Work on popular OC freeway ramp about to be completed

• July 5, 2024

Q. Dear Honk: Could you explain what they are doing with the transition road from the southbound 55 Freeway onto the 73? What was once a smooth, seemingly good road was taken from two lanes to one a long time ago. Workers are clearly undergoing some major project there, and it is now a traffic pinch point. Rarely do you see active work in process. What is the goal of this project? Will it return to two lanes? When do they anticipate completion?

– Cindy Talbott, Newport Beach

A. To some in Honkland that ramp is as popular as a Piccolo Pete.

Readers have asked about the project for years, and Honk finally brings good tidings:

“The project is expected to be completed by the end of August,” Caltrans spokesman Nathan Abler said in an email. “Once the project is completed, both lanes of the connector will be open.”

Work began on it in late 2021, with a target completion date of late last year.

“Caltrans is replacing the steel outside barrier with a concrete barrier, bringing the connector to current safety standards,” Abler said.

But trouble brewed.

In February 2023, Caltrans wasn’t happy with a contractor’s work and gave it the heave-ho and then had to go through the process of hiring another one.

Much of the work has been done at night.

“Upon completion, the project (calls) for the roadway to provide a smooth driving experience,” said Sheilah Fortenberry, a Caltrans spokeswoman.

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HONKIN’ UPDATE: Go, residents of Honkland, go!

Some electronic message boards have been changed along the 405 Express Lanes in Orange County after Honk readers raised issues about them in the ol’ column.

Destinations are listed on the overhead signs telling drivers how much it costs to exit at certain points.

Huntington Beach’s Vic Leipzig noticed that if motorists left the northbound tollway for the 405 Freeway at the “Magnolia” exit, they bypassed the 405’s off-ramp for Magnolia Street.

So “Magnolia” on signs was recently changed to “Beach Blvd.”

Also going northbound, signs referred to “I-405” as a destination – but what did that mean?

Drivers were already on the 405 Express Lanes, in the median of the 405 Freeway, for goodness sakes. Honk reader Mike Wick of Lake Forest pointed this out.

“I-405” was supposed to tell motorists that is where the express lanes ended and they spilled out back onto the freeway itself.

It now says “Palo Verde,” referring to the next freeway off-ramp one could take after the express lanes drivers end up on the freeway.

“We heard from Honk readers, we heard from others, that these signs (to some) didn’t make sense,” said Joel Zlotnik, a spokesman for the Orange County Transportation Authority, which runs the 405 Express Lanes. “(So) we have changed a couple of the sign destinations.”

All along, he said, officials had expected tweaks would need to be made to the 405 Express Lanes after the tollway opened on Dec. 1.

To ask Honk questions, reach him at [email protected]. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk. Twitter: @OCRegisterHonk

​ Orange County Register 

Start now to defeat $20 billion in wasteful bonds advanced by the Legislature

• July 5, 2024

Last March 5, voters barely approved Proposition 1, the $6.4 billion homeless bond, 50.18% to 49.82%. Despite that, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature have now put two new bonds, totaling $20 billion, on the Nov. 5 ballot.

Proposition 2 is $10 billion in bonds to upgrade K-12 and community college facilities. Proposition 4 is another $10 billion in bonds to deal with “severe climate change-related events.” 

California’s financial shape isn’t good enough to support more statewide bonds. Only last week Newsom and the Legislature finished whittling down the state’s original $73 billion deficit for fiscal year 2024-25 – two weeks after the June 15 constitutional deadline to pass a budget. And on June 26 the governor declared a fiscal emergency, allowing state reserves to be tapped.

On the new bonds, the Legislative Analyst’s Office soon will produce a financial analysis. But matters have not changed much from its analysis earlier this year of Prop. 1, which found the cost to pay off the $6.4 billion bond over 30 years would be $310 million annually. Using the same math, the $20 billion for the new education and climate bonds would cost $937.5 million a year from the general fund. That means it would just make the current fiscal emergency worse. Over time, the bonds will waste billions of dollars that could’ve gone toward productive uses and instead go toward paying off bond interest.

On the education bond, the legislative Floor Report on the new state budget listed 2024-25 per pupil spending at $24,313 for all funds. For a class of 30, that’s $729,390. One class. Yet test scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress continue to be dismal. 

For example, for 4th graders in 2022, the last year available, just 30% ranked proficient or advanced. That was a drop from 34% in 2019. Much of that decline stemmed from the severe lockdowns Newsom and local schools mistakenly imposed during the 2020 COVID pandemic. It makes no sense to shovel more money to a system failing its students. No wonder in 2020 voters turned down Proposition 13, a similar school bond for $15 billion, with 53% voting against it. 

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As to the new climate bond, in 2018 voters approved Proposition 68, a more modest $4 billion bond for parks, environment and water projects, with 58% in favor. But that was a time when California had a governor in Jerry Brown who at least had some degree of fiscal sense. The same cannot be said for Gov. Gavin Newsom. 

A Public Policy Institute of California survey conducted May 23-June 2 found 64% thought it a “bad time” for new bonds. With inflation still digging in, especially for housing, it’s going to be tough sell to get voters to put themselves – and their children for the next 30 years – on the hook for payments of nearly $1 billion a year.

Putting these bonds on the Nov. 5 ballot shows the governor and Legislature continue the fiscal irresponsibility that has been their hallmark this decade. Californians must stop enabling the spending addictions of their irresponsible representatives in Sacramento. Vote No and No.

​ Orange County Register 

California needs to quicken efforts to replace the gas tax

• July 5, 2024

California’s highways and bridges need repair, maintenance and expansion, but the state’s gas tax revenue is falling and is projected to drop significantly. While the gas tax has been reliable for many decades, it is increasingly unsustainable and needs to be replaced.

Today’s cars and trucks use less fuel, which reduces the state’s gas tax revenue. Most internal combustion engine vehicles— still representing most vehicles on the road today— drive further on a gallon of gas. For example, today’s Toyota Camry is five gallons more fuel efficient than 20 years ago. Thus, a Camry owner who drives 12,000 miles a year pays $61 less in state fuel taxes.

California also has 1.2 million electric and hybrid vehicles, which is by far the largest in any state. Owners of these vehicles need to pay their proportional share to maintain the road system. Under California law, electric vehicles pay $100 yearly to use highways, while an equivalent internal combustion engine car pays about $300 a year. Thus, the shift to electric and hybrid vehicles results in a loss of about $200 million a year in state transportation revenue to maintain roads and bridges.

State law is set to ban new gasoline-powered vehicles from being sold by 2035. While the unrealistic law may be delayed, as electric and hybrid vehicles replace older vehicles, the state’s gas tax funding shortfall will only increase.

“Compared to 2023-24, by 2034-35, gasoline excise tax revenues decrease by $5 billion (64 percent), diesel excise tax revenues decrease by about $290 million (20 percent), and diesel sales tax revenues decrease by about $420 million (32 percent),” the Legislative Analyst’s Office projected last year.

To address the gas tax’s falling purchasing power, California policymakers passed Senate Bill 339 in 2021, authorizing a new road user charge pilot program. Unlike past pilot programs, drivers will pay charges for the miles they drive and be reimbursed for fuel taxes they pay.

With a road user charge, drivers pay based on the number of miles they drive. People who drive more pay more, and people who don’t drive don’t pay. This road user charge system is more equitable for those who don’t own vehicles than other potential infrastructure payment methods, like a highly regressive sales tax or the state budget’s general fund.

The road charge pilot program will select 800 people who will answer a survey to gauge their feelings towards road charges before the program. After participating in a six-month program and paying the charges, they’ll take a survey to see if their feelings have changed and what the state can learn and improve upon.

However, the pilot program’s design could be better. For a state the size of California, which, after losing residents for years, reportedly grew to 39 million residents last year, more than 800 participants are needed for a pilot program at this stage.

Further, California has already conducted six other studies on mileage-based user fees. With this pilot program, the state will have studied almost every aspect of road charging. California needs to join the five other states—Hawaii, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia—that have moved beyond studies and starting to implement permanent mileage-based user fee programs. More progress should be made in scaling up and implementing a permanent shift to replace gas taxes with road user charges.

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Transitioning from gas taxes will take time, and California can learn from other states’ experiences. Oregon has some of the strictest privacy laws, ensuring drivers’ personal data is protected from the government and other actors. Virginia has the most extensive pilot program and the best overall state model thus far.

Virginia’s Mileage Choice Program is a voluntary program open to drivers with vehicles that average 26 miles per gallon or higher. Electric and hybrid cars that don’t enroll pay the state’s highway use fee, averaging $200 to $300 a year. Fuel-efficient internal combustion engine vehicles not enrolled in the program also pay Virginia’s annual highway use fee. Most of those drivers found it cheaper to pay a road charge than the annual fees, so almost 20,000 people enrolled in the program, five times higher than any other state.

It’s time for California to be more forward-thinking in its road usage charge program by opening it up to more drivers and moving more quickly to a long-term replacement for gas taxes.

Baruch Feigenbaum is a senior managing director of transportation policy at Reason Foundation and author of the Annual Highway Report. 

​ Orange County Register 

Los Alamitos horse racing consensus picks for Friday, July 5, 2024

• July 5, 2024

The consensus box of Los Alamitos horse racing picks comes from handicappers Bob Mieszerski, Terry Turrell, Eddie Wilson and Kevin Modesti. Here are the picks for thoroughbred races on Friday, July 5, 2024.

Trouble viewing on mobile device? See consensus picks

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​ Orange County Register 

Swanson: LAFC still has the edge, but Galaxy’s gains make El Trafico more fun

• July 5, 2024

PASADENA – You’re supposed to throw the records out in a rivalry game like El Trafico, the consistently compelling grudge match between L.A.’s two Major League Soccer teams.

But why would you want to?

Not this meeting. Not this season. Not with sole possession of first place in the Western Conference at stake Thursday night at the Rose Bowl, where 70,076 fans celebrated the Fourth of July with a 2-1 victory over the L.A. Galaxy at their original place of play.

Hot dogs, burgers, apple pie and … soccer.

Do we do that here?

The U.S. Men’s National Team’s recent results might leave some doubt, but in L.A.? Yeah, we do.

Fireworks in the sky and flares in the stands. Football in the Rose Bowl; futbol in the Rose Bowl.

LAFC asserting its advantage, subduing a much-improved Galaxy team in a match that reflected where the sides stand in this battle for Los Angeles, both teams streaking, tied atop the Western Conference with 40 points and a conference-best 41 goals.

After a long, nearly decade long dormancy, the Galaxy finally are gaining again. But LAFC is on another level.

Although this was the first time the two sides ran into one another with so much momentum – the Galaxy rode in having won four consecutive games and six of its past seven.

LAFC came in unbeaten in a club-record 11 consecutive games, including nine in a row in league play.

And LAFC added a tally to both of those totals after former Leuzinger High School star Kei Kamara headed in the game’s first goal in the 39th minute, Denis Bouanga cashed in on a penalty kick five minutes later and the Black & Gold defense dominated and frustrated their “hosts,” who were stuck and stymied for all of the first half.

The second half was more like it. More like El Trafico, which in its 22 previous editions, had never featured fewer than two goals and altogether has averaged 4.3 per goals match.

Accordingly, Gabriel Pec (who scored in the 56th minute Thursday) and Riqui Puig and Miki Yamane launched a heartfelt if short-lived response in the second half before LAFC put the lid on the match.

The Black & Gold’s victory was the second against the Galaxy this season and served to avenge last season’s 2-1 July 4th loss at the Rose Bowl – which had been good for bragging rights but not much else. The Galaxy finished a turbulent season 13th out of 14 Western Conference teams, with a total of 36 points.

This year, it’s different.

This year, the Galaxy promoted Will dKuntz to general manager and he made the prudent decision to invest in a couple of dynamic young wingers, Pec and Joseph Paintsil, who have helped turn the team into something their fans can be proud of.

So, yeah: This year, these El Trafic collisions really mean something, in the stands and in the standings.

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“It’s frustrating to lose to your city rival, it doesn’t matter what side of it you’re on – but especially when you’re both competing to be at the top,” said Galaxy goalkeeper John McCarthy, who was on the losing side last season as a member of LAFC.

“It does change it a little bit,” LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo said. “Look, from the outside looking in is really difficult, but it looked to me as if the Galaxy players had something today to lose. They were not the underdogs today, and that is different, that’s a different burden.”

For both sides, the team trying hard not to lose ground in the standings and the team that had to fend off that inspired surge – on Thursday and quite possibly again in the postseason, when there’s even more on the line.

“I said it before, and I’ll say it again, there’s a huge possibility we could do something special,” McCarthy said. “It’s just game by game, moment by moment and really pushing. And LAFC … it’s a good team, and has been the last two seasons. And now they’re on a good little run again, if we meet them (in the playoffs) I hope we flip the tape on them. That’s how it goes sometimes.”

LAFC, of course, will be hard to flip. The MLS Cup champions in 2022, MLS Cup finalists last season and certainly the better team Thursday, they’re building a special case too – inserting themselves in the conversation as one of the all-time best MLS teams. And reinforcements are on the way yet, with French football legend Olivier Giroud set to join the team this summer.

We know for sure we’ll get one more regular-season between the sides, at Dignity Health Sports Park on Sept. 19 — when L.A.’s equally entertaining soccer teams’ all-time record against each other will be a fitting 9-9-5. Not that that matters, unless you’re a fan keeping track in the stands.

​ Orange County Register 

LAFC continues to produce strong defensive effort

• July 5, 2024

PASADENA — Defensive statistics aren’t the first things that come to mind when people discuss the offensively prolific Los Angeles Football Club.

Considering how many goals LAFC has scored since joining Major League Soccer in 2018, it would be unlikely to hear pundits and fans talk up “average shooting distance” from the Black & Gold opposition.

But they should.

With another strong performance on Saturday at the Rose Bowl, LAFC ran their club-record unbeaten streak in league play to 10.

Over that stretch, LAFC has stymied teams and refused to allow more than the odd chance inside the box, which is why they lead MLS with the farthest average shooting distance from opponents at 19.5 yards.

This trend continued during the 2-1 victory against the Galaxy, which dominated possession but failed to make much of their time on the ball outside of a scrambling finish in the 56th minute by Gabriel Pec directly in front of LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.

“It’s a team that has been really good of late attacking quite aggressively through the middle,” LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo said of his side’s ‘El Trafico’ rival. “Keeping their wingers sometimes narrow, Pec coming on the right had too much room and that gave them a little more effectiveness, I’d say, getting in the box.

“But we take pride in not letting teams in behind our back line and not really letting teams inside our box. That’s something we work on, we talk on, and if you’re not going to get in the box you’re not going to score. If you take a deep dive into statistics defensively we’ve been fantastic the last two months.”

LAFC effectively shut down the Galaxy for the first 45 minutes. When they went to the break ahead 2-0, the five-time MLS Cup champions had engineered a measly 0.11 xG with just a pair of shots from distance that didn’t bother Lloris.

“We had a good tactical plan today in terms of when we do come sit back a little bit we still put pressure on the ball so they don’t try to make entries into our final third, our 18,” LAFC center back Aaron Long said.

The Galaxy’s attempts to get in the game were repeatedly shut down by LAFC’s back line as well as the collective effort of the group.

“For me, seeing the collective now succeed and seeing them coach themselves and come up with solutions themselves, is particularly why I do this job,” Cherundolo said.

In the end, Galaxy managed to put just four of their 10 shots on target.

Outside of a short burst around the hour mark, they were unable to penetrate LAFC’s defensive posture.

“The first half there was a lot of possession going nowhere,” Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney said. “A lot of guys looking for the ball at their feet. No timing, no rhythm, no building speed, we didn’t get numbers up against them. Sometimes you have to build an attack off of the width, can’t always build through the middle and there was time in the first half, we didn’t get any of it right. Against a very good counter attacking team, it becomes a death by a thousand passes and they utilized those losses of possession to break out against us and put us a bit on our heels at times.”

The victors put their stamp on their second win over the Galaxy this season by limiting the dangerous trio of Riqui Puig, who put three of his six attempts on frame, Pec, whose only shot on goal got the Galaxy on the board, and a mostly quiet Joseph Paintsil.

The result “was a good day for our defense,” said fullback Sergi Palencia, whom Cherundolo described as brilliant while fireworks reverberated around the stadium once the match was over. “We were together. That this is one of our keys. We were successful today. We didn’t suffer too much, even if they are very good players.”

​ Orange County Register 

LAFC holds on for El Trafico win against Galaxy at the Rose Bowl

• July 5, 2024

PASADENA — It didn’t take long for the Los Angeles Football Club to provide the fireworks.

In a scoreless game, late in the first half, LAFC’s pressure ticked up, leading to a Kei Kamara goal off of a corner kick in the 40th minute and Denis Bouanga converted a penalty kick in the 44th for a two-goal halftime lead against the Galaxy at the Rose Bowl.

The Galaxy found some life in the second half. The Galaxy cut the deficit in half on Gabriel Pec’s goal in the 56th minute and had another good chance minutes later, but couldn’t convert and LAFC held on for a 2-1 win in front of 70,076 Thursday.

“We were purposeless in the first half,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said. “It was like we were going to win the game putting together 10,000 passes and going nowhere. We were down 2-0 because we deserved to be down 2-0. We had three shots in the first half, all of them from 25 yards away. I don’t how many touches we had inside of the box, not many, we had 6 or 7 guys in the build and 3-4 guys in the attack, that’s never going to hurt them.

“It was so passive. The second half, we got more numbers higher, people were sprinting ahead of the ball, we forced them to have to defend moving backward …the second half we put them on their heels. To me it was a proactive team with a purpose in the second half.”

The rivalry series has only produced three shutout games and never a scoreless draw. The win was the third consecutive for LAFC in the El Trafico series, increased their unbeaten streak on the season to 10 games and moves the club into sole possession of first place in the Western Conference (13-4-4, 43 points).

The loss snapped the Galaxy’s (11-4-7, 40 points four-game winning streak.

This was the second consecutive meeting between the city rivals at the Rose Bowl, home of the Galaxy from their start in 1996 until 2003. Last season, the Galaxy won 2-1 in front of 82,110.

This meeting had a little bit extra motivation. Both teams entered the game tied for first place in the Western Conference. This was also the first time in their brief, but loud rivalry that both teams have been at or near the top of the conference.

Riqui Puig had the first and only real opportunity for the Galaxy in the first half. Puig, who was back in the starting lineup, raced 75 yards from the defensive end and fired a shot from outside the 18 that Hugo Lloris was able to play out for a corner.

Aside from that, it was a quiet first half for the Galaxy as Paintsil, Pec and Joveljic were unable to put any real pressure on the LAFC defense.

On the other side, LAFC first real opportunity on goal came in the 14th minute, Eduard Atuesta’s shot from 20 yards hit the post. The chances started to come fluidly later in the half. Mateusz Bogusz forced Galaxy goalkeeper John McCarthy into action with a diving save.

In the 40th minute, Kamara cashed in the pressure as he rose up and banged in a header off of a corner kick. A couple of minutes later, Eduard Atuesta was fouled by Galaxy defender Julian Aude. Referee Drew Fischer went to the video monitor and ruled it was a penalty kick, which Bouanga converted for the 2-0 lead.

“I felt we were very good in the first half,” LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo said “We executed our game plan perfect. Second half, just lacking a little control in our transitions not to goal at the time and possess the ball a bit, take the sting out of the Galaxy.”

The teams will conclude their regular-season series Sept. 14 at Dignity Health Sports Park. LAFC won the first game this season 2-1, back on April 6.

“The first game for me was a little bit of an early trial an early test for us, we were a mishmash, Eddie (Cerrillo) was in the backline, we had two guys who were fresh to the club,” Vanney said. “This is one that’s a little bit of where you at? In the first half, we weren’t there, the second half we were there. The question is can we be there for 90 minutes?”

Both teams have a short turnaround for the weekend. LAFC will be on the road against the Houston Dynamo and the Galaxy will home against Minnesota United.

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​ Orange County Register 

Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw returns to mound in bullpen session

• July 5, 2024

LOS ANGELES – After a brief pause, Clayton Kershaw’s comeback is back on track.

Kershaw threw a 30-pitch bullpen session Thursday afternoon. It was his first time throwing off a mound since he experienced soreness in his shoulder following a three-inning rehab outing for Class-A Rancho Cucamonga on June 19.

Kershaw was shut down for a week and received a pain-killing injection to treat the soreness in his surgically repaired shoulder.

“Today was a good day. Health-wise, everything felt kind of like I hoped it would,” Kershaw said. “Next step is to get back out there and face some hitters at some point. I don’t really know how many pitches I’m going to throw the first time back out. But I don’t have to start from scratch, thankfully, which will be good.

“Hopefully I’ll have a smooth rest of the rehab.”

The first seven months of Kershaw’s recovery from November’s surgery did go smoothly and he was back on a mound in a game for Rancho Cucamonga with anticipation of a potential return to the Dodgers in July or August. Kershaw said he is optimistic the brief shutdown won’t affect that timetable much.

“Obviously when you’re in the moment it’s frustrating to have to stop your rehab and kind of take a step back,” Kershaw said. “Hopefully in the long run, it’ll be a good thing. Time will tell, I guess.”

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said seeing Kershaw back on the mound in his bullpen session made Thursday an “exciting day” and Kershaw could throw to hitters in a simulated-game setting as soon as Sunday with a return to a minor league rehab assignment to follow.

“I think it will be two or three outings,” Roberts said. “I just feel, even talking to Clayton, there wasn’t a whole long lay off. So the build-up, build-back shouldn’t be that bad. But two or three, I think is realistic.”

Kershaw acknowledged there were “no assurances, I guess” that he won’t experience soreness again as he tries to ramp up his effort level in rehab outings.

“I’m holding out hope (there won’t be any more setbacks),” Roberts said. “But I do think that Dr. ElAttrache did say there’s gonna be some things that he’s going to go through, some soreness. He got the shot, took the week off and from that point on, he’s had no soreness. The strength has been there. His body is moving well. So I think that for us, yeah, there can always be something that pops up. But right now, where we’re at today, really encouraged.”

BULLPEN PLANS

The Dodgers’ starting plans for Sunday’s final home game of the first half are undecided. It would be Bobby Miller’s spot in the rotation – on regular four days’ rest. But the Dodgers are continuing to give their starters extra days off between starts and Miller won’t start against the Brewers, Roberts said.

The Dodgers could go to a full bullpen game, call up a spot starter or use Ryan Yarbrough depending on how bullpen usage goes in the days before Sunday.

After using relievers to cover 10 innings in the first two games against the Diamondbacks, the Dodgers recalled left-hander Nick Ramirez from Triple-A and sent right-hander Michael Petersen back to Oklahoma City.

MUNCY STATUS

Injured third baseman Max Muncy increased his activity last week, traveling to San Francisco with the team and starting to test his injured oblique muscle by hitting off a tee and from coaches soft tossing.

But Muncy’s progress has been “slow, to be honest,” Roberts said.

“There’s still some soreness in the oblique,” Roberts said. “He has been swinging a little bit recently. I still think it’s a slow, slow process. So outside of giving a hard timeline, which I don’t think anyone knows, it’s going to be certainly well after the All-Star break, in my opinion.”

Muncy was moved to the 60-day injured list and will not be eligible to return until after the All-Star break.

ALSO

Roberts said right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto has been working with plyo balls and could start a throwing program by playing catch towards the end of next week. Yamamoto has been sidelined since June 15 with a strained rotator cuff.

UP NEXT

Brewers (RHP Aaron Civale, 2-6, 5.07 ERA) at Dodgers (RHP Tyler Glasnow, 8-5, 3.23 ERA), Friday, 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, MLB Network, 570 AM

​ Orange County Register