2012 presidential election had the potential to annihilate.

There was no one single argument. There were no words of separation. A simple click of a button took my friend from someone who was on a select list to someone who no longer existed in my virtual world. In truth, we never actually said a harsh word to each other. We did say plenty about politics though.

He used terms like “lazy,” “stupid,” “welfare,” and “socialist,” while I threw out terms like “compassion,” “opportunity,” and “equality.”

We debated political topics in Facebook, sometimes in such a harsh manner that friends outside of our personal little circle would voice questions as to how we ever became friends in the first place. That’s when I knew I had to unfriend a political adversary in order to keep a friend.

On the night of the election, we made the choice to resume our friendship in the morning, no matter who won.

Social Media News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez call it quits

NEW YORK (AP) — Justin Bieber is no longer Selena Gomez's 'Boyfriend,' a source confirms to The Associated Press.

The split happened last week, and distance and their busy schedules were a contributing factor.

Eighteen-year-old Bieber is touring to promote his latest album, while 20-year-old Gomez is filming a "Wizards of Waverly Place" reunion for Disney Channel called "The Wizards Return: Alex versus Alex," that will air next year.

The pair first stepped up publicly in February 2011 at the Vanity Fair Oscar party.

E! News was the first to report the split.

Bieber seems to be doing OK, at least publicly. On the red carpet of Wednesday's Victoria's Secret fashion show he said, "I'd rather be here than anywhere in the world."

___

Online:

http://www.justinbiebermusic.com/

http://www.selenagomez.com/

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The New Old Age Blog: The Emotional Aftermath of Hurricane Sandy

Let’s talk about the emotional aftermath of the storm that left tens of thousands of older people on the East Coast without power, bunkered down in their homes, chilled to the bone and out of touch with the outside world.

Let’s name the feelings they may have experienced. Fear. Despair. Hopelessness. Anxiety. Panic.

Linda Leest and her staff at Services Now for Adult Persons in Queens heard this in the voices of the older people they had been calling every day, people who were homebound and at risk because of medical conditions that compromise their physical functioning.

“They’re afraid of being alone,” she said in a telephone interview a few days after the storm. “They’re worried that if anything happens to them, no one is going to know. They feel that they’ve lost their connection with the world.”

What do we know about how older adults fare, emotionally, in a disaster like that devastating storm, which destroyed homes and businesses and isolated older adults in darkened apartment buildings, walk-ups and houses?

Most do well — emotional resilience is an underappreciated characteristic of older age — but those who are dependent on others, with pre-existing physical and mental disabilities, are especially vulnerable.

Most will recover from the disorienting sense that their world has been turned upside down within a few weeks or months. But some will be thrown into a tailspin and will require professional help. The sooner that help is received, the more likely it is to prevent a significant deterioration in their health.

The best overview comes from a November 2008 position paper from the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry that reviewed the effects of Hurricane Katrina and other disasters. After Katrina, “the elderly had the highest mortality rates, health decline and suicide rates of any subgroup,” that document notes. “High rates of psychosomatic problems were seen, with worsening health problems and increased mortality and disability.”

This is an important point: Emotional trauma in older adults often is hard to detect, and looks different from what occurs in younger people. Instead of acknowledging anxiety or depression, for instance, older people may complain of having a headache, a bad stomachache or some other physical ailment.

“This age group doesn’t generally feel comfortable talking about their feelings; likely, they’ll mask those emotions or minimize what they’re experiencing,” said Dr. Mark Nathanson, a geriatric psychiatrist at Columbia University Medical Center.

Signs that caregivers should watch out for include greater-than-usual confusion in an older relative, a decline in overall functioning and a disregard for “self care such as bathing, eating, dressing properly and taking medication,” Dr. Nathanson said.

As an example, he mentioned his father-in-law, who had “been sitting in a cold house for days and decided to stop taking his water pill because he felt it was just too much trouble.” Being distraught or distracted and forgetting or neglecting to take pills for chronic conditions like diabetes or heart disease can have immediate harmful effects.

Especially at risk of emotional disturbances are older adults who are frail and advanced in age, those who have cognitive impairments like Alzheimer’s disease, those with serious mental illnesses like schizophrenia or major depression, and those with chronic medical conditions or otherwise in poor physical health, according to the geriatric psychiatry association’s position paper.

A common thread in all of the above is the depletion of physical and emotional reserves, which impairs an older person’s ability to adapt to adverse circumstances.

“In geriatrics, we have this idea of the ‘geriatric cascade’ that refers to how a seemingly minor thing can set in motion a functional, cognitive and psychological downward spiral” in vulnerable older adults, said Dr. Mark Lachs, chief of the division of geriatrics at Weill Cornell Medical College. “Well, the storm was a major thing — a very large disequilibrating event — and its impact is an enormous concern.”

Of special concern are older people who may be in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease or other types of dementia who are living alone. For this group, the maintenance of ordinary routines and the sense of a dependable structure in their lives is particularly important, and “a situation like Sandy, which causes so much disruption, can be a tipping point,” Dr. Lachs said.

Also of concern are older people who may have experienced trauma in the past, and who may suffer a reignition of post-traumatic stress symptoms because of the disaster.

Most painful of all, for many older adults, is the sense of profound isolation that can descend on those without working phones, electricity or relatives who can come by to help.

“That isolation, I can’t tell you how disorienting that can be,” said Bobbie Sackman, director of public policy for the Council of Senior Centers and Services of New York City. “They’re scared, but they won’t tell you because they’re too proud and ashamed to ask for help.”

The best remedy, in the short run, is the human touch.

“Now is the time for people to reach out to their neighbors in high-rises or in areas where seniors are clustered, to knock on doors and ask people how they are doing,” said Dr. Gary Kennedy, director of the division of geriatric psychiatry at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.

Don’t make it a one-time thing; let the older person know you’ll call or come by again, and set up a specific time so “there’s something for them to look forward to,” Dr. Kennedy said. So-called naturally occurring retirement communities with large concentrations of older people should be organizing from within to contact residents who may not be connected with social services and find out how they’re doing, he recommended.

In conversations with older adults, offer reassurance and ask open-ended questions like “Are you low on pills?” or “Can I run out and get you something?” rather than trying to get them to open up, experts recommended. Focusing on problem-solving can make people feel that their lives are being put back in order and provide comfort.

Although short-term psychotherapy has positive outcomes for older adults who’ve undergone a disaster, it’s often hard to convince a senior to seek out mental health services because of the perceived stigma associated with psychological conditions. Don’t let that deter you: Keep trying to connect them with services that can be of help.

Be mindful of worrisome signs like unusual listlessness, apathy, unresponsiveness, agitation or confusion. These may signal that an older adult has developed delirium, which can be extremely dangerous if not addressed quickly, Dr. Nathanson said. If you suspect that’s the case, call 911 or make sure you take the person to the nearest hospital emergency room.

This is a safe place to talk about all kinds of issues affecting older adults. Would you be willing to share what kinds of mental health issues you or family members are dealing with since the storm so readers can learn from one another?

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Hot Property: Traditional style resonates with singer Adam Levine

Although a traditional-style estate may not seem to blend with Adam Levine's pop rock persona, the Maroon 5 frontman and coach on "The Voice" has bought one in the Beverly Crest area for $4.83 million.

The single-level ranch house, white with long black shutters and built in 1940, is set on a secluded 3.6 acres at the end of a long brick driveway in a gated community. The main home and guesthouse have a combined six bedrooms, seven bathrooms and 6,539 square feet of living space. There is a swimming pool and a tennis court.

Levine, 33, is the lead singer and guitarist for the Grammy-winning band. He has worked with Kanye West, Natasha Bedingfield and 50 Cent, among others. The singer-songwriter has been a coach on "The Voice" since 2011.

Josh Flagg of Rodeo Realty was the listing agent. Julie Jones of Sotheby's International Realty's Sunset office represented Levine.

This is it: MJ lease house sells

The Holmby Hills mansion where Michael Jackson lived at the time of his death in 2009 has sold for $18.1 million. The estate, recently priced at $23.9 million, had been for sale for as much as $38.5 million before the pop star took up residency.

Although purchased in the name of a trust, the buyer has been reported by several media outlets to be Steven Mayer, a senior managing director for Cerberus Capital Management. The sellers are Roxanne Guez and her husband, Hubert, chief executive of clothing manufacturer Ed Hardy.

The French chateau, designed by Richard Landry and built in 2002, features a theater, a wine cellar with a tasting room, an elevator and a gym with a spa. There is a guesthouse with stained-glass doors near the swimming pool for a total of seven bedrooms, 13 bathrooms and nearly 17,200 square feet of living space.

Jackson was leasing the 1.2-acre estate for $100,000 a month when he died after receiving the anesthetic propofol for insomnia. His doctor, Conrad Murray, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter last year and sentenced to four years in prison.

The 50-year-old was preparing for his "This Is It" concert tour during his time living at the mansion.

Mauricio Umansky of the Agency in Beverly Hills handled both sides of the transaction.

Former Disney estate comes to a crossing

Investor and pro soccer team owner Gabriel Brener has put his estate in Holmby Hills up for sale at $90 million.

The 35,000-square-foot manse, built in 2001, sits on a 3.6-acre site that once contained motion picture giant Walt Disney's personal residence.

The three-level mansion features a two-story oval foyer, statuary, a wine cellar, a movie room, three bars, a library, a gym, eight bedrooms, 17 bathrooms and two safe rooms. Staff quarters are accessible from a service entrance at the garage. There is a swimming pool with a pool house, a tennis court and a putting green.

Brener, who owns the Houston Dynamos, heads Azteca Acquisition Corp.

In the early 1950s, Disney tinkered in a barn on the property, building a 1/8 scale train he named the Carolwood Pacific Railroad and giving the neighbors rides, according to Los Angeles Times archives. The barn was later dismantled and sits in Griffith Park.

Jay Harris and Mauricio Umansky of the Agency in Beverly Hills are the listing agents.

Compound comes with muse quarters

The former live-work compound of artist Sam Francis is on the market in Santa Monica at $18.75 million.

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L.A. housing authority rife with fiscal mismanagement, audit finds

Los Angeles' housing authority, which runs on about $1 billion a year in taxpayer funds, is plagued by bad financial management that causes "questionable practices and poor decisions," according to an audit released Thursday by City Controller Wendy Greuel.

Greuel launched the audit last year amid an outcry over hefty taxpayer-funded restaurant tabs for agency officials and a $1-million-plus payout for the authority's fired executive director. The agency is responsible for sheltering about 75,000 of the city's neediest households.

A previous audit found instances of questionable spending by some agency officials, including double and triple billing for some travel and meal expenses. This audit, which looked at the agency's fiscal operations, did not uncover wrongdoing. But it did find that despite the authority's hefty budget and history of scandal going back decades, agency officials have done little to make sure money is properly managed.

Financial oversight was so lax, the audit found, that the agency's board of commissioners did not receive any financial statements or budget status reports during much of 2011 or the early part of 2012, except for one oral report last spring and one annual financial report that was presented nine months after the year had ended. A proposed budget presented to the board for 2012 was not balanced and contained contradictory statements.

"All of this suggests an agency that is out of control," said Greuel, a candidate for mayor. "The city cannot afford to continue spending its housing dollars irresponsibly."

One tenant advocate, Larry Gross, executive director of the L.A. Coalition for Economic Survival, said the lack of financial information given to the board and public was baffling.

"Whoever was on that board was clearly asleep at the wheel," he said. Many of the board members have been replaced in recent years.

Housing authority officials said they agreed with many of the audit's conclusions and will use the findings to guide reforms. Under recently hired Chief Executive Doug Guthrie, officials said they have already instituted a number of new practices, including financial training for all board members, stepped up financial reporting to the board and public, and the arrival of a new chief financial officer with expanded powers.

"We asked for this audit, we paid for the audit and we worked closely with the city controller's office" as the audit was underway, Guthrie said. "There's a lot of good stuff in the audit that helps us."

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa released a statement expressing support for Guthrie, who was hired last spring after the previous executive director, Rudolf Montiel, was fired and then paid $1.2 million to settle allegations that he was let go in retaliation for reporting improper spending by board members. Montiel had earlier drawn the ire of city leaders when his agency tried to evict nine tenants who protested the agency's policies outside his home.

"The housing authority has worked diligently to win back the trust of the people," Villaraigosa said.

But some City Council members expressed anger at the latest audit findings.

"There's a lot of problems over there, and obviously, the problems haven't gone away," said Councilman Dennis Zine, a candidate for controller. "Maybe it's time for the grand jury to investigate."

Zine also said he would like the City Council to have more authority over the agency. Under a hybrid governing structure, the mayor appoints the authority's seven board members, but the council lacks the ability to review spending decisions, a power it has over many other city departments.

The audit also found that the agency's list of assets contained at least $100 million worth of property that had been disposed of or no longer had much value, such as refrigerators and stoves that had been purchased in the 1970s. No inventory of its fixed assets had been performed in at least seven years.

In addition, the agency did not always follow its own rules when it came to awarding contracts to vendors, in one case allowing someone to sit on a bid selection panel after he had declared a conflict of interest.

jessica.garrison@latimes.com

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Icahn says has mulled Netflix takeover, no decision made

(Reuters) – Activist investor Carl Icahn, who holds an almost 10 percent stake in Netflix, said on Thursday he has considered a hostile takeover bid for Netflix, but it was uncertain he stood a chance of acquiring the Internet streaming service.

Asked by TV network CNBC whether he would “go hostile” on Netflix, Icahn said, “The thought had certainly entered my mind. I have to admit I think about it, but we haven’t made that decision.”

While Icahn said a hostile takeover was “certainly an alternative,” he downplayed the possibility several times. He added that he would not be able to pay as much for Netflix as a “synergistic buyer” looking to acquire an Internet movie and TV subscription service.

Netflix has been the subject of periodic acquisition speculation, with potential names tossed around from Microsoft Corp to Amazon.com Inc.

Icahn last month disclosed he had amassed control of 9.98 percent of Netflix shares. Most of his purchases were in the form of call options that expire in September 2014. The billionaire, who is known for shaking up corporate management, has said Netflix was undervalued and an attractive acquisition target for a number of companies.

Netflix has since adopted a poison pill defense to prevent a hostile takeover, a move that Icahn on Thursday called “reprehensible.”

A Netflix spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Icahn’s remarks.

(Reporting By Liana B. Baker in New York; Additional reporting by Katya Wachtel and Sam Forgione in New York and Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles; Editing by Leslie Adler)

Internet News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Roger Waters plays with band of wounded veterans

NEW YORK (AP) — Roger Waters honored wounded veterans in New York by performing with them at the annual Stand Up for Heroes benefit, Thursday night.

The founding member of Pink Floyd took to the stage of the Beacon Theater with 14 wounded soldiers he met recently at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. He rehearsed with them at the hospital, and for the past few days in New York.

The event benefited the Bob Woodruff Foundation, which helps returning veterans and their families, and featured Waters, Bruce Springsteen, Ricky Gervais, Robin Williams, and others.

Before the show, Waters chatted with veterans and called the experience "fantastic." He says he's "looking forward to pulling for the rest of these guys with their comrades" during the healing process.

He says that he shares "enormous empathy with the men."

"I lost my grandfather in 1916 and my father in 1944, so I've been around the sense of loss and what loss from war can do to people," Waters said.

"I never talk about the politics because it's not relevant to me. I'm not interested in it," he said. "What I am interested in is the burdens these guys bear and would never question motive or even dream of talking about any of the politics."

He added: "If any of us have a responsibility in our lives it is to tear down the walls of indifference and miscommunication between ourselves and our fellow men."

Waters said he rehearsed with many of the soldiers at the hospital in between their medical procedures. Before the show, he walked the red carpet with Staff Sgt. Robert Henline, who was not in the band. In 2007, Henline was the sole survivor of a roadside bombing north of Baghdad. As a result, he suffered burns over 38 percent of his body and his head was burned to the skull.

Henline, who fought for his life after the attack, has endured more than 40 surgeries.

Still, he maintains a sense of humor. On the open red carpet on a chilly night, Waters pushed closer to Henline for warmth.

"Get next to the burn guy. I'm good. I'm heated up," Henline joked.

No surprise. The retired soldier says he's been doing stand-up comedy for the past year and a half.

Waters performed three songs with the veterans, including the Pink Floyd classic, "Wish You Were Here."

Waters said he didn't think there would be a reunion with his former band.

"I think David (Gilmour) is retired by and large. I shouldn't speak for him. But that's the impression I get."

Waters then added: "Hey whatever. All good things come to an end."

While his mammoth tour of "The Wall" ended this summer, Waters promised the theatrical version would hit the Broadway stage in the near future.

The Bob Woodruff Foundation has supported more than 1 million veterans, service members, and their families since it began in 2008.

_____

John Carucci covers entertainment for The Associated Press. Follow him at —http://www.twitter.com/jcarucci_ap

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Recipes for Health: Sweet Potato and Apple Kugel — Recipes for Health

Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

I’ve looked at a number of sweet potato kugel recipes, and experimented with this one a few times until I was satisfied with it. The trick is to bake the kugel long enough so that the sweet potato softens properly without the top drying out and browning too much. I cover the kugel during the first 45 minutes of baking to prevent this. After you uncover it, it’s important to baste the top every 5 to 10 minutes with melted butter.

 

4 eggs

Salt to taste

2 large sweet potatoes (1 3/4 to 2 pounds total), peeled and grated

2 slightly tart apples, like Gala or Braeburn, peeled, cored and grated

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon mild honey or agave nectar

3 to 4 tablespoons melted unsalted butter, as needed

 

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 2-quart baking dish.

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs with salt to taste (I suggest about 1/2 teaspoon). Add the grated sweet potatoes and the apples. Pour the lime juice over the grated apples and sweet potatoes, then stir everything together. Combine the honey and 2 tablespoons of the melted butter and stir together, then toss with the sweet potato mixture and combine well.

3. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish. Cover the dish tightly with foil and place in the oven. Bake 45 minutes. Remove the foil and brush the top of the kugel with melted butter. Return to the oven and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes or longer, brushing every 5 minutes with butter. The kugel is ready when the edges are browned, the top is browned in spots and the mixture is set. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Yield: 8 servings.

Advance preparation: You can make this a day ahead and reheat in a medium oven.

Nutritional information per serving (6 servings): 187 calories; 7 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 104 milligrams cholesterol; 28 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 91 milligrams sodium (does not include salt to taste); 5 grams protein

Martha Rose Shulman is the author of “The Very Best of Recipes for Health.”

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Hybrid social networks help users connect online, meet up offline

Not too long ago, friending someone involved more than just clicking a button on Facebook.

So in a retro twist to social networking, a wave of Web start-ups are encouraging users to get off their couches, away from their smartphones and tablets, and back into the real world.

"We have an internal tagline: Use the Internet to get off the Internet," said Kathryn Fink, community manager at Meetup, an online-to-offline start-up with 11 million members.

Hybrid social networks are connecting strangers with similar interests online, then directing them to meet in person for dinners, bar-hopping, bowling or biking excursions. Unlike dating or networking sites, these start-ups are focused simply on helping users make new friends and hang out face to face. If a hookup or job interview results — well, that's just an added bonus.

On the sites, users create a free profile of themselves with basic information and a photo, and search for get-togethers that interest them. Before meeting face to face, people can post questions, offer parking or traffic tips and suggest topics to talk about. Events that cost money are usually paid for in advance online.

Quiz: How much do you know about California's economy?

The sites are doing especially well among twenty- and thirtysomethings in big cities, where finding new people to hang out with can be challenging.

"When you're in college, friends are basically thrown at you," said Greg Self, 22, an assistant at a film production company. "You get off the bus, you step on campus, and everyone is in the same situation as you and it's super easy."

But that wasn't the case after Self moved to L.A. from Virginia earlier this year. He searched online for ways to meet new people and came across Grubwithus, a Venice start-up that enables users to create and attend group meals.

Grubwithus meals are hosted at restaurants and typically bring together six to 10 people who have never met each other. Everyone pays in advance for their meal on the Grubwithus site — the start-up generally takes a 20% to 30% cut of each transaction — so there's no mulling over the menu or bickering over the tab.

In L.A., there have been Grubwithus meals geared toward traveling enthusiasts, vegans, Clippers fans and music aficionados. A recent dinner at the Venice Ale House was devoted to people who love beer and the television show "Arrested Development."

Grubwithus has tripled its user base since the beginning of the year, with meal reservations growing 15% month over month; the company has more than 80,000 subscribers. It launched out of start-up accelerator program Y Combinator and has raised $7.6 million in financing from investors including Ashton Kutcher and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.

Since February, Self has attended nine Grubwithus meals and said he has made a handful of friends from the dinners.

"It's definitely added to my experience in this city," he said, though he added that some "can be hit or miss."

"I've been to ones before where you're sitting in between two people who are not really talking at all, or are not very interesting," he said. "And you're like, well, at least the food's good."

Grubwithus Chief Executive Eddy Lu said users like such online-offline sites because they provide a safe way for people to meet — members identify themselves through their profiles and get the chance to communicate with one another online before meeting at a business or other public place. That way, he said, intentions are clear from the start.

"If you talk to a girl at a bar, she thinks you're hitting on her; if you talk to a guy at a bar, he thinks you're hitting on him. It doesn't work," said Lu, who co-founded Grubwithus after graduating from UC Berkeley and having trouble finding new buddies when he moved to Chicago.

What seemed to work best, he realized, was house parties where people got to know friends of friends over a casual dinner. He set out to re-create that experience at restaurants, with the focus on fostering "low-pressure hangouts."

The hybrid social networks aren't just for the friendless. Many members of Meetup, an online community for groups to organize in-person outings, are using the site to supplement their core social circles, Fink said. In Southern California, Meetup has groups dedicated to art and museum enthusiasts, runners, Korean moms and young L.A. Eastsiders, among others.

"You might have a fantastic social circle with friends and family and co-workers, but if they're not into hiking and you love it, what do you do?" Fink said.

Still, some of the start-ups have been slow to get off the ground.

After receiving $5 million in funding in the spring, Lifecrowd, an experience marketplace for in-person group activities such as kickball and kayaking, went offline a few weeks ago. Chief Executive Bong Koh declined to comment on the start-up's progress; on its website, the Los Angeles company promises to "be back soon with an even better Lifecrowd."

Venture capitalist Mark Suster of L.A.'s GRP Partners says investing in start-ups that bridge the gap between online and offline social interactions has become a smart move instead of "putting all your eggs in the online-only basket."

"Pure online friends aren't the same as the people you've met in your personal life," said Suster, who backs Grubwithus.

Another rising tech start-up is Grouper, which connects two groups of friends for face-to-face hangouts after pairing them online. Users apply for membership and are matched with someone else on the site. Each person then invites two other friends to join in for drinks; after prepaying online for the first round of drinks, the group of six meets at a bar chosen by Grouper. The setup takes away some of the awkwardness of meeting someone new alone, said Michael Waxman, Grouper's co-founder and chief executive.

Launched in New York last year, Grouper expanded to L.A. in September.

"In a lot of ways, we're the anti-Facebook," Waxman said. "One of the original things that played into the genesis of Grouper was the idea that social software didn't make a lot of sense. There's this underlying paradox: Facebook, Twitter, social products — you usually use them by yourself by the glow of your computer screen."

andrea.chang@latimes.com

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Blue reign in Sacramento: Democrats dominate California voting

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Jerry Brown and his fellow Democrats are on the cusp of a coveted supermajority in both the Assembly and Senate, giving them the rare power to raise taxes without any Republican support.

No single party has held such a supermajority in Sacramento since 1933.

To cement the dual two-thirds majorities when the Legislature gets down to business next year, Democrats must hold onto one of two Senate seats to be vacated and a few Assembly seats won in tight races. The Senate seats will be filled in special elections expected in March.

The supermajorities would mark a dramatic shift in Sacramento's balance of power, where GOP legislators have aggressively used their ability to block state budget plans and prevent revenue increases to scale back the scope of state government.

Coupled with the approval of Brown's tax plan, Proposition 30, the Democrats now have not only the power but also the money to break free of the deficit that has paralyzed state government for years.

The pressure on Democrats to restore funding for the many services slashed to balance the budget in recent years will be intense.

Already, activists are pressing lawmakers to pump new money into such programs as college scholarships, dental care for the needy and, of course, public schools.

But the first move Brown and legislative leaders made Wednesday was to reassure voters that they would show restraint.

They promised there would be no frenzy of tax hikes.

"Voters have trusted the elected representatives, maybe even trusted me to some extent, and now we've got to meet that trust," Brown said at a Wednesday news conference in the Capitol. "We've got to make sure over the next few years that we pay our bills, we invest in the right programs, but we don't go on any spending binges."

Still, lawmakers can appear to hold the line on revenue generation without actually doing so.

Supermajorities allow lawmakers to impose new fees to pay for infrastructure and other programs that are not technically defined as taxes.

And the same Democrats who are talking tough about fiscal responsibility this week have for years been touting the programs they want to restore or start once the opportunity is there. In addition to raising revenue, they would also be empowered to bring constitutional changes and other measures to voters without any GOP signoff — and to override gubernatorial vetoes.

Given a supermajority, "We're going to use it," Senate President Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) said Wednesday.

"It will be an awesome responsibility," Steinberg said. "But it's very exciting.''

Steinberg briefed the media on his desire to overhaul the tax code.

The result, he acknowledged, could be more money for the state budget.

Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez (D-Los Angeles), who vowed there would be no additional tax increases next year, laid out goals that could trigger more government spending, such as helping students pay for college.

The success Tuesday of Brown's Proposition 30, which raises billions of dollars through temporary income-tax increases on high earners and a quarter-cent surcharge on sales, gives lawmakers breathing room they have not had in years.

With one election, a deficit that has rendered Sacramento dysfunctional and threatened to ravage public schools has been largely wiped out.

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Exclusive: Google Ventures beefs up fund size to $300 million a year

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Rihanna a rock star on Victoria's Secret catwalk

NEW YORK (AP) — Rihanna rocked the lingerie look at Victoria's Secret fashion show in New York, providing the highlight of the live-music soundtrack and holding her own on the catwalk with some of the world's top models.

And those models even had props Wednesday night, including Adriana Lima's ringmaster wand, Doutzen Kroes' body cage and several pairs of the oversized wings that the retailer has made its signature. It would be a close contest who got the biggest wings: Toni Garrn's giant poppy pair or Miranda Kerr's swan-style feathered pouf. Only Lily Aldridge could boast star-spangled wings that shot out silver sparkles.

Alessandra Ambrosio's orchid-petal wings might have lacked a little grandeur, but she made up for it with a $2.5 million jeweled "floral fantasy bra."

Still, wearing a sheer pink mini that gave glimpses of her bra, Rihanna sang "Fresh Out the Runway" at the end of the corset-and-garter parade and she was the one to grab the audience's biggest applause.

The fashion show has become a pre-holiday season tradition for the retailer. CBS will turn it into a one-hour special, which also had performances from Justin Bieber and Bruno Mars, to be shown on Dec. 4.

This year's event had a slight twist. It started with an announcer noting that Victoria's Secret and CBS had each made a donation to relief efforts for Superstorm Sandy, and a thank you to the National Guard members who are based out of the Lexington Avenue Armory that has for years been home to the show.

Mostly, though, models are encouraged to smile, ham it up and show off the extra time at the gym that most admit to in the weeks beforehand. "It's highly televised, and you take that into consideration," said model Joan Smalls ahead of the show. "This is kind of not the same as other runways. You have to prepare your body: No. 1 is the wings are heavy, and No. 2 is you have to be comfortable with your body because the camera will pick up on it if you're not comfortable and confident."

There's an emphasis on glitz, skin and dramatic production here, not wearable undergarment trends for typical Victoria's Secret shoppers. It was divided into six sections: Circus, complete with acrobats, contortionists and a sword eater; Dangerous Liaisons; Pink Is Us; Silver Screen Angels; Angels in Bloom; and Calendar Girls, which allowed Bruno Mars to serenade a model for each month of the year.

For his first song, "Beauty and the Beat," Bieber, wearing low-slung white pants and a white leather studded vest, sat alone with his guitarist in the mellowest part of the show. For "As Long As You Love Me," however, he brought in backup dancers and interacted with the models while moving around a giant makeshift pinball machine.

"It's like a dream come true," said Bieber on the pink carpet before the show. "I would rather be here than anywhere in the world."

___

AP reporter John Carucci contributed to this report.

___

Samantha Critchell tweets fashion at http://www.twitter.com/AP_Fashion

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Recipes for Health: Cabbage, Onion and Millet Kugel — Recipes for Health

Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

Light, nutty millet combines beautifully with the sweet, tender cabbage and onions in this kugel. I wouldn’t hesitate to serve this as a main dish.

 

1/2 medium head cabbage (1 1/2 pounds), cored and cut in thin strips

Salt to taste

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

Freshly ground pepper

1 cup low-fat cottage cheese

2 eggs

2 cups cooked millet

 

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Oil a 2-quart baking dish. Toss the cabbage with salt to taste and let it sit for 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until it begins to soften, about 3 minutes, then add a generous pinch of salt and turn the heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is soft and beginning to color, about 10 minutes. Add the cabbage, turn the heat to medium, and cook, stirring often, until the cabbage is quite tender and fragrant, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the dill, taste and adjust salt, and add pepper to taste. Transfer to a large bowl.

3. In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, purée the cottage cheese until smooth. Add the eggs and process until the mixture is smooth. Add salt (I suggest about 1/2 teaspoon) and pepper and mix together. Scrape into the bowl with the cabbage. Add the millet and stir everything together. Scrape into the oiled baking dish. Drizzle the remaining oil over the top and place in the oven.

4. Bake for about 40 minutes, until the sides are nicely browned and the top is beginning to color. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature, cut into squares or wedges.

Yield: 6 servings.

Advance preparation: The cooked millet will keep in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days and freezes well. The kugel will keep for 3 days in the refrigerator. Reheat in a medium oven.

Nutritional information per serving (6 servings): 195 calories; 7 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 64 milligrams cholesterol; 23 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 148 milligrams sodium (does not include salt to taste); 10 grams protein

Martha Rose Shulman is the author of “The Very Best of Recipes for Health.”

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Greece passes new spending cuts amid protests

ATHENS — As tens of thousands of protesters shouting "Resist!" swarmed the streets outside, Greece's Parliament on Wednesday narrowly approved its toughest batch of spending cuts yet in order to secure vital bailout funding from its European peers.

The legislation, including a controversial slate of fiscal and structural measures intended to save the state about $17 billion and ward off a messy financial collapse, was backed by 153 lawmakers of the 300-seat Parliament. Voting no were 128 lawmakers, including three from the conservative and leftist parties supporting the ruling coalition government.

"Yes," Prime Minister Antonis Samaras told Parliament, "some of these spending cuts are unfair."

But, he added, punching the air emphatically with his index finger, "they will be the last.... [They] will reverse the economy's free-fall."

Passage of the bill shifts focus to Sunday's budget vote, a second hurdle Athens must clear to clinch a $39-billion package of rescue loans from its European peers and the International Monetary Fund.

Without the cash injection, the country would run out of funds in another week to pay for pensions, salaries and state expenses, according to Samaras.

The measures include tax hikes, pension and salary cuts of up to 15%, a two-year extension of the retirement age to 67, layoffs and elimination of holiday bonuses. It is the fourth batch of belt-tightening measures since the financial crisis here erupted in late 2009. And while most Greeks initially seemed willing to share in the painful cutbacks, growing numbers say bankrupt businesses and rampant unemployment are leaving people without hope.

"It's not just the pain and financial inconvenience that these measures will spell," said Evangelos Mittaras, a 57-year-old striking shoemaker. "It's that there is no evidence that the policy of austerity is working."

Indeed, as lawmakers crossed political swords and debate raged in the inner sanctums of Parliament for hours, 70,000 crisis-hit Greeks protested outside and millions of workers stayed away from their jobs in a second day of a strike that kept schools closed, road, rail and air services suspended and hospitals operating on emergency staff. Flights to and from the country were stopped for three hours.

Carassava is a special correspondent.

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