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Our Downey Savings was Robbed? What Next?

Bandit hits two O.C. bank branches within an hour
Daily News Wire Service
Updated: 12/04/2008 05:10:10 PM PST

ALISO VIEJO — The so-called Empty Pockets bandit pulled off two armed robberies in Orange County Thursday afternoon, a sheriff’s official said.
The suspect displayed a gun during a 2 p.m. heist at a Citibank branch at 31872 Del Obispo St. in San Juan Capistrano, said Jim Amormino of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

Less than an hour later, the bandit struck a Downey Savings office inside a Ralphs supermarket at 26901 Aliso Creek Road in Aliso Viejo, Amormino said.

The Empty Pockets bandit earned his name because two attempts to pull off hold-ups on Nov. 26 and Dec. 4 had failed.

The first botched attempt was when he tried to rob a Washington Mutual branch in Mission Viejo, Amormino said, and the second was at a Bank of America branch in Aliso Viejo.

The suspect escaped with an undisclosed amount of cash Wednesday from a Bank of America branch inside an Albertsons supermarket at 30241 Golden Lantern in Laguna Niguel, Amormino said. That heist marked the first time the robber had displayed a gun to a teller, instead of demand notes.

Investigators released surveillance photos of the man, who is in his late 30s to early 40s, 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighs about 200 pounds. Amormino said the bandit may be a mix of white and Filipino, and a witness heard him speaking Filipino on the phone.

The suspect should be considered armed and dangerous, Amormino said.

Anyone with information about the suspect was urged to call the Orange County Sheriff’s

The High Cost of Favoritism – Thoughts on OJ

December 10, 2008
The High Cost of Favoritism
by Thomas Sowell

O.J. Simpson has attracted less attention by being declared “guilty” in Nevada than he did by being declared “not guilty” in California. Yet his story is more than the tragedy of one man.

O.J. is not the first star athlete– or movie star, political leader or pacesetter in some other fields– to fall from the heights to the depths. Often they are people who have taken enormous risks that were completely unnecessary and with little pay-off.

Think about it: What did Richard Nixon have to gain by setting up the kinds of illegal operations that finally cost him the presidency– and could have landed him in prison, without President Ford’s pardon?

Why would star quarterback Michael Vick have risked a multimillion dollar career for the sake of staging dog fights?

Why would Leona Helmsley have risked going to jail for tax evasion, when she could easily have paid the taxes out of her vast fortune?

O.J. Simpson was one of the greatest players in the history of football. He had lucrative commercial contracts. He was a hero to many. What could have led him to take reckless chances that risked it all, whether in California or in Nevada?

We may never really know. But what seems to run through many stories of people who take huge risks for small pay-offs is a sense that the rules simply do not apply to them.

Leona Helmsley said that paying taxes was for “the little people.” Nixon apparently thought that he was above the law.

While individuals can have such attitudes in any walk of life, star athletes in certain sports seem to be especially prone to regard rules as not applying to them.

It is not hard to see why. Those who star in sports that are big in educational institutions– football and basketball being classic examples– can start having the rules bent in their favor as early as high school.

Everyone wants a winning team and bending a few rules for those who can make that happen may seem like a small price to pay. At colleges and universities where football or basketball are big time, ensuring passing grades for players on those teams is a major priority.

This can take the form of having special academic advisors to help college athletes maintain grade averages sufficient to keep them eligible to play. These advisors are often separate from those advising other students with their academic work, and have their offices in separate buildings, just as the athletes themselves are often housed separately from other students.

The idea that college athletes in big-time sports that attract thousands of fans to a stadium, and millions of viewers on television, are just students who happen to play a game is belied in many ways.

Players on Division I football teams spend an average of more than 40 hours a week on their sport. That does not leave a lot of time for academics.

This can lead to athletes being steered to easier courses or courses taught by faculty members who give them a special break. From time to time, grade-changing scandals have erupted from a zeal to keep some star player eligible to play.

In ways large and small, star athletes in big-time college sports learn early in life the cynical message that rules apply to other people. This special treatment can be found even in the Ivy League, where sports are not supposed to be as big a deal as in the Big Ten.

Perhaps the wonder is not that a number of stars in professional football and basketball develop an attitude that they are above the rules, and even above the law, but that others do not.

Special treatment for anybody, in any walk of life, for whatever reason, is a double-edged sword that can end up cutting against them as well as for them. For professional athletes, especially those who have risen out of poverty to wealth and fame, to plunge themselves back into the depths seems a special tragedy to them and to impressionable young people who look up to them as role models.

******
Thomas Sowell (born June 30, 1930), is an American economist, social commentator, and author of dozens of books. He often writes from an economically laissez-faire perspective. He is currently a senior fellow of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. In 1990, he won the Francis Boyer Award, presented by the American Enterprise Institute. In 2002 he was awarded the National Humanities Medal for prolific scholarship melding history, economics, and political science.

Free Meditation Class Dec 13th

Mantra Meditation – Free to Public
Mantra Meditation
A Deeply Relaxing Experience
Saturday, December 13th
Noon to 1:00pm
Laguna Hills Community Center, Art Room
25555 Alicia Parkway, Laguna Hills
The class is presented free of charge.
949-272-1675

Local Hiking Info

SOUTH COAST WILDERNESS ACTIVITIES: DECEMBER 2008

LAGUNA COAST WILDERNESS PARK

December 11, Thursday, 9:00-11:00 a.m., Fitness Hike: Raise your heart rate and your spirits on this fast-paced, 4.8-mile hike with Laguna Canyon Foundation volunteer naturalists Helen Flanagan and Sheila Morshead. Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, Little Sycamore Canyon Staging Area/Nix Nature Center (west side of Laguna Canyon Rd/SR-133, approximately 3.5 miles south of I-5/405). Reservations required: 949-923-2235. Parking: $3.

December 13, Saturday, 9:00-11:30 a.m., Native Plant Hike: Learn to identify native plants with Laguna Canyon Foundation volunteer naturalist Brad Larkins on this moderate, but steep and rocky, 3.5-mile-hike. Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, Willow Canyon Staging Area (20101 Laguna Canyon Rd, just south of El Toro Rd intersection). Reservations required: 949-923-2235. Parking: $3.

December 18, Thursday, 9:00-11:00 a.m., Fitness Hike: Raise your heart rate and your spirits on this strenuous, fast-paced, 3.5-mile hike with Laguna Canyon Foundation volunteer naturalists Helen Flanagan and Joe Sortais. Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, Willow Canyon Staging Area (20101 Laguna Canyon Rd, just south of El Toro Rd intersection). Reservations required: 949-923-2235. Parking: $3.

December 18, Thursday, 3:00-4:30 p.m., Junior Rangers: Second and third graders ages 7-9 will become junior rangers by learning about wilderness plants and animals and how to care for native habitat. Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, Willow Canyon Staging Area (20101 Laguna Canyon Rd, just south of El Toro Rd intersection). Reservations required: 949-923-2235. Program: $10/person. Parking: $3.

December 19, Friday, 9:00-10:00 a.m., Tot Walk: Bring your wee ones to explore our wild backyard on this easy walk with Laguna Canyon Foundation’s Education Director Kimberly Leeds and Laguna Canyon Foundation volunteer naturalist Joyce Cross. Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, Willow Canyon Staging Area (20101 Laguna Canyon Rd, just south of El Toro Rd intersection). Reservations required: 949-923-2235. Requested donation: $2/person. Parking: $3.

December 20, Saturday, 8:00-11:00 a.m., Keep It Wild Volunteer Day: Volunteers help Laguna Canyon Foundation and OC Parks staff with clean up and restoration projects. Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, Little Sycamore Canyon Staging Area/Nix Nature Center (west side of Laguna Canyon Rd/SR-133, approximately 3.5 miles south of I-5/405). Reservations required: 949-923-2235. Program: $5. Parking: $3.

December 21, Friday, 2:00-4:30 p.m., Winter Solstice Hike: Celebrate the shortest day of the year on this slow-paced, 2.8 mile steep hike up Little Sycamore Canyon to Serrano Ridge with OC Parks Resource Specialist Laura Cohen and Laguna Canyon Foundation volunteer naturalists. Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, Little Sycamore Canyon Staging Area/Nix Nature Center (west side of Laguna Canyon Rd/SR-133, approximately 3.5 miles south of I-5/405). Reservations required: 949-923-2235. Program: $5. Parking: $3.

December 26, Friday, 9:00-11:00 a.m., Gentle Fitness Hike: Walk off your Christmas dinner on this slow-paced, easy, 2.8-mile hike to Barbara’s Lake and surrounds with OC Parks Resource Specialist Laura Cohen and Laguna Canyon Foundation volunteer naturalists Lois Taylor and Joyce Cross. Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, Little Sycamore Canyon Staging Area/Nix Nature Center (west side of Laguna Canyon Rd/SR-133, approximately 3.5 miles south of I-5/405). Reservations required: 949-923-2235. Program: $5. Parking: $3.

December 27, Saturday, 8:00-10:00 a.m., Cultural Resource Hike: Learn how Native Americans used various plants on this rigorous, 2.8-mile hike (400-foot gain) with OC Parks Ranger Jacky Velasquez and Laguna Canyon Foundation volunteer naturalists Penny Lewis and Annie Stoeckmann. Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, Little Sycamore Canyon Staging Area/Nix Nature Center (west side of Laguna Canyon Rd/SR-133, approx. 3.5 miles south of I-5/405). Reservations required: 949-923-2235. Program: $2/person. Parking: $3.

Aliso & Wood Canyons Wilderness Park

December 9, Tuesday, 8:00-11:00 a.m., Yoga Hike: Stretch your mind and body with this yoga hike led by Laguna Canyon Foundation volunteer Lauren Robinson. Aliso & Wood Canyons Wilderness Park, Canyon View Staging Area, Gate 7 (from southbound Aliso Creek Rd, turn right on Glenwood [turns into Pacific Park] and right on Canyon Vista to Canyon View Park). Reservations required: 949-923-2235.

December 13, Saturday, 8:30-11:00 a.m., Signs of Life Hike: Learn about diverse life forms on this 2.4-mile (100-ft. steep elevation gain) hike with Laguna Canyon Foundation volunteer naturalists. Aliso & Wood Canyons Wilderness Park, Canyon View Staging Area, Gate 7 (from southbound Aliso Creek Rd, turn right on Glenwood [turns into Pacific Park] and right on Canyon Vista to Canyon View Park). Reservations required: 949-923-2235.

December 20, Saturday, 8:00-11:00 a.m., Keep It Wild Volunteer Day: Volunteers help Laguna Canyon Foundation and OC Parks staff with clean-up and restoration projects. Aliso & Wood Canyons Wilderness Park Ranger Headquarters, Gate 1, 28373 Alicia Pkwy (from southbound Aliso Creek Rd, turn right on Alicia and make the first right into the parking lot). Information: 949-923-2235. Free (parking fee waived).

December 26, Friday, 9:00-11:00 a.m., Fitness Hike: Raise your heart rate and your spirits on this strenuous, fast-paced, 3.5-mile hike with Laguna Canyon Foundation volunteer naturalists. Aliso & Wood Canyons Wilderness Park, Canyon View Staging Area, Gate 7 (from southbound Aliso Creek Rd, turn right on Glenwood [turns into Pacific Park] and right on Canyon Vista to Canyon View Park). Reservations required: 949-923-2235.

December 27, Saturday, 9:00-11:30 a.m., Native Plant Hike: Learn about Wood Canyon’s diverse plant life on this 4.4-mile hike along lovely Wood Creek (100-foot steep elevation gain) with Laguna Canyon Foundation volunteer naturalist Karin Klein. Aliso & Wood Canyons, Canyon View Staging Area, Gate 7 (from southbound Aliso Creek Rd, turn right on Glenwood [turns into Pacific Park] and right on Canyon Vista to Canyon View Park). Reservations required: 949-923-2235.

December 27, Saturday, 12:00-12:30 p.m., Ranger Hike: Learn about diverse wildlife on this 0.12-mile hike with OC Parks Ranger Steve Jax. Aliso & Wood Canyons Wilderness Park Ranger Headquarters, Gate 1, 28373 Alicia Pkwy (from southbound Aliso Creek Rd, turn right on Alicia and make the first right into the parking lot). Reservations required: 949-923-2235. Parking: $3.

INFORMATION: Visit http://www.ocparks.com/lagunacoast (click on Activities and Programs). To be included on the monthly e-mail event list, call 949-923-2235. To learn more about volunteering or helping Laguna Canyon Foundation to preserve, protect and enhance the South Coast Wilderness, visit www.lagunacanyon.org or call 949-497-8324.

Local American Girl Program Offers Cooking Classes

If your daughter is passionate about the historical collection of American Girl dolls and/or books, then she will love our American Girl After School Cooking program. Girls ages 6 to 10 will prepare and cook the delicious recipes that were loved by the American Girls. They will discover the fascinating history of these inspiring heroines and learn about their culture and traditions. We offer a 1½-hour class, depending on age group, at 1:30-3:00 and 3:30-5:00 on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. For more information, please call 949-363-3507 or email info@socactivitycenter.com. And don’t forget to ask about our unique American Girl theme birthday parties!

Holiday Update from F. Bailey – Corpus Christi

December 13-14, 2008
Third Sunday of Advent Gaudete – REJOICE
Isaiah 6:1-11 First Thessalonians 5:16-24 John 1:6-28

With the reliability and comfort of having celebrated Christmas for 2,000+ years we have lost the incredulity and peculiarity of the Incarnation. We accept as a matter of course that Jesus was the Son of God, that he was born, lived, suffered and died…and we do this with shrugs of nonchalance. Yet, the notion of God becoming human was as novel to the people of two-millennia ago as some of today’s controversies are to our own populace. Indeed, our Jewish brothers and sisters were not anti-Jesus, it was simply incomprehensible that the dignity and auspicious power of God would become a frail human being. Thus, when we hear in Scripture that many of the Jews rejected Jesus…it is not a hateful rejection as much as a living-out what their whole perception of God called them to honor and believe. In today’s Second Reading from Paul to the people of Thessalonica we hear: ‘Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophetic utterances. Test everything, retain what is good.’ As we open ourselves to the nearness of Christmas on this Gaudete Sunday (REJOICE), how might we be attempting to quench those things that disturb our rhythms and regular way of living our lives? Rather than embracing newness, might we have fallen into a pessimistic trap of presuming new things are always wrong…we don’t just test them, we judge and condemn them simply because they rattle our cages, (like those who voted against our President-elect simply because he is a man of color?) In welcoming the anticipated birth of Jesus are we anticipating that Jesus will confirm what we already believe and want to hold as true? What if God is trying to move us, nudge us away from whom we have been into whom he desires us to be? Gosh, what if Christmas is not about holding on to the way things have always been but a joyous, wondrous throwing open of our hearts to what things CAN BE?

Thank you for joining with us on the weekend of REJOICING (Gaudete) at the nearness of Christmas. A reminder that this is the occasion of our annual Rectory Open House, the Bulletin has directions and gate code…consider yourself invited for a visit and some pre-holiday cheer. As we have always done, we are once again soliciting POTTED POINSETTIA plants for our use in transforming our Grand Hall into a festive/reverent environment for Christmas. PLEASE…nothing smaller than 6-inch potted poinsettias, and the hefty 10-inchers from Costco are even better. (The small little plants dry out and pretty much get tossed before they even go on display…so please avoid those.) If you can help out with a donation of some plants, please bring them with you next weekend and place them in the Kitchen or on the shelf near the kitchen roll-up window. THANKS! The Bulletin has the full Christmas schedule, please accept one on your way home and make your plans now. Keep in mind that the Christmas Eve 4:00 p.m. Mass is MOBBED out onto the lawn, the 6:30 is about ¾ full and the 9:00 p.m. ‘It’s Midnight In New York’ Mass is standing room only. Christmas Day 8 is pretty empty and Christmas Day 10 a.m. is about ¾ full but the Christmas Day 10:15 a.m. is PACKED. As you plan and allow the spirit of REJOICING to creep into your heart, remember, you are loved. FKB

Easy Eggnog and Key Lime Cheesecake

Easy Eggnog
6 eggs
3 cups milk
8 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoon vanilla essence
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, ground

In a large bowl, beat the eggs using an electric beater (if available).
By turn, add milk & sugar.
Continue beating until mixture thickens slightly.
Add in the vanilla essence & ground nutmeg.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled (at least 3 hours).

Serves: 8.

Key Lime Cheesecake

Lime custard

6 large egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons fresh Key lime juice or regular lime juice
1 teaspoon grated Key lime peel or regular lime peel

Crust

1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 12 whole graham crackers)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Filling

2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
2/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons fresh Key lime juice or regular lime juice
1 tablespoon grated Key lime peel or regular lime peel

1 16-ounce container sour cream

Thin lime slices

PreparationFor lime custard:
Whisk all ingredients in heavy small saucepan over medium heat until custard thickens and boils for 30 seconds, about 8 minutes. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally (mixture will thicken).

For crust:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Wrap 3 layers of foil around outside of 8- to 8 1/2-inch-diameter springform pan with 3-inch-high sides. Butter pan. Stir first 3 ingredients to blend in medium bowl. Mix in butter until moistened. Press crumb mixture evenly onto bottom and 1 1/2 inches up sides of prepared pan. Bake just until set, about 5 minutes. Cool completely. Maintain oven temperature.

For filling:
Place cream cheese, 2/3 cup sugar, eggs, lime juice, and lime peel in processor; blend well.

Spoon custard into crust; smooth top. Carefully spoon filling over. Set cheesecake in large baking pan. Add enough hot water to baking pan to come 1 inch up sides of cheesecake pan. Bake until almost set but not puffed and center moves slightly when pan is gently shaken, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, stir sour cream and remaining 3 tablespoons sugar in medium bowl to blend.

Carefully spoon sour cream mixture over hot cheesecake; smooth top. Bake until topping sets, about 10 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Run knife around sides of pan to loosen. Cool cheesecake completely. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Do ahead Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated. Release pan sides from cheesecake; transfer to platter. Garnish with lime slices and serve.

Key Lime Cheesecake Bon Appétit | October 2006
by Jeanne Thiel Kelley

Help For Families with Drug & Alcohol Issues

Helping OC Families with Drug and Alcohol Issues
Community Alliance Network (CAN)
The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence-Orange County/Community Alliance Network (NCADD-OC/CAN) is the Lead Agency for the Tobacco Free Communities (TFC) program in Laguna Niguel. CAN is working with Laguna Niguel communities to implement this creative, comprehensive, community-school linked program that targets the tobacco education and cessation needs of youth, young adults, parents and smokers.

TFC community activities aim to increase the ability of community organizations, schools, businesses, health care providers, law enforcement, adult youth leaders and community leaders to implement effective tobacco educational programs and policies. Through collaborative planning activities and educational programs, CAN is striving to reduce the prevalence of tobacco in Orange County.

CAN is dedicated to using a prevention approach to take alcohol, tobacco and other drugs out of the mainstream. NCADD-OC/Community Alliance Network is working with our communities to build a healthier and safer Orange County.

For more information please contact:
Gwen Drenick, MPH
Associate Director

Telephone: (949) 595-2288

E-mail: gdrenick@canoc.org
Website: www.ncaddoc.org or www.canoc.org

Tapestry Presents – “Thomas Jefferson”

Meet the President: A Press Conference with former President Thomas Jefferson

WHEN: December 28, 2008 – 9:30 and 11:00 a.m. Performances

On December 28, Tapestry Unitarian Universalist Church of Mission Viejo will host an inspirational and informative performance entitled Thomas Jefferson, Man from Monticello at its 9:30 and 11:00 a.m. services. The show is 99% ad-libbed in a vibrant question-and-answer format in which all congregants and guests are invited to participate.

Actor/historian Dale Reynolds has been portraying Thomas Jefferson for three decades and has toured his one-man, totally ad-libbed Q&A show from California to Germany, playing schools, universities, churches, cruise liners and various clubs. In a 40-year showbiz career, he has appeared on-and-off-Broadway as well as for various well-known theater groups.

“Dale’s performance as President Thomas Jefferson not only had those in attendance spellbound, but also entertained and educated them,” said Michael Bear of Mason’s Los Angeles.

Besides being known as the first Secretary of State and the third President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson was one of the most famous Unitarians in history. In a letter to John Adams, Jefferson wrote, “I expect every young man born today to die a Unitarian.” Please join us to discover what Jefferson believed and how he might relate to today’s politics and social advancements. No questions are off the table in what is sure to be an exciting performance!

Buddhism Meetings Dec. 10th, Dec. 14th

The poet Samuel Ullman wrote, “Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy checks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, a quality of imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life.”

It is vital to always look to the future, to have plans and aspirations-such an outlook is crucial to making the last years of one’s life rewarding and fulfilling. One woman with an impressive youthful attitude was the American painter known as “Grandma Moses.” She had produced around fifteen hundred paintings by her death at the age of one hundred and one. Yet she didn’t even start painting until she was seventy-five. She had never studied painting and was an ordinary farmer’s wife until then.

She had faced many difficulties in her life. Five of her ten children died young, and she lost her husband when she was sixty-five. She said that though she had experienced real pain and hardship, she refused to be dragged down by suffering and always looked ahead.

Whatever she encountered, Grandma Moses strove to make each day and each moment shine with her smile. After her surviving children left home and her husband died, she refused to give in to loneliness or step back from life. She took up the challenge of painting, and her last years glowed with a beautiful sunset. She wrote, “I look back on my life like a good day’s work. It was done and I feel satisfied with it. I has happy and contented. I knew nothing better and made the best out of what life offered. And life is what we make it; always has been, always will be.”

There is a great difference between simply living a long life and living a full and rewarding life. What’s really important is how much rich texture and color we can add to our lives during our stay here on Earth- however long that stay may be. Quality is the true value, not quantity. (Adapted from an essay by Daisaku Ikeda, SGI President)

You are invited to join us in a discussion about adding rich texture to our lives at the next introduction to Buddhism meeting at the Glenwood Recreation Center, 25422 Cedearbrook Drive (between Glenwood and Aliso Viejo Parkway) Aliso Viejo on Sunday, December 14 at 11 am (call 949-472-3810) and on Wednesday, December 10 at 7 pm at the Norman Murray Community and Senior Center, Veterans Way, Mission Viejo (call 714-444-9580) Visit our website at www.sgi.org.