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Community Hospital of Long Beach and the former managers of one of its units were collectively ordered to pay $1.7 million in punitive damages in a case brought by three ex-employees who claimed they were subjected to harassment and discrimination by an openly gay male nurse. The Los Angeles Superior Court jury deliberated for about 2 1/2 hours before reaching the verdict in a case brought against CHLB and Memorial Psychiatric Health Services. MPHS formerly managed a section of the hospital that treated mentally ill patients and was the employer of registered nurse Keith Kohl, who directed the unit. Kohl supervised the plaintiffs, who claimed he flaunted his homosexuality, gave preferential...

HAWAIIAN GARDENS >> Earthy colors such as sandstone, amber and terra cotta set the tone inside The Gardens Casino, a Southland gambling destination on the verge of completing a $90-million transformation. The project, which attracted a visit from Gov. Jerry Brown nearly three years ago, has been called a renovation effort but may be more accurately described as a construction project. When the goveor stopped by in December 2013, the Carson Street venue was known as Hawaiian Gardens Casino, where players sat at card tables beneath a giant white tent. At the time, the renovation project was expected to cost $45 million. Casino general manager Ron Sarabi said during a Friday tour of the ...

The Los Angeles Rams preseason opener got off to a rousing start, but the game wasn’t exactly trouble-free. Several fights broke out at Saturday’s game, three people were arrested and seven were ejected from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the Los Angeles Police Department said Monday evening. • RELATED PHOTOS: LA Rams take on the Dallas Cowboys in Preseason NFL Football Eleven ambulances were also requested, but only one person had to be taken to the hospital, according to the LAPD. The department did not know if the individual’s condition or if any of the ambulance calls were related to fights. More than 80,000 tickets were sold to the game, which saw the Rams defeat the Dallas Cowboys...

The Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to transform a portion of a hospital campus in Downey into a community sports complex. Supervisor Don Knabe has pushed for the redevelopment of Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center’s long-abandoned 70-acre South Campus, which is just south of the working hospital at 7601 Imperial Highway. The plan is now set to include headquarters for the Probation and Inteal Services departments, as well as a sheriff’s crime lab. Knabe focused Tuesday on the sports center. “Playing fields are a sorely needed amenity in the southeast communities,” Knabe said. “I know these facilities will be used by kids and adults of all ages for years to come.” Soccer pl...

WASHINGTON — More than 35 years after he tried to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in an effort to impress actress Jodie Foster, John Hinckley Jr. will be allowed to leave a Washington mental hospital and live full time with his mother in Virginia, a judge ruled Wednesday. Judge Paul Friedman wrote in a 14-page ruling that Hinckley — who for more than a decade has been spending increased time outside the hospital and now lives 17 days a month at his mother’s home — is ready to live full time in the community. Friedman granted Hinckley leave from the hospital starting no sooner than Aug. 5. • PHOTOS: The 1981 attempt to kill President Ronald Reagan Doctors have said for many years that Hi...

WASHINGTON — The man who attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan will be allowed to leave a Washington mental hospital and live full time in Virginia, a judge has ruled. John Hinckley Jr. is ready to live in the community, Judge Paul L. Friedman ruled Wednesday, granting him full-time convalescent leave that shall begin no sooner than Aug. 5. Friedman’s ruling comes more than 35 years after the March 30, 1981, shooting outside a Washington hotel in which Reagan and three others were injured. Doctors have said for many years that the now 61-year-old Hinckley, who was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the shooting, is no longer plagued by the mental illness that drove him to ...

Stars shone brightly when Memorial Women’s Hospital League gathered on May 26 at the Long Beach Yacht Club for the installation of incoming officers. The theme was illuminated with beautiful yellow blooms on a 15-inch foil star centering the tables, surrounded by small gold stars. Table favors (travel items, and a bag of chocolates) wrapped in star cellophane were the finishing touch. Outgoing president Judy Bogart introduced guests including, Ruby Sobieski, Patricia Leue, Beadette Rosono, Jackie Kell, and Dolores Homen. Judy, who served four years as president, gave a champagne toast to all the successes the League had during her tenure. As officers were presented they were given a star-sh...

BELL GARDENS — A man was shot to death while riding a bicycle along the Los Angeles River bicycle path in Bell Gardens, authorities said today. The shooting was reported at 6:26 p.m. Monday along the bike path west of the Long Beach (710) Freeway and north of Firestone Boulevard, said Deputy Crystal Heandez of the Sheriff’s Information Bureau. The man was riding a bicycle on the dirt path adjacent to the Los Angeles River just west of the Long Beach Freeway when “the suspect approached him on foot and shot him,” Heandez said. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene, she said. The suspect was described as a man wearing dark clothing who ran to a vehicle on the Long Beach Freeway and rode...

Local stars were out in full costume, walking the red carpet, being interviewed and photographed, with some receiving the coveted Fillmore Awards at the Hyatt Regency on May 20. Some 250 supporters celebrated a wonderful, colorful, fantastic evening with delicious food and lots of laughs! The L.A. Guys – Bobby Herbeck (“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”), David Ruprecht (“Supermarket Sweep”) Roberts Hays (“Airplane!”) and Patrick Wayne (John Wayne’s son) – gave a spoof on dialogue for clips of “Casablanca” and “Stagecoach.” The “Night at the Movies” event raised $100,000 for the Community Hospital Long Beach Foundation. The novel idea of awarding prizes for costumes and table décor of famous mo...

BELLFLOWER – One of the two Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies shot Thursday night in Bellflower was released from a hospital today while the other continues to recover from his wounds, authorities said. The suspect, 39-year-old Juan Martinez, was taken into custody Friday moing by a SWAT team that fired tear gas into a small structure in which he was hiding behind a house in the 9000 block of Mayne Street in Bellflower, Sheriff Jim McDoell said. Martinez was being held on $1 million bail. The remaining hospitalized deputy was recovering from his surgery and was improving at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, although his condition remains serious, Deputy Ryan Rouzan of the Sheriff’s Inf...

BELLFLOWER >> Two sheriff’s deputies from the Lakewood Station remain hospitalized Saturday with wounds suffered in a shooting in Bellflower, and the gunman who allegedly wounded them remains jailed on $10 million bail. One deputy is recovering from his surgery and is improving, although his condition remains serious. The second deputy continues to improve as well and remains in stable condition, the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said today. The suspect, identified as 39-year-old Juan Martinez with no known address, was taken into custody by a SWAT team that fired tear gas into a small structure in which he was hiding behind a house in the 9000 block of Mayne Street in Bellflower, Sheri...

St. Joseph Health and Providence Health and Services have received regulatory approval for a merger that will create the nation’s third-largest nonprofit health system, officials said Wednesday. The Califoia Attoey General’s Office signed off on the deal between the two nonprofit Catholic hospital chains. The new entity, Providence St. Joseph Health, will include 16 St. Joseph hospitals and 34 Providence medical centers, including facilities in Torrance, San Pedro and four other Los Angeles County communities. Providence is based in Renton, Wash. The companies sought a partnership to expand services and improve clinical outcomes through shared expertise. Irvine-based St. Joseph issued a sta...

A Hawaiian Gardens hospital that tends to mostly low-income patients in the southeast Los Angeles and Long Beach area filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week, having nearly $26 million in unsecured debt, according to court documents. Gardens Regional Hospital Medical Center, formerly known as Tri-City Regional Medical Center, filed the court documents Tuesday. A hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles is scheduled for Thursday. Over the last 12 months, the 137-bed nonprofit hospital needed to generate about $119,474 per day in order to cover its costs, court records show. But with patient counts routinely falling below 50 beds in use daily, the hospital is only generatin...

Former Democratic Assemblyman Tom Calderon pleaded guilty Monday to a federal money laundering charge in a corruption case that also involves his brother, former state Sen. Ron Calderon. Tom Calderon admitted before U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder that he helped conceal bribe money his brother was receiving from undercover agents working for the FBI. “Guilty, your honor,” the former assemblyman said when prompted by the judge in the near-empty downtown Los Angeles courtroom. Defense attoey Shepard Kopp said outside court that the agreement did not call for his client to testify against his brother. Federal prosecutors made no comment after the hearing. Snyder scheduled a Sept. 12 senten...

Richard Simmons ‘feeling great’ following hospital stay Richard Simmons told USA Today on June 5, 2016, that he was “feeling great” after being hospitalized for dehydration. (2006 file photo by Tina Fineberg/Associated Press) By Associated Press LOS ANGELES — Richard Simmons says dehydration is the reason for his recent hospital stay. USA Today reports the 67-year-old fitness guru said in a statement through his publicist Sunday that he was “dehydrated and needed some fluids” and that he’s now “feeling great!” TMZ had reported Friday that Simmons had been hospitalized. The New York Daily News reported in March that friends of Simmons told the newspaper that they feared he w...