USMNT loses to Canada in CONCACAF Nations League third-place game

• March 24, 2025

INGLEWOOD — The U.S. Men’s National soccer team departs the CONCACAF Nations League in last place, losing the third-place game against Canada.

After losing to Panama in Thursday’s semifinal, the U.S. followed with another loss, this time to Canada, 2-1 at SoFi Stadium Sunday.

The second half was eventful for the Canadians. Coach Jesse Marsch was sent off with a straight red card after protesting a potential foul that would have led to a penalty. Marsch was so angry he nearly ran onto the field but was held back by his staff.

Minutes later, Canada scored the winning goal by Jonathan David, who found a sliver of space, between two U.S. defenders and scored. Canada would hold on for a 2-1 win, finishing third and leaving the U.S. with a lot of questions to be answered going forward.

U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino made five changes from Thursday’s semifinal loss against Panama. Two of those changes (Patrick Agyemang and Diego Luna) linked up for the U.S. to tie the game at 1-1 in the 35th minute. Luna, after taking possession of a perfectly weighted through ball from Timothy Weah, laid off to Agyemang, whose shot deflected off of Canadia goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair and rolled into the goal.

Both Agyemang (Charlotte FC) and Luna (Real Salt Lake) were making just their fourth national team appearance.

Pochettino made wholesale changes in the second half, but the U.S. never threatened on goal. A late curler attempt from inside the box by Max Arsten went wide.

After winning the first three Nations League, the U.S. ends this one at the bottom of the four-team field, officially taking Pochettino out of the Honeymoon stage of his new job.

The U.S. will return to action in June for a pair of friendlies leading into the CONCACAF Gold Cup. The U.S. will face Turkiye on June 7 in Connecticut and Switzerland on June 10 in Tennessee.

The Gold Cup is the next and last tournament before next year’s FIFA World Cup, starting June 14.

Canada had to make an early change, taking off Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich). Davies initially went down, after taking a kick to the back of his right knee by U.S. forward Patrick Agyemang. He was finally subbed off in the 12th minute.

The Canadians opened the scoring in the 27th minute by Tani Oluwaseyi. Oluwaseyi found himself in a good position after an initial shot was blocked by a U.S. defender and rolled forward to where Oluwaseyi was, just onside, for the finish.

​ Orange County Register 

Alex Palou patiently works his way to win Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix

• March 24, 2025

THERMAL — Patience was more than a virtue at Sunday’s inaugural Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix and Alex Palou picked the perfect spot to take the lead and win the race.

Palou spent most of the race running in third place, sometimes 11 seconds behind Pato O’Ward. On lap 56, Palou passed O’Ward for the lead and held it for the last nine laps of the race. It punctuated a caution-free and mostly incident-free 65-lap race at Thermal Club.

“You need to have a little bit of patience, but not too much,” said Palou, driver of the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. “If you have too much patience, you’re going to struggle to pass.”

O’Ward, driving the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, won the pole and had a healthy lead throughout the race. His Arrow McLaren teammate Christian Lundgaard, who started on the front row with O’Ward, kept Palou at bay for as long as he could. But after the final pit stops, Palou took advantage of fresh tires and overtook Lundgaard, in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, for second place on lap 51 after a fierce battle through the turns and banks.

By lap 53, Palou cut O’Ward’s 11-second lead to five seconds.

By lap 54, O’Ward’s lead was 2.4 seconds on the 3.067-mile course.

Palou was closing fast and O’Ward was losing momentum. Two laps later, Palou was in the lead and O’Ward helplessly watched him pull away.

“We had the car that had everything to lose because we started on the pole,” said O’Ward, who led a race-high 51 laps. “It kind of sucks to lose it at the end.”

It was the second win in a row for Palou, the three-time NTT IndyCar Series champion. He won the season-opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in Florida and won the IndyCar Series championship in 2023 and 2024.

“My car was amazing today,” Palou said.

But Palou said it was difficult biding his time in the early laps of the race watching O’Ward build a big lead.

“I thought I need to still go slow and keep my rear tires on, although you see they are pushing a little bit more than you,” Palou said.

When the checkered flag flew, O’Ward crossed the finish line second at Thermal Club, 10 seconds behind Palou.

“We need to keep pushing,” O’Ward said. “We obviously weren’t perfect. There’s obviously some things we could have done better to give him more of a proper fight.”

Lundgaard was third, 12 seconds behind Palou, giving Arrow McClaren two drivers on the podium.

“We got to find a way to beat him,” Lundgaard said. “It’s a long race. It’s tough.”

Colton Herta, driver of the No. 26 Andretti Global Honda, was fourth and Felix Rosenqvist, driver of the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda, was fifth.

The TV broadcast on Fox was interrupted for technical difficulties for about 20 minutes, testing the patience of viewers too.

Before the green flag dropped, Scott McLaughlin and Devlin DeFrancesco made contact. McLaughlin, driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet, ended up off the course and spun out.

DeFrancesco, driver of the No. 30 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda, was issued a drive-through penalty for causing McLaughlin’s car to spin out.

It was one of the few on-track incidents during the race. McLaughlin ended up withdrawing on lap 53 when his hybrid engine started overheating and did not finish.

Will Power, McLaughlin’s teammate and driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet, finished in sixth place, moving up 15 spots during the race.

Palou increased his lead in the NTT IndyCar Series championship standings to 39 points after two races. O’Ward is in second place, followed by Scott Dixon in third.

“Very good points day for the team today,” O’Ward said.

Dixon finished in 10th place at Thermal Club and is 41 points behind Palou.

“We love this feeling, obviously everybody does,” Palou said. “We never take anything for granted at least the team, anybody on the team, they just keep on working and giving me better cars and all the tools that I need to win. It’s been incredible.”

Lungaard moved up four spots in the standings to fourth place and 42 points out of first place. Rosenqvist is in fifth place in the championship standings.

The next race on the NTT IndyCar Series schedule is the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach from April 11-13, the 50th running of the race.

​ Orange County Register 

Santa Anita horse racing consensus picks for Sunday, March 23, 2025

• March 23, 2025

The consensus box of Santa Anita horse racing picks comes from handicappers Bob Mieszerski, Eddie Wilson, Kevin Modesti and Mark Ratzky. Here are the picks for thoroughbred races on Sunday, March 23, 2025.

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​ Orange County Register 

Alexander: So, what about next season’s roster for the UCLA men’s basketball team?

• March 23, 2025

LEXINGTON, Ky. — In a sense, both the NBA and college basketball are professional pursuits, with players getting paid. The difference: In the NBA, at least there’s some roster certainty.

So it’s kind of discomfiting, for both questioner and respondent, but it must be asked of college players when any season ends: Are you coming back next season?

Most of those answers figure to be noncommital. In light of UCLA’s 67-58 loss to Tennessee and elimination from the NCAA Tournament Saturday night here, at least one was positive. That’s a start.

Eric Dailey Jr., the transfer forward from Oklahoma State who averaged 23.6 minutes, 11.4 points and shot better than 50 percent from the field in 2024-25, had just answered a question about running it back in ’25-26 this way:

“Everybody feels the same way in this locker room, and that should be fuel for next year. And next year we’re gonna try to win the championship again, like we do every year. So it’s gonna be exciting to see what we do.”

So, that means he’s coming back?

“Yeah, for sure,” he said. “That’s definitely my goal. I want to come here and make a run and make a name with these guys, so that’s my goal.”

With whom will he be playing? Who knows at this point.

The transfer portal opens Monday, and if there were a turnstile it would likely be spinning madly. Players who didn’t play much, or are looking for a different situation or a different coach or – let’s face it – more NIL money, will be on the move. Seniors who have an extra year of eligibility and want to play as graduate students will be looking for opportunities. So will mid-major players who are good enough to possibly be plucked by a bigger program.

And if the House v. NCAA settlement goes through – the next hearing before Judge Claudia Wilken is scheduled for April 7 – and revenue sharing with players becomes legal, that will change the equation further. There’s been speculation that schools without football might even benefit more, because they can devote more resources to their basketball payrolls.

One limit is that there will be no more sixth-year players this fall, because the extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA because of COVID-19 runs out this season.

Otherwise, the wild, wild West just gets wilder. And the idea of having a group that stays together and grows together, as was the case with Jaime Jaquez Jr., Tyger Campbell and the rest of Mick Cronin’s last UCLA tournament team in 2022-23, has pretty much vanished.

Thus, when Cronin said after Saturday’s loss that “if you’re giving me a choice, I’ll always take talent,” it’s just reality.

“You want to give the other guy three- or four-year guys, but I got better players?” he asked. “I will always take talent. So continuity is irrelevant if you don’t have talent.

“You got both, you got (Tennessee senior) Zakai Ziegler, right? You’re running around with basically another coach on the court. He’s a hell of a player, too. I will always take talent, but both are important. There’s a lot of stuff that’s important.”

Now it may be less about continuity than experience. Of the six players on Tennessee’s roster who are graduates or fifth-year players, only two started at Tennessee, Ziegler and former Etiwanda High star Jahmai Mashack.

Chaz Lanier, who broke the Tennessee record for 3-pointers in a season Saturday night, transferred in this season from North Florida. Igot Milicic Jr. played at Virginia as a freshman and at Charlotte for the next two seasons before transferring to Tennessee. Darlinstone Dubar played a year at Iowa State and three at Hofstra before transferring in as a fifth-year player. Jordan Gainey played two seasons at South Carolina Upstate before coming to Tennessee, one year after his dad Justin joined Rick Barnes’ coaching staff.

Or look at UCLA’s roster. Kobe Johnson transferred across town last summer from USC and Dailey, as noted, from Oklahoma State. Lazar Stefanovic came over from Utah in the summer of 2023. Junior William Kyle III came in last summer from South Dakota State. Junior Skyy Clark, an L.A. guy, played his freshman year at Illinois and his sophomore year at Louisville before coming home. Junior Tyler Bilodeau played two seasons at Oregon State.

It is a different environment, at once transient and transactional. And unless the college game transitions to signed multi-year contracts – and that may have a lot to do with whether players can get employee status (which the NCAA is fighting) and can organize as a players’ association – it will continue to be a free-for-all of player movement from one season to the next.

In other words, as the old Jerry Seinfeld joke goes, college basketball (and football) fans are rooting for laundry.

So as Dailey talked about how his team adapted to the Big Ten and how proud he was of their progress in a short amount of time, he also added this:

“We know the pieces we need. We know what we need, how we need to play in the Big Ten now. And I’m just – I’m very excited for what’s to come.

“… I can’t tell you who or what or when, but I can tell you that whoever it is, they’re going to come in and represent this jersey as well.”

If you’re a fan, that’s about all you can ask. Sentiment? That’s for the alumni.

[email protected]

​ Orange County Register 

State releasing new fire maps for Southern California. Here’s why they matter

• March 23, 2025

For the first time in at least 14 years, state officials will release updated fire maps for Southern California on Monday, March 24, showing where wildfires are most likely to occur within the next several decades.

With the acrid memories of January’s Palisades and Eaton fires still fresh, the new maps couldn’t be more timely.

Among other things, the maps show where fire-resistant building codes apply and where residents could be subject to annual brush inspections. Local governments can use them to guide future planning.

“I see them as an educational tool to let people know the potential hazards in an area if they were to move there or if they live there already,” said Brad Weisshaupt, Los Angeles County’s assistant fire chief. “And (it can) help inform decisions when working on their house and what they plant around their house.”

What will revised fire hazard designations tell us? And whom will they affect?

Here is an overview of what Southern Californians are likely to learn from these new maps.

Q: Who compiled these maps and what’s their purpose?

A: The state Forestry and Fire Protection Department, also known as Cal Fire, created the maps to show the probability of a wildfire occurring in a given area within the next 30-50 years.

However, the maps don’t take into account efforts by homeowners or communities to minimize the danger by clearing brush or hardening their homes. So, the maps don’t give a full picture of an area’s actual wildfire risk, Cal Fire says.

“Hopefully for homeowners, it will give them an awareness of the level of reality of the threat and the importance of hardening their homes,” said Eric Sherwin, spokesman for the San Bernardino County Fire Department. “Our goal is to find the way we can best protect our community with a united effort with the fire department and residents alike.”

Q: What areas are included in the new maps?

A: They cover areas protected by city and county fire departments in eight counties: Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Imperial, Mono and Inyo.

Cal Fire already released fire maps for Northern and Central California in three phases since Feb. 10.

Q: When did the old fire maps come out?

A: Previous local maps were rolled out between 2007 and 2011. Those maps only showed areas designated as “very-high fire hazard severity zones.”

Last year, new maps went into effect for “state responsibility areas,” or the 31 million acres protected by Cal Fire. But this is the first update for communities protected by local firefighters.

Q: What will the new maps show?

A: The new maps will designate three levels of fire hazard: moderate, high and very-high.

The designations are based on such factors as vegetation, terrain, fire history and local weather, according to Cal Fire.

Q: What new responsibilities will homeowners face in these fire zones?

A: Property owners in the high and very-high zones must comply with new state building codes, landscaping requirements and real estate disclosure rules.

Building codes: Construction in the high and very-high fire zones must comply with Chapter 7A, which mandates that homes have fire-resistant roofs and rain gutters, have outer walls capable of withstanding heat and flames for up to an hour, have double-pane windows with tempered, shatter-proof glass and ember-resistant attic and garage vents.

Landscaping: Residents in very-high fire zones also will have to maintain “defensible space” within 100 feet of buildings, homes and adjoining decks. Trees need to be trimmed, dead or dying vegetation must be removed  and flammable brush must be cleared.

The greatest degree of vegetation control and landscaping must occur within 30 feet of a home or building.

Some communities require annual brush inspections for residents in very-high fire zones.

The L.A. County Fire Department conducts more than 129,000 such inspections every spring from Malibu to the Antelope Valley. The Orange County Fire Authority conducts more than 85,000 inspections after the rainy season each year.

Homes in L.A. County not in compliance get 30 days to make improvements, then must be reinspected.

Failure to comply could result in fines of up to $500. Cities and counties can choose to clean up a property if the owner refuses, then bill the owner for the costs.

In addition, the state Board of Forestry is drafting new regulations that will require property owners in very-high fire zones to maintain ember-free zones within five feet of a structure — the so-called Zone 0. That means paving or rock must surround a home, and flammable materials like wooden gates, plants and bark mulch will be banned in that 5-foot perimeter.

Real estate transactions: Sellers must disclose to buyers when their properties are located in high and very-high fire zones. They also must present documentation showing that an inspection was done within six months and that the property complies with defensible space requirements.

Q: Are wildfire hazard zones likely to increase or decrease?

A: Statewide, the number of acres in high and very-high zones — which are subject to stricter building codes and real estate disclosure rules — will total 1.4 million, up from roughly 800,000 in the older maps.

Q: Will my insurance go up if my home is part of a newly designated fire zone?

A: Unlikely. Insurers typically use their own maps that include updated fire risk data — such as current fire-resistant building materials and landscaping, according to Cal Fire’s website.

​ Orange County Register 

Why many resist using mobility devices like canes and walkers

• March 23, 2025

Q. My friend who is 84 years old has a chronic condition that affects her balance. Unfortunately, her condition is progressive. She is quite fashionable, well dressed and uses an elegant leucite cane. To my dismay, she refuses to use a walker. Is there a way I can influence her to at least try using a walker for her own safety? Thank you.  E.F.

Most of us can get used to some changes that occur with age. That might be having a little less energy, requiring more sleep, being aware of our balance and just needing to slow down. However, the changes in mobility may be more of a challenge.  

Unfortunately, our society generally harbors a negative view of mobility devices, according to HME180, a home medical equipment company and network for caregivers, pharmacists and more.   

The use of a cane may have less stigma. Perhaps it’s because a little over 16 percent of older adults use one, so it’s not that unusual. Furthermore, canes can be attractive and even make a fashion statement. They come in colorful stained glass patterns, pastel shades, some made of wood and others with rhinestone handles. Some can even become a conversation piece. 

Walkers seem to present a different story. Roughly 11 percent of older adults use them. Yet some may need to use one and don’t.  Here is part of the problem. People often “will not accept safety and stability if it means giving up their individuality and self-sufficiency,” as noted by HME180. 

So why the reluctance? Some older adults may fear their loss of independence or dignity or feel walkers are just too cumbersome.   And there is the concern of how others might perceive them. Perhaps the greatest fear is that using a walker would define who they are. 

Falls are the enemy of older age. The CDC reports that over 14 million adults ages 65 and over report falls each year. That’s one out of four older adults. Furthermore, among this age group, falls are the leading cause of injury-related deaths.

Here are a few suggestions that might be helpful in your mission as suggested by Mobility2 you, a provider of mobility devices.   

Ask a health team’s opinion. This is a first step. The team might include a doctor, physical therapist or an occupational therapist who can assess mobility needs and offer a recommendation.    

Address your friend’s concerns. Discuss her reluctance and listen attentively. For example, is your friend embarrassed or afraid of appearing old? Show understanding and empathy.    

Provide compelling information. Emphasize that using a walker is a key to prevent falls that can cause injuries and even death.  They are a tool to remain independent. You might add that one in four older adults fall each year, per the CDC.

Help in choosing the right walker. Accompany your friend in selecting the appropriate walker. Factors include comfort, ease of use, weight capacity, and adjustability are important as well as cost.   

Suggest a gradual transition. Your friend may start using a walker in her home and then move outside to navigate sidewalks and people.  

I had the opportunity to talk about the “walker experience” with a friend who uses one requiring both hands. She has always been independent and taken good care of herself with yoga, Pilates, good nutrition, friends, purpose and more. “Using a walker,” she says, “makes her feel dependent and prevents her from doing many of her usual physical activities. She also does not like being a burden to others. 

“Having no free hand is a big inconvenience, she says.” She found this particularly true when it comes to heavy doors, ordering coffee at Starbucks, facing stairs with no ramp, getting in and out of one’s seat at the movie theatre and using public rest rooms. She added, “It also is difficult when attending an event with a buffet dinner as well as needing to hold an umbrella, which is not possible.”

If needing to go out in the rain, she makes sure her jacket has a hood. Yet, she adds, “People are very nice and helpful such as the young man who brought my Starbucks coffee to my table and others who have given up their seat or held the door for me. Although she believes she has no choice, she sees the upside of using a walker as preventing her from falling, her highest priority. Despite the inconveniences, this woman makes it work; she adapts, remains curious, active and fully engaged. 

Thank you, E.F., for your good question. Your friend is lucky to have you as a friend. Stay well and just a reminder to be kind …always.

Helen Dennis is a nationally recognized leader on issues of aging and the new retirement with academic, corporate and nonprofit experience. Contact Helen with your questions and comments at [email protected].  Visit Helen at HelenMdennis.com and follow her on facebook.com/SuccessfulAgingCommunity.

​ Orange County Register 

Summer camp guide 2025: The benefits of camp far outlast a single summer

• March 23, 2025

From birding to sailing, there are a host of adventures waiting for kids within Orange County’s network of camps. While the summer months provide ample opportunities for children and teens to hone their talents or pick up a new skill, the lessons that they’ll learn through the camp experience can last for years to come.

“Our research shows that camp is a primary driver of some really significant outcomes in child development and it is because it’s such an immersive experience,” says Henry DeHart, interim president and CEO for the American Camp Association.

“You put children in an immersive, safe and supportive environment and you’re building independence and you’re building social skills — how to make friends with people that have different backgrounds than you, how to appreciate different perspectives and different backgrounds — how to have grit,” he adds. “Sometimes, things don’t go the way that you want them to at camp and you don’t have your parent there to solve the problem, so you have to develop problem-solving and grit and resilience.”

In the aftermath of the pandemic, demand for summer camp hit what DeHart calls a “generational high.” Moreover, in the years that have passed since then, interest in both sleep-away and day camps has remained strong. According to the ACA’s numbers, about 26 million school-aged children — roughly half of all U.S. kids — head to some kind of camp during summer vacation.

“During the pandemic, parents had an opportunity to better understand what their children really needed because they weren’t getting it during the pandemic,” says DeHart. “One of the things that they recognized is that there were really important experiences that help develop critical skills that weren’t happening in an academic setting.”

And, while one might assume that sleep-away camp is the best way for kids to gain these skills, that’s not necessarily true. “Our research has shown that the outcomes that come from camp are not dependent on whether it’s day or overnight. Day camp has just as rich of benefits as overnight camp,” says DeHart.

He adds that while overnight camp provides a more immersive experience, the benefits for youth has more to do with the quality of the camp. “A three- or four-day program can be as impactful as a two- or three-week overnight camp experience if it’s a high quality experience,” he says.

“We view the summer camps as the time to do things that are more special that we wouldn’t necessarily do throughout the year,” says Angie Timbanard of Huntington Beach. Her two children, now ages 10 and 9, have been going to day camps since they were small. Both have participated in School of Rock’s camp, where they learned to play musical instruments. Timbanard’s son has also done a coding camp and her daughter has tried camps for both horseback riding and sailing.

But, Timbanard points out, as they learn new skills, her kids are also learning how to be independent. “Generally speaking, other than the first day of school, they don’t have a lot of exposure to a brand new environment where you’re there alone and you don’t know what to expect,” she says. “You have to acclimate to what the day presents you, so I think it really helps them in practicing that skill.”

For Miko Vaughn, also of Huntington Beach, enrolling her two sons in Huntington Beach’s Junior Lifeguard program, where they’ll learn ocean safety skills, is a way to ensure that they’ll eventually be able to enjoy beach life on their own.  “Junior lifeguards is one that I really believe in because we live so close to the ocean,” she says. “I do think they need it if I’m ever going to let them go to the beach by themselves.”

And, generally speaking, Vaughn says that day camps help children learn in a playful way. “I think it stimulates them in a different way than school does, where they get to play more, which is important because kids are losing that since they’re so isolated on screens nowadays,” she says. “They get to play at school, but not that much, so I think that’s a huge benefit.”

The lessons of camp aren’t just for young children. DeHart points out that, since some camps do hire staffers as young as 16 or 17, older teens can gain critical life skills as well. “You have opportunities to learn leadership, to learn the responsibility of caring for other people or putting other people’s needs first. You’re forced to collaborate and have a sense of teamwork,” says DeHart. “A lot of the skills that employers tell us are hard to find in the applicants they see now are the exact type of skills that you learn when you work at camp.”

“We have kids who have gone through camp, we’ve known them since they were little and now they’re in college and they keep coming back and helping us with the younger kids in camp,” says Deborah Brin, camp coordinator for the Audubon Society’s Sea and Sage chapter.

With four week-long sessions held on a 360-acre nature area in Irvine, Sea and Sage provides opportunities for youth to engage with local nature as they learn about birds. “I think it creates a foundation for lifelong learning,” says Brin of the program.

Brin shares that one former camper is now a park ranger for the National Park Service. Others have gone on to work in fields related to biology or conservation. One Sea and Sage camp alum has just published her second academic paper. “We’ve known her since she was seven,” she says.

But, the skills children learn out in nature are applicable even if they don’t become a biologist. “Children are prepared to be creative,, have a lot of excitement, be curious, have an open mind, be kind — that’s one of our big things- and begin to develop observation skills,” says Brin. “Even though we’re focusing on birds, it’s going to help with many aspects of life.”

​ Orange County Register 

Trump’s tariffs will hurt California’s wine industry

• March 23, 2025

Although the Trump administration’s rationale for imposing massive tariffs on various imported goods vary by the hour, one of its key arguments is that such tariffs would bolster U.S.-based industries. California, of course, is one of the top wine producers in the world. Although only a state, it only trails the countries of Italy, Spain and France in wine production.

Nevertheless, the industry here is troubled by plans to impose as much as 200% taxes on wines from those and other countries. The Wine Institute, an association that advocates for the industry, supports the “fair, open and reciprocal trade of wine around the world.” It argues, “Retaliatory tariffs like those currently in place invariably harm U.S. wine producers and impede the growth of the wine industry.”

Some individual wineries argue that tariffs might help them compete with imported wine, but overall the industry knows that such tariffs invariably invite retaliation. As AP reports, wineries also fear tariffs will increase the cost of wine-making supplies including barrels and bottles. The wine industry already is suffering because of inflation and dropping wine consumption.

Wine importers often are a forgotten part of the equation. Per Axios, Californians bought a half-billion dollars in French wine last year. If the tariffs go into effect, the entire industry “will take a huge economic hit down the chain, affecting not only importers, but also distributors, retailers, restaurants and any business that sells imported wine.” Most are small businesses.

The wine industry has skin in the game and knows the likely harm. We’re focusing on this one industry here because of its impact on California’s economy and consumers—and close-to-home examples illustrate broader points. The best reasons for free trade center on freedom, of course. Businesses and consumers should be free to trade with whomever they choose without facing punitive taxes.

Tariffs are taxes. Period. This Editorial Board has consistently opposed tax increases. Like many Californians, some of us also enjoy wine and appreciate the benefits this industry provides in our home state. It’s time for the administration to stand down.

​ Orange County Register