Closer Jordan Walden threw away a potential game-ending double-play grounder during a four-run ninth inning, and with it he may have thrown away the Angels’ playoff hopes.

Thanks to Boston’s 6-2 loss to the New York Yankees in the first game of a doubleheader Sunday, the Angels remained 2 1/2 games behind the Red Sox in the American League wild-card race with three games to play.

But Tampa Bay beat Toronto, 5-2, on Sunday to move to within a half-game of Boston, and if the Red Sox lose the nightcap, the Red Sox and Rays would be tied for the wild-card lead, and the Angels would be two games back.

– Mike DiGiovanna, The Fabulous Forum, Los Angeles Times

…Continue reading Angels bullpen collapses in 6-5 loss; playoff hopes nearly dead

The preliminary crime data for 2009 released Monday by the FBI shows that Irvine last year experienced 0.7 violent crimes — murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault — per 1,000 residents. New York City, by comparison, had 5.5 violent crimes per 1,000 residents, and Los Angeles had 5.8.

Irvine had 14.6 part 1 crimes — murder, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, vehicle theft and arson — per 1,000 residents, 6% lower than last year and the lowest in the city’s history.

…Continue reading FBI: Irvine still nation’s safest city, Santa Ana leads O.C. in violent crime

The drama, the catfights, the glamorous (or not) life of the rich and famous. Do you think you have what it takes to join the reality TV crowd?

According to an ad posted by Evolution Media on Craigslist, “The Real Housewives of Orange County” is casting for the next season. There still hasn’t been an official announcement that a sixth season of the popular franchise will happen, but if it does, this is your chance to be a part of it.It’s also unclear if this means one of the current housewives will not be coming back although Vicki Gunvalson, of Coto de Caza, has expressed uncertainty about continuing with the show during last season’s reunion.

The farmers are reclaiming Orange County.

Well, not quite, but an amazing thing happened in the last two years: After hemorrhaging farmland to homes, roads and buildings for decades, farmers actually gained more land.

People like Richard Manassero, a third-generation berry farmer, were able to hold onto their plots.

Just five years ago Manassero had to vacate a 25-acre parcel in Brea to make way for homes, but now he has a 35-acre replacement in Costa Mesa and this year he signed a new long-term lease in Anaheim Hills.

… Continue Reading: O.C. farmers gain ground on builders, but for how long?

A software glitch that caused the county to underfund its employee retirement system for nearly a decade will require it to increase pension contributions by $6 million to $7 million annually beginning in 2011 to make up the shortfall, officials said Wednesday.

The software error caused the county government and other agencies to undercontribute to the pension fund by $228 million since 2001, when faulty code was put in place that did not account for special pay some employees receive in addition to their base salaries. The problem was discovered and corrected earlier this year and disclosed to the Orange County Board of Supervisors on April 12. (Read the county documents.)

An increased payment amount of $7 million per year is only about 1 percent of the county’s annual discretionary budget of $700 million, but it will be a tough figure to swallow at a time when county departments have already slashed their budgets by around 10 percent since the recession began.

The county will begin making the increased payments in July 2011 because the contribution schedule until then has already been set, said county spokesman Howard Sutter.

It will take payments of $6 million to $7 million more per year to make up the difference if the Board of Supervisors decides to spread the payments over 15 years, he said. The board could elect to spread payments out over a shorter or longer time period, which Sutter said would change the amount of the annual increase.

Supervisors are scheduled to receive a briefing on the issue at their May 18 meeting.

Less than half of the $228 million shortfall is for county employees and must be made up by the county government; the rest will come from agencies with separate budgets, such as the OC Transportation Authority, OC Fire Authority and the court system.

No retirees have been underpaid for their pensions, according to OCERS officials.

County employees with in-demand skills or special assignments – such as bilingual employees, paramedics or cops who ride motorcycles – earn extra pay, but that extra pay was not accounted for in the contributions county agencies were making to the pension fund. Pension amounts are based on employees’ salaries, so such an error creates a situation where the county will owe retirees money it hasn’t set aside.

OCERS CEO Steve Delaney told OCLNN last month that the error occurred because OCERS’ pension administration software uses one data set for employees’ regular pay and another for special pay. But in generating its annual report for analysis by an actuary to make sure pensions are properly funded, the computer system was accounting only for the regular pay data.

Delaney said the error disproportionately affected agencies that have more employees receiving special pay.

“An agency such as the Orange County Sheriff’s Department is more likely to find its employees at times in unusual and stressful situations that will require premium payments,” he said. “An agency like that would be more heavily impacted by finding that those premium payments had not been correctly forecast into the agency’s pension contribution rates.”

Read OCLNN’s previous story reporting the OCERS pension glitch.

Jose Antonio Hernandez, 45, of Santa Ana (OC District Attorney)

By Erik Holmes, OCLNN

A man suspected of harassing and touching two young girls on public buses in Santa Ana could have more victims, authorities say, and the Orange County District Attorney’s office is asking for the public’s help in locating other girls the suspect may have harassed.

Jose Antonio Hernandez, 45, of Santa Ana, is charged with two misdemeanor counts of child annoyance and two misdemeanor counts of battery for allegedly grabbing two female middle school students while standing behind them on buses on April 19 and 20. He is being held on $10,000 bail and faces up three years in jail if convicted.

Information gathered during the investigation leads prosecutors to believe these might not be isolated incidents, said Farrah Emami, a spokeswoman for the D.A.’s office.

“Based on the behavior of the defendant and the fact that the two victims were on the same bus route and coming from the same school … we’re concerned that there could potentially be more victims,” she said.

Both incidents occurred on public buses traveling near First Street and Grand Avenue in Santa Ana, Emami said.

During the first incident on April 19, Hernandez is accused of approaching an 11-year-old girl on the bus while she was traveling home from school. He allegedly stood behind the girl, grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back so her body was nearly touching his. The girl pulled away and moved to another part of the bus.

The next day, Hernandez allegedly stood close behind a 13-year-old girl and put his hands around her waist, holding her for several seconds until she elbowed him, moved away and got off the bus.

The two girls, who attend the same school but do not know each other, independently told their assistant principal about the incidents. They said the man was wearing a red baseball cap and red backpack. The assistant principal contacted the police.

“These two girls were very brave to come forward and report what had happened to them,” Emami said. “We understand that it can be embarrassing for a child, but we would encourage them to tell somebody … because they don’t deserve to be touched by a stranger inappropriately.”

On May 4, deputies from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department arrested Hernandez after finding him on a bus traveling the same route at the same time as the incidents occurred.

Hernandez is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing on Friday.

Click here for more from the staff at OCLNN.

The Irvine City Council this week approved the purchase of a hand-painted carousel that used to be at Fashion Island in Newport Beach.

The Venetian-themed carousel, which has 32 colorful animal figures and two chariots, can accommodate up to 40 children at a time.

The 38-foot-diameter carousel is expected to become part of the Great Park’s Kids Rock playground, which is under construction.

… Continue Reading: Fashion Island carousel moves

An ambitious plan to create a county-owned wireless internet system to serve public safety agencies and residents of low-income neighborhoods has been put on hold because of the county’s ongoing budget crunch.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors had been scheduled to discuss the $11 million project – which would be paid for primarily through grants from the federal stimulus program – on May 8, but the discussion was deleted from the board’s agenda at the last minute.

Howard Sutter, a spokesman for the county executive’s office, said the finances proved untenable given the county’s efforts to shrink its budget amid declining tax revenue.

… Continue Reading: County-owned wireless internet system put on hold

After a 10-year movie theater drought, Regency Theatres will open a four-auditorium theater in San Juan Capistrano Friday, May 7.  And, it’s more than a long-awaited movie house.

It will be Orange County’s first in-theater dining experience.  Regency San Juan Capistrano Theatre featuring Rick’s Café and Wine Bar adds to the Casablanca-themed ambiance of newly renovated movie complex.  The Moroccan/Casablanca theme was selected because Regency President Lyndon Golin was looking for a timeless style.

… Continue Reading: Regency brings movies back to San Juan Capistrano

Just how much has the 48th Congressional District changed in recent years?

That’s what Irvine City Councilwoman Beth Krom, a Democrat, is trying to find out as she challenges U.S. Rep. John Campbell, a Republican, for the seat representing much of central and southern Orange County.

The district has been reliably Republican for many years, but its voters narrowly favored President Barack Obama in the 2008 election. Republicans as recently as 2006 enjoyed a 22-percentage point advantage in voter registration in the district, but that gap has shrunk to 15 percentage points this year. Krom is hoping that trend continues.

… Continue Reading: Congressional candidate Beth Krom sets sites on GOP stronghold