Octavia’s Bookshelf owner Nikki High on the Pasadena bookstore’s incredible first year

• January 13, 2024

What if you had a dream – and it came true?

Nikki High, owner of Octavia’s Bookshelf in Pasadena, might be one of the best examples of this you could ever imagine. After posting a tweet on Dec. 31, 2022, that read in part, “I took the leap and quit my job to open my very own bookstore,” her message went viral, resonating with tens of thousands of people who saw it as 2023 began.

She opened her store on Feb. 18, 2023, to what can only be described as a phenomenal success: a beautiful opening ceremony, lines stretching up the street and book buyers who came on Day One – and haven’t stopped.

“It doesn’t feel like quite a year – sometimes it feels like it’s been two days, and other times it feels like 10 years. But I’m still processing all of it,” says High. “I’ve just been on the best ride for the last 12 months.”

Stopping by the store last month to catch up, I asked her if she was surprised by everything that’s happened.

“I think the biggest surprise, which it shouldn’t be, is just how much support I’ve gotten from everyone, particularly the Pasadena and Altadena community – the San Gabriel Valley, in general. I mean, Pasadena is a really special place,” she says. “And so on Day One when I open, there’s this giant line, and I thought, ‘Well, I just, you know, hit the jackpot.’”

She’s already expanded, taking over the larger space next door last September.

“That was weird – wild – but meant to be, right?” she says, explaining that she’d been welcome to use the larger space as needed, and then learned it was available, but didn’t think she’d be able to swing it.

But the property management company came back with a plan. She recalls them saying, “‘We’ve been doing a lot of talking in the office. We are so happy that you’re here and you’ve quickly become an anchor to the development and so we want to make this work.’”

“And so they came up with this plan that made good sense to me. So I said, ‘Yes.’ I’ve been saying a lot of yeses this year,” High says with a laugh. “It feels really good.”

Nikki High, seen here on Dec. 20, 2023, reflects on the success of Octavia’s Bookshelf as she approaches the Pasadena bookstore’s one-year anniversary on Feb. 18, 2024. (Photo by Erik Pedersen)

The store has not only connected with the local community, she says, but others looking to open bookstores in their own neighborhoods.

“I’ve had some folks reach out to ask me how they can replicate the success here,” she says. “I’ve been eager to share with people … because we need more bookstores everywhere. So I’m always happy to share what I’ve learned.”

She says she received help herself from booksellers at The Salt Eaters Bookshop, Malik Books and Vroman’s. But she singles out Jazzi McGilbert of Reparations Club for being a friend and resource over the past year.

“Her support, her ongoing support, has been so incredible,” says High. “I am just so grateful for her, specifically.”

Throughout our conversation, customers shop and talk – including a former coworker of High’s from Trader Joe’s. I pass the time browsing – I picked up a copy of “Miracle at St. Anna” by James McBride – and playing with a foster puppy that High has in the store that day.

Looking around the room, especially the Octavia E. Butler shelves, I ask about the books she’s sold the most over the past year. Maybe “Kindred” or “Parable of the Sower”?

Along with works by Butler, bell hooks, Zora Neale Hurston, Alice Walker and others, High mentions a children’s book, “Kash’s Hats” by Mariah McCloud.

“Since we’ve opened, it’s been my No. 1 selling children’s book,” she says. “She lives in Pasadena. It’s been really cool.”

High is also aiming to help young readers, especially those who can’t always afford books. She’s working with local schoolkids and has an idea – a dream, let’s say – for this new year.

“In 2024, I would love to be able to raise funds so that I can do a book fair at one of the local elementary schools or junior high schools – and all the books will just be free. Every student can get two books. So I’m working on it,” she says.

“That’s my biggest goal.”

For more information, go to the website.

A shopper, seen here on Dec. 20, 2023, inside Pasadena’s Octavia’s Bookshelf. (Photo by Erik Pedersen)

Readers write in about reading

We get mail. And paper airplanes. (Getty Images)

I got more feedback than usual after last week’s newsletter about counting the number of books you read. Here are some of the responses:

Regarding the number of books one reads, I learned a long time ago it’s not about the number but rather the enjoyment those books give you. Also, don’t waste time on a novel that’s “not doing it for you.” The rest of the world might love it, but if you don’t, just stop. There are way too many books out there for you to enjoy. – C.L. Altman, Michigan

I really had a laugh at the first paragraph of the intro to your newsletter. Yes, we have a lot in common. My home office has five book-loaded bookshelves and there are stacks of books on the floor, making it almost impossible to walk into the office. I visit my local library and their used bookstore almost every week. And I watch out for announcements in the OC Register and my email for Bookish, which I really enjoy. I read a variety of things: mysteries (Michael Connelly, Agatha Christie, Stephen King, Dean Koontz) and non-fiction including biographies and autobiographies.  – Jean Kulla

Thanks for this gentle reminder to read what you can, when you can, how you can. – Jhoanna Belfer, Bel Canto Books

Funny thing, given your most recent column: I actually do keep a running list/count of every book I read start to finish (for the last 20 years anyway). If I didn’t count, I fear, I wouldn’t read as much. and, according to me, everything counts – a graphic novel just as much as “War & Peace” (which, actually, I haven’t read yet). – A reader, Glendale

My column about music books apparently got shared around and I’ve been hearing from folks from around the country about that, too, which is great.

Finally, you may or may not have read the story I wrote about author Duane Swierczynski that ran earlier this week (though not here in the Book Pages); if not, I hope you will. I’ve gotten lovely responses from readers and am hoping to spread the word a bit here about Team Evie, the foundation that Swierczynski and his wife Meredith established in honor of their late daughter Evelyn, which provides books to kids at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

You can also read more about Swiercyznski, whose book “California Bear” is out this week, in the Book Pages Q&A below.

Duane Swierczynski on a powerful piece of writing advice

Author Duane Swierczynski discusses his 2024 novel, “California Bear,” at Clearman’s North Woods Inn on Dec. 5, 2023. It’s his first solo novel since 2016’s “Revolver” and most recent since his 2023 bestselling collaboration with James Patterson “Lion & Lamb.” (Photo by Erik Pedersen /Cover courtesy of Mulholland Books)

Duane Swierczynski is the author of novels, nonfiction, scripts, audio originals and the recent bestselling collaboration with James Patterson, “Lion & Lamb.” His just-published novel is “California Bear,” and he spoke with Erik Pedersen about it and followed up by taking the Book Pages Q&A.

Q. Is there a book or books you always recommend to other readers?

I have a long list of forever titles I’ll recommend, especially if a friend is new to a genre—and I have some insight into that friend’s personality. But usually, when I’m evangelizing for a book, it’s one I’ve recently finished and want to tell the world about. In recent years, this has included “Bullet Train” by Kotaro Isaka (the movie was a blast, but the novel is even better), Kim Newman’s “Anno Dracula” (which eluded me for years, until it finally clicked), Newton Thornburg’s “To Die in California” (a powerful and heartbreaking revenge novel), Michael Shea’s “Polyphemus” (especially for “The Autopsy,” one of the freakiest horror stories I’ve ever read), and the next series of books I’m about to mention in reply to your next question…

Q. What are you reading now?

“The Murderbot Diaries” by Martha Wells, which is the fast-paced misanthropic sci-fi action epic I didn’t know I needed. The voice is pitch perfect, the humor is dark, and the action is spectacular. Even better, the first five installments are novellas, starting with “All Systems Red.” You will plow through ‘em like popcorn. The tastiest, saltiest popcorn.

Q. How do you decide what to read next?

I don’t know how common this is, but I’ll go through a run of books within the same subgenre (Midcentury crime, Victorian horror, 1980s mainstream lit, and so on.), then abruptly decide: Okay, enough of that for now! Currently I’m in a science-fiction mood… specifically cyberpunk and robot stuff. Why robots? I have no idea. I have no choice but to comply with my brain’s demands.

Q. Do you remember the first book that made an impact on you?

My father had a battered, coverless paperback copy of “The Interrupted Journey,” about the (alleged) UFO abduction of Betty and Barney Hill. I read that thing through the gaps in my fingers, and I went to bed every night terrified I’d be next.

Q. Is there a book you’re nervous to read?

I might be nervous to re-read “The Interrupted Journey,” to tell you the truth.

Q. Can you recall a book that felt like it was written with you in mind?

In the spring of 1998 I walked into a comic book shop near NYU and walked out with a small stack of Robert Sheckley paperbacks—they were on a front shelf selling for something like $5 a pop. I took them home to my Brooklyn apartment and started reading them with both a sense of awe and familiarity. Awe, because Sheckley’s imagination knew no bounds, and familiarity, because finally, here was a writer whose brain sort of worked like mine. I’m not equating myself with Sheckley—the man was a master. But I felt a sense of kinship, and his example gave me the confidence to attempt my first novel, “Secret Dead Men.”

Q. Do you have any favorite book covers?

I will forever be a fan of the Vintage Crime/Black Lizard covers from the late ’80s through early ’90s. So stylish, so slender, so satisfying, even before you open the book. To me, they’re the apex of trade paperback design.

Q. Do you listen to audiobooks? If so, are there any titles or narrators you’d recommend?

I do, especially when I’m faced with a long drive or a flight. This year I listened to Steve Powell’s “Love Me Fierce in Danger” (his James Ellroy biography) as I drove to and from Las Vegas. And while driving cross country last year, I passed some time with David J. Skal’s “Dark Carnival,” his biography of “Dracula” director Tod Browning. For some reason, I’ll usually opt for biography or historical nonfiction when I’m going to be on the road for a while. Maybe that’s me looking for a traveling companion.

Q. Is there a genre or type of book you read the most –and what would you like to read more of?

I try to read widely, but don’t stress out too much about catching up with literary classics I have may missed. If they cross my path, and I respond to them, cool! But what I’m forever chasing is the high of discovering a unique voice. Word of mouth is huge for me. If a trusted friend says I should check out a certain book, it’s a dead certainty that I will.

Q. Do you have a favorite book or books?

You could ask me this question every day for the rest of my life, and the answers would vary wildly. (Hell, they’d probably vary by the hour.) The best thing I could do is invite you to my writing office, gesture at my shelves, and (honestly) tell you: These. These are my favorite books. I keep what I love, and pass along the others to used bookstores or little libraries. I realize this sounds like I’m ducking the question (which I am, because it’s a huge question), but on the tops of my bookcases are rows of boxed sets from the Library of America: Vonnegut, Bradbury, American Noir, Hammett, Women Crime Writers, Elmore Leonard, American Science Fiction, Shirley Jackson, Philip K. Dick… all of these are huge important to me, which is why they’re (literally) at the top of my home library.

Q. Which books do you plan, or hope, to read next?

I’ll probably dive into the phone book-sized “The Big Book of Cyberpunk,” edited by Jared Shurin, over the holiday break. I asked Santa for a copy of Sam Wasson’s new one, “The Path to Paradise,” which is all about Francis Ford Coppola and Zoetrope Films. I’ve been listening to Bret Easton Ellis’s podcast interview with Wasson, and I’m literally shaking with anticipation.

Q. Is there a person who made an impact on your reading life – a teacher, a parent, a librarian or someone else?

Art Bourgeau, owner of the former Whodunit bookshop in Center City Philadelphia, took me under his wing when I was a twentysomething loner looking for something good to read. Not only did he recommend an amazing run of hardboiled paperbacks, but he gave me some incredible advice that really didn’t take root until decades later. Art told me that readers look for glimpses of the author in their books. I dismissed that, because twentysomething Me was desperate to hide behind fictional characters. But a quarter century later, I believe that Art was right, and I’m trying to embrace that idea, rather than run from it.

Q. What do you find the most appealing in a book: the plot, the language, the cover, a recommendation? Do you have any examples?

The voice. If a voice is unique and grabs me, I’m your fan for life. Kurt Vonnegut grabbed me with the opening of “Breakfast of Champions,” for example. It reads like a foreword, but then you realize wait… this is the actual novel. Nineteen-year-old me had no idea you were allowed to do that.

Q. What’s a memorable book experience – good or bad – you’re willing to share?

Whenever I travel, I try to read books set in the city I’m visiting. Six years ago I had a business trip to London, which coincided with the release of Nick Triplow’s biography of Ted Lewis, “Getting Carter.” I spent my free time in Soho pubs reading the biography, along with “Jack’s Return Home.”

Q. What’s something about your book that no one knows?

Actually, Erik, something you said made me realize something about my own novel that I didn’t know. “California Bear” is very much focused on food, from dive bars to diners to donuts. It wasn’t something I was consciously focusing on while writing it, but wow, it’s certainly there.

Q. If you could ask your readers something, what would it be?

“What is wrong with you?” But the truth is, it’s probably the same thing that’s wrong with me.

More stories, authors and bestsellers

Brandi Sellerz-Jackson is the author of “On Thriving.” (Photo credit: Jeanette Polynice/Quinn Moss Photography/Courtesy of Ballantine)

A better tomorrow

Surviving isn’t enough. So Pasadena’s Brandi Sellerz-Jackson wrote “On Thriving.” READ MORE

• • •

Here are some of the 20 books coming out in early 2024 that we’re looking forward to reading. (Courtesy of the publishers: Flatiron, Riverhead, Viking, Doubleday, Counterpoint, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, Random House, Belt, Harper Collins)

What to read in 2024

20 highly anticipated books coming this year that we want to read. READ MORE

• • •

“The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store” by James McBride is the top-selling fiction release at Southern California’s independent bookstores. (Courtesy of Riverhead Books)

The week’s bestsellers

The top-selling books at your local independent bookstores. READ MORE

• • •

Bookish (SCNG)

Next on ‘Bookish’

The next installment is Jan. 19 at 5 p.m., as hosts Sandra Tsing Loh and Samantha Dunn offer a preview of UC Riverside’s annual Writer’s Week in February. Guests include Los Angeles Review of Books editor Tom Lutz and poet Rigoberto González. Sign up for free now.

• • •

Read any books that you want to tell people about? Email [email protected] with “ERIK’S BOOK PAGES” in the subject line and I may include your comments in an upcoming newsletter.

And if you enjoy this free newsletter, please consider sharing it with someone who likes books or getting a digital subscription to support local coverage.

Thanks, as always, for reading.

Sign up for The Book Pages
Miss last week’s newsletter? Find past editions here
Dive into all of our books coverage

​ Orange County Register 

Former LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva grilled in public about deputy gangs

• January 13, 2024

Over four tense hours, defiant former Sheriff Alex Villanueva sparred with Los Angeles County’s sheriff’s oversight commission Friday, Jan. 12, over allegations he condoned and protected deputy gangs while in office.

Villanueva, who was ousted by voters in the 2022 election, denied the allegations and verbally assailed the panel for impugning his character.

“That’s disgusting, appalling,” Villanueva tersely responded to a barrage of questions from the commission’s special counsel, Bert H. Deixler, during a hearing at the Loyola Law School.

For several years, Villanueva rejected subpoenas from the Los Angeles County Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission to testify about the existence and proliferation of deputies allegedly tattooed with symbols for gangs with ominous names, including the Banditos.Cavemen, Compton Executioners, Cowboys and the Grim Reapers.

Villanueva’s refusal to testify until Friday wasn’t lost on Deixler. “I’ve been trying to meet with you since March of 2022,”  Deixler said at the outset of the hearing. “I have heard you say on television that if the CSC wanted to hear your testimony they should have invited you.”

Villanueva shot back: “This is not a real courtroom, there is no cross-examination possible.” That prompted the audience to erupt with a string of insults. “Show us your Bandito tat,” one person shouted at Villanueva.

Deixler, who is running for seat on the Board of Supervisors against incumbent Janice Hahn, then asked Villanueva if it was accurate that while serving as sheriff he had not been truthful about the existence of “deputy gangs, cliques, and subgroups.”

“That’s false,” Villanueva replied.

His testimony touched on such issues as his appointment of Tim Murakami, an allegedly tattooed member of the so-called Cavemen deputy gang, to the position of undersheriff, and his alleged order to department Capt. Matthew Burson to pause an investigation into an off-duty brawl at a party in East Los Angeles in 2018, where older members of the Bandito deputy gang were said to have assaulted younger non-Bandito deputies.

“Is he a Caveman?” Deixler asked, referring to Murakami. “It’s no secret that he was a member of the Cavemen, is it?”

Villanueva appeared to dodge the question about Murakami.

“He served honorably,” the former sheriff said. “You are disparaging him by the name on a tattoo. He’s a retired member of law enforcement in good standing. No, never referred to him (as a Caveman).”

Deixler then played a tape of a debate between Villanueva and current Sheriff Robert Luna during the retired sheriff’s failed re-election bid two years ago. In the tape, Villanueva insists the phrase “deputy gangs” has become “a political buzzword” and that such groups are, in fact, “like unicorns — everyone knows what a unicorn looks like, but I challenge you (to) name one, name a single deputy gang member.”

At one point during the contentious hearing, Villanueva defended his decision not to judge deputies based on any tattoos they might have.

“There are a lot of deputies with tattoos, and if you try to eliminate all the deputies with tattoos with no evidence of misconduct, you are going to create a gargantuan public safety crisis,” he told the panel.

The commission was notified of Villanueva’s decision to appear in a letter last month stating that the former top law enforcement officer of L.A. County “is very willing to testify” at the meeting and will “answer any questions you have under oath.”

The decision came days after a judge scheduled a hearing to decide whether to order the former sheriff to comply with the commission’s subpoenas.

In an interview with ABC7 last month, Villanueva maintained his position that “there are no deputy gangs,” describing the cliques as “subgroups of people that somehow occasionally engage in misconduct.”

Questioning at the oversight hearing also touched on a Friday article in the Los Angeles Times about a 2022 fight between off-duty deputies and a group of teenagers outside a Montclair bowling alley where one of the deputies allegedly flashed a handgun and one deputy punched a 19-year-old in the face.

Two of the men in the group — one deputy and one sergeant — allegedly admitted to investigators that they had matching tattoos, which officials linked to the Industry Indians gang, based out of the City of Industry sheriff’s station.

Asked about the bowling alley incident, Villanueva denied it was an example of deputy gang or “subgroup” behavior, instead labeling it “misconduct among deputies.”

Asked if he found the story “outrageous,” the former sheriff said he did not have enough information to form an opinion.

Villanueva also suggested that deputy cliques were “actually disappearing” as personnel changes, and tattoos are becoming more prevalent in the department.

Despite often sarcastic, contentious questions and answers, Villanueva appeared to agree to return for more questioning in March.

Last year, the commission’s 70-page report said at least a half-dozen deputy gangs or cliques are currently active throughout the Sheriff’s Department, and that misbehavior by members has already cost taxpayers more than $55 million.

The report determined that new deputy cliques form as members of existing groups retire or otherwise leave the Sheriff’s Department.

The special counsel also found evidence to suggest that gangs are reemerging in the Men’s Central Jail after efforts over the years to eradicate the problem of excessive force behind bars.

The Board of Supervisors voted to create the commission in January 2016, giving it a mission to oversee and improve transparency and accountability in the nation’s largest sheriff’s department.

Related Articles

The legal dispute with Villanueva began in 2020, after the supervisors granted the commission subpoena power, which voters then affirmed by approving Measure R. A few months later, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law granting subpoena power to oversight bodies statewide.

Also in 2020, the commission issued a subpoena directing the sheriff to testify about his response to COVID-19 inside the jails, and the dispute ended up in court, with Villanueva avoiding a contempt hearing by agreeing to answer the commission’s questions voluntarily.

Oversight officials issued more subpoenas, and Villanueva resisted them, which led to multiple court cases.

A Rand Corp. report last year found that 15% to 20% of LASD deputies join gangs, whose membership is usually confirmed by a leg tattoo often bearing a number.

City News Service contributed to this report.

​ Orange County Register 

Iowa campaign events are falling as fast as the snow as the state readies for record-cold caucuses

• January 13, 2024

By MEG KINNARD

DES MOINES, Iowa — Campaign events have continued to fall as swiftly as the Iowa snow as wintry weather hampers the leadoff GOP caucus state, with Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump all shuffling their schedules ahead of Monday’s presidential votes.

Prolonged freezing temperatures, combined with strong winds, foreshadow possibly life-threatening conditions on the night that Republican voters are set to gather to make their pick for their 2024 nominee.

Iowans are accustomed to the cold, though the latest winter wave, combined with temperatures that threaten to dip deeper into negative territory in the coming days, could mean unprecedented conditions for caucus night itself. Early into next week, forecasters said significant winds would make things feel as cold as 45 degrees below zero, a record-breaking forecast that could keep potential voters at home.

“This is kind of what it means to live in Iowa, in the middle of winter, but two snowstorms back-to-back feels like a little much,” said Jillian McKee, of Des Moines, as she walked her Shiba Inu named Bear on Friday morning in the pouring snow. “Usually, I’m just used to one a week.”

Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, center, accompanied by his press secretary Bryan Griffin, right, departs after speaking at a Northside Conservatives Club Meeting at The District in Ankeny, Iowa, Friday, Jan. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

McKee said she still plans to show up on Monday night and is leaning toward caucusing for Haley.

Haley pulled down a trio of events that had been slated for Friday in central and eastern areas of the state, shifting them instead to tele-town halls at which, unlike her in-person events held earlier this week, Haley took questions from caucusgoers.

Related Articles

Volunteers for AFP Action, the political arm of the powerful Koch network that’s supporting Haley, were out meeting with caucusgoers in the storm on Friday. Senior adviser Tyler Raygor noted that “knocking doors in snow takes more time,” but that it also made it more likely that people were at home.

DeSantis postponed four events on Friday that had been planned for cities further from Des Moines, citing unsafe weather conditions.” He did campaign earlier Friday north of the capital city with Gov. Kim Reynolds, saying he was impressed with those who turned out.

Less than an hour before DeSantis’ event with Reynolds, Iowa’s state patrol posted a warning about the weather on social media. “Please, don’t put yourself or others in danger,” it said, adding that road conditions were “extremely dangerous!”

The National Weather Service’s Des Moines office, meanwhile, posted white-out conditions of jack-knifed tractor-trailers littering interstates as much of the state was under a blizzard warning.

Trump — who has not stumped in Iowa in the closing week, instead choosing to make court appearances in Washington and New York — on Friday shifted a handful of rally events planned for over the weekend in central and western Iowa to tele-rallies, with his campaign posting the adjusted schedule “out of an abundance of caution amid severe weather advisories.”

Trump was still slated to appear at an in-person rally on Sunday in Indianola, south of Des Moines. Earlier Friday, his campaign appeared determined to hold all of the weekend’s rallies as scheduled.

“Wear a coat,” Trump senior adviser Chris LaCivita quipped when asked about concerns about the weather over the next few days. He also noted that the campaign has “contingencies” in place, including drivers to get people to caucus sites.

“It’s old school, you know — poll workers and people who pick up people and drive ’em to the polls, so we have all of that stuff planned,” he said.

On turnout, LaCivita said he felt confident the “enthusiasm” that Trump’s large events have generated would translate into caucusgoers’ commitment to sticking out the cold weather.

“You guys have seen the lines that people have stood just to go to a rally,” he said. “I’m not worried about lines at a caucus site.”

Another presidential candidate, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, canceled an event Tuesday morning, saying it was “effectively impossible to safely get from Des Moines to Coralville” — hours after criticizing Haley for calling off her Monday event in Sioux City.

On Friday, Ramaswamy appeared poised to keep to his campaign schedule, posting on X that “George Washington braved the weather to cross the Delaware” and that he would stay on the trail “for as long as we can (asterisk)physically(asterisk) make it.”

Never Back Down, the super PAC orchestrating much of DeSantis’ on-the-ground efforts, said its staff had been in close touch with tens of thousands of committed Iowa supporters, whom it expected to turn out regardless of Monday night’s conditions.

The scheduling of the caucuses has thrown the time-tested process more to nature’s whims than others in the past. Last summer, the Iowa Republican Party’s state central committee voted unanimously for the third Monday in January. The 15th, which falls on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, is earlier by several weeks than the past three caucuses, though not as early as 2008 when they were held just three days into the new year.

With the storm bearing down and the almost other-worldly cold predicted to set in thereafter, Iowa Republicans said Friday said there were no plans to change the timing of this year’s caucuses.

Iowa GOP spokesperson Kush Desai said the party has held caucuses “through all sorts of weather events before.” Desai said state Republicans were keeping an eye on things but “not entertaining anything drastic yet” in terms of postponing any votes.

“There’s no doubt on our end about our commitment to keeping Iowa first in the nation and maintaining Iowa’s critical voice, not just for Iowa but for the heartland, in the presidential nominating process,” Desai said. “Even through the winter.”

National Weather Service data shows there has never been a colder Iowa caucus night than what’s forecast for Jan. 15. The previous coldest was in 2004, when the high temperature for that year’s Jan. 19 caucuses was 16 degrees.

McKee, who was walking her dog outside Friday, had words of apology to the visiting journalists and politicos who traveled to Iowa, only to get socked with the torrential snow and bone-chilling temperatures.

“This is definitely making it a little more complicated for everybody, especially all the out-of-towner people,” McKee said as wind and snow whipped around her. “I’m sorry that you’re coming into the Iowa caucuses in a big ol’ Iowa snowstorm, but it seems right on brand.”

___

Associated Press writers Hannah Fingerhut, Jill Colvin and Mark Vancleave in Des Moines contributed to this report.

___

Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP

​ Orange County Register 

Fox News stops running My Pillow ads in payment dispute

• January 13, 2024

By Steve Karnowski | Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS — MyPillow chief executive and prominent election denier Mike Lindell said Friday that Fox News has stopped running his company’s commercials, disputing the network’s assertion that it is simply because he hasn’t paid his bills.

Lindell went public by tweeting that that Fox, which had been one of MyPillow’s biggest advertising outlets, had canceled him. He said in his tweet that he didn’t know why but that he suspected that the network was trying to silence him. Fox denied that.

Losing Fox was just the latest in a series of financial and legal setbacks for Minnesota-based MyPillow and Lindell, who continues to propagate former President Donald Trump’s lies that the 2020 election was stolen from him, in part by rigged voting machine systems. Several big-box retailers, including Walmart, have discontinued his products, and lawyers who were defending him against defamation lawsuits by voting machine companies quit.

“As soon as their account is paid, we would be happy to accept their advertising,” Fox spokeswoman Irena Briganti said.

“They’re 100% lying,” Lindell said an interview with The Associated Press. But he acknowledged that MyPillow owes money to Fox. He put the figure at $7.8 million, but he insisted that the sum is within his credit line with the network. He said MyPillow has long spent an average of $1 million a week to run its ads on Fox. And he said the network had long allowed him 12 weeks of credit until it recently cut that to eight weeks.

“This has nothing to do with money. That’s a fact,” Lindell said.

Lindell said he believes Fox wants to silence him “because I want to secure our election platforms.” And he said he suspects the network is sore because his Lindell TV/FrankSpeech online channel recently hired former Fox Business host Lou Dobbs, whose debut show on Monday night featured an interview with Trump, who made further false claims that the 2020 election was rigged.

Fox last April agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems nearly $800 million to avert a trial in the voting machine company’s lawsuit that would have exposed how the network promoted lies about the 2020 election on shows by Dobbs and other hosts. Fox canceled Dobbs’ show three years ago.

Lindell acknowledged in an interview in October that he owed two law firms that were defending him against lawsuits by Dominion and Smartmatic millions of dollars that he couldn’t pay, which is why they quit. He said MyPillow had been “decimated.”

But Lindell insisted Friday that MyPillow is “doing great.” He said it’s still running ads on another conservative network, Newsmax, and on his own platforms. But he conceded that losing Fox will hurt the business and said he would run his ads there again if Fox would take them.

“Obviously, it would be great if Fox said, ‘Hey, come back,’ ” Lindell said.

​ Orange County Register 

Peter Lofthouse leaves Newport Harbor to become football coach at El Toro

• January 13, 2024

Peter Lofthouse has stepped down as the football head coach at Newport Harbor after six seasons and will become the head coach at El Toro.

Lofthouse coached Newport Harbor to a CIF Southern Section championship and to two semifinals appearances.

He is an alumnus of El Toro, where he played football when Mike Milner was the coach at the Lake Forest school.

“I live in Lake Forest,” Lofthouse said Friday. “I’m  not a good golfer, but give me a bucket of balls and I could hit a driver from my driveway to the middle of the football field, although it would probably take 200 cuts to get one over there.”

Lofthouse, 42, coached the Sailors to the CIF-SS Division 6 championship in 2021. Newport Harbor advanced to CIF-SS semifinals in 2019 and ’22. The Sailors were 3-6-1 in Lofthouse’s first season as head coach in 2018; they went 9-4 the following season.

Newport Harbor this past season finished 5-6 overall and 3-2 in the Sunset League. The Sailors lost to Trabuco Hills 24-21 in the first round of the Division 4 playoffs.

“This is an advantage for me and my family,” said Lofthouse, who is married and has a 7-year-old son. “And having played at El Toro for Mike Milner, and many of my former teammates live in this community, it’s going to be fun going back to my old stomping grounds.”

Newport Harbor principal Sean Boulton wrote in an email: “Personally, and professionally, I am going to miss him, and will be rooting for him at El Toro High School.”

El Toro recently concluded interviews for its next head coach and Lofhouse’s hiring could become official next week. Randall Reynoso resigned as El Toro’s coach in December.

Boulton said in his email about Lofthouse: “Beyond the on field success, Coach Lofthouse had a profound understanding that football is more than just a game — it is a community. He recognized the interconnectedness of various elements, including cheer, marching band, dance, and our spirited TAR PIT student section, and fostered a sense of unity among these diverse components. This inclusive approach not only enhanced the overall football experience but also strengthened the bonds within the entire Newport Harbor High School community — students who traditionally never came to football games were all of a sudden showing up.

“Additionally, Coach Lofthouse’s commitment to honoring the rich history of our football program is noteworthy. By dedicating the past two seasons to Tarball legends from the 1940s and embracing the “Long Gray Line,” he has reinforced the importance of tradition and instilled a sense of pride in our school’s heritage. The nod and acknowledgment of our incredible school/athletic/football history has been received well by players, staff, alumni and supporters.”

— Dan Albano contributed to this report.

​ Orange County Register 

First look inside Vienza at Europa Village in Temecula

• January 13, 2024

Europa Village is sort of like the Disneyland of viticulture.

The 45-acre resort in Temecula was envisioned as being divided into three themed “villages,” each representing a diffrerent wine-growing region of Europe.

That vision grew closer to reality on Friday, Jan. 12, with the grand opening of Vienza, an Italian-themed village.

It’s been a long time coming. The dream began in 2007, according to managing partner Dan Stephenson, followed by the opening of a first section, called Prelude in 2011.

The first village, Bolero with a Spanish theme, opened in 2020. A French village, C’est La Vie, is yet to be built.

“We’re creating something that’s never been created before, and it’s exciting,” Stephenson said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Before Friday, Vienza was only previewed to small groups of investors. But it already has an award-winning wine. Metodo Classico Brut, which won double gold and Best in Show Sparkling at the 2023 California State Fair, according to a news release.

After the opening ceremony, guests climbed an external stairway into Vienza, a multileveled complex surrounded by patios and balconies. Facilities include a tasting room, ballroom, a market selling Italian products and a deli serving wood-fire pizzas, pastas, sandwiches and gelatos.

“It’s the realization of an extremely important part of our vision,” said Matt Rice, director of winery operations at Europa Village. “It’s got more amenities than you can possibly imagine.”

But there is more to come, he said. Landscaping will continue for a few weeks, and facilities yet to be built include a hotel and amphitheater.

Related Articles

“I would say in three to five years we expect everything to be completed. That includes the French village,” he said.

The theme park analogy is not new to Rice.

“That’s something we give a lot of credence to in our model, because when you go to Disneyland you have Frontierland and all the other different lands. Here we have that same kind of experience.

“It also makes sense as a business model. Most people who go wine-tasting will visit two, three, maybe four wineries in a day. But it’s not a lot of fun if you’ve got to jump in your car and waste time driving and driving and driving. For us, when you put three unique experiences on the same property, why not just stay here all day.”

Vienza at Europa Village

Where: 41150 Via Europa, Temecula

Information: 951-506-1818, europavillage.com

​ Orange County Register 

Lakers searching for answers with 3-point defense

• January 13, 2024

LOS ANGELES — Was the Lakers’ defensive intensity – and overall defensive performance – in their 106-103 home win against the Clippers on Sunday what should be expected from the team on a nightly basis?

Or was it an aberration amid a disappointing stretch on that end of the court?

In their last two games since the aforementioned victory over the Clippers, in what was arguably one of their two best defensive performances in the last month when factoring in the opponent, the Lakers haven’t been able to reach the same defensive heights.

They allowed 131 points in their one-point home victory over the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday before allowing 127 points in their 18-point home loss to the Phoenix Suns on Thursday.

The Lakers’ defensive ratings (points allowed per 100 possessions) in both of those games were higher than 124 – significantly higher than the league-average defensive rating of 116.2.

“We understand for us to win, we have to defend at a high level,” LeBron James after Thursday’s loss. “Every team creates different challenges, different disadvantages or advantages or whatever the case may be. We prepare for that and try to execute that.”

The last two games haven’t been anomalies.

The Lakers’ defensive rating over their last 16 games since winning the In-Season Tournament, a 5-11 stretch: 118.5, which ranks 22nd in the league during that span.

They had a 110.3 defensive rating in their first 23 regular-season games for the league’s seventh-best mark. They’ve slipped out of the top 10, down to 12th, because of their defensive slippage over the last month.

“There’s different circumstances that play into that inconsistency,” Coach Darvin Ham said. “We just have to figure it out. I don’t want to sit up here and try to make excuses, but yeah, you want to feel like you can go out there every single night and give yourself a chance with the way you defend and the way you guard.”

The Lakers’ 3-point defense has come into focus during this stretch.

They’re allowing the most 3-point field goals (15.7), the third-highest 3-point percentage (41.6%) and the most “wide-open” 3-point attempts (22.9) in the league during the aforementioned 16-game stretch.

Many of those open shots stem from the Lakers prioritizing slowing teams’ top creators and playing the percentages with players who don’t knock down 3-point shots at a high clip.

The game plan has gone against them more often than not recently (Dallas’ Dante Exum and Memphis’ Marcus Smart among players who have scorched them from deep).

“Realizing that everybody, no matter what their numbers are, shoots well against us,” Anthony Davis responded when asked how the team can address its 3-point defense without compromising other parts of its scheme. “If a guy is shooting 10%, he’s gonna shoot 40 against us. Just knowing that.

“There hasn’t been a time where the numbers have told the truth to us when we’ve played guys. We gotta play everybody like they’re Steph [Curry] when they play us because everybody has shot the ball well against us.”

INJURY REPORT

Forward Rui Hachimura wasn’t on the team’s Friday injury report, meaning he should be available for Saturday’s road game against the Utah Jazz after missing five games because of a strained left calf.

Davis (left ankle) and Christian Wood (migraine) were listed as probable while James (left ankle), Cam Reddish (left knee) and D’Angelo Russell (right knee) were listed as questionable.

LAKERS AT JAZZ

When: Saturday, 6:30 p.m. PT

Where: Delta Center, Salt Lake City

TV/Radio: Spectrum SportsNet, 710 AM

​ Orange County Register 

Dodgers, Teoscar Hernández finalize deal, add more deferred money

• January 13, 2024

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers’ latest investment became official on Friday.

Free-agent outfielder Teoscar Hernandez was added to the roster after his one-year, $23.5 million contract with the Dodgers became official. The contract reportedly will pay Hernandez $15 million in 2024 with $8.5 million deferred to the years 2030-39.

He also has provisions for large bonuses: Hernández would get $3 million if he finishes among the top five in MVP voting, $2 million if he is sixth through 10th and $500,000 if he is 11th through 15th. He would get $1 million for his third Silver Slugger Award.

Hernandez’s signing takes the Dodgers’ outlay for new contracts this offseason over $1.2 billion with two-way star Shohei Ohtani, and pitchers Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow the biggest expenses.

Ohtani’s record $700 million, 10-year contract includes $680 million in deferred payments. The Dodgers owe deferred payments to Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Hernández totaling $865.5 million from 2033-44.

The Dodgers cleared room for Hernandez on their 40-man roster by trading top prospect Michael Busch and reliever Yency Almonte to the Chicago Cubs on Thursday in exchange for low minor-leaguers Jackson Ferris, a left-handed starting pitcher, and outfielder Zyhir Hope. Ferris spent last season at Class-A and Hope played briefly in the Arizona Complex League after being drafted by the Cubs in the 11th round of last year’s draft. Neither was added to the 40-man roster.

Related Articles

The 31-year-old Hernandez is a two-time Silver Slugger Award winner with the Toronto Blue Jays (2020 and 2021) and made the American League All-Star team in 2021. He had a down year with the Seattle Mariners last year (a .258 batting average and .741 OPS) but still hit 26 home runs and drove in 93 runs. He had 12 assists, tied for third among MLB outfielders. He has a .261 career average with 159 homers, 473 RBIs and 58 outfield assists for the Blue Jays (2016-22) and Mariners.

The Dodgers value Hernandez for his production against left-handed pitching – a career OPS of .887. He is expected to be the Dodgers’ primary left fielder next season with right-handers Chris Taylor and Manuel Margot sharing time with left-handers James Outman and Jason Heyward in center and right field.

​ Orange County Register