Anaheim Hills briefs: Rotary Club plans Easter Festival for families

• March 23, 2023

Save the date for the annual Easter Festival sponsored by the Anaheim Hills Rotary Club on April 2 at Ronald Reagan Park. This event is open to the community and is Free to attend.

This all-family community event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. will featuresthe club’s famous Easter Egg Hunt with more than 6,000 eggs stuffed with goodies. The event will have two separate areas for younger and older age groups and kids should bring along an Easter basket.

Other scheduled activities include photos with the Easter Bunny and face painting, a balloon shaping artist and Easter Egg coloring and decorating, as well as fun games. All these events are free.

There is an opportunity to participate in a raffle and a silent auction filled with golf packages, restaurant gift cards, hotel stays, children’s bicycles, as well as many other exciting items for bidding. Retail vendors will also be onsite offering various unique and helpful items available for purchase. Snack items such as shaved ice, popcorn, pizza and beverages will be available to purchase.

Come join the fun. For additional information, visit anaheimhillsrotary.org.

Help Marines and families enjoy Easter fun

Patriots 4 Pendleton is sponsoring an Easter basket and gift card drive and the deadline is April 1. The donations will be benefiting the families of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit from Camp Pendleton.

The charitable organization is currently collecting wrapped Easter baskets for young kids, $20 gift cards for teens and $25 gift cards for single Marines. Monetary donations are also accepted.

For drop-off or other information or to arrange for a pick up, contact Carolyn Walters or the organization at patriots4pendleton@gmail.com.

Book sale planned at Canyon Hills

The Friends of Canyon Hills Library is preparing for its Books and Baskets sale set for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 6 and 7 at the branch.

A variety of nonfiction, fiction, children’s and specialty books, as well as Easter items, will be offered at bargain prices. The $2 Bag of Books will also be available and the nonprofit group will provide bags.

Remember, this is a great way to find special books and other items at great prices and all proceeds help the Friends provide services and special programs for the community.

For additional information, contact the branch at 714-765-6444.

Women’s Connection hosts own Easter parade

The Anaheim, Orange and Villa Park Women’s Connection is planning a fun Easter celebration for its next luncheon on April 10 at the Black Gold Golf Club. And all women in the community are invited.

This event includes an Easter hat parade and guests are encouraged to wear a favorite hat and join in. Prizes will be awarded for the most unique, glamorous, funniest and so on. The afternoon will also include vocalist Darene Catuara and guest speaker Pat VanGorder, who will discuss what it’s like to have and to be “The Best of Friends!”

Doors open at 10:30 a.m. for socializing and shopping from onsite vendors; lunch and program follow at 11:30 a.m. The day concludes at 1:30 p.m.

Cost is $32 per person and reservation deadline is March 27. Call Barbi Zipperian for additional information and/or reservations at 714-280-9062.

Hunt for eggs, celebrate Easter with Canyon Hills Presbyterian

The Children’s Ministry at Canyon Hills Presbyterian will once again host a community Easter egg hunt on Palm Sunday, April 2, and all children in the community are welcome.

This event begins in the Fellowship Hall, following the 10 a.m. worship service, and includes a continental style brunch and a gigantic egg hunt outside on the church campus.

Canyon Hills Presbyterian begins its Easter day worship services with a sunrise service at 6:30 a.m., and another service at 8 a.m. in the amphitheater of Oak Canyon Nature Center. All are welcome.

Worship in the beautiful and serene outdoor environment among the impressive oak trees and softly flowing streams that give an extra tranquility to the Easter season. Music consists of acoustic guitars and contemporary songs for the 6:30 service, and features Godsend, the church’s contemporary rock band, at 8.

Worshippers for the early services are encouraged to bring along coffee or hot chocolate, a blanket and dress warm and casual for the outside weather.

In addition to the early morning services, a 10 a.m. service will be held in the church Sanctuary, as well as be live streamed. Music for this service is provided by the Chancel Choir, Godsend and other church musicians.

For additional information on services and activities, visit the church website, canyonhillspc.org.

Be fashionable with the Women’s Club

The Anaheim Hills Women’s Club will host a luncheon and fashion show at noon on April 18 at the Anaheim Hills Golf Course, and all women in the community are invited.

An exciting show will be presented by fashion coordinator Eileen Gerber, featuring beautiful clothes and accessories.

The cost to attend is $35 per person and reservations may be made by calling Karon Kelleher at 714-912-4907 or email gmakelleher@gmail.com. Reservation deadline is April 10.

Sharon Hlapcich writes about events and happenings in the Anaheim Hills area. Reach her by phone (714-998-4604 or e-mail (smhlapcich@sbcglobal.net).

​ Orange County Register 

Daxon: The rains came – were you prepared?

• March 23, 2023

Probably like most of you, I don’t recall this much rain in Brea, or storms called “atmospheric rivers.”  I’d like those rivers to dry up for a long while.

Fortunately so far in Brea, we haven’t had any streets flooding or houses sliding down hillsides.

“Our staff has been monitoring all storm drain inlets, making sure they stay free of debris,” said Will Wenz, Brea’s maintenance supervisor.  He added that there have been no reports of rockslides or mudslides in Brea Canyon.

And potholes are usually filled within 24-hours of being reported to pwservicerequest@cityofbrea.net or 714-990-7691, he said.

If you have areas of your property that could flood or start a slide during heavy rains, be prepared and pick up free sandbags at any Brea fire station or the city yard, 545 North Berry Street. You can have 10 bags per household.

Lisa Keyworth, Brea’s emergency preparedness coordinator, said now is the time to get prepared for emergencies.

“Being prepared for any disaster should include preparing a plan, building an (emergency) kit and staying informed,” she said.

The city’s website is an excellent source of emergency information. In an emergency, especially an ongoing one, information is frequently updated on site and the city’s hotline, 714-990-7732, Keyworth said.

It is also recommended that we register with AlertOC.org.  It is the county’s communication system that informs residents and businesses when there is an emergency that could affect your home, family or business. You can sign up your cell phones, landlines, email, text messages and TTY devices to receive AlertOC messages.

Also available is the Wireless Emergency Alert, or WEA, a national alert system that sends area alerts through local cell towers. That’s how the Amber Alerts arrive on our cell phones.

While I doubt we have to worry about being stuck in a home half buried in snow, wildfires, earthquakes and floods could, and have, happened here. We need to be prepared to be on our own for at least three days, and it could be longer before responders can arrive.

Sounds scary, but it is a wake-up call for all of us to prepare an emergency kit with canned and packaged food, medicine, one gallon of drinking water per person per day, prescriptions and over-the-counter medicines your family needs. And don’t forget to include your pets’ food, treats and meds.

The city’s website has a comprehensive list of all else you should include in your emergency kit, including flashlights and batteries, a camp stove, sanitary supplies, a first aid kit with instructions, candles, matches and large trash bags, to name a few of the listed items.

For several years, I’ve kept what I call my earthquake kit in my car’s trunk. I don’t have a camp stove in it, but it does include several items on the city’s list, including sturdy shoes, a light jacket and a wind-up radio.

But having emergencies supplies at home or in your vehicle is fine, but what about at your place of work? Keyworth recommends having emergency kits in workplaces, and that means more than a first aid kit. She is available to speak on emergency preparedness to groups of 10 or more, including HOAs, businesses and churches, to name a few.

Also consider taking the Community Emergency Response Team, or CERT, training offered by the city. It is only six sessions and offered at no cost. The spring class is on now, but watch for sign-ups for the fall sessions.

You will learn disaster medical aid, terrorism awareness, light search and rescue, proper use of a fire extinguisher, how to spot hazards in the area and much more.

Let’s all be prepared!

Terri Daxon is a freelance writer and the owner of Daxon Marketing Communications. She gives her perspective on Brea issues twice a month. Contact her at  daxoncomm@gmail.com.

​ Orange County Register 

K-pop superstars Mamamoo bring debut U.S. tour to Kia Forum in Inglewood

• March 23, 2023

Mamamoo have announced dates for their first U.S. tour.

And they include a pair of Golden State gigs.

These K-pop superstars perform June 2 at Oakland Arena and June 4 at the Kia Forum in Inglewood.

Tickets go on sale on at 10 a.m. March 29, ticketmaster.com.

The dates are part of the band’s My Con World Tour, which begins its U.S. jaunt on May 16 in New York City. In all, the four-member band — consisting of Solar, Moon Byul, Whee In and Hwa Sa — is set to perform in nine U.S. cities.

2023 U.S. Tour Dates:

May 16 UBS Arena at Belmont Park New York, NY

May 18 CFG Bank Arena Baltimore, MD

May 20 State Farm Arena Atlanta, GA

May 22 Bridgestone Arena Nashville, TN

May 24 Dickies Arena Fort Worth, TX

May 27 Wintrust Arena Chicago, IL

May 31 Desert Diamond Arena Glendale, AZ

June 2 Oakland Arena Oakland, CA

June 4 KIA Forum Los Angeles, CA

​ Orange County Register 

Manhattan DA rejects GOP demands for Trump case info

• March 23, 2023

By Farnoush Amiri | Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The Manhattan district attorney investigating Donald Trump rebuffed House Republicans’ request Thursday for documents and testimony about the case, dismissing it as an “unprecedented inquiry” with no legitimate basis.

In a letter obtained by The Associated Press, the general counsel for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg slammed the congressional request as “an unlawful incursion into New York’s sovereignty.”

“The Letter only came after Donald Trump created a false expectation that he would be arrested the next day and his lawyers reportedly urged you to intervene,” Leslie Dubeck wrote in the letter. “Neither fact is a legitimate basis for congressional inquiry.”

The Republican chairmen of three House committees on Monday sent a letter to Bragg seeking information about his actions in the Trump case. The Republicans criticized the grand jury investigation as an “unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority.”

The chairmen requested testimony as well as documents and copies of any communications with the Justice Department to be turned over by Thursday. The request came as Republicans in the House quickly rallied around the former president as a grand jury in New York weighs whether to bring an indictment against him.

“If a grand jury brings charges against Donald Trump, the DA’s Office will have an obligation, as in every case, to provide a significant amount of discovery from its files to the defendant so that he may prepare a defense,” Dubeck wrote.

The five-page response from Bragg’s office provides a rare insight into what has remained a secret grand jury process, marking one of the first public acknowledgments that there is a sitting grand jury currently investigating Trump. The DA’s office has adhered closely to centuries-old rules that have kept grand juries under wraps to protect the reputations of people who end up not being charged and to encourage reluctant witnesses to testify.

In proceedings closed to the public and members of the media, grand jurors listen to evidence presented by prosecutors and hear from witnesses. There is no judge present nor anyone representing the accused, and prosecutors do not have to offer any evidence favorable to the defense.

The disclosure comes as the grand jury appears close to finishing its work, after hearing last week from Trump’s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, but the timing of a possible decision on whether to charge the ex-president remains uncertain. Prosecutors canceled a scheduled grand jury session Wednesday and planned to hear testimony on other matters Thursday, according to a person familiar with the matter. But law enforcement in New York has been making preparations for any unrest, should Trump face charges.

The case revolves around hush money payments during Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign to women who alleged sexual encounters with him. Bragg’s team appears to be looking at whether Trump or anyone committed crimes in New York state in arranging the payments, or in the way they accounted for them internally at the Trump Organization.

On Thursday, one of the GOP chairmen, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, expanded his probe into the handling of the Trump case by demanding testimony and documents from Mark Pomerantz and Carey Dunne, two former Manhattan prosecutors who had been leading the Trump case before quitting last year in a clash over the direction of the probe.

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“Last year, you resigned from the office over Bragg’s initial reluctance to move forward with charges, shaming Bragg in your resignation letter — which was subsequently leaked — into bringing charges,” Jordan, an Ohio Republican, wrote in the letter to Pomerantz late Wednesday. “It now appears that your efforts to shame Bragg have worked as he is reportedly resurrecting a so-called ‘zombie’ case against President Trump using a tenuous and untested legal theory.”

Requests for comment from Pomerantz and Dunne were not returned.

Associated Press writer Michael R. Sisak in New York contributed to this report.

​ Orange County Register 

UC Berkeley investigating AD Jim Knowlton, associate AD Jennifer Simon-O’Neill

• March 23, 2023

The University of California-Berkeley has launched a formal investigation into Cal athletic director Jim Knowlton and executive associate athletic director Jennifer Simon-O’Neill’s handling of dozens of allegations over the course of years that former Golden Bears women’s swimming head coach Teri McKeever bullied swimmers on an almost daily basis, the Southern California News Group has learned.

Attorneys hired by the university have begun contacting current and former Cal swimmers and their parents as part of a follow-up investigation to an eight-month, $2-million probe that led to McKeever’s firing on January 31, according to three people familiar with the investigation.

The current investigation comes against the backdrop of months of mounting criticism of Cal from former and current swimmers, including Olympic gold medalists, and prominent financial boosters of the Golden Bears athletic program that Knowlton and Simon-O’Neill and other university employees prioritized athletic success over athlete well-being. Specifically, swimmers and their parents maintain that Simon-O’Neill and Knowlton’s inaction led to dozens of athletes being subjected to McKeever’s verbal, emotional and physical abuse and in some cases even enabled the coach’s bullying.

Golden Bears boosters, some of whom have made seven-figure donations to the Cal athletic program, have lobbied Chancellor Carol T. Christ for months to fire Knowlton and Simon-O’Neill, arguing their failure to effectively address McKeever’s behavior caused swimmers to be endangered and damaged the university’s reputation.

The McKeever investigation’s heavily redacted nearly 500-page report substantiated allegations of bullying and discrimination over a period of decades first disclosed by the SCNG last May, finding that McKeever, who coached Cal to four NCAA team titles, discriminated against swimmers on the basis of race, national origin and disability, including using the n-word, and abused athletes in violation of university policy.

After interviewing 147 people and reviewing 1,700 documents, attorneys for Munger, Tolles & Olson, the Los Angeles-based law firm hired by the university, concluded “by a preponderance of the evidence that Coach McKeever discriminated against certain student-athletes, in certain instances, on the basis of race, national origin and disability.” The attorneys also found McKeever’s behavior “toward some, but not all, student-athletes in some instances was abuse and violated University policy.”

To date, 44 current or former Cal swimmers, including Olympic medalists and NCAA champions, 23 parents, a member of the school’s men’s team, three former Cal coaches, a former administrator and an athletic department employee have told SCNG that McKeever, the only woman to serve as head coach of a U.S. Olympic swim team, routinely bullied swimmers, often in deeply personal terms, or used embarrassing or traumatic experiences from their past against them, used racial epithets, body-shamed and pressured athletes to compete or train while injured. Swimmers and parents have also alleged that McKeever revealed medical information about athletes to other team members and coaches without their permission in violation of federal, state and university privacy laws and guidelines.

Nine Cal women’s swimmers, six since 2018, have told SCNG they made plans to kill themselves or obsessed about suicide for weeks or months because of what they describe as McKeever’s bullying.

Cal declined to comment. Knowlton and Simon-O’Neill have repeatedly declined to comment on the McKeever investigation and criticism of their handling of athlete and parent complaints.

McKeever has denied any wrongdoing. Her attorney said she will pursue a wrongful termination lawsuit against the university. McKeever’s firing did not include a financial settlement.

In recent weeks and months, Knowlton and Simon-O’Neill have privately tried to distance themselves from McKeever, according to multiple sources.

But university administration and athletic department officials including Knowlton, Simon-O’Neill and Sandy Barbour, Cal’s athletic director from 2004 to 2014, received between 2010 and 2022 more than 30 complaints from Cal swimmers or their parents alleging bullying behavior by McKeever, according to interviews, university documents and emails obtained by SCNG.

Despite the repeated complaints, Cal has paid McKeever just under $3 million in total compensation since 2010 and has given her eight raises in her base pay between 2010 and 2019, according to her contract and other university financial records. McKeever’s annual base salary has increased by more than 77% since 2010.

McKeever is a godmother to one of Simon-O’Neill’s children. Simon-O’Neill was hired by Cal in 2008 as director of Olympic sports operations. She was named associate athletic director in 2013 and after additional promotions was named to her current position, executive senior associate AD, chief of staff and senior women’s administrator in 2019. She was the direct supervisor of the women’s swimming program until the responsibility was removed from her last May, a day after the publication of an SCNG report in which 19 current and former Cal swimmers, six parents, and a former member of the Golden Bears men’s team portrayed McKeever as a bully who for decades has allegedly verbally and emotionally abused, swore at and threatened swimmers on an almost daily basis.

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Knowlton has been Cal’s AD since 2018.

At the time of McKeever’s firing, Knowlton wrote to Cal swimmers that he “was disturbed by what I learned in the course of reading through the report’s 482 pages that substantiate far too many allegations of unacceptable behavior. I want to apologize, on behalf of Cal Athletics, to every student-athlete who was subject to this conduct in the past, and I want to thank everyone who had the courage to come forward and share their story with the investigators.”

Thomas Newkirk, McKeever’s attorney, said he was surprised by Knowlton’s letter.

“Jim Knowlton, why he is apologizing to athletes when he knew how Teri coached the entire time he was there is beyond me,” Newkirk said. “It makes no sense.”

RELATED:

UC Berkeley swimmers allege coach Teri McKeever bullied and verbally abused them for years

UC Berkeley places swim coach Teri McKeever on administrative leave

Ex-UC Berkeley swimmer on McKeever: ‘I honestly didn’t know how far she would go’

McKeever’s bullying led to lifelong issues, more former UC Berkeley swimmers allege

NCAA swimming champion details coach Teri McKeever’s bullying last season at UC Berkeley

​ Orange County Register 

What’s black and white and running around Seoul?

• March 23, 2023

Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea — A young zebra walked, trotted, and galloped for hours in the busy streets of South Korea’s capital before emergency workers tranquilized the animal and brought it back to a zoo.

The zebra — a male named Sero that was born in the zoo in 2021 — was in stable condition and being examined by veterinarians as of Thursday evening, said Choi Ye-ra, an official at the Children’s Grand Park in Seoul.

She said the zoo was investigating how the zebra managed to escape. She didn’t immediately confirm media reports that the animal partially destroyed the wooden fencing surrounding its pen before busting out around 2:50 p.m.

Social media was flowing with smartphone videos of the zebra trotting alongside lines of cars that were waiting for the greenlight at an intersection, and galloping through a street surrounded by commercial buildings as pedestrians stopped and gasped.

Police and emergency workers managed to corner the zebra after it entered a narrow alleyway between houses and shot it with tranquilizers, ending its three hours of freedom.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or property damage caused by the zebra running loose.

​ Orange County Register 

University, Corona del Mar lead Orange County into All-American boys tennis tournament

• March 23, 2023

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Defending champion University, featuring a new singles player to watch, is seeded third for the 22nd National High School Tennis All-American Boys Team Tournament set for Friday and Saturday in Orange County.

Punahou of Hawaii and Menlo of Atherton are the top two seeds for the 16-team tournament, which includes schools from Arizona, Connecticut, Maryland and Tennessee.

The tournament will mostly be played at University and Corona del Mar high schools before shifting to Palisades Tennis Club in Newport Beach for the championship and third-place match on Saturday.

Those last two matches are scheduled for 2:30 p.m., with the final set to be streamed at tennisallamerican.org.

University, ranked No. 1 in CIF-SS Open/Division 1, has added senior transfer James MacDonald, a former standout at Brentwood.

MacDonald is listed as five-star recruit by Tennis Recruiting Network and owns a UTR of 12.

He joins a lineup that includes senior Ani Gupta, a Claremont-Mudd-Scripps commit, and junior SangHyuk Im.

University opens the tournament Friday by playing host to Catalina Foothills of Arizona. If the Trojans win, they would face the winner of Harvard-Westlake-Memphis School of Tennessee in the quarterfinals later Friday.

Last season, University defeated Menlo 6-3 in the finals and went onto to claim the Ojai and CIF-SS Open Division.

Corona del Mar is Orange County’s other team to watch.

The Sea Kings, ranked fourth in the Open/Division 1, play host to Brophy Prep of Arizona in the first round on Friday. If the Sea Kings win, they will face the winner of Brunswick of Connecticut-Peninsula.

Corona del Mar is led by junior Niels Hoffmann, who recently committed to USC and holds a UTR of 12.

Peninsula’s lineup could feature Keaton Hance, the No. 1 freshman in California, according to Tennis Recruiting.

The teams will play matches featuring five singles sets and three doubles sets.

Please send tennis news to Dan Albano at dalbano@scng.com or @ocvarsityguy on Twitter

​ Orange County Register 

Steve Bisheff, longtime Southern California sports columnist, dies

• March 23, 2023

Steve Bisheff, who had a 42-year career as a sportswriter and columnist in Southern California, died Wednesday, March 22.

He was 81.

Bisheff wrote for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner and for the San Diego Union-Tribune before joining the Orange County Register as a sports columnist. He retired from the Register in 2006.

He wrote many books. John Wooden, whom Bisheff got to know when he covered UCLA basketball for the Herald-Examiner, was a favorite subject.

Bisheff had battled cancer for the past three years, first being diagnosed with leukemia and later colon cancer.

He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Marsha, sons Scott and Greg, daughter Julie and grandson Wes. Services are pending.

Bisheff, a longtime resident of Irvine, was known as a sports fans’ sports columnist and that pleased him.

In his farewell column published in The Register in November of 2006, Bisheff wrote:

“I always felt my mission was to be the fan’s conduit, having access to clubhouses and locker rooms they couldn’t visit. It was my job to ask the questions they’d want to ask, to probe the issues they were talking and thinking about.”

Former Register sports columnist Mark Whicker, who worked with Bisheff for many years, said Bisheff was a fine teammate.

“He was an excellent columnist,” Whicker said. “Always current, always had a great feel for what was going on, and he had such a great history with the teams here and of course with the Chargers, too, when he was in San Diego. He had a great sense of humor, he was very proud of his family, and he was very well respected.”

In that farewell column, Bisheff looked back at the many moments he witnessed and chronicled in person …

“I was there for all of it. I covered Wooden and Auerbach. Koufax and Gibson. Ali and Frazier. Unitas and Montana.

“From the best seat in the house, I watched Reggie Jackson and Reggie Bush. Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson. Gary Beban and Matt Leinart. Bruce Jenner and Greg Louganis. Affirmed and Barbaro.”

Even in retirement, Bisheff continued to write. Bisheff’s Facebook posts about sports were really just Bisheff columns.

Bisheff’s farewell column included his memory of being a 13-year-old at the Los Angeles Coliseum for a Rams game and, looking up at the writers in the press box, figuring that being in that press box would be a very cool job.

“It’s funny, but the other day, sitting in the Coliseum before a USC game, I looked out into the stands and found myself drifting back all those years ago to when I was that crewcut teenager pointing up to the press box.

“I smiled and shook my head at the memory. I know I was very naive back then, but I was right about one thing.

“This has been a very cool job.”

​ Orange County Register