CIF-SS baseball playoffs: Schedule and matchups for all 9 divisions

• May 12, 2025

The matchups and schedule for the first round of the CIF Southern Section baseball playoffs.

CIF-SS BASEBALL PLAYOFFS

All games start at 3:15 p.m. unless noted.

DIVISION 1

First round, Thursday

Corona, bye

Cypress at Los Osos

Centennial/Corona at Norco

Laguna Beach at Summit

Aquinas, bye

Bishop Amat at Villa Park

Harvard-Westlake at Vista Murrieta

St. John Bosco, bye

Huntington Beach, bye

Santa Margarita at Newport Harbor

Los Alamitos at La Mirada

Rancho Cucamonga at Orange Lutheran

Arlington at Mira Costa

Aliso Niguel at Arcadia

Ayala at El Dorado

Crespi, bye

DIVISION 2

First round, Friday

Crean Lutheran at La Habra

West Ranch at Palm Desert

Sultana at Royal

Loyola at Sierra Canyon

Riverside Prep at Servite

Maranatha at Canyon/Anaheim

Notre Dame/SO at Etiwanda

La Salle at Gahr

Redlands East Valley at Oaks Christian

Torrance at Chino Hills

El Segundo at Fountain Valley

Bonita at Trabuco Hills

Millikan at Foothill

Westlake at San Clemente

South Hills at Mater Dei

Ventura at Simi Valley

DIVISION 3

First round, Thursday

Colony, bye

San Dimas at Calabasas

Long Beach Wilson at Fullerton

Paraclete at Brea Olinda

Warren at Redondo

Dana Hills at Arrowhead Christian

Beckman at Temescal Canyon

Hart at Cajon

St. Paul at Temecula Valley

San Marino at Great Oak

Santa Barbara at Crescenta Valley

Castaic at Paloma Valley

Kaiser at Costa Mesa

El Toro at San Juan Hills

Glendora at Citrus Valley

Serra at Yucaipa

DIVISION 4

First round, Friday

Valley Christian/Cerritos at Woodbridge

St. Bernard at Irvine

La Quinta/LQ at Thousand Oaks

Claremont at Apple Valley

Dos Pueblos at Katella

Valencia/V at Northview

Don Lugo at Trinity Classic Academy

Grand Terrace at Chino

Wiseburn Da Vinci at Saugus

Murrieta Mesa at Santa Monica

Burroughs/Burbank at Ganesha

La Canada at Downey

Culver City at South Torrance

Sonora at Linfield Christian

Capistrano Valley Christian at Monrovia

California at Pacifica/Oxnard

DIVISION 5

First round, Thursday

Loara at Northwood

Laguna Hills at Tahquitz

Highland at Century

Rancho Christian at Citrus Hill

Whittier Christian at Jurupa Hills

Heritage at St. Anthony

Troy at Kennedy

Hillcrest at Ocean View

Santa Paula at Liberty

La Serna at Oak Hills

West Covina at Bishop Montgomery

Covina at Elsinore

Orange Vista at Camarillo

Lakewood at Moreno Valley

Mayfair at Long Beach Poly

Hueneme at Riverside Poly

DIVISION 6

First round, Friday

Arroyo Valley at Shadow Hills

St. Monica Prep at Paramount

Crossroads at Hesperia

Rancho Verde at Rancho Mirage

Estancia at Alhambra

South El Monte at Foothill Tech

Pacifica Christian/NB at Quartz Hill

Rio Hondo Prep at Muir

Banning at Cerritos

Leuzinger at Marshall

Savanna at Burroughs/Ridgecrest

Windward at Santa Fe

Littlerock at Tustin

Adelanto at Heritage Christian

Pasadena at St. Bonaventure

Oakwood at Montebello

DIVISION 7

First round, Thursday

Coachella Valley at Channel Islands

Jurupa Valley at Chaffey

West Valley at Norwalk

Oxford Academy at Western Christian

Mary Star at Patriot

Lancaster at La Sierra

Victor Valley at Milken Comm.

Carter at Garden Grove

Indio at Silverado

Grace at Vasquez

Flintridge Prep at Campbell Hall

Don Bosco Tech at Baldwin Park

Thacher at Notre Dame/Riverside

Lawndale at Granite Hills

Artesia at Viewpoint

Schurr at Cornerstone Christian/W

DIVISION 8

First round, Friday

Colton, bye

Bolsa Grande at University Prep

Santa Ana at New Roads

Dunn at Duarte

Valley Christian/SM at Fillmore

Desert Christian/L at San Jacinto Valley

Azusa at Cate

Rosemead at La Quinta/Westminster

Rancho Alamitos at YULA

Beverly Hills at Pasadena Poly

Big Bear at Hesperia Christian

Calvary Baptist at Pioneer

Edgewood at Arroyo

Temecula Prep at Valencia/P

Rolling Hills Prep at San Bernardino

Cal Lutheran at AB Miller

DIVISION 9

First round, Thursday

Loma Linda Acad., bye

Southlands Chr. at Coast Union

Ambassador Chr. at Saddleback

Calvary Chapel/D at Coastal Chr.

Redlands Advent. at Mountain View

Shalhevet at Webb

St. Pius X-St. Matthias

Crossroads Chr. at Pomona

Beacon Hill at Twentynine Palms

Cobalt at Mesa Grande

Public Safety Acad. at Santiago/GG

Bethel Chr./R at Acad. of Academic Exc.

St. Lestonnac at Environmental Ch.

Cathedral City at Santa Rosa Acad.

Ojai Valley at Animo Leadership

Gorman Charter at Nuview Bridge

​ Orange County Register 

The (almost) forgotten tales of Disney animator’s Grizzly Flats Railroad in San Gabriel

• May 12, 2025

Building and operating a full-scale railroad in your backyard would be a dream come true for many devoted railfans, and renowned Disney animator Ward Kimball lived that dream for more than 60 years at his Southern California home.

The iconic San Gabriel backyard railroad was dubbed the “Grizzly Flats Railroad – The Scenic Wonder of The West” by Kimball – a fanciful name for a line with 900 feet of track on two acres, surrounded by citrus groves.

I had heard of the Grizzly Flats Railroad, but my personal connection began recently while working on a volunteer project to sort photo-historian L.T. Gotchy’s enormous photo collection donated in 2023 to the San Bernardino Historical and Pioneer Society. Gotchy, 92, died in 2014.

It was during my volunteer work, that I found Gotchy’s connection to Kimball, in a box of nostalgic images appropriately labeled “Grizzly Flats Railroad.”

Through further research, I found Dick Donat, a former friend and colleague of Gotchy’s who had extensive knowledge of the late photographer’s life and his time on the Grizzly Flats Railroad. Donat joyfully shared some of his memories of the times they spent at Kimball’s backyard railroad.

Kimball (1914 – 2002) became an animator for Walt Disney’s studios in 1934, and while art and music were his life’s work, trains were his passion. Kimball was one of Disney’s “Nine Old Men,” a group of the studio’s core animators from the 1920s to the 1980s.

Kimball and Walt Disney shared a love of trains, and that became a bond that strongly influenced both men’s careers and hobbies. Kimball’s backyard railroad inspired Disney, and his passion for trains was deeply woven into the fabric of Disneyland.

Grizzly Flats Railroad began in 1938 with Kimball’s purchase of a dilapidated wooden passenger coach for $50. His wife Betty encouraged him to go big and build a full-sized railroad on their ranch property.

Within a few short years, Kimball’s quirky hobby blossomed into an operating piece of railroad history that included two steam locomotives, a caboose, a passenger coach, a boxcar, a depot building, a train barn, a water tank, signs, signals, a wooden windmill, and 900 feet of narrow-gauge track — 3-feet between the rails.

In the late 1940s, Gotchy, a documentary photographer and railfan extraordinaire, met up with Kimball, the ultimate railfan with a real railroad in his backyard.

Gotchy was born in Utah in 1922, and he moved to Los Angeles with his family in the 1930s. The streetcars of the Los Angeles Railway and the Pacific Electric Railway ignited his passion for railroads, and from his teens he had a camera tethered to him. He moved to Hesperia in the 1960s, and he lived there until his death in 2014.

Gotchy was a natural fit in the group who became unofficial partners, operators, and volunteers on the Grizzly Flats Railroad. Along with Kimball, they spent untold hours building, repairing and maintaining the line.

Gotchy was willing to lend his engineering and fabrication skills to projects and events on the suburban railroad. He loved Ford Model Ts, and he often brought his own Model T to Grizzly Flats, adding a touch of “period realism” to the surroundings.

In the early 1950s, Gotchy went to work for the Automobile Club of Southern California as a signposter, and he found Kimball had a passion for collecting old street signs. Gotchy supplied Kimball with many unique signs that adorned the buildings and signposts at Grizzly Flats.

During the peak operating years of the 1940s through 1970s, Kimball would call in his friends, volunteers, and celebrities to steam up the locomotives, and they would have a full-blown railroad shindig.

One event dubbed the “Great Model T and Locomotive Race” was held Aug. 24, 1947, and it pitted Kimball’s Emma Nevada locomotive against a 1912 Model T. The race had an official starter, and when his flag dropped, both operators gave their machines full throttle.

Donat recounted the race; “Gotchy photographed the race, and according to L.T., the Model T won the race, much to Ward’s chagrin.”

Donat shared another story that Kimball told him about finding his beloved wooden-bladed windmill.

“Ward always wanted a wooden-bladed windmill for his railroad, but he could never find one,” Donat said. “In the earlier days of World War II, Disney used to send out some of his animators to military bases, and they did the equivalent of a USO show.

“On one of these occasions, Ward was with a carload of these animators, and they got lost on a stormy night somewhere out in Riverside County. Suddenly the sky cleared, and Ward looked out the window, and there was a wooden-bladed windmill. ‘Stop the car, stop the car, he shouted!’ Ward went running up to the house and banged on the door, and he finally got somebody to answer. He said, ‘I want to buy your windmill.’ And of course, the guy was kind of stumbling around, thinking ‘what have I got here?’ Ward said ‘please, I want to buy your windmill, give me a price, I really want this for my railroad!’ The homeowner was still giving him a puzzled look, and then his eyes kind of lit up. He was looking around and over Ward, and here comes the other guys from the car, and they have put on their artist’s smocks. So they’re wearing these white coats, and they come up and say, ‘It’s alright Ward, we’ll take you back now, everything’s OK.’

Kimball said it took a personal letter from Walt Disney, and they explained that he really was sincere, and did want to buy the windmill, Donat explained, “and eventually he did, and there it was in San Gabriel.”

Kimball began donating his Grizzly Flats rolling stock to the Southern California Railway Museum in Perris in 1992, and most of the equipment is now at the museum. Find details at socalrailway.org/collections/grizzly-flats/.

Betty Kimball died at age 97 in 2010 and the property was sold shortly afterward.

From 1938 to 2006, Grizzly Flats Railroad was the center of countless fantastic events, untold hours of hard work, spending time with good friends, and sharing trainloads of amazing stories.

Mark Landis is a freelance writer. He can be reached at historyinca@yahoo.com

​ Orange County Register 

As Biden-era ‘junk fee’ rule takes effect, Ticketmaster says it will display fees more clearly

• May 12, 2025

By DEE-ANN DURBIN, Associated Press

As a Biden administration ban on so-called “junk fees” took effect Monday, Ticketmaster said it will start displaying the full price of a ticket as soon as consumers begin shopping.

Ticketmaster, long a subject of complaints about its hidden fees, was among those targeted by the new rule, which was announced in December by the Federal Trade Commission. The rule requires ticket sellers, hotels, vacation rental platforms and others to disclose processing fees, cleaning fees and other charges up front.

Ticketmaster said Monday it commended the FTC’s action.

“Ticketmaster has long advocated for all-in pricing to become the nationwide standard so fans can easily compare prices across all ticketing sites,” Ticketmaster Chief Operating Officer Michael Wichser said in a statement.

Ticketmaster said it will also tell shoppers where they are in line when they log in to buy tickets to an event. It will also give real-time updates to customers whose wait times exceed 30 minutes, letting them know ticket price ranges, availability and whether new event dates have been added.

Ticketmaster, which is owned by Beverly Hills, California-based concert promoter Live Nation, is the world’s largest ticket seller, processing 500 million tickets each year in more than 30 countries. Around 70% of tickets for major concert venues in the U.S. are sold through Ticketmaster.

Ticketmaster said Monday’s changes will bring North America in line with the rest of the world, where the full ticket price was already displayed as soon as customers started shopping.

It has been in the hot seat since 2022, when its site crashed during a presale event for Taylor Swift’s upcoming stadium tour. The company said its site was overwhelmed by both fans and attacks from bots, which were posing as consumers in order to scoop up tickets and sell them on secondary sites. Thousands of people lost tickets after waiting for hours in an online queue.

Last year, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Ticketmaster and Live Nation, accusing them of running an illegal monopoly that drives up U.S. ticket prices and asking a court to break them up. That case is ongoing.

President Donald Trump is also eyeing the industry. In March, he signed an executive order that he said will help curb ticket scalping and bring “commonsense” changes to the way live events are priced.

Under the order, the FTC must ensure “price transparency at all stages of the ticket-purchase process” and take enforcement to prevent unfair, deceptive, and anti-competitive conduct.

“Anyone who’s bought a concert ticket in the last decade, maybe 20 years — no matter what your politics are — knows that it’s a conundrum,” said Kid Rock, who joined Trump in the Oval Office as Trump signed the order.

​ Orange County Register 

Cannes, the global Colosseum of film, readies for 78th edition with new challenges on the horizon

• May 12, 2025

By JAKE COYLE, Associated Press

Nowhere is the border-crossing nature of cinema more evident than the Cannes Film Festival, which kicks off Tuesday in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s vow to enact tariffs on international films.

Cannes, where filmmakers, sales agents and journalists gather from around the world, is the Olympics of the big screen, with its own golden prize, the Palme d’Or, to give out at the end. Filmmakers come from nearly every corner of the globe to showcase their films while dealmakers work through the night to sell finished films or packaged productions to various territories.

“You release a film into that Colosseum-like situation,” says Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho, who’s returning to Cannes with “The Secret Agent,” a thriller set during Brazil’s dictatorship. “You’ve got to really prepare for the whole experience because it’s quite intense — not very far from the feeling of approaching a roller coaster as you go up the steps at the Palais.”

Perhaps as much as ever, all eyes in the movie world will be on the 78th Cannes Film Festival when it gets underway this week. That’s not just because of the long list of anticipated films set to premiere at the Cote d’Azur festival (including films from Spike Lee, Wes Anderson, Lynne Ramsay, Richard Linklater and Ari Aster) and the extensive coterie of stars set to walk the fabled red carpet (Jennifer Lawrence, Denzel Washington, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart among them).

As the movies, and the Oscar race, have grown more international, the global launchpad of Cannes has become only more central to the larger film ecosystem — even with the ongoing absence of Netflix. Recent editions of Cannes have produced a string of Academy Awards contenders, including this year’s best-picture winner, “Anora.”

At the same time, geopolitics course through Cannes unlike any other festival. The Cannes red carpet can be as much a platform for political protest as it is for glamour. This year’s festival will include a dissident Iranian filmmaker (Jafar Panahi), a Ukrainian filmmaker (Sergei Loznitsa) and the first Nigerian production in the official selection (Akinola Davies Jr.’s “My Father’s Shadow”).

The many roads to Cannes

In the run-up to the festival, three filmmakers from different corners of the world spoke about their roads to the Cannes competition lineup. For many directors, reaching the Cannes competition — this year, that’s 22 movies vying for the Palme d’Or — is career milestone.

“It’s meaningful for me. It’s meaningful for the country,” says Oliver Hermanus, speaking from outside Cape Town. Hermanus, the South African filmmaker of “Moffie” and “Living,” is in competition for the first time with “The History of Sound,” a period love story starring Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor.

“I was born here and made movies here for most of my career, so I still see myself as a South African filmmaker who’s interested in the South African perspective on things and South African representation,” adds Hermanus. “The competition is something I’ve always wanted to be part of.”

Chie Hayakawa, the Japanese filmmaker of 2022’s “Plan 75,” is also in competition for the first time. She first came to Cannes with a student film that she never expected to make it into the festival’s shorts program. This week, she’ll debut “Renoir,” a semiautobiographical tale about an 11-year-old girl with a father who has terminal cancer.

“It gives me a huge encouragement and keeps me motivated to making films,” Hayakawa said from Tokyo. “I don’t feel like I’m going to compete with other films. But it meaningful. I know how prestigious and meaningful it is to be in competition.”

“Film is global and easily crosses the borders of any country or culture,” she adds. “That’s what special about Cannes.”

Will tariffs topple Cannes?

Cannes’ global approach is part of what makes this year more complicated than usual. Trump sent shock waves through Hollywood and the international film community when he announced on May 4 that all movies “produced in Foreign Lands” will face 100% tariffs.

The White House has said no final decisions have been made. Options being explored include federal incentives for U.S.-based productions, rather than tariffs. But the announcement was a reminder of how international tensions can destabilize even the oldest cultural institutions.

Filho first attended Cannes as a critic. Once he began making movies, the allure of the festival remained. To him, participating in Cannes means joining a timeline of cinema history. “The Secret Agent” marks his third time in competition.

“I have always felt that there was a seriousness that I appreciated,” Filho says. “For example, I will be attending a 2 a.m. test for sound and picture. This is done with scientist types who will take care of the projection and how everything will go.”

As to the threat of tariffs? He shrugs.

“I have been trained by Brazil, because we had a very strange and weird historic moment under (former president Jair) Bolsonaro,” Filho said. “I used my training to say: This is probably some bad idea or misunderstanding that will be corrected in the coming days or weeks. Even for leaders like them, Bolsonaro and Trump, it makes no sense whatsoever.”

‘Everything to lose, everything to gain’

The Cannes Film Festival originally emerged in the World War II years, when the rise of fascism in Italy led to the founding of an alternative to the then-government controlled Venice Film Festival. In the time since, Cannes’ resolute commitment to cinema has made it a beacon to filmmakers. Countless directors have come to make their name.

This year is no different, though some of the first-time filmmakers at Cannes are already particularly well-known. Stewart (“The Chronology of Water”), Scarlett Johansson (“Eleanor the Great”) and Harris Dickinson (“Urchin”) will all be unveiling their feature directorial debuts in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard sidebar section.

Many Cannes veterans will be back, too, including Tom Cruise (“Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning”), Robert De Niro (who’s to receive an honorary Palme d’Or 49 years after “Taxi Driver” premiered in Cannes) and Quentin Tarantino (to pay tribute to low-budget Western director George Sherman).

Hermanus first came to Cannes with his 2011 film “Beauty.” He went naively optimistic before realizing, he laughs, that a Cannes selection is “a potential invitation to a beheading.

“Even going now with ‘The History of Sound,’ I’m trying to be realistic about the fact that it’s a gladiatorial arena. It’s everything to lose and everything to gain,” says Hermanus. “When Cannes selected us, it came down to me and Paul going, ‘Oh God, here comes the real stress. Will we survive the intensity of Cannes?’ — which we both agreed is the reason to go.”

​ Orange County Register 

CIF-SS softball playoffs: Schedule and matchups for all 8 divisions

• May 12, 2025

The matchups and schedule for the first round of the CIF Southern Section baseball playoffs.

CIF-SS SOFTBALL PLAYOFFS

All games start at 3:15 p.m. unless noted.

DIVISION 1

First round, Thursday

Norco, bye

Camarillo at Oaks Christian

Mater Dei at Chino Hills

Huntington Beach at Charter Oak

Paraclete at La Mirada

Fullerton at Roosevelt

Riverside Poly at Murrieta Mesa

West Torrance at Ayala

Notre Dame/SO at Orange Lutheran

Cypress at El Segundo

Pacifica/GG at El Modena

Bonita at Rosary

Temescal Canyon at Canyon/Anaheim

ML King at Valley View

Upland at La Habra

Etiwanda, bye

DIVISION 2

First round, Thursday

Beckman at California

Capistrano Valley at Thousand Oaks

Torrance at Great Oak

Downey at Grand Terrace

Gahr at JSerra

Villa Park at Sonora

El Dorado at Palos Verdes

Los Altos at Linfield Christian

Ganesha at Agoura

Millikan at Moorpark

Santa Margarita at Saugus

Simi Valley at Vista Murrieta

Shadow Hills at Whittier Christian

South Hills at Los Alamitos

Yucaipa at Redondo

La Serna at Liberty

DIVISION 3

First round, Thursday

Valencia/V at Crescenta Valley

Yorba Linda at Brea Olinda

Don Lugo at Valley Christian/C

Woodbridge at Arlington

St. Paul at Bishop Amat

El Rancho at Alta Loma

Oxnard at San Clemente

Arcadia at Marina

Kennedy at Beaumont

Royal at Citrus Valley

Tesoro at Burroughs/B

Rio Mesa at Aquinas

Mission Viejo at La Quinta/LQ

Ramona at Orange Vista

Schurr at Westlake

Chaminade at Glendora

DIVISION 4

First round, Thursday

Santa Monica at Hillcrest

Heritage Chr. at Duarte

Edison at Long Beach Poly

South El Monte at Summit

Oak Hills at Harvard-Westlake

Foothill at Sierra Canyon

Dos Pueblos at Viewpoint

Colton at Sultana

Chino at Indio

Apple Valley at Northview

Quartz Hill at Ventura

Diamond Ranch at El Toro

Segerstrom at Mayfair

Long Beach Wilson at Hemet

Ontario Chr. at Elsinore

Lakewood at Warren

DIVISION 5

First round, Thursday

Muir, bye

Riverside Prep at St. Bonaventure

Santiago/GG at Kaiser

Buena Park at Patriot

Rowland at Highland

Flintridge Sacred Heart at Irvine

Alemany at Western Christian

Hart at JW North

Mira Costa at Cerritos

Valencia/P at Rancho Verde

University Prep at Grace

Sierra Vista at Canyon Springs

Providence/B at Bishop Montgomery

Anaheim at West Ranch

Mark Keppel at Lancaster

Wiseburn Da Vinci at La Canada

DIVISION 6

First round, Thursday

Archer School at South Pasadena

Eastside at Cantwell Sacred Heart

Faith Baptist at Coastal Christian

Monrovia at University

Flintridge Prep at Ramona Convent

Santa Rosa Acad. at Granite Hills

Leuzinger at Pasadena Poly

Oxford Academy at La Salle

Adelanto at Pioneer

Norwalk at Jurupa Valley

Eisenhower at Arroyo

Santa Clara at San Jacinto

Village Christian at Vasquez

Santa Paula at Katella

Knight at St. Monica Prep

Southlands Chr. at Rio Hondo Prep

DIVISION 7

First round, Thursday

El Monte, bye

Workman at Garey

Santa Ana at Fillmore

Westminster at Moreno Valley

Hamilton at Rancho Mirage

Hesperia Christian at Excelsior Charter

Arroyo Valley at Edgewood

San Jacinto Valley at Sacred Heart LA

AB Miller at Silverado

Santa Ana Valley at Rialto

Capistrano Valley Christian at Los Amigos

Citrus Hill at Culver City

Bellflower at Yucca Valley

Fontana at Lakeside

Mountain View at San Bernardino

Notre Dame/R at Bell Gardens

DIVISION 8

First round, Thursday

Packinghouse Chr. at Tustin

Orange at Brentwood

Santa Clarita Chr. at Bethel Chr./R

Century at Banning

United Chr. Acad. at Environmental Ch.

Loma Linda Acad. at Nuview Bridge

Valley Chr./SM at Lennox Acad.

Bolsa Grande at Hawthorne

Rancho Alamitos at Hoover

Desert Chr. Acad. at Calvary Baptist

Redlands Advent. at Acad. Career Exp.

Pomona Catholic at Hueneme

Avalon at Loara

Calvary Chapel/D at Compton Early College

Cal Lutheran at St. Genevieve

​ Orange County Register 

Menendez brothers could be released if re-sentencing hearing in Van Nuys goes their way

• May 12, 2025

Roughly two years after an effort began to have Erik and Lyle Menendez released from prison, a re-sentencing hearing in the San Fernando Valley will begin Tuesday for the brothers, who are serving life prison terms without the possibility of parole for the 1989 shotgun murders of their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion.

The brothers have spent about 35 years behind bars for the Aug. 20, 1989, killings of Jose and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez. The Menendez brothers claim the killings were committed after years of abuse, including alleged sexual abuse by their father.

The hearing is expected to last two days at the Van Nuys Courthouse.

In a 2023 court petition, attorneys for the brothers pointed to two new pieces of evidence they contend corroborate the brothers’ allegations of long-term sexual abuse at the hands of their father — a letter allegedly written by Erik Menendez to his cousin Andy Cano in early 1989 or late 1988, and recent allegations by Roy Rosselló, a former member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, that he too was sexually abused by Jose Menendez as a teenager.

Prosecutors allege the murders were carried out due to greed, to acquire their parents’ money.

Defense attorneys are hoping to win a reduced sentence for the brothers, possibly allowing them to either be released immediately or at least become eligible for parole consideration.

Meanwhile, state parole boards are set to conduct separate hearings June 13 for the brothers, then send their reports to Gov. Gavin Newsom to help him decide whether the two should receive clemency.

Interest in the Menendez case surged following the release of a recent Netflix documentary and dramatic series.

The governor said previously that with the exception of brief clips on social media, he has not watched dramatizations of the Menendez case or documentaries on it “because I don’t want to be influenced by them.”

“I just want to be influenced by the facts,” Newsom said.

In October, then-Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced he was in favor of the brothers being re-sentenced to make them eligible for parole. Since the brothers were under 26 at the time of the murders, they could be eligible for parole through the state’s youthful offender law.

Gascón pointed to the brothers’ work to help other inmates, and officials’ assessment that they present a low risk of re-offending. The former district attorney also cited the possible new evidence about the father’s alleged abusive behavior as additional factors in support of new sentences.

However, when he was elected, new District Attorney Nathan Hochman promised to re-examine the case, saying he did not support re-sentencing. Hochman contends the brothers have not shown “insight” into their crimes during their years of incarceration and continue to lie about the alleged abuse.

Last week, attorneys for Erik and Lyle Menendez withdrew a motion asking that the District Attorney’s Office be removed from the brothers’ case, saying they want to expeditiously move forward with their bid to have the pair re-sentenced.

The brothers watched Friday’s hearing before Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic via video from the San Diego prison where they are both are serving their life prison terms.

Attorneys for Erik Menendez, 54, and his older brother, Lyle, 57, had alleged in the motion that “absent recusal (of the District Attorney’s Office), a conflict of interest would render it likely that the defendants will receive neither a fair hearing nor fair treatment through all related proceedings.”

But in court Friday, the brothers’ defense team dropped its bid to have the D.A.’s office removed from the case, saying they did not want any more delays in the re-sentencing hearing.

“We have not wanted to waive time,” defense attorney Mark Geragos said, noting that Hochman was in the courtroom for the hearing.

Hochman again asked Jesic to withdraw the earlier prosecution motion in support of re-sentencing filed by Gascón. But the judge again denied the request, saying that “nothing’s really changed.”

Hochman — who spoke on behalf of the prosecution for the bulk of Friday’s hearing — reiterated his opposition to re-sentencing for the brothers, arguing they have not “accepted complete responsibility for their actions.” He maintained in court that his decision was not based on a “political whim.”

“… Right now, they are not in a position where we would advocate for re-sentencing,” Hochman told the judge.

Geragos argued that the district attorney presented information in court about a recently completed psychological assessment of the brothers “in violation of the rules and regulations.” He called Hochman’s courtroom presentation a “dog and pony show,” and cited what he called “extraordinary rehabilitation” by the brothers.

Geragos said outside court that Hochman’s decision to speak on behalf of the prosecution during the Friday court hearing “shows the degree of involvement and how personal it is.”

He said the defense has the “utmost faith in Judge Jesic to do the right thing.”

​ Orange County Register 

Harvard says it won’t abandon ‘core’ principles to meet Department of Education demands

• May 12, 2025

By MICHAEL CASEY and COLLIN BINKLEY, Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) — Harvard University responded Monday to recent threats from the Education Department to halt its grant funding, highlighting reforms it was undertaking but warning it won’t budge on “its core, legally-protected principles” over fears of retaliation.

A letter from Harvard President Alan Garber detailed how the institution had made significant changes to its leadership and governance over the past year and a half. Among the reforms, Garber said, was a broad “strategy to combat antisemitism and other bigotry.”

Last week, the Department of Education threatened a grant freeze in a major escalation of Trump’s battle with the Ivy League school. The administration previously froze $2.2 billion in federal grants to Harvard, and Trump is pushing to strip the school of its tax-exempt status.

Garber warned that its efforts to change were being “undermined and threatened by the federal government’s overreach into the constitutional freedoms of private universities and its continuing disregard of Harvard’s compliance with the law.”

“Consistent with the law and with our own values, we continue to pursue needed reforms, doing so in consultation with our stakeholders and always in compliance with the law,” Garber wrote. “But Harvard will not surrender its core, legally-protected principles out of fear of unfounded retaliation by the federal government.”

An Education Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In call with reporters last week, a Department of Education official accused Harvard of “serious failures.” The person, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity, said Harvard has allowed antisemitism and racial discrimination to perpetuate, it has abandoned rigorous academic standards, and it has failed to allow a range of views on its campus.

To become eligible for new grants, Harvard would need to enter negotiations with the federal government and prove it has satisfied the administration’s requirements.

The demands come amid a pressure campaign targeting several other high-profile universities. The administration has cut off money to colleges including Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell University, seeking compliance with Trump’s agenda.

The White House says it’s targeting campus antisemitism after pro-Palestinian protests swept U.S. college campuses last year. It’s also focused on the participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports. And the attacks on Harvard increasingly have called out the university’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, along with questions about freedom of speech and thought by conservatives on campus.

Harvard has filed a federal lawsuit over the administration’s demands, setting up a closely watched clash in Trump’s attempt to force change at universities that he says have become hotbeds of liberalism and antisemitism.

In his letter Monday, Garber also attempted to rebut many of the allegations made by the Education Department. He insisted admission to Harvard was based on “academic excellence and promise” and there were no “quotas, whether based on race or ethnicity or any other characteristic” or an “ideological litmus tests” when it comes to hiring.

Garber also dismissed the suggestion that Harvard was a partisan institution and said he wasn’t aware of any evidence suggesting international students were “more prone to disruption, violence, or other misconduct than any other students.”

Collin Binkley has covered Harvard for nearly a decade – most of the time living half a mile from campus.

​ Orange County Register 

What to know about food poisoning illnesses caused by listeria

• May 12, 2025

A listeria outbreak linked to ready-to-eat sandwiches and snacks has sickened at least 10 people in the U.S., and a producer is voluntarily recalling dozens of products sold to retail stores, hospitals, hotels, airports and airlines, federal officials said.

The products were made by Fresh & Ready Foods LLC and were sold in Arizona, California, Nevada and Washington.

Those who fell ill and were hospitalized were in California and Nevada. The outbreak has been simmering for many months: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said cases date to December 2023.

Listeria poisoning is caused by a particularly resilient type of bacteria that can survive and grow even during refrigeration. About 1,600 people are infected with it — and 260 die — each year in the U.S., according to the CDC.

Here’s what you need to know:

What was recalled?

The voluntary recall covers more than 80 specific products distributed between April 18 and April 25. The products have “Use By” dates from April 22 to May 19.

Brand names include: Fresh & Ready Foods, City Point Market Fresh Food to Go and Fresh Take Crave Away.

Federal officials say anyone with the products should throw them away or return them. They also suggest cleaning any surfaces that touched the recalled foods.

Where does listeria come from?

Listeria bacteria thrive in moist environments, including soil and water and decaying vegetation and are carried by some animals.

The hardy germs are typically spread when food is harvested, processed, transported or stored in places that are contaminated with the bacteria.

When the bacteria get into a food processing plant, they can be tough to eradicate.

What are the symptoms of listeria?

Foods contaminated with the bacteria can make people sick. Symptoms can be mild and include fever, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. More serious illness can include headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions.

Listeria poisoning is tricky because symptoms can start quickly, within a few hours or days after eating contaminated food. But they also can take weeks or up to three months to show up.

Those most vulnerable to getting sick include the very young, people older than 65 and those with weakened immune systems or who are pregnant.

Does cooking kill listeria?

Listeria can survive and grow in refrigerated food. It can be killed by heating foods to “steaming hot,” or 165 degrees Fahrenheit (74 degrees Celsius), the CDC says. But that’s not always possible — or palatable — for foods that are made to be eaten cold.

Because listeria can survive under refrigeration, it’s important to clean and sanitize any surfaces, including refrigerator drawers and shelves, that may have come in contact with the products.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

​ Orange County Register