Orange County restaurants shut down by health inspectors (June 22-29)

• July 1, 2023

Restaurants and other food vendors ordered to close and allowed to reopen by Orange County health inspectors from June 22 to June 29.

Baci Di Firenze Italian Restaurant, 416 N. Lakeview Ave., Anaheim

Closed: June 27
Reason: Cockroach infestation

One Fine Blend at Huntington Beach Public Library, 7111 Talbert Ave., Huntington Beach

Closed: June 27
Reason: Rodent infestation
Reopened: June 29

T.P. Banh Bao 2, 13067 Euclid St., Garden Grove

Closed: June 26
Reason: Cockroach infestation

Cold Stone Creamery, 215 Orangefair Mall, Fullerton

Closed: June 22
Reason: Cockroach infestation
Reopened: June 23

Sookdal, 9448 Garden Grove Blvd., Garden Grove

Closed: June 22
Reason: Insufficient hot water
Reopened: June 23

Cordon Blue Restaurant & Lounge, 15380 Beach Blvd., Suite A, Westminster

Closed: June 22
Reason: Sewage overflow
Reopened: June 22

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This list is published weekly with closures since the previous week’s list. Status updates are published in the following week’s list. Source: OC Health Care Agency database.

​ Orange County Register 

NHL free agency: Ducks move on from Max Comtois, Kevin Shattenkirk

• July 1, 2023

For many teams, it goes without saying that it is an especially complicated year because the salary cap remains tight. That means there are a lot of players pursuing a scarce number of dollars in the system when the bell goes off for the start of NHL free agency on Saturday.

Specific to the Ducks, veteran defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk and forward Max Comtois will be joining a crowded free agent class that had a few surprise additions around the league. On Friday, the Nashville Predators bought out 32-year-old center Matt Duchene, and the Winnipeg Jets did the same with forward Blake Wheeler, their former captain who turns 37 on Aug. 31.

Shattenkirk, 34, will be heading to free agency after playing the past three seasons with the Ducks, his agent confirmed on Friday. It’s understood there wasn’t much traction in any talks with the Ducks after the regular season concluded.

He joined the Ducks as a free agent in 2020 – signing a three-year contract worth $11.7 million – just after winning the Stanley Cup championship with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The path to the parting of ways was different with Comtois, who is 10 years younger than Shattenkirk, and once a promising prospect, a second-round draft choice (No. 50) in 2017. The Ducks opted not to tender a qualifying offer to Comtois after a disappointing season in which he had 19 points in 64 games, and showed signs of continued regression after a 16-goal, 33-point season in 2020-21.

That wasn’t going to cut it with the (relatively) new and unsentimental management group. A year ago, the Ducks didn’t hesitate to cut ties with forwards Sam Steel and Sonny Milano, not qualifying either player. Milano, in fact, was coming off a career-high in assists (20) and points (34) with the Ducks, eventually winding up with the Washington Capitals. He had 33 points (11 goals, 22 assists) in 64 games this past season. Steel, a Ducks’ first-round pick (No. 30) in 2016, landed in Minnesota on a one-year deal and recorded 28 points in 65 games with the Wild. Steel, incidentally, did not receive a qualifying offer from Minnesota on Friday.

In addition to Comtois, the Ducks did not tender qualifying offers to five others: defensemen Axel Andersson and Simon Benoit, goaltender Ollie Eriksson Ek, right wing Bryce Kindopp and left wing Josiah Slavin.

Andersson recently signed a two-year contract with Djurgårdens IF in Sweden, and Eriksson Ek also agreed to a two-year deal with MoDo in Sweden.

As expected, the Ducks did extend qualifying offers to five restricted free agents – forward Troy Terry, centers Trevor Zegras and Benoit-Olivier Groulx, defenseman Jamie Drysdale and goaltender Lukas Dostal.

With where the Ducks are in their rebuild, realistically, it’s not in the timeline of the organization to take big swings in the free agent market. But you can’t rule out the possibility of Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek making a selective strategic signing or two at some point.

“There are a number of spots within our roster that we need to address,” Verbeek said on Friday. “We are looking to add to our forward group on the wing and we will look at a few options to help our blue line.

“We are in a good spot with the cap where we can be flexible in our approach.”

​ Orange County Register 

Pac-12 survival: Our forecasts for media rights revenue, network partners and expansion as the saga continues

• June 30, 2023

It has been 360 days since the Pac-12 presidents authorized commissioner George Kliavkoff to “immediately” begin negotiating a media rights deal and 137 since they expressed hope for a resolution “in the very near future.”

Evidently, the presidents think in geologic time, where the “very near future” means sometime this century.

There is still no media deal, no decision on expansion and no hard evidence suggesting the endgame is nigh.

Instead, there are only crumbs, clues and hints that the Pac-12’s existential crisis soon could be coming to a close.

Today, on the anniversary of USC and UCLA announcing their intentions to enter the Big Ten on Aug. 2, 2024, the Hotline presents a summary of the situation and predictions for the outcome.

The survival odds

Our current forecast views Pac-12 survival as a 4-point favorite over Pac-12 extinction, suggesting a 60 percent probability (approximately) that Kliavkoff will negotiate a media contract that keeps the 10 remaining schools together.

That line has held steady since Arizona president Robert Robbins and Colorado chancellor Phil DiStefano publicly stated their willingness to wait for a final offer before possibly pursuing futures in the Big 12.

If presidential panic isn’t a factor, the conference has a better chance to navigate the crisis.

However, the survival line has fluctuated over the past year and could move again in the coming weeks, depending on circumstances.

The (unofficial) deadline

If desired, the Pac-12 could delay consummating a media deal for months and gamble that a stellar football season will generate big ratings and drive up the price of its content.

But that’s a risky strategy.

The informal deadline for a deal is July 21, when players and coaches will gather in Las Vegas for the Pac-12’s preseason media extravaganza.

If there’s no media rights agreement by then, the existential crisis will dominate the proceedings and divert attention from the coaches and players — a PR nightmare, in other words.

We would interpret that scenario to mean Kliavkoff has been unable to secure a satisfactory deal, and the odds for Pac-12 survival would drop.

But make no mistake: News could break at any point. The situation is highly fluid.

The valuation calculation

The Hotline initially expected the Pac-12 to sign a media deal that averaged $35 million to $40 million per school per year.

But the Big 12 changed the marketplace in October. Desperate for stability, the conference renewed its agreements with Fox and ESPN and established a valuation floor: $31.7 million per school per year.

We expect the Pac-12’s deal to last five-to-seven years and fall within 10 percent of the Big 12’s valuation, indicating a low end of $28.5 million per school and a high end of $34.9 million.

And frankly, slight differences in annual media revenue are immaterial to success for schools that have $100 million annual budgets.

(The Pac-12 has better media markets and the two most valuable football brands, Oregon and Washington. Meanwhile, the Big 12 has a deeper well of quality programs and a better basketball product. But in general, the leagues are more alike than different.)

One important piece to the valuation calculation: Will the Pac-12 agreement include the sale of its data and statistics to sports gambling companies? And if so, how significant is the accompanying dollar figure?

The media partners

Few topics have received as much attention over the past year as ESPN’s interest level in the Pac-12 without USC and UCLA providing direct access to the L.A. market.

Our view is unchanged: The interest is narrow but deep.

The most influential network in college sports probably doesn’t want a large package of Pac-12 football games. After all, it has plenty of inventory through its contracts with the ACC, SEC and Big 12.

But what it needs from the Pac-12, it needs badly: Content to fill the late broadcast window (7:30 p.m.), which is prime time for the 76 million residents in the Pacific and Mountain Time Zones.

The late window is also critical in the rabid (and rapidly growing) sports wagering industry — a chance for gamblers to recoup losses from earlier in the day.

ESPN licenses 22 regular-season games from the Pac-12 under the terms of the agreement signed in 2011. We expect the number in the next contract to be approximately the same.

Our favorite for the other 50-something games that currently air on the Fox and Pac-12 Networks? That would be Apple, with its growing interest in streaming live sports.

And don’t discount the potential for a third media partner — perhaps it’s Amazon, Fox or NBC (for streaming on Peacock) — to grab a small package of Pac-12 games.

The expansion decision

There are three possible answers to the membership question: The Pac-12 could stand on 10; it could add two schools; or it could add four.

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We have yet to detect strong interest for 14 and remain skeptical that a 10-team conference would include enough TV homes and generate enough game inventory to meet the desired valuation threshold.

(Simply adding two schools would increase inventory by 13-15 home games per season, with each worth several million dollars in the media contract.)

The overwhelming favorites are San Diego State and SMU, although they carry very different profiles.

The Aztecs are a geographic fit and just reached the NCAA Tournament championship game.

SMU brings the Dallas media market and is a long-haul play competitively, with the resources to support football success.

In our view, no other school clears the bar — at least not now.

If the Pac-12 is back at the negotiating table in five or six years for the next media contract cycle, there could be other expansion options.

*** Send suggestions, comments and tips (confidentiality guaranteed) to pac12hotline@bayareanewsgroup.com or call 408-920-5716

*** Follow me on Twitter: @WilnerHotline

*** Pac-12 Hotline is not endorsed or sponsored by the Pac-12 Conference, and the views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the Conference.

​ Orange County Register 

Lakers, Taurean Prince agree to 1-year deal to kick off free agency

• June 30, 2023

The Lakers agreed to terms on a one-year contract with free agent forward Taurean Prince, a source confirmed to the Southern California News Group.

ESPN reported, citing Prince’s agents at Creative Artists Agency, that the 29-year-old forward and the Lakers agreed to a one-year, $4.5 million deal not long after the free agency negotiating window officially opened on Friday at 3 p.m. PT.

Prince, who played for the Atlanta Hawks as a rookie when Lakers head coach Darvin Ham was an assistant on that coaching staff, can’t officially sign the contract until 9:01 p.m. PT on July 5, after the free agency moratorium period ends.

The Lakers did lose free agent forward Troy Brown, who reportedly agreed to a one-year deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

More to come on this story, which will be updated.

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​ Orange County Register 

Expelled OUSD student sues district, alleges racial discrimination, violations of due process

• June 30, 2023

A former Canyon High School freshman, who was expelled for alleged sexual harassment, has sued the Orange Unified School District, claiming he faced racial discrimination and violations of due process.

The lawsuit was filed in the Central District of California on June 16 by May Jung Law as well as Benjamin Crump, a nationally recognized civil rights attorney.

In addition to not being granted due process, the lawsuit alleges the presence of racial discrimination that occurred throughout the disciplinary process, claiming the existence of “racial and ethnic disparities.” These incidents allegedly occurred while the student was being questioned by a panel of administrators who would eventually decide his fate at the school.

“The district tries to bank on people not asking questions or digging deeper,” said Je Yon Jung, the attorney representing the student. “Yet, the more we started to ask questions, the more we were like this is really bad and needed to do something.”

The student had a “consensual” interaction with a female student, the lawsuit alleges, and after an “interrogation” and subsequent disciplinary process by the district, the student was accused of sexual harassment and ultimately expelled.

“While OUSD and its employees cannot comment upon many aspects of the lawsuit due to the privacy of students and others, the District denies the allegations in the lawsuit and plans to disprove the allegations in court,” said OUSD communications coordinator Hana Brake.

In December 2022, the student — who was not named in the lawsuit and is not being named by the Southern California News Group since he is a minor — was called into the Canyon High assistant principal’s office and questioned about his interactions with female peers, the lawsuit said.

A parent had complained to the school, according to the lawsuit, alleging that the student had met with her daughter during a class where she declined a kiss. The lawsuit claims the student was questioned about this interaction by former assistant principal Greg Smith and current assistant principal Nora Alvarez without his knowledge that a parent had complained.

During the questioning, the student was told to recount all of his interactions with his female peers, including any and all “touches on the arm,” the lawsuit said. Those other students, according to the lawsuit, were also questioned throughout the semester and did not accuse him of forcibly kissing or initiating any sexual contact.

The student said in the lawsuit that he was forced to stay and be questioned for more than two hours and wasn’t allowed to call his parents.

The student was initially suspended from school-related activities for 27 days, according to the lawsuit.

But the school convened a “Student Success Panel” which consisted of “three panelists who are administrators from other schools within the district,” the lawsuit alleges, who read statements from the parties involved, met behind closed doors and ultimately expelled him.

The student was sent to Villa Park High School, another school in the district, for the remainder of the school year.

After a failed appeals process by the student’s parents, the family filed the lawsuit against OUSD alleging “constitutional violations and racial discrimination.”

The lawsuit alleges the student, who is Latino and Korean, was subjected to racism throughout the disciplinary process. OUSD, the lawsuit alleges, disciplines Black and Brown children at two to three times the rate of White students, citing data from previous SSP hearings.

The SSP process, Jung said, is used against students of color in an “absurd” manner and is “designed to wrongfully accuse children of color.”

“On a daily basis, we entrust our children’s physical and emotional well-being and safety to our student educators,” said Jessica Meeder, senior counsel at May Jung. “It is an egregious abuse of power for the OUSD to take that trust and deny our children the most basic and fundamental protections at school because they are children of color and minors who may not know their rights.”

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​ Orange County Register 

Apple hits historic $3 trillion milestone

• June 30, 2023

By Ryan Vlastelica | Bloomberg

Apple made Wall Street history as the first company with a market value over $3 trillion, the latest sign of big tech’s seemingly unstoppable dominance in equity markets.

The iPhone maker gained 2.3% on Friday, adding to a rally that’s added more than $983 billion to its size this year and leaving it roughly a half-trillion dollars above the next-largest company. Apple’s ascent to the milestone helped the Nasdaq 100 Index to its best-ever first half ever, driving a broader stock rally that underscored the dominance of tech mega-caps

The rally has caught many strategists off guard, leading some to question its viability as the economy faces potentially more Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes. However, investors remain excited about the growth potential of artificial intelligence, and they have also gravitated toward the kind of quality factors that Apple has in spades, including a strong balance sheet, durable revenue streams, and a robust competitive position.

“The reason Apple has outperformed for more than a decade isn’t that investors are being foolhardy, but because it is executing on a business strategy that works, its earnings plan is working, and its lock on the consumer is only getting stronger,” said Jonathan Curtis, director of portfolio management for Franklin Equity Group.

“The balance sheet is phenomenal, it pays a dividend it can continue to grow, it has an active repurchasing program, and a consumer staples-esque platform business, all powered by a device people look at four hours a day,” Curtis said.

In a sign of Wall Street’s ongoing optimism about the stock, Citi on Thursday began coverage of Apple with a buy rating, writing that its ability to continue expanding margins was underappreciated. It sees additional upside of about 30% for the stock, a target that would take Apple close to a $4 trillion valuation.

The trillion-dollar club

Apple first became the world’s most valuable stock in 2011, when its market cap was under $340 billion and it comprised about 3.3% of the S&P 500. Since then, it has rarely forfeited that title. It first reached $1 trillion in value in mid-2018, and it achieved a $2 trillion valuation in August 2020, making it the first US company to surpass that level, though Saudi Aramco was the first $2 trillion company overall.

The iPhone maker briefly rose above the $3 trillion level in early 2022, although it failed to close above it, and that peak marked the start of a downtrend that has now been fully erased.

Companies of this size are few and far between, and in the US the club is populated only by other megacap technology and internet stocks, including Alphabet Inc., Amazon.com Inc., and chipmaker Nvidia Corp., which became the first trillion-dollar chipmaker earlier this year. Microsoft Corp is the only other US stock with a valuation above $2 trillion.

While Apple is not the biggest gainer of the year — Nvidia, Meta Platforms Inc., and Tesla Inc. have more than doubled — its size gives it a massive influence over markets, accounting for 7.7% of the weight of the S&P 500 Index.

Still, the milestone doesn’t mean smooth sailing for Apple from here. The stock trades at about 30 times forward earnings, and while this is down from a 2020 peak above 35, it remains well above its 10-year average multiple of 17.9.

Despite Citi’s new bull call, analysts have been pulling back on the stock amid the year’s rally. Fewer than 70% of the firms tracked by Bloomberg recommend buying the stock, the lowest such ratio among the trillion-dollar stocks. Furthermore, its consensus rating — a proxy for its ratio of buy, hold, and sell ratings — is near its lowest since November 2020. A recent downgrade from UBS was the latest example of weaker sentiment.

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​ Orange County Register 

Galaxy starts July with ‘two big derby games’ in four days

• June 30, 2023

It is rivalry week for the Galaxy.

The Galaxy kicks off July against their Northern California and traditional rival San Jose on Saturday at Stanford Stadium (7:30 p.m., Apple TV+). Just three days later, it takes on city rival LAFC on Fourth of July at the Rose Bowl in front a crowd that is likely to break the MLS attendace record of 74,479.

“They’re two big derby games,” Galaxy goalkeeper Jonathan Bond said. “It’ll be something we will all look forward to. It’s definitely one the fans are looking forward to and we’re hoping to do it for them.”

The Galaxy heads into San Jose on a four-game unbeaten streak, though it is only one win and three consecutive draws. In order to make up ground in the Western Conference, the draws are going to have to turn into wins at some point.

“Through stretches of these last four games, I’ve liked what the group has been able to do,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said. “I feel we’re positive about some of the things we’ve settled in. The gap for us, I think we’re No. 1 or 2 league in chance creation, but we are so far behind it in the actual execution of those chances. We’ve got to close that gap and that will take a little stress off of the defensive side because there is a sense that you really have to be perfect at times on the defensive side, which we haven’t, but I think we’ve improved and will continue to improve.

“The mentality has been strong, we’ve gotten out of front games, we’ve come from behind in games, the one we really rue was the one here (June 21 against Sporting Kansas City). We’re up 2-1 and it’s late in the game and not taking those (three points). If you take those points, we would be over the moon with this stretch of four games because three of the four have been on the road and in tough places to play.

“We’re showing some resiliency and some progress, but we’ve got to close that gap of finishing the chances that we’re creating for ourselves, which then takes a little bit of stress maybe off of the defensive side. And when you’re protecting a lead, you get everybody really focused on that protection and not feeling like we have to overpush to get those goals that haven’t been easy for us to get.”

The Galaxy have four games to start the month before the Leagues Cup break. After San Jose and LAFC, it will host the Philadelphia Union on July 8 and hit the road for a July 15 clash with the Vancouver Whitecaps.

“We feel good about going into San Jose, I think we played one of our best games against them here (May 14, 2-1 win), so we’ve got to learn from that. I’m sure they’ll adapt to some things, but it was one of our days where we did a lot of things well on the day for 90 minutes and deserved the win,” Vanney said. “Then when you go to the Rose Bowl, and it’s 80,000-plus people and you’re playing your cross-city rivals, anything can happen. It’s going to be hell on wheels … Right now we’re in a section (of our season) where it’s one game at a time. Get everybody ready to get a result on that day.”

“Thing about July is, there are four games (in league), we’ve got to really do our best to manage these four games and get as much as we can out of these four games.”

Sega Coulilbaly waived

The club announced Friday that it had waived the French defender after two-plus seasons. Coulilbaly had been slowed by a knee injury this season.

“We’re going to leave it at undisclosed medical reasons,” Vanney said as a reason. “He will return back to France to try to get himself ready to go again. We’ve been working close with him and we just think, for all of us, this is the scenario.”

GALAXY AT SAN JOSE

When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.

Where: Stanford Stadium

How to watch: Apple TV+ (MLS Season Pass)

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​ Orange County Register 

After 25 years, San Juan Capistrano’s Cedar Creek Inn closes. Its replacement just opened.

• June 30, 2023

Well, it’s official.

After 25 years in business in downtown San Juan Capistrano, Cedar Creek Inn changed its name Friday, June 30 to Tavern at the Mission. In addition to the new name and signage, owners David Wilhelm and Gregg Solomon have revamped the menu, with plans for an extensive renovation set to take place next year.

“It’s an iconic location that’s only going to get better,” said Wilhelm, who purchased Cedar Creek Inn in May. After taking ownership, the chef/restaurateur added new items to the menu, including some of his signature dishes, like his buttermilk fried chicken with thyme gravy and his Comté cheese-topped French onion soup that uses beef and veal stocks. While “90 percent” of Cedar Creek Inn’s menu will change under his tutelage — “we will feature some of my greatest hits, which are classic comfort foods with my own twist,” he said —  Wilhelm smartly kept intact such Cedar Creek Inn staples as the Monte Cristo sandwich and coconut cake.

The new Tavern at the Mission, the second iteration of Wilhelm’s Tavern brand, will remain open throughout the year until a major indoor and outdoor renovation happens at a tentative date in early 2024 during the slow months of the winter season. Wilhelm and Solomon plan on transforming the space with a new vibe that will blur the lines between the interior and exterior seating areas. “I would describe the upcoming décor as a contemporary Santa Barbara Mission,” he said. Guests can look forward to open and airy interiors with cream colored walls and new flooring, decorative lighting, seating arrangements. “It’s going to be understated but very sophisticated,” Wilhelm added.

The restaurant’s bar theme will lean into the city’s cowboy history with the addition of dark leather buckskin booths and bar seats.

More importantly, the entire restaurant, which measures a whopping 5,000 square feet, will open up to provide a more cohesive flow. “Right now there are three different physical components: there’s the bar, the patio, and the other side is the dining room,” he explained. “We’re going to open up the bar and we’re going to open up all the doors in the dining room so that you could be sitting at the bar and you’ll be able to literally look all the way across the patio and into the dining room.”

The roughly 3,000-square-foot patio will also undergo a facelift, including new seating, up-lighting for the ash trees and landscaping.

“We’re going to clean everything up and make it very simple, very contemporary,” Wilhelm said.

This is Wilhelm’s latest restaurant in his impressive portfolio, which includes Jimmy’s Famous American Tavern in Dana Point and Tavern House Kitchen and Bar in Newport Beach, as well as a stable of other notable restaurants, past and present, like Kachina, Chimayo Grill, Chat Noir, and Savannah Chop House. It’s also a more personal restaurant because it’s located in the city that he also calls home.

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Tavern at the Mission is the latest concept to come to San Juan Capistrano’s downtown area, south county’s budding culinary epicenter. Since 2020, the historic center has seen an uptick in chef-driven eateries, most most notable Heritage Barbecue (which ranked No. 1 in The Register’s 75 best places to eat list), Breezy, artisanal bakery FKN Bread, Mission-adjacent Bloom Restaurant and Bar, and JD Flannel Donuts. These new eateries join a slew of long-standing taquerias, like El Campeon Carniceria and Las Golondrinas, and other established restaurants. Adding to the city’s growing food pedigree is the Ecology Center, a sustainable and organic 28-acre farm that sells homegrown produce and features recurring family-style dining events that teach diners about sustainable, local farming.

Find it: Tavern at the Mission, 26860 Old Mission Road (at El Camino Real), San Juan Capistrano; open for lunch and dinner

​ Orange County Register