Los Angeles County under a winter weather advisory until early Monday evening

• March 2, 2025

Kern River Valley, Piute Walker Basin, Tehachapi, 5 Freeway through Grapevine and Frazier Mountain Communities are included in a winter weather advisory issued by the National Weather Service on Sunday at 8:31 a.m. The advisory is in effect until Monday, Mar. 3 at 4 p.m.

The NWS Hanford CA states to anticipate, “Snow showers, which allow a quick coating to an inch of snow to accumulate in a short time period, combined winds gusting as high as 55 mph at Tejon Pass level. From 5000 feet and above, there is a 70 percent probability for 6 inches of snow, especially in the Pine Mountain Club communities. At 3000 to 5000 feet there is a 50 percent chance of an inch or more, with at least a trace of snow expected. Snowfall rates will be heaviest from midnight Monday to 8am Monday.”

“The combination of gusty winds and snow showers will cause visibility near zero at times along Tejon Pass I-5. Roads, and especially bridges and overpasses, will likely become slick and hazardous. Travel could be very difficult. The hazardous conditions will impact the Monday morning commute. Gusty winds could bring down tree branches,” according to the NWS. “Slow down and use caution while traveling. The latest road conditions for the state you are calling from can be obtained by calling 5 1 1. Be prepared for slippery roads. Slow down and use caution while driving. If you are going outside, watch your first few steps taken on stairs, sidewalks, and driveways. These surfaces could be icy and slippery, increasing your risk of a fall and injury.”

Winter driving guide: Tips from the NWS for safe and sound travels

Winter’s icy grip often turns roads treacherous, leading to over 6,000 weather-related vehicle fatalities and more than 480,000 injuries each year. When you find yourself on snowy or freezing rain-slicked roads, your top priority should be safety. Slow down and exercise caution. In temperatures near freezing, it’s prudent to assume icy patches on the road and adjust your driving accordingly. Be on alert for ice accumulating on power lines and tree branches, as they may break and fall. If possible, avoid driving in these conditions altogether. But if you must venture out, choose routes with fewer trees and power lines, and never touch a downed power line. If you encounter one, dial 911 immediately. Here are additional winter driving tips from the NWS:

Share your travel plans:

When traveling out of town in hazardous winter weather, inform your family or friends of your destination, planned route, and estimated time of arrival.

Prepare your vehicle:

Ensure your gas tank is full and equip your vehicle with essential winter supplies, including a windshield scraper, jumper cables, a small shovel, flashlight, cell phone, blanket, extra warm clothing, drinking water, and high-calorie non-perishable food.

Stay calm when stranded:

If you become stranded, stay composed. Notify someone about your situation and location. Avoid attempting to walk to safety. Attach a cloth to your car’s antenna or mirror to signal that you require assistance. Make your vehicle more visible by using the dome light and flashers.

Be mindful of snow plows:

Keep an eye out for snow plows and allow them ample room to pass. Only overtake a plow when you have a clear view of the road ahead.

Check road conditions:

Before embarking on your journey, verify the current road conditions to make informed travel decisions.

These winter driving tips from the NWS are your key to a safer journey on snow-covered roads. By following these guidelines, you can significantly reduce the risk of accidents and ensure your well-being during challenging winter weather.

​ Orange County Register 

Alexander: USC’s women roll, and UCLA’s coach sends a harsh message

• March 2, 2025

LOS ANGELES – Winners and losers generally have different ways of looking at things. But after USC’s dismantling of UCLA Saturday night in the most heavily anticipated women’s basketball game of the season to date, those viewpoints were dramatically – drastically – different.

For USC’s Lindsay Gottlieb, her team’s 80-67 victory at Pauley Pavilion – the Women of Troy’s ‘ second vanquishing of the Bruins in a little more than two weeks, this one clinching a Big Ten regular season championship – showed the growth of her team.

“It literally took every single person,” she said. “It was such a team effort. UCLA is as good as advertised. You know, we had to be better to beat them. Beat ’em twice to be the champs.

“This is as fun as it gets, right? You want them to achieve their goals. You want them to experience these moments. … We have an entire team in there, players, coaches, everyone, who are champions. And that bonds you more than anything.”

One group savors the fruits of victory. For the other, it only tastes sour. Or bitter.

And while Gottlieb couldn’t help but gush, her UCLA counterpart, Cori Close, had another message: Get with the program or get out.

This sounded extreme, very much so, for a team that had been No. 1 in the country for 12 weeks, is now 27-2 overall and finished the Big Ten regular season 16-2, and should still be in the running to host NCAA Tournament first round games if it doesn’t do a faceplant at next week’s Big Ten women’s conference tournament in Indianapolis.

And maybe that was Close’s point. For several weeks, even as the Bruins continued to win, she was not satisfied that they were at the top of their game. Maybe this got her players’ attention, an evening in which UCLA shot 36.1 percent, committed 12 turnovers that turned into 25 USC points, couldn’t get the ball into Lauren Betts consistently and trailed by as many as 20 early in the fourth quarter.

“Thanks for all the excitement and coverage and buzz that this group in this room helped us create surrounding this game,” she began her media session, then added, “and just really (ticked) off we didn’t show up and do our jobs.

“They (USC) were tougher and more disciplined. They did their jobs, and we weren’t as tough and we didn’t do our jobs. It’s pretty much like this, and nothing to do with that,” she added, crumpling up a copy of the box score.

“We pretty much said, ‘Look, this is the way this train is going. And if you don’t think you can make changes to be on it, tell us now.’ I want to have everybody that goes with us to Indiana to be going in the same direction. So the way we turn it around is people make a commitment and a choice and they be counted on.”

Later, when asked if her team wanted another crack at USC, be it in the Big Ten tournament or farther down the line, she said, “100 percent, absolutely,” and then added this:

“You’re a competitor? Yes. Bring it on. And if we don’t, there’s something wrong. If anyone in our locker room would answer differently, don’t come back.”

Harsh? Yes.

Necessary? Let’s put it this way: Close knows her team better than we do. I think we can pretty much assume that if she’s willing to say those things in the media room, the postgame message in the locker room was just as biting, if not more so.

She’d said a few weeks ago, when the Bruins were still undefeated, that “creating a sense of discomfort when we are below the standard, when the game doesn’t provide that discomfort,” was occasionally necessary. Saturday night certainly falls into the latter category.

(And no, I am not going to fall prey to the easy one-liner and suggest that Cori has been hanging around Mick Cronin too long.)

Are these teams truly going in different directions? Or is it just a case of USC, now 26-2 overall and 17-1 in the Big Ten, approaching its crescendo at the right time and getting fired up further by the emotion of this ancient rivalry?

Their star is fired up by those blue uniforms, at least. JuJu Watkins had another huge game against the Bruins, ignoring the chants from the UCLA student section and logging 30 points (23 in the first half), five assists, two steals and three blocks. In the first meeting at Galen Center she had 38 points, 11 rebounds and eight blocks. And in four career games against UCLA, she has averaged 31.7 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 38 minutes.

“I think I would be remiss to say, like, playing UCLA doesn’t motivate me extra,” she said, flashing a sly grin. “So that’s an aspect.

“I think when you play with players like Kiki (Iriafen) and the team we have and our seniors, you know you want to do your best. You don’t want to let anybody down. I don’t want to let Coach down. So whatever I have to do to do that and just go out there and have fun, I mean, I’m just out there playing, really.”

This saga is just starting. Both USC and UCLA, as the top teams in the Big Ten standings, will earn double byes in the conference tournament. It starts Wednesday, but both will play their first games Friday.

“At this time of year, rest is really critical,” Gottlieb said. It’s as critical as the work, the recovery. We do treat them in that sense like pros, recovery and rest and me trusting that we’re still going to get the work in with more days, for sure.

“Now, with a double bye, I haven’t thought about it yet, (but) you got to be ready on that first day because another team has played, right? So usually the byes help you later in the tournament. Like we got to be ready to go, but I think we will.”

But, she added, “there’s no question, we put our bodies on the line. They fly around, they need that rest and recovery, and (the extra days will) help us, I think, be ready to go for three games in three days in Indy.”

Without saying so explicitly, Gottlieb nailed the biggest challenge that the L.A. teams, and probably all four of the West Coast additions to the Big Ten, have faced all season, a crazy quilt schedule and insane travel. From that aspect, it certainly makes sense to treat them like pros.

[email protected]

​ Orange County Register 

Local politicians still thwarting homebuilding

• March 2, 2025

When essentially everyone in the know about the regulatory and other hurdles that prevent more housing being built in California agrees about the solutions, and when the Legislature and other state officials somewhat amazingly push through measures that would create more roofs over more heads, it is profoundly disturbing to see that precious little progress has in fact been made toward the goal.

This editorial board supported every single one of the measures created over the last five years that the nonprofit news site CalMatters reports were key to the solutions that never really materialized: “One California law was supposed to flip defunct strip malls across California into apartment-lined corridors. Another was designed to turn under-used church parking lots into fonts of new affordable housing. A third would, according to supporters and opponents alike, ‘end single-family zoning as we know it.’”

In a study of five state laws passed over the last five years aimed at increasing the housing supply in our state, the estimable organization YIMBY Law reports that they had “limited to no impact on the state’s housing supply.”

First, the only good news, from an analysis by UC Davis professor Chris Elmendorf and UC Santa Barbara professor Clayton Nall:  “The ADU boom stands alone. No other form of housing production took off in California during this period.”

In 2023 alone, the state permitted more than 28,000 ADUs — accessory dwelling units, sometimes known as granny flats — and it’s great to see that these innovative backyard ways to house more Californians have been a success after deregulation of formerly onerous rules about single-family neighborhoods was pushed through.

Everything else has been a disappointing disaster.

The bottom line from the Yes in My Backyard folks: “Our analysis of five recent housing production laws finds that their impact has been significantly reduced by local resistance, lack of state enforcement, and unrealistic requirements.”

NIMBYism, it would seem, both at the local governmental level and on the part of neighborhood associations and other groups that theoretically support measures that would reduce rampant homelessness and the high price of housing for so many but still want to maintain the zoning status quo, still runs the game.

“While the hope was that these laws would provide immediate new paths to regulatory relief, they also allow or mandate development requirements that have reduced their effectiveness,” YIMBY Law reported late last month. “Enforcement of these laws is mostly left to local pro-housing activism and private nonprofit housing organizations. While this sector is effective considering its relatively small size, it lacks the capacity and resources it would need to be able to robustly enforce these laws on a statewide scale.”

But the pro-housing group is not giving up, and neither should the rest of us who want to see more housing in California even in the face of resistance from powerful quarters.

Its suggestion for moving forward even in the face of so much cynicism: “The Legislature and executive branch must amend these laws to improve their effectiveness and disincentivize local government noncompliance. The philanthropic community should provide more resources to grassroots pro-housing organizing and private nonprofit enforcement.”

These new measures are known as “clean-up laws” that would prod localities into doing the right thing rather than doing end-arounds that thwart new housing. Cities still try to limit unit sizes and create unreasonable design and subdivision standards rather than allowing duplexes and lot splits in single-family zoned neighborhoods. They also impose job-killing, housing-killing “prevailing wage mandates” that serve unions rather than the vast majority of Californians.

Local politicians need to stop pretending they want to end homelessness when they won’t allow new homes.

​ Orange County Register 

These play kitchens will keep any young cook entertained

• March 2, 2025

What are the best play kitchens for kids?

Play kitchens are popular with all kinds of children as an excellent vehicle for pretend play, whether playing solo, with other kids or adults. Young cooks will love the chance to play at making their own recipes, but kids are creative and can make all kinds of games from a play kitchen.

With so many play kitchens on the market, picking the right one can seem baffling. It’s essential to choose one with all the features and accessories you want your child to have and look at some popular options to discover the best play kitchens.

What do play kitchens include?

What comes with your play kitchen varies depending on the model you choose. Focusing on the kitchen itself, some are more elaborate than others. The most extensive play kitchens may feature cabinets, an oven, a sink, a microwave, a washing machine, a recycling bin, a fridge and a dishwasher. More compact play kitchens will feature a smaller selection from this list. Then you get to accessories, such as pots, pans, utensils and play food. Some play kitchens include a wide range of accessories, while others expect you to buy accessories separately.

How much you can expect to spend on play kitchens

Play kitchens are a relatively significant investment compared to many other toys for young kids. The most elaborate play kitchens can cost as much as $250, but you can find compact options for less than $50. If you want a quality kitchen with a worktop, cabinets and range of appliances, expect to pay $100-$150.

Best play kitchens

KidKraft Ultimate Corner Wooden Play Kitchen

The corner design of this play kitchen gives kids more room to play while the unit tucks neatly into the corner of a room, not taking up too much space. The kitchen features a range of appliances, including an oven, cooktop, sink, fridge and washing machine. It’s made of a wood composite and is available in white or espresso finishes.

Melissa & Doug Wooden Chef’s Pretend Play Kitchen

This quality play kitchen features a fridge, cooker, sink and microwave. There’s some great attention to detail with this play kitchen, such as the ice dispenser that dispenses toy ice cubes and the oven dials that turn and click into place for different temperature settings. While it doesn’t come with any accessories, you can buy it bundled with various accessories.

Little Tikes Super Chef Kitchen

Made from plastic, this play kitchen is simple to assemble and wipes clean easily if kids make a mess. It features a cooker, sink, fridge, microwave and coffee maker, so there’s plenty of options for kids. The oven dials click into place, making electronic cooking sounds while kids are “cooking” food. The kitchen also comes with accessories, such as cups, plates, utensils and a frying pan.

Step2 Fun with Friends Kitchen

A reasonably large toy kitchen that’s perfect for two or three friends to play with together. This is another plastic offering, so it doesn’t look as realistic as wood composite kitchens, but it has some benefits, such as ease of cleaning and assembly. With a cooker, fridge, microwave, coffee maker and sink, plenty is going on. Plus, it comes with a 45-piece kitchen accessory set.

Teamson Kids Little Chef Chelsea Modern Play Kitchen

This contemporary-looking play kitchen is full of clean lines and is available in a range of pale finishes. It features a cooker, sink, fridge and dishwasher and has some great details, such as an ice dispenser and taps that turn. It doesn’t come with many accessories.

Best Choice Products Pretend Play Kitchen

If you’re looking for a stylish toy kitchen, this model fits the bill, with a faux tile backsplash and a chalkboard surface on the cabinet. It comes with some quality utensils and pans for kids to play with, plus fake ice cubes for the ice dispenser. The oven dials click into place, and the cabinets, fridge, oven and other appliances are nicely spacious inside.

Little Tikes First Oven

An excellent choice for parents on a budget or without the space for a larger play kitchen. This isn’t a full play kitchen but rather a play cooker with an oven and a cooktop. It makes realistic cooking sounds and comes with 11 accessories, including play food, a pan and a spatula.

Jumbl Kids Kitchen Set

With a tiled back wall, a chalkboard on the fridge-freezer, and plenty of shelves inside the appliances, a great deal of thought and attention to detail have gone into making this play kitchen both look great and be easy to use. Thanks to some battery-powered elements, it has a microwave that makes sounds when kids press the buttons, a realistic ice dispenser and oven dials that click when turned.

Step2 Lifestyle Custom Kitchen

A plastic play kitchen with a modern design that’s great for little kids. It features a sink, fridge with ice dispenser, cooker, cabinets and a cute little recycling bin. The included 20 piece accessory set is a nice touch and provides plenty for kids to play with, such as pans, bowls, plates, cups and utensils.

Prices listed reflect time and date of publication and are subject to change.

Check out our Daily Deals for the best products at the best prices and sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter full of shopping inspo and sales.

BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. BestReviews and its newspaper partners may earn a commission if you purchase a product through one of our links.

​ Orange County Register 

Guide to no-down-payment mortgages: Am I eligible?

• March 2, 2025

By Andrew Dehan, Bankrate.com

If you qualify for a no-down-payment mortgage, you could get a loan for the full purchase price of a home. Here’s what you need to know.

A no-down-payment mortgage doesn’t require you to make a down payment at closing. With rising home prices, it’s more and more difficult for many buyers to save up for the upfront costs of homeownership. No-down-payment loans eliminate one of the biggest upfront costs.

One-fifth (20%) of aspiring homeowners believe they won’t ever be able to save enough to buy a home, according to Bankrate’s 2025 Down Payment Survey.

The two most prominent no-down-payment mortgages are VA and USDA loans.

VA loans

If you’re a military service member, veteran or surviving spouse, you might qualify for a VA loan guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Unlike a conventional loan, VA loans don’t typically require a down payment, and they don’t charge mortgage insurance. However, you will pay a funding fee, either at closing or by financing it into your mortgage. This fee ranges from 1.25% to 3.3% of the loan amount, and it varies depending on the down payment amount and whether you’ve used a VA loan before. Those who don’t make a down payment, as well as repeat VA loan applicants, pay higher funding fees.

USDA loans

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) guarantees USDA home loans for lower- to moderate-income buyers purchasing homes in eligible rural areas. These loans don’t require a down payment, but there’s an upfront fee — also known as a guarantee fee — of 1% of the principal loan amount which can be financed into the mortgage. On top of that, there’s an annual fee of 0.35% of the loan amount which lasts for the life of the loan. The only way to remove this annual fee is to refinance to a non-USDA loan.

Other zero-down mortgage options

• New York-based Sunmark Credit Union offers a no-down-payment option — known as a Dream Bigger mortgage — without permanent mortgage insurance.
• If you’re in the medical field and have school debt, you may qualify for a no-down-payment physician mortgage. These allow higher debt-to-income DTI ratios, provided you have the income to afford monthly payments.
• Most loan types allow gift funds as part of the down payment — or the whole thing. If you have a family member or friend willing to give you money toward your home, you may be able to avoid putting money down.

If you aren’t eligible for a true no-money-down home loan, you might still qualify for a low-down-payment mortgage.

3% conventional loans

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — the two government-sponsored enterprises underpinning mortgages in the U.S. — back several 3-percent-down conventional loan programs: Conventional 97, HomeReady, Home Possible and HomeOne.

You will be required to pay for private mortgage insurance (PMI). PMI varies in cost depending on your down payment amount and credit score. Once you reach 80% loan-to-value (LTV) on your home, you can request the lender remove PMI. Otherwise, it will automatically come off once you reach 78% LTV.

FHA loans

Insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), an FHA loan requires only 3.5% down with a credit score as low as 580. If you have a credit score between 500 and 579, you’ll need to put 10% down.

Similar to PMI, you’ll pay FHA mortgage insurance with an FHA loan. However, unlike conventional PMI, you’ll pay both an upfront mortgage insurance premium (MIP) at closing and an annual MIP divvied up between your monthly payments. The upfront MIP equals 1.75% of your loan amount, and the annual MIP varies depending on your down payment and other factors. If you make a down payment of 10% or more, you’ll pay the annual MIP for 11 years. Otherwise, you’ll pay it for the life of the loan.

1% down mortgage programs

Some mortgage lenders offer conventional mortgage programs that require only 1% down, including Rocket Mortgage’s ONE+ program. In this case, the lender pays 2% of the required 3% down payment for a HomeReady or Home Possible loan, and you need only provide the remaining 1%.

Good Neighbor Next Door

The Good Neighbor Next Door (GNND) program is for borrowers who work in select public service professions — teachers, firefighters, law enforcement and emergency medical technicians — and plan to buy a home in a qualifying area. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the program provides a discount of up to 50% on the list price of a qualifying home.

Pros and cons of a no-down-payment mortgage

The ability to buy a home with no or very little money down can be appealing, but there are drawbacks, too.

The pros of no-down-payment mortgages include:

• You can buy a home now instead of later. When you don’t have to come up with a substantial down payment, you won’t have to save up as much money to buy a home.
• You can keep more cash on hand. Even if you have enough to make a sizable down payment, you might want to keep that money liquid for things like emergency savings, remodeling or investing.

The cons of no-down-payment mortgages include:

• You’ll have no or little equity. Home equity is the portion of your home that isn’t financed by a mortgage. When you start with a low- or zero-down loan, you’ll have little to no equity. If home values fall, you could end up owing more on the home than it’s worth, making it difficult to sell or refinance.
• Your interest rate might be higher. You might pay a higher interest rate for a no- or low-money-down loan. That’s because, with less money tied up in the home, a mortgage lender might view you as more of a risk. Of course, the higher your interest rate, the more you’ll pay overall.
• You’ll need a bigger mortgage. The less you put down, the more you’ll need to borrow, which means you’ll pay more in interest over the life of the loan.
• You’ll pay fees. Both VA and USDA loans come with fees, which add to the cost of the loan.

No-down-payment mortgages are geared toward buyers with limited savings who want the security of owning a home. While they’re a great option for those who qualify, they also come with extra fees. You’ll pay less for your loan over time if you can afford to make a down payment.

FAQ

What credit score do I need to buy a house with no money down?

The Department of Veteran Affairs and the U.S. Department of Agriculture don’t set a minimum credit score requirement for VA and USDA loans, respectively. However, most lenders offering these loans do, and they’d want them to be at least in the “fair” range: 620 for VA loans, 640 for USDA loans.

What are my alternatives if I don’t qualify for a low-money-down loan?

If you don’t qualify for a no- or low-down-payment mortgage, a down payment assistance program might help. These programs typically offer loans or grants to first-time or repeat homebuyers within certain income thresholds based on location. The money can often be applied to both the down payment and closing costs.

©2025 Bankrate.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

​ Orange County Register 

Despite arrest, no-contact order, court admission, water polo star continues to compete and teach

• March 2, 2025

Lucca van der Woude is one of American water polo’s brightest Olympic prospects.

This past fall, the 6-foot-4 defender was named the Orange County Register’s high school player of the year. He is a prized commitment for UCLA, the reigning NCAA champion. He is a star on USA Water Polo’s national youth team, often a stepping stone to the Olympic and World Championships teams. And in December, the sport’s national governing body enlisted him to mentor the next decade’s potential Olympians.

He is also an admitted sex offender.

Van der Woude, 17, admitted in Los Angeles County Juvenile Division Court on Nov. 7 to committing aggravated sexual battery on two younger male Harvard-Westlake students between Sept. 1, 2022, and Dec. 20, 2023, according to previously unreported Los Angeles County Juvenile Court, Los Angeles County Probation Department and U.S. Center for SafeSport documents obtained by the Southern California News Group (SCNG).

Van der Woude’s admission to sexual penetration with a foreign object, his fingers, was part of a plea bargain deal with prosecutors. He is scheduled to appear at a March 7 hearing to determine whether he has complied with the terms of the agreement.

Neither van der Woude’s admission nor his arrest at Harvard-Westlake nine months earlier have prevented him from transferring high schools, leading his new school, Newport Harbor, to a CIF title, representing Team USA internationally or in December mentoring the nation’s top 13- and 14-year-olds at a camp sponsored by USA Water Polo, the sport’s Irvine-based national governing body, at the nation’s most prestigious Olympic training site.

Los Angeles County Probation Department Court documents, a sworn victim impact statement presented in Los Angeles Juvenile Court, sworn affidavits by a Harvard-Westlake player and one of his parents, and allegations in a series of complaints to the U.S. Center for SafeSport outline how Harvard-Westlake coaches and administrators failed to report allegations of van der Woude’s sexual battery to the victims’ parents or law enforcement officials, as required by law, or the U.S. Center for SafeSport. Harvard-Westlake coaches also ignored and minimized repeated racist comments directed by van der Woude toward teammates, according to allegations in the sworn victim impact statement presented in juvenile court, sworn affidavits and complaints with the U.S. Center for SafeSport.

Jack Grover, Harvard-Westlake head coach and the director of Los Angeles Premier Water Polo, a USA Water Polo-affiliated club, is under formal investigation by the U.S. Center for SafeSport for failing to report the sexual misconduct immediately to the center as required by the SafeSport code, according to a Jan. 14 SafeSport email obtained by the SCNG.

One of the Harvard-Westlake and Los Angeles Premier teammates, van der Woude has admitted sexually battering is identified in this report as Player Z to protect his identity.

“He had the courage to speak up about being sexually assaulted, and Harvard-Westlake’s answer has been to call him a liar and look the other way,” said Daniel Watkins, an attorney for Meier Watkins LLP and who represents Player Z and his family. “They failed to protect him when it mattered most, then retaliated against him and tried to silence him for daring to speak the truth. The community deserves accountability, and no institution — no matter how powerful — can escape its day of reckoning.”

The U.S. Center for SafeSport was informed on April 11, 2024, of allegations of van der Woude’s sexual battery of two Harvard-Westlake students and was provided with the names of school employees with alleged knowledge of the incidents, yet van der Woude has continued to be invited to and participate, both as a player and mentor, in USA Water Polo training camps and international tournaments designed to identify and develop future Olympians, according to SafeSport documents and USA Water Polo records.

“An individual — like Lucca van der Woude — who has sexually battered multiple teammates multiple times, and over the course of years; lied and misled authorities about his criminal conduct, until he admitted them in court; defamed his victims in an attempt to protect his own reputation; and violated no-contact orders almost two dozen times while playing in USA Water Polo-sanctioned events (without informing USA Water Polo), should not be allowed to participate in USA Water Polo,” the parent of one of his Harvard-Westlake victims alleged in a complaint to the U.S. Center for SafeSport.

USA Water Polo invited van der Woude to work as a “mentor” at a USAWP-sponsored Holiday Camp for the nation’s top eighth-grade players in December at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. His participation in the camp came five months after USA Water Polo officials were informed by his attorney that he had a court-ordered no-contact restriction placed on him prohibiting him from being in the pool or locker-room at the same time as a Harvard-Westlake and Team USA teammate and that the court order was related to “sexual misconduct,” according to allegations in U.S. Center for SafeSport complaints, sworn affidavits and a person with direct knowledge of the conversations. The teammate is one of the individuals van der Woude has since admitted to sexually battering.

Sally Wiggins, USA Water Polo chief of compliance and human resources, and Anne Laurence, the organization’s senior director of the Olympic Development Program and Pipeline, were among those informed of the no-contact order in July 2024, according to interviews.

Despite the no-contact order issued on April 26 and that runs through March 7, van der Woude has had contact with one victim on at least 23 occasions at USA Water Polo-sanctioned national team selection and training camps, top flight tournaments and international competitions with Team USA, according to allegations made to SafeSport by a Harvard-Westlake and Los Angeles Premier Water Polo player and his parents, other SafeSport documents, USA Water Polo records and interviews.

Prior to the court order but after his arrest, van der Woude had contact with Player Z at two USA Water Polo events. At an Olympic Development Program practice conducted by USA Water Polo in Thousand Oaks on March 10, “There was significant physical contact in the pool” between van der Woude and a Harvard-Westlake and Los Angeles Premier Water Polo Club teammate, Player Z, according to allegations in a complaint to SafeSport.

During a National Team Selection Camp in Fullerton, April 19-21, also organized by USA Water Polo, there was again “physical contact” in the pool between van der Woude and Player Z, according to a SafeSport complaint.

Van der Woude remains on USA Water Polo’s national youth team roster even though the  U.S. Center for SafeSport temporarily suspended him on January 14, 2025, from participating in any way in any event sanctioned by USA Water Polo, including matches or practices, while it continues its investigation of him, according to SafeSport documents and interviews conducted by the SCNG.

Van der Woude’s arrest also raises questions about whether his transfer from Harvard-Westlake to Newport Harbor violated CIF Southern Section rules. The CIF Southern Section approved the transfer on Aug. 22 because of a “Valid Change of Residence,” according to the CIF Southern Section website.

“CIF Defined ‘Valid Change of Residence’ certified by the receiving school in accordance with bylaw 206 and all other applicable eligibility rules; student is eligible in all sports at any level. If it is later found that the student DID NOT complete a valid change in accordance with the Bylaw, the school will forfeit any contests in which the student played,” the CIF Southern Section wrote regarding the van der Woude transfer.

But CIF Southern Section rules also state, “Students who have disciplinary action taken or pending at the previous school are not eligible to transfer” and “Students who left a school for disciplinary reasons are not eligible to participate in athletics at the new school.”

Van der Woude’s family moved into a home in Costa Mesa in June, according to property records, although probation department records list his home in Sherman Oaks.

Newport Harbor’s CIF final victory, led by van der Woude, secured the school’s 15th CIF title in boys water polo, a record for Southern Section boys water polo. The team featured two other key seniors besides van der Woude, who joined the team as offseason transfers.

“We followed the proper CIF process, and the student was deemed eligible to compete,” Annette Franco, the Newport-Mesa Unified School District public relations officer, said in an email to the SCNG. “For any further questions regarding this matter, we recommend you contact CIF Southern Section.”

Grover, an honorable mention All-American at UCLA, was an assistant coach on USA Water Polo’s national team for the World Aquatics U-16 Championships last June 18-24 in Malta, according to USA Water Polo press releases. Team USA’s head coach for the tournament was Ross Sinclair, the Newport Harbor High School head coach and director of Newport Beach Water Polo, a USA Water Polo-affiliated club.

Sinclair declined to comment for this article.

Van der Woude’s continued participation also raises questions about the U.S. Center for SafeSport policy of not listing banned or suspended minor athletes in its public database of disciplined coaches, athletes and officials. The Center does not list disciplinary action taken against minor-age athletes or participants because of legal concerns. Athlete safety advocates argue that the policy prevents parents from knowing if the minor-aged individuals their children are teammates with, playing against or being coached by have been sanctioned for sexual, physical or emotional abuse, bullying for racist behavior.

“The Center’s Centralized Disciplinary Database (CDD) is the first of its kind and is key to enforcing its sanctions and ensuring better accountability,” the U.S. Center for SafeSport said in a statement to SCNG. “Federal law requires the Center to list adult participants who have been barred from sport on the CDD. There are a myriad of reasons the courts, criminal justice system, and administrative entities such as the Center handle sanctions against minors differently. The USOPC and NGBs are notified of all measures, including those involving minors, and have the same obligation to enforce those as they do an adult participant. Failing to enforce the Center’s findings and measures, is a violation of the SafeSport Code and could lead to its own disciplinary outcome.”

Van der Woude, over the 16-month period, allegedly sexually battered a teammate in and out of the pool, according to probation department and U.S. Center for SafeSport documents obtained by the SCNG as well as interviews and two sworn affidavits. He also allegedly ambushed the teammate in the shower, kneed him in the testicles, squeezed his penis, whipped him with a stretching band as if he were a slave and routinely directed the N-Word and other racist comments at Harvard-Westlake and Los Angeles Premier Water Polo Club teammates, according to allegations in a sworn victim impact statement and U.S. Center for SafeSport complaints, emails, sworn affidavits and interviews.

One of the victims, Player Z, was 14 when he was first sexually battered by van der Woude, according to juvenile court and U.S. Center for SafeSport documents.

Harvard-Westlake officials failed to notify parents that their children had been allegedly sexually battered by van der Woude after the two victims confirmed to two school administrators in December 2023 that they had been sexually abused by the star player, a former Harvard-Westlake player and his parents allege in a victim impact statement provided to juvenile court, U.S. Center for SafeSport documents and sworn affidavits obtained by the SCNG.

Player Z’s parents did not learn about van der Woude’s sexual battery of their son until Player Z confirmed the allegations in an interview with a Los Angeles Police Department detective on Feb. 29, 2024, a day after van der Woude was arrested in class at Harvard-Westlake, according to sworn affidavits, complaints to SafeSport, emails and interviews.

When asked by the family in May to provide documents on the sexual battery, the school denied having any information about the incidents, according to a person familiar with the conversation.

The Los Angeles Police Department was notified of van der Woude’s alleged sexual battery by the parent of a different Harvard-Westlake parent, according to a person familiar with the case.

“Harvard-Westlake has never reported allegations to any authorities,” Player Z’s parents allege in multiple SafeSport complaints.

Susan Oliver, an attorney representing Harvard-Westlake, did not respond to a request for comment. Instead Dana Furman, a senior partner at Tyson-Mendes, Oliver’s law firm, emailed the SCNG a statement: “Our firm does not have any comment beyond recognizing that we represent Harvard-Westlake, a school Mr. van der Woude formerly attended.”

Richard Commons, the Harvard-Westlake president, did not address specific allegations against the school and its employees but in a statement said, “In regard to your questions, the school took reports of the alleged incident seriously, followed with responsible actions to investigate, and cooperated with law enforcement officials who further investigated the allegations. The school complied with all mandated reporter requirements.

“The school also took action to examine its water polo program and culture, including its policies and practices, and initiated additional training consistent with the National Federation of State High School Associations and California Interscholastic Federation.”

Grover did not respond to multiple phone calls requesting comment or to a detailed email from the SCNG outlining the allegations against van der Woude and him.

Van der Woude was declared “a ward of the court” during the Nov. 7 hearing, according to Los Angeles County Probation Department documents. He was also ordered to pay $75,000 in restitution to the family of one of the victims. The document does not state what if any amount van der Woude was ordered to pay the other victim. Van der Woude is required to report to a probation officer in Van Nuys, according to juvenile court and probation records.

Van der Woude’s attorney declined to comment. The SCNG provided van der Woude a detailed list of the allegations against him. He did not respond to a request seeking comment.

UCLA head coach Adam Wright did not respond to a request for comment.

Juvenile court proceedings and records are not public. The SCNG typically does not name juvenile offenders but is doing so in this case because of van der Woude’s continued interaction with minors.

‘Living and learning with integrity’

Harvard-Westlake has been described by the Hollywood Reporter as “the titan of L.A.’s private schools.”

Its alumni include Grammy and Golden Globe winners, Academy Award- and Emmy-nominated actors, directors and screenwriters, former Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti, former California Gov. Gray Davis, tycoon Jean Paul Getty Sr., Olympic gold medalists, a president of ABC News, the co-founder of Zillow, astronaut Sally Ride, a member of Great Britain’s Parliament, and H.R. Haldeman, Richard Nixon’s chief of staff during the Watergate scandal.

Harvard School, a military boarding school for boys, was founded in 1900 in a barley field at the corner of Western Avenue and Venice Boulevard. The Westlake School for girls was established four years later. The two schools merged in 1991. The school is not affiliated with Harvard University. Today the school is split between two campuses, a middle school campus in Holmby Hills with the “Upper School,” the high school, located in Studio City.

Of the school’s roughly 290 graduates last year, 48 went on to attend Ivy League schools, 14 enrolling in Harvard alone. Harvard-Westlake’s annual tuition is $52,500 with additional expenses for meals, books and activities running between $2,500 and $3,500. New students must also pay a $2,500 fee. The school reported revenues of $154 million for the 2024 fiscal year and $656 million in assets, according to an Internal Revenue Service filing.

“Harvard-Westlake strives to be a diverse and inclusive community united by the joyful pursuit of educational excellence, living and learning with integrity, and purpose beyond ourselves,” the school said on its website.

But minority students were allegedly subjected to racist comments by van Der Woude on almost a daily basis, according to Player Z’s juvenile court victim impact statement, complaints to SafeSport and interviews. The racist comments began during a Harvard-Westlake team trip to Barcelona in March 2023.

When Black players told coaches about being subjected to being called the N-word or variations of it, on a daily basis by van Der Woude and another teammate, the coaches did not believe them, according to allegations in the victim impact statement and SafeSport complaints. Even after a player admitted to using the racial slur, Harvard-Westlake coaches did not punish the player but instead took the path of what Player Z described in his victim impact statement as “granting him grace.” Player Z’s parents make similar allegations in sworn affidavits and SafeSport complaints.

Van der Woude’s sexual battery and his racist comments allegedly continued into the fall of 2023, according to interviews, a sworn victim impact statement provided to juvenile court and Los Angeles County Probation Department documents, SafeSport complaints and sworn affidavits.

At least one other Harvard-Westlake player besides van Der Woude directed a racial slur at a teammate, according to two sworn affidavits. Three Harvard-Westlake teammates allegedly pressured the player the racial slur was directed at not to report the incident to school officials, according to two sworn affidavits and interviews.

That October, a van der Woude racist comment to a teammate prompted that player’s mother to call Player Z’s father “crying to tell him about it,” Player Z said.

“My parents then asked me whether that ever happened to me, and I admitted to them for the first time that it happened virtually every day, and we had a long conversation about how much worse things had become since the Barcelona trip,” Player Z said in his victim impact statement. “That night I also decided that it was time to stand up against that kind of racism given the impact I saw it was having on my teammate.

“After I disclosed to the coaching staff that Lucca and another student had been using this racist language for several months, there was an investigation and when it was over Lucca and the other teammate were suspended from playing two games.

“And just like that my situation went from very bad to sometimes unmanageable. I would sometimes eat my lunch in the dean’s office just to have a break as more lies were spread about me. Even a coach told me that my only option was to turn the other cheek and try to be a good teammate while being shunned by most people on the team because I disclosed what happened to me. If I tried to focus alone and give them space, they said I thought I was better than them, if I tried to be a part of the group, they ignored me. I knew that I was alone, and it was a very difficult time in my life.”

It would get worse.

“The first time that I told someone about how Lucca was touching me was in December 2023,” Player Z said. “(Another Harvard-Westlake student) seemed very traumatized after the incident with Lucca. He was discussing his experience with two of the deans, and I was sitting next to him for support. Lucca denied assaulting (the other student), and so no one believed (the other student), but I told (the other student) and the two Harvard-Westlake deans that I believed him because it had been happening to me for a long time.”

Player Z said he met with Jordan Church, Harvard-Westlake’s dean of students, and Sharon Cuseo, dean of the school’s upper campus, according to sworn affidavits and interviews.

Player Z outlined to Harvard-Westlake administration officials that van der Woude’s sexual battery began the first day of freshman water polo practice in August 2022 and had “continued (both inside and outside the pool) until December 2023,” according to SafeSport complaints.

“Harvard-Westlake did not report it to any authorities or to us, as (Player Z’s) parents,” the player’s parents wrote in a Dec. 5, 2024, complaint to SafeSport. Church and Cuseo did not respond to phone messages or detailed emails outlining the allegations against van der Woude and the school.

Two months later, van der Woude was arrested by LAPD at school. Although he did not return to the school after the arrest, Harvard-Westlake players and some of their classmates lashed out at van der Woude’s victims, students and parents allege in SafeSport complaints and sworn affidavits and Player Z’s victim impact statement. Van der Woude eventually admitted to aggravated sexual battery, a crime punishable by up to one-year imprisonment. With the admission, he avoided a trial scheduled for Nov. 19.

“Believe it or not, even after Lucca was arrested at the end of February 2024, my time at Harvard-Westlake became even more toxic,” Player Z said. “People assumed that I had called the police or reported Lucca’s behavior, but I had not.”

A sibling at the school’s middle school campus “began receiving threats about what people thought that I had done,” Player Z said. “(The sibling) was being told that our family had messed with the wrong people.”

At one point, the sibling retreated to the dean’s office, afraid to remain at the school.

Player Z’s parents withdrew him from Harvard-Westlake last May 6. In doing so, the parents “expressly cited (among other things) the school’s failure to protect from aggravated sexual battery and to comply with its mandatory reporting obligations,” according to the Dec. 5 SafeSport complaint.

“I will not, I cannot let this defeat me,” Player Z said in his victim impact statement. “I try every day to turn it around and try to use these disgusting memories to make me a better person.”

Failure to report

One of the Harvard-Westlake employees who allegedly received the May 6 email was Grover, according to sworn affidavits, SafeSport complaints and interviews.

Player Z and his parents allege that Grover was aware of the sexual battery of the two players as early as December 2023 and then again when van der Woude was arrested at the school on Feb. 28, 2024.

The U.S. Center for SafeSport, established in 2017 under the authorization of Congress, has the scope and authority to resolve abuse and misconduct reports for more than 11 million athletes participating in the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic movement. The center is also charged with developing and enforcing policies, procedures and training to prevent abuse and misconduct. The Center’s SafeSport Code governs all participants in the American Olympic movement.

The SafeSport code prohibits sexual harassment, nonconsensual sexual contact (or attempts to commit the same), nonconsensual sexual intercourse (or attempts to commit the same), sexual exploitation, exposing a minor to sexual content/imagery and sexual bullying behavior and sexual hazing.

The SafeSport Code also states that “Criminal Conduct is relevant to an individual’s fitness to participate in sport. The age of a Criminal Charge or Disposition is not relevant to whether a violation of the Code occurred but may be considered for Sanctioning purposes.”

Under the California Penal Code, school employees such as teachers, coaches, employees and administrators are considered “mandated reporters” of child abuse, including sexual abuse, or neglect to a police or sheriff’s department (not including the school district police department or school security department), a county probation department or a county welfare department or county child protective services.

Failure to report is punishable by up to six months in jail and/or up to a $1,000 fine.

The SafeSport Code also requires that “an adult participant,” such as a coach “who learns of information or reasonably suspects that a child has suffered an incident of child abuse, including sexual abuse, must immediately: a. Make a report to law enforcement AND b. Make a report to the U.S. Center for SafeSport AND c. Comply with any other applicable reporting requirements under state law.”

“Reporting to the Center alone is not sufficient,” the Code states. “You must report to both the Center and to law enforcement, and comply with any other applicable state or federal laws.

“Adult Participants must know their reporting requirements under this Code, state law, and federal law. Ignorance or mistake as to one’s reporting obligation is not a defense.

“Nothing in this Code shall be construed to require a victim of Child Abuse or other misconduct to self-report. The reporting requirements under this section are an individual obligation of each Adult Participant. Reporting to a supervisor or administrator does not relieve an Adult Participant of the obligations to report as specified under this section. Adult Participants must report even if they believe someone else has already reported. Adult Participants must follow any other reporting requirements imposed by their organization, including adherence to state and federal laws.

“The obligation to report is broader than reporting a pending charge or criminal arrest of a Participant; it requires reporting to the Center any conduct which, if true, would constitute Sexual Misconduct or Child Abuse. The obligation to report to the Center is an ongoing one and is not satisfied simply by making an initial report. The obligation includes reporting, on a timely basis, all information of which an Adult Participant becomes aware, including the names of witnesses, third-party reporters, and Claimants. The obligation to report includes providing the personally identifying information of a potential Claimant to the extent known at the time of the report, as well as a duty to reasonably supplement the report as to identifying information learned at a later time.”

The U.S. Center for SafeSport typically only opens formal failure-to-report investigations of adult participants if there is no record of the adult reporting alleged sexual abuse to the Center, according to two people familiar with the process.

The SafeSport Code also prohibits hazing, including “Ridiculing, taunting, name-calling, or intimidating or threatening to cause someone harm.” It also prohibits harassment that reflects “a discriminatory bias in an attempt to establish dominance, superiority, or power over an individual or group based on age, race, ethnicity, culture, religion, national origin, or mental or physical disability; or Any act or conduct described as harassment under federal or state law.”

Player Z and his family said they did not learn of the no-contact court order against van der Woude until July 26, 2024, shortly before Player Z was scheduled to travel with the U.S. national youth team for a tournament in Budapest. Van der Woude was also scheduled to compete for Team USA in Budapest.

“We immediately notified the Court that Lucca and (Player Z) would be participating on the same team in a USAWP Youth National Team tournament in Budapest, from August 1-3, 2024,” Player Z’s parents wrote in a formal complaint to SafeSport. “But Lucca headed to Budapest for this tournament without first telling USAWP about his no-contact order. On the day of Lucca’s arrival, his attorney notified (USA Water Polo high performance director) Kyle Boal and (Team USA) Coach Derek Clappis of the no-contact order. Mr. Boal understandably explained that there was no way that Lucca and (Player Z) could be on the same team without violating the Court’s no-contact order. As the Court had noted, however, it was Lucca’s responsibility to comply with the Court order, and during the Budapest trip, Lucca violated the no-contact order at least seven times. When these violations were raised with the Court, prior to Lucca’s scheduled trial, Lucca’s attorney blamed USA Water Polo.”

Shortly after the U.S. team arrived in Budapest, at around 1 a.m. local time, Boal said in an interview with the SCNG, “I get a phone call from Lucca’s attorney. She was the first person that told me about (the no-contact order).”

He and Clappis found out about the court order “in a pretty drastic way.”

The attorney, Boal said, admitted that the court order was related to “sexual misconduct” but “didn’t say much more.”

Clappis did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Boal said he informed Wiggins and Laurence shortly after receiving the call from van der Woude’s attorney.

Player Z suffered a panic attack during the Budapest trip, his parents wrote in a letter to SafeSport.

Their son, they continued, “as all victims, should not be penalized or further victimized because Lucca has perpetrated these crimes against him.

“Lucca’s actions are unacceptable and his behavior in ignoring and blatantly violating no-contact orders raises serious questions about (Player Z’s) safety and that of other water polo athletes.”

Despite USA Water Polo officials being made aware of the court-ordered no-contact restriction on van der Woude, the national governing body still invited van der Woude to the December Holiday Camp at the USOPC Training Center in Colorado Springs.

The Holiday Camp, established in 1985, is described by USA Water Polo as “one of its greatest events” where the sport’s rising stars “learn from some of the best coaches our country has to offer.”

The camp is overseen by USA Water Polo’s Olympic Development Program (ODP), the department headed by Laurence.

Laurence and Wiggins did not respond to phone calls or emails requesting comment.

“They invite some seniors to come and, like, mentor and help out,” van der Woude told the SCNG in December after working at the camp. “And, yeah, I went. It was fun. I like coaching a lot. So it was kind of fun, like, help coach, like, younger kids.”

During the interview, Sinclair said that van der Woude had indeed “inquired” about coaching at Newport Beach Water Polo and the coach said van der Woude be coaching younger players.

“The 10s, 12s, 14s,” Sinclair said, referring to the ages of the players he envisioned van der Woude coaching.

In reading his victim impact statement to the juvenile court last November, Player Z recalled that he was just 14 when van der Woude first sexually battered him.

He also recalled the last time.

“That was in December 2023,” Player Z said, referring to a period after he had informed Harvard-Westlake officials about being sexually battered by van der Woude for the previous 16 months.

“I was walking up a staircase at school and Lucca was walking up behind me and (sexually battered me),” he continued. “I was really shocked, because everyone was talking about it and I figured at this point even he would decide to stop. I reacted the way that I often did, which was to clench my butt cheeks, to swat away his hand, and to try to act like it wasn’t happening, and he still did it and gave the same awful smile after.”

Staff writer Dan Albano contributed to this report.

​ Orange County Register 

Getting a lot of unwanted phone calls? Here are ways to stop them

• March 2, 2025

By KELVIN CHAN, Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Unwanted phone calls are out of control. Whether it’s a robocall trying to sell you something or spam calls from scammers trying to rip you off, it’s enough to make you want to stop answering your phone. So what can you do to stop them?

The scourge of unwanted phone calls has been branded an epidemic by consumer groups, while the Federal Communications Commission says it’s the top consumer complaint. The calls are a nuisance to many ordinary people, some of whom have complained to The Associated Press.

“I need help on getting spam calls to stop,” one reader said in an email. She’s getting up to 14 calls a day despite the countermeasures she’s employed.

As the name implies, robocalls are automated calls to deliver recorded messages to a large number of phones. A robocall purely to deliver a message or collect a debt is allowed under U.S. regulations, but the Federal Trade Commission says robocalls with a recorded voice trying to sell you something are illegal unless you’ve given explicit written permission to receive them. Many robocalls are also probably scams, the FTC warns.

If you’re flooded by unsolicited calls, here are some ways to fight back.

Phone settings

Smartphone users can turn on some built-in settings to combat unknown calls.

Apple advises iPhone users to turn on the Silence Unknown Callers feature. Go to your “Settings,” then scroll down to “Apps,” and then to “Phone,” where you’ll see it under the “Calls” section. When you turn this on, any calls from numbers that you’ve never been in touch with and aren’t saved in your contacts list will not ring through. Instead, they’ll be sent to voicemail and show up in your list of recent calls.

Android has a similar setting that allows you to block calls from private or unidentified numbers, although you will still receive calls from numbers that aren’t stored in your contact list.

After this story was first published, a reader wrote in with a workaround for that problem: Leave your Android phone on Do Not Disturb but configure it so that anyone on your Contacts list is allowed to interrupt.

Just keep in mind that you could also end up not getting important calls, which sometimes come from unknown numbers.

If an unwanted call does get through, both Android and iPhone users can block the individual phone number by tapping on it in the recent callers or call history list. You can also enter numbers directly into your phone’s block list.

Do not call

Sign up for the national Do Not Call registry, which is a list of numbers that have opted out of most telemarketing calls. The Federal Trade Commission, which runs the registry, says it only contains phone numbers and holds no other personally identifiable information, nor does the registry know whether the number is for a landline or a cellphone.

The FTC says there are some exemptions, including political calls, calls from non-profit groups and charities, and legitimate survey groups that aren’t selling anything. Also allowed are calls from companies up to 18 months after you’ve done — or sought to do — business with them.

But it also warns that while having your number on the registry will cut down on unwanted sales calls, it won’t stop scammers from making illegal calls.

Other countries have similar registries. Canada has its own Do Not Call list while the U.K. has the Telephone Preference Service.

Carrier filters

Check whether your wireless carrier has a call-blocking service. Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T, three of the biggest U.S. networks, all have their own call filters for customers to block robocalls and report spam. There’s typically a free basic version and an advanced version that requires a subscription fee.

Try an app

If your phone company’s filters aren’t good enough, try third-party apps to weed out unwanted callers.

There are a host of smartphone apps available that promise to block spam calls, like Nomorobo, YouMail, Hiya, RoboKiller, TrueCaller and others. Many charge a monthly or annual subscription fee but some offer a free basic option. Some also can be installed on landline phones, but only if they use VOIP technology, not copper cables.

The Associated Press hasn’t tested any of these apps and isn’t making specific recommendations. We recommend you read user reviews and try some out for yourself.

Apple says the apps work by comparing a caller’s number with a list of known numbers and labeling them, for example, spam or telemarketing. Then it might automatically block the call. “Incoming calls are never sent to third-party developers,” the company says.

Report calls

Did you know you can file a complaint with the FCC about specific spam calls? You can do so easily through an online form. It might not give you immediate satisfaction, but the National Consumer Law Center says data on complaints is the best tool federal agencies have for determining how big a problem robocalls are.

Just say no

While companies you’ve done business with can make robocalls to you, the National Consumer Law Center says it’s probably because you gave consent – possibly hidden in fine print. But you can also revoke your consent at any time.

Just tell the company representative that you want to “revoke consent,” and if that doesn’t stop them, contact customer service and tell them that you don’t consent to receive calls and want your number added to the company’s “do not call” list, the center says.

Hang up

You might be tempted to try to engage with the call in an attempt to get your number off the call list or be put through to a real person. The FTC warns against doing this and recommends that you just hang up.

“Pressing numbers to speak to someone or remove you from the list will probably only lead to more robocalls,” the agency says on its advice page. “And the number on your caller ID probably isn’t real. Caller ID is easy to fake” and can’t be trusted, it says.

Cybersecurity company Kaspersky advises not even saying anything when you receive what you think is a robocall. We’ve all received scammy calls that start with something like “Hello, can you hear me?” to which you’ve probably replied “yes” without thinking.

Scammers “can then store the recording of your confirmation and use it for fraudulent activities,” Kaspersky says. “So, avoid saying yes where possible.”

​ Orange County Register 

Former Rep. Chris Cox skewers President Wilson

• March 2, 2025

It was great seeing former Orange County Rep. Chris Cox recently at a Pacific Research Institute event at the Pacific Club in Newport Beach. He gave a talk on his new book, “Woodrow Wilson: The Light Withdrawn,” of which I’m only going to review the portions on domestic policy. If you’re reading this on anything connected to the internet, thank Chris for his 1998 Internet Tax Freedom Act, made permanent in 2016. It prevents direct taxes by state and local governments on such things as email and usage bytes.  

Not so averse to taxes was Wilson, who imposed the dreaded federal income tax in 1913 with the 16th Amendment. It started out at 7%, but Wilson soon raised it to 77% in 1918 to pay for World War I. Originally only a tax on rich people, Cox writes, “with annual inflation raging at 18%, millions of taxpayers were being pushed into higher tax brackets each year …. The elderly living on meager savings and the indigent were hardest hit.” Price controls squeezed farmers, who couldn’t raise prices to pay for the higher taxes.

Wilson, Chris said in his talk, long has been considered part of the progressive movement that brought us not only the income tax, but in 1913 the Federal Reserve Board, in 1919 alcohol Prohibition with the 18th Amendment and in 1920 women’s suffrage with the 19th Amendment and throughout that time moves to improve conditions for Black Americans.

But on the last two, Cox said, Wilson was regressive. He made his mark in the northeast as a professor and president of Princeton University in New Jersey, then as governor of the Garden State. But he grew up in Virginia, Georgia and the Carolinas and, as president of Princeton, wrote “slavery was not so dark as painted.”  

After Reconstruction ended with the Compromise of 1877, the South quickly re-segregated. And in 1913, when Wilson became president, Chris writes, “Jim Crow and the Democratic Party ruled every state government” in the South. But in the federal government, “For years, Black and white government employees had worked together in the same offices and at the same machines, desks and tables.”

Wilson changed that. At a cabinet meeting, Postmaster General Albert Burleson, the son of a Confederate Army major, pushed for resegregation not only in his department, but “in all departments of the government” as “best for the Negro.”

Navy Secretary Joseph Daniels wrote of the meeting in his diary, the “subjection of the Negro, politically, and the separation of the Negro, socially, are paramount.” Wilson set back civil rights half a century.

Wilson also strongly opposed giving women the vote. Cox writes that led to “protests against the president.” In fall 1917, “successive waves of volunteers continued to carry banners in silence to the sidewalk in front of the White House. Each time, they were arrested, summarily convicted of ‘obstructing justice,’ and shipped off to serve ever-longer sentences at Occoquan and the District Jail.”

Both jails normally were segregated. But the white and Black suffragettes were put in the same cells, which “quickly backfired. It did not take long for the white newcomers to befriend their fellow inmates, and to learn from them.” The women were treated badly and their health declined until released.

Eventually, Congress and the states ignored Wilson and enacted the 19th Amendment. In 1922, out of office and his health rapidly declining, he said to Rep. Cordell Hull of the women then voting, “I shall be very much disappointed in them if they have forgotten that they are chiefly indebted to me for the suffrage.”

Wilson also weaponized the Secret Service, convincing “Democratic congressional leaders to appropriate $100 million (equivalent to $2.3 billion today) for the Secret Service, ‘to be expended at the direction of the President” – a slush fund. It “gained advance knowledge … on the suffrage protesters” and others.

“The light withdrawn” subtitle of Cox’s book comes from the poem “Ichabod” by John Greenleaf Whittier, a scathing attack on Daniel Webster for backing the Compromise of 1850 and its Fugitive Slave Act. Once considered among the greatest presidents, that now is Wilson’s fate.

John Seiler is on the SCNG Editorial Board.

​ Orange County Register