The race for campaign money among candidates for the Los Angeles Board of Education would suggest a sleepy, low-stakes election, but appearances are deceiving: An electoral shootout is still expected between the city’s teachers union and L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in the March 8 election.

The latest filings, which were due last week, cover the last quarter of 2010. Four of seven school-board seats are up for grabs in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

As of year-end, the most money has accumulated in District 5, where one-term incumbent Yolie Flores is not running for reelection. Luis Sanchez raised about $80,000 trying to establish himself as the frontrunner. Most observers expect he’ll claim the endorsement of Villaraigosa and the campaign funds that come with that. The mayor is vying to maintain a friendly majority on the seven-member school board. Sanchez is currently chief of staff to school board President Monica Garcia, the mayor’s closest ally on the board.

Bennett Kayser, a teacher, raised $1,900, more than half that amount a loan from himself. John Fernandez, a retired teacher, recorded no fundraising — not one dollar. But that picture will alter because he’s the endorsed candidate of United Teachers Los Angeles, the teachers union.

District 5 spans Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Eagle Rock and the southeastern portions of the L.A. Unified School District, including the cities of Huntington Park, Bell and South Gate.

A rules change in this election cycle will affect how money is donated and controlled. For the first time, donors to candidates will be limited to $1,000 contributions, said David Tristan, deputy director of the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission.

The big money in this race is likely to come from independent expenditures — again with the teachers union and its allies pitted against the mayor and his allies. Before it's over, hotly contested campaigns could easily exceed a million dollars in spending.

To wit, in District 7, candidate Jesus Escandon reported raising $59 in the last quarter, but the union has endorsed Escandon and is expected to make a run at unseating one-term incumbent Richard Vladovic, a mayoral ally. Vladovic raised $50,676 in the last quarter of 2010.

A third candidate, Roye Love, has loaned himself $1,000 toward his campaign.

The union also is backing District 1 two-term incumbent Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte, who raised $3,200 in the last quarter and reported having just $170 cash on hand. Challenger Eric Lee raised $7,943.

District 1 covers substantial portions of south and southwest Los Angeles.

District 3 stretches roughly across the western half of the San Fernando Valley. There, one-term incumbent Tamar Galatzan reported raising $25,246. Challenger Louis Pugliese had no fundraising to report.

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A 53-year-old Carson elementary school teacher accused of posting and distributing child pornography is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Last month, authorities with a Los Angeles Police Department division that specializes in Internet crimes against children obtained a search warrant for Silvestre Ela’s residence in the 1100 block of Dimondale Drive.

Ela, a fifth-grade teacher at L.A. Unified's Dominguez Elementary was at home when the warrant was served. He denied victimizing any children but admitted to viewing and downloading images of child pornography, according to the LAPD. Several computers and DVDs were taken into custody.

Ela faces one count of possession of child pornography and one count of child pornography. He posted bail the day he was arrested and is on unpaid leave, an L.A. Unified spokeswoman said.

Authorities are investigating whether Ela personally created any of the child pornography images and are asking the public for help in identifying children who may have had inappropriate contact with the teacher.

Anyone with information about the investigation is asked to call LAPD detectives at (562) 624-4027. Anonymous tipsters may call (800) 222-8477.

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Detectives on Monday were investigating an armed robbery of shipping containers at the Port of Los Angeles.

The suspects took control of one or more trucks loaded with shipping containers around 10:30 p.m. Sunday near Farragut Avenue and Anaheim Street, said a spokesman for the LAPD's Harbor Division.

Two security guards were at the container yard when the heist occurred, police said. No details were available on how many trucks were taken or what was in the containers.

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Many passengers who arrived at Los Angeles International Airport early Wednesday morning for Thanksgiving travel expressed concern about new security precautions they would have to face at the airport.

In the Southwest Airlines departure lounge, Melanie Magee, 50, stood against a wall with her luggage by her side. She had arrived four hours early from Orange County for a flight to Mississippi via New Orleans. She had decided to arrive early because she was unsure what to expect from airport security and she had heard about possible protests against full-body scanners.

"I don't want them groping me, so I'm going through the body scanner," Magee said, adding that she was accustomed to an intense level of security after living in Israel for seven years. "I have no problem with it. It's for keeping people safe."

David and Kathy Beall were traveling to Milwaukee with Amelia, their 15-month-old daughter. They arrived about two hours early from the Fairfax district of Los Angeles for their 7:50 a.m. flight on Southwest Airlines. The couple expressed concern about the added security measures, in particular the body scanners.

The Carnival Splendor cruise ship on which 4,500 passengers and crew members were stuck at sea for several days because of an on-board fire will be out of service until Jan. 16, company officials announced Tuesday.

The Splendor was disabled Nov. 8 when a fire broke out in the engine room on the first full day of a seven-day cruise to spots along the Mexican Riviera. Passengers were forced to eat cold food and live without air-conditioning because the electricity was cut off. The ship was towed into San Diego on Thursday.

Passengers booked for upcoming cruises on the Carnival Splendor will receive a full refund on their fares and air transportation costs, as well as a 25% discount on future cruises.

The 952-foot ship is being inspected by the U.S. Coast Guard, the National Transportation Safety Board, Carnival engineers and technicians, and the Republic of Panama, where the ship is flagged. It will also undergo repairs.

“We realize how much guests look forward to their vacations and know that they are very disappointed by this news," said Gerry Cahill, president and CEO of Carnival Cruises. "We too are disheartened that we are not able to fulfill the dream of those who entrusted us with their important vacation plans.”

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Photo: Carnival Splendor is tugged into San Diego Harbor. Credit: Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images.

A 48-year-old man became seriously ill Monday after making deep dives off the coast and has been hospitalized, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.

Firefighters were called to Berth 77 in San Pedro shortly before 4 p.m., Fire Department spokesman Erik Scott said.

The man, whose name was not released, had made two deep dives off what appeared to be a commercial vessel when he fell ill, Scott said.

The man was taken to Catalina Medical Center, where he is in serious condition.

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Twenty candidates have filed to run for the four Los Angeles Board of Education seats on the primary election ballot in March 2011, including three incumbents.

Control of the school board hangs in the balance as the teachers union, United Teachers Los Angeles, seeks a stronger foothold on a seven-member body whose majority has allied largely with L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. The allegiances could affect the growth of independently run, mostly non-union charter schools, the choice of the next superintendent, and the direction of school reforms -- including key decisions on how best to evaluate teachers.

The open seat is in Board District 5, where one-term incumbent Yolie Flores has decided not to run. Her region spans Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Eagle Rock and the southeastern portions of the L.A. Unified School District, including the cities of Huntington Park, Bell and South Gate.

The hopefuls include teacher Bennett Kayser, who opposed Flores four years ago; longtime PTA leader Scott Folsom; Luis Sanchez, chief of staff for board President Monica Garcia; retired Roosevelt High teacher and union representative John Fernandez; parent activist Roberto Fonseca; and Pilar Buelna, whose designation is parent and education advocate.

A Long Beach couple stranded at sea overnight were found safe Monday off San Pedro by the U.S. Coast Guard.

Don Stone, 44, and his fiancé, Christianna Macauley, 31, were stuck at sea on their way back from Catalina after their 26-foot boat broke down, said Trent Kelly, a spokesman for the Coast Guard in Los Angeles.

The Coast Guard was notified about 3 p.m. Sunday that the couple’s boat, a type commonly used on lakes but rarely seen on coastal waterways, was possibly stranded at sea.

The Coast Guard, along with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Baywatch Avalon lifeguards, began a search for the vessel. The Coast Guard deployed a helicopter and the cutter Blacktip, Kelly said.

The disabled cruise ship Carnival Splendor is docked at San Diego Harbor as anxious family members and friends wait on shore amid a throng of curious onlookers and members of the media.

Angela Wesson, of Canoga Park, was standing by to pick up her aunt, a retired teacher. Wesson was reassured after speaking with her by cellphone over the last 24 hours.

"The whole thing, it started off kind of scary and then kind of funny at the same time," Wesson said her aunt told her. "My aunt is just going to be glad it’s over. I don’t know if we’re ever going to get her on a big boat again.”

Her aunt also reported the crew was "pretty well organized" in terms of distributing food and managing passengers' concerns.

Even the kids were pretty much OK, she said, “not cranky like kids could be.”

The Department of Fish and Game on Tuesday lifted fishing restrictions it imposed a day earlier in portions of Long Beach Harbor following an oil spill.

The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment recommended lifting the restrictions after concluding that no health risks exist from the spill, based on current conditions in the area. But as a precaution the agency recommended that anglers avoid fishing in areas where there is a visible sheen on the water.

The incident occurred late Sunday when the vessel Da Tang 18 spilled an unknown amount of fuel into the harbor while refueling.

The closure area extended from 300 feet south of the south bend of the Middle Breakwater north of Pier J, east along the shoreline of Pier J to the east end of the Long Beach Breakwater (nearly 3 miles into the bay).

-- Ruben Vives