Terror case travel fallout

The suspected British terror plot is bad news for the key airline sector, but seems unlikely to send the travel industry into an economic tailspin like the one after 9/11.

This has been the first profitable summer in five years for airlines, many of which confront bankruptcy. They’ve trimmed flight schedules, shunned major fare wars and filled planes to record levels. Even record fuel prices haven’t stalled the rebound.

Terrorist attacks do not have long-lasting effects on travel: “Americans will continue to fly,” said an analyst. Page C1

Thousands of European business travelers have a shocking experience: Security agents ban laptops in carry-on baggage. But U.S. security officials contemplate no such prohibition on domestic flights. Page C1

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Robbers going for the gadgets

The widespread adoption of expensive electronic gadgets such as iPods and elaborate cellphones creates many tempting targets for robbers.

Thefts of such electronic gear are up 34% so far this year and account for 1,700 of Los Angeles’ total 8,000 robberies.

Police say many cases involve students or commuters waiting for a bus being forced to give up their electronic devices, which can be worth $500 or more. The stolen gear is easy for criminals to sell. Page B1

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Female priests challenge church

More than a dozen Roman Catholic women, including some Californians, face excommunication after performing priestly duties following their “ordination” in recent ceremonies designed to challenge the all-male priesthood.

Dozens of women are in the pipeline for future ordinations, according to the Women’s Ordination Conference, which has advocated female priests for three decades.

Some of the women already ordained are warned of serious consequences by church officials. Page B1

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More fallout from option grants

The former general counsel of Apple Computer Inc. hires high-profile criminal defense attorneys as an investigation continues into the company’s stock option grants.

When Nancy Heinen left Apple in May, after nearly a decade running the legal department, the company offered no explanation.

Later, Apple said an independent counsel was investigating stock option grants between 1997 and 2001. Page C1

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Feds declare fishery failure

Federal authorities declare an official “commercial fishery failure” along a 700-mile stretch of Pacific coast.

This triggers a bureaucratic process to bring financial aid to fishermen and communities affected by the virtual closure of the commercial salmon season on the California and Oregon coasts.

Next could come speedy congressional approval of grants to a fishing industry whose revenues have plummeted 80% since the season’s start in May. Page B3

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Buy, buy it all!

It’s 8 a.m. The door opens. And in flow the crowds for a ritual of August in Los Angeles: the biannual Barney’s Warehouse Sale. For 35 years, the store known for its pricey designer wear culls the past season’s clothes and mixes in some new items. Now many stores copy the event. But still shoppers come, the frugal and the profligate. Page B2

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THE CRITIC: ‘The relatable miracle of “Stairway B” is not so much that the firefighters survived, which belies comprehension, as that they attempted to walk up 90 flights of stairs, in full gear ... in the simmering North Tower to rescue stranded office workers.’ Paul Brownfield, Calendar, E1

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CALENDAR

Just call him Mr. Sunshine

Times sports columnist T.J. Simers had as much fun during his family’s RV vacation as he does watching a hockey game. Because he was “curious about the similarities in the kooky families,” he compared the Simers family ordeal to that of the Hoover clan (above) in the film “Little Miss Sunshine.” Page E4

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Portrait of an artist, on paper

The German-born, New York emigre died of a brain tumor at 34 in the spring of 1970.

But artist Eva Hesse left a legacy of work done largely in the 1960s that blended conventions of painting and sculpture.

Now, “Eva Hesse Drawing” has come to the Museum of Contemporary Art in an exhibit that runs through Oct. 23.

With more than 120 examples, the exhibit showcases the artist’s work on paper.

Art critic Christopher Knight writes that some are working diagrams, “spelled out in handwritten text or descriptive notations made on a typewriter. Some have the character of idle doodles -- the kind of thing one might do while talking on the telephone or daydreaming on a lazy afternoon.”

The exhibit, Knight notes, shows “a complete compendium of the artist’s work on paper” and Hesse’s transformation into a mature artist. Page E1

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The stars come out for a dissident

Iranian dissident Akbar Ganji had a message for Hollywood this week: Complete disarmament is needed in the Middle East.

Tina Daunt writes that the intimate gathering at producer Mike Medavoy’s Beverly Hills estate included just about every politically active leading man around, such as Warren Beatty, Brad Pitt, Sean Penn and Jake Gyllenhaal.

Media mogul Haim Saban disagreed with Ganji. He argued that Israel needs nuclear weapons as a deterrent.

But Ganji said, “The only way is to ban the bombs for everyone,” noting later that he was there “to have a conversation.” Page E1

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From the O.C. to the D.C.

As of four weeks ago, Orange County teen performers Amanda Bolten and Steven Rada had never strayed far from their high school stages.

Now they are on a playbill at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a nationally known showcase.

Bolten and Rada, both 17 and recent Mission Viejo High School graduates, arrived in the nation’s capital last month.

They were among 39 high school actors invited by the Critics and Awards Program for High School Theater.

It aims to give students interested in drama the same sort of high visibility that top high school athletes frequently regard as their due. Page E2

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SPORTS

A ring of truth for U.S. boxing

For generations, many Americans regarded the heavyweight title as a given, a symbol of the nation’s might.

Today, that designation is turned upside down.

It is World Boxing Council heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman of Baltimore who is the foreigner in a division where the titleholders of the three other major sanctioning bodies are native Eastern Europeans.

And it could be four if Russian Oleg Maskaev beats Rahman in Saturday’s title fight in Las Vegas. Maskaev was born in Russia, although he is now a naturalized U.S. citizen and calls himself “a proud Russian American.”

Now, American flags are waving in support of an African American with a Muslim name.

Rahman’s title defense has been dubbed America’s “Last Line of Defense.” It’s all part of the marketing hook put together by promoter Bob Arum. Page D1

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BUSINESS

Bagging another supermarket stake

Los Angeles grocery magnate Ron Burkle is buying a chunk of Supervalu Inc., the country’s second largest grocery chain and owner of Albertsons and Bristol Farms in Southern California.

Burkle’s Yucaipa Cos. filed to buy as much as $680 million, or about 12%, of Supervalu’s stock.

Burkle has assured Supervalu chief executive Jeff Noddle that his acquisition is for investment purposes, although analysts speculated he may take an active role in the company’s management.

Burkle has become a billionaire by merging, buying and selling supermarket chains, including Ralphs Grocery Co. and Food4Less.

Last year, his Yucaipa Cos. bought a 40% stake in struggling Northeastern grocery store chain Pathmark and a 9.2% stake in organic and natural food seller Wild Oats. Page C1

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ON LATIMES.COM

Sin City foibles up on Vegas blog

Vegas plugged in: What’s a shooting in a topless bar mean for Sin City entertainment? How does the tourism bureau react to an anti-HIV/AIDS ad campaign? Those are just yesterday’s twists and turns of life in and around the Las Vegas Strip discussed in Richard Abowitz’s Movable Buffet blog. Get plugged in with what’s happening in our high-rolling playground.

latimes.com/vegasblogAir travel threat: For all the latest information on travel delays, what you can and cannot bring on board, and the scene at airports around Southern California, check out the news from our national and local reporting teams. latimes.comTrailer park: Want a peek at what’s on its way to your multiplex? Before heading to the movies this weekend, have a look at trailers for new, recent and upcoming releases, plus read reviews from The Times.

www.calendarlive.com/trailers