Am I liable for a slip and fall at a bowling alley? Ask the lawyer

• September 24, 2024

Q: We had a birthday party for our 12-year-old son. One of the kids slipped and fell while bowling, and wound up with a broken arm. We checked, and the approach did have a  greasy substance on it. The parents are angry. Do they have a claim against the bowling alley or against us?

D.R., Inglewood

Ron Sokol

A: The owner of the bowling alley has a legal duty to exercise ordinary care in the maintenance and management of the premises to avoid exposing persons to an unreasonable risk of harm. So, how did the greasy substance get there? Should the owner have known about it and removed it?  Was it, instead, obvious and someone else there (perhaps a parent) should have dealt with it, or the youngster could have avoided it?

Businesses, such as grocery markets, typically have what is a called a “sweep.” This is an inspection made of the aisles, floors, surrounding shelves and containers at reasonable time intervals. Did the owner do so? At this juncture, it is not possible to opine if the bowling alley is liable until you can gather more of the facts.

As to you being at fault, a question arises about the level of supervision of the kids at the party. A bowling party is not quite a swimming pool, so you may not have a “lifeguard” on hand; however, did one of the kids spill something that resulted in the slippery surface? Can you say you were vigilant, keeping a careful eye on things, and that no one noticed anything too risky? Here again, without knowing more, it is not possible to opine on whether there may be a valid claim against you.

If a claim does come forward, or you become aware that a formal claim is going to be brought against you, consult with a qualified attorney, including to assess if you have coverage through your homeowners policy, and/or if you have a claim in turn against the bowling alley. If you are concerned enough at this point, consult with the lawyer now.

Q: What does a premises expert look for in a slip and fall case?

H.O., Marina Del Rey

A: Often it is essential to have a premises expert conduct an inspection of the area where the slip and fall occurred. Alterations may be made to the site, or the location may be modified. Thus, it can be very important to have the inspection done promptly after the incident, and to seek out (or demand preservation of) any video of the incident.

The expert may photograph or video the site. In addition, he or she may take measurements; may test the soil or ground; and may determine incline, grade and quality of materials. Bottom line, the expert is going to seek to carefully assess information about what happened, how it happened, and be in position to opine if the slip and fall occurred as a result of a defect or dangerous condition. Part of the evaluation may also determine if an ordinance, code provision, rule, custom or law was violated with regard to the condition of the premises.

Q: Are slip and fall cases handled on an hourly or contingency basis?

P.D., Orange

A: In my experience, slip and fall cases are handled on a contingency basis (in other words, the lawyer receives a percentage from any recovery). The percentage that the lawyer charges should be negotiable. Discuss also with the attorney who is going to pay out of pocket costs, and how much might be spent.

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 

Trump will attend Al Smith charity dinner that Harris is skipping to campaign in battleground state

• September 24, 2024

By MEG KINNARD

Donald Trump confirmed Monday that he would be the sole featured speaker at this year’s Al Smith charity dinner in New York, typically a good-humored and bipartisan political event that Vice President Kamala Harris said she is skipping in favor of battleground state campaigning.

The former president and current Republican presidential nominee confirmed in a Truth Social post on Monday that he would speak at the Oct. 17 dinner, calling it “sad, but not surprising” that Harris had opted not to attend.

The gala benefiting Catholic Charities traditionally has been used to promote collegiality, with presidential candidates from both parties appearing on the same night and trading barbs. But on Saturday, Harris’ campaign said the Democratic nominee would not go to the event, breaking with presidential tradition so she could campaign instead in a battleground state less than three weeks before Election Day.

Harris’ team wants her to spend as much time as possible in the battleground states that will decide the election rather than in heavily Democratic New York, a campaign official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss campaign plans and confirming a decision first reported by CNN. Her team told organizers that she would be willing to attend as president if she’s elected, the official said.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who plays a prominent role in the dinner, has been highly critical of Democrats, writing a 2018 Wall Street Journal op-ed that carried the headline, “The Democrats Abandon Catholics.” In his Truth Social post, Trump said Harris “certainly hasn’t been very nice” to Catholics, saying that Catholic voters who support her “should have their head examined.”

A Harris campaign official said Catholics for Harris-Walz is working to register people to vote and get involved in outreach across the country. Trump’s post stems in part from 2018 questions that then-Sen. Harris posed to a federal judicial nominee about his membership in the Knights of Columbus, a lay Catholic fraternal organization. Harris asked the nominee if he agreed with the anti-abortion views of the group’s leader, views that broadly align with the church’s stance.

The Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner is named for the former New York governor, a Democrat and the first Roman Catholic to be nominated for president by a major party. He was handily defeated by Herbert Hoover in 1928. The dinner raises millions of dollars for Catholic charities and has traditionally shown that those vying to lead the nation can get along, or pretend to, for one night.

It’s become a tradition for presidential candidates ever since Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy appeared together in 1960. In 1996, the Archdiocese of New York decided not to invite then-President Bill Clinton and his Republican challenger, Bob Dole, reportedly because Clinton vetoed a late-term abortion ban.

Trump and Joe Biden, who is Catholic, both spoke at the fundraiser in 2020 when it was moved online because of COVID-19. Amid the pandemic and economic woes, there was no joking, and both candidates instead used their speeches to appeal to Catholic voters.

Both Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton attended in 2016. Trump was booed after calling Clinton corrupt and claiming she hated Catholics.

___

Meg Kinnard reported from Chapin, South Carolina, and can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP

​ Orange County Register 

Severe obesity is on the rise in the US

• September 24, 2024

By JONEL ALECCIA

Obesity is high and holding steady in the U.S., but the proportion of those with severe obesity — especially women — has climbed since a decade ago, according to new government research.

The U.S. obesity rate is about 40%, according to a 2021-2023 survey of about 6,000 people. Nearly 1 in 10 of those surveyed reported severe obesity, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found. Women were nearly twice as likely as men to report severe obesity.

The overall obesity rate appeared to tick down vs. the 2017-2020 survey, but the change wasn’t considered statistically significant; the numbers are small enough that there’s mathematical chance they didn’t truly decline.

That means it’s too soon to know whether new treatments for obesity, including blockbuster weight-loss drugs such as Wegovy and Zepbound, can help ease the epidemic of the chronic disease linked to a host of health problems, according to Dr. Samuel Emmerich, the CDC public health officer who led the latest study.

“We simply can’t see down to that detailed level to prescription medication use and compare that to changes in obesity prevalence,” Emmerich said. “Hopefully that is something we can see in the future.”

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Most telling though, the results that show that the overall obesity rate in the U.S. has not changed significantly in a decade, even as the rate of severe obesity climbed from nearly 8% in the 2013-2014 survey to nearly 10% in the most recent one. Before that, obesity had increased rapidly in the U.S. since the 1990s, federal surveys showed.

Measures of obesity and severe obesity are determined according to body mass index, a calculation based on height and weight. People with a BMI of 30 are considered to have obesity; those with a BMI of 40 or higher have severe obesity. BMI is regarded as a flawed tool but remains widely used by doctors to screen for obesity.

“Seeing increases in severe obesity is even more alarming because that’s the level of obesity that’s most highly associated with some of the highest levels of cardiovascular disease and diabetes and lower quality of life,” said Solveig Cunningham, an Emory University global health professor who specializes in obesity.

Cunningham, who was not involved in the new study, said it’s not clear why rates of severe obesity are going up, or why they were higher among women. Factors could include the effects of hormones, the impact of childbearing or other causes that require further study, she said.

The new study also found that obesity rates varied by education. Almost 32% of people with a bachelor’s degree or higher reported having obesity, compared with about 45% of those with some college or a high school diploma or less.

The new report follows the release earlier this month of data from U.S. states and territories that showed that in 2023, the rate of obesity ranged widely by place, from a high of more than 41% of adults in West Virginia to a low of less than 24% of adults in Washington, D.C. Rates were highest in the Midwest and the South.

All U.S. states and territories posted obesity rates higher than 20%. In 23 states, more than 1 in 3 adults had obesity, the data showed. Before 2013, no state had a rate that high, said Dr. Alyson Goodman, who leads a CDC team focused on population health.

Color-coded U.S. maps tracking the change have gradually shifted from green and yellow, the hues associated with lower obesity rates, to orange and dark red, linked to higher prevalence.

“Sometimes, when you look at all that red, it’s really discouraging,” Goodman said.

But, she added, recent emphasis on understanding obesity as a metabolic disease and new interventions, such as the new class of weight-loss drugs, gives her hope.

The key is preventing obesity in the first place, starting in early childhood, Cunningham said. Even when people develop obesity, preventing additional weight gain should be the goal.

“It’s really hard to get obesity to reverse at the individual level and at the population level,” Cunningham said. “I guess it’s not surprising that we’re not seeing downward shifts in the prevalence of obesity.”

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

​ Orange County Register 

Retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre says he has Parkinson’s disease

• September 24, 2024

By MARY CLARE JALONICK

WASHINGTON — Retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, he told a congressional committee Tuesday.

Favre made the disclosure as part of his testimony about a welfare misspending scandal in Mississippi. Favre, who does not face criminal charges, has repaid just over $1 million in speaking fees funded by a welfare program in the state and was also an investor in a biotech company with ties to the case. The biotech firm has said it was developing concussion treatments.

The former football star told the committee that he lost his investment in the company “that I believed was developing a breakthrough concussion drug I thought would help others.”

“As I’m sure you’ll understand, while it’s too late for me — I’ve recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s — this is also a cause dear to my heart,” Favre said.

What causes Parkinson’s disease is unknown, and it is unclear if Favre’s disease is connected to his football career or head injuries. He said in 2022 that he estimates he experienced “thousands” of concussions in his two decades in the NFL.

Favre appeared at the Republican-led House Ways and Means Committee hearing to advocate reform of the federal welfare system to better prevent fraud.

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“The challenges my family and I have faced over the last three years—because certain government officials in Mississippi failed to protect federal TANF funds from fraud and abuse, and are unjustifiably trying to blame me, those challenges have hurt my good name and are worse than anything I faced in football,” Favre said.

House Republicans have said a Mississippi welfare misspending scandal involving Favre and others points to the need for an overhaul in the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.

Favre has said he didn’t know the payments he received came from welfare funds and has noted his charity had provided millions of dollars to poor kids in his home state of Mississippi and in Wisconsin, where he played most of his career with the Green Bay Packers.

​ Orange County Register 

Several states are making late changes to election rules, even as voting is set to begin

• September 24, 2024

By ALI SWENSON

In Georgia, election workers will have to hand count the number of ballots cast after voting is completed. In North Carolina, some students and university staff can use their digital IDs to vote. In Wisconsin, ballot drop boxes are newly legal again, although not every voting jurisdiction will use them.

Across the country, including in some of the nation’s presidential swing states, new or recently altered state laws are changing how Americans will vote, tally ballots, and administer and certify November’s election.

It can be a challenge to keep track of these 11th-hour changes, especially since state election processes already vary so widely. Even more changes are looming in some states, with Election Day on Nov. 5 now just weeks away. Several states already have started sending out mail ballots, and in some states, voters have begun casting ballots in person.

“Last-minute changes to election rules — whether from a state legislature, an election authority or a court — can lead to confusion for voters and election officials,” Megan Bellamy, vice president of law and policy for the Voting Rights Lab, said in an email response. “Election season is underway. Lawmakers, administrative bodies and courts must recognize that.”

Here’s a look at some of the election processes that are new or have been recently modified.

New hand-counting requirements

Georgia and Arizona will both require election workers to hand-count ballots at polling sites on Election Day. Election officials say it could delay the reporting of results.

The Georgia State Election Board passed its new rule on Friday. It requires that the number of ballots — not the number of votes — be counted by hand at each polling place by three separate poll workers until all three counts are the same.

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Georgia voters make selections on touch-screen voting machines that print out paper ballots. Those ballots include a list of the selections so voters can verify their accuracy and a QR code that is read by a scanner to tally the votes.

Proponents say the new hand-count rule is needed to make sure the number of paper ballots matches the electronic tallies on scanners, check-in computers and voting machines. The three workers will have to count the ballots in piles of 50, and the poll manager needs to explain and fix, if possible, any discrepancies, as well as document them.

The rule goes against the advice of the state attorney general’s office, the secretary of state’s office and an association of county election officials. Critics worry it could delay the reporting of election night results, undermining public confidence in the process.

A similar change to state law this year in Arizona is also likely to cause delayed results in the swing state this fall. It requires counties to hand count ballot envelopes that are dropped off at polling centers on Election Day before the ballots are tabulated.

After the July primary, Maricopa County Elections spokesperson Jennifer Liewer said the new step resulted in a roughly 30-minute delay in reporting the county’s results, and said the impact could be greater in the general election “if we have hundreds of thousands of ballots dropped off.”

Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, estimates between 625,000 and 730,000 voters will drop off their ballots on Nov. 5.

JP Martin, a spokesperson for Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat, said in an email that the ballot counting mandate will “require considerable time, particularly since poll workers have already completed a 12-15-hour shift.”

Changes for early and mailed ballots

Chaos and disinformation about mail-in ballots and drop boxes have prompted partisan disagreements — and new rules — in several states over how these accessible voting methods should be used.

In Wisconsin, the then-conservative majority state Supreme Court outlawed drop boxes in 2022. But a new liberal majority on the court made them legal again in July. Some communities opened them for the state’s August primary, but more will be in use for November.

Their use in Wisconsin is voluntary and some conservative towns have opted against using drop boxes, citing security concerns. The state’s two most heavily Democratic cities, Milwaukee and Madison, used them in August and will again in November.

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, a Republican, issued a directive to county election boards in August that said only a voter can drop their personal ballot in a drop box. Anyone who assists someone else must return that ballot inside the county board office and complete an attestation form.

In Pennsylvania, a court battle is pending at the state Supreme Court that could decide whether counties must count provisional ballots cast by voters whose mail-in ballots were rejected for relatively minor mistakes, such as not inserting the ballot into an inner secrecy envelope. Practices vary by county and state law is silent on it. Republicans have argued that nothing in state law explicitly allows a voter to cast a provisional ballot in place of a rejected mail-in ballot.

Separately, the Pennsylvania state Supreme Court earlier this month threw out a case on a technicality after a lower court had ruled that rejecting mail-in ballots for “meaningless and inconsequential paperwork errors” — such as a missing handwritten date — violates the constitutional right to vote. As a result, counties are expected to continue the practice of disqualifying those ballots. Some counties — primarily Democratic ones — strive to help voters fix those errors or cast a provisional ballot instead.

This is the first presidential election since Florida’s Republican-controlled Legislature made a series of changes to mail balloting in 2021. While those aren’t recent changes, their impact could be significant this year in a state that traditionally has had robust interest in voting by mail. One change makes a voter’s request for a mail ballot valid only for the next general election, rather than two general election cycles, meaning voters will have to reapply. Requesting a mail ballot also now requires a driver’s license number, state ID number or last four digits of a Social Security number.

Verifying a voter’s identity

In North Carolina, the State Board of Elections last month voted that students and staff at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill could show digital identifications on their smartphones to qualify to vote under the state’s recently implemented photo voter ID law.

It marked the first such digital ID the board has approved. Republican groups sued, contending that state law only allows physical cards.

A trial judge last week refused to block its use. Republicans have since filed an appeal notice. Only mobile IDs issued by UNC-Chapel Hill on Apple phones have been approved for use.

In Arkansas, a federal appeals court decision last week reinstated a rule that bans electronic signatures for voter registration. The state Board of Election Commissioners approved the rule in April, saying the state’s constitution allows only certain agencies, and not elections officials, to accept electronic signatures. Under the rule, voters will have to register by signing their name with a pen.

It was adopted after nonprofit group Get Loud Arkansas helped register voters using electronic signatures. The board said the rule was needed to create uniformity across the state.

The board’s director asked county clerks to identify any registration documents submitted using electronic signatures after the appeals court decision and make every effort to contact the voters as soon as possible to give them the chance to correct their application.

After the votes are in

Election administration doesn’t stop when the polls close, and a few states will have new processes in the post-election period.

The same Georgia election board that ordered counties to hand count the number of paper ballots had just weeks earlier passed new rules related to certification of the vote. One change provides for a “reasonable inquiry” before county election officials certify results, without defining what that means. Another allows county election officials “to examine all election-related documentation created during the conduct of elections.”

Democrats have sued to block the new rules, saying they could be used by local officials who want to refuse certification if they don’t like the election results.

In New Hampshire, Gov. Chris Sununu signed legislation in July that establishes postelection audits. It took effect in time for New Hampshire’s late state primary on Sept. 10 and will apply to general elections.

The audits allow the secretary of state’s office to check that electronic vote-counting equipment functioned properly. Ten polling locations were chosen at random.

The audit of electronic ballot counting devices was determined successful by the appointed audit team, with all results within expected margins.

In Nebraska, former President Donald Trump’s allies were pushing for the state to change how it allocates electoral votes to prevent Vice President Kamala Harris from potentially claiming one of them by carrying the state’s congressional district for the Omaha area. But that effort appears doomed because a Republican state senator said he wouldn’t support it, denying backers the two-thirds majority they would need to get it through the Legislature and into law before the Nov. 5 election.

“After deep consideration, it is clear to me that right now, 43 days from Election Day, is not the moment to make this change,” state Sen. Mike McDonnell of Omaha said Monday.

Maine is the only other state that allocates Electoral College votes by congressional district.

Associated Press statehouse reporters across the country contributed to this report.

The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP’s democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

​ Orange County Register 

Not a scam: VA texting veterans to encourage them to apply for earned benefits

• September 24, 2024

This story — a somewhat personal one — starts as many do nowadays, with an unsolicited text message from an unknown number.

If you’re anything like me, then you would probably react much as I did when the text from “468311” came in early one morning last week.

“Afghanistan Veteran: You’re likely eligible for VA monthly compensation. Visit VA.gov/PACT or call 1-800-698-2411 & press 8, then 2,” the message read, the number and website hyperlinked.

You couldn’t pay me to respond to that text message or click that link address and phone number, let alone trick me with a promise or “compensation.” I may have once been credulous enough to commit the most well known of the “classic blunders” by voluntarily involving myself in a land war in Asia, but I wasn’t going to be fooled by a phisher, a smisher, a spoofer, or whatever else these con artists are currently called.

Not today, scammers, I thought to myself, mentally adding the sort of expletives reasonably expected from a former sergeant of military police.

The number looked familiar, though. It looked an awful lot like the actual number for the Department of Veterans Affairs. As any modern-day journalist might, I turned to the Google for answers.

That number was the VA’s. The website, too. I’d certainly served in Afghanistan. I’ve written about the PACT Act — the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022 — I knew that was real.

It’s a fairly well-researched con, then, I told myself.

Without clicking the certain-to-be scam text message, I called the Department of Veterans Affairs directly. If someone was trying to cheat veterans they would probably want to know.

“Is this a scam?” I asked.

“That is not a scam,” the actual human who answered the phone at the VA said. He couldn’t see my visible confusion.

Genuinely surprised — I may have even scoffed — I countered with something along the lines of “you’re telling me the VA is actually reaching out to veterans to encourage them to sign up for disability benefits?”

I’d been a VFW post officer. I’d heard the war stories, and not the ones about the battlefields, but against the government bureaucrat-boogeymen who seemed intent on standing in the way of earned post-service services. It couldn’t be true.

“Yes, we are,” the VA employee said.

I didn’t want to get that guy in trouble for talking to me — not for talking to a veteran, that’s literally his job, but to a journalist, which most government employees aren’t allowed. I reached out to his bosses.

According to the Biden Administration’s Assistant Secretary at the Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs, Adam Farina, the text message is part of a new “paradigm shift at VA” pushed by President Joe Biden and VA Secretary Denis McDonough.

“We have been given one mandate: inform veterans of the benefits available to them and get them in the door for services,” he told me. “It’s an all-hands-on-deck outreach effort. The first in VA history, and certainly the largest in VA history, to get veterans to come to us.”

The text I’d received wasn’t the first the Department had sent. The veterans of Vietnam, whose exposure to Agent Orange is now presumed under the PACT Act, were contacted to apply for benefits in July. Those who served in Desert Storm were contacted after that. Afghanistan veterans are being contacted now, with Iraq War vets to follow.

So far, 3 million veterans have received such a text message, Farina said, with more to come.

“All of those efforts are targeted at veterans who are not currently receiving care or compensation at VA,” Farina said. “We want them to come to VA for the care and benefits they deserve.”

The VA has also hosted more than 800 live outreach events since March (including one at Gillette Stadium), and launched a national advertising campaign titled “What You Earned,” which aims to make veterans familiar with tangible VA benefits like low- or no-cost healthcare, no-money-down mortgages, and no-cost memorial and burial services.

The outreach is working, Farina said. More than 410,000 Veterans have enrolled for VA care over the last year, the largest enrollment jump since 2017. Since the PACT Act was signed into law in 2022, he said, nearly three-quarters of a million Veterans have enrolled in VA health care, a more than 33% increase compared to a similar period from before the legislation was signed.

The VA has received 4.4 million claims for compensation in the last two years alone, and 1.7 million of those fall under the PACT acts “presumed conditions” list, which makes it easier for veterans to tie their injuries to their service.

“The reason for this is we have found that veterans who come to VA do better,” Farina said. “We want them to come to VA, and that mandate has permeated through the Department, and we are just crushing the records.”

Right now, Farina said, more veterans are receiving disability benefits and care through the VA than ever before. This fiscal year alone, VA has awarded $137 billion in benefits to more than 6.7 million veterans.

Except for, of course, this procrastination-prone former noncommissioned officer, or I wouldn’t have gotten that text message.

I’ll have to get on top of that. If you got or get that text message, well, you probably should too. It really isn’t a scam (this time).

This is the message VA is sending to veterans to encourage them to sign up. It’s not a texting scam, but an outreach effort from VA. (screen capture from Herald Reporter Matthew Medsger’s cell phone)
The US Department of Veterans Affairs building is seen in Washington, DC, on July 22, 2019. (Alastair Pike/AFP via Getty Images/TNS)

​ Orange County Register 

4-year-old horse dies in training injury at Santa Anita

• September 24, 2024

A 4-year-old colt with one career race has died after suffering a training injury at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, track officials confirmed.

“Ransom Call sustained an injury following a workout Sunday morning at Santa Anita Park and was immediately attended to by an expert team of on-site veterinarians. Given the severity of the injury, surgical repair was not an option, and the veterinary team recommended humane euthanasia,” Amy Zimmerman, Santa Anita’s senior vice president and executive producer, said in a statement provided to City News Service.

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” … As is protocol, the horse will undergo a necropsy overseen by the University of California (Davis) School of Veterinary Medicine and the findings reported to the California Horse Racing Board,” she added.

Ransom Call was owned by Henie Racing and trained by Cesar DeAlba. His jockey was Diego Herrera. He is the 10th horse to die from a racing or training injury at Santa Anita in 2024.

Racing returns to the Arcadia track this Friday after the most recent season concluded in June.

​ Orange County Register 

7 best things I ate at Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights

• September 24, 2024

The bloodthirsty and carnivorous menu at this year’s Halloween Horror Nights answers the question of what would happen if you let Leatherface, Chucky and the Ghostbusters kids run wild in the kitchen on one dark and eerie night.

Universal Studios Hollywood’s Executive Chef Julia Thrash hosted the media last week for a sampling of the 30-plus food and drink items at this year’s Halloween Horror Nights inspired by “Ghostbusters,” “A Quiet Place,” “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and other frightening film franchises.

“The big thing this year is we really wanted to make sure that we tied everything back into the mazes,” Thrash said during an interview at Universal Studios Hollywood. “If you look at all of the food, there’s something that ties directly back to either what you’re seeing in the maze or directly back to the film that it’s representing.”

ALSO SEE: 8 Universal Horror Nights haunted houses ranked from best to worst

Universal Studios Hollywood’s Executive Chef Julia Thrash. (Photo by Brady MacDonald/Orange County Register/SCNG)

Halloween Horror Nights 2024 features eight new haunted mazes along with four scare zones and the Terror Tram on select nights through Nov. 3 at Universal Studios Hollywood.

What should you eat and drink at this year’s Horror Nights? Let’s take a closer look at the seven best things on the menu.

The Mini Stay-Puft S’more available during Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood. (Photo by Brady MacDonald/Orange County Register/SCNG)

1) Mini Stay-Puft S’more

Marshmallow man, Hershey’s chocolate bar and graham cracker. Available at Studio Scoop on the Lower Lot.

The Stay-Puft S’more has easily been the most talked about food item at Halloween Horror Nights. The carmel-colored blow torched finish only added to the irresistibility of this delectable dessert.

“He is super popular,” Thrash said. “He’s super cute also.”

If you’re only going to get one thing to eat at Horror Nights, then this is it.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking you’ll get one up on the Upper Lot — because you will be sadly mistaken. This little fella is only available on the Lower Lot.

But how did it taste?

The Stay-Puft S’more not only looked great, but it also tasted ridiculously good. Squishy on the top with tons of chocolatey goodness in the middle and a graham crust finish on the bottom.

It was fun to bite off his little marshmallow leg — and very hard to not end up covered in stickiness. Which is part of the experience, of course.

Universal has thousands of the Stay-Puft marshmallow molds to keep up with demand, according to Thrash.

“We went through several trials of making a mold,” Thrash said. “We finally got a mold that we like.”

ALSO SEE: 7 best things I ate at Knott’s Scary Farm

Franklin’s BBQ Ribs available during Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood. (Photo by Brady MacDonald/Orange County Register/SCNG)

2) Franklin’s BBQ Ribs

Pork ribs with Coca-Cola barbecue sauce served with a side of potato salad and barbecue baked beans. Available at Leatherface BBQ located on the Lower Lot.

The perfectly cooked ribs were moist, juicy, saucy and pull-from-the-bone tender. I liked dipping the potato salad in the little bowl of baked beans. There was an adorable fondant butcher knife stuck to the side of one rib that was the ideal sugar chaser.

The five ribs made for a full meal or just the right amount to share with a friend if you’d prefer to keep grazing throughout the night.

The backstory created for the Horror Nights food can get gross pretty quickly the more you think about it.

“They’re actually Franklin’s barbecue ribs,” Thrash said. “So if you remember in the movies, Franklin’s one of the first ones that dies. So it’s actually his ribs that we’re eating. Let’s make it as gross as possible.”

ALSO SEE: Will Leatherface terrorize Knott’s, Six Flags or Universal in 2025?

The Wooden Board Eclair available during Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood. (Photo by Brady MacDonald/Orange County Register/SCNG)

3) Wooden Board Eclair

Dark chocolate mousse filled eclair dripped in chocolate ganache with a cocoa-covered nail. Available at City Snacks featuring “A Quiet Place” located on the Upper Lot.

I love chocolate and this eclair was chocolate overload — in a good way. Even the rusty nail driven into the pastry and dripping blood was dusted in chocolate.

“In the first movie, if you remember where she is pregnant and running down the stairs and ends up stepping on a rusty nail,” Thrash said. “This is that rusty nail.”

I couldn’t put the eclair down. And neither should you. Because somebody might ask for a bite.

In theory, you could share this eclair with someone you love, but it might lead to bad blood. Tell them to get their own — in a firm but loving way.

ALSO SEE: Best 5 things I ate at Six Flags Fright Fest

Pam’s Brisket Sandwich available during Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood. (Photo by Brady MacDonald/Orange County Register/SCNG)

4) Pam’s Brisket Sandwich

Smoked brisket sandwich with Coca-Cola barbecue sauce and creamy coleslaw served with a side of potato salad and barbecue baked beans. Available at Leatherface BBQ located on the Lower Lot.

The delicate and savory brisket soaked nicely into the cushiony bun while the slaw added a bit of crunch to every bite.

I ate the whole thing and wanted more — which is always a good sign.

“Leatherface is actually using body parts to make the sandwiches,” Thrash said. “So in this case, we’re eating Pam’s brisket.”

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The Saw Blade Flatbread available during Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood. (Photo by Brady MacDonald/Orange County Register/SCNG)

5) Saw Blade Flatbread

Braised short rib, mozzarella cheese, mushrooms, spicy tomato sauce and ranch drizzle on pita bread. Available at The Weeknd: Nightmare Trilogy Bar on the Lower Lot near Jurassic World — The Ride.

Let’s be honest here: The big selling point is the razor sharp saw blade crust. It looked cool on the plate and in my hand. And will look even better in Instagram feeds.

The shredded short rib on top was a little dry — but to be fair it had been sitting under a heat lamp for awhile.

The flatbread pizza was inspired by The Weeknd: Nightmare Trilogy haunted house.

“There’s a whole scene where there are people being cut in half,” Thrash said. “If you actually look very closely at the pita saw blade, there’s one side that is dark red. It’s just a spicy tomato sauce.”

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Dia de los Muertos Esquites available during Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood. (Photo by Brady MacDonald/Orange County Register/SCNG)

6) Dia de los Muertos Esquites

Corn off the cob topped with grated cotija cheese, cilantro and tajin. Available at Dia de los Muertos located in Universal Plaza.

The sliced corn kernels were sweet, juicy and the ideal accompaniment to anything on the menu at the Mexican-inspired Day of the Dead food stand. I couldn’t stop scooping up the side dish.

The Esquites would go good with the Beef Birria Tacos and a Horror-Chata cocktail.

“It’s a traditional dish that we are actually doing slightly different for Dia de los Muertos,” Thrash said.

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The Friend Till the End cocktail available during Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood. (Photo by Brady MacDonald/Orange County Register/SCNG)

7) Friend Till the End

Tequila, lemon-lime soda, blue curacao, lime juice and orange popping pearls with an orange sugar rim and a rainbow pop. Available at Chucky’s Die Bar located behind the Animation Studio Store on the Upper Lot.

The refreshing cocktail wasn’t overly sweet — which is always a problem with theme park beverages. The orange sugar rim added just the right amount of sweetness — and was optional when you already had enough of a pucker.

The fun part was dipping the spiral lollipop in the cocktail and licking the liquor off it.

“We ended up doing the lollipop on the side so you can actually stir it in to create your sweetness,” Thrash said. “The orange popping bubbles tie back into Chucky’s color scheme.”

​ Orange County Register