In less than four hours, JetBlue Airways sold out all four special "Carmageddon" flights between Burbank and Long Beach on Saturday.

The marketing ploy was posted on JetBlue's website at 12:30 p.m. PDT, and by 4 p.m., the airline announced that the sale was over. "Our special Saturday flights between LGB and BUR are sold out!" the company posted on Twitter.

JetBlue offered the 20-minute flights to coincide with the closure of the 405 Freeway through the Sepulveda Pass this weekend. Spokeswoman Sharon Jones told The Times that this would be the airline's shortest commercial flight.

"We thought this would be a fun and unique idea," Jones said. "We looked at it as a way to introduce our product to customers who have never joined JetBlue."

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A man whose is wife is accused of cutting off his penis is recovering from his wounds and in fairly good spirits, police said.

Garden Grove police detectives have interviewed the 60-year-old man in the hospital, where he is resting after surgery. He was listed in good condition.

"The detectives said he is in surprisingly good spirits considering all that happened to him,”  Lt. Bruce Nightengale said.

On Wednesday, Orange County prosecutors charged his wife with two felony counts for allegedly cutting off her husband's penis and throwing it in a garbage disposal after drugging him and tying him to a bed.

Catherine Kieu Becker, 48, faces one felony count each of torture and aggravated mayhem with sentencing enhancements for great bodily injury and personal use of a knife. If convicted on all counts, she faces a maximum sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole.

She has been held without bail since her arrest Monday night. Her arraignment is scheduled for Wednesday in Westminster, where she is expected to plead not guilty.

The real estate broker lived with her husband, identified by prosecutors only as John Doe, in a Garden Grove apartment.

She got into an argument with her husband about "friends staying at the residence," according to a statement by prosecutors.

The husband told police that his wife served him dinner and that he went to bed about 9 p.m. While he was sleeping, she "tied the victim’s legs and arms to the four corners of the bed with nylon ropes," prosecutors said.

The victim told authorities that when he woke up, his wife pulled down his pants, "grabbing the victim’s penis and severing it with a knife." She then took the penis to the kitchen and threw it in the garbage disposal, "turning it on and mutilating the organ."

She then called 911. Nightengale said she told officers that her husband "deserved it."

The victim, who was not identified, underwent surgery. But the severed organ could not be reattached.

Reached by phone by the Orange County Register, he said only: "This is a private matter."

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Photo: Catherine Kieu Becker. Credit: Garden Grove Police Department via KTLA -TV

An Orange County judge has been admonished by the state judicial commission over remarks deemed offensive to Latinos and Middle Easterners. 

Superior Court Judge Nancy Pollard was publicly admonished by the Commission on Judicial Performance, which investigates judicial misconduct and disciplines judges.

According to a commission report, Pollard was presiding over a hearing in 2009 involving an unmarried couple that had broken up amid threats, rock throwing and hair pulling.

Pollard asked the boyfriend where he was born. When he replied, “Newport Beach,” she said: “Usually that is the kind of behavior I see in Middle Eastern clients. … If the declaration says, ‘He drags me around the house by the hair,’ it’s almost always a Hispanic client.”

Later in the same case, the commission stated, Pollard violated the judiciary’s canon of impartiality. Before the boyfriend had had a chance to testify or present any evidence in his behalf, Pollard took the girlfriend’s side, stating at one point: “The issue is he spit on her, he choked her, he pushed her, he threw protein powder all over the room, and he destroyed a lot of expensive property.”

In addition, the commission said Pollard abused her authority in a separate family-law trial in 2005. Pollard ordered a mistrial when the trial did not end within the five hours she had set for its completion, the report stated.

“The judge took this action although only a few more hours of anticipated testimony remained,” according to the commission’s report.

The commission called Pollard’s behavior in the cases “at a minimum, improper action and dereliction of duty.”

Pollard has served on the bench since 1997; her current term began in 2009.

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Actor Tom Hanks gave a boost to the Los Angeles Police Department's "Carmageddon" media strategy, warning his 2.2 million Twitter followers to avoid the 405 closure.

Police had asked celebrities, including Ashton Kutcher, William Shatner and Lady Gaga, to post on Twitter about the closure of a stretch of the 405 Freeway this weekend.

Instead of urging people to leave town, Hanks urged them to shop and eat in their neighborhoods.

"This weekend, LA! Avoid Carmageddon, Gas-zilla, 405-enstein, Grid-lock-apalooza! STAY HOME. Eat & shop local! Hanx," he wrote. Eating and shopping locally is being suggested by many store and restaurant owners on L.A.'s Westside who have expressed concern that the potential traffic nightmare will scare away customers.

To help get the word out, the LAPD targeted celebrities with more than 500,000 followers on Twitter as people who could help them deliver the message.

Kutcher, who has 7 million followers on the social media site, joked on Twitter: "LAPD askd me 2tweet: 405fwy btwn 10 & 101 will b closed July16-17. In xchange I would like a free pass on that stoplight tickt IT WAS YELLOW."

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Photo: Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson at the 2010 Emmy Awards. Credit: Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times

Hot sandwiches: Cinthya Nunez captures a patron intensely focused on the menu at Barney's Beanery in West Hollywood on June 10.

Every day of 2011, we're featuring reader-submitted photos of Southern California Moments. Follow us on Twitter and visit the Southern California Moments homepage for more on this series.

State Sen. Ted Lieu on Wednesday urged California State University leaders to rescind the $100,000 raise awarded to the new president of San Diego State, saying the action is not in the best interests of the public and damages the system’s credibility.

The Board of Trustees on Tuesday approved a compensation package that pays Elliot Hirshman $400,000 -- $100,000 more than his predecessor -- even as the system faces a $650-million cut in state funding. The board approved a 12% tuition increase at the same meeting.

In a letter to board Chairman Herbert Carter, Lieu (D-Torrance) said the action signaled that the trustees care more about lavish salaries than educating students. “You cannot behave like Wall Street and give unsustainable salaries to your executives,” Lieu wrote. “I flat out reject the argument that there was no one else in the world good enough at a $300,000 salary such that you had to give a $100,00 raise.”

In an interview, Lieu said he contacted the chancellor’s office and several trustees before the vote and told them it would be difficult for him to favor restoring funding cuts if the salary was approved. He also noted that the board had disregarded Gov. Jerry Brown’s strong objections.

Lieu said he is considering introducing legislation that would cap salaries and prevent future such decisions. Lieu’s district includes Cal State Dominguez Hills.

Cal State officials argue that campus presidents receive only about 52% of the pay of chief executives at similar institutions and that competitive salaries and benefits are needed to attract the most qualified administrators. Sitting presidents have not received a raise since 2007, they said.

Despite budget challenges, Cal State spokesman Mike Uhlenkamp said the university needs to be able to offer what he called fair market compensation to its employees. "Whether it’s good economic times or bad economic times, there is never a good time where we want to cut corners on leadership,” he said.

Uhlenkamp said trustees are not likely to review the decision, which was 11 to 4 in favor of the compensation package.

At Tuesday’s board meeting, Carter said he would form a committee to review policies on selecting and paying campus presidents; the panel is to report back to the board in September.

He added, "It seems to me at this point in time to be extraordinarily difficult, having hired this president and he having started work, to debate the wisdom of what we are going to pay him."

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JetBlue Airways is doing its part to help out commuters during this weekend's so-called Carmageddon.

With the 405 Freeway set to be closed from late Friday until early Monday because of construction, the airline said it would offer $4 fares each way from Long Beach Airport to Bob Hope Airport in Burbank.

"Fly JetBlue between Burbank and Long Beach this Saturday (7/16) only!" the airline's website says.  "Fares are $4 each way so get on board quick -- book now through July 16 or while supplies last. Or for $5 each way customers can also enjoy an Even More Space seat on their Carmageddon Fly-over, which includes early boarding and early access to overhead bin space as well as a spacious seat with extra legroom -- limited quantity available on each flight."

"This will be our shortest commercial flight," JetBlue spokewoman Sharon Jones told The Times. "We thought this would be a fun and unique idea. We looked at it as a way to introduce our product to customers who have never joined JetBlue."

[Updated at 3:05 p.m.: JetBlue is encouraging people trying to book flights to make their reservations by phone. The website is experiencing technical difficulties.]

JetBlue is offering two fights from Long Beach to Burbank and two from Burbank to Long Beach -- both on Saturday.

The flights will take 20 minutes.

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Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science was removed from academic probation by its accrediting agency this week, the latest indication the South Los Angeles medical school is recovering from recent financial woes.

The private nonprofit school founded a year after the 1965 Watts riots to train minority physicians has withstood various crises during the last decade. It had 504 students enrolled last academic year.

In 2006, problems forced Drew administrators to close their residency program. In 2009, the school was placed on probation by the Western Assn. of Schools and Colleges (WASC), an accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Last year, Drew was in danger of being seized by lenders because it was unable to pay for a new $43-million nursing school.

On Wednesday, Drew officials were notified that WASC had removed them from probation due to evidence of improvement.

University leaders cite improvements made during the last year, including a new governing board, new strategic plan for growth and $10 million in funding from the University of California.

As of this month, the university also has a new president, Dr. David M. Carlisle, former director of the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development. Carlisle moved into the university's residence in Ladera Heights July 1. He said his primary goal is ensuring Drew’s financial well-being.

“The school finished the fiscal year in the black. That’s a significant achievement and a lot of work went into that,” Carlisle said. “We look forward to continuing to grow financially. The WASC decision helps to enable us to do that.”

"Carmaggedon" is coming, but several Southland cities are encouraging residents to avoid the potential traffic nightmare by attending a full slate of activities this weekend.

Pasadena, Palmdale, Santa Monica and Newport Beach have several deals in place for the weekend to entice their own residents to stay home and to lure Angelenos away from the Westside during the 53-hour closure of the 405 Freeway, set to begin Friday.

Organizers of Saturday's L.A. Street Food Fest at the Rose Bowl are advertising their annual event as a potential "staycation" for those wishing to avoid traffic woes. In addition to offering a free shuttle service between the Metro Memorial Park Station and the Rose Bowl, free parking and a multitude of bicycle racks, the festival also has arranged for attendees to receive discounted rates at the Courtyard Marriot in Old Town Pasadena.

Palmdale officials are encouraging visitors to take advantage of the weekend activities taking place in the city — including a Thursday night open market, a Saturday summer concert and a Sunday grand opening of a Yardhouse restaurant — as well as permanent attractions such as the DryTown Water Park.

"Traffic is going to be rough around the I-405 and I-10 area as demolition activities will take place over the weekend for 53 consecutive hours," Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford said in a statement. "Since authorities are advising people to avoid the area until the project is complete, we're taking this opportunity to invite people to Palmdale to take advantage of the many summer activities going on this weekend as well as all the amenities we have to offer."

In Santa Monica, city officials are encouraging residents to "stay and play local," and are advertising "405-free" weekend activities. A wide array of local businesses, hotels and restaurants are also offering discounts during the closure.

In Newport Beach, six major hotels are offering visitors package deals or discounted prices, free services or other perks as an incentive to visit, reports the Daily Pilot.

Gary Sherwin, president of Visit Newport Beach, told the Pilot he came up with the idea after hearing Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa say people should "go on vacation" during the closure. His group's ad campaign says heading south to Newport Beach this weekend is "more than a vacation. It's a civic duty!"

"It was an opportunity that was handed to us," Sherwin told the Pilot. "If there has ever been a motivation to get out of L.A., this is it."

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Photo: Caltrans sign warns of 405 Freeway closure. Credit: Raul Roa / Times Community News