The Postal Service step back in time with ‘Give Up’ and celebrate 20 years at the Hollywood Bowl

• October 11, 2023

In the early aughts, the lyrics “They will see us waving from such great heights, come down now,” sung by frontman Ben Gibbard of The Postal Service on “Such Great Heights,” seemed to permeate every corner of American pop culture. The song was heard in television and film, finding a home in shows like “Grey’s Anatomy,” “The O.C.” and “Veronica Mars,” as well as appearing in commercials for the package delivery giant UPS.

This 2003 hit, a stamp in history for the indie-electropop group, has “crazily enough, stood the test of time for not only us but for all of our fans who’ve stuck around,” Jimmy Tamborello, producer and keyboardist in The Postal Service, said in a recent phone interview as the trio now celebrate the 20th anniversary of their only studio record, “Give Up.”

The Postal Service, co-headlining with Death Cab For Cutie at the Hollywood Bowl on Oct. 13, 15 and 17 for the 20th anniversary of “Give Up” and “Transatlanticism,” is ready to take fans back in time as they play the record in full.

“This tour is all about looking back,” Tamorello said. “And as a band we get to share that with the audience, we’re all kind of recreating that time of our lives together, that’s pretty special.”

The Postal Service came together relatively fast, with Tamborello already crafting his third record “Life Is Full of Possibilities” under the producer alias Dntel. Tamborello comments he found himself drawn to Gibbard’s distinct voice and indie venture Death Cab for Cutie, which at the time was growing a sizable fan base.

Thanks to a few mutual friends, Tomborello reached out to Gibbard to come on board for a track. After sending instrumental and vocal tracks back and forth by snail mail for a period of time, Gibbard agreed to fly out to Silverlake from his homebase in Seattle to create what they thought would be one track. The collaboration flowed so seamlessly that by the time things were done, the only viaible path forward was to form a full-length LP. Soon after, they called Jenny Lewis (Rilo Kiley), who also happened to reside in Los Angeles, to assist with background vocals, and worked on “Give Up” for less than a week in Tomborello’s bedroom.

“The making of (The Postal Service) all seemed so accidental,” Tamborello said. “In the beginning, it was really just us coming together as new friends in our twenties and connecting musically for fun and as it came together, we didn’t know who the music was for because at the time it was a weird new sound. It’s a crazy surprise to see what happened to it. We never imagined it would be what it is today and the fact that it has is honestly crazy.”

In 2003, the trio released the album via Sub Pop Records, gradually rising to platinum status and becoming the second best-selling album in Sub Pop Record’s history, with Nirvana’s ’89 debut record, “Bleach,” securing the top spot. Despite the initial success, The Postal Service embarked on a monthlong tour spanning North America and Europe before quietly shelving the project for nearly a decade. There wasn’t much momentum to keep The Postal Service alive since the trio devoted more attention to their individual projects. And in Tomborello’s eyes, they didn’t need to push any further, since “Give Up” already felt like the biggest achievement they could gift the world.

“You know we really tried early on in 2006 to pass music back and forth again and those tracks actually ended up making it on the deluxe anniversary version of the album but it just didn’t feel the same already,” Tomborello shared. “We all moved on to other interests, we already achieved so much more than we ever expected from it and it never felt like we could do it again. But we were more than OK with that.”

With the 20th anniversary of “Give Up” occurring this year, the band is reunited for a special celebration, embarking on a 30-date  tour. The trek also marks the group’s first live appearance since 2013 while making its debut at the Hollywood Bowl for three sold-out nights. For Tomborello, now in his mid-40s, the reunion felt natural once again, as the group prepped for rehearsals ahead of the tours opening night on Sept. 5 in Washington, DC.

For all three, it’s simply like reuniting with best friends while getting to tour North America. Yet what excited Tomborello the most as of now is being able to bring that nostalgia back to a crowd who’s grown alongside them.

“Being able to feel the all-around warmth with the audiences that have been there for a while, from being back with Ben and Jenny traveling together, it just feels like old times,” he said. “We’re all so close so it never felt out of place for us. The album was really sincere and open-hearted and it attracted that for the tour. We’re just happy to be together.”

The Postal Service & Death Cab For Cutie: Give Up and Transatlanticism 20th Anniversary Tour

When: 6 p.m. Oct. 13, 15, 17

Where: The Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N Highland Ave, Los Angeles

Tickets: $71-$500 at ticketmaster.com.

​ Orange County Register 

Newport Beach Film Festival set to kick off with movies, parties, awards

• October 11, 2023

Newport Beach might be a traffic jam away from the glitz and glam of Hollywood, but for eight days starting Thursday, Oct. 12, the spotlight will shine in Orange County.

The Newport Beach Film Festival, now in its 24th year, will bring in some 300 films from 50 countries this year and regularly draws an estimated 50,000 viewers who show up to not just watch movies, but to celebrate the art and craft of filmmaking through discussions, parties, awards and appearances.

Along with the red carpets and industry seminars, musical performances and fashion shows are planned as well as food tastings and, new this year, behind-the-scene chats with book authors, an acclaimed music producer and an interior designer who took his skills to television.

In addition to the films held in theaters throughout Newport Beach during the festival, there are 18 special events on the schedule, including an opening night gala for 2,000 people at Fashion Island.

“We’re tremendously excited, the Newport Beach Film Festival has become the largest luxury lifestyle film event and the largest entertainment event of our kind in coastal California,” said Gregg Schwenk, CEO and co-founder of the NBFF.

The festival, which started in 1999, has something for everyone and is open to everyone, he said. The event isn’t just Newport Beach’s film festival, but has become Orange County’s film festival.

“I’m giving everyone a personal invitation,” he said. “We’re able to reflect the rich diversity of Orange County and celebrate the unique storytelling from around the world and shine a spotlight on our community.”

Among the hundreds of films, there’s feature-length narratives, documentaries, shorts, animations, youth and student films.

“The festival celebrates contemporary screen culture, cinematic excellence, and engages the community in compelling conversations with filmmakers and artists,” the event description says.

Zoe Saldana attends The World’s Most Fascinating Dinner at Hall Des Lumieres on September 21, 2023 in New York City. Opening night of the Newport Beach Film Festival on Oct. 12 kicks off with the North American premiere of “The Absence of Eden” staring Saldana. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Opening night kicks off with the North American premiere of a film with one of the biggest names in Hollywood, Marvel and Avatar actress Zoe Saldaña, staring in “The Absence of Eden.”

The film “explores the humanity of immigration and the fragility of life through three interwoven narratives: a young boy tries to save his undocumented friend from deportation; an immigration agent unknowingly dooms a former lover; and a cartel trafficker carries out his last mission,” the description says.

The film “Seasick” will have its U.S. premiere at the festival and is among the many international films being screen. The environmental film looks at the devastating impact of pollution and overfishing in New Zealand’s only marine park, a once-thriving ecosystem now on the brink of collapse.

The film festival is also a chance to honor people making waves in the industry. Eugenio Derbez, a well-known actor in Mexico’s television and film world, will receive the “Icon Award.”

One of the Centerpiece films is director Todd Haynes’ Netflix movie “May December” starring Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore and Charles Melton. Haynes will earn the “Outstanding Achievement in Directing Award.”

Honors will also be awarded to Patricia Clarkson, Glenn Howerton and Jack Huston, Phil Lord, Chris Miller, Jesse Williams and William Shatner.

William Shatner will receive the “Legend Award,” while screening a documentary about the Emmy-award winner’s life called “You Can Call Me Bill.” (Photo by Santiago Felipe/Getty Images)

Shatner will receive the “Legend Award,” while screening a documentary about the Emmy-award winner’s life called “You Can Call Me Bill.”

Prior to a screening of the film “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” on Oct. 13, producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller will be honored with the “Maverick Award.”

“We’re very proud of all the amazing films and people we have,”  Schwenk said.

New this year are free public discussions with creators, including Rainn Wilson (known for “The Office”) on Oct. 14, about his new book “Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution,” which explores the “problem-solving benefits that spirituality provides to create solutions and ultimately find happiness in an increasingly challenging world,” the event descriptions says.

That same day, music producer and songwriter Mark Ronso will also take the stage in the Bloomingdale’s courtyard at Fashion Island for a discussion.

The following day, Oct. 15, there will be a conversation with “Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret” creator Judy Blume, as well as writer-director Kelly Fremon Craig, and producers James L. Brooks and Julie Ansell.

“It’s a whole new aspect of the festival,” Schwenk said, noting the discussions will take place on the main stage at Fashion Island.

“Film is a collaborative art form. It takes a myriad of different people with highly unique skill sets to come together to produce film or television,” he said. “We’re always looking to show the behind the scenes.”

Director and writer Jim Sheridan will attend a special retrospective screening of “In the Name of the Father” on Oct. 15, about the 1993 biographical crime drama based on the true story of the Guildford Four, in which four people were falsely convicted of the 1974 Guildford pub bombings that killed four off-duty British soldiers and a civilian.

The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards and stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Emma Thompson and Pete Postlethwaie.

This year, the festival will be holding a culinary reception on Oct. 17 to celebrate the premiere of Susan Feniger’s “Forked,” a documentary film chronicling her journey opening her first solo restaurant.

The event will feature signature bites from the James Beard award-winner,  a brief Q&A alongside her partner, filmmaker and Emmy Award winner Liz Lachman, and leads into the screening of the film.

The following night, Oct. 18, the festival will feature Bobby Berk, interior design expert and Emmy-nominated TV host of Netflix’s “Queer Eye,” at a 30-minute Q&A for his new book, “Right at Home: How Good Design Is Good for the Mind.”

The festival will also hold its annual invite-only honors and Variety’s “10 Actors to Watch” at the Balboa Bay Resort. The festival ends on closing night with “The Holdovers,” which is already sold out.

General admission film tickets are $20, with discounts for active military, first responders and students. Find the schedule at newportbeachfilmfest.com.

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​ Orange County Register 

75 years of In-N-Out Burger history, year by year

• October 11, 2023

In-N-Out Burger was built for speed.

Founders Harry and Esther Snyder revolutionized the fast food world on Oct. 22, 1948 when they began serving customers on the go in Baldwin Park from a 10-by-10-foot hamburger stand in Baldwin Park, a Los Angeles County bedroom community that didn’t even have a freeway then.

The chain will mark its 75th anniversary on Oct. 22 with a 12-hour festival at the In-N-Out Burger Dragstrip in Pomona, surrounded by the racing cars the Snyder family adores. The event is sold out.

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The history is related in a new book by their granddaughter Lynsi Snyder, who is now owner and president of the chain. It’s called “The Ins-N-Outs of In-N-Out Burger.”

In-N-Out’s big innovation was built by Harry Snyder, a two-way intercom that allowed motorists to order food that would be ready for them when they reached the window.

In-N-Out started out about the same time that McDonald’s began its quick-service operation in San Bernardino. McDonald’s has grown to more than 38,000 locations worldwide, according to its franchising overview. In-N-Out, which has shunned franchising and prefers to remain a family operation, has 395 locations in seven states, California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Texas, Oregon and Colorado. It will soon be eight with the construction of a hub in Tennessee announced by Lynsi Snyder in January.

Nevertheless, In-N-Out has a global reputation and has been praised by celebrity chefs such as Anthony Bourdain, Julia Child and Gordon Ramsay. A drive-thru near Los Angeles International Airport has actually become a destination for tourists who land there, according to a recent article in Blue Sky News, a publication of Pittsburgh International Airport.

Here’s a timeline of notable events in the chain’s history.

Sources include Lynsi Snyder’s book, reporter Stacy Perman’s 2010 book “In-N-Out Burger,” In-N-Out’s list of store openings, the In-N-Out website, newspaper and magazine articles and advertisements.

1948: Harry and Esther Snyder open the first In-N-Out drive-thru in Baldwin Park on Oct. 22 with a $5,000 investment and a partner, Charlie Noddin. Harry is 35 and Esther is 28.

1949: Harry Snyder builds a two-way speaker system to speed up drive-thru service. Because it’s a new concept, he posts a sign explaining to customers how to use it. A second restaurant opens in Covina.

1951: Restaurants open in La Verne and Covina.

1951: The couple’s first son, Harry Guy Snyder, is born in Covina on Feb. 22.

1952: Store No. 5 opens at 2114 E. Foothill Blvd., Pasadena, the oldest store that’s still standing, according to Lynsi Snyder. Late in the year, the Snyders split with Noddin, who takes three of the first six In-N-Out locations. Those restaurants will be renamed and leave the chain.

1952: Harry and Esther’s second son, Richard Allen Snyder, is born in Covina on July 13.

1954: Construction of the I-10 Freeway forces the Snyders to close their original stand in 1954 and rebuild nearby with a two-lane drive-thru. In-N-Out introduces a new logo with an arrow that “points to pride,” replacing the words “no delay.”

1958: In-N-Out replaces bottled soft drinks with fountain drinks.

1961: The chain begins making Animal Style burgers for customers.

1963: The Double-Double first appears on the menu. In-N-Out hires its first in-house butcher.

1965: Harry Snyder invests in the development of the Irwindale Drag Strip, which will serve unbranded versions of his burgers at its concession stands.

1966: The first official employee handbook gets printed.

1971: First In-N-Out outside of the San Gabriel and Pomona valleys opens in North Hollywood. Harry Snyder begins printing map mats to protect customers’ clothes if they’re eating in their cars. Before that, his teams handed out butcher paper to protect customers’ clothes if they were eating in their cars.

1972: Restaurant No. 10 opens in the Panorama City neighborhood of Los Angeles. Harry Snyder, a fan of the 1963 film “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World,” begins planting crossed palm trees in front of most of his restaurants. In the movie, treasure is buried under palm trees with trunks that cross to resemble a “big W.”

1973: Large brass pins with silver coating replace diaper pins to secure employees’ aprons.

1974: Red aprons replace white aprons on May 5. The chain launches a cookout department to cater events. The first official cookout takes place at Badillo Elementary School in Covina. The first Rose Parade cookout in Pasadena follows.

1975: Milkshakes are added to the menu. Harry Snyder starts the tradition of In-N-Out T-shirts with his own cartoon of a French fry. An In-N-Out, also known as Store No. 17, opens in Santa Ana on Sept. 28. It is the first In-N-Out outside Los Angeles County.

1976: Harry Snyder dies at 63 after a battle with lung cancer on Dec. 14. His son Rich becomes the company president at 24, and his firstborn Guy becomes vice president.

1977: First In-N-Out commercial airs.

1978: Fire ravages In-N-Out headquarters in Baldwin Park on Aug. 16.

1979: The first restaurant with a dining room opens in Ontario on Oct. 4.

1981: New headquarters open in Baldwin Park. A Riverside County restaurant opens in Corona.

1982: Lynsi Snyder, Guy’s daughter and Harry and Esther’s only grandchild, is born on May 5.

1984: Esther and Rich Snyder launch the In-N-Out Foundation with the goal of combatting child abuse.

1985: Rich Snyder begins printing including Bible verses on In-N-Out’s paper goods.

1988: The chain’s 50th store opens in Thousand Palms on June 17.

1989: A company store opens in Baldwin Park selling T-shirts and other In-N-Out merchandise.

1992: President George H.W. Bush hosts Rich Snyder at a White House dinner honoring Russia’s President Boris Yeltsin on June 16. In-N-Out switches from Pepsi to Coca-Cola beverages. The first location outside of California opens in Las Vegas on Nov. 17.

1993: Rich Snyder dies at 41 in a private plane crash near John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana on Dec. 15.

1994: Founder Esther and son Guy Snyder take top roles in the company. The company moves its corporate headquarters to Irvine while leaving a large presence in Baldwin Park. The chain’s 100th restaurant opens in Gilroy on Nov. 10.

1996: Dr. Pepper is added to the drink menu on Nov. 20.

1997: In-N-Out opens its 119th location in Westwood with a throwback 1950s design on April 1.

1998: The film “The Big Lebowski” opens on March 6. A scene includes lines about In-N-Out, ensuring it a place in national pop culture. In-N-Out marks its 50th anniversary with 134 locations.

1999: Lynsi Snyder, 17, takes a job at a Redding In-N-Out near her family’s Northern California ranch, filling out an application like anybody else. On Dec. 4, her father, Guy Snyder, dies at 48.

2000: The chain’s first Arizona restaurant opens at Lake Havasu on May 3.

2001: Vanity Fair begins hiring In-N-Out trucks for its post-Oscar parties.

2002: Animal Style Fries are born in West Covina.

2003: Photographers spot Britney Spears going through an In-N-Out drive-thru in Hollywood on Feb. 27. California gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger is photographed eating a Protein Style burger at a Merced In-N-Out on Oct. 4, in the final days before an Oct. 7 recall election put him in office.

2004: On Halloween night, a Bay Area blogger named Will Young (Whatup Willy) successfully orders a 100X100 in Las Vegas on Halloween. That’s 100 patties by 100 slices of cheese with one bun. He is charged $97.66 for a Double-Double with 98 extra patties.  

2005: Store No. 200 opens in Temecula on Dec. 30 with four early customers riding horses through the drive-thru.

2006: Esther Snyder dies at 86 on Aug. 4.

2007: Tucson In-N-Out has the chain’s biggest opening to date, according to Inside Tucson Business.

2008: The chain opens a restaurant in Washington City, Utah, putting In-N-Out in four states.

2010: Lynsi Snyder, granddaughter of Harry and Esther and daughter of Guy, becomes president at 27 on New Year’s Day. TV personality Huell Howser devotes an episode of his public television series “California’s Gold” to In-N-Out on May 31.

2011: The chain opens two Texas restaurants in Allen and Frisco on May 11.

2012: Restaurants open in Plano and Fort Worth.

2013: Bloomberg News calls Lynsi Snyder, going by the married name Torres, the “youngest American woman billionaire.”

2014: A replica of the original In-N-Out opens at 13766 Francisquito Ave., Baldwin Park, near the footprint of the first building.

2015: The chain’s 300th restaurant opens in Anaheim on Jan. 7. The chain’s first Oregon restaurant opens in Medford on Sept. 9.

2016: Lynsi Snyder and husband Sean Ellingson found a nonprofit organization, Slave 2 Nothing, to combat substance abuse and human trafficking.

2017: Hot cocoa gets added to the menu in late December.

2018: In-N-Out closes its Texas locations for two days on June 11 because of a delivery of sub-standard buns, creating a flurry of news headlines about “Breadgate.” The chain partners with Hot Rod Magazine on a shared 70th anniversary celebration in Pomona on Oct. 22.

2020: The chain’s first two Colorado restaurants open in Colorado Springs and Aurora on Nov. 20.

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2021: Health officers shut down the only In-N-Out in San Francisco for failing to consistently check customers for COVID-19 vaccinations on Oct. 21. “We refuse to become the vaccination police for any government,” KRON4 quoted In-N-Out Chief Legal & Business Officer Arnie Wensinger as saying in a statement.

2022: In-N-Out announces its 75th anniversary party nearly a year in advance and becomes the title sponsor of In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip on Nov. 1.

2023: Lynsi-Snyder and Gov. Bill Lee announce In-N-Out’s expansion to Tennessee, the chain’s eighth state, on Jan. 10,. with plans to build a regional hub near Nashville.

​ Orange County Register 

Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified adopts a parental notification policy

• October 11, 2023

Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District voted Tuesday night to become the next California district to adopt a parental notification policy.

As it’s written, the policy focuses on mental health, saying a designated school counselor would notify a student’s family if they have a “reasonable cause to believe that an action of a student will avert a clear and present danger to the health, safety, or welfare of the student and others around them.”

But Superintendent Alex Cherniss said it includes instances when a teacher or school staff member becomes aware that a student desires or starts to transition genders, requests to go by a different pronoun or experiences distress because their gender expression does not match their gender identity.

“Gender dysphoria is classified as a mental disorder,” Cherniss said, therefore it falls under the policy as an “action that is concerning the welfare of the student.”

When asked if the policy would require teachers to inform parents if a student identifies as LGBTQ+, Cherniss said: “If the teacher or staff does not deem there to be a clear or present danger to the student, no, they do not have to report it to the family. That is up to the teacher or staff’s discretion.”

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Trustees Carrie Buck and Marilyn Anderson criticized the policy’s language as “not clear” since it didn’t explicitly mention students who might be transgender. They requested a second reading in November, but that was denied.

“I think, as someone who is representing the student voice, the language should be specifically outlined in the policy to make sure all students are aware of the policy and what could happen if such things arose,” said Aidan Mintzer, a Yorba Linda High School student who is the student representative on the board.

“Before this, I had no idea what the policy was about,” said Mintzer. “If this does affect me or other students, I believe students deserve to know how it will directly involve them.”

The board voted 3-2 to approve the policy Tuesday, Oct. 10 with Trustees Leandra Blades, Todd Frazier and Shawn Youngblood voting in favor of it.

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“This is not a gender notification policy,” said Trustee Todd Fraizer. “This is a parental notification policy. This is not covering one specific issue. Just because politically that is what is being discussed and people want to politicize this, we want to make clear that this is something that will ultimately strengthen the relationship between staff and students.”

PYLUSD now joins several other school districts in California that have recently adopted policies that require school staff to inform parents if their child may be transgender. These policies typically include provisions requiring notification if a student requests to use a different name or pronoun or wishes to change a sex-segregated program like an athletic team or changing facility that differs from their assigned sex at birth.

Orange Unified last month became the first district in Orange County to adopt such a policy.

There, the policy requires a certificated staff member or principal to inform parents if their child, who is under the age of 12, requests to use different names or pronouns or asks to change sex-segregated programs. If the student is older, it is up to the discretion of a school counselor or psychologist to decide if it is appropriate to report the information to the family.

On Oct. 18, Capistrano Unified is set to consider a similar proposal, and many parental rights activist groups say they will attend Tustin Unified’s next meeting to encourage the policy to be addressed there.

​ Orange County Register 

Buena Park unveils first Koreatown sign near the entrance of the Source mall

• October 11, 2023

Buena Park’s northern portion was designated as “Koreatown” late last month, and on Tuesday, Oct. 10, city councilmembers unveiled the first signage displaying the new moniker.

The sign was installed on the corner of Orangethorpe Avenue and Beach Boulevard near the entrance of the Source Mall, a mixed-use retail, restaurant and entertainment complex home to several big-name Korean businesses. Councilmember Joyce Ahn described it as the “landmark” of Buena Park’s Koreatown.

“‘Koreatown’ is more than a name; it’s a recognition of a community that has significantly shaped the cultural and economic landscape of Buena Park,” Ahn said. “I am filled with pride as we take this step forward in celebrating our city’s beautiful diversity.”

The city’s Koreatown runs along the section of Beach Boulevard between Orangethorpe and Rosecrans avenues. Additional signage displaying the Koreatown moniker will be placed at key intersections where Beach Boulevard intersects with Artesia Boulevard and Commonwealth, Malvern and Rosecrans avenues.

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​ Orange County Register 

Just saying no to fentanyl, Orange County joins public awareness push against deadliest opiate

• October 11, 2023

These days, even what counts as positive local news about fentanyl is pretty grim.

For example: Last year, 555 people died in Orange County after ingesting the powerful, synthetic opiate, some after they knowingly took a drug they’d been told was fentanyl and many others because they took a street version of a different drug – anything from Adderall to Xanax – that happened to have a lethal amount of fentanyl in it.

The positive spin? The 2022 death count was about 14% less than the 647 people who died locally of fentanyl in 2021. That was the first year-to-year decline in the nine years that fentanyl deaths have been tracked locally; in the four years prior to 2021, the county saw a five-fold jump in fentanyl deaths.

Such numbers – and a collective belief that even after the recent dip fentanyl is likely to keep killing locals of all ages races and ethnic backgrounds – have prompted Orange County to join a public awareness campaign called “Fentanyl is Forever.” All five county supervisors and several county health officials gathered in a conference center at the Santa Ana Civic Center on Tuesday, Oct. 10, to talk up the campaign, which includes a multilingual website, live town halls and efforts to boost availability of different versions of the anti-overdose drug naloxone.

Some also offered increasingly personal messages about their contact – and frustration – with the scourge posed by illicit fentanyl.

“The entire board is deeply troubled by the threat fentanyl poses,” said Third District Supervisor Don Wagner.

“The attraction… to users is because it is cheaper,” said First District Supervisor Andrew Do.

“Among Latinos, in California, there was an 85% increase in overdose deaths in 2021 from the year before, and it was the same in 2022,” said Second District Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento. “We know the impacts fall heaviest on people of color.”

“Fentanyl has, forever, taken one of my son’s friends,” said Fifth District Supervisor Katrina Foley. “He and his girlfriend took a Xanax. But one pill can kill and, forever, we no longer have those two with us.”

And Dr. Veronica Kelley, who oversees the county’s mental health and recovery services, noted that the drug has, literally, touched home.

“As a clinician, I know how important is to get the word out,” Kelley said. “And as a mom, who has used Narcan to reverse an overdose of my own child in my home, I know how important it is to have that drug on hand.”

The push is the latest step in what has become a long-running public health battle against fentanyl, which now accounts for roughly nine out of every 10 opioid deaths in the county.

Last month, the county authorized the purchase of 250,000 doses of different versions of naloxone, the drug that can revive people from opioid overdoses. One of those versions, sold under the brand name Kloxxado, is twice as powerful as Narcan and is specifically crafted to take on the chemistry of fentanyl. County officials handed out boxes of Kloxxado at Thursday’s event.

But officials were less specific about how the “Fentanyl is Forever” campaign will affect fentanyl use in the county. Anti-drug campaigns have a mixed history nationally, with once-popular ideas like “Just Say No” and “D.A.R.E.” eventually producing poor to mixed results in actually driving down drug use. And overdose data in counties where the “Fentanyl is Forever” campaign already is in use don’t yet point to big success. In Ventura County, fentanyl overdoses were up 10% last year. In San Joaquin County, the fentanyl death rate was up by about 8% in 2021, the last year records are available. And in Santa Barbara County, where the “Fentanyl is Forever” campaign includes a website, videos and testimonials that are identical to those on the Orange County version of the site (fentanylisforeveroc.org), 114 of the 122 people who died of opioid use last year were felled by fentanyl.

Still, until last year’s downturn in fentanyl deaths, other trend lines suggested local anti-fentanyl strategies weren’t working.

For example, public health data shows that even as fentanyl awareness has been a discussion point in public schools, opioid overdose deaths (about 90% of which now are connected to fentanyl) are shifting younger. Since 2017, people ages 25-to-44 have replaced people ages 45-to-64 as the group most likely to die of fentanyl or any other type of opioid.

Also, even though fentanyl is cheaper than heroin and other opioids, the communities with the highest overdose rates continue to be wealthy areas near the coast and in south Orange County.

The county also has yet to pinpoint data related to some elements of the fentanyl boom. For example, county data doesn’t differentiate overdoses connected to people knowingly taking fentanyl and people dying because a lethal amount of fentanyl was mixed into the drug they were using.

Kelley, the county health official, suggested such data isn’t tracked, but it also isn’t the point of the current public information campaign.

“I would just respond by saying dead is dead,” Kelley said. “We aren’t looking to see if they were trying to get high or not. The important thing to know is treatment works, recovery happens and Narcan can save a life.”

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​ Orange County Register 

Frumpy Mom: Enjoying some sweaty fun in El Salvador

• October 11, 2023

If you’ve ever wondered if your sweat glands still work, I have a way to test this. It’s called “Visit El Salvador.” This could be the country’s new marketing campaign.

I don’t normally participate in activities that produce much perspiration, or as they called it for ladies in the olden days, “dew.” Occasionally, I’ll sit in the sauna at the gym, but I can guarantee you that I never produced as much dew as I did on our weekend trip to El Salvador.

I know, many of you are thinking to yourself, “El Salvador? Wasn’t there a terrible civil war there?”

This is true. They did have a civil war there during which government-backed death squads shot down their own citizens for the shocking crime of demanding to make more than 15 cents a day picking coffee beans, which was at the time the main crop of the country. The workers were starving while the plantation owners got rich.

Many Salvadorans fled the country back then and came to the U.S. But the war has been over since 1992. The street gangs who used to also plague the citizenry have recently been tossed into jail, and all the people I met seemed quite happy about this, though it remains controversial.

So, things are looking up there, and the tourism business has improved to the point that there’s actually something to do there except surf. Previously, people mainly vacationed there to enjoy the world-class surf breaks.

I know you’ll be astonished to learn that I don’t surf. I do, however, enjoy flowers and soaking in hot springs, which I know makes me a weirdo, but what can I say?

I’m a major cheapskate, so when I found a temporary deal where I could fly to El Salvador nonstop for $135 roundtrip, well, I said, “C’mon. Let’s go.” That’s how I pick all my trips – based on the availability of ultra-cheap airfares.

Now you understand for that price you can’t wear clothes or use the toilet and you have to fly tied to the wing.

Okay, I’m lying about that part, but we could only bring a small bag that would fit under the seat in front of us, in order to avoid paying exorbitant baggage fees.

I’ve done this type of flight a few times now, and it’s always an adventure to figure out how to cram all my clothes into a tiny case and still have room for my toothbrush and comb. I also need to be able to smash my purse into the case, because I can only get on the plane with “one personal item” the size of a flea.

I look at this as an interesting puzzle, and so far it’s worked out. One key is that I bring a sweater or jacket with capacious pockets, so I can jam as much stuff as possible into them. Trust me, you do not need a jacket in El Salvador because it’s almost on the equator, but it helps you cram stuff.

On the way home, I worried about trying to get my small cache of souvenirs into the same bag, but I figured if necessary I could just pull out the clothes and wear them. There’s no rule against wearing three layers of clothes onto the plane. However, amazingly enough, I was able to get the bag zipped, even with all the stuff in it.

So, you are probably wondering what one does in El Salvador. Well, the country is a green paradise covered with gorgeous rainforests. We hired a guide and driver from EC Tours and did the “Ruta de las Flores,” which goes up into the mountains, where it’s reasonably cool and there really are flowers everywhere. And waterfalls. And volcanoes. And hot springs.

We spent a day at the Santa Teresa Hot Springs resort, which costs the enormous sum of $10 for admission and gives you access to hiking, numerous hot soaking pools, cold soaking pools, and there’s also a restaurant and bar. There’s another hot spring resort next door, but we’ll have to wait for the next trip to check that one out.

We also strolled around cobblestone streets in the cute town of Ataco, enjoying the many murals and drinking delicious local coffee. Until recently, coffee was the primary crop and export of El Salvador, and the culture is everywhere. (Nowadays, I was told that it’s been superseded by sugar cane.)

People are incredibly kind and friendly there, although there isn’t much English spoken. If you don’t speak at least a little Spanish, you’ll spend a lot of time making hand gestures or – for those of you who are tech-savvy – using Google Translate.

The official currency is the U.S. dollar, which means you don’t give yourself a migraine trying to sort out the conversion rate for dollars versus the local currency in your head. Next door in Guatemala, the rate is 7 quetzales to the dollar. Just try to figure that one out quickly while you’re deciding whether to buy a trinket.

It’s so humid there that the slightest exertion meant I was perspiring like a dockworker in summer. After a short walk to a waterfall, I was so wet I had to change clothes, and I never went in the water. But I figure that I probably sweated out 10 years of toxins, so I really can’t complain. I got the sweat lodge experience without having to go into a sweat lodge.

We loved El Salvador, and I’m already planning to go back. It’s a five-hour flight with beaches, volcanoes, rainforest and hikes. Just like Hawaii, except a lot cheaper. Check it out.

(Hey, want to talk to me? Email me at [email protected])

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​ Orange County Register 

Giant engines arrive in LA for long-awaited vertical reunion with Shuttle Endeavour

• October 11, 2023

Los Angeles is getting an historic boost today — actually, two of them.

Two iconic Solid Rocket Motors — the kind that once propelled America’s famed Space Shuttles into orbit — will formally end their freeway journey to the California Science Center in an L.A. spectacle like no other. The mammoth engines chugged along on the Harbor (110) Freeway before dawn Wednesday, Oct. 11,  the last leg of their journey to a new forever home, where they will be displayed with the shuttle Endeavour.

The giant motors — each 116 feet long, more than 12 feet in diameter and both 104,000 pounds — are among the last major components needed in what will ultimately be the only vertical, launch-ready configuration of a shuttle in the world.

After exiting the 110 freeway, the motors travel north along Figueroa Street beginning at 7:30 a.m., from 43rd Place to Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. At 8 a.m. the SRMs will pause at Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard before a ceremonial “finish line” at 39th Street at 8:45 a.m.

The public was invited to gather along Figueroa Street, from 43rd Place to 39th Street, to watch what organizers say will be a “momentous arrival,” until 9 a.m.

All of the launch components — the shuttle Endeavour (which is already there but still horizontal), rocket boosters and massive fuel tank — will be included in the vertical display of the in the $400 million Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center.

Science Center officials in July officially began the process of creating the vertical display, in what they have dubbed a “Go for Stack” process.

On Wednesday, the rocket motors, which are being donated by Northrop Grumman, made the final leg of their journey from the Mojave Air and Space Port north of Lancaster, where they have been in storage. The engines spent the day on the road on Tuesday, spending an overnight stop at an undisclosed freeway-adjacent site.

The public was invited to view the arrival as the motors are hauled off the freeway and driven along Figueroa Street and into the Science Center.

It is a kind of moment that has become familiar in L.A., as years after NASA’s shuttle program ended, the region has become a kind of home for the iconic relic, with stunning visual moments to boot.

Many will remember 2012, when the awe-inspiring image of the Endeavour, atop a 747, in the Southern California skies made the final leg of a journey that began in Florida and ended with a 12:51 p.m. touchdown at Los Angeles International Airport.

And the arrival of the motors on Wednesday will occur 11 years to the day that the shuttle Endeavour began its captivating cross-town journey from LAX to the Science Center, where it was on display — albeit horizontally — until December last year, when preparations began for the vertical display to come.

The final component will be the delicate move of the shuttle itself across Exposition Park and the use of a crane to lift it into its vertical display, which will tower 200 feet into the air. The complex that will house the display will then be constructed around it, with opening planned in 2025.

Endeavor was the last of the space shuttles to be built — NASA’s replacement for the Challenger, which broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, killing all seven crew members aboard.

Related links

116-foot-long rocket engines roll toward LA for reunion with Space Shuttle Endeavour
52-ton space shuttle rocket motors will roll through LA Wednesday to reunite with Endeavour
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Among its crowning missions was the first service mission to the Hubble Space Telescope, which took place in December 1993, to repair a flaw in the telescope – not an easy task in an orbit where the risk of hitting space debris or micrometeorites.

On Friday, take note of the traffic before you venture out:

A series of road closures are under way around Exposition Park from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. If you are visiting Expo Park during the road closures, enter the park by driving northbound on Hoover Street from Martin Luther King Boulevard.

​ Orange County Register