TOP STORY

SANTA ANA

Bus strike strands thousands of riders

Thousands of Orange County residents who rely on public transit are being forced to make alternative transportation plans, with bus drivers preparing to take their strike into the work week.

Today's expected transit nightmare follows a weekend where hundreds of frustrated and bewildered riders waited for buses that never showed after a walkout by OCTA bus drivers.

The transit workers union rejected a salary increase and a 30-day contract extension late Friday.

That shut down 51 of the county's bus routes and left many of the area's 220,000 daily riders stranded.

About 70 percent of OCTA riders don't have access to cars and half are members of families making $22,000 a year or less, OCTA Chairwoman Carolyn Cavecche said.

IN BRIEF

PLACENTIA

DNA evidence links trio to alleged crime

Three men suspected in the 1994 stabbing death of a 20-year-old Placentia woman are slated to be arraigned today after authorities used DNA evidence to link them to the alleged crime, officials said.

Sam Lopez, 35, of Placentia; Armando Lopez, 38, of Placentia; and Xavier Lopez, 35, of Anaheim were arrested Friday on suspicion of murdering Sam Lopez's former girlfriend Cathy Torrez.

Torrez went missing after telling a co-worker she was meeting Sam Lopez when she left work at a Sav-On on Feb. 12, 1994.

Her body was found in the trunk of her Toyota Corolla parked outside a hospital a week later with stab wounds to the neck and chest.

The three suspects provided alibis for one another during the investigation, authorities said.

The suspects were booked at Orange County Jail. Sam and Xavier Lopez were being held in lieu of $5 million bail on suspicion of murder. Armando Lopez's bail was set at $500,000.

LOS ANGELES

School building costs millions over budget

When a much anticipated high school finally opens in 2008, nine years behind schedule, math students will likely need special calculators to type in all the zeros of the enormous price tag.

The Belmont Learning Complex final tab will top $400 million, possibly giving it the title of America's most expensive high school.

The school, now called Vista Hermosa, was conceived in a school district that at the time lacked building expertise.

Recent work expected to cost about $111 million will reach nearly $200 million instead.

REDONDO BEACH

Woman arrested in failed bank robbery

A woman suspected of robbing several banks was arrested during a failed heist, police said.

Dalia Jimenez, 26, approached a teller at the Wells Fargo Bank near Pacific Coast Highway on Saturday and said she wanted to make a withdrawal, said Sgt. Phil Keenan.

She was recognized by a teller from a robbery at the same branch on June 11, police said. Jimenez aborted the holdup when the teller asked for identification.

LONG BEACH

Mom, son, 6 minors accused in slaying

A mother is being held by police for allegedly driving her son and six other minors to kill a 13-year-old boy, authorities said.

Police said Eva Daley, 30, of Long Beach drove her gang member son and the other youths to a park on June 26 knowing they planned to kill Jose Cano. Cano died at a local hospital from multiple stab wounds to the upper body.

Authorities arrested Daley and the seven juvenile suspects last week.

— From wire reports