Walk with the stars

Since 1960, the Walk of Fame has attracted tourists who want to see the stars. About 10 million people visit the 18-block walk annually, and it celebrates its 50^th anniversary this year.

Hollywood business leaders came up with the Walk of Fame idea in the 1950s as a way to beautify and promote the area.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the walk’s plans called for 1,529 of the biggest stars of film, stage, radio, television and music to be immortalized in the concrete using brass set in salmon-colored terrazzo stars surrounded by black backgrounds. As of March 2010, The Times found more than 2,300 stars on the walk, representing 2,100 individuals or organizations.

Anyone can nominate a candidate, but the celebrity must agree to be considered. And if chosen, a star (or their fan club) has to pay a $25,000 fee for the ceremony.

The Walk of Fame has five types of stars. Performers are recognized for work in the fields of motion pictures, television, radio, live performance and recording. There are also 15 so-called special stars awarded to events or companies, including the Apollo moon landing and news organizations such as the L.A. Times and Variety. Believe it or not, there are stars for the Victoria's Secret Angels, granted in 2007, and Absolut Vodka, granted in 2008.

Surprisingly, there are many big names in Hollywood who do not have stars on the Walk of Fame. There are numerous reasons for this. A celebrity must be nominated, selected and agree to the ceremony — in addition to paying for the ceremony. You won’t see stars for Dustin Hoffman, George Clooney (What?), Julia Roberts, Robert Redford, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas, Sean Connery, Angelina Jolie or Denzel Washington. Clint Eastwood doesn't have a star either, but you can see his handprints in the courtyard in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

Gene Autry is the only person to have stars in five fields: film, TV, radio, live performance and music. I just learned that Autry was the original owner of TV station KTLA.

Caption: Michael Jackson’s star is on Hollywood Boulevard near the front of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.

Our lobby is better than your lobby

Parts of the building are hopelessly dated, but there are some cool things to see at the Los Angeles Times. One of the highlights is the Globe Lobby, which is off the building's 1st Street entrance. (Of course, this entrance is not open to the public. Sorry.)

The lobby has 10-foot-high murals that were painted in 1935 by Hugo Ballin, who also painted the Griffith Observatory rotunda. It also has an exhibit showcasing the history of The Times. As for the globe, my guess is that it symbolizes the paper's worldwide coverage.

The Globe Lobby is where I met and shook the hand of Barack Obama in 2008.

Another tidbit: The Times building was designed by Gordon B. Kaufmann, the same architect who designed Hoover Dam.

Caption: The Times offers free tours of its downtown L.A. building.

Welcome, summer

Summer has finally arrived in Southern California! After weeks of cloudy and cool mornings and afternoons, the temperatures are higher than 80. Unfortunately, they are much higher than 80: Friday's high in Long Beach was 91 and downtown L.A. was even hotter at 97.

On Saturday, the fourth day of excessive heat, the L.A. Times reported temperatures reached 95 in downtown Los Angeles, 103 in Pomona, 103 in Lancaster and 96 in Anaheim. My thermometer in Long Beach read 88.

People are hitting the beaches to escape the heat. In Seal Beach, there are big crowds and more than six people have been stung by stingrays. The strand there is nicknamed ray bay because the shallow waters are warmed by nearby power plants, attracting thousands of rays. They lurk just below the sand.

Aquarium of the Pacific educators tell guests to shuffle while walking in the water to avoid stepping on a ray. The sting is painful and the only known treatment is to soak the affected foot in hot water.

Caption: Summer is in full swing at Seal Beach.

Surf's up!

Waves were reportedly up to 1o feet in Newport Beach.

The surfing was rough north of the city pier in Huntington Beach.

It's broiling in the eastern half of the country, but we're experiencing cool and cloudy conditions on the West Coast. A storm off New Zealand caused some of the year's biggest waves, which were 8-15 feet in some areas. Orange County's south-facing beaches experienced the highest surf, which was expected to taper off midweek. I took these photos Tuesday afternoon, well after the waves had peaked.