Hollywood’s A-listers are lining up behind Joe Biden. Will their support matter in November?

• June 13, 2024

By WILL WEISSERT (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON (AP) — When Robert De Niro showed up outside a Manhattan courthouse to decry Donald Trump as his New York hush money trial was winding down, it sparked a life-imitates-art screaming match with a nearby group of the former president’s supporters.

“You are gangsters!” De Niro, who starred in “Goodfellas” and won an Oscar for “The Godfather Part II,” shouted at the Trump backers, who responded with obscenities.

There are plenty more Hollywood storylines still to come in the 2024 campaign: Celebrities are increasingly lending their star power to President Joe Biden, hoping to energize their fans to vote for him in November and to entice donors to pony up for his reelection effort.

On Saturday, A-listers George Clooney and Julia Roberts will team up with former President Barack Obama at a Biden fundraiser in Los Angeles, where the three will be interviewed by late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel. Roberts and Kimmel have already begun soliciting donations via text for Biden, who is skipping a weekend peace conference on Ukraine being held in Switzerland to attend the event.

Director Steven Spielberg is involved in storytelling efforts for the Democratic National Convention in August. Lenny Kravitz, Barbra Streisand and James Taylor have all performed for Biden donors.

Others who’ve sent fundraising emails, organized events or otherwise lent their support include Connie Britton of “The White Lotus” fame, singer-songwriter Carole King, “Bridgerton” creator Shonda Rhimes, singer Christina Aguilera, “The Equalizer” actress Queen Latifah and “Star Wars” actor Mark Hamill, who turned up in the White House briefing room last month to personally praise the president.

And, in another instance blurring lines between real life and make-believe, during a fundraiser at the home of veteran actor Michael Douglas, Biden, the actual president, congratulated the star of the 1996 hit “The American President” on his fictional administration’s success.

Ballot box star power?

For all the celebrity supporters, though, there’s little expectation they can determine votes. Rather, they are seen as having the ability to inject excitement that helps energize supporters.

Lexi Underwood, whose credits include the streaming series “Little Fires Everywhere,” calls acting a “contact sport” that allows her to interact with the public and makes her determined to use her influence responsibly. She has participated in a recent virtual ”Students for Biden” event and traveled to Nevada to appear at campaign events focused on women’s health issues.

“I’m very fortunate to have certain eyes on me,” said Underwood, 20. “I feel really responsible to make sure that what I put out there, either people are being informed on things that they weren’t previously informed on, or that I’m motivating them to get out there and vote.”

Biden’s campaign says its chief focus is finding authentic and trusted messengers who can promote the president’s policy achievements and raise the alarm about GOP “extremism,” and that means deploying everyday supporters as well as famous ones. It has produced ads featuring a Pennsylvania union worker, a Black entrepreneur in Detroit and women adversely affected by strict abortion limits in Texas.

Fai Nelson, a human resources worker who attended a recent Vice President Kamala Harris event in Prince George’s County, Maryland, said celebrity voices can make a difference “if they can touch the audience.”

“It’s whether the message is relevant,” said Nelson, 42.

Lessons from last time

During the pandemic-era campaign of 2020, Biden’s campaign featured celebrities in scores of virtual events that showed the importance of staying flexible so that stars can present themselves in the most authentic ways.

Adrienne Elrod, who served as Biden’s 2020 director of surrogate strategy and operations, said famous Biden supporters often “will come forward with their own ideas” on how to help the campaign and what issues they’d like to focus on.

“We’ll oftentimes have ideas for them as well,” she said. “That’s why there’s always a very productive working relationship when we’re engaging these folks.”

De Niro has taken on an increasingly prominent role in Biden’s campaign. Before his confrontation with the Trump supporters, the actor held a press conference calling the former president a “clown.” He’s also attended Biden fundraisers and narrated a campaign ad accusing Trump of having “snapped” after he lost the 2020 election.

Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for the former president’s campaign, said, “The only people in America who support Joe Biden’s failing campaign are elitist Hollywood celebrities,” adding that Trump “speaks for the forgotten men and women of this country.”

Trump has his own list of celebrity endorsers, which includes musicians Kid Rock and Ted Nugent, UFC CEO Dana White, media personality Caitlyn Jenner and actors Dennis Quaid and Jon Voight, as well as comedian Roseanne Barr.

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Elrod said other stars are anxious to follow De Niro’s lead for Biden but are waiting “until the moment can truly be maximized” before they get involved. She pointed to 2020, when Bruce Springsteen narrated a Biden ad featuring his song “My Hometown” just before the election.

“I think you’ll see more moments like this, when we’re using those voices strategically and effectively at the time that makes the most sense for us on the campaign,” said Elrod, who is a Biden campaign spokesperson this cycle.

David Schmid, an English professor at the University of Buffalo who studies popular culture, said celebrities can influence fans’ aspirations and what they consume. But their influence “over peoples’ voting habits has been really exaggerated,” he said.

That’s the case for Alex Dillion, a rising sophomore at American University in Washington who also attended the Harris event in Maryland. Asked which famous person might influence him politically, Dillion offered, “Maybe Obama.”

Taylor Swift Effect?

Schmid said one celebrity with outsized political influence might be Taylor Swift, who sent shockwaves even through the NFL last season. She endorsed Biden in 2020 and is being openly courted by the campaign this time on social media, and even in a press release that saluted her latest album.

Her touch isn’t a guarantee of victory, though. In 2018, Swift endorsed two Democratic candidates in Tennessee who lost. And Schmid said that even someone as famous as Swift “knows things are polarizing and they don’t want to take major risks” on candidates and contentious issues.

For all the Biden team’s work with celebrities, the president still tries to cultivate the image of someone in tune with ordinary people.

During a campaign swing through Saginaw, Michigan, the president visited a public golf course and met with community activist Coleman Hurley III and his son.

“The celebrities that have everything they want and they need, they may possibly be out of touch,” the older Hurley said later in a phone interview.

As for ordinary Americans, Hurley added, Biden needs to be able to “relate and see where they live … and then have a conversation about some of the different struggles or issues that we, or other Americans, face.”

​ Orange County Register 

Vampire Weekend delivers a terrific set of hits and humor at the Hollywood Bowl

• June 13, 2024

Midway through Vampire Weekend‘s night at the Hollywood Bowl on Wednesday, singer-guitarist Ezra Koenig paused to remind, or perhaps inform, fans in the packed amphitheater of the night’s special theme.

“Now some of you may be aware, and some of you may not be, but it’s ska night at the Hollywood Bowl,” Koenig said, noting that opening acts the English Beat and Voodoo Glow Skulls are bands that had influenced his band from the start.

“So there’s actually a bit of ska in Vampire Weekend,” he continued. “It’s one of the 17 secret ingredients in our proprietary Vampire Weekend recipe.”

All of this – said quite seriously, but also with a sense of humor – served to introduce the next song in the set, a ska-tified version of Vampire Weekend’s own “Ottoman,” renamed “Skattoman” for the night.

In many ways that spoke to what makes Vampire Weekend such a delight on stage. For as sincerely as Vampire Weekend takes its music on the albums, there’s often a silly sense of fun that surfaces on stage to make memories ever more endearing. (This is a band, after all, who at Coachella this year  brought out both Paris Hilton and a guy dressed as Abraham Lincoln to play cornhole on stage with them.)

On Wednesday, the show opened intimately, with Koenig, bassist Chris Baio and drummer Chris Tomson, alone on stage, playing stripped-down versions of “Holiday,” “Cousins,” and “Boston (Ladies of Cambridge,” early songs from its 2008 self-titled debut and 2010 sophomore release “Contra.”

A black banner emblazoned with the band’s name added to the no-frills nature of the opening songs, and wasn’t hard to imagine seeing Vampire Weekend like this as it stepped off the Columbia University campus where it was born in 2006 and into its earliest live gigs.

The two Chrises slipped behind the curtain, leaving Koenig alone to start the next song, “Ice Cream Piano.” As its gentle opening verse and chorus ended, the curtain dropped, and the full band kicked, seven musicians in all, rocketing the song to a thrillingly clamorous finish.

“Ice Cream Piano” was the first of nine songs played off Vampire Weekend’s strong new album, “Only God Was Above Us,” its fifth studio release, which arrived in April. More perhaps than any of the records that preceded it, “Only God” is a rock record, a fact underscored by the power of its songs alongside the more delicate indie pop of the early albums.

“Classical” and “Connect,” which followed “Ice Cream Piano,” still present Koenig’s high, delicate vocals, but beneath them the sound was fuller, thanks in part to addition on this tour of four touring musicians: Keyboardist Will Canzoneri, percussionist Garrett Ray, and multi-instrumentalists Colin Killalea, and Ray Suen.

Highlights early in the set included such earlier songs as “White Sky” and “Cape Cod Kwasa Kwasa,” both of which featured the interlocking Afropop influences that signaled a freshness in Vampire Weekend’s sound as it broke out 15 or so years ago. In contrast, “This Life” and “Sunflower,” both from 2019’s “Father of the Bride,” showed off an equally intricate guitar style, but one that marked the band’s shift to a more modern rock feel.

After “Oxford Comma,” one of the most charming songs in Vampire Weekend’s catalog, Koenig brought out Ariel Rechtshaid, the band’s longtime producer, to “bring some nasty tones” on electric guitar, which he, in fact, did. “Capricorn” and “Gen X Police” rocked as hard as anything Vampire Weekend plays, powered by Rechtshaid’s big riffs while allowing room for lovely bits of piano and bass to stand out on the latter.

While many of the fans around seemed to know and sing all the words to every new song – remarkably so, in fact – older fan favorites such as “Diane Young,” “A-Punk,” and “Harmony Hall,” stood out even more as the main set wound down. “Hope,” which closes the new album also closed the main set, its beautiful melody playing on as first Koenig, and then the rest of the band departed the stage, one by one, until only Baio was left to play the final refrain on bass.

The silly fun returned in full force for the encore, which opened with “Dangerous Knife (The Night is a Knife),” which Koenig wrote and sang for comedian-actor Tim Robinson’s very funny, very strange Netflix series “I Think You Should Leave.” It sounds like a Vampire Weekend song, more or less, until you notice that it references such topics as “sloppy steaks,” a bit from the show we won’t attempt to explain here, and other oddities from the mind of Robinson, who came out at the end of it.

Another ska version of a Vampire Weekend song popped up next, with “Giving Up the Gun” transformed into “Giving Up the Skun.”

Five years ago at the Bowl, the band took requests shouted out by fans during its encore, focusing mostly on its own songs, but including a bit of Thin Lizzy’s “Boys Are Back in Town,” too. On Wednesday, Koenig announced that this tour they’re taking only cover requests that really challenge the band.

Which the band was when confronted with shouts for Steely Dan, the Grateful Dead, and the B-52s. That produced, in the same order, a decent first verse of “Peg” before Koenig ran out of lyrics he knew, a solid chorus of “Touch of Grey,” and a hilarious attempt at “Rock Lobster,” its improvised lyrics a string of nonsense barked out in the style of B-52s’ singer Fred Schneider until Koenig finally reached a line he actually knew.

Then, as the clock ticked down to the Bowl’s 11 p.m. curfew, “Walcott,” Vampire Weekend’s traditional closer, set the crowd to dancing and singing along, happy, laughing, satisfied.

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​ Orange County Register 

Supreme Court rules Concord man can’t trademark ‘Trump too small’

• June 13, 2024

By MARK SHERMAN | Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously ruled against a man who wants to trademark the suggestive phrase “Trump too small.”

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The justices upheld the government’s decision to deny a trademark to Steve Elster, an attorney from Concord, Calif., who sought exclusive use of the phrase on T-shirts and potentially other merchandise.

Government officials said the phrase “Trump too small” could still be used, just not trademarked because Trump had not consented to its use. Indeed, “Trump too small” T-shirts can already be purchased online.

Elster’s lawyers had argued that the decision violated his free speech rights, and a federal appeals court agreed.

At arguments, Chief Justice John Roberts said that if Elster were to win, people would race to trademark “Trump too this, Trump too that.”

Although all nine justices agreed in rejecting Elster’s First Amendment claim, they used differing rationales that stretched over 53 pages of opinions.

Twice in the past six years, the justices have struck down provisions of federal law denying trademarks seen as scandalous or immoral in one case and disparaging in another.

Elster’s case dealt with another measure calling for a trademark request to be refused if it involves a name, portrait or signature “identifying a particular living individual” unless the person has given “written consent.”

The phrase at the heart of the case is a reference to an exchange Trump had during the 2016 presidential campaign with Sen. Marco Rubio, who was then also running for the Republican presidential nomination.

Rubio began the verbal jousting when he told supporters at a rally that Trump was always calling him “little Marco” but that Trump — who says he is 6-foot-3 — has disproportionately small hands. “Have you seen his hands? … And you know what they say about men with small hands,” Rubio said. “You can’t trust them.”

Trump then brought up the comment at a televised debate on March 3, 2016.

“Look at those hands. Are they small hands? And he referred to my hands — if they’re small, something else must be small. I guarantee you there’s no problem. I guarantee you,” he said.

It is one of several cases at the court relating to former President Donald Trump, including major cases related to the violent attack on the Capitol in 2021. Earlier this term, the court laid out standards for when public officials can be sued for blocking critics from their social media accounts. These cases were also related to Trump.

​ Orange County Register 

Las Vegas mainstay Tom Jones making Strip return

• June 13, 2024

John Katsilometes | (TNS) Las Vegas Review-Journal

LAS VEGAS — A legendary showman who dates to the Strip’s golden era and been the subject of millions of panties-throwing fans, is coming back to Las Vegas.

Tom Jones is headlining two shows at Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas on Sept. 28-29. Jones’ shows were confirmed Wednesday by AEG Presents, which books the venue. An announcement and ticket information are forthcoming next week.

These are Jones’ first shows in Las Vegas since he debuted at Encore Theater in October 2022. He turned 84 last week.

Jones has headlined Las Vegas since premiering at the Flamingo in 1967. He’s starred every year at the International Hotel/Las Vegas Hilton (where he became friends with Elvis Presley), and later MGM Grand’s Hollywood Theatre before it was renamed for David Copperfield. But he had not performed in Vegas for a dozen years prior to his 2022 appearance at Encore Theater.

Jones has sold more than 100 million records, topped by “It’s Not Unusual,” “Kiss,” “Delilah” and “What’s New Pussycat.” His latest album, “Surrounded by Time,” was issued in 2021.

The Welsh sensation was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2006, received BRIT Awards for best male and outstanding contribution to music, a Silver Clef Award for lifetime achievement, the Hitmaker Award from the U.S. Songwriters Hall of Fame, GQ Man of the Year and the prestigious U.K. Music Industry Trust Award.

Jones has had both hips replaced (his left in in 2017 and his right in 2022), moving with a cane and sitting during his 2022 shows in Vegas. But he has been back on his feet in more recent shows and is still in fine voice.

A review from the Guardian from Jones’ show at Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena allowed the superstar “was visibly not as nimble” as in years past “but that rich, full-bodied baritone is as stunning an instrument as ever.”

©2024 Las Vegas Review-Journal. Visit reviewjournal.com.. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

​ Orange County Register 

Huntington Beach High Graduation 2024: Our best photos of the ceremony

• June 13, 2024

Huntington Beach Union High School District’s Huntington Beach High handed diplomas to the members of its graduating Class of 2024 on Wednesday, June 12.

A commencement ceremony at the campus stadium drew families and friends who cheered as the graduates walked across the stage, marking the end of their high school careers and the beginning of their bright futures.

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​ Orange County Register 

Gross-tasting medications can be a barrier to treatment. Philly researchers developed a ‘bitter blocker’ to help.

• June 13, 2024

Aubrey Whelan | (TNS) The Philadelphia Inquirer

Peihua Jiang knows how difficult it can be to convince a child to take a sip of a bitter liquid medication.

When they were young, his kids sometimes balked at taking medicines because they didn’t like how they tasted. And as a neurobiologist, Jiang knew the medical issues at stake went beyond a minor inconvenience.

Swallowing pills can be difficult for many young children and elderly people. Liquid medications are easier to consume, but their taste is often so off-putting that some patients will avoid them entirely — a significant barrier to good health for those who need to take lifesaving medications.

“My kids would refuse to take medicine when they were young,” he said, laughing. “It’s evolution; it makes perfect sense. A bitter taste is a sign you’re not supposed to eat something. But with medicine, it’s a different story.”

That’s why Jiang and his colleagues at Philadelphia’s Monell Chemical Senses Center, have spent years taking on what they describe as one of the most enduring challenges in medicine ― finding a “bitter blocker” substance that can prevent a patient from tasting anything bitter.

This month, Jiang and several colleagues announced a breakthrough: They identified a nerve inhibitor in liquid form that temporarily blocks all taste entirely. The center says it’s the first temporary taste blocker that works universally in humans, and a game-changer in a yearslong research journey.

“We are very pumped,” said Carol Christensen, a consultant to the director at Monell and a coauthor with Jiang of a paper on the compound recently published in British Journal of Pharmacology.

How bitter medication hurts health outcomes

Researchers at Monell, an independent research institution devoted to studying the senses of taste and smell, first began developing a bitter blocker in 2016 with a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The foundation was concerned about bitter tastes preventing the uptake of medications in developing countries, where many people need to take regular medication for serious chronic illnesses like HIV and tuberculosis.

Ninety percent of U.S. pediatricians cited “a drug’s taste and palatability” as the biggest barrier to getting their patients to complete a course of medication, according to a 2013 review of existing research on bitter medications for children.

The paper noted it’s also hard for young children to swallow pills, even in small sizes, and that people of all ages, especially elderly adults, can have issues taking pills.

And what one might call the Mary Poppins method — a spoonful of sugar to make the medicine go down — comes with its own risks. Adding sweeteners to medications can cause cavities or damage tooth enamel.

For patients with serious conditions that require a long course of treatment, such as HIV, avoiding bitter medications can be dangerous.

“Many, many children, especially in developing countries, are not taking medicines and are dying,” said Linda Flammer, a senior research associate at Monell and the lead author on the new paper. “Simply giving them medication they can tolerate will save their lives.”

‘It’s actually really wonderful’

At first, Monell researchers hoped to develop a bitter blocker by targeting the taste receptors on the tongue that handle bitter sensations. But that’s more complicated than it seems.

Sweet tastes are easier to block, because they affect only two taste receptors on the tongue. But at least 25 taste receptors are devoted to detecting bitter tastes. And a person’s reaction to a bitter taste can vary depending on their genetics.

“Some may have a strong response to one bitter receptor. Some people may not have any response at all,” Flammer said.

So the researchers pivoted to target the nerve receptor that receives signals from the taste buds, Jiang said. In their search, they identified clinical trials for medications that targeted the same nerve receptor to treat various health conditions.

In trials for one of those medications, designed to treat chronic cough, the researchers noticed a curious side effect. “People were taking these medications for chronic cough, but they were saying, ‘It messed up my taste,’” Jiang said. They theorized they might be able to adapt a nerve inhibitor used in the medication to intentionally target a person’s sense of taste.

They discovered that the compound in liquid form, swished around the mouth for less than a minute, blocks all taste for about an hour and a half. Then, taste returns to normal, allowing a patient to go about their daily lives without a bitter taste lingering in their mouths.

The researchers tested it on adult humans and on mice, and found that the inhibitor only blocks taste — not any other sensations in the mouth, like temperature or even the tingling felt from a sip of a carbonated beverage.

“It’s actually really wonderful. We’ve never seen that before,” Jiang said.

Getting the treatment to patients

The bitter blocker is a long way from seeing practical applications in medicine, the researchers said. In general, between further research and safety testing, it can take years for a scientific discovery to roll out to the general public. But drug manufacturers could one day deliver the drug through lollipops, popsicles, or other kid-friendly forms to help young children feel more confident about taking their medications, Jiang said.

“We just hope now that we can take this very exciting finding and then find the right partners and the next funding to really make it happen,” said his colleague, Christensen.

Jiang is also hoping to continue studies on other bitter blockers, including ones that specifically target taste buds.

“We tried to provide a toolbox for blocking bitterness,” he said.

___

©2024 The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC. Visit at inquirer.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

​ Orange County Register 

Ocean View’s Isis Salazar is the Orange County Girls Outstanding Competitor

• June 13, 2024

ORANGE COUNTY GIRLS OUTSTANDING COMPETITOR 2023-24

This award recognizes an Orange County athlete who was a standout in multiple sports, a team leader and someone who also excelled in areas outside of sports.

Orange County girls Competitor of the Year Isis Salazar of Ocean View in Huntington Beach on Wednesday, June 5, 2024. Salazar, a five-sport athlete who competed in flag football, tackle football, soccer, softball and track and field. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Name: Isis Salazar

School: Ocean View

Year: Senior

Sports: Football, flag football, soccer, softball, track and field

Notable highlights: Isis Salazar considers herself open minded when it comes to trying new sports. But what happens when she lets that curiosity run free?

The senior answered that question by becoming one of the most accomplished athletes in Ocean View history.

Salazar played a mind-boggling five sports this school year and earned Orange County female athlete of the year from county athletic directors.

“I can’t recall having a five-sporter,” Ocean View athletic director Tim Walsh said of Salazar, who also maintained a 3.5 grade-pointer average. “But as far as the impact she’s made in so many of them, it’s unbelievable.”

Salazar said she was introduced to different sports as a freshman at Ocean View. Her curiosity and athleticism guided her from there.

Inspired by a desire to have no regrets about her pursuits, Salazar competed in football, flag football, soccer, track and field and softball in 2023-24.

“I have an open mind,” she said of playing multiple sports. “I had so much fun. The girls made it fun. I loved all my coaches I had.”

Salazar’s best sport is soccer. The Cal State Bakersfield-bound forward scored 31 goals in the winter to lead the Seahawks to the Golden West League title. She was selected first-team All-County, Golden West League MVP and finished with a school-record 129 career goals.

In the fall, Salazar played football for the third consecutive year and joined flag football for its inaugural season in the Southern Section. She was a kicker in football and a two-way standout in flag football before an injury cut her season short.

As a sophomore in 2021, Salazar became the second Orange County girl to score a touchdown in a varsity game.

This spring, she participated in track and field for the fourth year. In the high jump, she won the Golden West League title, placed second at CIF-SS Masters with a clearance of 5 feet, 6 inches and qualified for the CIF State championships. She was chosen second-team All-County.

Salazar had never played softball before but joined the Seahawks as a pinch runner.

“She’s fearless,” her mother Norma said. “That’s who she is.”

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​ Orange County Register 

8 years later, Orlando remembers 49 victims of Pulse mass shooting

• June 13, 2024

Eight years after one of the deadliest shootings on U.S. soil struck Pulse nightclub in Orlando, keeping memories of the 49 killed that night alive was the focus of families and survivors gathered Wednesday evening.

Siclaly Santiago-Leon said their memory was most important. She’s the cousin of Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, who was slain in the attack on the LGBTQ safe haven.

“One of the greatest heartaches for a grieving person can be the fear that their loved ones will be forgotten,” Santiago-Leon said. “As family members of the 49 angels, we have vowed to never let that happen.”

The Pulse Remembrance Ceremony at Steinmetz Hall capped a day of events ranging from Greenwood Cemetery to the ringing of the church bells at First United Methodist Church downtown.

Osceola unveils images of colorful sculpture for tribute to 49 Pulse victims on 8th anniversary

It came as city officials hope to kickstart efforts to build a permanent memorial at the nightclub site — amid some distrust in the latest effort following a failed try by the onePulse Foundation.

“I understand that all that has transpired over the last year has been especially difficult for some families and survivors … And while I know that a renewed effort to create a memorial won’t necessarily make those feelings go away, or erase the pain that the tragedy left behind, my hope is that we can work together to finally turn the desire for a permanent memorial at the Pulse site into a reality,” Mayor Buddy Dyer said.

“My hope is that together we can create a memorial where we can grieve, where we can reflect and most importantly, where we can honor the 49 angels and survivors each and every day.”

Last week, applications opened to join an advisory board that will meet monthly starting in July in hopes of ironing out a design for the memorial — which Dyer hopes will be built by the end of his mayoral term at the end of 2027.

The application will be available until June 23 at pulseorlando.org/committee.

Dancers perform an interpretative dance with electric candles during the remembrance ceremony honoring those killed in the Pulse massacre eight years ago, at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, Wednesday, June 12, 2024. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)

The now-dissolved nonprofit, formed by owner of the nightclub Barbara Poma, had extravagant plans to construct a memorial and museum, though ultimately it wasn’t able to fundraise close to the amount of money needed to do so.

Last year, the city purchased the nightclub from the Poma family for $2 million and formally took over memorial efforts — and has said it won’t pursue the museum.

In remembering the victims Wednesday afternoon, about 80 gathered at First United Methodist Church for the reading of the victims’ names — and rang church bells in their honor.

The evening ceremony included prayer, a video presentation dedicated to the victims, as well as performances by the Orlando Gay Chorus.

In a prayer shared by the Rev. José Rodriguez, of the Episcopal Churches of Christ the King and Jesus de Nazaret, he noted the 49 were reflective of the city where they danced eight years prior.

“We honor the daughters and sons of Borinquen, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Africa and Europe,” he said. “Each person, touched by Light and Life, the source of love, courage and resilience.”

President Joe Biden acknowledged the solemn date in a tweet Wednesday evening.

“Eight years since the shooting at Pulse, I mourn the 49 souls stolen from us in the deadliest attack on the LGBTQI+ community in our history. It’s on us to create a world where LGBTQI+ folks are safe — and where we do more than just remember the victims of gun violence, but act,” his account said.

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​ Orange County Register