dating

A woman who lured a man she worked for and briefly dated out of his apartment, where he was shot and killed by her jealous and abusive boyfriend and then burned in his car, was sentenced Friday to 15 years to life in state prison.

Ny Nourn, 27, was convicted Dec. 5 -- in her second trial -- of second- degree murder in the Dec. 23, 1998, murder of 38-year-old David Allen Stevens, her boss at a Miramar dating service.

Nourn, who was 18 and a high school student at the time of the killing, was acquitted of arson of property.

The defendant was previously found guilty of first-degree murder and lying in wait, but those convictions were overturned on appeal.

Judge Charles Rogers dismissed the lying in wait allegation before the retrial and threw out the first-degree murder charge after the prosecution's case in case-in-chief.

Nourn's former lover, Ronald Barker, was convicted in a separate trial of first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Before today's sentencing, defense attorney Douglas C. Brown unsuccessfully sought to convince the judge to grant Nourn a new trial or reduce her murder conviction to voluntary manslaughter.

Brown argued that the jury should have been given an instruction considering that Nourn was under duress, but the judge said the duress instruction didn't apply to murder.

I’ll always remember “Cloverfield” as the first thing that made me vomit since that teriyaki in San Diego.

Producer J.J. Abrams is the master chef behind my black-and-white cookie, and he didn’t get me through tension or scares — though there were plenty of those. It was the dang hand-held camera. The bane of modern filmmaking!

STARRING Michael Stahl-David, Odette Yustman, Jessica Lucas, T.J. Miller, Lizzy Caplan WRITTEN BY Drew Goddard DIRECTED BY Matt Reeves RATED PG-13

2.75 stars (out of 4)

“Cloverfield” wants to be “The Blair Witch Project,” from the appetite-whetting teaser that debuted before “Transformers” to the intriguingly vague title to the documentary-style filmmaking and the super hush-hush marketing campaign. But it wants to be “Blair Witch” with special effects. The loud, brash, explosion-heavy end of the world as documented by low-budget camcorder.

Good concept, but one of the things that made “Blair Witch” special was it relied on our imagination. “Cloverfield” shows us the giant monster that attacks New York — at first only in quick flashes, then a full close-up. (Even monsters are camera-ready nowadays.) This may be a concession to people who think anything less than a full monster body shot is a cheap tease, but no effect — except maybe the dinosaurs in the first “Jurassic Park” — is ever as good as you imagine it could be, so save the money next time and leave us with the quick flashes.

This film works best when the tension builds in the dark, as in the tunnel sequence, before we see the monsters in full form. I say monsters plural because the main creature — like a more nimble Godzilla — has things that fall from it. Spider-like beasties akin to those things in “The Mist.”

Eljay’s River Market Coffeehouse, at 412B Delaware St., offers such specialties as “Kansas City Crazy Lady” — fudge nut mocha made with Ghiradelli chocolate — along with chocolate egg creams, Italian cream sodas, limeades, lemonades, smoothies, chai lattes and espresso. Breakfast and lunch items include sandwiches, pastries and quiches. Side dishes will be added soon.

The space has exposed brick and a giant bank vault, perhaps dating to the 1930s. The vault will hold Eljay’s private label ports and wines.

“I like the idea of a community space where people can generate ideas, share ideas, and I was too young to retire,” said Joy Koesten, co-owner of the coffee shop with her daughter, Leah Koesten. “It’s a blend of old and young — wonderful old businesses next to new buildings, people who have lived here all their lives and new people.”

Leah is the “El” in the name and Joy is the “Jay.” Both women have lofts in the area, and both wanted more control over their careers and considered entrepreneurship the key.

The north side of the former Cup and Saucer space, or 412A Delaware, is being renovated for Bella, a central Italian-influenced, upscale restaurant. Owners Leah Clayman and Brenda Carlson, along with two silent partners, plan a “slow food” menu. “Slow food” refers to food grown locally, without hurting the environment or animals and having workers who are justly compensated.

Bella’s menu will change seasonally. Breakfast could include omelets, pancakes, orange-spiced French toast and granola; lunch may be roasted beet salad, Rueben sandwiches, seared scallops, risotto, and olive oil poached halibut; and for dinner perhaps short ribs and steaks.