How can homicide ever be justifiable? Ask the lawyer

• July 9, 2024

Q: A homicide means someone is killed.  It is very hard for me to understand how that can ever be justified.

T. B., Bellflower

Ron Sokol

A:  You are correct that homicide is the act of killing another person. Under California Penal Code Section 197, there are certain instances where taking a life may be justified: (a) When you are acting in actual self-defense, (b) when you are defending your home or property, or (c) when you are either trying to make a citizen’s arrest, or seeking to keep the peace. Each of these defenses are subject to very careful assessment.

Self-defense means you were in imminent danger of great bodily injury, and further that you only employed the level of force necessary to defend yourself.

With regard to defending your home or property, there was an intruder who was intending to commit a violent crime, you reasonably believed the threat of harm was imminent, and it was both reasonable that you believed deadly force was necessary, and the amount of force you employed was reasonable.

The defense of citizen’s arrest means a felony was involved which created a risk of death or great bodily injury, and the wrongdoer posed a future danger to society. As to keeping the peace, you were trying by lawful means to prevent a riot or violence from occurring.

Q: A homicide can really be excusable or accidental? The D.A. is telling us no criminal charges are going to be brought because my friend’s death was “excusable.”

F.S., Lomita

A: You did not set forth the circumstances that the D.A. evaluated. Keep in mind that a prosecutor has a clear edict: He or she is not to bring a criminal case against anyone without a genuine belief that the crime can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

An example of taking the life of another which may be deemed excusable or accidental would be at a shooting range, and (sadly) someone wanders into the target area.

California Penal Code Section 195 sets forth that homicide is excusable (or may be deemed accidental) when it is done by accident and misfortune, or occurs in the performance of a lawful act by lawful means, with usual and ordinary care, and without any unlawful intent.

A further example: A swimming instructor is teaching a young student, takes a brief restroom break and returns to find the student has drowned. It turns out the student had an unexpected aneurysm, that no one would have anticipated or predicted. Tragic indeed, but accidental.

Ron Sokol has been a practicing attorney for over 40 years, and has also served many times as a judge pro tem, mediator, and arbitrator. It is important to keep in mind that this column presents a summary of the law, and is not to be treated or considered legal advice, let alone a substitute for actual consultation with a qualified professional.

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​ Orange County Register 

What’s Southern California’s best city for renters?

• July 9, 2024

“How expensive?” tracks measurements of California’s totally unaffordable housing market.

The pain: Southern California’s best cities to be a renter cost an average 12% more than lower-ranked places.

The source: My trusty spreadsheet reviewed WalletHub’s grades scoring the value of being a tenant in 182 US cities – including 18 in Southern California. This metric compares a benchmark for costs with a yardstick for livability to create an overall ranking. Then we contrasted those grades with typical rents for 2024’s first half as tabulated by Zillow.

The pinch

Ponder how WalletHub’s scorecard ranks the 18 Southern California cities – the best 9 in overall score compared to the worst 9. Then let’s look at cost vs. quality of life.

Now, no renter should be surprised that local pricing ranked poorly on a national basis.

Southern California’s top 9 cities averaged a No. 137 national ranking for “affordability” – that’s far below the 182-city midpoint. And the bottom 9 averaged even worse at 167.

Conversely, Southern California’s quality of rental life graded well.

The top 9 cities averaged a high No. 27 ranking for livability. And even the bottom 9 averaged an above-average 60.

But there’s a real cost to the region’s rental upper crust.

Using Zillow rents, tenants in these top 9 Southern California cities pay the landlord an average $2,186 compared to $1,950 in the bottom 9. That’s an extra $236 a month for what one scorecard saw as the “best” locally.

Pressure points

Irvine was Southern California’s top rental spot, by WalletHub’s math, ranking No. 22 overall nationally.

The city was graded a below-par No. 109 for affordability out of the 182 US cities but 10th-highest nationwide for quality of life. And if Irvine’s your place, Zillow says typical rents run $2,390 a month.

At the other end of the spectrum, San Bernardino had the region’s worst rental grades. It ranked 19th worst nationally – 167th for affordability and 118th for quality. But note the city’s typical rent of $1,327 was 45% below Irvine!

Southern California’s other rankings …

No. 35 nationally was Huntington Beach, ranking 129th for affordability and sixth for quality. Rent? $2,376.

No. 57 San Diego: 155th for affordability, 13th for quality. Rent? $2,230.

No. 58 Fontana: 114th for affordability, 34th for quality. Rent? $2,257.

No. 67 Oxnard: 86th for affordability, 65th for quality. Rent? $2,108.

No. 76 Rancho Cucamonga: 161th for affordability, 12th for quality. Rent? $2,089.

No. 85 Garden Grove: 163rd for affordability, 11th for quality. Rent? $1,999.

No. 95 Santa Clarita: 165th for affordability, 26th for quality. Rent? $2,170.

No. 121 Anaheim: 149th for affordability, 66th for quality. Rent? $2,052.

No. 126 Chula Vista: 152nd for affordability, 61th for quality. Rent? $2,131.

No. 127 Santa Ana: 164th for affordability, 54th for quality. Rent? $2,128.

No. 129 Riverside: 145th for affordability, 72nd for quality. Rent? $1,776.

No. 132 Glendale: 178th for affordability, 17th for quality. Rent? $2,295.

No. 133 Los Angeles: 169th for affordability, 50th for quality. Rent? $2,411.

No. 137 Long Beach: 166th for affordability, 69th for quality. Rent? $1,848.

No. 144 Ontario: 176th for affordability, 41th for quality. Rent? $1,838.

No. 149 Moreno Valley: 172nd for affordability, 63rd for quality. Rent? $1,690.

No. 156 Oceanside: 179th for affordability, 53rd for quality. Rent? $2,054.

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at [email protected]

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​ Orange County Register 

Tour de France: Jasper Philipsen breaks through in Stage 10

• July 9, 2024

SAINT-AMAND-MONTROND, France — Jasper Philipsen edged a thrilling sprint to win his first stage of this Tour de France on Tuesday after finishing runner-up twice last week.

Biniam Girmay, winner of two stages already, was runner-up a second time, and Pascal Ackermann was third.

The overall leaders stayed the same. Tadej Pogacar retained the yellow jersey with the same 33 second gap on Remco Evenepoel and more than a minute on two-time defending champion Jonas Vingegaard.

The 10th stage from Orléans to Saint-Amand-Montrond in central France was a flat 187 kilometers (116 miles) without classified climbs, and set the stage for a mass sprint.

Philipsen, the Belgian rider known for his powerful finishes, finally capitalized. This was his seventh career stage in the last three Tours.

“Today everything worked according to plan,” Philipsen said. “We came to the Tour de France with the goal of winning at least one stage. I’m really happy that we can now tick that box and go further in the Tour with more confidence in the team.”

Following the first rest day, the race unfolded without major disruptions despite intermittent showers. The peloton enjoyed a picturesque route, passing the 500-year-old Château de Chambord.

Stage 11 on Wednesday will get the riders back climbing again in the Massif Central mountains.

​ Orange County Register 

Beachwood Brewing is celebrating a milestone anniversary with several parties on July 13

• July 9, 2024

Beachwood Brewing is celebrating 13 years of making beer by throwing a big daylong birthday party.

“It’s surreal and it’s humbling. It’s been a pretty amazing journey,” said Julian Shrago, founder, co-owner and brewmaster of Beachwood Brewing.

The award-winning brewery will be holding celebrations at its five locations on July 13. The birthday celebration will include beer releases, food specials, live music, even a magic show.

“I think it’s going to be a fun and busy day,” Shrago said.

Gabriel Gordon and wife Lena Perelman opened Beachwood BBQ & Brewing in Seal Beach in 2006 as one of Orange County’s first gastropubs. But Beachwood didn’t make its own beer until 2011 when the couple teamed up with Shrago to open Beachwood Brewery in Long Beach.

Since then the brewery has won several prestigious awards including the 2013 prize for Mid-Sized Brewpub of the Year at the Great American Beer Festival in Colorado, the World Beer Cup Champion Large Brewpub at the World Beer Cup Awards in 2016, and the silver and bronze at the Great American Beer Festival in 2023.

“We’re fortunate to live in an area where there is a strong beer culture,” Shrago said.

“We’ve been able to create a continuous passionate culture at Beachwood where people are really enthusiastic about the products and getting behind the products. We’re also always seeking to make things better,” he said.

While the original Long Beach brewery and restaurant in downtown Long Beach, as well as the Seal Beach spot, have closed, Beachwood has expanded through the years opening other locations in Long Beach, Huntington Beach and Garden Grove.

Here’s how the parties will roll out on July 13

Beer release

Beachwood will Introduce the new Hyperspeed IPA at all its locations. If you love hops, this is the beer for you, and it comes in at a 7.1% ABV too, so yeah, it’s a good party beer.

Special sour beer releases

These will only be available at Beachwood Brewing & Blendery at 247 N. Long Beach Blvd. in downtown Long Beach. The five new sours include the Funk Yeah Batch 6, a Gueuze-inspired sour ale, the City of Chaos, which is fermented and aged in bourbon barrels and the Pineapple Dragon OG. It’s fermented and aged in oak barrels with pineapple and dragon fruit.

The magic of pizza

The Beachwood Pizzeria and Taproom at  5205 Warner Ave., Huntington Beach will have a new 16-inch sourdough pie on the menu, plus magicians performing tricks from 6 to 8 p.m.

Cornhole tournament

Show off your cornhole skills at the Bixby Knolls taproom located at 3630 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach, during a tournament hosted by Long Beach Cornhole. The competition starts at 11:30 a.m. There  will also be live music at 7 p.m.

Get tatted

Don’t worry, they’re just temporary Beachwood tattoos offered at the 2nd & PCH taproom at 6430 Pacific Coast Highway and the Garden Grove location at 12900 Euclid St. The Garden Grove taproom will also have a craft market and DJs spinning tunes.

For more information go to beachwoodbrewing.com

​ Orange County Register 

When the economy satisfies like comfort food, could be time to exit your comfort zone

• July 9, 2024

The latest numbers on unemployment remind me of our family’s normal dinner routine.

That’s because we don’t have a normal dinner routine. Our daughter does four sports, one of them year-round. There is dance, homework and — sacred of sacreds — Family Movie Night. Sure, some nights end in a delicious pot roast served the minute the soccer cleats come off. We’d like to think that’s normal. But what about the other nights (OK, many other nights) that end with peanut butter and banana sandwiches eaten in the car?

The employment numbers feel like that pot roast dinner —  an economic comfort food moment  in a time where the political news is going from weird to weirder.

We added 206,000 jobs in June, which is about right for an economy growing at a normal pace. The unemployment rate rose to 4.1%, which is close to what the Congressional Budget Office calls the “natural” rate of unemployment.

Another important number — one that deserves more attention — is the “JOLT rate”,  which is a cool name for the ratio of unemployed to job openings. The latest number from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that there are about 125 job openings for every 100 people looking for a job. At the height of the pandemic there were 250 people unemployed for every 100 openings. That was not, to state the obvious, normal. People need jobs. For most of 2022, there were about 50 unemployed to fill 100 openings. That wasn’t normal either, employers need workers. The current JOLT rate is very close to what we see during times when the economy is ”normal.”

I’ve also been curious lately about whether workers and employers have come to some understanding on the hot-button issue of working from home. It’s hard to tell since everybody has a story, but the a sequence of monthly surveys  taken by the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that for the past year or more about 15% of total hours worked were worked remotely. We all said that after the Pandemic there would be a new normal. Maybe this is it.

Ok, so if the job market is more or less normal, what should we do?

Since I’m a Ph.D. economist — which means I’m full of myself — the temptation is to offer sage advice on macroeconomic policy. The truth, of course, is that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell doesn’t care what I think about the timing of interest rate cuts. You shouldn’t either. But you should think more about what this normal employment news means for your own job.

First, it means that if you don’t have a job, go get a job. And, yes, I’m looking at you recent graduates. I know a lot of you heard a commencement speech delivered by some blowhard who told you to follow your heart, or your muse, or your passion. Whatever. That’s terrible advice. Sure, one or two of you may become successful Tik-Tok influencers. And some of you may have life-changing experiences on a gap year spent traveling around Europe with a backpack and Mom’s credit card. But for most of you that’s a waste of a valuable year.

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An economy doing what it’s doing right now is the perfect time to take that all important first step on the career ladder.

If you’re kind of good at math and like computers, you can find a bank or an insurance company that will train you be an underwriter. If you’re a people person, you can find a company making stuff people want to buy that will set you up in their sales trainee program where you can learn everything you can about what the customers really want and then let you go sell, sell, sell.

And if you already have a job, make sure you’re doing it well. Normal is not forever, especially in the world of work. When things get tight, you want to be the one the boss can’t do without, not the one with a name the boss can’t quite remember.

To go back to my observation about “normal” dinnertime routines, good parents stay humble. We don’t know what’s going to happen next. We enjoy the pot roast and the random family conversation, but we make sure there’s an extra jar of peanut butter in the pantry.

Michael L. Davis is an economics professor at the Cox School of Business, SMU Dallas.

​ Orange County Register 

USC has a massive future Big Ten piece in O-line commit Elijah Vaikona

• July 9, 2024

LOS ANGELES — It was raining on the day Arizona State’s Marcus Arroyo came down to Santa Margarita High in January, pelting down upon the Eagles’ home turf.

Their regularly scheduled programming was washed away, and so Santa Margarita head coach Anthony Rouzier got creative, moving his team’s workout indoors to the basketball gym. Arroyo followed. It was there, in a snap, he saw offensive tackle Elijah Vaikona pick up a basketball and elevate for a dunk, all 6-foot-8 of him.

Ahem.

All 6-8 and 370 pounds of him.

Arroyo offered Vaikona a scholarship on the spot.

“And then,” Rouzier recalled, “it just started to snowball.”

That was Vaikona’s first Power Five offer, a complete unknown who had just transferred in that winter from Xavier College Prep in Palm Desert. A college coach once asked his mother Heather if she’d raised him under a rock, and perhaps it wasn’t a rock but a tumbleweed, legitimate Division I linemen not exactly sprouting on trees up in the Southern California desert. But after he arrived at Santa Margarita, programs have come through the Eagles’ campus this spring and have been physically unable to miss Vaikona, a rising senior recruit who is massive in size but light on his feet.

His commitment to USC last week, choosing the Trojans over Washington and UCLA, was a much-needed win for the program’s future in the trenches, after Georgia defensive linemen Justus Terry and Isaiah Gibson decommitted in June. Head coach Lincoln Riley has repeatedly emphasized USC’s desire to both stack talent on the offensive front and develop size at the line of scrimmage, particularly back in December at a national signing day press conference.

“When the starting point is that much higher,” Riley said then, speaking of the sheer size of USC’s 2024 linemen, “it increases the ceiling.”

Vaikona’s starting point, quite literally, is higher than any other offensive lineman – interior or tackle – in his class.

The only lineman who touches his combination of height and weight, from every 2025 prospect who is ranked by 247Sports, is Texas’ Byron Washington, at 6-foot-7½ and 380 pounds. If he sticks with his commitment to USC, Vaikona will stand alongside Maximus Gibbs (6-7, 390 pounds) and Zach Banner (6-9, 360) as the Trojans’ largest bodies of the last decade. And his sheer size created a brief arms race between programs headed to the Big Ten, where games have long been won at the line of scrimmage.

“That was a priority for my top-three schools – like, all of ’em, going to the Big Ten, they need bigger guys,” Vaikona said. “So one thing is, they wanted to get big guys like me.”

He’s especially intriguing for his quickness. Rouzier noted how light Vaikona is on his feet, a longtime basketball player at his size. His grandmother owns a ranch just outside of Palm Springs; Vaikona grew up riding horses as a competitive cattle sorter, a growing niche in equestrian sports in which riders compete against a clock to herd cows.

By ninth grade, Vaikona had become too tall for his steed. But the dexterity remains.

“Being a big guy, I feel like I move better than most guys my size in the country,” Vaikona said.

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He had attended USC’s summer camps in the past, where offensive line coach Josh Henson had seen him but held off on offering, telling Rouzier he was too raw at that point. But as Vaikona’s foot speed developed through the winter and spring, he caught Dennis Simmons’ eye when the USC wide receivers coach stopped by a Santa Margarita practice. After returning to USC’s summer camp in mid-June, Henson “challenged him,” Rouzier said, and Vaikona was offered and committed within the span of a couple of weeks.

“I have a lot of respect for (USC), and Washington, and UCLA and these other programs that really trusted their eval on him, because he’s not a high-star kid,” Rouzier said. “He’s a three-star guy.”

“But at the end of the day, man, it’s about F=MA,” Rouzier continued, referring to Newton’s second law of motion (net force is equal to mass times acceleration). “And that’s a lot of M, right there.”

​ Orange County Register 

Bellator Champions Series San Diego adds two more bouts

• July 9, 2024

Two fights have been added to the Bellator Champions Series San Diego main card, including one featuring a bantamweight intent on reclaiming gold.

Former 135-pound interim champion Raufeon Stots will take on Marcos Breno in the co-main event Sept. 7 at Pechanga Arena, a source confirmed.

And less than two weeks after an impressive TKO victory, Riverside welterweight Lorenz Larkin will step back into the cage against Levan Chokheli.

The main event, first reported June 18 by the Southern California News Group, pits undefeated lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov (17-0, 1 NC) against Alexander Shabliy (24-3).

Fighting out of Milwaukee, Stots, 35, lost his interim title via first-round knockout to Patchy Mix in the Bellator Bantamweight World Grand Prix in April 2023 at Bellator 295. Stots (20-2) rebounded by rematching Danny Sabatello, 11 months after his split-decision victory over the Italian Gangster, this time earning a unanimous-decision nod at Bellator 301 in November.

Breno (15-3), a 26-year-old Brazilian, hasn’t fought since a second-round submission loss via rear-naked choke to Sabatello at Bellator 294 in April of last year.

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Larkin (26-8), 37, tore through Alan Dominguez at PFL 6 on June 28, pounding away on his felled opponent and earning the referee’s stoppage with 14 seconds left in the opening round.

Chokheli (13-2), a 26-year-old Georgian, is 4-2 since debuting in Bellator a little more than three years ago. He has won his past three fights, with his most recent victory a first-round front-kick knockout of Sabah Homasi at Bellator 299.

Tickets are available on AXS.com

​ Orange County Register 

Wimbledon: Top-seeded Jannik Sinner loses in quarterfinals

• July 9, 2024

LONDON — Top-seeded Jannik Sinner was treated by a trainer and left the court during the third set, seemingly surged in the fourth and then faltered again in the fifth, eventually losing to Daniil Medvedev 6-7 (7), 6-4, 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-3 in the Wimbledon quarterfinals on Tuesday.

“It’s always tricky, because you want to play more points to make him suffer a little bit more — in a good way — and at the same time, you know that he at one point is going to say, ‘OK, I can not run anymore so I’m going to go full power,’” the fifth-seeded Medvedev said. “And that’s what he did.”

It was not immediately clear what was wrong with Sinner, who had his heart rate checked while sitting on the sideline before heading to the locker room. The 22-year-old from Italy returned after about 10 minutes and resumed playing, but lost the first game back at love.

After getting broken by 2021 U.S. Open champion Medvedev to fall behind 2-1 in the third, Sinner requested medical attention and leaned back in his chair at Centre Court. He rested his head in a hand at one point while speaking with the trainer before they headed toward the locker room.

During a later changeover, Sinner draped a towel over his head. While he did regain his usual verve, particularly on his booming forehand, and pushed the match to a fifth set — the 36th this fortnight and the most at any Grand Slam tournament in the Open era, which dates to 1968 — Sinner could not get over the line.

“He was not feeling that good … and then he started playing better,” Medvedev said.

Medvedev began finding the space to deliver more winners, compiling 13 in the closing set alone, and broke for a 3-1 lead, then held for 4-1 and was on his way back to the semifinals.

The Russian lost to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz at that stage in 2023 and could meet him again: Alcaraz faced Tommy Paul on Tuesday in the quarterfinals.

In the women’s quarterfinals, Donna Vekic reached the final four at a major for the first time in her 43rd Slam, defeating qualifier Lulu Sun 5-7, 6-4, 6-1.

Vekic now faces No. 7 Jasmine Paolini or No. 19 Emma Navarro, who were scheduled to play each other later Tuesday.

Sinner carried a nine-match winning streak into Tuesday, including a grass-court title at Halle, Germany, last month. He moved up to No. 1 in the ATP rankings, replacing Novak Djokovic there, on June 10 after getting to the semifinals at the French Open.

His exit follows that of the No. 1 women’s seed, Iga Swiatek, in the third round.

Medvedev had lost his five most recent matches against Sinner, including in the final of the Australian Open in January. That day, Medvedev took the first two sets, before Sinner clawed all the way back to win in five for his first Grand Slam title.

That result dropped Medvedev’s career record in major finals to 1-5. Now he’s one victory from a seventh such appearance.

​ Orange County Register