ORANGE COUNTY

Recall of school trustees advances

The county registrar certified recall petitions Monday against two Capistrano Unified School District trustees.

No date has been set for a recall election against Sheila Benecke and Marlene Draper, who have come under fire for allegations of mismanagement. A special election will probably be held by the district after the June 3 primary election.

Critics say the two were members of the board's "old guard," which was accused of violating open-meeting laws by discussing in closed session construction contracts and how to silence a district critic.

Draper, who rejected the allegations, said she intended to fight the recall and remain on the board.

Benecke could not be reached for comment.

More than 62,000 signatures were submitted on the petitions. Proponents needed only 20,493 signatures to qualify for the ballot, said Registrar Neal Kelley.

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David Reyes

ANAHEIM

Caregiver gets jail in beating



A former employee of an adult-care center was sentenced Monday to 90 days in jail for attacking a disabled man and recording the beating on his cellphone camera.

Patrick John Solis, 23, a former worker at Jossen Vocational Academy, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery and felony false imprisonment of a dependent adult.

On April 12, 2006, Solis and co-worker Michael Douglas Rama made a 30-second cellphone video of themselves slapping a mentally disabled adult, who is seen wailing and trying to ward off the beating.

Rama, 25, has pleaded guilty to similar charges and awaits sentencing.

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My-Thuan Tran

LOS ANGELES

Counter-terror school started

The LAPD and an East Coast think tank launched a counter-terrorism academy Monday that is expected to train as many as 150 police officers, firefighters and private security personnel from California and Nevada over the next year.

The Los Angeles Police Department is collaborating with the Manhattan Institute's Center for Policing Terrorism in a pilot effort to teach participants about religious extremism and the ways homegrown and international terrorists use the Internet to sustain their movements.