Castle Park in Riverside lays off more than 100 employees during makeover

• October 7, 2026

Castle Park has sent out layoff notices to more than 100 ride attendants, restaurant workers and supervisors that will take effect just before Christmas as the Riverside amusement park begins a major expansion and makeover.

Castle Park will lay off 130 employees while operations are paused to create a reimagined experience at the ride park, according to a WARN letter filed with the State of California Employment Development Department.

ALSO SEE: Castle Park to expand amusement park with reimagined ride area

The layoffs were announced in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) letter sent to state employment officials on Sunday, Oct. 4.

Employees were given 60 days notice with all separations to take place on Dec. 4 during the Christmas holiday season.

“We are committed to Castle Park’s future,” the family entertainment center founded in 1976 wrote in the WARN letter.

Castle Park will temporarily close all of its 21 rides on Nov. 2 while the ride area is expanded at the family entertainment center along the 91 Freeway.

“We’re investing in Castle Park to create a reimagined experience for our guests and the Riverside community,” according to the Castle Park website. “The ride park will pause operations so we can plan and rebuild for the future.”

ALSO SEE: Disneyland raises ticket prices with the smallest increase in years

Castle Park said in the WARN letter that the permanent layoffs would eliminate 18 positions.

The Castle Park layoffs include 55 ride and amusement attendants, 23 food and beverage employees, 13 admissions and guest services associates and 12 managers and supervisors.

“We have advised impacted employees in writing of the upcoming Castle Park facility’s closure and of the layoffs taking place,” Castle Park wrote in the WARN letter.

A reopening date has not been set for the Castle Park ride area.

“Our plans are evolving to create the best experience for our guests,” according to the Castle Park website. “We’re taking the time to plan the right rebuild and will share updates as plans take shape.”

ALSO SEE: Disneyland passholders stood in the way of maximizing profits, Chapek says

Castle Park’s arcade and miniature golf areas will remain open during the makeover of the ride area.

The Castle Dark seasonal Halloween event will continue as scheduled through Nov. 1.

The Buccaneer Cove water park will return in May when seasonal operations resume.

Castle Park went through a series of ownership changes in 2025 with the park changing hands from Palace Entertainment to Herschend to Lucky Strike Entertainment.

The 30-acre amusement park’s ride collection includes classics like the Scrambler, Tilt-a-Whirl and Kings Crown wave swings. Among the rarer rides are a Gravitron centrifugal force flying saucer, a Ring of Fire super looper thrill ride, the dragon-themed flying scooters and a children’s whip turntable ride. Castle Park’s Antique Car Ride used to operate at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park.

​ Orange County Register 

Dan Albano’s Orange County high school football Top 35 rankings

• October 7, 2026

Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe now

Here is how I voted this week in the Orange County football Top 25 poll.

There are three voters each week in the poll:

1. Santa Margarita 6-0

2. Mater Dei 4-2

3. Orange Lutheran 4-2

4. Mission Viejo 5-1

5. JSerra 4-2

6. San Clemente 6-0

7. Servite 3-3

8. Crean Lutheran 4-2

9. Corona del Mar 6-0

10. Huntington Beach 6-0

11. Capistrano Valley 6-0

12. San Juan Hills 5-1

13. Tustin 4-2

14. El Modena 5-1

15. Yorba Linda 0-6

16. Villa Park 5-1

17. Dana Hills 6-0

18. Orange 6-0

19. La Habra 5-1

20. Edison 2-4

21. Laguna Beach 4-2

22. Trabuco Hills 4-2

23. Newport Harbor 4-2

24. El Dorado 3-3

25. Los Alamitos 0-6

Albano’s Next 10

Rank, school, record, previous rank

26. Cypress 5-1 (29)

27. Troy 3-3 (26)

28. Pacifica 5-1 (27)

29. Brea Olinda 4-2 (30)

30. El Toro 4-2 (28)

31. Laguna Hills 5-1 (32)

32. Foothill 2-4 (33)

33. Fullerton 4-2 (not ranked)

34. Segerstrom 3-3 (not ranked)

35. Irvine 4-2 (31)

Also considered: Canyon 5-1, Portola 5-1

​ Orange County Register 

Senators push the Trump administration to act swiftly on Russian sanctions to help Ukraine

• October 7, 2026

By LISA MASCARO, AP Congressional Correspondent

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly a month after President Donald Trump signed a sweeping Russian sanctions bill named after Lindsey Graham into law, bipartisan leadership in the Senate is urging the administration to clamp down more quickly on the flow of financial resources fueling the war against Ukraine.

In a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the senators said the most urgent priority for the U.S. must be to tackle the “shadow fleet” of tankers that Moscow is using to transport oil and bypass America’s sanctions. They also pushed for a halt of Russia’s emerging satellite system that Ukraine has warned could prove devastating with real-time bombing attacks this winter.

“Every day that passes without maximum economic pressure allows Moscow to sustain this military escalation,” wrote Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Republican Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The senators note that the bulk of the law’s provisions go into effect Oct. 18, the end of the administration’s 30-day review period. The Trump administration has remained mostly quiet since the passage of the bill with large bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate after Graham’s sudden death, with lawmakers urged ahead by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Trump has been expected to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose birthday is Wednesday, to discuss a possible case of plague at a Siberian research institute.

Congress backed Ukraine with the Russian sanctions package

The sanctions package had been a year in the making but was suddenly rushed to passage after Graham, the long-serving South Carolina senator, died in July of a likely torn aorta after a whirlwind trip to a NATO summit in Turkey and a stopover in Kyiv.

Senators had been negotiating a bipartisan bill that could win robust support but it was only when Graham received the nod of approval from Trump in the days around the senator’s overseas trip that it gained momentum.

Zelenskyy had also been pushing the U.S. to act, and he arrived in the Senate after a visit at the White House late in the evening before a key vote that advanced the package. The House gave final approval to the bill, sending it to Trump’s desk, but Democrats in both chambers warned that they doubted the president would use the vast tools available to slap back at Russia.

In the month since, momentum appears to have stalled without public steps from the administration toward the law’s implementation.

Trump’s next moves against Russia are uncertain

With the bipartisan push, Shaheen and Wicker in their letter sent late Tuesday are urging the administration to take several specific steps to impose the sanctions regime. Many of the steps are aligned with goals pushed by the Ukrainians.

The senators, who were both key to the bill’s passage, said it’s most crucial for the U.S. to focus on the several hundred rogue tankers that are able to “transport Russian oil with impunity and thereby provide the Kremlin a financial lifeline.”

It’s also, imperative, they wrote, “that the administration paralyze the global financial networks that allow Russia to evade our sanctions.”

They said the Kremlin continues to “move billions of dollars through networks that shield it from scrutiny.” They urged the administration to focus specifically on overseas bank branches, including in Shanghai, and “a growing network of Kyrgyz financial institutions” they said serve as clearinghouses for sanctioned capital.

“Foreign banks must be forced to make a choice.” the senators wrote. “They can either do business with the United States or finance Russia’s war. They cannot do both.”

They said the Trump administration should work to undermine Russia’s “weaponization of space” with its emerging low Earth orbit system. Ukraine has warned that such a satellite system would prove deadly in the coming winter as Russia prepares its attacks.

The senators also noted that the sanctions law bans all new U.S. investment in Russia and handling of sovereign debt. They said it’s imperative that the Treasury Department “issue clear regulatory guidance ahead of the October deadline to ensure American financial institutions completely sever these capital pipelines.”

Additionally, the senators said the U.S. must stop the flow of dual-use technologies and electronics for Russia’s frontline operations, and use the sanctions tools available to “penalize entities feeding Russia’s military-industrial complex.”

​ Orange County Register 

Why making your yard attractive to birds can be beneficial

• October 7, 2026

Q. For years, I have been battling whiteflies on my hibiscus. This year, after I put out a bird feeder, the whiteflies suddenly disappeared. Could the birds be responsible?

Yes! Making your yard attractive to a variety of birds has many benefits, including pest control. California is home to many insect-eating birds, so why not take a few steps to attract some to your outdoor spaces? There are different types of these garden helpers, but their needs are easily accommodated.

Most (desirable) backyard birds need cover, nesting sites, food and water. Cover can simply be any protected niche where a bird can perch unseen and still able to survey its surroundings. (Much like kids who love to hang out in couch cushion forts.) Nesting sites can be in tree canopies, abandoned ground squirrel burrows, or nesting boxes. Many insectivorous birds will also feast on berries and other plant material. For instance, Scrub Jays will steal individual grapes and berries from our garden, and they will also hoard acorns. Bird baths should be cleaned and refilled frequently, but the sound of running water is almost irresistible.

Insectivorous birds can be classified by their feeding habits. Aerial insectivores are highly entertaining to watch since they like to catch their prey in midair. Phoebes, Tree Swallows, and Flycatchers are like nature’s little fighter pilots since they can intercept flying insects using their incredible aerial skills. The Poorwill, a nocturnal bird, also catches insects on the fly. Gleaners will pick bugs off leaves and twigs. The Gnatcatcher, Bushtit, and Titmouse are members of this cleanup team. These are especially helpful at ridding plants of aphids. I like watching them land sideways on a branch to snack on little insects.

Bark foragers like woodpeckers and nuthatches will feast on termites, bark beetles, and other pests that hide in the nooks and crannies of tree bark. Considering how destructive bark beetles can be, these birds should be welcome visitors (even though they can get a bit noisy).

Scrub jays, Towhees, and quail are ground feeders that go after earwigs, pill bugs, and other ground-dwelling critters. We were visited by several hundred California Quail shortly after my husband relocated a large pile of branches and uncovered a treasure trove of pill bugs and earwigs. My children were delighted to watch this enormous avian flash mob appear within a matter of minutes.

Inviting these birds into your yard will provide both pest control and lots of entertainment.

​ Orange County Register 

Disneyland passholders stood in the way of maximizing profits, Chapek says

• October 7, 2026

Disneyland annual passholders paid relatively little for unfettered access to the Anaheim theme park and stood in the way of maximizing profits, according to a new memoir by former Disney CEO Bob Chapek.

Disneyland’s Magic Key annual passholders who overused the parks and underpaid for the privilege were worth less to Disney than out-of-state families who spent more and stayed longer, Chapek writes in his new book “Behind the Castle Walls.”

“The passholder experience was a fantastic deal for the passholder, but a terrible one for Disney and its more vacation-oriented guests,” Chapek wrote.

ALSO SEE: Disneyland won’t raise Magic Key prices in 2026

Disneyland introduced annual passes in 1983 as a way to backfill the park when attendance was lower during the off season.

Three decades later, Disneyland was bursting at the seams with too many visitors by the time Chapek took over Disney’s theme park division in 2015.

Annual passholders were the problem. The 1.1 million passholders could show up anytime they wanted and overwhelm the park.

“The pressure from the passholder not to change the status quo was enormous,” Chapek wrote.

The biggest problem was Disneyland’s most loyal customers were spoiling the experiences of big-spending out-of-state vacationers that were the park’s highest value customers and worth six times more per day than the locals.

Chapek was certain Disneyland was “leaving revenue opportunities on the table to avoid stirring the hornet’s nest.”

Chapek wanted to lower the number of passholders — or at least limit the frequency of their visits — in order to better commercialize the park.

ALSO SEE: Disneyland ends Magic Key no-show policy that frustrated passholders

Disneyland considered killing the decades-old annual pass program — a move Chapek knew would be unpopular.

“We understood we would get blasted if I attempted to eliminate annual passes altogether, so I moved to shift the math,” Chapek wrote.

Shifting the math meant focusing more on free-spending vacation travelers who stayed on property in Disney hotels and less on budget-conscious annual passholders who dropped in for just a few hours after work or school.

ALSO SEE: Disneyland has 1.1 million Magic Key annual passholders

Chapek wanted to offer elite access and bespoke experiences to well-heeled visitors as a way to keep ticket prices down for everyone else.

“The fact remains that some customers generated more revenue than others,” Chapek wrote. “Not that I didn’t appreciate the passion and enthusiasm the passholders had for Disney.”

There were two long-standing Disneyland traditions that stood in Chapek’s way of modifying the popular passholder program. The first was an “unwritten principle” that everyone deserved the same experience. The second was an “inviolable virtue” that everyone must be treated equally.

“People in the company were afraid to change the outdated system, given the fear of a backlash from the loyal passholders who loved the flexibility and value the current system had afforded them for decades,” Chapek wrote.

Chapek was determined to not let convention, legacy or dogma prevent him from maximizing economic returns at Disneyland.

ALSO SEE: Disneyland raises ticket prices with the smallest increase in years

He instituted a tiered ticketing system, steadily raised prices and limited passholder access.

“What seemed like a straightforward solution to me provoked predictable reactions ranging from unease to outrage among passholders,” Chapek wrote. “In particular, the passholders felt the changes did not fit their personal interests and deemed them unfair.”

Chapek continued to raise annual pass prices when the increases had little-to-no impact on the overall number of passholders.

The top-tier Disneyland annual pass cost $699 when Chapek became Disney parks boss in 2015 and $1,599 when he was fired as CEO in 2022 — a 128% increase. Today, the most expensive Disneyland Magic Key pass costs $1,899.

The yearlong COVID-19 closure of Disneyland and DCA brought with it a reservation system that remained after pandemic restrictions were lifted.

For Chapek, the reservation system helped manage the number of daily visitors and passholders while improving the quality of the guest experience.

Reservations were seen as “heresy” by passholders who wanted to show up spontaneously while also paying the least possible amount per visit, according to Chapek.

“I was the one tarred and feathered when the reservation system proved unpopular among superfans,” Chapek wrote. “Annual passholders complained about the limited flexibility and reservation times and the restrictions on the practice known as parkhopping, or going to multiple parks in one day.”

​ Orange County Register 

Before a natural disaster, a governor’s order can free up the National Guard and medical help

• October 7, 2026

By The Associated Press

Before a big weather event even happens — like a hurricane, flood, or snowstorm — government officials in the United States have the power to call for a state of emergency, a fast-track way to free up resources to help with public safety during an anticipated natural disaster.

In a state, a governor usually signs an executive order that names the area expected to be affected by the pending severe weather. The order gives emergency management agencies the go-ahead to work up disaster response plans and delegate responsibilities.

Agencies that can be called into action, for example, include the National Guard for searches, rescues and overall security, the highway patrol to enforce road closures, and the health department to provide emergency medical services.

The declaration allows the state agencies to provide direct assistance to local governments. It suspends state rules and regulations that could interfere with emergency plans. And it allows for a state to form agreements with other states to seek help.

It’s also a necessary first step for the state to ask the federal government for financial aid through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The president of the United States can issue a disaster declaration based on a governor’s request and FEMA damage assessments.

​ Orange County Register 

Free LA mole festival highlights complex indigenous Mexican dish

• October 7, 2026

One of Mexico’s iconic dishes will be celebrated with a free festival that will turn a downtown Los Angeles park into a vibrant culinary and cultural experience.

“It’s a big Mexican food party. It’s the kind of fiesta you picture in a party at a pueblo in Mexico, and here we’re celebrating mole,” said Vanessa Motolinia, a spokesperson for La Feria de Los Moles.

The free food festival will be held from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 11 at Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles, where more than 80 local mole vendors and invited guests chefs from Mexico will serve numerous versions of the thick sauce that can include up to 30 ingredients and takes days to make.

“You’ll be getting a real taste of Mexico. These are recipes passed down for generations. These are recipes they got form their grandmas,”  Motolinia said.

Mole’s roots go back to Oaxaca and Puebla in Mexico where the sauces blend indigenous ingredients like tomato, cocoa, vanilla, and spices, traditionally ground in a metate. Ingredients such as cinnamon, cloves and almonds were later added during colonial times. The result is a thick sauce that adds a savory and slightly sweet taste when poured over other dishes.

Those who attend the Feria will get to try all sorts of moles, from green Pipián mole made with pumpkin seeds to black, red and Poblano mole, which offers a good hint of chocolate. Other varieties will include shrimp, almond and vegan moles. Some of the moles will be poured over taquitos, steaks, chilaquiles and tortas.

While mole primarily comes from Oaxaca and Puebla, the State of Michoacán will be recognized with the participation of traditional cooks from the city of Uruapan who will make regional specialties like Corundas de Mole, Mole de Carne (beef), and Agua de Aguacate.

And there will even be mole ice cream created by Benito Rios, co-owner of Nieves Xochi Oax, a Los Angeles-based ice cream shop and restaurant known for Nieve de Mole.

“We decided to turn this traditional dish into ice cream. The base, the main taste of the ice cream is mole. It has a little bit of spice at the beginning and at the end it has a little bit of sweetness,” said Rios, who hails from Oaxaca and came up with the cool blend of flavors which he will whip up just a couple of days before the festival to ensure its freshness.

And while it’s a cool dessert, for Rios, his ice cream, and moles in general, go beyond taste in their significance to his culture.

“We get to share our culture and especially in these times we get to show that we’re stronger than ever,” he said.

La Feria de los Moles

When: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 11

Where: Grand Park,  200 N Grand Ave, Los Angeles

Cost: Free to enter; food is for sale

Information: feriadelosmoles.com/

​ Orange County Register 

One shot or two? What to know about HPV vaccination recommendations

• October 7, 2026

By MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Preteens may soon have something to celebrate: Medical experts are discussing the possibility that one dose of a life-saving cancer vaccine, instead of two, may be enough to protect them.

U.S. vaccination recommendations have become splintered in the past year, with federal officials and doctors’ organizations disagreeing over guidance and even battling each other in court. But both sides have been exploring revisions in longstanding HPV vaccine recommendations.

“This would be a significant shift in terms of what has been communicated for many years about the best way to protect adolescents against HPV,” said Jason Schwartz, a Yale University vaccine policy researcher.

Here’s a look at HPV shots, which debuted 20 years ago and may now be approaching a crossroads.

HPV is linked to thousands of cancer cases

HPV, human papillomavirus, is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the U.S.

More than 40 HPV types can infect the genital areas of men and women, plus the lining of the mouth and throat. Certain strains are responsible for most cases of genital warts.

HPV also is a leading cause of the nearly 50,000 cancer cases diagnosed in the U.S. each year that affect those parts of the body. Indeed, about 90% of cervical cancer and anal cancers are attributed to HPV infections, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In 2006, federal health officials approved the first HPV vaccine, Merck & Co.’s Gardasil. A second vaccine was approved in 2009, GlaxoSmithKline’s Cervarix.

Both vaccines are approved for use in males and females, available for kids as young as 9 to adults in their 20s. But they were prioritized for 11- and 12-year-olds, because the shots work best if given before someone is sexually active.

HPV vaccination recommendations have changed before

Initially, in 2006, HPV vaccinations were recommended only for girls and given as a series of three shots over six months. Boys were added in 2011, a move largely intended to stop them from spreading a virus to girls that could cause cervical cancer.

Ten years ago, the government changed the dosing recommendations. It dropped the number of recommended doses from three to two after studies showed that amount offered sufficient protection. Research also suggested two doses worked better when spaced six to 12 months apart, meaning they could be given at annual checkups.

Since then, studies in multiple countries have shown dramatic decreases in infections, genital warts cases and precancerous cervical lesions.

In 2020, the American Cancer Society updated its guidelines for women, raising the age at which screenings should start to 25, from 21. The organization attributed the change to data indicating vaccinations had led to a drop in rates of cervical changes that are seen as precursors to cancer.

Evidence has continued to be favorable.

The University of Minnesota’s Vaccine Integrity Project this year published a research review that found that HPV vaccines had lowered the risk of genital-area cancers in women. And a study published in April in the journal JAMA Oncology found vaccinated males are nearly 50% less likely to develop cancers of the head and neck, esophagus, anus or penis.

What’s more, “the duration of protection is long,” said Angela Ulrich, who led the Vaccine Integrity Project review. “We have people who are 20, 30, 40 years old who are seeing protection from the HPV vaccine.”

HPV vaccination rates are lower than for other vaccines

A recent CDC report found vaccination rates against HPV were lower than the rates for some other shots adolescents get, at least partly because most states don’t require HPV vaccinations as a condition of school attendance.

Still, the HPV vaccination rate has been flat for four years in a row, with about 63% of teenagers getting both doses.

It doesn’t help that HPV shots are known to have a sharper sting. (Doctors have noted fainting is more common after HPV shots.)

Questions about pain are common, said Dr. Scott Hadland, who works at a Boston clinic that treats adolescents and young adults.

“Some of my patients tell me it hurts more than other vaccines they’ve received, but only for a moment,” he said.

Also not helping lately, perhaps, is the elevation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to U.S. health secretary. Before he was appointed to oversee federal health agencies last year, Kennedy was an attorney and consultant in lawsuits against Merck over the Gardasil vaccine, and falsely claimed the vaccine increases cervical cancer risk.

Research suggests one shot may be enough for girls

In January, Kennedy ordered the number of recommended HPV doses to be reduced to one, as part of a unilateral reduction of the childhood vaccination schedule.

That change was blocked by a federal judge’s order, but it actually is something that medical experts had been considering for some time.

The idea gained attention late last year with the publication of a study in Costa Rica that tracked more than 20,000 girls over five years. It found a single HPV shot provided about 97% protection against cervical cancer, similar to two doses.

A year earlier, in 2024, research developments prompted a CDC advisory committee to form a work group to explore the possibility of a revised recommendation. That work was interrupted when Kennedy dismissed the members of the committee.

The American Academy of Pediatrics — one of the medical groups that sued Kennedy — makes its own vaccination recommendations. It has been considering a guidance change, exploring questions such as whether one dose is sufficient for at least some people and at what age vaccination should begin, said Dr. James Campbell, chair of the organization’s committee on infectious diseases.

Should kids get one shot or two?

Recommendations are evolving. But right now, experts advise that kids get two shots.

While there is evidence showing one shot was sufficient for girls in preventing cervical cancer, there is less evidence about other kinds of cancer in girls. Also lacking is data on whether one shot is sufficient protection for boys against the HPV-related cancers they are at risk for, according to the Vaccine Integrity Project review.

Whether the recommendation remains two shots or is changed to one, it’s important that kids get vaccinated, Hadland said.

“The benefits are very clear. It prevents cancer,” he said.

The Associated Press’ health and science coverage receives financial support from the AP Fund for Journalism and private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

​ Orange County Register