Mater Dei football stumbles in stunning shutout loss to St. John Bosco

• October 14, 2023

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BELLFLOWER — Mater Dei’s quest to redeem a painful loss last season continued Friday against the rival who spoiled its storybook ending.

The Monarchs’ football team will need to regroup after their trip to St. John Bosco on Friday.

Before a sellout crowd of about 9,000, the Braves defeated Mater Dei 28-0 to grab sole possession of first place in the Trinity League and take a huge step toward securing the top seed for the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs.

Mater Dei (7-1, 2-1) entered with a No. 1 ranking in several rational polls while St. John Bosco (7-1, 3-0) was ranked ninth nationally by MaxPreps.

The Braves snapped a four-year losing streak in league to Mater Dei and handed the Monarchs their shutout loss since 2011 to Orange Lutheran. That score was also 28-0.

St. John Bosco held Mater Dei to 182 yards on offense.

“They played great,” first-year Mater Dei coach Frank McManus said of Braves. “There’s some things we can do, we’ll look at differently. I think the coaches got surprised a little bit and tried to make some adjustments. It just didn’t happen. Great game plan for the home team.”

The schools’ rivalry centers on the Division 1 title and that’s ultimately what senior-led Mater Dei wants, especially after the way last season ended at the Rose Bowl.

Mater Dei quarterback Elijah Brown said before this season that his squad was seeking “redemption” for a 24-22 loss against St. John Bosco in the 2022 Division 1 final in Pasadena. The Stanford-bound senior said his class felt somewhat responsible for the defeat, which marked the final game of legendary Mater Dei coach Bruce Rollinson.

“The season is not over,” McManus said. “There’s plenty of opportunity for us to grow and get better as a team.”

Mater Dei’s trademark so far under McManus, a defensive back coach under Rollinson, has been defense. The Monarchs entered the showdown having allowed only 29 points on defense.

But St. John Bosco’s defense held the advantage from the start, recording three sacks to help the Braves take a 14-0 lead at intermission.

UCLA committed running back Cameron Jones (138 yards rushing) took care of the early offense for St. John Bosco.

The 6-foot-2, 235-pound senior scored on a 1-yard run on third-and-goal in the middle of the second quarter as the Braves opened a 7-0.

It was the first time Mater Dei trailed on the season.

Jones set up the score by breaking a 37-yard run — the longest play of the opening half — to the Mater Dei 5-yard line.

After St. John Bosco sacked Brown twice on the ensuing possession, Jones capped a 54-yard drive with a 17-yard touchdown reception from Caleb Sanchez. Jones lined up at tight end on the play as the Braves led 14-0.

To make matters more grim for Mater Dei, running back Jordon Davison walked off at halftime with the aid of crutches. He finished with one carry.

St. John Bosco extended its lead to 21-0 in the middle of the third as it executed a double-pass. Wide receiver Stacy Dobbins took a lateral from Sanchez and threw to a wide open Tommy Maher for a 28-yard touchdown on the trick play.

The Braves added a 9-yard TD run Chauncey Sylvester and sealed the shutout with a late interception in the end zone by Frankie Edwards III.

Next week, Mater Dei plays on Thursday, Oct. 19 when it takes on Orange Lutheran at Orange Coast College. St. John Bosco travels to JSerra on Oct. 20.

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​ Orange County Register 

San Clemente football knocks off Mission Viejo with strong defense

• October 14, 2023

MISSION VIEJO — San Clemente used its running game and strong defense to upset Mission Viejo 20-10 on Friday and put itself in good position to win the South Coast League championship.

The Tritons (7-1, 1-0) had a 13-10 lead in the final minutes when cornerback Max Gonzales intercepted a pass and returned it 20 yards for a touchdown to seal the victory.

San Clemente entered the week ranked No. 8 in the Register’s Top 25 poll and Mission Viejo (5-3, 0-1) entered ranked No. 3.

It was the first win for San Clemente over Mission Viejo since the 2021 spring season, which was shortened due to the pandemic. The winner of this rivalry has won the South Coast League championship 15 consecutive seasons.

Junior Matai Tagoa’i had two big sacks for the San Clemente defense and the duo of Puka Fuimaono and Zeke Rubinstein led the Tritons in tackles.

San Clemente running back Aiden Rubin, who broke the school’s single-game rushing record last week against Ayala, ran for 239 yards on 28 carries with a touchdown.

Mission Viejo played good defense for the majority of the game, but multiple personal foul penalties ended drives for the Diablos and put them in bad field position.

Chase Valousky led the Mission Viejo offense with 105 yards on 14 carries. The quarterback duo of Luke Fahey and Draiden Trudeau combined for 133 yards passing.

San Clemente opened the game strong with a 50-yard touchdown run by Rubin on the game’s opening drive to give the Tritons a 7-0 lead.

Michael Salgado-Medina made a 35-yard field goal for the Diablos late in the 1st to cut the lead to 7-3.

Hinesward Lilomaiava ran for a 6-yard touchdown in the second quarter to give Mission Viejo a 10-7 lead entering halftime.

After 56 and 24-yard runs from Rubin, Gonzales made a 23-yard field goal to tie the game at 10 late in the third quarter. San Clemente quarterback Dylan Mills converted a huge fourth down attempt on the drive by rolling to his right and running for a 5-yard gain.

Gonzales made another 19-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter to give the Tritons a 13-10 lead.

San Clemente’s special teams made a huge play with just under four minutes remaining in the game. Mission Viejo muffed a punt return and San Clemente junior Xander Rex recovered the fumble in Mission Viejo’s territory.

Sophomore Kane Nolte had two sacks for Mission Viejo and Jonavan Asuncion had an interception.

San Clemente will play Capistrano Valley on the road next week.

Mission Viejo will play Tesoro next week. The Diablos haven’t lost to Tesoro since 2008.

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​ Orange County Register 

Prayers for peace at vigil for Israel in Laguna Woods

• October 14, 2023

“I felt anger. I kept asking myself, ‘For what purpose was this done? Why? What did they hope to accomplish?”

Laguna Woods Shalom Club co-President Paula Kruger’s sentiments was among the furious, exasperated and aggrieved reactions of the Village’s diverse residents upon learning that Hamas terrorists had invaded southern Israel from the Gaza Strip.

More than 3,000 people have been killed on both sides of the border, thousands more have been reported wounded, and around 150 people have been taken hostage by Hamas since the attack began Oct. 7.

Kruger has visited Israel 12 times. She lived with an Israeli citizen for 15 years and served as a volunteer in the Israeli army, so she knows the beleaguered country well, she says.

“I just spoke with someone I consider my Israeli sister and she said, ‘I don’t know anyone who is not going to a funeral.’”

Given the number of Jewish residents in Laguna Woods, some of whom have come from Israel, have family and friends there or who, like Kruger, have visited the Jewish homeland, the shock of the brutal attack reverberated through the community with blunt force.

Nearly 300 residents of varied religious and political persuasions gathered Oct. 9 on the back patio of Clubhouse 1 for a peace vigil organized by Rabbi Joe Mendelsohn of the Reform Temple of Laguna Woods.

“These are not just kids throwing stones … Hamas are terrorists,” Mendelsohn told the gathering. “Hamas murdered Jews across the spectrum – they did not care.”

Mendelsohn made a strong distinction between militants who fight for a political cause and Hamas, who are terrorists.

“Hamas has rejected negotiated settlements with Israel, and they are opposing the Palestinian Authority that would negotiate peace with Israel,” he said. “They are opposed to peace.”

He said this is not a religious war, not a war between Islam and Judaism, and not a war of moral equivalents.

“Yes, there will be noncombatants killed, but it’s not because Israel wants that to happen, but that Israel needs to defend itself,” he said, emphasizing that he did not aim to change anyone’s mind about how Israelis treat Palestinians but to voice a plea for peace.

Rebeca Gilad, founder of the Laguna Woods Community Bridge Builders, offered a prayer for peace and God’s compassion not only for Israel but throughout the world.

“May we see the day when war and bloodshed cease … when the human family will not know war,” she said, tears filling her voice. “Enough is enough. What is happening to the world?”

She told of a cousin who lives in Israel and had planned to attend a family wedding in her native Mexico. “He is now unaccounted for,” she said.

Ami Gilad, an Israeli by birth in 1948, the year of Israel’s founding, also spoke at the vigil.

“This is more a plea than a prayer,” he said. “Bless the land with peace.”

Shelley Rones was born in 1939, when Palestine was under British mandate, and came to the U.S. during World War II. Her younger sister married and moved to Israel and raised six children there.

“By now, 85 percent of my family lives in Israel – uncles, cousins, my sister-in-law, kids and grandkids. My parents are buried there,” she said. “The safety of my family and the land of Israel affects me a lot.

“I feel strongly about Israel’s existence not only because of the pervasive anti-Semitic hate around the world but also because I want our young ones to grow up there.”

Rones has three great-nephews in the Israeli army but is unsure of their whereabouts now.

“Two of my close friends in Israel lost their children – their funeral was today,” she said. “I can relate to the horror Jewish communities must have experienced when Germany invaded Poland and other countries during World War II.”

Born in Israel and with family in Tel Aviv, Nathan Kvetny expressed anger at the inhumanity of the attack.

“I really was shocked – lost for words. I knew how the people (the victims) would be treated – animals would fare better,” he said. “It is human nature, but I was hurt and upset, angry and confused.”

Born in 1935 and bar mitzvahed at age 13 when Israel was founded, Kvetny said: “I am here – we all have circumstances that bring us to other places, but my heart is there, in Israel.”

Daphne Davids says she has a cousin who was on Kibbutz Be’eri, near the Gaza Strip, when the tragic events unfolded. More than 100 bodies were found in the kibbutz after the Hamas attack, according to CNN.

“Our families are ‘friends’ on Facebook, and as these events were occurring, we received Facebook messages begging for help,” Davids said via email. “My cousin, her husband and three young children were hiding in the security room in Be’eri. She messaged us that the army was nowhere to be seen and they needed help badly.

“After 19 hours, they were taken by three soldiers to the Dead Sea. Their entire kibbutz had been destroyed. … She is now  recuperating and spending time with her family and friends.”

Shari Horne is a dual Israeli-American citizen. She and her husband have cousins in Israel. Though she says she hasn’t heard directly from them, her brother-in-law heard back and says the family is OK so far.

“This is horrible. It is hard to watch on TV, but impossible to look away,” Horne said in an email. “To know intimately the places being attacked, and to recognize beloved places destroyed is very hard. It is hard to breathe.

“My heart is with all those families whose loved ones were abducted and taken into Gaza. I can only imagine the fear and pain of the children.”

David Shichor and his wife lived in Israel for many years; he was on the faculty of Tel Aviv University. His son and three of his grandchildren live there now, north of Tel Aviv. Shichor has been in contact with them, he said, and they are safe. His youngest granddaughter is finishing her army service this month but is not in a combat unit.

“Our son volunteered to house refugees from the south, and right now he is organizing his home for receiving a family,” Shichor said via email.

Shichor last lived in Israel in 1970-75 and experienced the Yom Kippur War.

“Really, in many aspects, the situation (today) is similar to the 1973 war in which I served,” he said. “Like most of the Israelis, I am completely shocked by the scale of this attack. I can’t understand how Hamas could prepare such a complex attack without being discovered by Israeli intelligence.”

Marina Levitanus was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1978, but her daughter has been married to an Israeli emergency physician for seven years. Levitanus has four grandchildren living between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

“My daughter wants me to be calm, but I feel terrified. She can’t talk to me when the younger children are around,” she said.

Noemi Epstein has family in the Haifa area, where things have been calm, she said. She lived in Israel for three years in the late 1960s and early 70s, also during a time of conflict.

“Because we lived close to the hospital in Tel Hashomer, we saw the horrors of war firsthand with the wounded being transferred to Emergency in helicopters all day and night long,” she recalled. “We had at that time aside from our Israeli family and friends, Palestinian friends and can only imagine how they are feeling now as well.  In my opinion nobody wins.”

Marti Hack, president of the Reform Temple, summed up the community’s stance via email: “As a congregation with many friends and family in Israel, we are devastated by this act of hatred where innocent civilians including babies are massacred and are abducted. We stand by Israel and pray for a swift peace and a desire for peace in the heart of our enemies. Finally, we are sincerely indebted to those who reach out to us in solidarity.”

Rabbi Dennis Linson of Temple Judea in Laguna Woods expressed similar sentiments. The temple also held prayer vigils.

“We expressed our outrage at the brutality of the terrorist murderers killing innocent civilians: infants, children, parents and grandparents,” he said. “Our prayers were intended to provide comfort and strength in this dire moment in the history of the State of Israel and the people of Israel.

“As we read in Ecclesiastes during the holiday, ‘there is a time for war and a time for peace.’ We prayed that we will be delivered from this time of war, and enter a time of peace. Meanwhile, Israel we are with you.”

How to help

The Reform Temple of Laguna Woods sent to its congregants a list of Israeli charities:

israelrescue.org: A community-based volunteer emergency medical services organization committed to providing the fastest response to medical emergencies across Israel even prior to the arrival of ambulances and completely free of charge.

ZAKA: zakaworld.org: Israel’s dominant nongovernmental rescue and recovery organization, with over 3,000 volunteers deployed around the country, on call 24/7 to respond to any terror attack, disaster or accident immediately, professionally and with the necessary equipment.

FIDF: fidf.org: A nonpolitical, nonmilitary organization that works closely with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to provide for the well-being of its soldiers, veterans, and family members.

Hadassah: hadassah.org: Committed to advancing women’s health, supporting a strong Israel and instilling Jewish values in future generations. Hadassah helped to create the medical system in Israel providing new treatments and scientific breakthroughs which are saving lives around the world.

Jewish National Fund: jnf.org: Strategic vision has been and always will be to ensure a strong, secure and prosperous future for the land and people of Israel.

​ Orange County Register 

Flex Seal pitchman Phil Swift lists his Sherman Oaks home for $5 million

• October 14, 2023

A Sherman Oaks hillside home owned by Phil Swift, the dynamo behind Flex Seal infomercials, is on the market for $4.995 million.

The 5,107-square-foot contemporary home has five bedrooms, nine bathrooms and a detached recording studio with an isolated soundproof control room capable of accommodating a four-piece band.

Designed and built by Hollywood-based architect Cyril Chern as his private residence in 1982, it boasts glass walls and 180-degree San Fernando Valley views from all three levels.

An elevator provides easy access.

The main living area holds a dining room with a built-in bar that doubles as a billiard room. A stone fireplace anchors the family room, which opens to the living and dining room sky decks with a fireplace.

For everyday meals, there’s the breakfast room. It connects to the gourmet kitchen with stainless steel appliances and quartz counters.

The upper-level primary retreat has a spacious bedroom, a sitting area with a stone fireplace, a luxurious bathroom, a walk-in closet and an office with built-ins. There’s another office with a remodeled bathroom just outside the primary suite that the listing suggests can double as a nursery.

Each guest suite features a remodeled bathroom with a flow-through slider to a private lounge.

The grounds hold a limestone deck, an infinity-edge pool and spa and a covered outdoor dining room with a barbecue center and full kitchen. There are multiple seating areas, fire features and a grotto with a waterfall.

Alan Taylor of Compass is the listing agent.

Swift is the pitchman and CEO of Flex Seal products. He stars in the brand’s infomercials to happily demonstrate the bonding capabilities through over-the-top hypotheticals, from motoring a patched-up skiff boat through shark-infested waters to staging a massive flood to show how Flex Seal keeps water out, even when partially submerged.

Flex Seal’s collection of commercials, behind-the-scenes footage, how-to videos and more are available to stream on the company’s YouTube channel.

County documents show that in April 2016, Swift purchased the property for $1.84 million. He co-owns it with his son, Sidney Swift, a Grammy-nominated record producer who has worked with artists such as Big Sean, Beyonce and Jason Derulo.

Sidney Swift is also an entrepreneur in his own right as the founder and CEO of the entertainment technology company Defient.

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​ Orange County Register 

OC Women’s Health Summit speakers take look at women’s health and access to care

• October 14, 2023

More than 100 people gathered Friday, Oct. 13, to consider women’s health and equity at the OC Women’s Health Summit hosted by UC Irvine’s public health program and the OC Women’s Health Project.

The event comes more than a year after the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case, which upended Roe. v Wade and allowed for states to ban abortions, meaning millions of Americans no longer have guaranteed access to abortion care.

“Roe v. Wade and the Dobbs decision didn’t just impact abortions,” Sora Park Tanjasiri, a UCI public health professor, said. “We’re talking about an assault on evidence-based medicine. And we need to fight for physicians to be able to offer the best care they can to every patient. And we need to make sure to educate our policymakers.”

Friday was the ninth year for the OC Women’s Health Summit and involved a day of panels with experts in the field of sexual and reproductive health. Several speakers throughout the program spoke on the future of women’s reproductive care.

Bernadette Boden-Albala, director and dean of the UC Irvine Program in Public Health, said the event is designed to inspire action and motivate people to make the world a better place starting with women’s health.

“These conversations are important to have because we need everyone educated to what is really going on,” Boden-Albala said. “And to really understand the impact of all of our actions, from a vote, a conversation, putting something in the newspaper, to not doing anything.”

​ Orange County Register 

OC high roller sues Las Vegas casino, blaming his multimillion-dollar losses on a spiked drink

• October 14, 2023

In the parlance of Las Vegas, Orange County real estate developer Dwight Manley is a “whale.”

An expert coin collector and former sports agent who represented NBA bad boy Dennis Rodman, Manley could be counted on to bet big. And on one particularly ugly afternoon at an MGM Grand Resort and Casino blackjack table, he took a multimillion-dollar hit that he blames on a drink spiked with a tranquilizer used on animals.

Manley, 57, of Brea has filed a federal lawsuit against MGM Resorts International for consumer fraud and negligence, claiming the casino kept extending his credit millions of dollars even though his behavior had become visibly erratic after someone allegedly put ketamine in his old fashioned cocktail. On Thursday, Oct. 12, his representatives announced a $500,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person who drugged him.

Meanwhile, Manley remains on the hook for at least $2.4 million in credit debt, according to his lawsuit, which was filed in November 2022 and amended in July.

“Mr. Manley feels that a serious criminal act was directed at him which potentially put his life in danger,” said one of Manley’s attorneys, Richard K. Howell, on Friday, Oct. 13. “He is determined to do all that he can to track down and hold accountable those responsible.”

Howell would not comment further. Lawrence J. Semenza, the attorney for MGM Resorts International, declined comment.

30-year relationship with casino

According to court documents, Manley had a 30-year relationship with the MGM Grand, where he was treated like a VIP and offered free lodging, food, drink and access to a high-limit salon, where he played alone at the blackjack table. He also was allowed credit advances while gambling by signing “markers.”

On his most recent trip, Manley and his entourage left Orange County on Dec. 10, 2020, on a private plane provided by the casino, said the lawsuit. He was given a villa at the MGM “Mansion,” a luxury property on the grounds of the resort.

His accommodations were handled by a casino host, whom Manley had been working with for the past five years. Manley’s plan that weekend was to gamble and then play in a poker tournament at the casino.

Drink tasted ‘bitter’

He didn’t even make it through the first day. Within a half-hour of arriving, Manley was at a blackjack table, ordering his first old fashioned from the bar in the high-stakes salon. He remarked that the drink tasted “bitter” and “dirty” and later asked when he ordered a second drink that it not be made the same way, the suit said.

After drinking that first cocktail, Manley said he felt disoriented and, while gambling, broke a glass ash tray, cutting his hand. MGM staff noticed him bleeding on the felt table and moved him to another blackjack station, so he could continue gambling, the suit said.

The casino did not seek medical aid for Manley, but gave his friend some Band-Aids to patch his hand in the restroom, the suit said.

Manley was given application after application to increase his maximum credit limit even after his casino host told Manley’s friends that pit staff had noticed he was acting erratically. In all, Manley’s credit limit was raised three times.

“MGM did nothing to stop (Manley) from further gaming play or to otherwise check on his well-being despite its casino host expressly commenting upon his ‘erratic’ behavior,” the suit said.

Left $500,000 on table

After staying three hours in the high-limit area, Manley and his friends left to go to the Venetian, without realizing he had left $500,000 in chips on the table.

Manley never made it to the Venetian. Friends quickly recognized something was wrong with him. He couldn’t stand or walk on his own and fell repeatedly on the way back to his villa, the suit said.

Shortly after being helped into bed, he collapsed for the night about 5:15 p.m. He awoke the next morning feeling nauseous and groggy, complaining to hotel staff that he believed he had been drugged.

After his immediate return to California, Manley sought medical treatment and submitted his hair follicles for drug testing. According to the lawsuit, the tests were positive for ketamine, an anesthetic that can cause hallucinations. Manley had never intentionally ingested ketamine, said the suit.

Disavowed markers

He filed a police report in Nevada and a complaint with the Nevada Gaming Control Board. Manley also disavowed the markers taken after he was allegedly drugged.

Manley “lacked capacity to enter into any requests for additional credit advances or credit instruments,” the suit said.

Anyone with information on the alleged drugging is asked to call 800-608-6155. Information also can be submitted by email to [email protected]. Terms and conditions of the reward offer can be found at www.Reward4InfoCasinoDrugging.com.

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​ Orange County Register 

Lexi Thompson’s bid to make PGA Tour cut stalls in Las Vegas

• October 14, 2023

LAS VEGAS — Lexi Thompson delivered star-power moments built for a stage like Las Vegas, and when she poured in a pair of long birdie putts Friday, she was on the verge of history.

Thompson was 4 under with seven holes to play and was on the verge of becoming the first woman in 78 years to make a 36-hole cut on the PGA Tour.

One poor swing, one mediocre chip and one missed putt at the end left her on the outside of the cut at the Shriners Children’s Open, but no less proud of two days she won’t soon forget. She wanted to inspire kids to chase their dreams, and she did all of that at the TPC Summerlin.

“Playing with the guys – amazing feeling,” Thompson said after a 2-under 69. “Growing up with guys, I’ve always wanted to be out on a PGA Tour event and tee it up. But the biggest thing was seeing the kids out there outside the ropes and then meeting a few of the Shriners ambassadors. That was the most special.”

Her golf was a close second.

Thompson made five birdies in a 10-hole stretch, only to make two bogeys toward the end and miss a 6-foot birdie putt on her final hole. She had rounds of 73-69 to finish at even-par 142, already two shots out of the cut with half the 132-player field still on the course in good scoring conditions.

“Very proud. I played really well today,” said Thompson, who hit 12 of 14 fairways and only missed four greens. “As the day went on, I tried to stay committed to my targets out there and to my swing thoughts and just enjoyed the whole experience.”

Her 69 was one short of the record by a female on the PGA Tour – Michelle Wie twice shot 68 in the Sony Open, once as a 14-year-old when she missed the cut by one shot.

“I knew I had to play my ‘A’ game,” Thompson said, adding that golf was only part of her being in Las Vegas. “Just coming into the week there was more of a message than just playing golf. To inspire the kids, that’s what I enjoy most.”

Thompson looked as though she might be around for all four days.

She finished the opening round, which had been suspended by darkness, by missing a 20-foot par putt on the 17th hole and making a tough par save on the 18th for a 73. Then, she began her second nine with a bogey on the 10th hole.

But the 28-year-old American came to life. She stuffed her approach to 4 feet on the 11th for a birdie. She was just off the green on the par-5 13th and took two putts for birdie. She drove the 296-yard 15th green for a two-putt birdie.

Thompson made the turn and promptly holed a birdie putt from just inside 25 feet for birdie, and then she poured in a birdie putt from just inside 30 feet.

She was 4 under for the round through 11 holes, and 2 under for the tournament.

“I knew once I had made a few birdies in a row that I would be somewhat close, but I knew the cut line would keep on going lower and lower with these guys, especially with not that much wind out there,” Thompson said.

“I tried to stay focused on my game and focused on my swing thoughts, picking small targets and staying 100% committed.”

It all changed with one swing – and one smart decision. Her tee shot on the par-3 fifth was well to the right into the native area, the pin toward the right side of the green. Instead of taking a big risk by trying to hit out of the desert, she took a penalty drop for a clean lie 98 yards from the hole and hit a wedge to 5 feet to escape with a bogey.

Her hopes faded on the long par-3 eighth. Her 2-iron went just over the green, she chipped weakly to 12 feet and then missed the par putt. Needing a birdie on the par-5 ninth to have any chance, she chipped 6 feet past the cup and missed the putt.

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The cut was at 1 under when she walked off the ninth green, but she already was at 2 under after she had signed her card. Scoring conditions were ideal, and the cut line was not expected to come back.

Thompson was the seventh woman to play on the PGA Tour. Babe Didrikson Zaharias was the last to make a 36-hole cut in 1945.

This was never about winning. Thompson was 11 shots out of the lead after the first round, and Cameron Champ had posted a 12-under 130 after 36 holes midway through the second round.

Even so, Thompson delivered a highlight in an otherwise rough year. She hasn’t won on the LPGA Tour in more than four years, and she was in jeopardy of losing her LPGA card until she posted a pair of top-10 finishes before arriving in Las Vegas.

Thompson said she would take the next few weeks off before returning to the LPGA in Florida for the conclusion of the season.

​ Orange County Register 

San Diego County judge takes up OC murder case, prosecutorial misconduct allegations

• October 14, 2023

On the surface, the immediate question before San Diego County Superior Court Judge Daniel Goldstein is whether to dismiss murder charges against Paul Gentile Smith, whose conviction in Orange County was overturned because evidence was withheld that could have helped his defense.

But the deeper issue is the fate of Ebrahim Baytieh, the prosecutor in that case and now an elected Orange County Superior Court judge. Baytieh is accused by Smith’s new lawyer of concealing evidence in the Smith case for more than 10 years and covering up the illegal use of jailhouse informants by prosecutors and law enforcement.

Goldstein took up the case Friday, meeting the attorneys and asking them to return Dec. 8.

Assistant Public Defender Scott Sanders is hoping to have an evidentiary hearing that would force Baytieh and sheriff’s investigators to testify.

“We certainly hope Judge Baytieh can respond to the allegations,” Sanders said. “And sheriff’s deputies have a second opportunity to do what is right and testify in the case they investigated.”

In the past, the deputies have invoked their constitutional right not to incriminate themselves.

Baytieh is prohibited as a judge from responding to media inquiries, according to a spokesman for the Orange County Superior Court.

Since Baytieh is a sitting judge, the case was kicked by the Orange County bench to San Diego County, presumably to avoid a conflict of interest.

At issue is the use of multiple informants on Smith by Baytieh and sheriff’s investigators, even after the defendant was formally charged and had an attorney, which is prohibited by law. Authorities disclosed only one of the three informants to Smith’s defense attorneys and made it appear that Smith’s admissions came randomly and were not the product of an organized snitch operation.

A recorded interview by sheriff’s investigators of one of the informants detailed how Smith’s rights were violated, but it was not turned over to the defense until 10 years after Smith’s trial.

Smith was convicted in 2010 of killing and burning the body of a childhood friend in Sunset Beach. However, the conviction was thrown out by a judge in 2021 after sheriff’s investigators refused to testify about their use of informants. A new trial is pending.

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​ Orange County Register