USC has a massive future Big Ten piece in O-line commit Elijah Vaikona

• July 9, 2024

LOS ANGELES — It was raining on the day Arizona State’s Marcus Arroyo came down to Santa Margarita High in January, pelting down upon the Eagles’ home turf.

Their regularly scheduled programming was washed away, and so Santa Margarita head coach Anthony Rouzier got creative, moving his team’s workout indoors to the basketball gym. Arroyo followed. It was there, in a snap, he saw offensive tackle Elijah Vaikona pick up a basketball and elevate for a dunk, all 6-foot-8 of him.

Ahem.

All 6-8 and 370 pounds of him.

Arroyo offered Vaikona a scholarship on the spot.

“And then,” Rouzier recalled, “it just started to snowball.”

That was Vaikona’s first Power Five offer, a complete unknown who had just transferred in that winter from Xavier College Prep in Palm Desert. A college coach once asked his mother Heather if she’d raised him under a rock, and perhaps it wasn’t a rock but a tumbleweed, legitimate Division I linemen not exactly sprouting on trees up in the Southern California desert. But after he arrived at Santa Margarita, programs have come through the Eagles’ campus this spring and have been physically unable to miss Vaikona, a rising senior recruit who is massive in size but light on his feet.

His commitment to USC last week, choosing the Trojans over Washington and UCLA, was a much-needed win for the program’s future in the trenches, after Georgia defensive linemen Justus Terry and Isaiah Gibson decommitted in June. Head coach Lincoln Riley has repeatedly emphasized USC’s desire to both stack talent on the offensive front and develop size at the line of scrimmage, particularly back in December at a national signing day press conference.

“When the starting point is that much higher,” Riley said then, speaking of the sheer size of USC’s 2024 linemen, “it increases the ceiling.”

Vaikona’s starting point, quite literally, is higher than any other offensive lineman – interior or tackle – in his class.

The only lineman who touches his combination of height and weight, from every 2025 prospect who is ranked by 247Sports, is Texas’ Byron Washington, at 6-foot-7½ and 380 pounds. If he sticks with his commitment to USC, Vaikona will stand alongside Maximus Gibbs (6-7, 390 pounds) and Zach Banner (6-9, 360) as the Trojans’ largest bodies of the last decade. And his sheer size created a brief arms race between programs headed to the Big Ten, where games have long been won at the line of scrimmage.

“That was a priority for my top-three schools – like, all of ’em, going to the Big Ten, they need bigger guys,” Vaikona said. “So one thing is, they wanted to get big guys like me.”

He’s especially intriguing for his quickness. Rouzier noted how light Vaikona is on his feet, a longtime basketball player at his size. His grandmother owns a ranch just outside of Palm Springs; Vaikona grew up riding horses as a competitive cattle sorter, a growing niche in equestrian sports in which riders compete against a clock to herd cows.

By ninth grade, Vaikona had become too tall for his steed. But the dexterity remains.

“Being a big guy, I feel like I move better than most guys my size in the country,” Vaikona said.

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He had attended USC’s summer camps in the past, where offensive line coach Josh Henson had seen him but held off on offering, telling Rouzier he was too raw at that point. But as Vaikona’s foot speed developed through the winter and spring, he caught Dennis Simmons’ eye when the USC wide receivers coach stopped by a Santa Margarita practice. After returning to USC’s summer camp in mid-June, Henson “challenged him,” Rouzier said, and Vaikona was offered and committed within the span of a couple of weeks.

“I have a lot of respect for (USC), and Washington, and UCLA and these other programs that really trusted their eval on him, because he’s not a high-star kid,” Rouzier said. “He’s a three-star guy.”

“But at the end of the day, man, it’s about F=MA,” Rouzier continued, referring to Newton’s second law of motion (net force is equal to mass times acceleration). “And that’s a lot of M, right there.”

​ Orange County Register 

Bellator Champions Series San Diego adds two more bouts

• July 9, 2024

Two fights have been added to the Bellator Champions Series San Diego main card, including one featuring a bantamweight intent on reclaiming gold.

Former 135-pound interim champion Raufeon Stots will take on Marcos Breno in the co-main event Sept. 7 at Pechanga Arena, a source confirmed.

And less than two weeks after an impressive TKO victory, Riverside welterweight Lorenz Larkin will step back into the cage against Levan Chokheli.

The main event, first reported June 18 by the Southern California News Group, pits undefeated lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov (17-0, 1 NC) against Alexander Shabliy (24-3).

Fighting out of Milwaukee, Stots, 35, lost his interim title via first-round knockout to Patchy Mix in the Bellator Bantamweight World Grand Prix in April 2023 at Bellator 295. Stots (20-2) rebounded by rematching Danny Sabatello, 11 months after his split-decision victory over the Italian Gangster, this time earning a unanimous-decision nod at Bellator 301 in November.

Breno (15-3), a 26-year-old Brazilian, hasn’t fought since a second-round submission loss via rear-naked choke to Sabatello at Bellator 294 in April of last year.

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Larkin (26-8), 37, tore through Alan Dominguez at PFL 6 on June 28, pounding away on his felled opponent and earning the referee’s stoppage with 14 seconds left in the opening round.

Chokheli (13-2), a 26-year-old Georgian, is 4-2 since debuting in Bellator a little more than three years ago. He has won his past three fights, with his most recent victory a first-round front-kick knockout of Sabah Homasi at Bellator 299.

Tickets are available on AXS.com

​ Orange County Register 

Wimbledon: Top-seeded Jannik Sinner loses in quarterfinals

• July 9, 2024

LONDON — Top-seeded Jannik Sinner was treated by a trainer and left the court during the third set, seemingly surged in the fourth and then faltered again in the fifth, eventually losing to Daniil Medvedev 6-7 (7), 6-4, 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-3 in the Wimbledon quarterfinals on Tuesday.

“It’s always tricky, because you want to play more points to make him suffer a little bit more — in a good way — and at the same time, you know that he at one point is going to say, ‘OK, I can not run anymore so I’m going to go full power,’” the fifth-seeded Medvedev said. “And that’s what he did.”

It was not immediately clear what was wrong with Sinner, who had his heart rate checked while sitting on the sideline before heading to the locker room. The 22-year-old from Italy returned after about 10 minutes and resumed playing, but lost the first game back at love.

After getting broken by 2021 U.S. Open champion Medvedev to fall behind 2-1 in the third, Sinner requested medical attention and leaned back in his chair at Centre Court. He rested his head in a hand at one point while speaking with the trainer before they headed toward the locker room.

During a later changeover, Sinner draped a towel over his head. While he did regain his usual verve, particularly on his booming forehand, and pushed the match to a fifth set — the 36th this fortnight and the most at any Grand Slam tournament in the Open era, which dates to 1968 — Sinner could not get over the line.

“He was not feeling that good … and then he started playing better,” Medvedev said.

Medvedev began finding the space to deliver more winners, compiling 13 in the closing set alone, and broke for a 3-1 lead, then held for 4-1 and was on his way back to the semifinals.

The Russian lost to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz at that stage in 2023 and could meet him again: Alcaraz faced Tommy Paul on Tuesday in the quarterfinals.

In the women’s quarterfinals, Donna Vekic reached the final four at a major for the first time in her 43rd Slam, defeating qualifier Lulu Sun 5-7, 6-4, 6-1.

Vekic now faces No. 7 Jasmine Paolini or No. 19 Emma Navarro, who were scheduled to play each other later Tuesday.

Sinner carried a nine-match winning streak into Tuesday, including a grass-court title at Halle, Germany, last month. He moved up to No. 1 in the ATP rankings, replacing Novak Djokovic there, on June 10 after getting to the semifinals at the French Open.

His exit follows that of the No. 1 women’s seed, Iga Swiatek, in the third round.

Medvedev had lost his five most recent matches against Sinner, including in the final of the Australian Open in January. That day, Medvedev took the first two sets, before Sinner clawed all the way back to win in five for his first Grand Slam title.

That result dropped Medvedev’s career record in major finals to 1-5. Now he’s one victory from a seventh such appearance.

​ Orange County Register 

Gov. Newsom’s run for the presidency

• July 9, 2024

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s presidential ambitions couldn’t be more obvious. Faced with a multi-year structural budget deficit facing the state and a litany of pressing public policy issues, the governor has been busy inserting himself into presidential matters while asserting he isn’t.

“I think the governor has been focused on wanting another job, so he’s not doing the job that he currently has,” one state Democratic lawmaker reportedly told Politico last week.

Hence, Californians have seen the governor play shell games with the state budget that will come back to bite taxpayers.

As Sen. Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks, told Fox News of the budget, “It relies on budget gimmicks, draws down our savings, and saddles future generations with debt.”

And as Sen. Brian Jones of San Diego described it, “They shifted, swept and shuffled money around, stealing it from disabled kids and taking money from a host of necessary services to fund unneeded social experiments and pet projects.”

That’s by design, as it gives Newsom time to punt the hard questions for now.

Last week, we also saw Newsom suddenly propose and then suddenly pull back a sweeping ballot measure to address crime.

Reported Politico, “the ordeal has left many legislative Democrats feeling jaded that they did the governor’s bidding with nothing to show for it.”

Politico continued, “For months, legislators have grown increasingly disillusioned by Newsom’s efforts to grow his national name ID before a widely anticipated presidential run in 2028.”

Of course, Newsom no doubt sees an opening even earlier than 2028.

Newsom made sure he was in Atlanta, Georgia for the disastrous presidential debate. He’s also been busy campaigning for President Biden across the East Coast, including Pennsylvania and New Hampshire.

With increasing numbers of Democratic leaders voicing concerns about President Biden running for re-election or even explicitly suggesting he step aside, Newsom no doubt is trying to maintain visibility in case the opportunity to seek the Democratic nomination presents itself.

Newsom knows as well as anyone that, if Biden decided against running again, Vice President Kamala Harris would be a remarkably poor replacement. Already resoundingly rejected in her own run for the presidency, her time as vice president has been marked by historically low approval ratings.

Newsom is probably also aware of his own short-comings and the bad optics of being seen as outflanking the first Black and first female vice president. So he has to present himself as merely a passionate advocate of the Democratic Party standing by the elderly President Biden.

Only time will tell if Newsom’s gamble pays off for him. But what Californians should know for certain is that Newsom’s ambitions have been at their expense. At the end of the day, it is Californians who have suffered the deleterious consequences of his mediocre and myopic leadership.

​ Orange County Register 

OC officials say they are still waiting on audit of Viet America Society spending for meals program

• July 9, 2024

Orange County officials are expected to meet with Viet America Society representatives today, July 9, on the status of a required audit that is supposed to show how the nonprofit spent $4 million of federal pandemic relief money on providing meals to seniors.

County CEO Frank Kim, who retires on Thursday, July 11, said he wants the audit completed before he leaves the role.

Contracts for the hot meals program were directed to Viet America Society by First District Supervisor Andrew Do from his district discretionary funds – each county supervisor district was allocated $10 million from the federal funds the county received. Though not required by state law or county guidelines, Do’s channeling of funds to Viet America Society without publicly disclosing that his daughter, Rhiannon Do, was a leader within the organization raised questions about the county’s policies.

Since February 2023 county officials have warned the nonprofit that the documents it filed did not contain required information, such as the number of meals delivered and number of residents served. One county warning letter also said the organization was delinquent in providing the audit – called a “single audit” – that is required by the federal government after spending more than $750,000.

The organization failed to meet deadlines on March 14 and 18 – there were two contracts in question – to provide county officials with requested documentation. County officials said earlier this month that Viet America Society had been expected to complete its single audit on June 30. As of Monday, no reports had been filed by the nonprofit, according to Alexa Pratt, public information officer for OC Community Resources, the agency overseeing the contract.

Sterling Scott Winchell, lawyer for Viet America Society, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Pratt said an accounting firm hired by the group told county officials that VAS needs to provide additional documentation in order to complete its single audit.

“I’ve been meeting with their principals and their CFO, had a meeting recently with their external auditor and (am) trying to ensure that they’re on a reasonable timeline to accurately collect their records, turn them over to the auditor, and get the single audit work complete,” Kim said. “I’ve been pushing them, trying to get it done before I leave because I’d like to tie that off.”

Kim said he didn’t know of the group when its contracts were first issued, but said he has since learned that its leaders have very little experience working with government.

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Supervisors got millions to use at their discretion; Do’s choices draw spotlight on public money
Nonprofit Viet America Society given deadline to show proof of senior meals funded by county
Deadline passes for nonprofit Viet America Society to show proof it properly spent county funds
Viet America Society given more time by county to produce documentation on spending

“Doing work with government, particularly with federal funds, there’s a lot of administration,” Kim said. “You’ve got to keep your records separate. You have to have a separate accounting set of books. There’s a whole thing that you have to do. I think that they did not have a lot of experience doing that.”

Administration issues have also led to Warner Wellness, a dba of Viet America Society, being terminated by the National Alliance on Mental Illness Orange County as of June 6, Amy Durham, NAMI CEO, said in an email Monday.

Durham previously said Warner Wellness failed to provide several administrative items or set up a meeting to discuss its ability to fulfill its contract.

NAMI operates the mental health WarmLine under a contract with the county and had hired Warner Wellness as a subcontractor in June 2023 to serve Vietnamese-speaking callers.

“We never received any response from Warner Wellness, we provided them a 30-day notice to terminate the contract on May 7,” Durham said in an email. “We continue to serve the Vietnamese community internally with an extensive Vietnamese bilingual staff.”

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​ Orange County Register 

Tom Lackey: Californians deserve a governor who prioritizes them

• July 9, 2024

California is experiencing an extended heatwave with scorching temperatures of 100 plus degrees.

Firefighters are battling over 3,000 active wildfires throughout the state.

Approximately 17,000 residents have been evacuated from their homes and taken refuge with families, friends or in a shelter. Evacuees are worried about the condition of their houses when they return. Sadly, for some, their houses may not be intact.

To make matters worse, some of these wildfire victims may be told that they are not adequately insured, due to California’s insurance crisis. Major insurance companies have either left the state or stopped writing new policies resulting in homeowners turning to the costly plan of last resort, known as the FAIR Plan.

Consumers are facing financial anxiety.

The cost to live in California is out of control. Californians cannot afford to pay for basic necessities from food to utility bills, forcing many to turn to credit cards. According to Bankrate.com, the average credit card debt of Californians is $6,576. It will take 14 months for the consumer to pay off this debt.

The state budget the Governor signed in June is unsustainable. It papers over the root causes of the massive deficit he created. Under his reign, the state went from a historic $75 billion surplus to a $68 billion deficit according to the nonpartisan legislative analyst.

A vast majority of Californians feel unsafe. Retail theft is rampant. There’s not a day that goes by where there’s not a news clip or an article of a brazen retail theft, which sometimes happens in broad daylight.

These heists are occurring in every community – from rural areas to urban centers. Recently, a tourist from New Zealand was robbed and killed in a parking lot of an upscale shopping center in Newport Beach.

California is drowning in crises.

Yet, the Governor’s priorities are elsewhere.

A day after announcing his “robust measure” to reform Proposition 47, the Governor dropped it. The Governor claimed he could not get the amendments done in time for the deadline to place his deceptive measure on the November ballot. This is not true. In 2008, the Legislature passed Proposition 1A “Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act” on August 13 to place it on the November ballot.

There is wiggle room in the Elections Code regarding the deadline to place legislative measures on the ballot. If the governor truly wanted to work with law enforcement to reform Proposition 47 and curb retail theft and other crimes, it could have been done.

The governor simply was not focused on California.

The next day – the day that Democrat lawmakers scheduled an unusual evening session – he left the state to campaign for the President, and some would argue, for himself.

In his desire to conduct a whisper campaign for the presidency, he completely abandoned his duty to act on two bond measures. The Senate pro Tem had to step as acting governor to sign those measures so that they can be placed on the November ballot.

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Ignoring the state’s crises and residents’ hardship, the governor selected to gallivant around the country to promote himself on national television and introduce himself to voters in battleground states.

No one should begrudge the Governor for having higher aspirations. It is his right. But he must not do this at the expense of Californians.

California voters trusted him with their precious vote.

The governor should be duty-bound to carry out his responsibilities for the people who elected him.

The people of this state deserve his respect and attention. He needs to be here – in person – to work with the Legislature and solve the state’s crises. Californians deserve to be prioritized over other states.

 Tom Lackey is the Vice Chair of the Assembly Elections Committee, member of the Assembly Public Safety Committee and a former CHP Sergeant. He represents the 34th Assembly District.

​ Orange County Register 

I was for DeSantis because he could win. Now, I’m for Trump because he must win

• July 9, 2024

​ Orange County Register 

Niles: The new Six Flags does not need to go cheap to succeed

• July 9, 2024

Six Flags and Knott’s Berry Farm owner Cedar Fair have made it official. The two theme and amusement park companies have merged into one.

The new Six Flags Entertainment Corp. has kept the Six Flags name but Cedar Fair’s corporate headquarters, stock ticker symbol and most of its management team. So far, almost all of the information that the company has released about this deal has been aimed at Wall Street and investors. That’s fine. Investors need to support the deal for the new Six Flags to have any hope of success.

Eventually, the new company will need the support of fans and customers, too. The July 1 closing date for the merger sat in the middle of the operating season for most of the new Six Flags’ theme and water parks. That has meant that, for visitors, it’s business as usual this month at the new Six Flags’ 30 amusement and water park sites across North America, including Knott’s Berry Farm and Six Flags Magic Mountain.

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Fans have a long list of questions about how this merger will affect the operations of their favorite parks going forward. I am sure that the new Six Flags management will want to use this opportunity to consolidate purchasing, licensing and corporate operations to achieve economies of scale. The more that the new Six Flags can standardize its parks, the more money that it might be able to save to help increase the new company’s profits.

But let’s not forget that Six Flags also could boost its bottom line by winning back a lot of the customers who have felt burned by Six Flags and Cedar Fair theme parks in recent years. Slashing capacity, dropping live entertainment and cutting unique food, beverage and souvenir selections cripple a park’s appeal to fans with money to spend. As the new Six Flags management envisions what this mega-chain will look and operate like, allow me to make a pitch on behalf of the fans.

Let each park grow into a unique destination that reflects and serves its local market. Not every park needs to carry the Six Flags name. Let that corporate brand instead stand for a consistently high level of customer service and value rather than a collection of the same attractions from park to park.

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Sure, save money with volume deals from manufacturers. But invest in a creative team that employs people at the company’s sites and who work together remotely to tailor the name and decoration of each new ride, show, restaurant or store to fit each park’s identity.

Just because Six Flags sits in the market as a budget alternative to Disney and Universal does not mean that its parks need to be — and feel — cheap. Run more coaster trains and stop raising food prices to cover for low-priced annual passes. Benchmark with competitors such as Herschend to find how to deliver better value while still undercutting Disney prices.

Fans want to go to Six Flags’ parks not just because they are affordable but because they love them and the experience they provide. Ultimately, the best way to Wall Street success is to win fans’ hearts again.

​ Orange County Register