For Christmas 1990, Los Angeles Times reporter Bob Pool worked as Santa Claus at various Southern California locations.

It may not be Santa’s workshop, but it’s a pretty close approximation. On afternoons like Wednesday — at least afternoons in the midst of the holiday season — the U.S. Postal Service’s Processing and Distribution Center in the City of Industry is filled with people working in synchronization to ensure gifts get into the right…

A recent spike in jury duty complaints from Orange County residents prompted officials on Wednesday, Dec. 12, to warn people not to be fooled by scammers posing as court employees and threatening bogus penalties over the phone. The scam, which involves callers asking for personal information and payments after claiming that their victims had failed…

In an unprecedented step, state regulators Wednesday adopted standards that would force San Francisco and several big San Joaquin Valley irrigation districts to give some of their river supplies back to the environment. But they also left the door open to agreements that would significantly undercut…

Garden Grove police are hunting for three men who they say robbed a cell phone store Tuesday, Dec. 11. Officers responded about 3:40 p.m. Tuesday to the Metro PCS store in the 12800 block of Haster Street and learned that three men entered the store and asked about cell phones. One removed a gun from his waistband,…

A La Habra woman used her credit union job to secretly open bogus lines of credit for her online boyfriend, who then siphoned off nearly $1.1 million, a prosecutor told a federal jury Wednesday, but a defense attorney said the woman had been groomed by a con man who played on her emotions. Indira Mohabir,…

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Five people on trial for an alleged ring that prosecutors said sold Thai women for sex in the U.S. were convicted Wednesday on sex trafficking charges. A federal jury in Minnesota found all five guilty of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and other charges, the Star Tribune reported . Jurors returned…

The body of David Bradish, an Idyllwild man whose family said he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, was found a short distance from where he had been living when reported missing Nov. 26, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said Wednesday. Deputies said Wednesday that Bradish, 80, was found just after 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec….

Kaleidoscope invites families to celebrate the season with Holiday Pajama Movie Night at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 19. The free evening of fun will feature the Christmas classic “Home Alone,” shown inside Union Market’s event space. Moviegoers can enjoy free popcorn and should bring their own seating such as blankets and pillows, folding beach chairs or even…

Two winter exhibitions have opened at The Irvine Fine Arts Center, one examining changing familial relationships and the other exploring physicality and the body. The exhibitions run concurrently through Jan. 19. Re:balance, located in the Main Gallery and Gallery 2, features the work of Ching Ching Cheng, Juliana Rico, and Jane Szabo. This exhibition offers…