California Vacation Packages - L.A. Archdiocese To Pay $10M In Priest Abuse Cases

Source - http://www.usatoday.com/
By - Michael Winter
Category - California Vacation Packages
Posted By - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

California Vacation Packages

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has agreed to pay four men almost $10 million to settle allegations of sexual abuse by a former priest who more than a quarter century ago had confessed to molesting children, attorneys said Tuesday.

Two brothers will receive $4 million each, and the other two men will get nearly $1 million apiece, said John Manly, a plaintiff's attorney.

The settlement is the first since the Catholic Church released thousands of internal records detailing the actions of the defrocked priest, Michael Baker, and how church officials responded. Baker was convicted in 2007 of child molestation and paroled in 2011.

In January, as the files were about to be made public, a California judge ordered the archdiocese to identify all priests and church officials named in the documents.

STORY: L.A. Diocese told to identify officials in abuse cases

The confidential files -- medical and psychiatric records, abuse reports, church memos and letters with the Vatican -- revealed that in 1986, Baker told Cardinal Roger Mahony that he had abused boys beginning in 1974. Mahony removed Baker from ministry and sent him to New Mexico for psychological treatment.

A year later, however, he returned with a doctor's recommendation that he not spend any time with minors and that he should be defrocked immediately if he did. Nonetheless, the abuse continued until 2000, when Baker was finally removed.

Mahony retired as Los Angeles archbishop in 2011. Last month, his successor, Archbishop Jose Gomez, stripped him of his official duties.

Mahony is in Rome participating in the conclave selecting the next pope. He was aware of the settlement, J. Michael Hennigan, an archdiocese attorney, told the Associated Press.

"We have for a long, long time said that we made serious mistakes with Michael Baker, and we had always taken the position in these cases that whatever Baker did we were responsible for," he said. "That was never an issue."

Two cases were scheduled for civil trial in April.

Another plaintiff attorney, Vince Finaldi, told the Los Angeles Times that he believed that the release of the files was a major factor in the settlement.

"Once we got the files it confirmed everything we had argued for years and years," Finaldi said. "Cardinal Mahony's fingerprints were all over the case."

Hotels In Northern California - U.S. Stock Futures Trade With Losses

Source - http://www.usatoday.com/
By - Kim Hjelmgaard
Category - Hotels In Northern California
Posted By - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

Hotels In Northern California

The Dow Jones industrial average stock index was trading with slight losses ahead of the market open on Tuesday.

In early-morning activity, the Dow was down 0.04% to 14,438. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 0.56% to 1,556.50 in premarket trade and the Nasdaq-100 index fell 0.19% at 2,804.50.

On Monday, the Dow rose 0.3% to 14,447. The S&P 500 index edged up 0.3% to close at 1,556. The Nasdaq added 0.3% to 3,252.87.

STOCKS ON MONDAY: Dow keeps climbing

Asian stock markets dropped Tuesday, dragged down by new worries about China's recovery and Europe's doldrums. Japan's Nikkei 225 index declined 0.28% at 12,314.81. China's Shanghai Composite index lost 1.09% to 2,285.31.

Benchmark crude for April delivery was down 16 cents to $91.90 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 11 cents to end at $92.06 a barrel on the Nymex on Monday.

Vacations In Santa Clarita - DeAndre Jordan Puts In Bid For NBA Dunk Of The Year

Source - http://www.usatoday.com/

By - Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz

Category - Vacations In Santa Clarita

Posted By - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

Vacations In Santa Clarita

DeAndre Jordan might have taken the Los Angeles Clippers' dunking crown, if only for a moment.

With a comfortable lead in the second quarter Sunday against the Pistons, Chris Paul set up the center with an alley-oop pass normally reserved for Blake Griffin. Then Jordan, already rolling to the basket at full speed, rises up and extends over Pistons guard Brandon Knight, who gets knocked to the floor.

And as an exclamation point, Jordan steps over Knight as Paul gives him a congratulatory shove. The Clippers went on to win 129-97, and Jordan finished with 13 points and seven rebounds.

Staples Center featured so many great reactions, but here are power rankings of the most notable responses:

1. Children celebrating at :20. It's as if they've been transported into the second half of any given Harlem Shake video. Everyone should have something in their lives that makes them this happy.

2. DeAndre Jordan's face at :26. Someone has been studying McKayla Maroney. 

3. Blake Griffin and the Clippers' bench at :27. If Griffin has dunker's envy, he's hiding it well.

4. Vinnie Del Negro. Ugh. Not even a smirk as he attempts to brush Griffin back and move the game along. It's as though he thinks there's still another half left.

The move is one Knight will hear about for some time, as the second-year pro had his Wikipedia page vandalized shortly after the game.

As for dunk of the year? Milwaukee Bucks point guard Brandon Jennings says Jordan's move deserves the title -- and he's not alone.

Budget Hotels Santa Clarita - Sam Raimi Re-Builds Oz For a 3D Audience

Source - http://www.bbc.co.uk/

By - Georgie Rogers

Category - Budget Hotels Santa Clarita
Posted By - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

Budget Hotels Santa Clarita

As well as the Oscar-winning 1939 film, starring Judy Garland, there has been The Wiz - the Motown-produced version starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson - unofficial Disney sequel Return to Oz and even a Muppet version.

On stage the tale has also undergone many incarnations, including the recent Andrew Lloyd Webber West End production and the Tony award-winning musical Wicked - told from the perspective of the witches - which continues to be a hit in London and on Broadway.

For his new take on the tale, director Sam Raimi's plan from the outset was to make a film that serves as a prequel to Baum's book.

His 3D version, Oz The Great And Powerful, tells the untold story of how charming con-man Oscar Diggs became the wizard of Oz.

"Thank God we weren't trying to remake the sacred classic that everybody loves," says Zach Braff, who plays both Diggs' underappreciated circus assistant and provides the voice of a computer generated flying monkey.

"Audiences really like that world, so with all this amazing technology today... it made sense to tell an origin story of 'how did this guy end up behind the curtain?'" he says.

The film stars 127 Hours actor James Franco as Diggs, who finds himself in Oz after being caught up in a Baum-esque freak tornado.

He is greeted in turn by warring witch sisters Theodora, Evanora and Glinda, played by Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams respectively, who show him the good and the bad in the mystical land.

Academy Award-winner Weisz, says the chance to play a "good old-fashioned villainess" drew her to Evanora, in what marks her first fantasy film role.

"I thought it would be really fun to play someone really bad and evil... the more evil they are, the more fun they have." she says.

The actress recalls the 1939 MGM film as one of her first trips to the cinema.

"What makes that film very charming, is the sweetness," she says. "You can see the make-up and the special effects are at the beginning of what special effects can do."

Six Flags Magic Mountain - White House Calls for Cellphone 'Unlocking'

Source - http://online.wsj.com/
By - DANNY YADRON
Category - Six Flags Magic Mountain
Posted By - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

Six Flags Magic Mountain

Americans should be able to take their used cellphones and tablets freely from one wireless carrier to another if they aren't under contract, the White House said Monday, offering the latest victory to Internet activists seeking to shape U.S. technology policy.

Wireless companies have long sold cellphones at discounted prices in exchange for long-term service agreements. The catch: Consumers can't easily take what would otherwise be an expensive smartphone to a rival carrier who offers a better price while the phone is under contract.

Tech-savvy users have used computer programs as a workaround to unlock their phones. But last fall, the Library of Congress, which has oversight of certain copyright matters, banned the practice if a carrier doesn't give permission, saying cellphones should no longer be exempted from a section of copyright law. The move went into effect in January, prompting a backlash from activists who flooded a petition on the White House's website.

By the time the White House responded Monday, the "Make Unlocking Cell Phones Legal" petition at the White House's website had garnered more than 114,300 digital signatures. 

"Consumers should be able to unlock their cellphones without risking criminal or other penalties," R. David Edelman, an Obama administration adviser on Internet and privacy issues, said in the official response to the petition. He called the position "common sense" and "crucial for protecting consumer choice."

The White House said consumers should still be required to honor service agreements.

Both AT&T Inc. and Sprint Nextel Corp. already allow customers to unlock their phones after they have fulfilled their contracts, but activists call the procedure cumbersome and say users should be able to do it on their own. The latest phones from Verizon Wireless, a joint venture of Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone Group PLC, come unlocked, a spokeswoman said. 

The wireless industry defended their current practices.

"Customers have numerous options when purchasing mobile devices," Michael Altschul, general counsel for the wireless industry group CTIA, said in a statement Monday. "They may choose to purchase devices at full price with no lock, or at a substantially discounted price—typically hundreds of dollars less than the full price—by signing a contract with a carrier."

The Library of Congress's rules establish federal copyright penalties for unlocking a cellphone. Wireless carriers can collect statutory civil damages of between $200 and $2,500 per violation and criminal penalties can rise to $500,000, five years in prison or both for the first offense.

The response by the White House marks the latest effort by Washington to cater to Web activists, who have used a mix of online organizing, email blasts and occasional in-person protests to shape how Washington regulates new technology. 

Internet message-board regulars and corporate titans such as Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg effectively killed antipiracy bills in Congress last year that had seemed likely to become law. Many lawmakers said the heated and organized response caught them off guard. 

"People are just waking up to the impact they can really have," said Derek Khanna, a former technology staffer on Capitol Hill, who helped marshal support for the cellphone petition. "It's not just stopping bad legislation. They can really put new ideas on the table."

A former staffer for the Republican Study Committee, a leading group of House conservatives, Mr. Khanna wrote a memo last year that called for the liberalization of copyright law. The RSC retracted the report and said it didn't support it.

The RSC couldn't be reached for comment Monday.

Mr. Khanna said he received a phone call Monday from the White House's Mr. Edelman informing him of the administration's response shortly before the statement was posted online.

The White House confirmed the phone call but wouldn't comment on the discussion.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski recently said he intends to look into the issue of unlocked cellphones, a move the White House said it would support. It is unclear what regulatory authority the commission has in this case.

Attractions In Santa Clarita - Chinese Smog Is Choking My Creativity, Says Film-Maker

Source - http://www.guardian.co.uk/

By - Press Release

Category - Attractions In Santa Clarita

Posted By - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

Attractions In Santa Clarita

Some say success is the enemy of creativity; others have blamed the pram in the hall. But one of China's best-known film directors has found a new culprit: smog.

"Cornered by the terrible weather, I have nowhere to go … I am unable to focus on my artistic creation," said Chen Kaige, who won the Palme d'Or for his 1993 film Farewell My Concubine.

His comments reflect growing public concern about China's environmental record, exacerbated by the severe air pollution in Beijing and other areas this winter, water pollution scandals and the government's refusal to release research on soil pollution.

Chen, 61, described the weather as weird, appalling and unbelievable, according to the state news agency Xinhua. He cited the death of a prized jujube tree two years ago as proof of Beijing's deteriorating environment, asking: "If a tree dies like this, how can humans fare any better?"

He said the government should take speedy action to shut down polluters instead of trying to undo the damage already done.

Chen himself was criticised over environmental issues several years ago when a watchdog in Yunnan province said a lake had been damaged during the filming of his movie The Promise.

Xinhua said Chen had been elected to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, China's top political advisory body, which began its annual session on Sunday and includes several celebrity members such as the actor Jackie Chan, the Nobel literature laureate Mo Yan and the basketball star Yao Ming.

Its meeting runs alongside that of the country's largely rubber-stamp legislature, the National People's Congress.

On Saturday, the spokesman for the session said the official timetable for cities to meet national air quality standards was too long. "Eighteen years is too long to wait," said Lyu Xinhua. "We wish to shorten the period."

In January, the ministry of environmental protection said cities where average air pollution levels were 15% above the standard or less should meet the standard by 2015. The worst-hit cities, with pollution 30% or more above the national standard, should tackle the problem by 2030.

Hotel In California - ICC World Cup 2015 Chairman James Strong Dies

Source - http://sports.ndtv.com/

By - Agence France-Presse

Category - Hotel In California

Posted By - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

Hotel In California

Prominent Australian businessman James Strong, the chairman of the organising committee for the 2015 cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, has died aged 68.

The former Qantas chief executive passed away in Sydney on Sunday after complications following surgery, his family said on Monday.

The ICC World Cup organising committee said it was saddened.

"James possessed a passion and vision for the tournament that set the tone for the entire organisation," the committee said in a statement.

ICC World Cup chief executive John Harnden, who worked with Strong for almost 20 years, praised his contribution to corporate and sporting life in Australia and New Zealand.

"We will continue the work he began on the World Cup and deliver a tournament in 2015 that would make him proud," he said.

Harnden said a statement regarding Strong's successor would be made in due course. The World Cup takes place in Australia and New Zealand from February to March in 2015.

Strong was the chief executive and managing director of Australian airline Qantas between 1993 and 2001.

He was also a chairman of V8 Supercars and Kathmandu Holdings, and a former chairman of the Insurance Australia Group and Woolworths.

Australian Formula One driver Mark Webber said Strong would be missed.

"Sorry to hear the news that James Strong has passed away. He was very special towards my junior racing career. Great guy. Will be missed," Webber wrote on Twitter.