For the record - Feb. 13, 2010

Steve Lopez: The headline on Steve Lopez’s Feb. 10 column, and a reference in the column to critics of the Mercury Insurance Corp., said that a California ballot item -- Proposition 17 -- would legalize practices for which the state fined Mercury after a lengthy investigation that ended in 2004.

That is incorrect.

Mercury was fined $300,000 for seven violations of state insurance regulations. The state dropped an eighth allegation of wrongdoing involving the use of lapses in coverage to calculate insurance rates, a subject addressed in Prop. 17.

Nuclear weapons: A Jan. 4 article in Section A about the Obama administration’s plans to phase out nuclear weapons incorrectly paraphrased Charles Ferguson, of the Federation of American Scientists, as saying that nuclear-tipped torpedoes on U.S. submarines have a possible deterrent effect. Actually, the Navy no longer uses nuclear torpedoes. Ferguson was referring to the Navy’s reserve arsenal of submarine-launched cruise missiles.

Hollywood sign: An article in Friday’s LATExtra section about a project to cover the Hollywood sign with the words “Save the peak” to publicize efforts to acquire Cahuenga Peak said that the sign had been covered up Thursday afternoon. As of Friday, only a portion of the project had been completed.

Botanic garden: In a Feb. 6 Home article about the historic Dominguez Rancho Adobe, a source referred to a cactus garden in Claremont called Rancho Santa Fe. The garden’s name is Rancho Santa Ana, and it specializes in native plants, not cactus.

Orchid show: A Hot List item in Thursday’s Calendar section said that the Santa Barbara International Orchid Show was to begin Sunday at the Earl Warren Showgrounds. In fact, the Santa Barbara show does not open until March 12. Rather, the Newport Harbor Orchid Society is hosting its “Oceans of Orchids” show, Friday through Sunday, at the Westminster Mall.

Friday’s edition: The page count listed at the top of Page A1 in some editions of Friday’s Times said the paper consisted of 1,104 pages. The correct number for those editions was 104, the total of all editorial and advertising pages.

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