‘CicloIrvine’ brings car-free open streets to Irvine

• May 5, 2024

Lively music, light conversation and the sound of footsteps replaced the noise of car tires on the pavement as people walked, ran, pedaled and skated along nearly two miles of car-free roadway.

Dubbed “CicloIrvine,” the open streets event, the Saturday event took place along Barranca Parkway and Harvard Avenue in Irvine.

Live music, strolling mariachis and several performances — including from the Southern California Youth Dragon and Lion Dance Team, Kibou Taiko and Focus Dance Theater — entertained participants on two stages at either end of the route.

CicloIrvine was inspired by ciclovia (Spanish for cycleway), the weekly street closure event originating in Bogota, Columbia. It was the first open streets event in Irvine, although ciclovia events have been hosted locally in Santa Ana, Garden Grove and Los Angeles.

​ Orange County Register 

Kyle Frey rides Gold Phoenix to Whittingham Stakes win at Santa Anita

• May 5, 2024

ARCADIA — Gold Phoenix’s victory in the Charles Whittingham Stakes at Santa Anita on Saturday was a consolation prize for trainer Phil D’Amato and something bigger for jockey Kyle Frey.

“(It means) everything, especially with my family here,” Frey said in the winner’s circle, holding two small children. “God has really taken me a long ways. I’m just grateful and eager to see what else is in store.”

Replacing Juan Hernandez aboard Gold Phoenix, Frey helped the 6-year-old gelding get the smoothest trip to win a four-way photo over Price Abama, Planetario and Offlee Naughty in the $200,000, Grade II Whittingham, a 1 1/4-mile turf race.

Gold Phoenix paid $13.80, and the all-D’Amato exacta with Prince Abama paid $63.60 for $1.

That might help soothe whatever disappointment D’Amato felt after the Kentucky Derby, run less than an hour before the Whittingham. D’Amato’s Santa Anita Derby winner, Stronghold, finished seventh behind winner Mystik Dan in the Derby. The other California horse, Michael McCarthy-trained Endlessly, was ninth.

Frey, the 2011 Eclipse Award winner as America’s top apprentice rider, can give them all lessons in dusting yourself off after a setback. Last year, the now 32-year-old Californian took a break from riding from July to September, and told Daily Racing Form writer Steve Andersen he needed a mental break from self-imposed pressure to succeed.

Frey wound up winning his first Grade II stakes later last year with Wynstock in the Los Alamitos Futurity. Saturday’s Whittingham was his second Grade II. He hasn’t won a Grade I.

He went into the weekend leading Santa Anita jockeys with eight wins at the track’s Hollywood Meet.

While Hernandez stuck with 2023 Whittingham winner Offlee Naughty, Frey got the call to ride Gold Phoenix, a Grade I winner in the Kilroe Stakes at Santa Anita last year with jockey Kazushi Kimura.

It was a reunion for Frey and Gold Phoenix, who hadn’t teamed up since 2022, when the Irish-bred was a different animal.

“He was pretty green at the time and still figuring things out,” said Frey, remembering a slow start that the horse’s connections blamed on him. “He just has those off days.

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“Today I was ready for it. I made sure I got him on his toes in the post parade, and then before we got to the gate I gave him a little cluck to make sure he was attentive. Luckily, (he) got out good, sat right behind the leaders.”

Gold Phoenix, owned by Little Red Feather Racing, Sterling Stables and Marsha Naify, increased his earnings to $1,342,257 with his seventh win in 19 starts.

Next could be the July 28 Eddie Read Stakes at Del Mar.

​ Orange County Register 

Could Dodgers’ Mookie Betts lead majors in hits, runs and walks?

• May 5, 2024

LOS ANGELES — It’s a trifecta that hasn’t been accomplished since 1876 when Ross Barnes led MLB in runs, hits and walks over a 66-game schedule for the Chicago White Stockings.

But Mookie Betts entered Saturday first in hits, second in runs scored (behind Ronald Acuna Jr.) and tied for first in walks (with Juan Soto).

That Betts, a former batting champion (2018), could lead the majors in hits is not hard to imagine. That he could also lead in runs scored (he has led his league three times) with Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith batting behind him is certainly conceivable.

But how is the player batting in front of two-time MVP Ohtani (who led the majors in OPS and the American League in home runs last season) leading the majors in walks?

“That’s a great question,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said.

“I don’t think it is intentional that pitchers want to walk him. I think he has a really good eye coupled with really good bat-to-ball skills so he can spoil some really good pitches and buy himself another pitch and then they don’t execute.”

Betts said he was unaware of his walk total. But it didn’t make sense to him either that pitchers were putting him on base so frequently with Ohtani looming on deck.

“That sounds weird. That sounds really weird,” Betts said. “I didn’t know (that he led the majors in walks). … It’s just being the best I can be, trying to get a good pitch to hit. That’s only right now. It’s just a month in. A lot of things change obviously. But right now it’s helping us win ballgames.”

Betts’ willingness to take so many walks is just another facet of an MVP-caliber start to his season, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. And Roberts doesn’t think Ohtani’s presence behind him in the lineup is a factor one way or the other, saying that is “overplayed” in discussing lineup construction.

“Because the pitchers, certainly in Mookie Betts’ case, are going to attack him and try to get him out the best way they can, regardless of who’s hitting behind him,” Roberts said. “So for Mookie to value the on-base, controlling the strike zone, which we talk about, speaks to when it’s in the strike zone, he’s getting hits. And when it’s not, he’ll take his walk.

“A couple things (are factors in his walk total). He posts. He plays every day. He’s at the top of the order, and he just conducts professional at-bats. And that’s a perfect recipe for an MVP-type player.”

PORSCHE PLAN

As Shohei Ohtani neared his franchise record for the most home runs hit by a Japanese-born player, Roberts joked that Ohtani should gift him a Porsche when he breaks the record – as Ohtani gifted Joe Kelly’s wife for her support in getting uniform number 17 (previously Joe Kelly’s number).

Ohtani tied Roberts when he hit his seventh home run of the season last weekend in Toronto and Saturday he presented Roberts with a brand new Porsche.

“It’s on my desk as we speak,” Roberts said.

The gift was a miniature, toy version of a Porsche Taycan.

“So I can’t say he never gave me anything,” Roberts said.

Ohtani is a brand ambassador for Porsche Japan.

COMING SOON

Right-hander Blake Treinen has completed his rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City and joined the Dodgers for the weekend series against the Atlanta Braves. Roberts said it looks “promising” that Treinen could be activated from the Injured List on Sunday.

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Treinen has not pitched in a major-league game since Sept. 2022. He underwent shoulder surgery that November and missed all of the 2023 season (though he made three appearances in the minor leagues on a rehab assignment). He was set to open the season on the Dodgers’ active roster this spring but was struck by a line drive during a Cactus League game in the final days of spring training.

ALSO

Outfielder Jason Heyward took batting practice on the field with the team during Saturday’s pre-game workout. It was Heyward’s first time hitting on the field since he went on the IL with a lower back strain. He hasn’t played since March 30.

UP NEXT

Braves (LHP Max Fried, 2-0, 4.02 ERA) at Dodgers (LHP James Paxton, 3-0, 3.51 ERA), Sunday, 1:10 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA, 570 AM

​ Orange County Register 

Why a bountiful fruit tree in your garden is a delight until it isn’t

• May 4, 2024

Q. About 3 1/2 years ago we planted a Fuyu Persimmon tree from a local nursery near Moreno Valley. It grew rather quickly, and last year, there was a large quantity of beautiful, tasty persimmons. However, the yield was heavy enough that a couple of the larger branches broke off. Toward the end of the season, we tied up some of the branches to the stake. Now, this year, over the early spring, most of the upper branches are brittle, gray, and frankly, dead. To my surprise, there is one healthy-looking tree stem with green leaves low on the tree where it bifurcates into branches. Everything above appears to be dead. Should I cut back everything above the green stem and wait a couple of years to see if it returns, or just remove the tree and bid it adieu? 

Most fruit trees, persimmons included, can end up overbearing once they approach maturity. This might seem like a good thing since you’re getting a lot of fruit. The problem is that the fruit may not be the highest quality since the tree has only so much energy to put into fruit production. Fruit can end up being smaller and not as sweet as it could be. Another issue is branch breakage, which is what you’ve found out.

Thinning fruit may be tedious, but it is essential for your tree’s health. Once the flowers are gone and you see itty bitty fruit, go ahead and start pulling them off. Be ruthless! Leave at least 6 inches (and preferably more) between each fruit. This will take several passes since there’s always one or two branches that get missed.

If an overloaded branch breaks, but the fruit is nearly ripe, sometimes you can salvage the fruit by propping up the branch. Hopefully there’s enough energy in the leaves and branch to allow the fruit to ripen. If not, well, it was worth a shot. Once the fruit has been harvested, remove the broken branch.

In your case, it sounds like there was considerable damage to most of the branches. The low branch may produce fruit eventually, but it is likely to be coming from the rootstock. I recommend removing this tree and replacing it.

Q. At what point should tree stakes be removed? I’ve seen some trees in my neighborhood that are pretty big but are still staked.

Trees should be loosely staked when they’re young and newly planted. Allowing the tree some sideways movement will make the trunk thicker and stronger so it can stand up without help after a year or two. If the trunk is bigger than the stakes, or if the stakes have been pulled up out of the ground by the tree, it’s time to remove them.

Los Angeles County

[email protected]; 626-586-1988; http://celosangeles.ucanr.edu/UC_Master_Gardener_Program/

Orange County

[email protected]; http://mgorange.ucanr.edu/

Riverside County

[email protected]; https://ucanr.edu/sites/RiversideMG/

San Bernardino County

[email protected]; 909-387-2182; http://mgsb.ucanr.edu

​ Orange County Register 

Mystik Dan wins Kentucky Derby in 3-horse photo finish

• May 4, 2024

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Mystik Dan won the 150th Kentucky Derby in a three-horse photo finish, edging out Sierra Leone by a nose with Forever Young third in the tightest finish since 1996 on Saturday.

Sent off at 18-1 odds, Mystik Dan and jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. rode the rail down the stretch with a short lead. Sierra Leona, the second choice at 9-2 odds, and Forever Young from Japan gave chase and pressured the leader to the wire in front of 156,710 at Churchill Downs.

The crowd waited several minutes before the result was reviewed by the stewards and declared official.

“The longest few minutes of my life,” Hernandez said, after he and bay colt walked in circles while the stunning result was settled.

Fierceness, the 3-1 favorite, finished 15th in the field of 20 3-year-olds.

Hernandez and trainer Kenny McPeek had teamed for a wire-to-wire win in the Kentucky Oaks for fillies on Friday with Thorpedo Anna.

Mystik Dan ran 1¼ miles in 2:03.34 and paid $39.22, $16.32 and $10.

Sierra Leone returned $6.54 and $4.64. Forever Young was another nose back in third and paid $5.58 to show.

Sierra Leone lugged in and bumped Forever Young three times in the stretch, but jockey Ryusei Sakai didn’t claim foul.

More to come on this story.

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​ Orange County Register 

Alexander: Kings apparently will keep GM Rob Blake, but at what cost?

• May 4, 2024

Here’s one problematic aspect of promoting a great player to a key management position with the team for which he starred. When he screws up, his retired number suddenly looks awfully dingy.

Right now, Rob Blake’s No. 4 in the Crypto.com Arena rafters is a reminder less of his days as the Kings’ rock-solid defenseman than of a flurry of executive mistakes – including one big whopper – that has set his franchise back significantly and for a while appeared to put his own job as general manager in jeopardy.

For a few days this week, it seemed a matter of time before Blake and interim head coach Jim Hiller would be let go, following a third consecutive playoff flameout against the Edmonton Oilers. But more recently, as beat writer Andrew Knoll indicated, rumblings surfaced that Blake, who has one more year on his contract, would hold onto his job. The Kings’ announcement that Blake would hold a postseason media session Monday afternoon seemed to put the speculation to rest.

Honestly, I need to hear compelling reasons for Blake to stay one more year. Lots or reasons to dump him now. One more year = short-term decision making when we’re at least 3 years from being Cup contender. Cap crunched.

— Eric Swenson (@EricWSwenson) May 4, 2024

That figures to be as unpopular with a large segment of Kings fans as the Lakers’ uncoupling of head coach Darvin Ham on Friday was popular with that team’s partisans. Blake’s future job security might hinge on his ability to negotiate a buyout with Pierre-Luc Dubois and reverse the acquisition of last summer that turned into an albatross.

To recap: Blake sent Gabriel Vilardi, Alex Iafallo, Rasmus Kupari and a 2024 second-round pick to Winnipeg for Dubois – a player who had been unhappy in both of his previous stops, Columbus and Winnipeg – and then signed him to an eight-year, $65 million contract ($8.85 million average annual value).

RELATED: Kings’ Pierre-Luc Dubois dilemma: buying in or buying out?

The return on investment: 16 regular-season goals and 24 assists (after Dubois had amassed 302 points the previous six seasons), a minus-9 in 5-on-5 situations during the regular year, and one lonely, solitary, meaningless goal in Game 1 against Edmonton. The team’s highest-paid player was the fourth-line center by Game 4, and that was on merit. Most of the season, Dubois seemed to be coasting whenever he was on the ice.

By the way, a footnote: Vilardi scored 22 goals in 47 games this season for Winnipeg and was a plus-11, while Iafallo had 11 goals and 27 points and was a plus-14 while playing all 82 games.

But this was just the latest in a series of brow-furrowing Blake moves. Forget trying to manipulate the cap through Long Term Injured Reserve as the Vegas Golden Knights have done the past two years to provide reinforcements for the playoffs, when teams don’t have to observe the cap. The Kings couldn’t even adequately shop for reinforcements at the trade deadline because they had little room. (Right now, according to Spotrac, they have $23.6 million in cap space – but they have only 11 players under NHL contracts, including Dubois. None are goaltenders.)

Blake replaced Dean Lombardi as the team’s top hockey operations executive in April 2017, and by the 2018-19 season had launched a rebuild. Three years in, he started pushing his chips to the middle of the table with the hope of maximizing the remaining seasons of Anže Kopitar and Drew Doughty, the last men standing from the team’s Stanley Cups in 2012 and 2014.

Blake acquired Kevin Fiala from Minnesota in 2022 for defenseman Brock Faber, a second-round pick in 2020 who was a regular for the Wild this year as a rookie and is a Calder Trophy finalist. (Fiala had 29 goals in the regular season this year … but one in the Edmonton series, in Game 2).

And Blake mismanaged the Kings’ goaltending situation. He gave a three-year $15 million extension to Cal Petersen, who then spent most of the 2022-23 season in the minors and was traded to Philadelphia last June along with Sean Walker. And he traded Jonathan Quick, the backstop for L.A.’s two Cup winners, to Columbus in March 2023. Quick, no longer in his prime, was flipped to Vegas and won a third ring as a backup with the Golden Knights, and he has performed well with the Rangers as a backup this year and has a chance to win a fourth ring.

Successful playoff teams need a goalie who can steal a game when necessary, as Quick did so often during the Kings’ run as an elite team. Neither Cam Talbot or David Rittich could do so this spring, though Rittich’s effort in Game 4 against Edmonton foundered only because his team couldn’t score.

As for the next generation, a number of Kings prospects – including Samuel Fagemo (43 goals in the AHL), Akil Thomas and Brandt Clarke – are currently in the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs with the Ontario Reign. But as for a massive infusion of youth, or another full-on rebuild? No thanks, Kopitar and Doughty said in their sessions with reporters Friday in El Segundo.

“I don’t think I have time for retooling now,” said Kopitar, who indicated he intends to play through the final two years of his contract. “If we go into a full rebuild, it’s not something that I want. There’s some pieces that are obviously very useful here. And we got to build on that and build around it and … (get) that culture back and mentality and, and yes, push forward.”

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Doughty, who has three years left on an eight-year, $88 million deal signed in 2019, concurred: “I have no interest in that. I don’t think that’s even necessary to think about, to be honest with you. Do not want to go down that road.”

So here we are. Blake helped get the Kings into this mess. Can he be trusted to get them out of it? Given that the alternative is apparently unpalatable to team president and former teammate Luc Robitaille and/or his boss, AEG chief executive officer Dan Beckerman, there doesn’t seem much choice.

If you’re a Kings fan, that should be unsettling news. That No. 4 in the rafters gets dingier by the day.

[email protected] 

​ Orange County Register 

Ex-Chapman Law dean John Eastman suspended from practicing law in D.C.

• May 4, 2024

Ex-Chapman Law dean and Trump advisor John Eastman was temporarily suspended from practicing law in the District of Columbia in response to a similar order made by the California State Bar Court in late March, according to court documents.

The temporary suspension would remain in effect until a disposition is reached in the California State Bar Court case, District of Columbina Court of Appeals Chief Judge Anna Blackburne-Rigsby wrote Friday, May 3.

Eastman was ordered to be put on inactive enrollment by California State Bar Court Judge Yvette Roland, who also recommended in court documents in late March that he be disbarred and taken off the roll of attorneys for knowingly making false claims about the 2020 election. He was put on inactive enrollment a short time later.

Eastman filed a motion in an attempt to lift his suspension, but that motion was rejected by Roland on May 1. In her ruling, Roland wrote that the recommendation of disbarment was made “in part to safeguard the public.”

In denying Eastman’s motion, Roland said he had failed to demonstrate he was no longer a threat to the public.

Eastman, in late April, was indicted along with several others by an Arizona grand jury for their roles in the attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Though his and former Trump advisor Rudy Giuliani’s names were redacted, they were identifiable in the indictment.

In court documents filed in the California State Bar Court case, Eastman said upholding the ruling would be harmful to his clients by “depriving them of the breadth and depth of Dr. Eastman’s knowledge and prowess as a zealous advocate,” and would lead to his inability to make a living.

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​ Orange County Register 

LA County Fair 2024: 12 outrageous foods to tempt, or test, your taste buds

• May 4, 2024

Pucker up, LA County Fair visitors. Food vendors are getting creative with dill pickles this year.

Dominic Palmieri, who oversees several food stands and is known as the Midway Gourmet, said he started to experiment with them about three years ago and is seeing customer interest grow.

“We’re seeing a lot of pickle stuff on social media,” he said. “Sometimes we feel like we’re ahead of the trends, because we have a lot of exposure when we’re at a fair. We’ll see things start to happen and say that looks good, but we can make it better.”

The result is the dill pickle split — like a banana split but with a pickle instead of a banana — one of the wild and wacky foods you’ll find at the Fairplex in Pomona during the fair’s opening weekend. You’ll also find hot honey and mores spicy sweets.

Related links

LA County Fair 2024: Wild new foods, dining discounts and more
LA County Fair returning with retro-themed fun and classic games too
LA County Fair 2024 concert series: An eclectic musical dozen
LA County Fair 2024: Adventures in Southern California fun, food and culture
LA County Fair 2024: Livestock competition back in operation

Most specialty items run $10-$20 throughout the fair, but  all concessions will have fixed-price value items on their menus for $9.50.

Here are a few items you’ll find at the fair that you’re unlikely to find elsewhere, at least in one place.

Dill pickle split

What: A dill pickle is split down the middle and topped with three swirls of pineapple whip and strings of sour spaghetti candy with a chamoy stick and umbrella toothpick for good measure. It looks surprisingly like a banana split but the best way to eat it is to eat the pickle with your fingers, dipping it in the whip.

Find it: Pineapple Whip stand in the Fun Zone.

Candied Pickle and Candied watermelon slice

What: Palmeri continues with the pickle theme with a giant pickle that’s cored out and stuffed with sour spaghetti candy, wrapped in a fruit roll-up and dusted with Tajin seasoning and Chamoy Sauce. The watermelon slice is also wrapped in fruit rolls and seasoned with Tajin.

Find it: Cowboy Kettle Corn, Downtown Fairplex

Hot honey funnel cake chicken sandwich

What: Charlie Boghosian, the force behind the Chicken Charlie’s stands, has been blowing fairgoers’ minds since be came up with deep-fried Oreos in the late ’90s.

This year’s creation, fried chicken between funnel cake, is a collision of flavors.

“The funnel cake complements the chicken, because you have sweet and savory. And now we’re throwing in a little sweet and spicy,” he said at a preview on Wednesday while he drizzled hot honey over the sandwich.

“It’s not spicy like you’re going to cry, it’s spicy like it’s good,” he added.

His stands are also bringing back hits from years past, including 2022’s Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Potstickers and bacon-wrapped pickles.

Find it: Chicken Charlie’s, across from the Grandstand and a giant inflatable Baby Yoda, and Clock Tower Plaza, Broadway and Palm.

Peaches and Cream Funnel Cake

What: This is a more traditional way to experience funnel cake, topped with peaches and whipped cream that’s dusted with sugar and cinnamon.

Find it: Dutchman Funnel Cakes, Fun Zone.

Nashville Chicken Tots

What: Palmieri’s big debut at his Biggy’s stand this year features fried chicken on a bed of buttery garlic tater tots with dill pickle slices for good measure.

Find it: Biggy’s, Fun Zone.

Pretzel Bombs

What: These snacks feature a substantial amount of meat baked into pretzel dough. The result is a dark brown orb that looks a little like a miniature Civil War cannon ball. Choices include pulled pork, chicken, and beef.

Find it: Dough Spot, Downtown Fairplex neighborhood.

Ramen Taco

What: Kung Pao beef, slaw and red onions fill a ramen shell.

Find it: Building 4, Downtown Fairplex.

Thummer Candied Apple

What: This sweet treat is a Granny Smith apple decorated to resemble Thummer, a hitchhiking pig that has been the fair’s mascot since 1948. Thummer has a marshmallow nose and gumdrop ears.

Find it: Terri’s Berries, Clock Tower Plaza.

Doughnut chicken sandwich

What: Double-dredge chicken served between two hot doughnuts made on the premises with warm icing. You’ll want to bring moist towelettes for this one.

Find it: Get Fried, Fun Zone.

Big Stick and pork belly tacos

What: A 30-inch skewer is filled with pork sausage links, chunks of pork belly and a bread roll for good measure. The street tacos are more conventional but loaded with meat that’s smoked for two hours and topped with salsa verde, onion and cilantro.

Find it: Bubba’s Pork Belly Tacos, Downtown Fairplex.

LA County Fair

Where: Fairplex, 1101 W. McKinley Ave., Pomona.

When: May 3-27

Hours: 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, plus Memorial Day, May 27.

Tickets: $15-$25 for adults; $10-$12 for children 6-12 years and seniors 60-plus in advance. Tickets at the gate are $30, $15 for children and seniors. Parking is $22 online, $25 at the gate. RV parking is $40.

Payment: Parking, admission and concert box office payments are cashless. Advance online purchases are cheaper than gate prices.

Information: lacountyfair.com

​ Orange County Register