Update: 5 Freeway corridor near Santa Clarita under a wind advisory until early Friday morning

• March 7, 2025

An updated wind advisory was issued by the National Weather Service on Thursday at 8:50 p.m. valid from 9 p.m. until Friday, Mar. 7 at 4 a.m. for 5 Freeway corridor near Santa Clarita.

The NWS Los Angeles/Oxnard CA said, “Northwest winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 45 mph expected.”

“Gusty winds will blow around unsecured objects. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result,” the NWS said. “Winds this strong can make driving difficult, especially for high profile vehicles. Use extra caution.”

​ Orange County Register 

Lakers’ Austin Reaves returns vs. Knicks after missing 2 games with calf injury

• March 7, 2025

LOS ANGELES — Lakers starting Austin Reaves returned to the lineup for Thursday night’s homestand finale against the New York Knicks after missing the previous two games.

Reaves sat out Tuesday’s victory over the New Orleans Pelicans and Sunday’s victory over the Clippers because of a strained right calf that forced him to miss most of last Friday’s win against the Clippers.

The fourth-year guard’s status was day-to-day after an MRI on the calf from over the weekend didn’t reveal a serious injury.

Reaves is averaging 19.1 points, six assists and 4.2 rebounds this season – one of 15 players in the NBA to meet the 19 point/six-assist/four-rebound statistical threshold, along with Lakers teammates Luka Doncic and LeBron James.

“The imaging we got kind of relieved any fears we had,” Coach JJ Redick said before Thursday’s game. “It’s just been more about him feeling comfortable and ready to play.

“He’s just had an overall great season. He’s been solid – more than solid. He’s been really good through each iteration of this team this season. And I think the more time that him, Bron and Luka could just all be on the court together and get comfortable is good for us going into this home stretch.”

Starting forward Rui Hachimura missed his fourth consecutive game because of left patellar tendinopathy.

Hachimura is expected to be reassessed on Friday ahead of the team’s four-game road trip that begins on Saturday night in Boston.

Redick said Hachimura will “likely” travel with the team.

DRIVING

Doncic said after the win against the Pelicans that he felt he should drive to the basket more, indicating that he still getting into rhythm after missing 6½ weeks because of a strained left calf as a reason for not doing so.

And while he’s driving at a similar rate as he did with the Dallas Mavericks before his injury and being traded in early February, he’s driving less than he has in previous seasons.

Doncic entered Thursday averaging 14.4 drives in his nine games as a Laker compared to the 14.6 he did in 22 games with the Mavericks earlier this season.

But he averaged 17.8 drives in 2023-24 and 19.7 the previous season.

Opponents have typically trapped or switched when Doncic has operated as the ball handler in pick-and-rolls.

“He’s done a good job of finding the balance,” Redick said of Doncic. “He may feel that. That’s not something we’ve addressed as a staff. We feel like he’s getting two on the ball and moving it. When he’s making 3s, he’s Luka and he’s one of the hardest players in the world to guard.

“But we like the way he’s balancing all the facets of his offensive game.”

​ Orange County Register 

Angels pitcher Caden Dana says arm feels fine despite struggles

• March 7, 2025

PEORIA, Ariz. — Angels top pitching prospect Caden Dana moved quickly to dispel any suggestion that his spring struggles have anything to do with arm discomfort.

On Tuesday against the Cleveland Guardians, the right-hander came on in relief, left the game after some initial struggles and went back to the mound the following inning, as spring rules allow. Neither inning went well.

Afterward, Angels manager Ron Washington suggested that common mid-spring arm fatigue could have been a culprit.

“There were times I thought he popped the ball pretty good,” Washington said.

An off day physically certainly would seem plausible. Dana was uncharacteristic in giving seven runs on five hits and four walks while recording three outs across the two innings he appeared, while recording three total outs.

The 21-year-old, who came into camp as an outside candidate for the No. 5 spot in the rotation, might have been out of sorts, but it had nothing to do with his arm.

“My arm’s definitely not dead. I feel fine,” Dana said. “Coming out of the ’pen is a little different for me. I’m still trying to adjust to that. So keep working on it. Keep getting better.”

His time in relief this spring is more of circumstance. The Angels are not planning on a new role for a pitcher they see as a long-term rotation piece. The club has what appear to be four set starters with left-hander Yusei Kikuchi on schedule for Opening Day, to be followed in some order by lefty Tyler Anderson and right-handers Jose Soriano and Kyle Hendricks.

Other starting opportunities this spring are going to righty Jack Kochanowicz and lefty Reid Detmers, who are in a spirited battle for the final rotation spot.

The battle leaves Dana to get in his work mid-game. And while the role is something of an out-of-body experience, Dana is game to take on the challenge, even if it might have an upper hand at the moment.

“I felt a little out of rhythm, obviously,” Dana said Thursday about his previous outing. “That’s the name of the game, throwing strikes and that’s not what I did.”

While Dana admitted that struggles in his brief major league appearance last season were a blow to his confidence, he is staying defiant in the face of some undesirable results this spring that have left him with a 15.88 ERA over 5⅔ innings.

“I know I’m a starter,” said Dana, who has fashioned a 12-12 record with a 3.01 ERA in 41 minor-league starts over three seasons. He had 244 strikeouts over 212⅓ innings.

“I mean, I’m not going to be coming out of the ’pen too often. But for the time being, just kind of adjust to it mentally and physically. It’s definitely a different world coming out of the ’pen. I’ve experienced that now and I still believe in myself.”

CENTRAL PARK

A day after playing in left field, Mickey Moniak was back in center field on Thursday, while Jo Adell played in right field against the Seattle Mariners. Washington said there was no deeper meaning to the positioning, with both players still targeted for center field this season.

“Today was Moniak in center, but (it was) Jo’s day to play so he went to right,” Washington said. “(There) will be a time when Jo goes to center and Moniak goes to right. We’re trying to give them as much time in both spots as we possibly can.”

LID LIFTER

Kikuchi will make his second Cactus League start in a home split-squad game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday.

In his first official game action, the left-hander gave up two runs on three hits with one walk and three strikeouts over 2⅔ innings against the Dodgers last Friday. The first batter he faced, Japan countryman Shohei Ohtani, tagged him for a home run.

At his current pace, Kikuchi would have just two more Cactus League starts remaining before facing the Chicago White Sox in the season opener on March 27 on the road.

Right-hander Jose Soriano also will start Friday in a split-squad game against the Kansas City Royals in Surprise.

NOTES

It might be the middle of spring training but it is never too early to start treating games like it was the regular season. The Angels took the rare step of having a full batting practice in advance of a Cactus League road game.

Taylor Ward led off and went 1 for 3 with a double as the Angels’ designated hitter in his first game action since missing time with a knee injury.

​ Orange County Register 

JSerra boys basketball continues state title quest with victory over Carlsbad

• March 7, 2025

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO – The CIF Southern California Regional playoffs can be a second chance for some teams.

The JSerra boys basketball team is one of those teams.

After going 1-3 in pool play in the CIF Southern Section Open Division playoffs, JSerra has won its first two regional games, including a 79-55 victory over Carlsbad in Division I Thursday at JSerra High.

JSerra (24-10) plays at Sierra Canyon (24-7) in the Division I regional semifinals Saturday at 7 p.m. The winner of that game plays in the SoCal Regional championship game Tuesday.

Sierra Canyon, the No. 1 seed in the SoCal Division I bracket, defeated Santa Barbara 78-45 on Thursday.

JSerra junior forward Brannon Martinsen said the Lions are hungry for success.

“We didn’t complete two of our goals,” said Martinsen, referring to finishing third in the Trinity League and not reaching the CIF-SS Open Division championship game. “Hang up a black banner, a state championship banner, is still what we’re trying to do.”

Martinsen has done his part. He scored a game-high 25 points with eight rebounds Thursday. The 6-7 junior forward scored 16 points Tuesday when JSerra beat San Marcos 80-56 in the first round of the regional playoffs.

JSerra senior guard BJ Davis Ray scored 20 points with six assists. He also was the primary defender on Carlsbad’s high-scoring Jake Hall. The senior guard, averaging close to 30 points this season, was held to 15 points, his second-lowest total this season.

Lions senior forward James Eyenga scored 15 points with 16 rebounds.

JSerra beat Carlsbad 91-77 in a tournament in late December although Hall had a hot hand in that game.

“He scored 32 on us last time,” JSerra coach Keith Wilkinson said. “Even though we won we had to do a little bit better with him this time.”

Hall had difficulty getting the ball and had a hard time, too, getting off a quality shot when he did because of the defense of JSerra freshman Ryan Doane and senior James Eyenga at times but mostly because of Ray’s work.

“He’s one of the best defenders in the country,” Wilkinson said of Ray, a 6-7 senior who signed with Southern Methodist University. “He’s got great length, great feet and he can guard anybody.”

Carlsbad (26-7), which lost to Montgomery 53-45 in the CIF San Diego Section Open Division championship game, had a 16-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Martinsen opened the second quarter with a 3-point basket. Ray made two free throws to put JSerra on top 17-16 and the Lions added to their lead from there. They outscored the Lancers 21-9 in the second quarter for a 33-27 halftime lead.

JSerra then outscored Carlsbad 22-9 in the third quarter to put the game away, taking a 55-36 lead into the fourth quarter.

Carlsbad made 17 of its 52 shots, for 33 percent, while the Lions were 31 for 64 from the floor 48 percent.

Ray has scored 46 points over the two regional games.

JSerra is playing without starting point guard EJ Bryson, who was injured in the Lions’ win over Santa Margarita in the CIF-SS Open Division playoffs. Ray and fellow senior Grayson Sinek handled point guard duties Thursday.

“It was a really hard loss for us when we lost Bryson in that Santa Margarita game,” Wilkinson said. “We’ve adjusted and figured out how to play without a true point guard.

“It’s a credit to BJ and Grayson. They’ve done a really good job.”

The pursuit of a championship continues for JSerra.

“We’re playing well,” Wilkinson said. “Guys are sharing the ball and making shots.”

​ Orange County Register 

Dodgers decide to ‘slow play’ Shohei Ohtani’s pitching rehab

• March 7, 2025

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Shohei Ohtani threw his fourth bullpen session of the spring on Feb. 25, increasing the intensity of his work.

Everything seemed to be on track for an anticipated return to pitching sometime in May.

But Ohtani hasn’t thrown off a mound since then, limiting his throwing to flat-ground work and playing catch in the outfield in the nine days since – an extended break that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said was decided on after a conversation among Ohtani, the pitching coaches and training staff.

It was a response to “the intensity of his work” as a hitter increasing with his inclusion in Cactus League games, Roberts said. Ohtani has played in four games over the past week, going 5 for 12, including 2 for 4 on Thursday. He was scheduled to get three at-bats but requested to stay in the game for an additional at-bat.

“As the game has intensified, his work playing in games, it was sort of trying to give him a little respite from the rehab and to slow him down,” Roberts said of the pause in Ohtani’s throwing program. “We’ve never really put a time on anything. … He’s still playing catch, so his arm is still moving. But we just felt that to intensify the bullpens alongside of the intensity of the games wasn’t smart, so we just wanted to kind of slow-play it.”

Because he has stopped throwing bullpen sessions, Ohtani will not face hitters in live batting practice before the team breaks camp and leaves for Tokyo next week.

The plan is to “ramp him back up” at some point, but Roberts said he didn’t know exactly when that would be.

The Dodgers have outlined a plan to have Ohtani pitch in simulated games (perhaps against Dodgers hitters or minor-leaguers brought in for that purpose), but he will not go on a minor-league injury rehabilitation assignment before pitching in major-league games.

“It’s very kind of nuanced with him,” Roberts said, pointing out that Ohtani is returning from two surgeries – on his right elbow in September 2023 and his left shoulder in November 2024. “(We’re) just trying to make sure that we don’t push something we don’t need to.”

Before spring training began, Roberts went on record saying Ohtani could join the Dodgers’ starting rotation in May “and it might be earlier.” The pause in Ohtani’s throwing program could change that and Roberts was more cautious in his answer Thursday when asked about Ohtani’s timeline to join the rotation.

“I talked about that in January,” Roberts said of his optimistic projection before training camp opened. “I just feel, and we all feel, just trying to make it a broad time to return. We just don’t know. And so I think that when he’s ready, when the process, the progression, as it’s going on, we’ll know. But I don’t want to put any kind of expectation on you guys, or Shohei.”

Ohtani was unavailable for comment.

MAY DAY

Right-hander Dustin May made his third start of the spring on Thursday, holding the Texas Rangers scoreless for three innings and striking out three of the final four batters he faced.

Where this is leading for May is unclear.

“I haven’t heard anything,” May said when asked about his role to start the season.

“It doesn’t matter if I know or not. They’re going to put me where they want to put me. It’s just kind of up to them.”

There seem to be three options for May, who has not pitched in a major-league game since May 2023. He could open the season in the Dodgers’ starting rotation. He could be moved into a bullpen role. Or the Dodgers could put him on the injured list and send him on a minor-league injury rehabilitation assignment to start the season as they did with Walker Buehler when he was also returning from a second elbow surgery a year ago. May’s eligibility for a rehab assignment would have to be clarified.

Tony Gonsolin is in a very similar situation, competing for the fifth spot in the rotation with a bullpen role also a possibility. He is returning from Tommy John surgery.

“We certainly see both of those guys as starters,” Roberts said. “I just think that weighing in the value of one of those guys starting, the ability for one of those guys to potentially go to the ’pen – does it make sense to give one of those guys an extra chance to continue to build up? There’s just a lot of different variables. Obviously, there’s only one spot as far as that fifth spot. But I think they’re both having really good springs.”

May said he “would like to think” that he is competing for a spot in the rotation.

“When my stuff is in the (strike) zone, it’s just as good as anybody’s in the league. So I feel I have a good chance to get guys out,” he said after Thursday’s outing. “But if it’s in the bullpen, it’s in the bullpen.

“I’d prefer to start. But I just need to log innings. I mean, I haven’t been able to pitch in basically four years so I just need to go out and pitch.”

Due to two elbow surgeries and an emergency procedure to treat a torn esophagus, the 27-year-old May has never pitched more than 56 innings in a major-league season.

KERSHAW UPDATE

Left-hander Clayton Kershaw rejoined the Dodgers in camp on Wednesday and said he is progressing well in his recovery from surgeries on his left foot and knee in November.

“I think so,” he said. “It’s not 100 percent yet but it’s getting there. Feels good.”

Kershaw said he has thrown off a mound “a couple times.”

Kershaw is planning to travel to Japan for the Dodgers’ games there against the Chicago Cubs (though he is not allowed to travel with the team). He is not expected to be activated until well into the season, but the Dodgers have not moved him to the 60-day injured list yet.

ALSO

The Dodgers made another round of cuts after Thursday’s game, sending catchers Griffin Lockwood-Powell and Chris Okey, and infielders Alex Freeland, Austin Gauthier and Kody Hoese to minor league camp.

Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani exploring options with pitching mechanics

Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani ‘looks really good’ in 1st bullpen session

Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani gears up for return to mound, 2-way duties

​ Orange County Register 

Judge orders Trump administration to pay nearly $2 billion in USAID and State Dept. debts

• March 7, 2025

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER and MICHAEL KUNZELMAN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday gave the Trump administration until Monday to pay nearly $2 billion owed to partners of the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department, thawing the administration’s six-week funding freeze on all foreign assistance.

U.S. District Judge Amir Ali ruled in favor of nonprofit groups and businesses that sued over the funding freeze, which has forced organizations around the world to slash services and lay off thousands of workers.

Ali’s line of questioning suggested skepticism of the Trump administration’s argument that presidents have wide authority to override congressional decisions on spending when it comes to foreign policy, including foreign aid.

“It would be an “earth-shaking, country-shaking proposition to say that appropriations are optional,” Ali said.

“The question I have for you is, where are you getting this from in the constitutional document?” he asked a government lawyer, Indraneel Sur.

Thursday’s order is in an ongoing case with more decisions coming on the administration’s fast-moving termination of 90% of USAID contracts worldwide.

Ali’s ruling comes a day after a divided Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration’s bid to freeze funding that flowed through USAID. The high court instructed Ali to clarify what the government must do to comply with his earlier order requiring the quick release of funds for work that had already been done.

The funding freeze stemmed from an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Jan. 20. The administration appealed after Ali issued a temporary restraining order and set a deadline to release payment for work already done.

The administration said it has replaced a blanket spending freeze with individualized determinations, which led to the cancellation of 5,800 USAID contracts and 4,1000 State Department grants totaling nearly $60 billion in aid.

​ Orange County Register 

SpaceX’s latest Starship test flight ends with another explosion

• March 7, 2025

By MARCIA DUNN

Nearly two months after an explosion sent flaming debris raining down on the Turks and Caicos, SpaceX launched another mammoth Starship rocket on Thursday, but lost contact minutes into the test flight as the spacecraft came tumbling down and broke apart.

This time, wreckage from the latest explosion was seen streaming from the skies over Florida. It was not immediately known whether the spacecraft’s self-destruct system had kicked in to blow it up.

The 403-foot rocket blasted off from Texas. SpaceX caught the first-stage booster back at the pad with giant mechanical arms, but engines on the spacecraft on top started shutting down as it streaked eastward for what was supposed to be a controlled entry over the Indian Ocean, half a world away. Contact was lost as the spacecraft went into an out-of-control spin.

Starship reached nearly 90 miles in altitude before trouble struck and before four mock satellites could be deployed. It was not immediately clear where it came down, but images of flaming debris were captured from Florida, including near Cape Canaveral, and posted online.

The space-skimming flight was supposed to last an hour.

“Unfortunately this happened last time too, so we have some practice at this now,” SpaceX flight commentator Dan Huot said from the launch site.

SpaceX later confirmed that the spacecraft experienced “a rapid unscheduled disassembly” during the ascent engine firing. “Our team immediately began coordination with safety officials to implement pre-planned contingency responses,” the company said in a statement posted online.

Starship didn’t make it quite as high or as far as last time.

NASA has booked Starship to land its astronauts on the moon later this decade. SpaceX’s Elon Musk is aiming for Mars with Starship, the world’s biggest and most powerful rocket.

Like last time, Starship had mock satellites to release once the craft reached space on this eighth test flight as a practice for future missions. They resembled SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellites, thousands of which currently orbit Earth, and were meant to fall back down following their brief taste of space.

Starship’s flaps, computers and fuel system were redesigned in preparation for the next big step: returning the spacecraft to the launch site just like the booster.

During the last demo, SpaceX captured the booster at the launch pad, but the spacecraft blew up several minutes later over the Atlantic. No injuries or major damage were reported.

According to an investigation that remains ongoing, leaking fuel triggered a series of fires that shut down the spacecraft’s engines. The on-board self-destruct system kicked in as planned.

SpaceX said it made several improvements to the spacecraft following the accident, and the Federal Aviation Administration recently cleared Starship once more for launch.

Starships soar out of the southernmost tip of Texas near the Mexican border. SpaceX is building another Starship complex at Cape Canaveral, home to the company’s smaller Falcon rockets that ferry astronauts and satellites to orbit.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

​ Orange County Register 

Amid Altadena’s fire rubble, new HUD secretary says agency is ‘laser focused’ on mission, despite looming cuts

• March 7, 2025

After touring the devastation of the Eaton fire on Thursday morning, March 6, with Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, Scott Turner, the new secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, didn’t hold back his thoughts on what he’d just seen.

“I’m unashamed to say that my heart is broken to see that families have gone through this devastation, to see that children have gone through this devastation. It saddens me,” he said at a news conference outside Fair Oaks Burger in Altadena.

“What encourages me is to see people coming together … ideating and strategizing together, asking hard questions,” he said. “How can we rebuild? How can we rehabilitate? How can we get our lives back?”

Turner’s visit to Altadena came as the fire-weary town marks two months since Jan. 7, when the mammoth fire tore through much of the town, resulting in at least 17 deaths, along with the destruction of about 7,000 structures over 14,000 acres.

Homes. Schools. Houses of worship. Businesses – reduced to rubble in the monster blaze’s relentless, extreme wind-driven path.

Speaking before a backdrop of that rubble, in the parking lot of an iconic local restaurant that’s been providing free food to workers and emergency personnel, Turner said his department will remain focused on “serving the most vulnerable,” despite talk of extensive personnel cuts targeting his agency in Washington, D.C.

Just before his tour, HUD announced a 90-day extension of its foreclosure moratorium on Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured single-family mortgages in the areas of Los Angeles County devastated by the January 2025 wildfires.

The moratorium prohibits mortgage servicers from foreclosure actions on FHA-insured single-family forward or Home Equity Conversion mortgages in the Los Angeles County through July 7, 2025. The moratorium was originally set to expire on April 8, 2025.

Barger said her team is working to help homeowners who are facing financial problems to obtain grants to help them rebuild.

“That’s something that we’re going to be working on … at the local level, through a lot of philanthropic organizations to see if there’s going to be any grants for families so that they can build back better,” she said.

Barger called the HUD extension on the moratorium a “lifeline” to people who are “facing immense hardship.”

‘Laser focused’ amid looming cuts

Turner’s visit comes weeks after his boss, President Donald Trump, toured the devastation in the Palisades, where the Palisades fire, which also broke out on Jan. 7, consumed nearly 24,000 acres, destroyed nearly 7,000 structures and left 12 dead. Trump was in the Palisades on Jan. 24 and Turner – a former associate pastor and football player in the NFL – was ultimately confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Feb. 5.

After a disaster, his agency comes in to provide added federal recovery support after agencies such as FEMA and the Small Business Administration work to meet immediate needs in an area. A key function of the agency has been funding housing and other support for homeless people across the nation.

But Turner’s visit also came as the Trump administration looks to cut personnel and programs in federal agencies, as identified through Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE and overseen by Elon Musk.

The Associated Press reported in late February that there are plans to reduce HUD’s staffing by about half.

More than a dozen programs within the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s portfolio would be affected by the loss of some 4,000 positions detailed in documents obtained by the Associated Press, raising concerns among former HUD officials and housing advocates who say a skeletal staff could slow or even stall the department’s critical work.

HUD representatives said such leaks should not be taken as final. The AP reported that the documents, which aren’t clearly dated but were circulated back in February, include total staffing numbers, expected resignations, as well as a projected “Day 120 Headcount” and reduction percentage of staff at individual HUD offices.

But among those potential cuts is reportedly disaster relief.

The Office of Community Planning and Development — which the documents propose cutting by 84% of its staff — is the arm of HUD that helps repair homes and infrastructure after natural disasters, administering $1.65 billion sent to North Carolina after Hurricane Helene.

It also oversees homelessness initiatives and the Community Development Block Grant that funnels billions of federal dollars to local governments for community development programs, such as libraries or affordable housing.

On Thursday, Turner spoke to the question of such cuts after his tour of the area.

“We’re taking inventory of every program at HUD to ensure that the programs that we have are carrying out the mission that we have at HUD … We’re maximizing our budget. We’re taking inventory of our personnel,” he said.

“But understand … We will continue to be laser focused and deliberate about the mission that we do have,” Turner said, citing housing affordability and rampant homelessness, especially in California, as issues being faced. “We want to insure that HUD is committed, that the administration is committed, to help the families that are victims of the wildfires,” Turner said.

Two months worth of lessons

Barger, who is effectively the de facto “mayor” of the unincorporated town of Altadena, recounted several lessons that have been learned from the rebuilding efforts over the past two months, including how little faith people have in their government.

“I’ve made the commitment to lean in hard, because the community’s leaning hard on me,” she said, promising to keep her departments on their toes in the process.

“I’ve told my departments, ‘If I find that you are part of the problem, then you’re gonna either find a new job or get out of the way,’ because people expect from us to do everything we can,” she said.

Along with citing the importance of semantics in identifying those impacted by the fire as “survivors” and not “victims,” Barger said she now sees the importance of educating people about financial predators as soon as possible.

“There are people out there that are predatory in nature who are trying to take advantage of communities, offering well under price for lots, knowing that people are vulnerable,” she said.

Barger said the plan and intention is to keep the character of Altadena intact as they rebuild, noting its vast history as it relates to redlining.

“It’s important for us to protect that history and actually build on it with lessons learned,” she said.

Turner made note of the courage and resolve he’s witnessed among area residents.

“There’s no quit,” he said. “There’s not a give-up attitude here. There’s not a victim attitude here. There’s a victorious attitude here, despite the devastation.”

“I want to encourage everyone to hold on to that resolve and be unified together and working together,” he said. “The government is a convener, a facilitator, but the people working here together with leadership, like the supervisor and others, I believe, will build not only great, swift results but also long-term sustainability.”

Turner said he was blessed and humbled to serve as the secretary of HUD, having faced his own personal challenges.

“I’ve gone through struggles and hardship in personal life,” he said. “I understand what it means to overcome adversity.”

“As I stand here today, I want you all to know I’m with you and that I believe, as we come together as a team, as the American people — and I know the president would feel and say the same — there’s nothing we can’t do,” he said.

Jarret Liotta is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and photographer. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

​ Orange County Register