401(k) savers see 6 figures

Workers who’ve stayed in their company’s 401(k) plan for the last six years see their average account value soar past $100,000 for the first time.

The $102,014 average was up nearly 10% over last year’s average in the annual study, with the increase coming both from investment returns and added savings.

The average balance for all 401(k) savers was slightly more than half that, $58,328.

Stock investments account for about two-thirds of all retirement plan assets, and investors appear to be heeding warnings not to focus their savings only on their company’s stock.

“The discipline of saving pays off,” says one expert. Page C1

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A sky fighter from a different era

He was a fierce World War II aerial combat fighter who was always afraid. “Your heart just about jumps out of your damn body,” he recalled.

But the Kentucky native Herschel “Herky” Green overcame his fears and went on in his P-40 fighter to become one of the leading Allied aces of the war, scoring 18 kills in 100 combat missions. Green died of cancer Aug. 16 at 86. Page B10

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Be sure to recycle half this page

Good news on the recycling front.

Despite some skeptics and lazy people, state officials announce that California has achieved the longtime goal of reducing landfill waste by half.

The state passed a landmark law in 1989 setting the goal of diverting 50% of all recyclable trash from landfills by 2000.

Six years late, state consumers recycled 88 million tons of solid waste last year, reaching the 52% mark. Some cities lag, but their pace is covered by other communities recycling 60%.

One intended effect: No new landfills have opened in California in 10 years. Page B1

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And then there were 8 planets

Not that it’s going to rock the solar system, but a group of astronomers has decided officially that the, uh, space object Pluto isn’t really a planet anymore.

Members of the International Astronomical Union, charged with naming and classifying astronomical objects, vote almost unanimously that the distant icy glob discovered 76 years ago is too small and insignificant to merit planetary status with big boys like Jupiter, Neptune and Earth.

So it’s out. “People are going to be unhappy,” says one Caltech astronomer. “But it’s the right thing to do.” Page A1

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Bolsa Chica wetlands wet again

After what seemed like 200 years but was really just more than a century, the Pacific Ocean gets back into the Bolsa Chica wetlands.

In the foggy, predawn Thursday at low tide, giant earthmovers carved aside the remaining mounds of sand and let the ocean in again. It was the culmination of decades of debate and court fights over restoring the saltwater marshes. And the flow ends a three-year, $147-million restoration effort on the 880-acre wetlands. Page B1

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It’s not Crawford

Normally in August, President Bush loves to don boots and gloves in the Texas heat and try to tame the 1,600 acres of his ranch near Crawford. But these days, drawn by a family wedding, he’s wearing a jacket and making one of his infrequent visits to his parents’ home on the Maine seashore in Kennebunkport. Page A14

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THE CRITIC: ‘This is a film that is careful to be real, that fearlessly refuses to overdo potentially incendiary material and that, most telling of all, truly understands and cares about its people and the fragile friendships they attempt to form.’ Kenneth Turan on “Half Nelson,” Calendar, E1

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BUSINESS

They can send you to luxury’s lap

Tired of spending your holidays visiting that uncle who lives near the pancake house? Then check out the resort in Dubai that ferries guests around in Rolls-Royces.

Or consider chartering a private jet to New Zealand. Heck, you could even sign up for a space flight, assuming you have $200,000 to spare.

People actually book these kinds of vacations, and a lot of them do so through Virtuoso, a network of travel agents who book upscale -- and maybe off-the-scale -- tours. This week in Las Vegas, resort owners and tour operators are wooing those agents with four-minute presentations at a convention that resembles a speed dating event. Page C1

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Sony feeling heat of latest recall

Another computer company announces a major recall of potentially dangerous laptop batteries made by Sony. And though the threat to consumers might be slight, the problem could burn Sony’s profit margin to cinders.

Apple Computer is following Dell in suggesting that customers bring their laptops back for retooling. Both firms use Sony’s lithium-ion batteries, which in a few cases have burst into flames. The recent recalls will cost Sony $172 million to $258 million and could hurt the Japanese company’s image as a reliable components producer.

Still, one analyst says, “It does not have the same impact [as] if their TVs started blowing up.” Page C1

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SPORTS

Why Tiger can’t be caught from behind

Giving Tiger Woods a lead going into the final day of a tournament is like spotting an anvil the force of gravity. When he’s ahead or tied for first after 54 holes, his record is 37-3 overall -- and 12-0 in major tournaments.

Woods and others cite his mental toughness -- “I think that your mind will carry you,” he says -- but quite a lot of repetitious physical preparation goes into it, too.

Before starting play, he practices a one-handed putting drill, usually until he sinks 100 4-footers in a row. After that, he spends 30 or 40 minutes on the driving range, imagining that he’s shooting for the pin on each of the day’s 18 holes.

And then he marches back to the putting green for more work. Page D1

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CALENDAR

The mouths that roared

Audience word of mouth can drag a film into box-office quicksand or lift it into the stratosphere. Hits such as (clockwise from top left) “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” “Napoleon Dynamite” and “Little Miss Sunshine” might persuade Hollywood to greenlight films based on the possibility that audiences might like them, rather than on their marketing potential. Page E1

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Paramount’s Grey answers critics

Viacom chief Sumner Redstone’s broadside at Tom Cruise might also have been a warning to managers of Paramount Pictures, columnist Patrick Goldstein writes. Paramount’s leadership is becoming known for its puzzling decision-making process; some insiders call studio chief Brad Grey aloof and say Gail Berman, a top deputy, is indecisive.

Grey dismisses the criticism. “We should be defined by our pictures, not by our process,” he says. “There hasn’t been a picture that we’ve put out that hasn’t been profitable.” Page E1

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The saucy side of Dylan

Bob Dylan’s new album, critic Ann Powers says, is romantic and funny.

Yes, that Bob Dylan.

Powers says Dylan has made three great records in his later life, and what’s more, it looks as if he’s had fun doing them, even if he and his iconographers don’t always emphasize that aspect of his work.

Now, with the 10 songs on “Modern Times,” she writes, “Dylan takes time to explore the nuances of romantic comedy, though his jokes usually carry a sting and his romance, like so many, ends in tears.” Page E1

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ON LATIMES.COM

A worried look at Dodgers’ future

Rattled on the road: The Dodgers’ topsy-turvy season took another hair-raising turn as the team threw away an entire series against San Diego, allowing the Padres to draw to within a game in the race for the top of the National League West. In the Blue Notes blog, Andrew and Brian Kamenetzky look ahead to what awaits the Dodgers in Arizona, where they meet a team coming off a losing series of its own. The bloggers examine, game by game, the scheduled pitching duels and, now that every game counts, see some rough seas ahead. Share your predictions and join the conversation at latimes.com/dodgersblog.

How suite is it? Wonder what they’re handing out this year at those Emmy gifting suites? Hollywood Bytes blogger Elizabeth Snead looks behind the scenes at the freebies the stars are raking in this year. Despite the looming threat from the IRS, celebrities are still pulling in the loot -- from $25,000 gold-plated cellphones to eco-friendly cleaning fluid. Ever wondered about a conflict-free diamond? Snead explains and tells why all the stars will be demanding them. latimes.com/hollywoodbytes