George Barris, the legendary custom car builder who created television’s original Batmobile and helped define California’s car culture with colorfully designed vehicles ranging from the stunningly beautiful to the simply outrageous, died Thursday. He was 89. Barris, who had been in declining health, died at his Los Angeles home with his family by his side, said Edward […]
LA Students Get iPads, Crack Firewall, Play Games
Education officials in the nation’s second-largest school district are working to reboot a $1 billion plan to put an iPad in the hands of each of their 650,000 students after an embarrassing glitch emerged when the first round of tablets went out. Instead of solving math problems or doing English homework, as administrators envisioned, more […]
Scientist Held in China for Nearly 5 Years Returns Home
A Chinese-American businessman who was held in China for nearly five years after he became involved in a dispute with a competitor has been allowed to return to his Southern California home, his wife said Tuesday. Hong Li said her husband, Hu Zhicheng, arrived at Los Angeles International Airport from China on Monday night. “We’re […]
China automaker to open electric bus plant in CA
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Chinese company whose mantra is Build Your Dreams plans to build all-electric buses in California’s Mojave Desert. Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris and officials of BYD Automotive scheduled a news conference Wednesday to announce plans to open the first Chinese-owned vehicle manufacturing plant in the United States in the wind-swept […]