In Focus: Staff Photos from August 19 - August 25

One game does not a season make, but Angels cleanup hitter Garret Anderson brought his power slump to a resounding conclusion Tuesday, knocking in a franchise-record 10 runs to lead the Angels to an 18-9 demolition of the New York Yankees at Angel Stadium. Anderson’s one-man hit parade featured his club-record eighth grand slam, a three-run home run, an RBI double and a two-run double, increasing his season total from 40 to 50 RBIs. Perhaps turnabout is fair play: The last player to drive in 10 runs in a game was the Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez, who did it against the Angels on April 26, 2005. It was the sixth time since 1969 that a player drove in 10 runs or more in a game.  (Christine Cotter / LAT)

Among the participants at an immigration rally downtown Saturday was 8-year-old Saul Arellano, whose mother, Elvira Arellano, has become a national symbol for the immigration debate. Federal officials arrested Elvira Arellano Sunday outside Our Lady Queen of Angels Church in Los Angeles, and deported her to Tijuana, leaving behind her tearful son, who was born in the U.S., and is therefore a citizen. He visted her on Monday, but returned to the United States, where he will be a third-grader when school starts. Shortly after taking sanctuary in a Chicago church last year, Elvira Arellano had discussed her situation with Saul and had given him the choice of what to do if she were arrested.  (Carlos Chavez / LAT)

How do you turn Shakespeare’s goriest play into a family romp? Well, if you’re a member of the Actors’ Gang, you throw in rubber chickens, water balloons and clowns. Shakespeare’s vengeful epic “Titus Andronicus” is truly nasty, with mass murder, mutilation, cannibalism and blood galore. But the Actors’ Gang, the edgy, well-regarded small theater company co-founded by actor Tim Robbins, has reimagined the tale as “Titus the Clownicus,” defanging it with comedy and a moral: Violence -- even if it comes as a pie in the face--begets violence. The show in Culver City’s Media Park runs weekend mornings in free outdoor performances through Sept. 9 with Ethan Kigan as Titus the Clownicus and Jorge Manuel as Titus Jr.  (Ken Hively / LAT)

Where some people see sycamores and sage lining the small valley harboring San Mateo Creek, members of the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians see their ancestors, who lived there 4,000 years ago. Today, the valley is threatened by a proposed six-lane toll road that could unearth human remains and damage a sacred spot the Juaneños have visited for generations. They have formed a coalition to urge the California Coastal Commission to stop the proposed Foothill South toll road, which is part of a 16-mile toll road extension from Oso Parkway to I-5 through San Onofre State Beach. The area, which straddles the San Diego-Orange county border off Cristianitos Road, is on the state Native American Heritage Commission’s register of sacred sites in California. Here, Rudy Martinez, left, and other members of the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians gather near the ancient village site at the San Mateo Campground.  (Don Bartletti / LAT)

Brennan Lund, 12, flips out Monday during his swimming lesson at William Peak Park in Buena Park, and hot weather can do that to an otherwise upright human being. Temperatures in his neighborhood, and all over the Southland were in the mid-90s for the whole week.  (Karen Tapia-Andersen / LAT)

A cluster of shops and restaurants at Eagle Rock Plaza on Colorado Boulevard has been dubbed Mall of Manila. Here, Filipino immigrants shop for clothes, send money home, and dine on pork stew and manay bread. “That is ground zero,” said James Santa Maria, a Filipino real estate developer and local resident. “The mall has really come to symbolize the centerpiece of the Filipino community in Eagle Rock.” One young patron, Matthew DeJesus, 3, is well-armed to secure his catch of the day at Seafood City, where he was shopping last week with his grandmother.  (Brian Vander Brug / LAT)

Outfielder Cory Sullivan of the Colordao Rockies dives into second base as the Dodgers Jeff Kent reaches in vain for the pick-off throw from catcher Russell Martin in the first inning of a game Saturday at Dodger Stadium. Although Sullivan would have stolen second base safely, he was called out because of batter’s interference by his teammate, Matt Holliday. The 14-inning, late-night marathon was won by the Rockies, 7-4.  (Richard Hartog / LAT)

Sixteen lifeguards, 200 yards, a lifeguarding legend for inspiration. On Wednesday, Johnny Spiezia won the first Buddy’s Buoy Swim at the Newport Pier, a race in honor of Buddy Belshe, 73, who recently retired after working as a lifeguard for nearly 60 years on the Orange County sand. These days, Belshe oversees water safety for children learning to swim at Blue Buoy Swim School in Tustin.  (Allen J. Schaben / LAT)

Amateur Sumo wrestlers competed at the New Otani Hotel last weekend as part of Nisei Week festivities downtown in Little Tokyo. The hotel is one of two landmarks of the L.A. Japanese American community that were sold this month, raising concerns about the effect on the closely knit ethnic neighborhood. “There’s some question of what’s going to happen when a new owner comes in and takes over a property with a long history,” said Chris Komai, a spokesman with the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo.  (Carlos Chavez / LAT)