West Coast

Looks like Dorchester-bred actor Mark Wahlberg won't be around for the holidays. The actor, whose new movie, "Contraband," opens soon, was photographed this week chilling at LA's Coldwater Canyon Park with wife Rhea Durham and the couple's four children, Ella, Michael, Brendan, and Grace.

Governor Deval Patrick, who has been leaving Massachusetts for more frequent political travel in his second term, is headed out of state again, this time to the West Coast for three days of fundraising and politicking. Patrick will fly to Los Angeles on Thursday for a fundraiser at a restaurant for his federal political action committee, Together PAC, an aide said. The next morning, will he speak at a breakfast in Los Angeles for donors to President Obama's reelection campaign.

(Ryan Catalani for boston.com) The future home of Emerson College's 10-story West Coast campus on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. By Alexander C. Kaufman, Globe correspondent LOS ANGELES -- Dozens gathered in a long white tent in Hollywood Thursday afternoon as officials from Emerson College and the city broke ground on the school's $85 million West Coast satellite campus. College President M. Lee Pelton was joined onstage by his predecessor, Jacqueline Liebergott, LA Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa, actor and Emerson alumnus Henry Winkler, and local...

A great and stately unfolding occurs in the "Ocean Park" paintings of Richard Diebenkorn, among which can be counted some of the most beautiful works of art created in America, or anywhere else, since the Second World War. To stand before these austere but drenchingly beautiful canvases is as close as art gets to the feeling of taking refuge on a cold day under a warm shower. The larger paintings, in particular, impose a physical, almost drug-dragged restraint against removing oneself from their ambit.

By Peter Abraham, Globe Staff NESN made it official regarding the departure of Heidi Watney, releasing the statement from network president Sean McGrail today: "Heidi Watney will not be returning to NESN next year. She is pursuing other opportunities that would bring her closer to her family on the west coast. We respect Heidi's decision and would like to thank her for everything that she has brought to NESN over the past 4 years and wish her the very best.

Weyerhaeuser Co., the second-largest owner of US timberland, was cut to “sell’’ from “hold’’ by Deutsche Bank AG, which said the outlook is “deteriorating’’ in some of the Federal Way, Wash., company’s businesses. Deutsche cited a downward correction in West Coast logging markets and said there is growing evidence that 2011 will represent another “lost year’’ for two of Weyerhaeuser’s divisions.

NEW YORK - Olga Mendez, the first Puerto Rican woman elected to a state legislature in the mainland United States, has died in New York City. The former New York state senator was 84. A nephew said Ms. Mendez died Wednesday morning at her East Harlem home. Erick Vazquez said she had been diagnosed with cancer. Ms. Mendez was a state senator for more than two decades, from 1978 to 2004. She wielded tremendous political influence in the Hispanic community. Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a Republican who became an independent, said Ms. Mendez helped him see the wisdom of reaching across...

Ice Cube Raw Footage (Lench Mob) ESSENTIAL "Hood Mentality" Ice Cube might be straight out of Hollywood these days, but judging from this charged, vital new set, he still has some Compton in his soul. The MC's fallow period was not a result of failing skills, but because he just ran out of things to say and his bravado simply sounded like hollow bluster. But the Bush years seem to have energized him, and on this overlong disc he rails against government hypocrisy, media manipulation, and mush-mouthed, limp-beat rappers.

EVENTS Arlington: The Boston premiere of "The Wrecking Crew," a documentary focusing on the West Coast studio musicians behind some of the biggest hits in the 1960s and '70s, including "Be My Baby," "California Girls," "Strangers in the Night," "Mrs. Robinson," "Viva Las Vegas," and "Mr. Tambourine Man," screens Thursday, 7 p.m., at the Regent Theatre, 7 Medford St. $8 in advance, $10 day of show, $7 for Regent members. 781-646-4849, www.regenttheatre.com. Newton: The Undertones, an award-winning a capella ensemble from Northwestern University, performs Tuesday, 7:30 p.m., at First Unitarian...

NEW YORK — Members of a St. Lucian soccer team remembered a slain teammate as they took the field for the final match of a New York City tournament. Isidore Phillip Tisson, 27, was shot to death while the team was out celebrating the Aug. 30 win that put St. Lucia in the finals of the Digicel Caribbean Cup. Tisson, who went by Phillip, had scored the winning goal that day in the semifinal game, against St. Kitts. No one has been arrested. The team forged ahead with a week of practice and mourning, playing for the title Sunday against Jamaica, which won, 1-0. Tisson’s...

WILMINGTON -- Most of the Bruins stayed off the ice at Ristuccia Arena today. Tim Thomas, Marty Turco, Rich Peverley, Joe Corvo, Mike Mottau, and Gregory Campbell were among the sparse group of players who hit the ice. The Bruins will travel to San Jose on Wednesday morning and practice at HP Pavilion in preparation for Thursday's game against the Sharks. "I think it's just maintaining what we've done here for the last couple games," Claude Julien said. "Our last road trip wasn't a very good one. We certainly have to get better on this one. If you look at the teams we're playing right now,...

(Ryan Catalani for boston.com) The future home of Emerson College's 10-story West Coast campus on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. By Alexander C. Kaufman, Globe correspondent LOS ANGELES -- Dozens gathered in a long white tent in Hollywood Thursday afternoon as officials from Emerson College and the city broke ground on the school's $85 million West Coast satellite campus. College President M. Lee Pelton was joined onstage by his predecessor, Jacqueline Liebergott, LA Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa, actor and Emerson alumnus...

Looks like Dorchester-bred actor Mark Wahlberg won't be around for the holidays. The actor, whose new movie, "Contraband," opens soon, was photographed this week chilling at LA's Coldwater Canyon Park with wife Rhea Durham and the couple's four children, Ella, Michael, Brendan, and Grace.

OAKLAND, Calif. - More than 1,000 Occupy Wall Street protesters blocked cargo trucks at some of the West Coast's busiest ports yesterday, forcing terminals in Oakland, Calif., Portland, Ore., and Longview, Wash., to halt operations. Organizers hoped that the "Shutdown Wall St. on the Waterfront" protests, would cut into the profits of the corporations that run the docks and send a message that their movement was not over. From Long Beach, Calif., to as far away as Anchorage and Vancouver, British Columbia, protesters beat drums and carried...

EVENTS Arlington: The Boston premiere of "The Wrecking Crew," a documentary focusing on the West Coast studio musicians behind some of the biggest hits in the 1960s and '70s, including "Be My Baby," "California Girls," "Strangers in the Night," "Mrs. Robinson," "Viva Las Vegas," and "Mr. Tambourine Man," screens Thursday, 7 p.m., at the Regent Theatre, 7 Medford St. $8 in advance, $10 day of show, $7 for Regent members. 781-646-4849, www.regenttheatre.com. Newton: The Undertones, an award-winning a capella ensemble from Northwestern University, performs...

By Peter Abraham, Globe Staff NESN made it official regarding the departure of Heidi Watney, releasing the statement from network president Sean McGrail today: "Heidi Watney will not be returning to NESN next year. She is pursuing other opportunities that would bring her closer to her family on the west coast. We respect Heidi's decision and would like to thank her for everything that she has brought to NESN over the past 4 years and wish her the very best.

Go for a relaxing stroll among the lavender beds at Fort Hill Farms & Gardens in Thompson, Conn., where this aromatic plant blossoms through July. Bring a pair of scissors and you can gather lavender from the Quintessential Gardens’ 1,500 plants. Or buy pre-dried bouquets and cuttings at The Creamery, the farm’s new ice cream and lavender shop, which opened this month. Here, you can sample organic lavender jelly or try the new Quintessential Dessert: vanilla ice cream that’s covered with lavender topping and served with a lavender cookie on the side.

MEULABOH, Indonesia -- In town after town, the scene was the same from the helicopter taking one of the first glimpses of Sumatra's ravaged coast: whole villages ripped apart, covered in mud and sea water. The only signs of life were a few desperate people scavenging a beach for food. When the helicopter -- bearing an Indonesian military commander and a television news crew -- touched down, townspeople ran down from the high ground were they had taken refuge. For some, it was their first contact with the outside world for days.

The West Coast development firm Gerding Edlen Cos. believes something transformational is happening in American cities. It views the nation's urban centers as places to live - not just work - and asserts that a large part of the population is dropping the dream of the suburban picket fence to buy or rent homes on streets bustling with stores, restaurants, and people. After building large projects based on that idea in Portland, Ore., Los Angeles, and other cities, Gerding Edlen is undertaking a similar development in Boston's Fort Point Channel neighborhood, where it plans to begin...

A piracy watchdog group says armed pirates raided a cargo ship anchored off the coast of Guinea in West Africa. The International Maritime Bureau issued a statement Friday saying pirates attacked the ship off Guinea's capital of Conakry on Thursday. The bureau says the pirates, armed with guns and knives, assaulted the crew during the 45-minute attack. The bureau says the pirates escaped with cash and property from the ship, while port authorities never responded to the ship's calls for help.