Coping with the loss of a pet, thankful for pet bereavement benefits

• October 18, 2023

(Left) Oliver and Madeline came to work everyday with Jack at his job at Pasadena Humane. They were the least helpful office assistants ever. (Middle) Oliver’s favorite room in the house was always the kitchen. As a deaf and blind dog, he always followed his nose. (Right) After 18 years together, Jack took one last photo with his best friend just before he passed over the ‘rainbow bridge.’ (Photos courtesy of Jack Hagerman)

When Oliver came into my life at only 2-months-old, he looked and smelled like a puppy — but had the soul and demeanor of an old, grumpy grandpa.

He didn’t like to run and play. He chose leisurely naps over rough-housing in the backyard. He was only interested in going for walks if someone carried him the whole way. He preferred air conditioning and belly rubs to chasing sticks.

His bark had the low raspy tones of a seasoned chain smoker.

While his gorgeous creme coat billowing in the wind gave him the appearance of bubbly, blond bombshell, he had the slow lumbering gait and sluggish temper of an exhausted sloth.

He embodied the phrase, “I can’t be bothered.” He was never in a rush (unless it was to eat).

He walked through life with such an easy, slow pace. A sweet soul who didn’t seem to mind the company of the (literally) hundreds of animals I’ve saved throughout the years. I guess that’s why I didn’t really think this day would come.

He lived life slowly, patiently, gently. So slowly, that I thought he’d just keep lumbering along for another 18 years, in no particular rush to see what was on the other side of the “rainbow bridge.”

Late this summer though, he let us know that he was ready to finally see what’s on the other side. So we honored the promise we made to him that he wouldn’t know a life of suffering.

Now he’s with his sister, Madeline, and brother, Bailey…doing what they all loved to do best, napping.

I can’t quite articulate what it meant to lose Oliver. He was my friend and companion for much of my adult life. I had 18 wonderful years with him — and the very sudden loss of him has been a great deal harder on me than I expected.

I felt an immediate emptiness at the loss of our routines. Ollie was deaf and blind (and had been for the last 10 years of his life), which meant he fell into the “special needs” category of animal care. My husband and I saw to every one of those special needs for so many years, that the sudden loss of them was palpable.

It hit me really, really hard.

I’m very fortunate to work in the animal welfare industry, where my colleagues understand what this kind of loss feels like — and organizationally we have systems in place to support each other through it both emotionally and practically.

I was able to take a few days off after his passing because I didn’t quite trust myself in those first few days. I was raw and emotionally unpredictable. I wasn’t sure I could keep from sobbing at the most inappropriate times.

Because I worked for an animal shelter at the time, we had pet bereavement benefits which allowed us to take paid time off to deal with the loss of a pet, deal with a pet’s acute health crisis, and paid time off for vet visits.

When I first transitioned into the animal welfare space from the human health care industry, I remember being really impressed by these benefits because I wasn’t used to having them.

With my recent loss though, I was reminded of just how critical they were for my mental health and wellness. It wasn’t just a “nice to have,” it was a “must have” benefit; one that I truly needed to move through this.

Tragically though, most employers don’t offer these types of benefits to employees in America — which says a lot about our out-dated values as it relates to our relationship with our animal friends.

Our society still largely views our pets as property (and they are technically considered property in the eyes of the law, too, by the way). So when we experience the loss of a pet, our friends and colleagues have the tendency to minimize the magnitude of our grief.

We’ve all said, or heard someone say “It’s only a dog. Just get another one!”

Many don’t seem to realize how reductive and insensitive that is.

So it’s no wonder that our employers haven’t stepped up to the plate to provide better pet-support to their employee benefits packages. Employees aren’t getting these benefits because they simply aren’t asking for them.

I think we can do better. We must do better. Employers should recognize that the human-animal bond is growing stronger by the day, and that our employee benefit packages should reflect the space our pets occupy in our lives.

Things like pet bereavement, veterinary assistance, and pet insurance are all benefits that could and should be afforded to all employees.

We’re making progress though. There are some organizations that are starting to pay attention and offer more pet support for employees. Scripps Health in San Diego, for example, offers pet insurance benefits and discounts for their employees.

Also, there is an organization called Airvet that provides packages to employers to offer veterinary telemedicine benefits for their employees.

According to their website, 70% of the workforce has at least one pet at home. They also state that 94.5% of pet parents surveyed indicated that having access to this benefit “saved them valuable time, resulting in a more productive and engaged workforce.”

Our pets are our family. So when they get sick, or they pass away, it’s important to normalize being open about our grief in the workplace and have better systems in place to support us when illness or loss happens.

I want to live in a world where my grief over the loss of my dog isn’t minimized or dismissed because he’s “just a dog.”

Because he wasn’t just a dog to me. He was my friend. He loved me ferociously and unconditionally every day of his life. He made me laugh. He drove me crazy. He healed me.

I’m fortunate I had an employer that honored the bigness of that loss with benefits to support me through it.

If you don’t have that with your employer, you should. You deserve it.

As a child, Jack Hagerman founded and operated his own make-shift animal rescue — taking in stray cats, injured birds, and the occasional bunny. As an adult, he co-founded a critically endangered livestock conservancy on his farm in the Midwest, where he cared for and rehabilitated more than 400 animals in 17 different critically endangered livestock species. He formerly worked with Pasadena Humane and the Santa Fe Animal Shelter and Humane Society. When he isn’t working with animals, he’s writing about them — hoping to create a better world for our animal friends, one witty tangent at a time.

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​ Orange County Register 

Blame Gov. Newsom for California’s high gas prices

• October 18, 2023

There’s good news: Gas prices are dropping nationally. In California, on average they’re down about 18 cents from last week. A main reason was the state’s cheaper winter blend was allowed in late September, a month early. But prices at the pump still are higher here than in the rest of the country.

“All this is, is price gouging,” Gov. Gavin Newsom charged Sept. 28. “They’re gonna spin you and it’s the taxes and the environmental rules – and it’s B.S. You’re smart enough to know what those taxes are compared to the national average and it doesn’t add up.”

Yes it does. Consider this comparison. On Oct. 17 the lowest price for regular gasoline in Ehrenberg, Arizona was $3.79, according to GasBuddy.com. Drive west across the Colorado River seven miles, and in Blythe, Calif. it was $5.39, or $1.60 more. There’s no reason why oil companies would “gouge” in Blythe but not Ehrenberg.

Statewide, according to the Gasprices.AAA.com, on average it was $4.31 in Arizona and $5.59 in California, or $1.28 more. Nationally, it was $3.59; meaning California was $2 more.

The real reason, GasBuddy.com analyst Patrick De Haan explained, is the state suffers “the lack of refining capacity, a special blend that’s only required in California, high taxes [and] a cap-and-trade program.”

California’s market, although large, is but a fraction of the entire global oil market. Economist and Chapman University President Emeritus Jim Doti wrote in the Register earlier this year oil high company profits now are a mirror of the massive losses they suffered three years ago when Newsom and others panicked during COVID-19 and shut down the economy.

This year Newsom pushed through SBX1-2, which established fines for supposed “price gouging” and set up a new Division of Petroleum Market Oversight bureaucracy to monitor industry pricing. Also, last month he and Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta announced a lawsuit against the big oil companies for supposedly “misleading” the public about climate change.

Both actions will raise oil-company costs, which will be passed on to consumers. There’s no price gouging. Just the usual California over-taxation and overregulation.

​ Orange County Register 

San Clemente street artist Bandit makes mark in war-torn Ukraine

• October 18, 2023

Art is a powerful weapon, a way to arm people with hope and inspire the future generation.

That was street artist Bandit’s mission heading to war-torn areas of Ukraine during a recent 16-day trip, during which the San Clemente native painted 11 murals on bullet-riddled and bombed buildings and structures throughout the region.

“It is to remind people, to show the people of the Ukraine some of us are still paying attention and you have our sympathy for what you are going through,” said the artist who does not reveal his name due to the secrecy of his work.

Bandit traveled with San Clemente photographer Tristan George to document the journey in film and video, with plans to release a documentary to show the devastating impacts of war, he said.

He said he had the idea to travel to the Ukraine shortly after the war started in early 2022, after seeing the cities being destroyed and countless lives lost.

He met a couple from Ukraine who came to San Clemente shortly after the start of the war, he said, and they connected him with another couple in Ukraine – the husband was high ranked in the ministry of defense for the Ukrainian military, he said.

That relationship allowed the artist and filmmaker to get through military checkpoints and into hard-to-access places when they arrived; many of the locations are still under strict curfew with air sirens blaring through the night.

“We worked with the government, in a sense,” Bandit said. “They were super open to it, they were very receptive.”

As they moved through the country, Bandit left behind his messages of hope through art.

One scene showed an Ukrainian soldier using the hammer from the Soviet Union emblem to hang the Ukrainian flag, illustrating the country’s independence, he said. Another painting depicted a tug-of-war scene with a Russian and Ukrainian soldier on a large slab of concrete. On an abandoned Russian tank, he created a large handprint in the country’s iconic yellow and blue colors.

He left behind a bright yellow sunflower on a crumbling building; the silhouette of a couple dancing on a wall in the city of Kharkiv, something the town is known for; and a young child sitting atop a mountain of bullet holes dotting a building clutching a kite in the country’s colors.

“They understood what we were trying to do, as far as making something bullet-riddled, burned and destroyed into something with hope, peace and color,” Bandit said.

Painting in such a volatile area was no easy task.

“It’s nerve wracking. You’re entering areas in current crisis and war,” he said. “We couldn’t walk everywhere we wanted because there’s mines.”

Bandit’s work can be found throughout his hometown of San Clemente, both in public spaces and inside businesses, but in recent years he has turned his attention to bigger cities and causes he has felt needed attention. His artwork often puts a spotlight on serious issues such as school shootings, the drug epidemic and human trafficking.

On Avenida Del Mar, a painting he did of a young girl holding a tattered Ukrainian flag, a dove flying above as a symbol of peace, generated a buzz around town shortly after the war started. The piece was later torn down as construction started on a new restaurant.

George, who grew up in Irvine, said he wanted to be part of the project after being inspired by the many immigrants in his hometown, many parents of friends, who told stories of oppression and even jail time for speaking out in their native countries.

The photographer said because of curfews, many of the paintings had to be done in daylight. People would pass by at the start of a project and wonder what they were up to with skepticism, George said, but would return with appreciation as the art pieces evolved.

“I understand you are doing this for us, for the children. They are growing up in a such a hard time, it’s valuable to have them play at a playground and have this positive message,” he recalled one person saying.

“Being able to look at a building that has a lot of painful memories and blood on it and creating new memories – that was an inspiring thing,” he said.

One of the most memorable encounters was with a man who told of how he and other civilians held off a Russian convoy outside of a building where Bandit illustrated children painting heartbeat monitor lines in yellow and blue. The man watched 50 of his friends die during that standoff, George said.

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“He was just very happy that we were doing something to brighten an area that held a lot of pain in his heart,” George said. “I was able to interview him in front of the building, a local priest translating for both of us.”

Another memorable interview was with a woman who had traveled to see a painting Bandit did on a glass-tile wall dotted with bullet holes. It is the scene of a soldier and a woman sitting on the hands of a broken clock, separated as they reached for one another.

The woman told George she had stayed to care for the elderly and animals left in a shelter, even as power in her besieged town was cut off. Her husband was called to serve in the army a month before she found out she was pregnant.

“She had no ability to contact him. (The baby) was born just a few months ago, she hasn’t heard from her husband since the start of the war. There’s no documentation, there was no word if he’s alive,” George said. “She’s still waiting for him to one day return. It brought a lot of magnitude to the piece that Bandit painted on the building, seeing art tell a true story, in a way.”

A woman named Julia traveled from afar to see a piece set on bullet-dotted glass of a soldier and a woman sitting on the hands of a broken clock, separated as they reached for one another. Julia hasn’t heard from her love, giving birth to their child in the time he has been gone. (Photo courtesy of Tristan George)

George said a big takeaway from the trip was the willingness of people to share their experience, despite how difficult it was to talk about.

“We want art to be able to tell not just one story, but countless stories and give the human perspective, outside of politics and opinions – just show that this is real life, this is what people are experiencing,” he said. “Despite whatever side you decide to take, this is reality and art has a way to transverse language.”

Seeing the struggles the Ukrainians are facing was surreal, Bandit said. “It was eye-opening, as far as going to a country like that and being from our little town in San Clemente.”

Bandit said he hopes the artwork will tell the Ukrainian people that while others can never understand what they are going through, they have not been forgotten.

“The artwork is a gift to show you that and to hopefully brighten your day and give you something to look forward to,” Bandit said is his message to the Ukrainian people. “And give you extra juice to keep fighting.”

​ Orange County Register 

Universal Horror Unleashed will take up permanent residence in Las Vegas

• October 18, 2023

Universal Destinations & Experiences, a division of Comcast NBCUniversal and creator of the theme parks’ annual Halloween Horror Nights, announced that its first-ever permanent horror experience will be known as Universal Horror Unleashed.

The permanent attraction will be located at AREA15 in Las Vegas and will create unique, immersive and very horror-centric experiences that will also include themed eateries and bar areas. It’s slated to include similar thrills to Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights, but it will be continuously updated and feature one-of-a-kind merchandise.

“Universal Horror Unleashed is another way we are using our unique style of horror storytelling to engage fans of this genre,” said Page Thompson, president, New Ventures, Universal Destinations & Experiences. “We look forward to bringing frightful fun to Las Vegas year-round.”

The ambitious effort was first announced back in January. It includes a 20-acre expansion of AREA 15, an immersive entertainment district in Las Vegas. Universal Studios is the birthplace of films featuring iconic characters like Frankenstein, The Mummy, Bride of Frankenstein and many more. It has also collaborated with filmmakers like Jason Blum, Jordan Peele and James Wan to bring more modern horror films to life during Halloween Horror Nights, which began 32 years ago at the Orlando theme park.

Though no opening dates have been announced, additional details will be shared as the permanent attraction continues to develop.

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​ Orange County Register 

Big changes underway as San Onofre nuclear plant comes down

• October 18, 2023

Inside those iconic twin domes, workers are chopping up the reactor vessels — those thick steel containers that once held nuclear fuel as the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station split atoms to boil water, spin steam generators and create electricity.

Outside, major changes are underway.

Southern California Edison’s Doug Bauder, a San Clemente resident who has overseen the teardown of the plant since 2018, will retire at the end of October, and Fred Bailly will take the helm. Bailly was vice president of decommissioning for Westinghouse, overseeing its worldwide commercial decommissioning business. He’ll bring an international perspective to the major issue remaining at San Onofre: the safe storage of spent nuclear fuel until the federal government pulls itself together and finds the waste a permanent home.

A changing-of-the-guard is underway at San Onofre’s volunteer Community Engagement Panel — meant to give locals a voice in the teardown and answer their questions — as well. CEP Chair David Victor, professor at UC San Diego’s School of Global Policy and Strategy and long the public face of the CEP, has left the panel. He’s replaced by Daniel Stetson, a longtime member who heads The Nicholas Endowment, created by Broadcom co-founder Henry Nicholas III and his wife to support the advancement of science, education and the arts.

The CEP’s next meeting is a virtual affair, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 26. Bauder and Bailly will both be there, and there will be updates on spent fuel transportation plans and the dismantlement process itself (which we’ll preview in just a moment, thank you Nuclear Regulatory Commission). The CEP meeting will be on Microsoft Teams, and details on how to join are at https://bit.ly/3tzW3K3.

Fred Bailly will be taking the helm from Bauder at the end of October. He has 25 years of nuclear experience, most recently as Westinghouse Electric Company’s vice president for decommissioning. He also worked for Orano USA. (Photo courtesy Southern California Edison)

Public comment sessions have been known to devolve into personal attacks and misinformation, but a worker used one to reveal a serious issue with a stuck canister that Edison hadn’t publicly reported. Meetings have calmed down now that all the spent fuel is entombed in dry storage, but controversy remains about how long the waste will remain on the bluff, the coming dismantlement of spent fuel pools and the eventual release of the filtered water that once cooled the super-hot fuel rods into the ocean.

Greater radiation

A lot has happened since the reactors were powered down in 2012 after a radioactive leak in its new steam generators that were supposed to give it decades more life.

Dry storage of used fuel rods at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station on Thursday, December 16, 2021. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Forty of the plant’s 62 buildings are gone.

Some 285 million pounds of low-level waste and debris have been transported off-site.

Some 70 canisters filled with spent fuel rods are encased in the “concrete monolith” dry storage system, awaiting that new federal home. Two more canisters are slated to join them, filled with radioactive material from the reactors’ guts.

The NRC’s most recent inspection report details how that’s going.

“The contractor was actively segmenting the reactor vessel internals in both containments (domes),” the NRC said. “The vessel internals were being segmented, in part, to separate the different classes of wastes for disposal. In Unit 2, the contractor was actively cutting the lower core shroud core plate and lower core support columns….In Unit 3, the contractor was cutting the lower support cylinder, part of the lower support assembly.”

That work, however, was behind schedule, because the components located in the lower levels were more radioactive than originally anticipated, the NRC said. That means the lower components must be cut into smaller pieces for packaging and disposal.

Workers remove a turbine rotor from the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in 2021. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Workers were preparing to remove the reactor coolant pump motors, pressurizers, steam system piping and steam generator insulation, the NRC report said. They’re also constructing temporary ventilation systems, removing trash and debris, and preparing to drain and decontaminate spent fuel pools.

Future work will include construction of a material handling facility — to provide a controlled environment for future loading of radioactive waste into shipping containers — and cleanup of an oily waste sump.

“The inspectors concluded that the contractors were conducting the work in accordance with approved site procedures,” the NRC said.

Edison spokeswoman Liese Mosher likened decommissioning to the intricacies of conducting an orchestra. “We’re making progress,” she said.

SOURCE: Southern California Edison

‘SOS’

Deep distrust remains among some of Edison’s most ardent critics, and the documentary “SOS – THE SAN ONOFRE SYNDROME: Nuclear Power’s Legacy” gives it full voice.

Reaching back into San Onofre’s troubled past — a workplace environment that had some workers reluctant to report safety concerns to their bosses in 2010, the $671 million steam generator debacle that led to the plant’s shutdown in 2013, the “near miss” that left a 50-ton canister filled with nuclear waste resting on a metal guide ring near the top of the 18-foot-deep vault for nearly an hour in 2018 — it follows a squad of activists who paint terrifying portraits of what might happen as nuclear waste remains on the bluff over the blue Pacific.

The specters of Fukushima and Chernobyl are raised on a backdrop of tense music, but the comparison is off. Both nuclear plants were actively splitting atoms when their tragedies occurred; San Onofre hasn’t split atoms for more than a decade.

The issue here is the waste. San Onofre’s isn’t cooling in fuel pools that require power and water to keep things under control, but rather in dry storage, in the “concrete monolith,” where it waits in steel canisters inside steel silos inside rebar-reinforced concrete 3 to 4 feet thick all around for a permanent burial place.

Everyone wants the waste removed from San Onofre — an earthquake zone within 50 miles of some 8 million people — as quickly as possible. That, however, is something that Congress must make happen. The feds promised to accept commercial nuclear waste for permanent disposal by 1998; they have accepted exactly none.

Mosher said that Edison has addressed the issues raised in the film and is focused on ensuring the safe storage of the fuel and working for a long-term federal solution.

We caught up with Victor, former chair of the CEP, in Dubai, where he was working on energy transformation and the global economy with the World Economic Forum. As head of the CEP, the was often the target of suspicion and frustration.

“People are upset with the company and the larger situation, and the place they get to vent that concern is at the Community Engagement Panel,” said Victor, who mostly kept his cool. “It’s a volunteer job that comes with a lot of visibility, and when people are upset, it often gets focused on you. But you can help steer the process. I’d say we mostly did that.”

From left to right, Jeff Carey (SCE), Dan Stetson, Gene Stone, David Victor, Darin McClure and Ron Pontes (SCE).(Courtesy of Southern California Edison)

An academic, Victor said he learned more about politics through the CEP than anything he has done. He saw, at a granular level, people’s distrust of institutions and how it impacts those institutions. He also gained an enormous amount of respect for local politicians.

“From them, especially early on, I learned how to take incoming fire, how to sit people down and have a conversation and listen,” Victor said. “I am really in awe of them. Washington might not be functioning, but we’re doing well on the local front.”

Victor will continue to engage on the policy side, organizing communities around the country to push for a long-term federal solution to the waste storage problem.

Stetson, the new chair, is glad for that. He spent decades at the Ocean Institute in Dana Point and was hopeful when a call from Edison’s president came in nearly a decade ago — to donate more money for the Ocean Institute’s adopt-a-class program, he thought.

Instead, he was offered a spot on the CEP. His wife said he was crazy, but he accepted. When he was offered the chair, she said he was crazy again, but he accepted. “I have a problem saying no,” he said.

The tenor has calmed down at the CEP meetings now that spent fuel is in dry storage and the risk profile has greatly diminished. But there are still important topics to cover — including next week, when officials from the U.S. Department of Energy update folks on rail cars that will be used (someday) to transport waste to an interim or final resting place.

Stetson hopes to have more in-person meetings, so folks can have more detailed discussions before and after official proceedings.

“One thing I’ve really tried to do is to introduce elected officials to the situation, make them aware of the need to move forward with legislation and get this problem solved,” Stetson said.

Good luck to us all.

​ Orange County Register 

Frumpy Mom: It’s almost Halloween. Gulp.

• October 18, 2023

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but it’s nearly time for Halloween. I can tell by the purple-and-orange lights appearing around my neighborhood along with the occasional random bloody ghost hanging from a tree.

In the past, this was my most dreaded holiday, because the kids would bring home all this chocolate from trick-or-treating that they promptly forget about, allowing me to steal and eat it all while they were at school.

When my daughter was young, she didn’t like Reese’s peanut butter cups. So I didn’t even have to steal those – she’d just hand it over when she walked in the door. Good girl.

The problem, of course, is that afterward your jeans don’t fit. Of course, my jeans haven’t fit properly since 1992, but it’s a metaphor. Roll with it.

I do miss the exciting build-up to Halloween, which is something we Americans have over those snooty Europeans, who never put on a Cowardly Lion costume in their lives.

For years, we had a family tradition that involved going to the ginormous Halloween Club outlet off the 5 Freeway in La Mirada in late September before it became a writhing madhouse.

Typically, we’d go to church on Sunday – the only day that didn’t have baseballsoccerfootballsoftball games or practices – then get in the car. The advantage of driving all the way there is that not only do they have costumes for every occasion, including the besting of your mother-in-law and the triumph of your favorite political party,  but they actually let you try them on, as long as you’re accompanied by an eagle-eyed staff person ensuring you don’t ruin anything.

This was an hours-long, fun-but-grueling ordeal, to be perfectly honest, because the rugrats demanded to try on at least 10 costumes before they picked one – and of course they always wanted the most expensive one on the shelf.

Looking at the price tag would always temporarily spike my blood pressure when I contemplated that they would wear it for one night and then forget about it forever.

But I comforted myself by considering that I only had a few years to enjoy this ritual, and then they’d no longer want to see me, particularly on Halloween.

This actually has come to pass, now that they somehow aged into their 20s while I was looking the other way.

My days of dressing them up like bumblebees and ladybugs and ninjas are over forever, I’m sad to say.

But I do have the consolation of my new grandson Floyd, who will eventually need a costume when he can do something besides drool and spit up.

Hopefully, his mother will allow Grandma Nana to buy it for him. I’ve discovered that offering to pay for things is an excellent way to bond with my daughter and her child.

These days, the decision of how much candy to buy for trick-or-treaters is a truly vexing one, because it seems like so many kids now go to parties or “trunk and treats” or anything other than ringing my doorbell and demanding for me to fill their bowls.

I live in one of those neighborhoods where some people even give out entire full-sized candy bars, so we used to get lots of kids, which seems to annoy some people for reasons I don’t understand. Personally, I liked it, although if there were any chocolate bars at my house, sorry, kids, I would have already eaten them or hidden them in spinach boxes in the freezer.

I only buy Halloween candy that I don’t like, to increase the chances that it might actually make it intact until Oct. 31.

This year, I don’t have to worry about handing out candy, because I’ll be in Oaxaca (pronounced wa-ha-ca) Mexico, enjoying the Day of the Dead.

This holiday originated with the ancient Mexicans before the Spanish conquerors, celebrating the belief that your dead loved ones come back to earth one day a year to visit you. So it’s a happy time, not a ghoulish one, even though everyone’s seen the decorative skeletons and sugar skulls.

People build altars, called ofrendas, decorated with marigolds and sugar cane and stock them with things that the loved ones liked, to tempt them to come back. So you’ll see a lot of tequila, favorite foods, unfiltered Camel cigarettes and the like on display.

There’s also a special “bread of the dead” baked only at this time, which has tiny skulls baked into it.

I’ve been thinking about what people should put on my ofrenda, after I shrug off this mortal coil. Definitely chocolate. (See above). A fine sipping tequila would also be welcome, along with some gourmet cheese from the Cowgirl Creamery. I would say my favorite book – but how to decide which one? Whenever anyone asks me that question, it crashes my brain just like a computer, because how could I possibly pick?

What would be on your ofrenda? Meanwhile, I’ll probably be telling you more about my trip, but until then, buy those big bags of chocolate bars. And then send me your address.

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​ Orange County Register 

Local OC leaders respond to Israeli-Hamas war

• October 18, 2023

At Tuesday’s OC Board of Supervisors meeting, dozens of speakers raised concerns over a joint statement released by three of the county leaders condemning the recent Hamas attack on Israel, with some saying the message could “place targets on the backs” of those in local Arab, Muslim and Palestinian communities.

“Every year, the county remembers the Holocaust and the Board of Supervisors reaffirms our commitment to ‘Never Again,’” Third District Supervisor Don Wagner, First District Supervisor Andrew Do and Fifth District Katrina Foley said in their joint statement released last week. “For that to mean anything more than words, we must act in the moment to stand for civilization and against antisemitic terrorism. That moment is now.”

The supervisors said they “condemn Hamas, Islamic terrorism and stand with our ally Israel” and “call on all Muslim leaders in Orange County to join us in this condemnation.”

“This is not a time for moral relativism or wishy-washy statements about understanding both sides. One side is responsible for this tragedy. Instead, it is now time for all civilized people to join with other decent people around the world to unequivocally condemn this barbarism.”

Their release received criticism, with some calling it “deeply problematic” and “one-sided.”

“Your rhetoric actively stokes the flame of Islamophobic and anti-Arab sentiment as the Arab community grieves with our Palestinian brothers and sisters,” one speaker said during the public comment period. “Palestinian life is again treated as expendable and devoid of value. I ask that you retract your statement and apologize to the Palestinian, Arab and Muslim community.”

The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American Islamic Relations, often referred to as CAIR-LA, demanded accountability from the board members.

While “the one-sided statement” offers support for Israelis, it “blatantly makes no mention of the 1,400 Palestinians killed by Israel in their most recent assault and bombardment of Gaza,” CAIR officials said in a statement that asked the board members to meet with local Palestinian human rights advocates. “Instead of using their platform as an opportunity to recognize and support all the communities impacted by the recent events — including Palestinian Americans, Arab Americans, and American Muslims — the supervisors chose to engage in old Islamophobic tropes that conflate violence with a religion practiced by 2 billion people around the world.”

Foley apologized Tuesday for any pain she “may have unintentionally caused,” adding that she continues to prioritize building coalitions and fighting hate and violence.

“But I want the community to be clear: Hamas is a terrorist organization. I do not believe that the community that spoke here is part of a terrorist organization. I will continue to stand vehemently opposed to terrorism,” Foley said. “However, as I said, Hamas is not representative of Palestinians of any of our community here today. The targeted attacks on our Muslim Arab Americans and our Palestinian neighbors are unacceptable. And this type of hate and violence has no place in Orange County.”

Supervisors Doug Chaffee, representing OC’s fourth district, and Vicente Sarmiento, of the second district, had released a separate statement condemning all acts of violence on civilians.

“The recent events that have been unfolding in Israel and the Gaza Strip are a heartbreaking continuation to this long-standing conflict. We hope to see a resolution where both Israel and Palestine can live peacefully,” their joint statement said. “Additionally, we want to ensure that locally, both communities’ First Amendment rights are protected and their ability to advocate for their beliefs are safeguarded.”

During his invocation at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, Sarmiento shared his desire for peace, hope and a resolution to the long-standing dispute between Jewish and Palestinian people.

“The essential takeaway was that people of good conscience cannot equivocate in condemning Hamas for the terrorist acts directed against Israeli civilians,” Sarmiento said. “And although the loss of life has been staggering, and the images shocking, and our outrage triggered, we cannot also condone the harsh and inhumane retaliation being inflicted upon the Palestinian people in Gaza.”

More Orange County leaders have released statements in recent days as the war between Israel and Hamas continues and a rise in hate crimes is reported in the country.

Fullerton councilmembers Shana Charles and Ahmad Zahra released a joint statement on Tuesday, Oct. 17, expressing sorrow for the violence happening abroad.

“We have watched in horror the atrocities committed against innocent civilians in Israel and the ensuing and ongoing violence against innocent Palestinians in Gaza. We have also seen an alarming rise in antisemitism and Islamophobia in our communities and around the world,” they said.

“As both Jewish and Arab-Muslim local leaders, we stand united in our resolve against all forms of terror, violence and hate,” they said. “And while we may not have impact on events in the Middle East, we can and will continue working together, as colleagues and friends, towards peace and prosperity in our local community.”

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​ Orange County Register 

Huntington Beach to use community review board to vet children’s books for sexual content

• October 18, 2023

Huntington Beach will soon have an appointed community review board that could reject new children’s books that are deemed inappropriate, a move critics are calling a book-banning system.

The City Council majority decided to create a 21-member community review board that has oversight of children’s books in city libraries. Its powers include rejecting, by a majority vote, new children’s books the library staff wish to obtain that “do not meet the city’s community standards of acceptance” and reviewing books already in circulation if they should be moved from the children’s section.

Councilmember Gracey Van Der Mark is behind the push. The three other conservative councilmembers joined her to pass the contested proposal Tuesday night in a 4-3 vote.

Gracey Larrea-Van Der Mark listens to public comments during a city council meeting on Tuesday, June 20, 2023. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Each councilmember will get three appointments to the board.

Scores of vocal residents denounced Van Der Mark’s resolution, calling it a book ban.

“If you don’t procure something, what are you doing? You’re banning it,” said Jeff Lebow during public comment.

The Council Chambers at City Hall were filled with people and many had to sit in an overflow room. The public comment period went over five hours, with residents bringing signs that called the proposal government overreach.

The resolution mandates that no city library allow children direct access to books or other materials that contain “any content of sexual nature.” It will require a parent or guardian’s consent to access those materials, whether they are intended for children or adults. Books with sexual content will be moved out of the children’s section.

Mayor Tony Strickland argued against the other councilmbers and residents who see the resolution as a ban. “We are not removing any books or restricting any books. It’s been said before; It’s not a ban.”

The councilmembers who voted for it continually said during the meeting that they don’t see the move as a book ban. Councilmember Natalie Moser, who voted against the proposal, expressed numerous concerns with it, including that the city was putting itself in legal risk.

“Those seeking to impede access to collections and dictate how library workers do their jobs are doing so to silence and obscure the voices and perspectives of those whose opinions they feel do not have a right to full and active participation in American society,” Moser said. “While the protection of our community’s children is paramount, this resolution is not the way to achieve it.”

Related links

Here are 5 books people have asked the Huntington Beach Public Library to remove
Huntington Beach wants options for making it harder for children to access sexually explicit books
Huntington Beach councilmember wants law to screen out ‘pornographic children’s books’ from city libraries

The First Amendment Coalition, the ACLU of Southern California and the Freedom to Read Foundation said in a letter to the City Council that creating a review board violates the First Amendment. The groups said the resolution, taken literally, would prohibit children from accessing literary classics such as “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings,” “The Great Gatsby” and “Romeo and Juliet.”

“While no one can be forced to read a library book to which they object, no one has the right to subject, through force of government, the entire community to their narrow and arbitrary view of what books are acceptable for minors of any age to read,” the groups said.

The groups also warned in their joint letter that the proposal would negatively affect LGTBQ youth and overall called it unconstitutional.

The nonprofit Friends of the Huntington Beach Public Library released a statement ahead of the meeting that they oppose book bans in the city’s library system, saying individuals have the right to determine what’s appropriate for them and their families to read, not a government-appointed committee.

Earlier in Tuesday’s meeting, city staffers had presented possible policy updates for the library to make, separate from Van Der Mark’s resolution. Those changes include a new library card that would require parental permission for checking out adult books and updating processes for book recommendations for children and families.

Van Der Mark asked Community and Library Services Director Ashley Wysocki, who gave the staff presentation, if any books were going to be banned from the library. Wysocki said: “I think there are a lot of perceived ways books can be banned, and so until I better understand what the direction from council is, I don’t know that I can answer that.”

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​ Orange County Register