Smaller, tighter Juárez-style burritos come to Anaheim

• May 29, 2024

The problem, if there is one, with the typical burrito found in the United States is its size. For the skinny on a solution, head to Omar De la Vega and Juan Del Rio’s new spot in Anaheim.

Busting at the seams, most burritos — especially those found in Southern California, San Francisco’s Mission District or even your nearest Chipotle — come crammed with fillings. Beans. Carne. Chicken. Rice. Crema. Cheese. Guacamole. More beans. More cheese. Salsa. Egg. Lettuce. Pork. French fries. Tortilla chips. And more — always more. In the burrito-verse, enough is never enough.

But Los de Juárez Burritos, which opened in March, offers slender Juárez-style burritos that strip away the detritus without losing complexity or flavor. Measuring a quarter the size of the aforementioned behemoths, the new-to-Orange-County style of burrito is tightly wrapped with a few ingredients (guisado, a slip of beans and maybe some cheese) inside from-scratch tortillas made with lard and butter, before getting seared a light golden brown on the plancha. The result is an exceptionally juicy burrito.

“It’s simple and it’s simply delicious,” said De la Vega, who hails from Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. “You have nothing in the middle, it’s just your guisado and your tortilla.”

Omar de la Vega, owner of Los de Juarez Burritos, outside his new restaurant in Anaheim, CA, on Friday, May 24, 2024. The eatery specializes in long and slender burritos which replicates those from the state of Chihuahua, Mexico. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Guisado often is translated into the word “stew,” but it’s more than that; a guisado refers to a homey dish that is braised or slow-cooked but can also include fried items.

“Everywhere we went in the United States, if we asked for a burrito, they gave us the same type — short and stuffed. But, it was more rice, cheese, pico de gallo, cream, guacamole and very little meat. Those burritos, truthfully, don’t exist in the city of Juárez,” said De la Vega.

With years of experience in the restaurant industry, De la Vega and Del Rio did their homework to come up with exacting recipes for their new venue, traveling to Juárez to taste test burritos and bring that experience and those flavors to Anaheim.

SEE ALSO: Get a scoop of a traditional Turkish treat at this new ice cream shop in Long Beach

During a culinary excursion in Mexico, where the two were testing different flavors and dishes for their other restaurant, Jardin Autentica Cocina, located in Orange, they met chef Jessica Francesca Correa Platas, who was selling burritos out of a cooler attached to her bike.

“The moment we tried them, it sent me back to my childhood, to being 10 years old,” said De la Vega. “I said, ‘This is a burrito.’ From there, this grew from what was a passion project of mine into a reality.”

Platas heavily influenced what is now the menu at Los de Juárez Burritos. Both the carne en su jugo and pollo en chipotle burritos came from her palate. She also helped create their tortilla recipe.

Los de Juarez Burritos in Anaheim, CA, on Friday, May 24, 2024 (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Los de Juárez Burritos features a menu of eight burritos: chile relleno (poblano pepper with cheese), deshebrada (shredded beef with potatoes and green salsa), carne en su jugo (flank steak, beans and bacon), rajas (roasted poblano, corn, crema, cheese), pollo en chipotle (chicken with smoky chipotle sauce), chile colorado (beef and potato stew in Mexican red sauce with beans), chicharron (pork cracklings with red sauce and beans), birria (beef in adobo sauce) and frijoles con queso (beef and cheese). Guests can place single orders, combos and family packs, as well as packs of tortillas. A cheese-only quesadilla is also available.

De la Vega’s favorite iterations are his deshebrada, rajas and chile colorado.

“The deshebrada and the chile colorado remind me so much of being a kid, of getting out of school and passing all the burrito stands on my walk home,” he said. “It’s one of those moments like in the movies where you taste something and it sends you back to being a small boy.”

In addition to being downright delicious, Los de Juárez Burritos also breaks the myth that burritos require a multitude of structural layers of beans, rice, meat and salsa to be good. Burritos, he suggests, should be simple.

Fresh tortillas to cook at home are available at Los de Juarez Burritos in Anaheim, CA, on Friday, May 24, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

“There’s this myth that burritos are these huge things with layers of flavors, but it doesn’t need to be giant to fill you or to be flavorful. What we are selling is guisados that we wrap in tortillas. That’s how we make the burrito,” Omar said. “The burrito, like that, is exquisite and the tortilla is the main actor.”

Since opening a few weeks ago, the response has been great, especially from people native to this part of Mexico. Omar points out that, in the 35 years he has lived in the U.S. (he moved here from Mexico at the age of 10), he rarely meets people either from Juárez or from the Mexican state of Chihuahua. But some of his earliest customers hailed from that region, coming to see if, indeed, this restaurant really has authentic Juárez-style burritos. He said this made him nervous because that meant the bar was already high.

“It was a small number of customers, maybe 20 a day, in the earlier days, but they left happy,” noted De la Vega. “So I said, ‘We’re doing something right.’”

Juárez-style burritos; Deshebrada (shredded beef stew with potatoes on a green chile sauce), left, Rajas (roasted poblano, corn, cerema, rice), center, and Chile Colorado (beef and stew in a Mexican red sauce, beans) at Los de Juarez Burritos in Anaheim, CA, on Friday, May 24, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Then came the chile relleno burrito, which, in less than a month after opening, put them on the map. Chile rellenos, a green chile stuffed with melted cheese, requires a lengthy cooking process, so Omar and his business partner initially added it to the menu as a specialty item. He had no idea the throngs of people that this dish would bring.

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“I don’t know who it was, but someone took a video and posted it to Instagram. The next day — it was a Thursday, I remember it perfectly — Juan and I were going down to Tijuana to pick up some things. At around noon, I got a call from the restaurant, saying, ‘Omar, we’re out of chiles rellenos.’ I said, ‘Wait, we just opened an hour ago, and we had prepped so much the day before.’ And they go, ‘We just sold 125 burritos and the line stretches to the other side of the building.”

SEE ALSO: 6 Southern California restaurants make Yelp’s Top 100 BBQ Spots list

Since then, business at Los de Juárez Burritos has been brisk, with new customers turning into loyal ones. Lines reach out the door on the daily, so arriving shortly before opening (doors open at 11 a.m. Monday through Friday and 9am on Saturday and Sunday) is advisable.

By offering denizens a slimmer and more compact version of a dish unimpeachably beloved by many, Omar said Los de Juárez Burritos has created its own niche within OC’s food landscape.

“We are not going to fold on what the concept is,” he said. “We have had people ask us for this or that, but we stay with the originality of this project and this product, because it’s the product that we want to sell.”

Find it: 1101 Lincoln Ave., Anaheim

​ Orange County Register 

Santa Margarita, Orange Lutheran baseball teams to meet again in CIF regional playoffs Thursday

• May 29, 2024

Jake Lavin hit a three-run home run and Logan deGroot added two RBIs for Santa Margarita in a 7-1 win over Rancho Bernardo on Tuesday in the first round of the CIF Southern California Regional Division I baseball playoffs.

The Eagles (22-9-1) will play Orange Lutheran (26-7) in the semifinals Thursday at 4 p.m. at Hart Park in Orange. Santa Margarita beat Orange Lutheran in two of their three league games this season.

Santa Margarita junior Brennan Bauer pitched a complete game Tuesday. He allowed no earned runs and three hits.

Carter Enoch had three hits and scored twice for the Eagles.

Santa Margarita lost in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 quarterfinals to Huntington Beach.

Usually a team must reach the CIF-SS Division 1 semifinals to be eligible to play in the Southern California Regional but because CIF-SS finalists Corona and Harvard-Westlake opted to not play in the regional that created openings that were taken by La Mirada and Santa Margarita.

Also in Division I:

Orange Lutheran 9, Cathedral Catholic 3: Josiah Hartshorn had three hits and two RBIs for the Lancers (26-7) in their first-round win at Hart Park.

Hamilton Friedberg, Gavin Hottle and Finnegan Stewart drove in two runs each for Orange Lutheran.

Huntington Beach’s Tanner Edson, right, congratulates Nate Cox, left, after Cox scored against Villa Park in the second round of the CIF-SS Division 1 baseball playoff in Orange on Tuesday, May 7, 2024. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)

Huntington Beach 8, Granite Hills 3: Tony Martinez drove in three runs for the Oilers in their home win.

Martinez hit a two-run double and sent home a run on a sacrifice fly. Jayton Greer contributed two RBIs for Huntington Beach.

Martinez, Greer, Trent Grindlinger, Matt Hansen and John Petrie hit doubles Tuesday. Oilers senior right-hander Nathan Aceves struck out six in five innings of pitching.

The Oilers will be at home Thursday for a semifinal game against La Mirada (24-7), a 4-2 winner over Torrey Pines in the first round.

In Division IV:

Valhalla 4, Oxford Academy 0: The Patriots (18-15-1) lost on the road in their first-round game of the single-elimination tournament. They won the CIF-SS Division 7 championship.

In Division V:

Mount Miguel 2, Pacifica Christian 0: The visiting Tritons (22-8) lost in a first-round game. They were CIF-SS Division 8 finalists.

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​ Orange County Register 

Laguna Beach home east of PCH hits new city benchmark, selling for $18.3 million

• May 29, 2024

A hillside home has set a record in Laguna Beach for the all-time highest price sale east of Pacific Coast Highway.

The 6,738-square-foot house with six bedrooms, seven bathrooms and disappearing corner glass walls that extend the dining room onto the pool terrace sold May 24 for $18.25 million, $255,000 over its asking price.

Listing agent Seth Nelson of the Eklund | Gomes Team at Douglas Elliman Real Estate noted that this level of high-end sale is uncommon for the non-ocean side of PCH. “From our research, there have been two sales east of PCH that have achieved $11 million, and they were the benchmark up until this point,” he said by phone.

According to PropertyShark, the home bested an $11.118 million sale in April 2014 and an $11 million sale in August 2020.

“Records are meant to be broken — and this sale did just that. By a mile,” the buyer’s agent, John Stanaland of the John Stanaland Group at Douglas Elliman Real Estate, wrote in an Instagram post.

Records show the property previously sold for $3.75 million in January 2017. The existing home was later reimagined by Laguna Beach-based Anders Lasater Architects, which won a 2020 Gold Nugget Design Award for transforming a “mish-mash of architectural styles” into one “tailored to its site and optimized for coastal living,” Houzz.com reported.

The same project, which the architectural firm described on its website as a “substantial remodel” dubbed “Cocktail Party,” also received a 2020 AIA Merit Award.

Completed in 2023, the home sits on an oversized 1.24-acre lot. It features a privately gated driveway in the front and an infinity-edge pool with a 180-degree view from downtown Laguna Beach to the Channel Islands in the back. There’s also an outdoor barbecue center.

Natural light pours through floor-to-ceiling windows and skylights into the open-plan living space.

Highlights include an ultra-luxe gourmet kitchen with a large walk-in pantry, a center island with seating and a breakfast nook. The kitchen opens to the great room.

Walnut stairs, limestone floors and gold and black fixtures add to the house’s fit and finish, which the listing describes as “a perfect blend of Hollywood Hills chic meets contemporary coastal warmth” and “a work of art.”

In the primary suite, a walk-in closet that Nelson likened to a Chanel boutique boasts custom cabinetry, lighting and herringbone wood flooring.

Nelson co-listed the property with Fredrik Eklund of Douglas Elliman Real Estate, while Stanaland teamed up with Logan Montgomery of Douglas Elliman Real Estate to represent the buyer.

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​ Orange County Register 

Swanson: Alexa Melton’s approach to U.S. Women’s Open? ‘It’s just golf’

• May 29, 2024

A girl just wants to have fun.

That seems pretty straightforward when you’re a kid winning junior golf tournaments: Hit it as straight as you can, get it in the hole in as few strokes as possible, show off your new trophy to your proud grandpa.

Of course, anyone who’s kept at it can tell you golf is not nearly so simple. That you’ll have to deal with the elements, with rough stuff and sneaky undulation, with bad breaks and busted lip-outs.

That you might find yourself spending hours and hours on the road in your Honda Accord, driving toward an uncertain future, finding it tough to keep it at the speed limit, because you want to arrive sooner than later, maybe to make up for lost time.

Covina’s Alexa Melton is on that journey, and she’s making a pit stop this week – not entirely expected but wholly welcome – at the U.S. Women’s Open in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

It will be Melton, a 23-year-old who had never before qualified for any USGA event, against nine of the top 10 golfers in the world, headlined by world No. 1 Nelly Korda, a six-time winner this season.

Melton, who has earned $11,531 and made the seven cuts in 15 Epson Tour events since joining the LPGA’s developmental tour last year, vs. a high-powered field of 156 vying for a share of a $12 million purse.

Melton vs. The World.

Daunting, no?

That’s why her goal this week is: Laugh. Shrug. Go out and play like she’s a kid.

“I know it’s going to be challenging, this is the biggest stage I’ve ever competed on,” an upbeat Melton said after her first practice round at Lancaster Country Club. “But I guess I’m just more excited for the opportunity.”

She’s soaking it all in. Appreciating every detail, all the amenities, including the candy station at registration, the range – “the range is so nice!” – the new Lexus courtesy car that came with just 20 miles on it.

Now, if only Melton could play like she has a horrible toothache – minus the actual toothache.

In true drop-something-heavy-on-your-toe-so-you-forget-about-your-headache fashion, Melton’s mouth was in serious pain when she qualified for the U.S. Open in April, shooting a 4-under (74-66-140) at El Macero Country Club to finish third and claim one of three available spots.

The strain of golf seem like nothing compared to the two emergency root canals she needed, procedures that Alexa said were connected to a gnarly fall in a bathroom at a tournament a few weeks earlier. She stood up too fast and passed out, face-planting, knocking out a couple of teeth and busting her lip.

And to think, Alexa decided she’d dedicate herself totally to golf because she was taking too many hits in soccer.

She grew up playing softball and soccer year round, a natural athlete and competitor who was always the smallest kid on the team – so little, mom Tatiana said, that she’d have to wear a beanie beneath her catcher’s helmet.

Of Rog Tengco’s grandchildren, Alexa was the only one to take him up on an invitation to learn golf. And, yes, starting at 12, she was good at it. So eventually, instead of soccer and softball, it became soccer and golf. And then, after a particularly brutal collision in soccer, just golf.

Covina golfer Alexa Melton grew up playing softball and soccer before taking her grandfather, Rog Tengco, up on his suggestion that she come golfing with him when she was 12. (Photo courtesy Tatiana Melton)

Melton remembers how on Tuesdays, she’d join 60 or so beginning golfers for Lizette Salas’ lessons at Azusa Greens Country Club, and how she’d feel inspired by the thought that nearby Azusa had produced a professional golfer: “If someone from my area can make it, then why not me?”

Alexa didn’t tell a lot of people she golfed back then because it didn’t seem cool, but winning is always cool, and she was definitely doing that: Her 9-under at the the 2019 SCGA Women’s Amateur was the lowest score in relation to par in the tournament’s history. She won the prestigious Thunderbird International Junior, carding two late birdies for a 2-stroke win.

South Hills High’s Alexa Melton won the Women’s SCGA Amateur Championship in July 2018. (Photo courtesy of the SCGA)

Playing for South Hills High School, she tied for second at the 2018-19 CIF State Golf Championship and was the 2018-19 Orange County Register Golfer of the Year. Golfweek pinned her as one of 10 freshman to watch entering her first collegiate season at Pepperdine – where she was second on the squad with a 73.5 stroke average in six tournaments, including tying the sixth-best 54-hole score in Waves’ history by shooting 9-under at the Golfweek Conference Challenge.

A good start, except that living in Malibu, nearby fires triggered her asthma and caused almost daily attacks. “That’s why I left Pepperdine,” she said. “I couldn’t breathe.”

She wound up transferring to Salas’ USC – and undergoing surgery in 2020 to address a deviated septum, sinusitis, and a broken nose, all of which, doctors told her, had her breathing in 30% of the oxygen she was supposed to be getting through her nose. “Not ideal,” she said. Nor is the fact that she’s allergic to grass, though she’s learned how to deal with that.

Alexa never figured out how to get it going on the course at USC, though. It was never a good fit.

She played in only three events as a sophomore, her best finish coming at the Sun Devil Winter Classic, where she played individually and took ninth. As a junior, she appeared in two events and finished no better than 50th.

And then she found herself off the team as a senior, though she was able to keep her scholarship. She decided against transferring and playing for a third school, preferring to finish her USC career as NARP, or what athletes call us non-athletic regular people.

Except she was still grinding. Still practicing. Heading home after classes Thursdays and spending all weekend at the course. Needing, at the time, to remind herself she’d accomplished her goal of using the game to pay for college, that there would be more golf ahead.

Alexa Melton reacts on the second green during the final round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur on April 3, 2021, at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

She spent that time experiencing golf for the fun of it again – very different from the high-stress tournament play that she dove back into on the Epson Tour.

Tatiana has spent time on the road with Alexa, including on her daughter’s bag, and so she’s seen first-hand: “It’s tough. It’s tough. A lot of the girls are so hard on themselves, but it’s just golf.”

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Alexa said Tatiana doesn’t know all that much about golf  – “she’s probably hit three balls in her life,” she laughed – but Mom’s message seems to resonate, especially after what Alexa experienced qualifying for her first major.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to think about, that things aren’t as big as I think they are in my head,” Melton said, sounding undaunted a few days before the biggest tournament of her life. “Golf is hard, it really beats us up some days. But I’m trying to see the positives in it and, like, that it’s really, literally just golf.”

Maybe it is that straightforward? Go ahead, Alexa, go out, hit it straight, get it in the hole, have some fun.

​ Orange County Register 

Iceland volcano erupts again, shooting lava into the sky

• May 29, 2024

By Marco di Marco | Associated Press

GRINDAVIK, Iceland — A volcano in southwestern Iceland erupted Wednesday for the fifth time since December, spewing red lava that once again threatened the coastal town of Grindavik and led to the evacuation of the popular Blue Lagoon geothermal spa.

The eruption began in the early afternoon following a series of earthquakes north of the town of 3,800 people that was largely evacuated in December when the volcano came to life after centuries of dormancy and put on an impressive show of nature’s power.

Although activity began to calm down by early evening, initial estimates found the eruption was the most vigorous in the area so far, as lava shot 50 meters (165 feet) into the sky from a fissure that grew to 3.5 kilometers (2.1 miles) in length, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said.

Barriers built to protect Grindavik deflected the flowing lava that cut off two of the three roads leading to town and was close to reaching the third.

“It’s a much larger volume that’s on the move right now headed for town,” Grindavik Mayor Fannar Jónasson told national broadcaster RUV. “The lava has already conquered (a lot).”

Workers and anyone still in town were ordered to leave earlier in the day, police said.

At one point, a dark plume of ash boiled up over the crater from an explosive interaction of magma hitting groundwater, scientists said.

The cloud did not rise high enough to initially pose any threat to aviation, but scientists were closely monitoring the situation, Jóhanna Malen Skúladóttir, of the Met Office, told RUV.

Grindavik, which is about 50 kilometers (30 miles) southwest of Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik, has been threatened since a swarm of earthquakes in November forced an evacuation in advance of the initial Dec. 18 eruption. A subsequent eruption overwhelmed some defensive walls and consumed several buildings.

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The area is part of the Svartsengi volcanic system that was dormant for nearly 800 years before reawakening.

The volcano erupted again in February and March. The Feb. 8 eruption engulfed a pipeline, cutting off heat and hot water to thousands of people.

Iceland, which sits above a volcanic hot spot in the North Atlantic, sees regular eruptions and is experienced at dealing with them. The most disruptive in recent times was the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which spewed huge clouds of ash into the atmosphere and led to widespread airspace closures over Europe.

Associated Press writer Brian Melley contributed from London.

​ Orange County Register 

Why most EVs in the US are still being shipped to the same few states

• May 29, 2024

By Kyle Stock | Bloomberg

As the US car market swiftly and steadily goes electric, the Volkswagen ID.4 remains near the front of an increasingly crowded field. Americans bought nearly 6,200 of them in the first three months of this year.

But if you want an ID.4 in South Dakota, you better act fast — only three in the state are unspoken for. The same is true in Arkansas and Mississippi, according to the latest data from CarGurus Inc., a listing platform that captures most US new car inventory.

The ID.4 isn’t an outlier, either. Consider the Nissan Ariya, another popular newcomer in the EV game. Nebraska and West Virginia each have a single Ariya on offer; Wyoming, meanwhile, has two.

Also see: Rivian laying off 92 employees at Orange County facilities

Much has been made about a slowdown in EV adoption in the US, where sales of electric vehicles are expected to grow 20% this year, according to the International Energy Agency, well below the 40% sales growth seen in 2023. A series of auto companies, from Ford to Mercedes to Volkswagen, have announced plans to pump the brakes on production of electric models, citing flagging consumer interest and a glut of battery-powered inventory.

Much of that inventory, though, is ending up in the same few places: along the coasts and in the nation’s busiest auto markets, leaving would-be EV buyers in other regions with precious few options. The dynamic reflects something of a chicken-and-egg situation for automakers: Their ability to push electric vehicles beyond early adopters hinges on second-wave buyers in a broader swath of states. Yet, drivers in rural states may be slower to buy electric because they aren’t seeing many available options.

More on EVs: GM ending production of Chevy Malibu, switching production to EV Bolt

“We’ll probably need to see more inventory on individual dealership lots to get this going,” says Kevin Roberts, director of industry insights at CarGurus. “Not being able to actually see the vehicles could be holding things back.”

Almost one-third of new electric vehicles are going to one of three states: California, Florida or Texas, according to CarGurus data. To some degree, that makes sense — they are the most populous states. If a third of drivers are interested in buying an EV, that third represents more potential buyers in California than Montana.

But the byproduct is a dearth of options for drivers elsewhere. At the end of the first quarter, some 23 states had fewer than 1,000 electric vehicles on offer, excluding brands like Tesla that do an end-run around traditional dealerships. Nine states had fewer than 400.

Those numbers make buying an EV daunting for people like Vincent Rossano, a carpenter who lives near Montpelier, Vermont. Rossano was set on purchasing a Chevrolet Bolt, but the closest one he could find was 360 miles away in upstate New York. (His mother was kind enough to drive him to the dealership.)

Also see: How Amazon became the largest private EV charging operator in the US

“I called like 60 dealerships all around New England,” Rossano says. “It was ridiculous — none in Vermont, none in Massachusetts, none in New Hampshire. We even called someplace down in Delaware.”

CarGurus doesn’t capture data on companies that sell cars directly to consumers, namely Tesla, Rivian and Polestar. And unlike those companies, incumbent carmakers are juggling the need to manufacture both battery-powered and internal-combustion drivetrains simultaneously, at least in the short term.

But in much of the US, incumbents’ EV inventory is well below local adoption rates. In Colorado, for example, almost one in five new cars purchased in the fourth quarter was battery-powered, yet EVs accounted for just 10% of new car inventory in the first quarter. The gap is similar in Nevada, where 12% of cars purchased at the end of 2023 were electric, yet only 6% of those sitting on lots are.

“There’s this whole narrative that EV demand is down,” says Joel Levine, executive director of EV advocacy group Plug In America. “This year, EV sales are on track for a 20, 25% increase. The curve has shifted, but it’s not like people aren’t asking for the cars.”

In a recent BCG survey of US consumers, 38% of respondents said their next car would definitely be electric and another 27% said they were considering an EV.

Auto executives have long had sound rationale for keeping EVs clear of the country’s vast open spaces: charging infrastructure, or the lack thereof. The US has traditionally been a patchwork of vast electron deserts. As recently as 2020, China had almost 10 times more public charging plugs.

The deserts, however, are all but gone. A building blitz has switched on thousands of chargers all over the US, including in some of its emptiest corners. At the end of the first quarter, there were almost 8,200 public, fast EV-charging stations in the country — one for every 15 gas stations.

A larger issue may be the auto industry’s franchise dealership model. Volkswagen, for example, says its ID.4 sells well in the Sun Belt — the so-called smile states — and in places like Chicago and Minneapolis, where the brand has long had a strong following.

“If places like West Virginia or North Dakota have a very small percentage of ID.4 sales,  that reflects the fact that our dealers aren’t ordering them because no one is asking for them,” says VW spokesman Mark Gillies.

But dealers themselves may not be the best stewards of the EV transition. Many are hesitant to stray from what has been a profitable playbook — namely, selling gas-burning trucks and SUVs.

“I don’t think there’s an evil conspiracy,” says Levine at Plug In America, which has a curriculum to train car dealers on how to transition to electric inventory. “It’s sort of the nature of auto dealers to sell cars that they know people want to buy. If you’re in West Texas, you’re going to specialize in pickup trucks.”

At the moment, only about half of Americans say they know someone who owns an electric car, according to a CarGurus survey.

“If you live in Idaho, you’re not likely to have experienced an EV,” says Elaine Buckberg, formerly an economist with General Motors. “Plus, dealers have to order the stuff or be willing to take it and the dealers are not necessarily the most technologically advanced, trend-seeking people.”

The good news for EV advocates is that adoption tends to happen slowly and then all at once. Buckberg says there’s a network effect at play. The more electric cars are stocked, the more people notice them; the more people notice them, the more people try them.

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​ Orange County Register 

Here’s how to stay safe when visiting national parks this summer

• May 29, 2024

Mia Taylor | TravelPulse (TNS)

At Death Valley National Park, summer temperatures can reach as high as 130 to 134 degrees.

For some travelers, that would be reason enough not to visit. But for others, it’s the exact motivation for a trek to Death Valley during the summer: The novelty of experiencing temperatures you’d be hard-pressed to find elsewhere around the globe.

“Some folks are seeking out what they consider to be a rare experience,” Nichole Andler, a park ranger with the U.S. National Park Service, said during a media briefing.

But it should go without saying that when heat is that extreme, it can easily be a life-or-death situation.

“This time of year, when you’re preparing for coming to Death Valley, it’s important to know what you’re getting into,” emphasized Andler, who stressed not only having enough water on hand all times, but staying near your vehicle.

In fact, in extreme heat conditions, it may even be best to stay in your vehicle amid the comfort of air conditioning and explore the park by car, said Andler.

Her comments were part of a larger National Park Service media conference call, during which officials from parks across the country shared tips for safely visiting this summer.

If one of the 400-plus national parks is on your radar for the months ahead, here are the tips NPS officials would like you to keep in mind.

The Grand Teton mountain range in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, on June 13, 2019. (Daniel Slim/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)

5 safety tips for national park explorations this summer

1. Select activities that align with your capabilities

There’s all manner of activities available across the U.S. National Park system — from hiking and rock climbing to boating and swimming. The national parks also allow for engaging in challenging and extreme sports including canyoneering, hang gliding and whitewater rafting.

During the planning phase for your visit and during your time onsite, it’s important select activities that are appropriate for your experience and physical limitations.

“Pick activities that meet your skills and fitness level,” said Cynthia Hernandez, a national park spokesperson. “That might mean being honest if you haven’t prepared for that 15-mile hiking trip.”

2. Bring suitable equipment

In addition to focusing on activities that are appropriate for your abilities, it’s critical that you arrive at a national park prepared with the right equipment for your visit.

Bring the “right shoes for your activity, water, a compass or a map or a life jacket, if you’re going on the water,” continued Hernandez.

It’s also worth noting that weather in many of the wild spaces that make up the national park system can change quickly, so it’s important to bring additional clothing.

“What can start out as a beautiful and sunny day can pivot quickly into rain and sleet,” said Jen Newton, with Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, of conditions in that park. “Extra layers and a rain jacket can be helpful.”

3. Communication is critical

While this tip is especially critical for solo travelers, it really holds true for anyone visiting national parks, including families and groups: Communicate your plans to others.

“Make sure to leave a trip plan with a friend back home,” advises Hernandez, who also suggests telling someone who’s not on your trip how long you intend to be gone and when you can be expected to return.

This type of communication is especially critical for remote hikes or other far-flung excursions and explorations.

4. Keep away from wildlife

The thrill of seeing wildlife while exploring national parks is unforgettable. But that doesn’t mean it’s open season on taking selfies with wildlife, or engaging with the animals in any way. It’s a rule that should be followed for the safety of the animals and visitors alike.

“Keep a safe distance from wildlife, don’t startle wildlife,” Hernandez explained. “Do not pick up wildlife and do not feed wildlife.”

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Understanding bear safety is also critical when visiting some national parks, said Newton. Grand Teton National Park, for instance, is home to both black and Grizzly bears.

“Be bear aware,” said Newton. “Be alert and have good situational awareness.”

When hiking in places like Grand Teton or other national parks, it’s important to make at least some level of noise in order to alert animals in the area of your presence.

“That’s not necessarily singing and clapping, but even just normal conversation can be helpful to let all creatures know you are out and around,” Newton continued.

Newton also recommend carrying bear spray when in Grand Teton (a tip that could apply to other national parks as well that are home to bears). Additionally, know how many seconds of bear spray you have and how far it will go.

5. Review park safety tips in advance

Every national park in the country has its own website and that website includes safety guidelines that visitors need to follow in order to have a good experience at the park in question, said Hernandez.

Be sure to spend some time reading the website for your intended national park and reviewing the safety tips before you arrive on location.

“Even if you visited a park before or have been going to this park for awhile, follow all park recommendations and safety guidelines,” stressed Hernandez, who added that it’s also important to “follow guidelines from park rangers on site.”

The National Park Service has also created a Trip Planning Guide that includes “key tips, links, and tools to help” visitors “Plan like a Ranger” for a national park adventure. The guide can be downloaded here.

Ultimately, Hernandez said, it’s important for visitors to make what she described as “informed decisions” about their behavior and activities when visiting a national park, in order to help ensure a fun and safe visit.

©2024 Northstar Travel Media, LLC. Visit at travelpulse.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

​ Orange County Register 

The Audible: On the late Bill Walton, Ty Lue and Dave Roberts

• May 29, 2024

Jim Alexander: Lots of words have been written and spoken – including by the both of us – following the passing of Bill Walton on Monday at age 71. I referred to him as a “force of nature,” but that may just have scratched the surface. And the amazing thing about the last couple of days and the reaction to a death that was untimely – and, to those of us not in the know, unexpected – was that there were so many different ways in which his impact was measured: Basketball player, commentator, Grateful Dead fan, a joyously passionate human being, and – maybe most importantly – someone who was always looking out for others.

Maybe my biggest takeaway was this: We are all multi-faceted creatures. He was just more willing than most of us to embrace all of those facets of his life, vibrantly and with gusto – and if you, the observer, didn’t get it, too bad. He truly did live his best life.

Mirjam, you had the opportunity to talk to our friend Ralph Lawler, who called his games as a Clipper and later worked with him as a broadcaster. I’ve gotta believe he had some stories no one else had.

Mirjam Swanson: Plenty. From whitewater rafting with Walton to helping him break into broadcasting, they were tight. My heart really goes out to Ralph – and everyone who knew Walton personally. What a loss for them, and for us all.

One thing Ralph and I talked about that I’ve been thinking a lot about since: How unusual Walton was. Not only for his talent and success and that multi-faceted zest for life you’ve mentioned, but for his disposition.

This guy’s athletic prowess put him on a pedestal from his earliest days and he wasn’t a jerk. On the contrary, he was a nice guy, aware and positive-minded.

We’re in proximity to lots of powerful athletic figures and few are so generous with their time and thoughts and beings. And, to be honest, regular folks without any such skill or prestige aren’t always so well meaning, either.

Here’s what Lawler had to say about that: “He was extraordinary from his early childhood. It was obvious he was going to be a great basketball player, and he was held on a special perch by all around him for all those years – and you have to credit his beloved mom and dad, they raised him right, and didn’t let him get things out of balance.

“He just had a view of the world that few people are fortunate to have. I wish I had it, I wish more of us had it.”

Jim: That’s what impressed me most – he was always looking out for or praising others.

I made a reference a few years ago to the idea that his basketball commentary might drive some viewers – mostly the partisans – nuts, not only because he refused to be bogged down by Xs and Os but because he could seem to be rooting for both teams at the same time. But he was a purist, and he believed in honoring the game. That, too, was impressive.

And now … usually we come into this with a rough idea of what we’re going to discuss, but here’s some breaking news: The Clippers have signed Ty Lue to a “new, long-term” contract. No length or dollars disclosed, of course, and while this may have been considered a mere formality in the Clippers’ offices, it is now one piece solidly in place.

Also one less option for the Lakers to pursue, although the NBA’s gossip machinery seemingly has them fixated on JJ Redick. We’ll get to that another time, but your thoughts on Ty’s new deal?

Mirjam: Looks like he’ll be making $70 million for five years, per The Athletic.

He can’t say the Lakers didn’t take care of him, eh?

I remember talking to people with the Clippers when they first hired Lue to replace Doc Rivers following the bubble collapse in 2020. What they told me was that they thought he’d be their Gregg Popovich or Erik Spoelstra – a long-term coach. At the time, you take that with a grain of salt – of course you’re saying that when you hire the guy, but let’s see what you say in four years when you haven’t gotten past the Western Conference finals?

This is their answer.

I like it. There are few NBA coaches better than Lue; it would be a nightmare to have to try to replace him. But also, with how fast the coaching carousel spins these days, and how all-powerful star players tend to be, a team with a leader with actual cachet goes a long way.

Or could. And in this era of parity in the NBA, could is good – including for the star-crossed Clippers franchise.

Jim: This is another reminder of how professionally run this franchise has been over the past decade. And we’re about to get yet another reminder with the FX series “Clipped,” which begins streaming on Hulu on Tuesday. It’s a recounting/dramatization of the events 10 years ago that drove Donald Sterling out of NBA ownership and ushered in a new era for the Clippers with Steve Ballmer’s purchase.

Along those lines, I’m going back and listening to Ramona Shelburne’s 30 for 30 podcast from 2019, “The Sterling Affairs,” a four-part deep dive into Sterling’s eccentric (to be kind) ownership of the team on which this miniseries is based. Ramona, a former Daily News sports columnist and now a regular on ESPN’s weekday “NBA Today” show, is also an executive producer of this series.

Going back and recalling that mess is a reminder of how far the organization has come, and how loyal the fans who have stuck with the Clippers all this way must be. Someday there’ll be a psychic payoff, right?

Right??

Next … the segment of Dodger fans who can’t resist piling on Dave Roberts was at it again the other day. This was after Roberts walked to the mound in the eighth inning Sunday, after reliever Yohan Ramirez had hit two Cincinnati Reds and was just about to unravel. Roberts pulled the reliever in, gave him what seemed like a fatherly talking-to, and – after Ramirez got out of the inning with the very next pitch – noted that sometimes the best course is not to yell and scream at a player.

That was posted on Instagram, and the responses included a flood of criticism that included the words “soft” and “participation trophies” and the sentiment that Tommy Lasorda sure wouldn’t have done it that way. Could Lasorda have dealt with today’s player? Maybe, maybe not.

But I find it stunning that the manager who has the fourth-best win-loss record in the history of the game behind three Negro League managers (two of them in the Hall of Fame), and who has won a World Series – regardless of how much people try to devalue the championship in the 2020 bubble, it happened and every other team had the same opportunity to win it – gets so little respect from so much of his own team’s fan base.

Mirjam: Unfortunately, I’m not nearly so stunned.

Same folks who couldn’t believe Caleb Williams cried after a loss.

Same folks who probably haven’t been around sports people who are that kind of incredibly invested. How emotional sport is. How people work.

Same folks who talk a lot of nonsense on social media but couldn’t handle a fraction of the pressure as the people they’re critiquing do daily.

I bet Roberts cares much less about what those folks are typing and more about what his players are thinking and feeling. That’s how he’s found as much success as he has so far, and how he’ll find whatever more comes the Dodgers’ way going forward.

Keep doing you, Dave.

Jim: There’s a reason why the job title is “manager.” It’s not just about managing a game but about managing people, an incredibly important facet of guiding a team through 162 games. Roberts does it as well as anybody.

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I understand some of the criticism he gets about pitching decisions – I’ve indulged, myself – but you’ve got to keep in mind that he can only work with the personnel he has. Not every reliever is available every day unless you want to burn out their arms and shoulders, and at some point the front office has to be held accountable for selecting the pitchers he has to choose from. The idea that the player fails and therefore the manager deserves the blame? That’s lazy reasoning.

And I wonder sometimes if the criticism goes deeper than mere strategic disagreement. (Remember, in the hours prior to the Dodgers’ Game 6 victory over Tampa Bay in that 2020 World Series some blogger threw up a post wondering if Roberts should be fired even if they won. In that case, “threw up” is the correct term.)

Maybe it was that five-game losing streak last week that addled people’s brains. People forget it’s a long season.

​ Orange County Register