How should a witness prepare to testify? Ask the lawyer

• July 30, 2024

Q: I am plaintiff in a lawsuit seeking damages caused by defective artificial turf (was a spectator at our daughter’s soccer game, stepped in a pocket that first bounced down, then up, and broke my ankle). Any suggestions on how I go about preparing to testify at deposition or in court?

G.M., Newport Beach

Ron Sokol

A: Presumably you have a lawyer, so my initial response is: What does he or she say?

There may be an expert also who will testify about the artificial turf, including why the defect you describe is unacceptable and creates a dangerous condition. You, on the other hand, will provide information about who you are, what happened and how it has impacted you. In sum, focus on what you can testify about from personal knowledge, not speculate about.

Lawyers will differ on how a witness should go about preparing to testify. In my experience, the best witnesses simply are themselves. They do not act, do not engage in histrionics and do not argue with the other lawyer. A good witness is courteous, responsive and thoughtful. That said, it can be challenging to be courteous, responsive and thoughtful when you are being quizzed, or if the lawyer is trying to knock you off balance, or both. Do your best simply to be the better person.

Note that preparation, which involves review of records, may require you to provide those records to the lawyer asking questions. Thus, before you review records, talk out with your lawyer if it is advisable to do so.

Preparation often involves a “dress rehearsal,” during which your lawyer (or the lawyer’s staff) asks questions that you can anticipate may be part of the examination. You can learn how best to sit, where to put your hands, and what kind of eye contact you will make. You want to focus on providing an answer, not a narrative, and not volunteering information. If the question is, “Was the shirt blue,” The answer is yes or no, not “Well, no, it was orange, button-up and untucked.”

On occasion, I will videotape a rehearsal session, so the client can see how he or she comes across.  At the same time, I do not encourage over preparation, over thinking or over stressing. Honest, responsive and succinct answers — to the extent you can answer any given question in that manner — are suggested. If you are confused by something, you can ask that it be asked again, or read to you by the court reporter. If you are particularly concerned about a question at deposition (as opposed to in court), you can confer with your lawyer.

Chances are you will do fine. Being honest, and as indicated, courteous, responsive and thoughtful should work. It is common to be a bit nervous about testifying. Often that simmers down once you get underway.

Q: When you are in court, addressing the judge, are there certain ways you act because that is most effective?

H.D., Inglewood

A: Here again, different lawyers are almost certainly going to have varying answers to this inquiry. Over time, what I have learned is that courtesy is effective. Patience, biting your tongue if need be, explaining your argument or position well, all are advisable.

You have to speak up, so you can be heard, not speak too quickly, and of course be very well prepared before you get to court. I have not found being aggressive or antagonistic is helpful. I have found that humor, if appropriate, can work, but the most important part of addressing the court is: (a) have the facts at hand and (b) the law at your fingertips. Do not go on and on and on. Know when to be done, even if you are tempted (or your client encourages you) to continue arguing.

Ron Sokol has been a practicing attorney for over 40 years, and has also served many times as a judge pro tem, mediator, and arbitrator. It is important to keep in mind that this column presents a summary of the law, and is not to be treated or considered legal advice, let alone a substitute for actual consultation with a qualified professional.

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​ Orange County Register 

Olympic opening ceremony DJ files legal complaints for online abuse over ‘Last Supper’ tableau

• July 30, 2024

By JOHN LEICESTER and JOCELYN NOVECK Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — A storm of outrage about the Paris Olympics’ opening ceremony took a legal turn Tuesday, with French prosecutors ordering police to investigate complaints from a DJ and LGBTQ+ icon that she suffered a torrent of online threats and abuse in the ceremony’s wake.

Barbara Butch’s lawyer told The Associated Press that she had filed a formal legal complaint alleging online harassment, death threats, and insults. The lawyer, Audrey Msellati, said the complaint doesn’t name any specific perpetrator or perpetrators of the alleged crimes.

The Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed that it received Butch’s legal complaint and said it immediately tasked a special police unit that specializes in fighting hate crimes to investigate.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

PARIS (AP) — A storm of outrage about the Paris Olympics’ opening ceremony — including angry comments from Donald Trump — took a legal turn Tuesday, with a DJ who performed at the show saying her lawyer is filing complaints over a torrent of threats and other abuse that the LGBTQ+ icon has suffered online in the ceremony’s wake.

Barbara Butch’s lawyer told The Associated Press that she had filed a formal legal complaint alleging cyber-harassment, death threats, and insults. The complaint doesn’t name any specific perpetrator or perpetrators of the alleged crimes.

The lawyer, Audrey Msellati, said the complaint was filed with the Paris prosecutor’s office, which must then decide whether it warrants a formal police investigation.

Although the ceremony’s artistic director Thomas Jolly has repeatedly said that he wasn’t inspired by “The Last Supper,” critics interpreted part of the show that featured Butch as a mockery of Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting showing Jesus Christ and his apostles. Even Trump, in the United States, said Monday he thought it was “a disgrace.”

“I’m very open-minded,” the former president and current Republican nominee told Fox News host Laura Ingraham, who specifically asked about comparisons to “The Last Supper,” “but I thought what they did was a disgrace.”

Butch, who calls herself a “love activist,” wore a silver headdress that looked like a halo as she got a party going during her segment of the show. Drag artists, dancers and others flanked Butch on both sides.

French Catholic bishops and others were among those who said Christians had been hurt and offended. Paris Olympics organizers have said there was “never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group” and that the intent was to “celebrate community tolerance.”

Jolly has said he saw the moment as a celebration of diversity, and the table on which Butch spun her tunes as a tribute to feasting and French gastronomy.

“My wish isn’t to be subversive, nor to mock or to shock,” Jolly said. “Most of all, I wanted to send a message of love, a message of inclusion and not at all to divide.”

Performer Philippe Katerine, who appeared in the next scene painted blue and nearly nude in a tribute to Dionysus, also told Le Monde newspaper that “The Last Supper” had not been referenced at all in preparations for the overall sketch.

In a statement of her own, posted on Instagram, Butch said: “Whatever some may say, I exist. I’ve never been ashamed of who I am, and I take responsibility for everything – including my artistic choices. All my life, I’ve refused to be a victim: I won’t shut up.”

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She said she “was extremely honored” to perform in Friday’s ceremony and “my heart is still full of joy.”

“I’m committed, and I’m proud. Proud of who I am, of what I am, and of what I embody, both for my loved ones and for millions of French people. My France is France !” she wrote.

Msellati described Butch as in “a fighting spirit” — eager to defend herself and her choices, and still very proud of her participation. “She has no regrets, even now,” the lawyer said.

The lawyer also said in an earlier statement that legal complaints would be filed regardless of “whether committed by French nationals or foreigners and intends to prosecute anyone who tries to intimidate her in the future.”

​ Orange County Register 

Paris Olympics brings out hoses and misters to cool down fans during heat wave

• July 30, 2024

PARIS (AP) — The 2024 Olympics famously launched with a rain-soaked opening ceremony that drenched athletes and spectators alike. Now, they’re enduring the opposite experience Tuesday: a heat wave.

Most of France is under a heat wave warning, with temperatures in Paris and surrounding areas expected to climb to 35 degrees Celsius (95 Fahrenheit) or higher, the national weather agency said. Air conditioning is far less common in French homes, shops and restaurants than in places like the United States.

“It’s really hot out there,” German women’s tennis player Angelique Kerber said Tuesday after winning her singles match. “You just try to take your time during the breaks.”

The heat was expected to be even worse in the south, including the region around the Mediterranean city of Marseille that is hosting Olympic competitions like soccer and sailing. It was as hot as 40 C (104 F) in parts of southern France on Monday and the temperatures were expected to match that high again Tuesday.

Back-to-back record global heat was seen last week as climate change makes extreme weather more frequent and intense. Paris 2024 organizers have aimed to cut the event’s carbon footprint, with measures like turning to an underfloor cooling system and insulation instead of air conditioning at the Olympic village where athletes are staying. Some countries, like the U.S., brought their own air conditioning units.

Visitors and athletes endured a sweaty and sunny Tuesday before thunderstorms were expected to sweep into the Paris area in the evening. People dipped into a Paris canal that’s a popular swim spot or fanned themselves at exposed Olympic venues.

Volunteers used hoses to spray down cheering fans at the shadeless beach volleyball stadium near the Eiffel Tower and put up signs about water refilling areas. Spectators ducked under trees for shade, while players on the sunbaked sand — which can be more than 20 C (30 F) hotter than the air temperature — took extra breaks to drape bags of ice over their heads and shoulders.

“Very hot,” Egyptian beach volleyball player Doaa Elghobashy remarked after competing in long sleeves, pants and a hijab. “But not like Egypt.”

A handful of misters were set up at La Concorde urban park, the venue that’s been hosting skateboarding and BMX freestyle cycling. The Paris area’s train and metro operator said it was distributing more than 2.5 million containers of water at over 70 train stations and other stops on its network, as well as at bus stations.

The equestrian teams were spraying their horses with cool water and keeping them in the shade after riding the course, which doesn’t take long. Riders also said they cut down the warmups from 45 minutes to half an hour ahead of competitions held in the regal gardens of the Palace of Versailles outside Paris.

“It’s really hot, but you have to be professional about it,” British rider Carl Hester said after an event Tuesday. “Lots of walk breaks so the horses can relax. We’ve got a covered arena, so it keeps the sun off their backs.”

German rider Julia Krajewski, the defending Olympic champion in the category of individual eventing, pointed out that she “would be more worried for the spectators to be honest.”

She said Monday that she wasn’t worried about competing in her thick jacket, helmet and heavy boots because “I personally prefer the heat” but “you have to be sensitive, know your horse.”

Some other athletes weren’t too concerned either.

U.S. tennis player Coco Gauff said Monday, before the worst of the heat, that she “felt good” after her match and that it was “like playing in Florida.”

Coco Gauff of the United States returns the ball against Maria Lourdes Carle of Argentina during the women’s singles tennis competition at the Roland Garros Stadium at the 2024 Summer Olympics on Monday, July 29, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

“I did use the ice towel, which I rarely do at matches, but it was more of a preventative thing,” the reigning U.S. Open champion said a day before being eliminated in singles competition.

On the other hand, Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic, who beat rival Spain’s Rafael Nadal on Monday, found it “pretty hot on the court,” noting the change from Saturday’s rain. “Paris weather is quite unpredictable,” he said.

Further south, American windsurfer Dominique Stater wore a vest filled with ice packs after her races in Marseille on Monday, where it hit 31 C (88 F) in the late afternoon.

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“It’s pretty crazy heat, more than Miami,” said Stater, who’s from the sweltering Florida metropolis.

Stater said staying hydrated is top of mind, especially because the windsurfers are swathed in extensive protective gear.

That’s the same advice weather officials are passing along to those planning to be outside on Tuesday: Hydrate, avoid going out in the afternoon when it’s hottest and wear a hat.

France’s national weather agency described heat waves as “increasingly intense, frequent, early and long-lasting” amid climate change. It said that before 1989, such high temperatures were observed on average once every five years, and since 2000, they repeat every year. It predicts the trend will keep increasing.

AP writers Jerome Pugmire in Versailles, France; Jimmy Golen, Jenna Fryer, Howard Fendrich, Hanna Arhirova, Stephen Whyno and Courtney Bonnell in Paris, and Giovanna Dell’Orto in Marseilles, France, contributed.

​ Orange County Register 

Simone Biles has redefined her sport — and its vocabulary. A look at the skills bearing her name

• July 30, 2024

By WILL GRAVES, AP National Writer

PARIS (AP) — It is not enough — it has never been enough — for Simone Biles to do gymnastics.

The 27-year-old American star has been intent almost from the start on pushing the sport in new directions by doing things that have never been done before. That could continue this week when she tries for her eighth Olympic medal in Paris.

Five elements currently bear her name in the Code of Points after she successfully completed them in an international competition: two on vault, two on floor exercise and one on balance beam.

There’s a chance Biles could add a sixth if she tries the original skill — this one on uneven bars — she submitted to the International Gymnastics Federation before the Olympics. Biles did not attempt it during qualifying on Sunday, but could in the team final on Tuesday or the all-around final on Thursday.

A quick primer on what you could see Tuesday night as the U.S. women look to reclaim the top of the medal stand after finishing runner-up to Russia at the 2020 Games.

Biles I (Floor exercise version)

She was just a teenager and recently minted national champion when Biles performed a tumbling pass at the 2013 world championships that she completes by doing a double layout with a half-twist at the end.

The move looks dangerous — Biles is essentially flying blind — but she and former coach Aimee Boorman came up with it because it was less taxing on her legs.

“It was almost kind of necessity is the mother of invention,” Boorman told The Associated Press in 2015. “Her calf was hurting. She had bone spurs in her ankles and she’s really good at floor with landings.”

Biles II (floor exercise version)

Biles returned to the sport in 2018 following a two-year layoff after winning the all-around at the 2016 Olympics.

Not content to merely repeat herself, Biles began working on a triple-twisting, double flip that is now known simply as “ the triple-double.” She unveiled it while winning the 2019 U.S. Championships then did it again at the world championships a few months later when she won the fifth of her record six world all-around titles.

“I wanted to see how it looked,” she explained afterward.

Biles I (vault version)

As with a lot of gymnastics elements, Biles took a Cheng vault and added another layer of difficulty — this one an extra half twist on a vault originally done by China’s Cheng Fei.

Simone Biles, of United States, competes on the vault during a women’s artistic gymnastics qualification round at Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

The vault requires Biles to do a round-off onto the vault, then a half-twist onto the table before doing two full twists. It entered the Code after she made it part of her routine at the 2018 world championships.

“I’m embarrassed to do floor and vault after something like that,” U.S. men’s gymnast Yul Moldauer said in 2018. “You see Simone do that and she’s smiling the whole time. How does she do that?”

Biles II (vault version)

This may be the most dazzling, most daring one of them all.

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The Yurchenko double pike had never been completed by a woman in competition, and few men have even tried. She began tinkering with it in 2021, but it’s in the last year that it has morphed into perhaps the most show-stopping thing done in the sport.

The vault asks Biles to do a round-off back handspring onto the table, then two backward flips in pike position with her hands essentially clasped to her knees. She does it with so much power, she can sometimes overcook it. At the U.S. Olympic trials last month, it drew a standing ovation.

“No, it’s not normal,” longtime coach Laurent Landi said after she drilled it at the 2023 U.S. Championships. “She’s not normal.”

Biles I (balance beam version)

For all of her explosive tumbling, Biles is a wonder on balance beam, too, where she can make doing intricate moves on a four-inch-wide piece of wood seem almost casual.

The same year she debuted the triple-double on floor, she added a double-twisting, double-tucked dismount off the beam. She stuck it at the 2019 world championships, though she has since taken it out of her repetoire.

What does the new uneven bars skill look like?

The skill Biles submitted requires her to do a forward circle around the lower bar before turning a handstand into a 540-degree pirouette. USA Gymnastics teased the move on X on Friday.

Bars is considered the weakest of Biles’ events in the sense that just one of her 37 Olympic and world championship medals have come on bars. The Americans even considered having Biles sit out bars during the team finals. She’s slated to compete there Tuesday, though, and could unveil the skill there.

​ Orange County Register 

Horses join Fullerton police force

• July 30, 2024

The Fullerton Police Department recently welcomed five new members to the force, all expected to take on vital roles in policing the city, known for its miles of trails well traversed by hikers, joggers, cyclists and horseback riders, all who sometimes trek along the narrow terrain simultaneously.

Meet Zorro, Bodie, Bandito, Opus and Blazer, the horses making up Fullerton PD’s newly formed mounted unit.

Using horses is a high-visibility enforcement tactic for special events involving large crowds, said Capt. Jose Arana, who oversees the mounted unit. He was tasked with organizing the unit during the planning stage in 2023.

“Once the conversation began, the support was pretty much there from our elected officials, from our City Council, from our mayor and the decision was to proceed,” Arana said. “There was funding allocated for a horse trailer and a truck to begin the program. That’s where it began.”

In forming the policies and responsibilities of the unit, Arana sought input from the Anaheim and Buena Park police departments and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, all of which have mounted patrol units.

He then put out a department-wide blast, looking for officers interested in joining the new mounted unit.

“We just were looking for people who had the passion, who had the enthusiasm, the willingness to put in the time, the work and the responsibility of, No. 1, purchasing a horse, caring for the horse, but there’s a lot of your own time, and a lot of your own money that goes into it,” the captain said.

Horses in mounted units tend to be older and need to have a calm demeanor, Arana said.

The inaugural team of five riders also includes Officer George Peterson, Cpl. Josh Manes, Sgt. Manny Pulido and Det. Daniel Chiodini.

Chiodini, who has been around horses since childhood, is the most experienced rider in the unit.

“I got my first horse when I was 18,” he said, though he was a rider well before that. “I thought it would just be awesome to be able to patrol as a police officer on a horse, go through our trails, all the community engagement and stuff like that.”

Each officer owns and cares for their horse at their own expense, which includes food, boarding, veterinary care and farrier service (putting on horseshoes). And, their duties in the mounted unit are in addition to their regular assignments.

The mounted unit can be called into action to search for suspects, locate missing persons and do homeless outreach, the captain said.

Fullerton’s new unit will also join the Orange County Regional Mounted Enforcement Unit, a cooperative effort between the Sheriff’s Department and police departments in Anaheim, Buena Park, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, and Santa Ana.

Collectively, the regional unit can have more than 60 mounted officers in service to patrol trails, beaches and wilderness areas and handle crowd control at high profile events throughout the county.

The county’s mounted units have been put in service to maintain order for large-scale events in Angel Stadium and the Honda Center. It also participated in this year’s Rose Parade.

And as the presidential election draws closer, Arana said he anticipates being summoned to maintain order at political rallies, which have devolved into violence in the past in Orange County.

In April 2016, a protest outside a campaign rally for former President Donald Trump in Costa Mesa had fights break out and a police car got smashed before officers on horseback helped restore order, he said.

“Oh yeah,” Arana said. “We’ll definitely work with all of the Orange County mounting units.”

The public can meet the officers and the horses of Fullerton’s new Mounted Unit at the Police Department’s National Night Out from 5 to 7 p.m. on Aug. 6 at the Downtown Fullerton Plaza.

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​ Orange County Register 

Francine Pascal, creator of ‘Sweet Valley High’ book series, dies at 92

• July 30, 2024

Francine Pascal, a former soap-opera scriptwriter from the New York City borough of Queens who conjured up an entire literary universe among the blue-eyed cheerleaders and square-jawed jocks of suburban Los Angeles, most notably in her long-running and mega-best-selling “Sweet Valley High” series of young-adult novels, died Sunday in Manhattan. She was 92.

Her daughter Laurie Wenk-Pascal said the death, at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, was caused by lymphoma.

With covers instantly recognizable by their varsity-style lettering and soft-focus illustrations, “Sweet Valley High” books enraptured a generation of teenage readers with the lives of Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield, identical twins attending high school in the fictional Los Angeles suburb of Sweet Valley.

Three of the books in Francine Pascal’s long-running “Sweet Valley High” series, which began publishing in 1983. (File photo)

The twins are “the most adorable, dazzling 16-year-old girls imaginable,” Pascal told People magazine in 1988. They, and the books, are also strikingly innocent: Even as the thoughtful Elizabeth and the scheming Jessica clash over boys, friends and spots on the cheerleading team, drugs, alcohol and sex barely permeate the 181 titles in “Sweet Valley High,” or the scores of others in the spinoffs — and the spinoffs of spinoffs — from the series.

Within a few years of its debut in 1983, “Sweet Valley High” had taken over the young-adult book market. In January 1986, 18 out of the top 20 books in B. Dalton’s young adult bestseller list were “Sweet Valley High” titles. Taken together, the Sweet Valley universe has sold well over 200 million copies.

That juggernaut revolutionized young-adult publishing. Though there had been no shortage of books for teenage readers — and teenage girls in particular — Pascal recognized their limitless voracity for a compelling narrative and developed a way to feed it.

“There are millions of teenagers that no one in publishing knew existed,” she told The Los Angeles Times in 1986.

Pascal wrote the first 12 books in the series, then worked with a team of writers to keep a steady, rapid publication pace, often a book a month. She would draft a detailed outline, then hand it to a writer to flesh out while relying on what Pascal called her “bible” — a compendium of descriptions of the personalities, settings and dense web of relationships that defined life in Sweet Valley.

“I can’t have any deviation, no matter how small, because it can impact future stories,” she told her daughter Susan Johansson in an email shortly before her death. “The better writers follow my outlines perfectly.”

Pascal had never been to Southern California when the first books appeared, starting with “Double Love,” in which the Wakefield twins fight over the same boy, a basketball star named Todd Wilkins.

That debut also introduced the idyllic Sweet Valley world to readers.

“Everything about it was terrific — the gently rolling hills, the quaint downtown area, and the fantastic white sand beach only fifteen minutes away,” Pascal wrote.

More broadly, those first books acquainted readers from outside Southern California with the Valley Girl aesthetic that would echo through pop culture for decades, shaping speech patterns (uptalking, using “like” as a filler word), clothing and a long list of TV shows, movies and books that are impossible to imagine without Pascal’s influence.

Though she wrote several books before starting the Sweet Valley series, including a nonfiction account of the Patty Hearst trial, Pascal first made her name writing for the 1960s soap opera “The Young Marrieds” with her husband, John Pascal. The TV genre’s influence showed in the contours of the Sweet Valley books, with their convoluted, gossip-fueled story lines, melodramatic plot twists and cliffhanger endings.

Yet she insisted that the books were at heart morality tales, instructing readers on the intricacies of life and illustrating a sense of idealism and wonder that she felt embodied the universal teen experience, whether in urban Queens or sunny Southern California.

“I loved the idea of high school as microcosm of the real world,” Pascal told The Guardian in 2012. “And what I really liked was how it moved things on from Sleeping Beauty-esque romance novels, where the girl had to wait for the hero. This would be girl-driven, very different, I decided — and indeed it is.”

Francine Paula Rubin was born May 13, 1932, in Manhattan to William and Kate (Dunitz) Rubin and grew up in Jamaica, Queens. Her father was an auctioneer.

After studying journalism at New York University, she worked as a freelance writer for gossipy magazines like True Confessions and Modern Screen, and later for outlets like Cosmopolitan and Ladies’ Home Journal.

Her first marriage, to Jerome Offenberg, ended in divorce in 1963. A year later she married John Pascal; he died in 1981.

Both her daughters, Wenk-Pascal and Johansson, are from her first marriage, as was a third, Jamie Stewart, who died in 2008. Francine Pascal, who lived most of her adult life in midtown Manhattan, is also survived by six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

She and John Pascal did well as soap-opera scribes, but were not especially taken with the work. When the producers of “The Young Marrieds” insisted that they relocate to Los Angeles, they quit and returned to journalism.

The two went on to collaborate with her brother, Tony-winning playwright Michael Stewart, on the book for “George M!” a critically acclaimed musical about Broadway impresario George M. Cohan.

Francine Pascal wrote her first young-adult novels in the late 1970s, starting with “Hangin’ Out With Cici” (1977), about a girl who travels back in time to meet her mother when she was a teenager. It was made into an afternoon TV special and led to a sequel. Pascal also wrote the young-adult novels “My First Love and Other Disasters” (1979) and “The Hand-Me-Down Kid” (1980).

She was trying her hand at a soap opera treatment, and failing miserably, when an editor friend related a story. The friend had been at lunch when another editor asked why there was no teenage version of “Dallas,” the prime-time soap opera that was among the biggest hits on television at the time.

Pascal ran home and immediately churned out a detailed sketch about twin girls in high school; she sold that, along with her first 12 books, to Random House.

Spinoffs came quickly: “Sweet Valley Twins,” about the Wakefield girls in middle school, began in 1986, followed by “Sweet Valley Kids,” “The Unicorn Club” (a spinoff of “Sweet Valley Twins”), “Sweet Valley Junior High,” “Sweet Valley High: Senior Year” and “Sweet Valley University.”

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The “Sweet Valley” series ended in 2003, but restarted in 2011 with “Sweet Valley Confidential,” set 10 years after the action in “Sweet Valley High.”

Pascal also wrote two adult novels, “Save Johanna!” (1981) and “If Wishes Were Horses” (1994), a fictionalized memoir about her life with John Pascal.

In 1999, she began yet another young adult series called “Fearless,” centered on a girl named Gaia Moore who is born without the “fear gene”; she is a crack shot with a rifle and a black belt in karate, skills she uses to fight crime (and, in a spinoff series, in her job as an FBI agent).

Though some critics panned her books’ utopian settings and fanciful plots, Pascal was unapologetic.

“These books have uncovered a whole population of young girls who were never reading,” she told People. “I don’t know that they’re all going to go on to ‘War and Peace,’ but we have created readers out of nonreaders. If they go on to Harlequin romances, so what? They’re going to read.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

​ Orange County Register 

Men’s Olympic triathlon postponed in Paris over Seine water quality concerns

• July 30, 2024

By PAT GRAHAM and KATE BRUMBACK Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — Concerns about water quality in the Seine River led Paris Olympics organizers to postpone the men’s triathlon Tuesday, with officials hoping the swimming portion of the race will be able to go forward in the long-polluted waterway in the coming days following an expensive cleanup effort.

Organizers said they will try to hold the men’s triathlon Wednesday instead. The women’s competition also is scheduled that day, but both will only go forward if water tests show acceptable levels of E. coli and other bacteria in the river. Friday is also planned as a backup date.

However, storms or rain are forecast Tuesday night through Thursday, which could complicate efforts to reschedule the events because rain generally causes bacteria levels in the Seine to rise.

Paris experienced a downpour during the Olympic opening ceremony Friday, with rain persisting into Saturday. The swimming portion of training events meant to let the triathletes familiarize themselves with the course was canceled on both Sunday and Monday because of concerns over water quality.

“There are unfortunate meteorological events outside of our control,” said Aurélie Merle, the Paris 2024 director of sports. “But otherwise the project is still very strong. When we see the impact on the quality and the legacy that we can leave also to the Parisians, we all feel extremely proud of what we’ve done so far.”

The delays come after Olympic organizers and city officials had expressed confidence in recent days that bacteria levels would improve as skies cleared and temperatures warmed this week, but that apparently wasn’t sufficient to ensure the athletes’ safety. The sun’s ultraviolet rays can kill the bacteria and lower levels, and Tuesday is hot and sunny.

Paris spent 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) to improve the water quality in the Seine so the swimming portion of the triathlon and the marathon swimming event next week could be held in the famed river that runs through the city center. But bacteria levels have remained in flux.

The decision to postpone the men’s triathlon followed a meeting early Tuesday that included the sport’s governing body, World Triathlon, its medical team, the IOC and city officials.

“Despite the improvement on the water quality levels in the last hours, the readings at some points of the swim course are still above the acceptable limits,” organizers said, stressing that their “priority is the health of the athletes.”

Paris Deputy Mayor Pierre Rabadan said “the trend is improving” but “we are still not below the necessary threshold.”

To hold the two competitions on the Seine on Wednesday “seems to us to be the best option,” he said. However, he did not rule out further delays ”if there is an issue tomorrow after the results of the analysis.”

Daily water quality tests measure levels of the fecal bacteria E. coli, with a safe limit of 900 colony-forming units per 100 milliliters determined by European rules. Monitoring group Eau de Paris releases data each Friday, but it is updated only through the previous Tuesday.

One of four test sites was below the threshold for E. coli Tuesday morning, said Merle of Paris 2024. Two other sites were just above the limit and one was more elevated, she said, citing a range of 980 to 1,553.

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High levels of E. coli in water can indicate contamination from sewage. Most strains are harmless and some live in the intestines of healthy people and animals. But others can be dangerous. Even a mouthful of contaminated water can lead to diarrhea, and the germ can cause illnesses such as infections in the urinary tract or in the intestines.

Efforts to make the river suitable for swimming included the construction of a giant basin to capture excess rainwater and keep wastewater from flowing in, renovating sewer infrastructure and upgrading wastewater treatment plants.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo very publicly took a swim in the river two weeks ago, along with Paris 2024 chief Tony Estanguet. Data released last week show that E. coli levels at the Bras Marie were at 985 units per 100 milliliters that day, slightly above the established threshold.

The men’s triathlon is now scheduled to start at 10:45 a.m. Wednesday, which may make heat more of a factor with the event finishing at the hottest part of the day. World Triathlon is planning to provide ice and water stations along the course for the athletes. The women’s race is set to go forward at 8 a.m. as originally planned.

If the river isn’t safe for swimming after delays, that part of the race would be scrapped and only the cycling and running portions would go forward. That happened last year at the European Championships when the triathlon format was switched because of water quality issues.

“It’s just another situation of the competition,” said World Triathlon president Marisol Casado, pushing back against the idea that a switch would be unfair to triathletes who excel in the water.

Other swimming events planned in the Seine are the triathlon mixed relay on Monday and the women’s and men’s marathon swimming events on Aug. 8 and Aug. 9. Marathon swimming could be relocated, if needed, to the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium in the greater Paris region, which already hosts rowing and canoeing competitions and can accommodate up to 15,000 spectators.

But it’s a logistical challenge for triathlon to switch swimming locations given that routes are already set up for cycling and running.

“We are sympathetic,” Merle said. “Let’s see how it goes.”

AP writers Barbara Surk in Nice and Devna Bose in Jackson, Mississippi, contributed.

​ Orange County Register 

Kei Coffee House opens in Westminster this week

• July 30, 2024

Kei Concepts, the team behind the Vox Kitchen and Sup Noodle Bar, will debut the latest brick-and-mortar space inside its extensive portfolio. Kei Coffee House, a cafe specializing in coffee drinks, matcha, baked goods and hot fare, will softly opening on Wednesday, July 31 in Westminster.

Featuring beans by Long Beach-based Common Room Roasters, the coffee menu will feature such tried-and-true staples as Americanos, cappuccinos, cold brews, as well as more inventive beverages like a banana toffee latte, a sweet corn latte, a coconut cold brew and a honeydew melon espresso tonic. Other libations include a matcha latte with both oat and condensed milks, a strawberry matcha latte with strawberry puree and an orange matcha tonic tinged with fresh orange jam.

SEE ALSO: In-N-Out Burger opens in Orange

Heartier fare include cookies (corn cheese, chocolate chip, white chocolate chip macadamia, cranberry oat); beef pate chaud; butter or almond croissants; egg bites with cheese, Chinese sausage and chives; waffle fries; popcorn chicken and even a kids meal box loaded with chicken nuggets, waffle fries and an apple juice box.

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Kei Coffee House will also offer two pasta dishes for $10 a pop: a sweet Bolognese spaghetti and a mushroom cream spaghetti made with vegan cream sauce and truffle oil.

The new coffee house moves into the former Cali Veggie Restaurant space with an entirely new remodel that includes a towering sign reading, “Start your say with intention.”

In addition to this week’s opening, Kei Concepts, according to its website, has plans to open a slew of new spots in the future, including the Sugarcane Press, a juice joint, and Sea, a Sino-Vietnamese seafood eatery.

Find it: 15691 Brookhurst Street, Westminster

​ Orange County Register