The News Of …

Former New York Mets outfielder Lenny Dykstra may be sentenced on Monday if a judge rejects his motion to withdraw a no-contest plea on charges of grand theft auto and providing a false financial statement.
Dykstra (49) is seeking to withdraw his plea but faces up to four years in state prison if it’s not granted. Dykstra initially pleaded not guilty to 25 counts after police arrested him and found cocaine, Ecstasy and synthetic human growth hormone at his Los Angeles home last April.
Dykstra and two co-defendants are accused of trying to lease and then sell high-end cars from several car dealerships by claiming credit through a phony business. His accountant Robert Hymers pleaded no contest to one count of identity theft, while Christopher Gavanis pleaded no contest to one count of filing a false financial statement. They are both awaiting sentencing.
Dykstra changed his plea in October to no contest and in exchange prosecutors dropped 21 counts.
He has had a series of legal problems over the past year. He faces federal bankruptcy charges and is scheduled to stand trial this summer.
Dykstra (who bought a mansion once owned by hockey star Wayne Gretzky) filed for bankruptcy three years ago, claiming he owed more than $31 million and had only $50.000 in assets. Federal prosecutors said that after filing, Dykstra hid, sold or destroyed more than $400.000 worth of items from the $18,5 million mansion without permission of a bankruptcy trustee.
Dykstra also has pleaded not guilty to indecent exposure charges for allegedly exposing himself to women he met on Craigslist.
The ex-major leaguer has been in a sober living facility, according to court documents.

Lenny Dykstra.

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Guitarist Ronnie Montrose (one of rock’s great sidemen, whose namesake band introduced Sammy Hagar to the world) died Saturday. He was 64.
The cause was complications from prostate cancer, said his wife and manager, Leighsa Montrose.
Mr. Montrose, a San Francisco native, got his first break when he was hired to play guitar on Van Morrison’s 1971 album – “Tupelo Honey.” His career as a sideman continued with Boz Scaggs, Herbie Hancock and the Edgar Winter Group, playing on the hits “Frankenstein” and “Free Ride.”
But his greatest success came with his own band, Montrose, which he formed in 1973. The original lineup featured Hagar on vocals and released two Led Zeppelin-inspired albums considered rock classics: “Montrose,” and 1974s “Paper Money.” The hits “Bad Motor Scooter,” “Rock Candy” and “Space Station No. 5″ became FM radio staples.
The group continued to release albums after Hagar left to pursue a solo career and eventually front Van Halen. In 1979, Mr. Montrose went on to try commercial hard rock with Gamma and made several serious solo records.
The original Montrose lineup, which also included the bassist Bill Church and drummer Denny Carmassi, regrouped in 1997 on the song “Leaving the Warmth of the Womb” on Hagar’s solo album “Marching to Mars.” They also played onstage together on Hagar’s subsequent tour in support of the release.
Mr. Montrose was well regarded among guitarists for his fiery style.

Ronnie Montrose.

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Kirk Cameron (a former teen idol who once starred in the sitcom “Growing Pains” and is now a born-again Christian) is under fire after calling homosexuality “detrimental and destructive.”
Kirk Cameron is interviewed by CNN’s Piers Morgan and makes some radical comments about his stance on homosexuality in this segment which aired Friday (March 2) on the news channel.
“[Homosexuality is] unnatural… I think that it’s detrimental, and ultimately destructive to so many of the foundations of civilization” – the 41-year-old actor-evangelist said.
“Marriage is almost as old as dirt, and it was defined in the garden between Adam and Eve” – Cameron said to Piers. “One man, one woman for life till death do you part. So I would never attempt to try to redefine marriage. And I don’t think anyone else should either. So do I support the idea of gay marriage? No, I don’t.”

Kirk Cameron.

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Conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart was no respecter of the maxim that one shouldn’t speak ill of the dead – After the death of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy in 2009, he spewed venom all over the liberal lion’s grave via Twitter, calling him a “special pile of human excrement,” a “villain” and other things we can’t reprint on a family website. So I don’t have any qualms about remembering Breitbart, who died suddenly Thursday at 43, as a closed-minded bully and blowhard who seemed to think he could win debates by shouting louder than his opponent rather than having a better argument, a casual liar who shamelessly destroyed reputations and an unfortunate new species of Internet parasite.
But that’s not really what I wanted to write about. In 2010 – Breitbart told The Times that three events in the late 1980′s and early 90′s galvanized his political consciousness, turning him from an apathetic “jocular goofball” into a right-wing activist. All three seem odd candidates for an epiphany, but one in particular has some connection to my own life, and it’s as good an indicator of any of the way Breitbart’s mind worked – or failed to work.
In 1986, while Breitbart was a student at Tulane University, his best friend, Larry Solov, was attending Stanford. When Solov mentioned that Stanford had an African American-themed dorm, Breitbart was outraged.
“He just matter of factly said there was a black dorm, and I was like: ‘What the friggin’ hell? Are you kidding me?” – Breitbart said. “And then, when I found out that it was not segregation in the sense of white people doing it, I was like: ‘What are you talking about? Why aren’t we working toward the colorblind ideal?’ ”

Andrew Breitbart.

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Conservative activist Andrew Breitbart (an influential voice in Republican circles known for his online media attacks on liberals) died unexpectedly of natural causes in Los Angeles early on Thursday, his family said. He was 43.
Breitbart, the founder of a news website named after himself, was walking late on Wednesday near his Los Angeles home when he collapsed, said his father-in-law, actor Orson Bean.
“He collapsed on the sidewalk and the paramedics were there very quickly and they couldn’t revive him”, Bean told Reuters in a phone interview.
A friend of Breitbart told Reuters he had a history of heart problems and is believed to have suffered a heart attack.
The brash and outspoken blogger and commentator, who published politically inspired photos and undercover videos and aimed much of his ire at Hollywood liberals, was at the center of several news websites including www.Breitbart.tv, www.breitbart.com and www.biggovernment.com.
Breitbart relished the role he cast for himself as an embattled conservative on the margins of the mainstream media he called “the Complex.” Even so, he gained fans as a frequent guest on television news shows.
His work helped generate a number of prominent news stories. Those included undercover videos posted on his website about ACORN, a grass-roots group that offered housing assistance and other aid to the poor, and his role in bringing to national attention a sexually suggestive photo Democratic U.S. Representative Anthony Weiner of New York posted through his Twitter page.
That scandal eventually led to Weiner’s resignation last year.

Andrew Breitbart.

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Davy Jones (who as lead singer of the Monkees turned a prefab TV band gig into a life-long career) died Wednesday of a heart attack in Stuart, Fla. He was 66.
His death shocked fans and friends like by Bruce Morrow, the veteran city radio deejay.
“I was stunned” – said Morrow. “He seemed to be in such good health.”
Morrow extended his four-hour Wednesday night show to seven hours so fans could call “to talk about how much he meant to them.”
Morrow also said that he thought Jones and his fellow Monkees Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork and Michael Nesmith had over the years achieved at least some of their biggest wish: that their music be given some respect.
“Their music began to be taken more seriously when they took it more seriously themselves” – said Morrow. “At first they were just goofing around. But when they started to concentrate on the craft, they became much better.”
While critics have regularly dismissed the Monkees as lightweight bubblegum pop, deejay Joe Causi of WCBS-FM says, they still were important.
“They became part of the culture” – he said. “They were a big part of growing up in the late 1960s.”
Causi, who was on the air when Jones’s death was announced, said the station was inundated with phone calls and text messages. “There were hundreds” – said Causi. “People really loved this guy” – he said.
Unlike Tork, Dolenz and Nesmith, Jones didn’t play an instrument when he was hired to join NBC’s “The Monkees” in 1966. So he picked up a tambourine and became the front man.

Davy Jones.

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Mitt Romney will win the Michigan Republican primary, FOX News Channel projected Tuesday night.
The victory is a badly-needed win for Romney – who needed to quell doubts within the Republican Party about his ability to compete against President Barack Obama in the fall general election.
With 71 percent of precincts reporting, Romney was ahead with 41 percent of the primary vote and Rick Santorum was close behind with 37 percent.
Texas Rep. Ron Paul and Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich – who did not campaign aggressively in Michigan in order to focus on future contests, trailed with 12 percent and seven percent respectively.
In Michigan, the state’s 30 delegates are allocated proportionally, with two going to the winner of each of the state’s 14 congressional districts while another two are awarded based on the statewide popular vote.
In Arizona, meanwhile, the other state voting Tuesday, Romney scored an easy victory, with FOX News Channel calling the race shortly after the state’s polls closed at 9:00pm ET. Romney’s triumph meant he secured all 29 of the state’s delegates.
But Michigan was expected to be the true test of Romney’s campaign strength – determining whether the former Massachusetts governor would continue on to Super Tuesday next week as the presumed nominee, or whether a loss would fatally damage the GOP’s confidence in his ability to compete against President Barack Obama.
Before Santorum’s latest surge this month, Romney was widely expected to coast to an easy victory in Michigan, the state where he grew up and where his father served as a popular governor in the 1960′s.

Mitt Romney.

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Actress Sean Young was arrested after a scuffle with a security guard at the official post-Oscars party, police said Monday.
Young (52) was placed under citizen’s arrest at the Governors Ball at 9:25 p.m. Sunday after the dispute, police Cmdr. Andrew Smith said.
“She was trying to get into the party and couldn’t get in” – he said.
Young (who has starred in “Blade Runner” and “Stripes”) was booked at the Hollywood police station for investigation of misdemeanor battery. She posted 20,000 dollars bail and was released early Monday.
The actress was taken into custody quickly, said Tom Januszewski, an Associated Press business executive who witnessed the incident. He said he saw a guard subdue Young by placing his forearm on her neck and head while other guards placed her in handcuffs and led her away.
“It happened incredibly fast” – he said, adding that while the guards were forceful with Young, they didn’t use unnecessary force. “I thought it was incredibly well-handled.”
Young was wearing a ball gown but didn’t speak as she was being led away – Januszewski said.
The actress tried to crash the Vanity Fair Oscar party in 2006. She entered rehabilitation for alcohol abuse in 2008 after she was removed from the Directors Guild of America awards.
A voicemail message left early Monday for Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences publicist Tarrah Lee Curtis wasn’t immediately returned. A phone message left for Young’s agent, David Shapira, also was not immediately returned.

Sean Young.

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Immediately after the winners accept their statues on the stage of the Kodak Theatre, they are whisked backstage to face the hoards of press who are waiting to hear their every word. This year’s press room was full of laughter, tears, and some heartfelt words from Hollywood’s biggest stars.
Meryl Streep displayed her characteristic charm after winning her third Academy Award for her depiction of Margaret Thatcher in “The Iron Lady.” When asked if she had become worried that she wouldn’t win another Oscar, Streep wasn’t coy in her response. “No. I have everything I’ve ever dreamed of in my life.” She added: “I don’t take anything for granted, that’s for sure.”
Streep also took the time to praise her longtime friend and collaborator, makeup artist Roy Helland, who also won for his work on “The Iron Lady”. “It’s very unusual in that branch that they give it to somebody who’s just trying to transform people. And so I was really, really proud for him.”
“The Artist” took home many of the top prizes of the night, and director Michel Hazanavicius was praised for taking a creative risk with the film. Backstage, however, he downplayed the film’s greater significance. “Usually, it’s not one movie that can help to change things. If 10 movies or 20 movies in the same year are very different in a way, that can change a little bit.”
“Hugo” won big in the night’s more visual categories, and the winners continually attributed the film’s success to it’s acclaimed director. As sound editor Eugene Gearty put it backstage: “When you work for Martin Scorsese, there’s always a chance you’re going to be nominated for an Oscar.”
Winners for Best Documentary Feature for “Undefeated” TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Richard Middlemas thanked the subjects of their film, making sure to emphasize what they had wanted to say in their acceptance speech before the music cut them off prematurely. “We could not thank the community of North Memphis enough. We should not be the ones standing up here. Their trust in us in telling their story is what enabled our success.”

Oscar 2012.

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A fermented concoction made with tea, sugar, bacteria and yeasts might not sound like the most delicious or most beneficial drink, but some believe that is exactly what Kombucha tea is. Some have called it a “magical elixir”. Some have dubbed it the new Red Bull only with healthful properties. Some claim it can fight everything from baldness to AIDS. However, other sources cite adverse side effects of and deaths linked to the drink.
Kombucha tea is made by fermenting sweetened green or black tea with a culture of yeasts and bacteria called the “Kombucha mushroom,” according to Cancer.org. It is not actually a mushroom; rather, it is called that because of the shape and color of the sac that forms at the top of the tea after fermenting.
Kombucha tea is said to have originated in ancient China, but conflicting reports cite Russia and other countries as the first producing-nations.
“It’s become incredibly trendy lately in the 20-to-30-something, foodie, intelligentsia set” – Dr. Daphne Miller, a family practitioner and professor of nutrition and integrative medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, told The New York Times. “Kombucha is like their Coca-Cola.”
Kombucha tea is not justy popular amongst a small, healthfully-conscious sect. A-listers like Halle Berry, Madonna, Lindsay Lohan, Kirsten Dunst and Meg Ryan have all been spotted sipping the tea.

Kombucha tea.

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