M                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Macarena - Capitalize whether referring to the dance or the song because the song is named for the dance; if referring to the song, however, it's "Macarena" (as per our style for song titles). The song is a "flamenco-based pop import from Spain" and was first performed by the Seville singing duo Los Del Rio. The disco version, which swept the U.S. and Europe in 1996, is performed by the Bayside Boys (from NYT 8/18/96)

Machado Lake, Harbor City (actually straddles the Harbor City-Wilmington border but we've affixed it to Harbor City)

machinist - keep lowercase when it's a job description ("the machinists were turning out 30 parts an hour") unless the intended meaning is that the individual is a member of the Machinists union (such as "striking Machinists union workers picketed ...")

MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) - Spell out on first reference; MADD acceptable thereafter

Mafia/mafia - Mafia with a capital M should be reserved only for groups with ties to the formal Mafia organized crime syndicate. With a lowercase m, it can be a synonym for any organized crime group, such as the Russian mafia.

Maguire - Here's the official word: The old company was called Maguire Thomas Partners. The new overall corporation is MaguirePartners. The partnership developing Playa Vista is called Maguire/Thomas Partners-Playa Vista. (SCHWEITZER, 7/22/97)

Mahony, Cardinal Roger (not Mahoney)

majority (see "grammar" section listing under plural nouns: pronoun/verb agreement)

mailing addresses (see addresses)

makeover (n.)

-maker: one word, unless it looks dumb. So, toymaker but carburetor-maker

malls (see shopping)

Marina del Rey - Marina del Rey on first and all text references to the community. Use Marina del Rey when referring to the marina itself on first reference; "the marina" on following references. Use marinas when referring to more than one marina (the Marina del Rey and King's Harbor marinas...). Marina is OK for Marina del Rey in a headline when you're in a pinch, but it is discouraged because it could be taken as “a marina,” not the city.

marriage, common-law - California does not recognize such relationships as marriages; do not use in copy. Some states do, of course, recognize them (undoubtedly based on varying amounts of time spent together); if you don't know for sure whether a state legalizes such an arrangement, please don't use the phrase.

Marsee Auditorium at El Camino College, Torrance (related venue is Robert Haag Recital Hall)

mostaccioli

matzo, matzos to be consistent with Food section spelling

McDonnell Douglas – (Now merged into Boeing) Some background: McDonnell of St. Louis, Mo., bought Douglas Aircraft Co. of Long Beach in the '60s. The result was McDonnell Douglas Corp. (Many of the merged company’s planes carried the “MD” designation. )

McDonald, Juanita Millender- - Just in case it ever comes up again, the South Bay congresswoman died on April 21, 2007. Some Web sites mistakenly list the date of her death as April 22.

McDonald's restaurants

McMartin - Virginia McMartin Pre-School on formal reference; McMartin preschool otherwise

Principals: Virginia McMartin (matriarch, school founder, Ray's grandmother); died 12/17/95

Raymond Charles Buckey (Virginia's grandson, PMB's son)

Peggy McMartin Buckey (Ray's mother, Virginia's daughter)

Peggy Ann Buckey (Ray's sister, Virginia's granddaughter)

Meatloaf (food)

Meat Loaf (entertainer?)

Medfly (acceptable on first reference) - (uppercase M is based on Mediterranean fruit fly abbreviation)

MediaNews Group - www.medianewsgroup.com/

www.langnews.com

Medi-Cal - California's version of Medicaid, a federal-state program that provides health care for

low-income residents; so, there is no Medicaid in California, it's all under the Medi-Cal umbrella)

Mega- Based on the AP Stylebook entry on prefixes: If it's not in the dictionary, make it one

word unless the second word begins with a vowel. In that case, hyphenate. Thus, it's megamusical, megaton, mega-event

Megawatt-hour - According to the L.A. Times Web site, a megawatt is 1 million watts. A megawatt-hour is 1 million watts generated or used for the period of one hour. A 40 watt light- bulb on for 5 hours uses 200 watt-hours (0.0002 megawatt hours).

Megan's Law - Requires communities to be notified if sex offenders move into a neighborhood. The law is named for a New Jersey girl, Megan Kanka, who was killed in July 1994 by a neighbor whose conviction for sexual violence was unknown to her family. (source: AP)

Mello-Roos Community Facilities District - Passed in 1982 to help pay for things such as sewers and sidewalks in new housing developments. Forming such a district allows a government entity to ask voters to approve a bond issue with the money going toward operating expenses, capital projects, roads, services,

upgrading schools, repairing facilities or buying new equipment. Instead of general obligation bonds, which must be used for specific construction purposes, the Mello-Roos bonds -- named for the state lawmakers who authored legislation making them possible -- give the issuer more flexibility over how to spend the proceeds. A community facilities bond assesses homeowners at a flat rate instead of one based on a home's assessed value. The rate is fixed by the governing board and can increase by 2 percent each year for inflation.

Menendez brothers - Erik has curly hair and glasses. Lyle has straight hair, no glasses. At least that was they case when they were convicted.

Mercedes-Benz (singular; plural is Mercedes-Benzes as per AP)

Metlox Potteries (always plural)

Metro Rail (the forevermore-under-construction L.A. transportation system)

Metropolitan Transportation Authority - Formed April 1, 1993; the public transit system was created via the merger of the Southern California Rapid Transit District (RTD) and the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission (LACTC)

Mexfly - acceptable on second reference only; Mexican fruit fly should be used on first reference

mic – As a shortened form of microphone, use mike

mid - no hyphen unless a capitalized word follows: mid-America (hyphen), midair (one word)

Mid-cap mutual funds

middle-aged

Mid-Wilshire

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, no longer used due to copyright dispute. It's just Power Rangers. 1/23/97

mike – for microphone, not mic

miles (distance) – see NUMERALS

Miles per hour – mph is acceptable on all references

Military - Merchant Marine/merchant mariner -- Merchant Marine is the name of the branch of service; its sailors are called merchant mariners or, more commonly, merchant seamen.

Mini - Generally: use one word (miniseries, minivan) Exception: mini-mall (avoids confusion with minimal)

Mobil Oil Corp. - See AP Stylebook. Now Exxon Mobil

Months - Just as we don't say "yesterday" or "tomorrow," please don't use "blah blah happened last

Moody's Investment Service ratings (see BUSINESS entry)

"motor voter" law/bill/etc. - policy under which either allows voter registration forms to be mailed to applicants for driver's licenses and/or welfare or which allows voter registration at motor vehicle bureaus,

welfare offices and other agencies

mop-up (hyphenated as noun)

Mr./Mrs. On second reference – If story refers to multiple people in a family, in general go with their first and last name on second reference rather than Mr. or Mrs. So, it's Jeanette Jones said ... not. Mrs. Jones said. If it's one of those rare circumstances with tons of names and it seems easier for the reader to go with Mr. or Mrs., that is acceptable.

Mounsey - Army Warrant Officer Erik Scott Mounsey, a Westchester native who lived in Culver City.

mudslide (one word)

multitrack; single track (n.) or single-track (adj.) -- used in conjunction with year-round school calendar system

Mumbai – AP says it is sticking with Bombay

Music performance groups - Capitalize, no quotes: the L. A. South Towns Show Chorus, Frank Suraci and the Recycles (note "the" is lowercase unless the group itself capitalizes it)

Myanmar (see Burma)

N                                                                                                                                                                                                     

NAACP - Abbreviation acceptable on first reference, but full name (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) must be provided later in story. If there is only reference, spell out.

NAMES - Bold all names in People and School Notebook. In School Notebook, it should be schools and names regardless of whether they are parents or kids or

staff or whatever. Also, company names should be bolded. (The problem is that sometimes the overlines on those things ARE the name of the school, so it looks repetitive, but to be consistent it should be like that.

Nasdaq Stock Market - note the upper/lowercase in Nasdaq; this was an acronym, National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation (system) but that was dropped in 1991

nautical mile - 6,076 feet (land mile 5,280)

near miss – We prefer near hit, near crash if two objects come close to hitting but do not actually collide

neighborhoods (see specific city or L.A. County)

Neighborhood Watch

Never-never Land (in reference to "Peter Pan")

new economy, old economy

News-Pilot ("The" was dropped in May 1997) - Also see Copley Los Angeles Newspapers

newsgroup (also listed under Internet) - an electronic message board used for reaching any number of users simultaneously on the Internet

newspapers –check Web sites for guidance.

(specifically, which use "The" and which don't in copy; BUT in stand-alone wire bylines, always use "THE" whether it's part of the name or not):

California:

Anaheim Bulletin

The Bakersfield Californian

The Fresno Bee

Glendale News-Press

Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Herald Examiner

The Sacramento Union

Daily News (Los Angeles)

Orange Coast Daily Pilot

The Orange County Register

The Press-Enterprise

Press-Telegram (Long Beach)

The San Diego Union-Tribune

The Sacramento Bee

San Francisco Chronicle

San Jose Mercury News

Star-Free Press (Ventura)

Star-News (Pasadena)

The Sun (San Bernardino)

The Tribune (Oakland)

Other U.S. cities:

Akron Beacon Journal

The Arizona Republic (Phoenix)

The Boston Globe

Boston Herald

Chicago Tribune

The Dallas Morning News

The Denver Post

Detroit Free Press

The Detroit News

The Miami Herald

The Philadelphia Inquirer

Rocky Mountain News

Stars and Stripes

The Seattle Times

Chicago Sun-Times

New York Daily News

The New York Times

The Wall Street Journal

The Washington Post

"Night Stalker" (please put in quotations) - Nickname for convicted serial killer Richard Ramirez, who was found guilty of 13 murders Sept. 20, 1989.

911 (not 9-1-1)

9-11 for Sept. 11, 2001 (not 9/11, unless in a formal title)

No. 1

Norris Theatre (note "re")

North American Free Trade Agreement/NAFTA NAFTA acceptable on first reference but long

version must be contained somewhere in the story (10/97)

Northern Alliance (Afghanistan)

Norwood, Brandy - young Carson singer-actress appears on the TV show "Moesha"

not guilty - use instead of "innocent"; to avoid accidentally leaving out the "not," AP suggests saying someone was acquitted whenever possible.

number one – in general, use No. 1

numerals –

IN COPY: see AP stylebook but, to fill in some gray areas, use numerals for:

ages - animate objects get numerals ("The 1-year-old two-toed sloth ...").

inanimate objects' ages - same rules as animate objects (changed to conform w/AP style 6/95) – the 3-year-old law.

dimensions - (9-by-12-foot rug; 5 inches of snow; 105-story building; 2 acres.)

distances - four-mile walk; he walked four miles)

grades - (spell out grades nine and under; 10 and above get numerals; kindergarten should be spelled out in first reference, but can be abbreviated with upper case K after)

miles – (He lived four miles away;

millions - (2 million, 10 million)

percentages - (10 percent)

weights - (5 kilograms of cocaine)

NOTES: periods of time -- spell out under 10. (Two-year leave of absence; he was gone for 10 years)

IN FOOD COPY: Numbers below are 10 spelled out, EXCEPT in the ingredient listing.

IN HEADLINES: 10 and above: Use numerals if it's 10 or over, unless it's an expression.

Under 10: Unless space is extremely tight, spell out if it's the first word of a headline; use numerals elsewhere in the hed.(unless it's an expression, or something like a sports score: “2-3 win gives Dodgers a lift”). Numerals CAN be used in a pinch, especially for big, bold A1 heads, but try to avoid. Keep numbers/numerals consistent within a headline: Five die in seven fires; 5 die in 7 fires.

Examples: ("One killed as hog explodes"; "Torrance ranks 2nd in per capita pencil use"; Kissinger on Nixon: He's one of a kind"; "Third World productivity on rise"; “Give me five bucks.”; “230 killed in Narnia”)

(Yeah, yeah – these rules are guaranteed to make no one happy! Jack)

TOPPER/BOTTOMER TEASERS: Spell out numbers under 10. Because there's a period, we're thinking of them as sentences.

nunchakus - a weapon of Japanese origin that consists of two hardwood sticks joined at their ends by a short length of chain

O                                                                                                                                                                                                    

OB-GYN

Obituaries

— Services: funerals are services, therefore "funeral services" is redundant.

— second reference: acceptable to use just the last name, no courtesy title necessary, unless need for context (“Mrs. Roosevelt”).

obscenities- Context is everything, check with associate editor or editor for rulings on

individual cases. For the "X" word construction (as popularized by George Bush's "L" word for "liberal") the word being alluded to is upper case and in parentheses.

....'s Office - This may sound counter to AP stylebook but their explanation is too muddy to be of much guidance. We consider "office" the same as "department" and so we capitalize it just as we do department. So, just as we capitalize Police Department, we'll capitalize District Attorney's Office, Attorney General's Office, etc.

OC in headlines

oceanfront

oceangoing (as per Webster's Third)

Ocean Trails Golf Club (now Trump National Golf Club, although the new name remains a little murky as of 1/17/05)

O'Farrell (street in San Pedro)

offline

oil fields - proper names should be capitalized; think of them as a lake or river. Example: Torrance Oil

Field

Oklahoma City bombing - took place: April 19, 1995, at 9:02 a.m. in the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building (now demolished)

death toll: 168. The toll had been upgraded to 169 but that was based on a military-boot-bound leg found in the rubble on May 30, 1995. In April 1995 it was determined the leg belonged to 21-year-old Air Force Airman Lakesha Levya, a previously identified victim. This lowered the death toll to 168. (via AP Feb. 23, 1996)

Old Torrance/ Downtown Torrance/ Old Downtown Torrance but not Old Towne Torrance.

Olestra - a synthetic chemical made of sugar and vegetable oil; looks like regular fat but is undigestible, passing through the body without stopping to clog arteries or fatten the body

Olympic bombing, 1996 - death toll: We've settled on a toll in the July 27 Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta: 1 dead (44-year-old Alice Hawthorne) and 111 injured. We, because AP and NYT are not, are NOT counting the TV crewman who had heart attack running to cover aftermath.

“one strike, you're out'' (not "and you're out") - nickname for President Clinton's order 3/28/96 to evict anyone committing a violent or drug-related crime in public housing.

ongoing

online - in all uses it's one word

on-ramp, off-ramp (in contrast to Webster's Third)

The Outlook ("The" was an essential part of the name, unlike the Breeze and the News-Pilot)

Also see Copley Los Angeles Newspapers

Opportunity drawing - According to Meredith Grenier, the term "opportunity drawing" came into being some years ago when the government wouldn't let nonprofits have "raffles." So now they still hold them but call them opportunity drawings. Since this is what all these groups call them, we'll stick with "opportunity drawing" for now.