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Actor Paul Walker's body was released Tuesday by the Los Angeles County coroner's office to Forest Lawn Mortuaries to make arrangements for his final resting place.

Ed Winter, assistant chief of coroner's investigations, said the "Fast & Furious" actor's remains were turned over to Forest Lawn, where many of Hollywood's most famous stars are buried.

Walker, 40, died Nov. 30 from a combination of traumatic injuries and burns after the Porsche crashed in Santa Clarita and erupted in flames, the county coroner's office reported last week.

Roger Rodas, 38, Walker's financial advisor and friend, was behind the wheel of the high-performance 2005 Porsche when it crashed. He was killed by the impact alone, a medical examiner concluded.

Meanwhile a second man charged withstealing part of the wrecked Porschehas surrendered to authorities at the San Fernando courthouse.

Anthony Janow, 25, and Jameson Witty, 18,each face one felony count of grand theft of personal property, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said. They each also face misdemeanor counts of destroying evidence and resisting, obstructing and delaying a peace officer.

Janow, aprofessional skateboarder,was booked and released Tuesday morning. Witty was arrested last week and released from custody after posting $20,000 bail.

If convicted of the charges, the men each face a maximum sentence of four years and six months in county jail, prosecutors said.

Authorities allege that on the night of Nov. 30, the pair stole a roof panel from a tow truck carrying the destroyed Porsche Carrera GT away from the Valencia crash site.

The tow truck driver -- who had been stopped at a red light when the theft occurred -- reported it to authorities, officials said. Search warrants were served, and investigators found some of the parts at a home in Canyon Country.

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Coroner releases Paul Walker's body to Forest Lawn for funeral

MONROE Lights were ablaze on Monday evening as Monroe received its annual treatment of the Love Lights A Tree ceremony on the lawn of the Historic Courthouse to benefit the American Cancer Society.

In the charitable Christmas fashion, all of the proceeds benefitted the local chapter of the national organization making the yuletide event satisfying on a Christmas and a philanthropic front.

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Love from those affected by cancer helps light tree

Residents of a small central Queensland town that's run dry face huge fines if they're busted using "excessive" amounts of water.

Dysart residents are also being urged to answer the call of nature in portable loos because it saves nine litres of water per flush.

Isaac Regional Council says water levels in the mining town remain critical and residents have been ordered to restrict themselves to "absolutely essential use".

If they don't, they could wind up a lot poorer.

Outdoor water use of any kind has been banned.

Residents face on-the-spot fines of up to $2400 for washing their cars, watering the lawn or using sprinklers. For businesses the fines could be up to $19,920.

If excessive use sparks action in the courts, residents could ultimately be fined up to $24,000 and businesses up to $199,800.

"Water must only be used for drinking, showering and toileting," council said in a statement on Thursday.

"There must be no outside use except to water livestock."

Dysart ran out of water early on Wednesday after its water treatment plant failed.

Read more from the original source:
Major fines threatened in parched Qld town

A 55-year-old woman in England experienced severe vision loss after she overdosed on prescription medication while she was sleepwalking, according to a new report of the case.

The woman went to the emergency room after she woke up and was not able to see. She said she had been taking a drug called quinine sulfate once a day for leg cramps. Quinine sulfate is an anti-malaria medication that is sometimes prescribed for leg cramps, but can cause serve side effects, including vision problems.

The next day, the woman's vision had improved slightly, but was still dark, and she could not distinguish colors. After further questioning, she revealed she may have accidentally overdosed on the medication while sleepwalking. She felt she had taken some pills while sleepwalking, and the woman's daughter found an empty box of the tablets on the kitchen counter, according to the report. (Top 10 Spooky Sleep Disorders)

Overdoses of quinine can cause irreversible vision loss and even death. In fact, in 1994, the Food and Drug Administration warned against using the drug to prevent leg cramps, because for this condition, the risks of the drug outweigh the benefits, according to the agency.

But in the United Kingdom, the rules are less stringent: For nonmalaria uses, doctors are advised to prescribe the drug only when leg cramps affect sleep, and to regularly check in with patients to see if the drug is working as desired.

The woman underwent more eye tests, which revealed the loss of nerve cells near the inner surface of her eye.

One month later, the woman still had impairments in her central vision (used for reading, etc.) and did not have peripheral vision. Her condition remained unchanged a year later, the researchers said.

The researchers said in the report that they wrote up the woman's case in order to highlight the dangers of quinine prescription, particularly to vulnerable groups such as the elderly, or people who sleepwalk. In the U.K., the drug is often prescribed without checking in with the patient to see whether it is helping, said the researchers, from Birmingham Heartlands Hospital.

"We would urge practitioners to exercise caution when prescribing this drug and to follow appropriate guidelines," the researchers wrote in the Nov. 28 issue of British Medical Journal (BMJ) Case Reports. Prescribing the drug to vulnerable groups should be more restricted and stringently reviewed, the researchers said.

More from LiveScience:

The rest is here:
Woman's Sleepwalking Leads to Dangerous Overdose

A memorial Sunday for Walker drew thousands to Santa Clarita, but various media reports have said the funeral will be private.

Walker, 40, died Nov. 30 from a combination of traumatic injuries and burns after the Porsche in which he was riding crashed in Santa Clarita and erupted in flames, the coroner's office reported last week.

Roger Rodas, 38, Walker's financial advisor and friend, was behind the wheel of the high-performance 2005 Porsche when it crashed. He was killed by the impact alone, a medical examiner concluded.

Meanwhile, a second man charged withstealing part of the wrecked vehicle has surrendered to authorities at the San Fernando courthouse.

Anthony Janow, 25, and Jameson Witty, 18,each face one felony count of grand theft of personal property, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said. They each also face misdemeanor counts of destroying evidence and resisting, obstructing and delaying a peace officer.

Janow, aprofessional skateboarder,was booked and released Tuesday morning. Witty was arrested last week and released from custody after posting $20,000 bail.

If convicted of the charges, the men each face a maximum sentence of four years and six months in county jail, prosecutors said.

Authorities allege that on the night of Nov. 30, the two stole a roof panel from a tow truck carrying the destroyed Porsche Carrera GT away from the crash site.

The tow truck driver -- who had been stopped at a red light when the theft occurred -- reported it to authorities, officials said. Search warrants were served, and investigators found some of the parts at a home in Canyon Country.

A photo posted to an Instagram account for @jamesonwhitty showed what the user claimed to be a piece of the Porsche from the crash: Piece of Paul walkers car, took it off a tow truck at a stop light#paulwalker #rip #comeup.

Read more:
Paul Walker's family plans funeral after body released by coroner

Since its founding with five clients and a donated van in 1974, ECHO, now known as ECHOworks, has 163 participants supported by a staff of 60, providing workers to 15 sites around the county. It is always looking for new business partners willing to welcome capableand enthusiasticdisabled workers to their staff.

Over the years, the organization has built up a core base of support from area businesses that provide work opportunities for teams of anywhere from six to 13 individuals.

Karen Russell, ECHOworks marketing manager, has been associated with the organization from almost the beginning. She is aided by Kelly Yost, business development officer and daily operations manager, and the two work with CEO Bill Haney, assembling a strong and diverse labor force that can cope with a variety of tasks. Whether its mowing lawns, doing bulk mail, document conversion to digital, scanning and shredding documents, assembling and disassembling circuit board packages, or cleaning, the ECHO workers provide a reliable service for which the individual business contracts.

Those businesses that use ECHOworks services, including Inova Loudoun Hospital, Loudoun County Public Schools, Loudoun County government, the Federal Aviation Administration, REHAU, EIT Inc. and Telos Corporation are convinced supporters of the program.

It is such an effective program that it is much in demand for families who are looking for safe, secure programs in which their disabled family member can find employment and be esteemed for that workand there arent enough sites to meet that need, Russell said. Yost agreed, noting in a recent interview, Ive had four calls this week from families looking to us for our services. We need businesses to match that need.

Shannon Sollinger, who volunteers with ECHOworks, helping put out its newsletter, says she doesnt think businesses appreciate the value of what theyre getting by contracting services through the organization.

Most employers dont get that its a smart business tacticno human resources problems, no Social Security, no benefits, no overtime, no training responsibilities; just one check for the service, she notes.

Russell agreed. We only charge the business the actual work done. We pay for equipment, transportationincluding the vans and buses that take workers to their job sitessalaries, insurance, workers compensation its just like a business, she said. Each team has a trained supervisor, and the groups are insured, trained, transported and fed by ECHOworks.

We do what the business needs, Russell said, noting that Inova Loudoun Hospital, which uses teams at two sites, is one of ECHOworks biggest customers. We run the mail for them. We provide food for our workers, and maybe buy from the cafeteria once a week, Russell said. We also take care of all the human resources side.

For Sollinger, the decision to hire an ECHOworks team is more than a smart business decision. Its a step to put our neighbors who are developmentally challenged into a productive, rewarding work environment where they earn a pay check, make friends and contribute to the community, she said.

Continue reading here:
ECHO Looks To Expand Business Partnerships

Second of two parts.

Lake County school officials wants to spend more money directly on teaching students and less on everything else.

But, how to do it?

Superintendent Susan Moxley presented a rundown of possibilities to School Board members recently and got no help from the automatons who gave little prepared speeches of thanks but raised no real questions and offered precisely zero critical thinking, with the exception of one question. More on that later.

The meeting was part of an extraordinary process designed to change the way the district spends money. The idea is to spend more on teaching students, with the goal of raising academic performance. Now, that's a concept Lake officials talk about ceaselessly but never put money behind.

This year, the district got $840,000 from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to study where the money goes and to change the direction of the stream. Officials learned, for example, that Lake puts 53 percent of its cash toward students while the average of eight other comparison schools is 58 percent. It spends 7 percent more on the cost of "central office" operations, and 4 percent more on operations and maintenance.

Now that officials know where they money is going, job No. 1 is to find $5.5 million to divert to students next year.

"How we use that money is equally critical. It has to be on proven programs," Moxley told board members.

Unfortunately, the district will start next year $3.8 million in the hole and with 500 new students, she said. That's a total of $9.3 million the district must find if it really is committed to spending its money on students.

Here are some of Moxley's suggestions for how to do it:

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School Board members can't opt out on goal of spending more on teaching students

When trees were cleared along Route 80 in preparation for a road-widening effort and a 300,000-square-foot retail development on the 53-acre property behind Ocean State Job Lot, neighbors had plenty to say about it.

They complained that the clearing went too far. And the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) agreed with them, stating that both the town and the developer leveled too many trees.

The fact that two projects were going on side by side further confused matters. The town was clearing land to widen this stretch of Plympton Road just as the developer, High Rock Cranberry Crescent, was clearing land in preparation for the retail project.

High Rock appeared before the Zoning Board of Appeals Wednesday night with landscape plans that showed tree plantings, increased berms (or hills on the side of the roadway) and undulating walls to help buffer the development.

Two Jamies Path residents expressed concern that the developer would mow down trees buffering their homes from the site, and received assurances the trees wont be touched. ZBA Chairman Peter Conner urged High Rock to make good on that promise, in light of the projects history, and ZBA member Michael Buster Main suggested the board include a condition that, should those trees be cut down, they must be replaced by trees of the same size. Replacing trees in this manner is extremely costly, Main said, and the condition ought to ensure the promise is kept. ZBA member Ed Conroy jokingly suggested they have armed guards protecting the trees.

Local attorney Bob Betters, representing High Rock, maintained that his client did not in any way violate the land clearing provisions of its permit.

In an interesting twist, ZBA alternate James Simpson said he felt creating such a comprehensive buffer was counterintuitive. Obscuring the visibility of the restaurants and retail businesses on the site is simply not good business practice, he said.

Landscape architect John Hensen, who developed the landscape design, noted that his client must abide by the direction of the towns boards, which have insisted upon a significant buffer to appease neighbors.

They graded exactly what they were supposed to, ZBA alternate Michael Leary, whos a voting member on this project, said. The sign is a little much, but Id approve this with the landscape plan showed.

The board voted unanimously to approve the bulk of the landscape plan, and asked that the developer return with more details on a newly submitted plan showing the undulating stonewall and enhanced buffer.

View post:
Plymouth Zoning Board of Appeals OKs most of landscape plan

A city committee approved the final plans for the new Alumni Park, renovations to the Alumni House and Memorial Union renovations in a meeting Monday night, bringing the city and university one step closer to finishing the projects by fall of 2017.

Nate Novak, landscape architect with SmithGroupJJR, presented the final plans for the projects to the Joint Southeast Campus Area Committee. The construction should begin in summer 2014. The renovation is estimated to cost $54 million, $8 million of which will go to the new Alumni Park.

Alumni Park will be a new green space located between the Union and the Red Gym, in the area which was previously a parking lot. Novak said the park is meant to celebrate the Wisconsin Idea, not be just a donor-funded park.

[The park] is meant to be a celebration in honor of the Wisconsin idea, the University alumni and their contributions to the university, to the state and to the world as a whole, Novak said.

Novak said the park will be very interactive, featuring different displays and panels in an effort to inspire the current generation of students. He said university planners are also proposing a mobile application to give an extra level of detail about the proposed exhibits in the park.

The park itself is structured based on a ripple effect, Novak said, with a center ring of landscaping and outward rings around it, as well as a center walkway through the rings.

The university is considering renovations to the Alumni House to create a direct entrance to the park, Novak said, adding that otherrenovations to the Alumni House include a new meeting area with tables and lounge chairs, as opposed to the reception desk and host of offices there now.

Its meant to be a place for alumni to go, Novak said. Right now theres really not much there. As alumni, its not very welcoming. This gives them kind of that area to help give people a place to go.

Rob Kennedy, a UW transportation planner, said there also will be added bicycle parking around the Union, since there is currently a shortage of bike parking.

Kennedy said planners have worked with a local vendor to invent a new type of bicycle rack that provides 25 percent more parking spots but takes up the same amount of space as traditional racks. These new racks have been tested at the Engineering School with significant success, Kennedy said.

Continue reading here:
City approves plans for Memorial Union renovations, Alumni Park

The entrance to the proposed garage would be at this existing gate in a small parking lot behind the Botanical Building.

The Balboa Park Committee approved the San Diego Zoo's proposed 650-space parking garage plan Thursday, sending it on to the Park and Recreation Board next month.

"I think it's a great project," said member Michael Singleton, a landscape architect.

The approval was not for the six-story garage itself -- which will be used by zoo employees -- but for the access plan along Old Globe Way just north of the Casa del Prado, Botanical Building and San Diego Museum of Art. The garage design is expected to be ready in the spring and only has to meet city building code requirements.

The zoo has long sought ways to relocate its employee cars out of the 2,700-space Park Boulevard surface lot that is full on many weekends and summer days.

This current schedule calls for completing grading and Old Globe Way improvements midway through the 2015 centennial celebration of the park's Panama-California Exposition. The garage would then be built by the time the zoo celebrates its own centennial in 2016.

Zoo employees, starting about 6 a.m., would access the garage from Old Globe Way at about the rate of 180 per hour and then trickle out of the garage in the afternoon. Traffic studies indicate no significant increase in congestion, even on busy summer days.

Committee member Don Liddell cast the only no vote, saying he was concerned about the noise that cars entering and exiting the garage might make, especially during performances at the Old Globe's outdoor theater.

"I don't know what the sound studies say -- sorry," he said.

Chairman David Kinney said the committee technically does not have the authority to approve the garage, because it lies within the zoo's leasehold. But he had the committee add to its resolution a call for high-quality architectural design of the building, close collaboration with the Globe and other park institutions in the garage's operational details and a look at the garage design as it progresses.

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Zoo garage passes first step