| NASCAR takes wrong turn hopping on Avenue of the Stars
One of the laughable vanities of Southern California sports is the Fontana track's attempts to market itself as NASCAR's show-biz pit stop. To hear track officials tell it, you could rub elbows with Jack Nicholson in the garage here. Bump into Angelina Jolie in the grandstand. Park next to Tom Cruise. Apparently, they think we're that gullible. It's the sort of positioning that probably looks great in memos to the suits at the Florida headquarters of the track's owners. "We'll leverage Hollywood into ticket sales and media buys. We'll sell the glamor!" Probably .
High Rise Fire in Waikiki Forces Residents to Evacuate
A high rise fire in Waikiki chases dozens of residents into the streets, as fire crews race through a chemical cloud to get to the blaze. It was a chaotic scene Tuesday night on Kuhio Avenue. The Royal Kuhio is a condominium and time share building when the fire alarm went off many people headed for the stairs and evacuated. At first they waiting outside at the lobby but police put up yellow tape and made everyone move across the street because of possible chemical fumes. The fire started around 8:25 p.m. Tuesday on the mauka side of the seventh floor, that's the recreation area. This was a three-alarm fire. Fire crews got the blaze under control 20 minutes later. One firefighter was injured, either with a broken finger or hand and a woman was in an ambulance being treated likely for smoke inhalation.
Litchfield Park: $14.9 million
The pad: This 12,000-square-foot home is the priciest in the West Valley, carrying a $14.9 million price tag, with key pieces of furniture and chandeliers thrown in. The goods: In addition to the two master bedrooms and separate master baths, there is marble throughout this stately ranch style that boasts unobstructed views of the Red Course of the Wigwam, the West Valley's most exclusive resort. The home is perfect for entertaining with an open gourmet kitchen, two built-in Sub-Zero refrigerators, wine cooler and a 12-seat theater with full wet bar. There is also a billiards and game room. The wall-length patio door disappears into the wall to invite the outdoors in. There are a six-car garage and a 2,000-square-foot guesthouse. Shaq can tout that he lives in an energy-efficient foam-paneled home built so soundly that it is hurricane proof - not that he needs to worry about that now that he's left Miami.
Jindal eases hiring freeze at hospitals
The administration of Gov. Bobby Jindal has granted an exception to its government hiring freeze for vacant positions related to direct patient care at the state's Charity hospitals, the governor's finance office said Saturday. The decision will let the public medical institution in New Orleans proceed more quickly to meet an ambitious hiring plan designed to keep up with a growing demand for services. On Jan. 15, Jindal froze hiring at all state agencies unless special permission was granted by Commissioner of Administration Angele Davis. The state public hospital system, which has vacancies for 109 registered nurses and more than 200 other positions in New Orleans, complained that the process would impair its effort to rebuild services lost after Hurricane Katrina. Davis, in a letter sent Friday, gave authority to Louisiana State University System President John Lombardi to fill any vacant position for direct patient care at the 10 state public hospitals he oversees.
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