Sparks look to avoid franchise-worst 9-game skid

• July 4, 2024

TORRANCE — The Sparks are trying to avoid a franchise-record nine-game losing streak. To prevent that, the Sparks must beat the two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena.

“We don’t want to lose any games, but obviously trying to work on process and standards,” Sparks coach Curt Miller said. “Take care of the little things that help take care of the wins and losses.”

Sparks All-Star forward Dearica Hamby always has a bit of extra motivation against the Aces, the team that traded her to the Sparks before last season when she was pregnant with her now 1-year-old son Legend.

“Yes and no. It’s not the same type of motivation but another game to get better and prove myself,” Hamby said after Thursday’s practice at the team’s training facility at El Camino College.

Hamby, a 2022 WNBA champion with the Aces, earned her third All-Star selection in four years Tuesday night before a disappointing 82-80 loss to the Washington Mystics.

“We had (the Mystics) the other night. We had a 14-point lead early in the fourth quarter and Washington outplayed us that last nine minutes,” Miller continued.

Hamby, 30, has emerged as a go-to player and is having the best season of her career by all metrics. The 6-foot-3 post player is averaging a career-high 18.3 points and 10.3 rebounds in her 10th season in the WNBA.

“Once again, we’re trying to get the monkey off our back,” Hamby said. “We have some competitive games coming up. We beat Vegas before but also the first game we played them really well. It’s an opportunity to beat them.”

The Sparks (4-15) are 1-1 against the Aces this season, including a 96-92 win at Crypto.com Arena on June 9. Hamby’s 18 points and 10 rebounds anchored the Sparks’ win against her former team. Aces center A’ja Wilson had a game-high 31 points and Kelsey Plum poured in 24 points, but the Sparks used a strong second-half surge to seize momentum in what would be the last time the Sparks won a game.

Since the Sparks defeated the Aces (11-6), the two-time defending champions have returned to full strength, adding guards Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young back to the team’s starting lineup. They, along with Wilson and Plum, were named to the U.S. women’s basketball national team ahead of the Paris Olympics, giving the Aces’ franchise one-third of the players on Team USA.

“They’re a really talented group,” Miller said. “There’s a reason they went back-to-back for the first time since the Sparks did it (in 2001 and 2002). But we’ve played really well against them.”

“We haven’t seen them with Chelsea, we saw them once before without Jackie, but I think we should have a lot of confidence going into this game,” Hamby said.

Sparks sign Dangerfield

The Sparks made a move to get back to 10 active players ahead of Friday’s game against the Aces by signing guard Crystal Dangerfield, the WNBA’s 2020 Rookie of the Year, to a seven-day hardship contract, which includes the team’s remaining three games (Aces, Mercury, Lynx) on a four-game homestand that runs through Tuesday.

“Just coming in and doing what I do, being confident and rubbing off on others and playing some winning basketball,” said Dangerfield, who flew to Los Angeles from Atlanta on Wednesday.

“It sounds funny but I’m excited to have 10 people,” Miller said with a genuine smile on his face. “It’s just crazy. You think about my almost 60 regular-season games now (with Sparks) and we have played with a full (12-person) roster. We played a lot of games with 10 or less.”

The Sparks have three players sidelined who all attended Thursday’s practice: Cameron Brink (ACL), Lexie Brown (Crohn’s disease) and Azurá Stevens (left arm). Stevens, who practiced, told the Southern California News Group on Sunday she expects to make her season debut within the next two weeks.

Dangerfield, from the University of Connecticut, was selected in the second round by the Minnesota Lynx in the 2020 draft.

In the 5-foot-5 guard’s best season as a rookie inside the WNBA’s Wubble in Bradenton, Florida, she averaged 16.2 points and 3.6 assists per game.

Dangerfield is joining her sixth team in five WNBA seasons. She has already played for the Lynx (2020-21), Indiana Fever (2022), New York Liberty (2022), Dallas Wings (2023) and Atlanta Dream (2024), and has started 88 of 135 career games.

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That would mean she’s played for half of the league’s teams in under five seasons.

“It sounds ridiculous,” Dangerfield continued with a smile on her face. “But that’s neither here nor there, whatever my situation is I know that there are a lot of people that would wish they were in my shoes being in the league in general, so I’m grateful for every opportunity.”

LAS VEGAS (11-6) AT SPARKS (4-15)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

Where: Crypto.com Arena

TV: ION

​ Orange County Register 

Warren WR Jace Brown commits to UCLA football

• July 4, 2024

Warren receiver Jace Brown announced his commitment to football coach DeShaun Foster and the UCLA Bruins on Thursday.

Brown was on campus for his official visit the weekend of June 22.

“It was a great visit,” Brown said. “It is home. It’s great to be out here with all those great guys and coaches. They really want the best for me.”

The 6-foot-4, 200-pound receiver rounded out that weekend back in Westwood for the Bruins’ 7-on-7 tournament. Brown was joined by his Warren teammates, including quarterback Madden Iamaleava.

Iamaleava committed to UCLA in May and had talked with Brown of the duo continuing to play together at the college level.

“I’ve definitely been in his ear a lot,” Iamaleava said in late June. “We have a special connection going on at Warren, so why not take it on to college.”

Brown had a productive spring and caught the eye of UCLA offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy during Warren’s college showcase event.

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Bieniemy’s experience as a former coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs and Washington Commanders didn’t go unnoticed by Brown.

“It plays a really big factor because he has the knowledge and experience of the place that I want to go to, which is the NFL, so it’s great to be around a guy like that,” Brown said.

Brown also had offers from Arizona, Colorado State, Fresno State and Kansas.

​ Orange County Register 

Rams bring back John Johnson III for third stint

• July 4, 2024

John Johnson III is back with the Rams. Again.

The veteran safety has agreed to his third stint with the Rams, the team announced Thursday, one year after a successful return. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Johnson, a third-round draft pick out of Boston College in 2017, started four seasons for the Rams. He left as a free agent in 2021, signing a three-year, $33.75 million deal with the Cleveland Browns.

Released after two seasons, Johnson signed a one-year contract to come back to the Rams on Aug. 7 last year.

Johnson, 28, played in all 17 regular-season games last season, eventually starting eight games as well as the Rams’ wild-card playoff loss to the Detroit Lions while helping oversee a defense loaded with untested youth. On the season, he recorded two interceptions – his first coming during a 36-19 victory against Cleveland on Dec. 3 – and 42 tackles.

The Rams have also brought back defensive back Darious Williams on a three-year deal. Their secondary will have some new faces like former Washington safety Kamren Curl, former Buffalo cornerback Tre’Davious White and rookie safety Kamren Kinchens, a third-round pick out of Miami.

Training camp begins July 23 at Loyola Marymount University in Westchester.

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​ Orange County Register 

U.S. investigating Chinese swimmers’ doping tests

• July 4, 2024

GENEVA — The international swimming federation says its top administrator has been ordered to testify as a witness in a U.S. criminal investigation into the case of 23 Chinese swimmers who failed doping tests in 2021 yet were allowed to continue competing.

The news comes just three weeks before the Paris Olympics, where 11 of the Chinese swimmers who tested positive for the banned heart medication three years ago are set to compete.

The swimmers won three gold medals for China at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, just weeks after the World Anti-Doping Agency declined to challenge Chinese authorities’ explanation of food contamination at a hotel to justify not suspending them.

Those decisions, which World Aquatics separately reached also, were not revealed until reporting in April by the New York Times and German broadcaster ARD.

A House Committee on China asked the Justice Department and the FBI on May 21 to investigate the case under a federal law that allows probes into suspected doping conspiracies even if they occurred outside the U.S.

World Aquatics confirmed to The Associated Press on Thursday that executive director Brent Nowicki was subpoenaed to testify in the investigation.

“World Aquatics can confirm that its executive director, Brent Nowicki, was served with a witness subpoena by the United States government,” the federation said in a statement to AP. “He is working to schedule a meeting with the government, which, in all likelihood will obviate the need for testimony before a Grand Jury.”

World Aquatics declined to answer questions about where and when Nowicki was served his subpoena and didn’t say which office was handling the investigation.

“Per our standard practice, the FBI does not confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation,” the bureau said Thursday in an email reply.

The Chinese swimmers case could become the highest-profile use so far of a U.S. federal law passed in 2020 in fallout from the long-running scandal of Russian state-backed doping in sports.

The 23 swimmers tested positive for trimetazidine in January 2021 and those were filed weeks later in the global anti-doping database. They included Zhang Yufei, who went on take Olympic gold in the women’s 200-meter butterfly and 4×200 freestyle relay, and Wang Shun, the men’s 200 medley champion.

A later investigation by Chinese state authorities said traces of the substance were found in the kitchen of a hotel where the team stayed. No explanation has been given about how and why the drug prescribed in pill form got there.

WADA accepted the theory which allowed the Chinese swimmers to continue to compete, and has since described it as “a relatively straightforward case of mass contamination.”

The agency has since defended its handling of the case that was kept secret in 2021, saying it had no way to independently disprove the theory during the COVID-19 pandemic when travel to China was not possible.

Lawyers for WADA said in April this year they did not have evidence to win separate appeals against the 23 swimmers before the Tokyo Olympics. Any appeals seeking suspensions for the swimmers would have been heard at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, where Nowicki was a long-time senior counsel before joining World Aquatics in 2021.

“This scandal raises serious legal, ethical, and competitive concerns and may constitute a broader state-sponsored strategy by the People’s Republic of China to unfairly compete at the Olympic Games in ways Russia has previously done,” the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party said in the letter to the Justice Department and FBI.

The case was also raised at a congressional hearing last month in which swimming great Michael Phelps said athletes have lost faith in WADA as the global watchdog trying to keep cheaters out of sports.

Officials from the Montreal-based agency declined an invitation to come to the hearing, saying it would be “inappropriate to be pulled into a political debate before a U.S. congressional committee regarding a case from a different country, especially while an independent review into WADA’s handling of the case is ongoing.”

That review report is pending from a WADA-appointed former public prosecutor in the Swiss canton of Vaud that is home to the International Olympic Committee and governing bodies of many Olympic sports.

U.S. Anti-Doping Agency chief executive Travis Tygart suggested to The Associated Press an ongoing federal investigation could make sport officials traveling to the U.S. “fearful that they may have to answer questions about their activities from the FBI.”

The U.S. will host the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles, and in Paris on July 24 the IOC should confirm Salt Lake City as host for the 2034 Winter Games.

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The Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act, named for a whistleblower who exposed Russian state-backed doping, passed with bipartisan backing. It received broad support from the global sports world for its aims to criminalize doping.

However, WADA lobbied against what it saw as a risk of overreach from the “extraterritorial” jurisdiction it could give to U.S. federal agencies, and the IOC also voiced concerns.

The Rodchenkov Act, Tygart said, “was enacted in 2021 with broad athlete, sport and multinational governmental support because WADA could not be trusted to be a strong, fair global watchdog to protect clean athletes and fair sport.”

​ Orange County Register 

Cooking with Judy: Consider smoking something tasty this Fourth of July

• July 4, 2024

Bring out the flags! Strike up the band! It’s Independence Day, and there’s lots of places to celebrate in our neck of the woods.

Hot enough for you? Brea’s Country Fair at City Hall Park includes swimming at the Plunge, a pancake breakfast, live entertainment, kiddie parade, dog parade, classic car show, food, games, exhibits and handmade gifts.

In Fullerton head to the Downtown Plaza for a car show, carnival rides, games, food booths, live music and spectacular fireworks. La Habra’s festivities at La Bonita Park include fireworks, live music, kids’ activity booths and food and retail vendors.

At Veterans Park, the Yorba Linda annual Fourth of July Spectacular will feature a live band, family activities, kids fun zone and food trucks.

Entertaining at home? Why not? July 4 is probably the grilllingest day of the year.

You’ve barbecued chicken on a beer can. You’ve grilled your Thanksgiving turkey, not to mention burgers, veggies, fish, even tofu. But even if you haven’t done any of those things, it’s time to get smoking, people!

“Wood smoke contains hundreds of flavor-enhancing compounds,” notes Steven Raichlen, in “Project Smoke” (Workman, $22.95). “I call wood smoke the umami of barbecue. Like umami in Asian foods, it accentuates the intrinsic flavor of meats and seafood and gives them more character, but when done right, it doesn’t really camouflage their taste.”

When it comes to grilling no one tops Raichlen, author of a veritable library of award-winning cookbooks, including “The Barbecue! Bible,” “How to Grill” and “Planet Barbecue!” He’s also host of multiple PBS series.

With “Project Smoke,” even a novice can learn how to smoke meats, poultry, seafood, vegetables and, believe it or not, desserts.

“The wood variety matters less than how you burn it,” advised Raichlen. “The flavor of the smoke varies from wood to wood, but it varies subtly, and it’s certainly not literal. That is, cherry wood smoke doesn’t really taste like cherries, nor does maple taste like maple syrup.

“What’s more important is dosing the wood and smoke gradually. Soak wood chips in water, then drain, to slow the rate of combustion. I add fresh chips every 30 to 45 minutes and wood chunks once an hour,” he said. “When you do it right, you get a pale blue smoke, which kisses and flavors the food without overpowering it.”

One of the pitfalls to avoid is what he calls the “guy syndrome,” namely, “thinking that if some smoke is good, more is always better. Too much smoke makes food taste bitter.”

Fullerton’s Judy Bart Kancigor is the author of “Cooking Jewish” and “The Perfect Passover Cookbook.” Her website is cookingjewish.com.

Smoked Beef Tenderloin

From  “Project Smoke” by Steven Raichlen; serves 8

Ingredients:

1 whole beef tenderloin, trimmed (about 4 pounds)
Coarse salt (sea or kosher)
Cracked or freshly ground black pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for basting
Vegetable oil, for oiling rack

Method:

1. Set up smoker following manufacturer’s instructions and preheat to 225 degrees to 250 degrees. Add wood as specified by manufacturer.

2. Place tenderloin on rimmed baking sheet and season very generously on all sides with salt and pepper. Drizzle all sides with olive oil, rubbing it into meat.

3. Place tenderloin in smoker and insert probe of remote thermometer (if using) through thick end of tenderloin into center. (Alternatively, check for doneness toward end of cooking, using an instant-read thermometer.) Smoke tenderloin until internal temperature is about 110 degrees, for about 45 to 60 minutes. Transfer to platter; let rest 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, set up grill for direct grilling; preheat to high. Brush and oil grill grate. If using charcoal grill, rake coals into a mound, after smoking is completed, adding fresh coals as needed, to build a hot fire.

5. Transfer tenderloin to grill with thermometer probe still attached. Direct grill, rotating like a log, until all sides are crusty, dark, and sizzling and internal temperature in thickest part reaches 120 degrees to 125 degrees for rare, or 130 degrees to 135 degrees for medium-rare, 6 to 10 minutes. Brush with additional olive oil as it grills, and if you like, give it a quarter turn on each side halfway through grilling to lay on a crosshatch of grill marks.

6. Place tenderloin on cutting board and remove strings. Cut meat crosswise into quarter- to half-inch  slices.

​ Orange County Register 

Drummond: Budget in place for opening new computer science charter school in Yorba Linda

• July 4, 2024

A preliminary budget for the first year of operation of the Orange County School of Computer Science on the Bernardo Yorba Middle School campus has been approved by trustees of the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District on a unanimous vote.

The budget for an estimated enrollment of 800 students lists revenues totaling a bit above $10.1 million, expenditures totaling nearly $7.7 million and reserves, fees and transfers totaling nearly $2.5 million. A total ending fund balance is listed as a negative $32,494.

Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services Gary Stine reported to trustees that throughout the year, the trustees “will review and act upon proposed budget changes as they occur” and noted the staff will present formal interim reports in December and March.

Base and supplemental funding for sixth through eighth grades totals nearly $8.2 million, with about $2 million from other sources, including $186,000 in federal cash and $139,000 in state lottery funds.

Major expenditures are for staff salaries, benefits and pensions, totaling approximately $7.4 million.

Budgeted for equipment, materials and supplies is $215,000 and set aside for travel, conferences, dues, memberships, repairs and non-capital improvements is $35,000.

The $2.5 million in reserves, fees and transfers includes district office administrative services, facilities and maintenance shared costs, special education contribution, liability insurance and a 4% reserve for economic uncertainty.

The 800-student enrollment figure includes 153 sixth graders added to the original seventh and eighth grade number of 647 students. Average daily attendance is estimated at 608.18.

Also approved on a unanimous trustee vote was the districtwide budget for the fiscal year that began July 1, showing $247.5 million in revenues and $257 million in expenditures for a deficit short of $10 million.

One interesting aspect of this year’s budget is the enrollment projections. Stine told trustees the budget figures for enrollment are conservative estimates that maintain an estimated 400-student decline for the coming year and the next two years.

The budget enrollment number is 22,304 for the 2024-25 school year; 21,904 for the 2025-26 school year; and 21,504 for the 2026-27 school year, with a 94% attendance rate projected for each year.

But Stine noted that some recently instituted programs are anticipated to increase the projected enrollment numbers starting with the coming year that could have a positive impact on the deficit.

These include the computer science charter, the Universal Sports Institute and the preschools that are operating at several elementary school sites.

***

Superintendent Alex Cherniss’ contract was extended one year to expire June 30, 2028, on a 3-2 trustee vote with Leandra Blades, Todd Frazier and Shawn Youngblood in favor and Marilyn Anderson and Carrie Buck opposed.

Jim Drummond is a longtime Yorba Linda resident. He gives his opinion on local issues weekly. Send e-mail to [email protected].

​ Orange County Register 

2 men stabbed, 1 killed in Fullerton; homicide investigation underway

• July 4, 2024

Two 20-year-old men were found with significant stab wounds on the 2400 block of West Valencia Avenue in Fullerton on Wednesday, July 3; one died of his wounds, the Fullerton Police Department said.

Around 6:13 p.m., officers responded to reports of a fight in progress in the area; upon their arrival officers found the two men lying in the street, a department press release said. Officers immediately began life-saving measures on the two men, officials said. One taken to a regional trauma center was later pronounced dead, while the second man who was taken to a local hospital is expected to survive, officials said.

The incident appears to be gang-related based on initial investigations by Fullerton police detectives, the department’s press release said. A homicide investigation is ongoing and the Orange County Coroner’s office is expected to release the deceased victim’s identity at a later time.

The department asked anyone with information about the stabbing to contact Detective L. Ramirez at 714-738-5334 or information can be shared anonymously by calling Orange County Crime Stoppers at 855-TIP-OCCS or at www.p3tips.com/913.

Public Information Officer Kristy Wells said no further information will be released at this time.

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​ Orange County Register 

Red, white and blue roll into LA County on a sizzling July 4

• July 4, 2024

Red, white and blue rolled back into Long Beach on Thursday, July 4 as a pack of patriotic youngsters welcomed Independence Day in the The Great American Kids’ Bike Parade. just one of scores of parades around the Southland making Independence Day.

Tough guy star/entrepreneur Danny Trejo, actor Steve Gutenberg and Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna were among the participants in events all over Los Angeles County.

A potentially record-setting heat wave continues to build across the region, with temperatures expected to continue climbing through the Fourth of July holiday and peaking on Friday.

After Thursday’s parades, thousands were expected to gather for after dark entertainment — mostly old-fashioned fireworks displays but with an increasing array of drone shows muscling their way in.

“We’ve been doing the bike parade the entire time we’ve had children,” said Will Terry of Belmont Shore, who brought his wife and two children to ride at 1 Granada Avenue on the beach bike path in Long Beach. “It’s a great event, great to see everyone — people and animals — and the decorations. It’s a great way to spend the Fourth of July and it’s early enough because you can stay local for this event and then go out and do other things afterwards.”

Participants were asked to bring tuna, pasta noodles, breakfast cereal or peanut butter that will be donated to agencies serving homeless men and women in the area.

“Every year it’s just so much fun to decorate the bike to go on the path with my brother,” said Terry’s daughter Reyna, “and I just really love this day and being out here for the bike parade.”

“We’re eager to start the day off celebrating fitness, creativity and patriotism and for these kids to get a sense of community and pride at this Fourth of July celebration,” said event organizer Justin Rudd.

A crowd of families watched the unveiling of life-size replicas of the nation’s founding documents at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley.

Thursday’s celebration was punctuated with activities including sack races, bingo and water balloon tosses.

The Library hosted the Fourth of July ceremony to reveal new, intricate replicas of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, which are part of a monument spearheaded by the non-profit Foundation Forward.

The monument, called Charters of Freedom, is one of 30 similar replica installations across nine states. Foundation Forward “seeks to promote civics, education and the preservation of American history.”

The Reagan Library held several other Fourth of July festivities on its lawn, with kids in red, white and blue outfits furiously jumping forward to win sack races and sitting in the shade as firework designs were painted on their cheeks.

The Reagan Library’s Independence Day celebration typically brings thousands of attendees to the Simi Valley hills each year as they brave the July heat for patriotic fun.

Last year, a life-size bronze statue of famed astronaut Sally Ride was unveiled at the library’s annual Fourth of July event. The statue honors Ride’s legacy as the first U.S. woman in space.

San Fernando Valley icon Trejo, meanwhile, was among the participants in the Sunland-Tujunga Independence Day Parade. Its theme was “The Magic of Sunland-Tujunga.”

Trejo is best known for his role as gadget inventor Isador “Machete” Cortez in four “Spy Kids” films and a different version of the character in “Machete” and “Machete Kills.” He is the owner of eight restaurants, including Trejo’s Tacos and Trejo’s Cantina.

Guttenberg was the grand marshal of the 76th Pacific Palisades 4th of July Parade on Via de la Paz at Bowdoin Street, preceded by skydivers landing on Sunset Boulevard near Swathmore Avenue. The theme: “Happy Days in the Palisades.”

Army Lt. Gen. Steven Gilland rode in the parade. Gilland is superintendent of the United States Military Academy, a position once held byDouglas MacArthur.

Guttenberg was Pacific Palisades’ honorary mayor from 2002-06. He is best remembered for his roles in four “Police Academy” movies, “Three Men and a Baby,” “Cocoon” and “Diner.”

Luna rode in the Santa Clarita Valley Fourth of July Parade.

The parade rolled out at the Newhall Roundabout in front of Hart Park and end at Orchard Village Road at Dalbey Drive. The approximately 2-mile parade’s theme was “The Freedom to Play,” celebrating “our parks, trails and openspaces.”

The Santa Clarita City Council adopted an ordinance in 1996 banning the “propulsion” of Silly String and other substances on the parade route.

In San Pedro, dozens turned out at Angels Gate Park on Thursday for the annual ringing of the Korean Friendship Bell, which the Republic of Korea donated to the town — in honor of Korean War veterans — in 1976 while the U.S. celebrated its bicentennial.

As guest speakers and audience members recited the names of the 13 original American states, a battering ram struck the 17-ton bell, once for each state.

The Korean Bell is also rung 13 times on the first Saturday of the month; Aug. 15, which is the National Liberation Day of Korea; Sept. 17 to celebrate Constitution Week; New Year’s Eve; and Jan. 13 for Korean-American Day.

Thursday was the 47th annual Fourth of July Community Observance at the bell, one of San Pedro’s most enduring landmarks.

In Redondo Beach, meanwhile, holiday revelers woke up early for the 31st annual Fourth of July 5K and Firecracker Dash. The beach city tradition, during which some folks run in patriotic outfits — or even hotdog suits — was sponsored by UCLA Health.

On the nearby Palos Verdes Peninsula, the Fourth of July holiday got off to a family-friendly start with two cities hosting events.

Palos Verdes Estates held its 59th annual Old-Fashioned 4th of July celebration at Malaga Cove School. There was an apple pie contest, a kids’ bicycle parade and a guest speech from Heritage of Freedom honoree Mark Langill, the LA Dodger’s team historian.

Rancho Palos Verdes was scheduled to start its patriotic party at 3 p.m. at the Ken Dyda Civic Center. The civic-hosted event promised to have live music, beer, wine and food booths, as well as games and craft vendors. This year’s Fourth of July finale was set to be a massive drone show: 150 of them lighting up the sky rather than the 100  used last year.

With its designation as a “Very High Risk” fire zone, RPV has no choice but to host a drone show, city officials said in a prior interview.

But over in Redondo Beach, drones, which were used in 2023, were ditched this year in favor of traditional pyrotechnics.

After hiring a drone company last year after being unable to meet last-minute policy changes for fireworks shows over water, the sparks were scheduled to fly over King Harbor once again Thursday evening.

Despite having to pay nearly double for the barge from which the pyrotechnics are launched, the popular Fourth of July fireworks show promised to delight those watching from the coast.

The Acton 4th of July Parade bore the theme “ 100 Years of Community History.” It will begin at 9 a.m. at Banson Street and Crown Valley Road.Claremont’s Fourth of July Parade will begin at 10 a.m. at 10th Street and Indian Hill Boulevard.

The Holmby Westwood Property Owners Association 4th of July Parade rolled out from Warner Avenue School.

La Verne’s Fourth of July Parade will have the theme “50 Years of Hometown Heroes.” It began at 10 a.m. at the corner of 10th and Dstreet.

Retired La Verne Police Department Chief Colleen Flores was the community grand marshal.

The theme of Rosemead’s parade was “Celebrating The Olympic Spirit.”

Sierra Madre’s 4th of July Parade began at the corner of of Sierra Madre Boulevard and Sunnyside Avenue, ending at Rancho Road. The grand marshal was Helen Reece, a 100-year-old who often plays the accordion outside the Baldwin Avenue Gallery on special occasions. The

Valley Village Homeowners Association Fourth of July Parade served up corn dogs, watermelon, cold drinks and cupcakes.

South Pasadena’s Fourth of July Festival of Balloons parade began at Mission Street and Diamond Avenue, ending in Garfield Park. Thetheme was “Hometown Heroes: Celebrating the Spirit of Community.”

San Marino’s approximately 1.5-mile “4th of July Independence Day Parade-Palooza,” was scheduled for later afternoon.

What organizers are billing as the West Coast’s largest free Independence Day celebration was scheduled for GloriaMolina Grand Park and include 800 drones flying above The Music Center instead of a fireworks show.

The 800 drones are an increase of 300 over last year’s inaugural Independence Day drone show at The Music Center.

Fireworks shows were set to include the 20-minute display at Councilman Bob Blumenfield’s July 4th Extravaganza at Warner Center Park

The city of Alhambra’s 4th of July Fireworks Celebration at Almansor Park was scheduled for 4 p.m., long before the nighttime fireworks extravaganza. Another 20-minute fireworks was planned in Marina del Rey.

Fireworks were also scheduled to follo the Major League Soccer game at the Rose Bowl between the Los Angeles Galaxy and Los Angeles Football Club; the Los Angeles Dodgers-Arizona Diamondbacks game at Dodger Stadium; the Harry Connick Jr. concert at the Hollywood Bowl; and the performances by Billy Joel tribute performer Billy Nation and Fleetwood Mac tribute band Mirage at the Starlight Bowl in Burbank.

Fireworks displays were also planned at Artesia Park; Cerritos High; Rowley Park in Gardena; Crescenta Valley High in La Crescenta; La Bonita Park in La Habra; Shepherd of the Hills Church in Porter Ranch; Rosemead Park; South Gate Park; Valencia Town Center in Santa Clarita; Walnut High;  Westlake Village Golf Course; Friendly Hills Country Club and York Field, both in Whittier.

Staff writers Delilah Brumer and Lisa Jacobs and Photographer Howard Freshman contributed to this report 

​ Orange County Register