Dana Point celebrates with annual Festival of Whales

• March 8, 2025

The Dana Point Headlands are a key navigational point in the migration of gray whales between Alaska and Baja California and the community is again celebrating this weekend being the whale-watching capital.

Along with lots of opportunities to get on a charter boat to see the passing whales — though you can often spy them from the rocky outcroping of the headlands — the 54th annual Festival of Whales will feature three days of fun activities for families.

A three-day carnival filling Lantern Bay Park got underway Friday evening, replacing the annual parade during renovations at the Dana Point Harbor.

Still to come this weekend, there will be Wyland art sessions, marine conservation talks, classic cars and art shows, a treasure hunt, entertainment and more activities for kids and adults.

If you go

When: The carnival is 3 to 10 p.m. March 8 and 3 to 9 p.m. on March 9; activities go all day on March 8 and 9, see online for times

Where: Lantern Bay Park and around the Dana Point Harbor; using the free trolley and Harbor shuttle services are recommended for getting there, see more online

Cost: Varied

Information: festivalofwhales.com

​ Orange County Register 

LAFC, healthy and happy, sets sights on Seattle payback

• March 8, 2025

The Los Angeles Football Club’s season-long marathon is off to a pacey start.

In the midst of eight games over 26 days coming out of the preseason, “we need everybody and everybody is taking good care of themselves,” defender Yaw Yeboah said Friday.

“It looks like the group is really happy and that is helping us a lot on the field to see everyone smiling and working for each other and being there for each other,” the Ghanaian noted. “Probably that’s the most important thing.”

Good vibes come easier, of course, with positive results.

LAFC (2-0-0, 6 points) stands out among a handful of MLS teams that have not dropped points in the league. They’re also delivering in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, putting themselves in a great spot to reach the competition’s quarterfinal round.

Focused on the now (starting strong while players ramp up to full fitness) and the then (centering players’ health and freshness, physically and mentally, for the long haul) requires a balancing act that was honed while the club played 103 matches (56-26-21) the past two years.

“You have to keep an eye on the bigger picture and general loading and less on results and advancing,” LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo said prior to his team’s third MLS regular-season matchday, a nationally televised clash with Seattle at Lumen Field.

Midfielders Igor Jesus and Timothy Tillman are considered questionable with flu-like symptoms, but Cherundolo expects to field a team that is “more than capable of coming away with points.”

Seattle has also participated in five matches, earning a point from a pair of league contests while reaching the CONCACAF Round of 16, drawing Cruz Azul 0-0 in the first leg at home Wednesday.

By beating Columbus 3-0 in the first leg of their CONCACAF Cup series this week, Cherundolo’s side allowed itself some leeway in terms of lineup options against the opponent who eliminated them in last year’s MLS Cup Western Conference semifinal at BMO Stadium.

That upset, courtesy of a Jordan Morris winner in extra time, ended an impressive 7-0-2 run in all competitions for the Black & Gold versus Seattle, conceding a trio of goals while securing six clean sheets over a three-year span. LAFC remains unbeaten in its last five matches (3-0-2) against the Sounders in the state of Washington.

The rivals’ first encounter of 2025 won’t mark the MLS debut of Turkish designated player Cengiz Ünder, though the 27-year-old playmaker arrived in Los Angeles earlier this week and participated in his first training session with the group Friday.

“Cengiz is somebody who knows how to score, knows how to be effective, is a very good winger,” Cherundolo said. “We think he can be a very good fit for our model.

“He looked fresh. I don’t think it should take long at all.”

On loan from Fenerbahçe until June 30, Ünder joined young attackers David Martínez and Nathan Ordaz, who swapped time on the wing alongside Denis Bouanga, Jeremy Ebobisse or Olivier Giroud.

LAFC’s depth and congested schedule could mean Martínez, Ordaz and Ünder get time at other positions, Cherundolo said.

Enjoying his “flow state” and good form coming out of preseason, Ordaz assisted on LAFC’s game-winning goal in the regular-season opener and scored the third against Columbus. Martínez, meanwhile, assisted on the CONCACAF Cup Round 1 game winner to advance past Colorado, and started three of LAFC’s five games.

The addition of Ünder “just means that everybody has to get a little better,” Cherundolo said. “I don’t think it hurts anybody’s path. On the contrary.”

LAFC AT SEATTLE SOUNDERS

When: 1:45 p.m. Saturday

Where: Lumen Field, Seattle

TV/radio: Apple TV (MLS Season Pass), FOX, FOX Deportes/710 AM, 980 AM

​ Orange County Register 

A South Carolina man executed by firing squad is the first US prisoner killed this way in 15 years

• March 8, 2025

By JEFFREY COLLINS, Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A South Carolina man convicted of murder was executed by firing squad Friday, the first U.S. prisoner to die by that method in 15 years.

Three volunteer prison employees used rifles to carry out the execution of Brad Sigmon, 67, who was pronounced dead at 6:08 p.m.

Sigmon killed his ex-girlfriend’s parents with a baseball bat in their Greenville County home in 2001 in a botched plot to kidnap their daughter. He told police he planned to take her for a romantic weekend, then kill her and himself.

Sigmon’s lawyers said he chose the firing squad because the electric chair would “cook him alive,” and he feared that a lethal injection of pentobarbital into his veins would send a rush of fluid and blood into his lungs and drown him.

The details of South Carolina’s lethal injection method are kept secret in South Carolina, and Sigmon unsuccessfully asked the state Supreme Court on Thursday to pause his execution because of that.

On Friday, Sigmon wore a black jumpsuit with a hood over his head and a white target with a red bullseye over his chest.

The armed prison employees stood 15 feet from where he sat in the state’s death chamber — the same distance as the backboard is from the free-throw line on a basketball court. Visible in the same small room was the state’s unused electric chair. The gurney used to carry out lethal injections had been rolled away.

The volunteers all fired at the same time through openings in a wall. They were not visible to about a dozen witnesses in a room separated from the chamber by bullet-resistant glass. Sigmon made several heavy breaths during the two minutes that elapsed from when the hood was placed to the shots being fired.

The shots, which sounded like they were fired at the same time, made a loud, jarring bang that caused witnesses to flinch. His arms briefly tensed when he was shot, and the target was blasted off his chest. He appeared to give another breath or two with a red stain on his chest, and small amounts of tissue could be seen from the wound during those breaths.

A doctor came out about a minute later and examined Sigmon for 90 seconds before declaring him dead.

Witnesses included three family members of the victims, David and Gladys Larke. Also present were Sigmon’s attorney and spiritual advisor, a representative from the prosecuting solicitor’s office, a sheriff’s investigator and three members of the news media.

Sigmon delivered a closing statement that he said was “one of love and a calling to my fellow Christians to help us end the death penalty.”

The firing squad is an execution method with a long and violent history in the U.S. and around the world. Death in a hail of bullets has been used to punish mutinies and desertion in armies, as frontier justice in America’s Old West and as a tool of terror and political repression in the former Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.

Since 1977 only three other prisoners in the U.S. have been executed by firing squad. All were in Utah, most recently Ronnie Lee Gardner in 2010. Another Utah man, Ralph Menzies, could be next; he is awaiting the result of a hearing in which his lawyers argued that his dementia makes him unfit for execution.

In South Carolina on Friday, a group of protesters holding signs with messages such as “All life is precious” and “Execute justice not people” gathered outside the prison before Sigmon’s execution.

Supporters and lawyers for Sigmon asked Republican Gov. Henry McMaster to commute his sentence to life in prison. They said he was a model prisoner trusted by guards and worked every day to atone for the killings and also that he committed the killings after succumbing to severe mental illness.

But McMaster denied the clemency plea. No governor has ever commuted a death sentence in the state, where 46 other prisoners have been executed since the death penalty resumed in the U.S. in 1976. Seven have died in the electric chair and 39 others by lethal injection.

In the early 2000s, South Carolina was among the busiest death penalty states, carrying out an average of three executions a year. But officials suspended executions for 13 years, in part because they were unable to obtain lethal injection drugs.

The state Supreme Court cleared the way to resume them in July. Freddie Owens was the first to be put to death, on Sept. 20, after McMaster denied him clemency. Richard Moore was executed on Nov. 1 and Marion Bowman Jr. on Jan. 31.

Going forward the court will allow an execution every five weeks.

South Carolina now has 28 inmates on its death row including two who have exhausted their appeals and are awaiting execution, most likely this spring. Just one man has been added to death row in the past decade.

Before executions were paused, more than 60 people faced death sentences. Many of those have either had their sentences reduced to life or died in prison.

​ Orange County Register 

Trump Organization sues Capital One for closing bank accounts after Jan. 6 attack on US Capitol

• March 8, 2025

MIAMI (AP) — A company owned by President Donald Trump sued Capital One on Friday, claiming the bank unjustifiably terminated over 300 of the Trump Organization’s accounts without cause in 2021, shortly after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The suit was filed by the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust and Eric Trump in Miami-Dade Circuit Court.

The Trump Organization claims the decision by Capital One to close the accounts was an attack on free speech and free enterprise. The suit also claims the decision was a response to Trump’s political views.

“Capital One has not and does not close customer accounts for political reasons,” the company said in a statement.

The Trump Organization claims it suffered considerable financial harm and losses when Capital One notified them in March 2021 that accounts holding millions of dollars would be closed in three months. The lawsuit claims Capital One violated the law and the Trump Organization is seeking damages.

The account closures were announced about two months after Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of several thousand Trump supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to stop lawmakers from certifying the 2020 election results, which named President Joe Biden as the winner.

Other banks also stopped doing business with the Trump Organization around the same time, while the business and Trump family members were facing civil and criminal investigations.

​ Orange County Register 

Orange County schedule: Saturday’s basketball, soccer regional playoff games

• March 8, 2025

The Orange County schedule for the basketball and soccer regional playoff games Saturday.

SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE

CIF SOCAL REGIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS

REGIONAL SEMIFINALS

Games start 7 p.m. unless noted.

BOYS

Division 1

JSerra at Sierra Canyon

GIRLS

Open Division 

Mater Dei at Etiwanda

Division I

Windward at Fairmont Prep

Brentwood at Sage Hill

Division II

Portola at Monache, 5 p.m.

Division V

Santa Ana at Hillcrest

CIF SOCAL REGIONAL SOCCER PLAYOFFS

Regional championships 

Games start at 5 p.m. unless noted

BOYS

Division I

Loyola at JSerra

GIRLS 

Division I

Corona Santiago vs. Santa Margarita at Tesoro HS, 3 p.m.

Division II

Torrey Pines at Orange Lutheran

Division IV

La Mirada at Sage Hill

Division V

Vista del Lago vs. Whittier Christian at La Habra HS, 5 p.m.

​ Orange County Register 

Orange County boys golf preview: A look at the top teams, top players

• March 8, 2025

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A team with three Division 1 college commits. Multiple contenders from Orange County’s strongest league. And a senior-led group from the Sunset League.

The discussion about the top O.C. boys golf team to watch this spring delivers a slew of contenders from coaches.

And while Sunny Hills, Orange Lutheran, Santa Margarita, Servite and Huntington Beach are all in the conversation, this much is certain:

It’s looking like anther strong season on the links.

“I haven’t seen all the players but (the talent level) seems to be a little above average this year,” veteran Servite coach Dane Jako said.

Here’s a look at several of the top teams in the county (listed alphabetically):

Anaheim Discovery Christian: The Academy League power, which features Menlo College commit Qifeng Tong among others, will be interesting to track as the power-ratings guide the playoff divisions.

Capistrano Valley: Beware of the Cougars as they transition to the South Coast League with four returners from their Sea View League championship team last season. Capistrano Valley recently shot a school-record 8-under-par 172 against El Toro at Tijeras Creek Golf Club.

Huntington Beach: The Oilers’ early-season highlights include a third-place finish at the Ayala tournament and a nonleague split with Santa Margarita. They have a strong No. 1 in Lance Nguyen plus three other seniors. “We are solid and feel like we can play with anyone,” Oilers coach Dean Yoshiyama said.

Northwood: The reigning Pacific Coast League champion feature the junior duo of Sage Legaspi and Kelvin Huang but watch out for Irvine and Portola in the league.

Orange Lutheran: The Lancers captured the Servite Invitational by three strokes over Loyola on Feb. 24. Sophomore Junlin Pan shot an even-par 72 at Western Hills Country Club.

Santa Margarita: The Eagles have depth behind senior Hudson Vedder (Central Michigan) and a major transfer. Highly-ranked sophomore Ronin Banerjee is a transfer from Northwood who will observe the sitout period, Santa Margarita coach Jim Tinker said.

Servite: The Friars have added transfers sophomores Eamon and Eason Chen from Fairmont Prep to a squad led by junior Hanks Wang (Long Beach State).

Sunny Hills: The Lancers feature Division 1 commits in senior Caleb Kim (Long Beach State), junior Cole Kim (UC San Diego) and junior Jonathan Jeon (Air Force). Caleb Kim shot a 5-under-par 69 as Sunny Hills captured the Ayala tournament on Feb. 24 by 17 strokes. The field included runner-up Mira Costa, Huntington Beach, Mater Dei and Santa Margarita.

Sunny Hills’ depth also includes junior Troy Kwon, a first-team All-County selection last season.

“Orange County is and always has shown strong competition in CIF,” Sunny Hills coach Scott Enrico said. “We just need to battle with the Palm Deserts, Loyolas and Oaks Christians of the world.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Ronin Banerjee, Santa Margarita, So.

The transfer from Northwood is a member of the U.S. junior national team and the No. 5 ranked player in the nation — regardless of class — by the American Junior Golf Association.

Ethan Block, Tesoro, Sr.

Block surged late last season to seal first-team All-County honors.

Mitchel Creamer, Capistrano Valley, Sr.

The Farmingdale State College commit has the lowest reported scoring average (2-under-par) in the Southern Section through his first five rounds.

Nick Davis, Orange Lutheran, Sr.

Davis is committed to three-time NCAA Division II champion South Carolina Aiken.

Parker Deutschman, Mission Viejo, Jr.

The returning All-County selection tied for sixth at the Ayala tournament.

Brayden Jones, Mater Dei, So.

Jones shot a 5-under-par 69 to tie for first at the Ayala tournament.

Caleb Kim, Sunny Hills, Sr.

The Long Beach State commit eagled the 18th hole to tie for first at the Ayala tournament.

Shawn Nawata, Irvine, Jr.

The returning CIF qualifier forms a strong duo with Cooper Stearns.

Lance Nguyen, Huntington Beach, Sr.

The uncommitted senior has captured league individual titles the past two seasons.

Junlin Pan, Orange Lutheran, So.

Pan is ranked as the No. 3 sophomore in the state by the American Junior Golf Association.

Cooper Stearns, Irvine, Sr.

After averaging 20 points and 13 rebounds in basketball, Stearns hits the links as a Stanford signee for golf. He is the top-ranked Orange County senior by the American Junior Golf Association.

Hanks Wang, Servite, Jr.

The Long Beach State commit is the two-time defending Trinity League champion.

NOTES

Mission Viejo’s squad features football standouts Draiden Trudeau and Cash Semonza. … The CIF-SS division finals are May 19 at various sites. The CIF-SS individual championships and SCGA qualifier is May 22 at Temecula Creek Golf Club. … The SCGA-CIF SoCal Regional and state qualifier is May 29 at Los Serranos Golf Club. The CIF State championship is June 3 at Poppy Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach.

​ Orange County Register 

Construction starts on $779 million 91 Freeway project to ease congestion, need to weave across lanes

• March 8, 2025

Getting on the 91 Freeway at Lakeview Avenue in Anaheim and merging across three lanes to make it to the 55 Freeway isn’t easy.

The merging and weaving over several lanes to make the exit slows down traffic on the already congested 91 Freeway, where even more drivers are merging and weaving to get to where they need to go. To help remedy the issue, a joint project by the Orange County Transportation Authority and Caltrans is underway to reduce the merging madness and let drivers destined for the 55 Freeway get on directly from Lakeview Avenue.

Local officials commemorated the start of construction of the 91 improvement project between the 55 and 57 freeways at a ceremony Friday, March 7, in Anaheim.

The 91 Freeway is the main link between Orange and Riverside counties and sees regular bumper-to-bumper traffic. The project will rebuild bridges, add new connectors and build new lanes in sections throughout the five-mile stretch from the 55 to the 57 Freeway.

OCTA CEO Darrell Johnson said the improvements from the $779 million project aren’t going to eliminate rush-hour traffic on the 91 Freeway, but they will make driving in the area safer and relieve some of the congestion.

Johnson labeled this section of the 91 Freeway, along with the interchanges to other freeways, a “hot spot” for bottlenecks.

“It’s a big investment,” Johnson said, “but the idea is to keep the flow going.”

Supervisor Don Wagner said those slow travel times delay not just people commuting for work, but also thousands of trucks daily delivering goods throughout the region.

“If we want to thrive … in this county we need this corridor and we need to assure goods movement and people movement through this corridor,” Wagner said.

Around 321,000 vehicles travel on that stretch of the 91 Freeway daily, many bringing Inland Empire residents to jobs in Orange County, and traffic is expected to grow in the coming years.

The five-mile project along the 91 Freeway corridor will be broken up into three segments that will break ground at different times over the next year.

The improvements are funded by the countywide sales tax revenue from Measure M, state funding through SB1, federal money and excess revenue from the 91 Express Lane tolls.

Segment 1, which starts construction now, will rebuild the Lakeview Avenue bridge that crosses the Santa Ana River and give drivers destined for the 55 Freeway a new direct ramp along with improvements to the connection to the 91 Freeway.

“From safety and operation, the idea is to try to minimize weaving and merging, which creates friction among drivers and slows down (traffic),” Johnson said.

“We think that’s going to be a real game changer in this area,” he added.

The new Lakeview Avenue bridge will include shoulders for bicyclists and sidewalks. Segment 1 will be under construction until late 2027, officials said.

Segment 2 focuses on the parts of the 91 Freeway between the 55 and 57 freeways, and will add a new eastbound general lane. The North Kraemer Boulevard and Tustin Avenue overcrossing along the 91 will also be rebuilt.

That segment will start construction next year and be completed in 2030, officials said.

Segment 3 aims to improve westbound traffic and the connection to the 57 Freeway southbound to minimize lane changes.

A bypass ramp will be added for those taking the 57 Freeway Orangethorpe Avenue exit before passing the 91 Freeway to get rid of needing to merge across several lanes at the interchange.

La Palma Avenue’s overcrossing will also be reconstructed. Segment 3 will start construction later this year and go through 2029, officials said.

Eric Carpenter, a spokesperson for OCTA, said the agency doesn’t have details yet for what closures construction will require. He said the goal is to have as many closures be nighttime only as possible to minimize the impact on commutes, but he encouraged drivers in the area to stay informed by following OCTA’s announcements online.

Carpenter said a driver on the 91 Freeway takes around 14 minutes to traverse these five miles of the corridor, and without the project that would have jumped to an estimated 24 minutes by 2050. Average daily traffic is expected to grow by 10% over the next 25 years.

Long-term, Johnson said the OCTA is working to add a connector from the 241 toll road to the 91 Express Lanes and invest in Metrolink service between Orange and Riverside counties by building a new station in Placentia.

But the 91 Freeway represents a substantial investment that officials hope will start paying off in time for the 2028 Olympics.

“This will cause some inconvenience in the next few years, and we really appreciate your patience, support and understanding in advance,” said Caltrans District 12 Director Lan Zhou. “And then your temporary sacrifice will deliver permanent benefits for Southern California and Orange County forever.”

​ Orange County Register 

Wango Tango coming to Huntington Beach with Gwen Stefani, Doja Cat and K-pop

• March 8, 2025

KISS-FM’s Wango Tango returns in May after two years off with headliners Doja Cat and Gwen Stefani and a brand-new venue on the sand in Huntington Beach, iHeartRadio announced on Friday, March 7.

The lineup also includes Meghan Trainor, DJ David Guetta, Katseye, Nmixx, Xikers, A20 May, and Hearts2Hearts and will take place at Huntington City Beach. KISS-FM personality Ryan Seacrest will host the concert.

The 2025 lineup reflects a shift in pop music since the pandemic first paused Wango Tango, with a five of the nine announced acts falling into the broad category of K-pop.

Katseye is a Los Angeles-based girl group formed on the 2023 reality music series “Dream Academy,” which was co-created by Geffen Records and Hybe Corporation, the South Korean company behind such K-pop stars as BTS, Seventeen and Le Sserafim. It’s members come from the United States, the Philippines, South Korea and Switzerland.

Xikers is a K-pop boy band while Nmixx and Hearts2Hearts are both South Korean girl groups. A20 May is a Chinese girl group working in a K-pop style.

In 2022, the last time Wango Tango was held the lineup was topped by Shawn Mendes, the Chainsmokers, and Camilla Cabello and other acts with U.S. roots. There were no K-pop or Asian acts on the bill and the only boy band was Australia’s 5 Seconds of Summer.

Tickets go on sale first to KIIS CLUB VIP members at 10 a.m. Pacific on Thursday, March 13. Fans can sign up for free for the club at kiisfm.com/VIP. The general public on-sale begins at 10 a.m. Pacific on Friday, March 14 at AXS.com.

​ Orange County Register