Los Angeles Times

Gary Matthews Jr., the retired professional baseball player who spent three seasons with the Angels, has sold a home in Corona del Mar for $3.69 million. The shake-sided home, built in 1961 and extensively updated, returned to market earlier this year for $3.995 million. Matthews Jr. bought the property a decade ago for $3.05 million, records show. Surrounded by walls and gates, the single-story house is entered through a front courtyard with a swimming pool, a stone fireplace and a separate spa. The pool and spa each have a waterfall feature.

The young man at the center of all the commotion smiled calmly on Wednesday, the day before the first meaningful game of his NBA career. Lonzo Ball is rarely any other way. "It is going to be a lot of fun," Ball said. On Thursday night the Lakers will host the Clippers in the season opener for both teams. The organization has goals that go beyond this season, but when it comes to the team itself, its coaches and players, their goal is simple.

While football fans and labor experts ponder whether Colin Kaepernick found a smoking gun to bolster his collusion case against the National Football League, the still-unemployed quarterback is pointing to a central figure in the case: President Trump. Trump, according to the text of Kaepernick's grievance complaint, "has been an organizing force" in the joint decision by the league's 32 owners to deny the quarterback even a tryout. "Owners have described the Trump administration as causing paradigm shifts in their views toward NFL players." The complaint was originally made public by ABC News. Kaepernick may have a point, since Trump injected himself personally into the case and openly denigrated NFL players who supported Kaepernick.

Cadillac is in the middle of a massive marketing campaign to introduce its new Super Cruise. The semi-autonomous driving system, available only on the CT6 luxury sedan, is being billed as offering the "first true hands-free driving on the freeway." The car company has sent CT6 sedans literally across the country, holding events in multiple U.S. cities, offering auto journalists short Super Cruise seminars followed by a turn behind the wheel. The system is highly sophisticated. Using a combination of Lidar, high-resolution GPS and a Driver Attention System that monitors the driver, Super Cruise will allow the car -- on certain roads, under certain conditions -- to travel great distances without any steering wheel input by its operator.

Whether the Dodgers' playoff run ends with a World Series championship or an NLCS loss to the Chicago Cubs, right fielder Yasiel Puig will come home a winner. The slugging outfielder has bought a remodeled Encino estate for $2.65 million, public records show. That's about $350,000 less than what it listed for when it hit the market in June. Set behind a black iron gate, the home is approached by a long red driveway. A tiled entry gives way to hardwood in the living spaces, where expansive windows bring in natural light.

In the two months since the Los Angeles Police Department revealed that it wants to try flying drones, the unmanned aircraft have been the source of an often heated back-and-forth. Advocates say the drones could help protect officers and others by using nonhuman eyes to collect crucial information during high-risk situations. Skeptics worry that use of the devices will steadily expand and include inappropriate -- or illegal -- surveillance. The LAPD's harshest critics want the drone program scrapped before it even takes off. On Tuesday, the civilian board that oversees the LAPD will vote on whether to allow the department to test drones during a one-year pilot program.

William Franke, managing partner at Indigo Partners, helped launch the ultra-low-cost airline model in the U.S. William Franke, managing partner at Indigo Partners, helped launch the ultra-low-cost airline model in the U.S. (Mark Skalny) In the history of airline pioneers, William Franke is a name most airline passengers have probably never heard. But the 80-year-old managing partner of Indigo Partners in Phoenix is considered by many industry experts as the man most responsible for the creation of the ultra-low-cost carrier in the U.S. His private equity group has invested in and overhauled airlines including Spirit and Frontier, which offer dirt-cheap fares with a long menu of passenger fees. The success of such carriers has forced American, United, Delta and other major airlines to reexamine how they do business to compete. Although the passenger fees have raised complaints from passengers, Franke says he is confident that Americans eventually will become accustomed to the new model. Here is an edited version of The Times' interview with Franke.

It's been a great season for horror, with Blumhouse's "Happy Death Day" becoming the latest horror film to top the domestic box office in its opening weekend. Now in its second week, Alcon Entertainment's "Blade Runner 2049" came in second, earning $15.1 million (on par with analysts' expectations), a 54% drop in earnings since last week, for a cumulative total of $60.6 million. Despite strong reviews (an A- rating on CinemaScore) and positive audience reaction (an 89% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes), the film failed to appeal to younger audiences and women, which hampered debut grosses.

A boutique hotel that opened this month near Los Angeles International Airport has already put two robots to work while a 288-room hotel in San Gabriel plans to employ eight robots when it opens in January. The latest automated additions come a year after a Santa Clara, Calif., company called Savioke put 12 robots in hotels across the country, including one named Wally at the Residence Inn by Marriott near LAX. "Robots are the next wave of hospitality technology and we believe our overnight guests and those in the local San Gabriel community will find the robots to be intriguing and fun," said Wanda Chan, general manager of the Sheraton Los Angeles San Gabriel. Less than half a mile away from the Residence Inn that deployed a robot last year, the new dual-branded Homewood Suite/H Hotel that opened in October has added two robotic butlers, both named Hannah, also developed and programmed by Savioke.

Are you a veteran of L.A.'s current dating scene? Even in the New Los Angeles, with Lyft and Uber giving us cheaper rides and two-thirds of voters passing Measure M, dating without a car is still playing the game with a serious handicap. "I don't mind that you don't drive," a woman I'd been dating for six months told me last year as she drove us to dinner at Broken Spanish for my birthday. L.A. Affairs chronicles the current dating scene in and around Los Angeles.