Abortion fight: North Carolina governor vetoes 12-week limit, launches override showdown

• May 13, 2023

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — In front of an exuberant crowd, North Carolina’s Democratic governor vetoed legislation Saturday that would have banned nearly all abortions in his state after 12 weeks of pregnancy.

About 1,000 abortion-rights activists and voters watched on a plaza in the capital of Raleigh as Gov. Roy Cooper affixed his veto stamp to the bill in an unconventionally public display.

The veto launches a major test for leaders of the GOP-controlled General Assembly to attempt an override vote after they recently gained veto-proof majorities in both chambers. The bill was the Republican response to last year’s U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

“We’re going to have to kick it into an even higher gear when that veto stamp comes down,” Cooper told the crowd. “If just one Republican in either the House or the Senate keeps a campaign promise to protect women’s reproductive health, we can stop this ban.”

Andrea Long, a 42-year-old mother of three from Cary, said she was honored be part of an “electric” crowd on what she called a “historic day for freedom” in North Carolina.

“I couldn’t stop crying tears of joy seeing the governor hold up the veto stamp, but I know it’s an uphill battle to keep this momentum going,” Long said.

Cooper, a strong abortion-rights supporter, had until Sunday night to act on the measure that tightens current state law, which bans most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The legislation passed along party lines last week in the House and Senate. Override voting could begin next week.

Cooper spent this week on the road talking to North Carolinians about the bill’s lesser-known impacts and urging them to apply pressure upon key Republican lawmakers who were hesitant about further restrictions during their campaigns for office last year.

Republicans have pitched the measure as a middle-ground change to state abortion laws developed after months of private negotiations between House and Senate GOP members. It adds exceptions to the 12-week ban, extending the limit through 20 weeks for rape and incest and through 24 weeks for “life-limiting” fetal anomalies.

Senate leader Phil Berger accused Cooper on Saturday of “feeding the public lies” and “bullying” members of his party to block the legislation. “I look forward to promptly overriding his veto,” he said in a statement.

Cooper has said repeatedly the details contained in the 47-page bill show that the measure isn’t a reasonable compromise and would instead greatly erode reproductive rights. He cites new obstacles for women to obtain abortions — such as requiring multiple in-person visits, additional paperwork to prove a patient has given their informed consent to an abortion and increased regulation of clinics providing the procedure.

Cooper and allies have said those changes in practice will shut down clinics that cannot afford major upgrades mandated by new licensing standards and make it nearly impossible for women who live in rural areas or work long hours to access abortion services.

Compared to recent actions by Republican-controlled legislatures elsewhere, the broad prohibition after 12 weeks can be viewed as less onerous to those in other states where the procedure has been banned almost completely. But abortion-rights activists have argued that it’s more restrictive than meets the eye and will have far-reaching consequences. Since Roe was overturned, many patients traveling from more restrictive states have become dependent on North Carolina as a locale for abortions later in pregnancy.

Republicans call the legislation pro-family and pro-child, pointing to at least $160 million in spending contained within for maternal health services, foster and adoption care, contraceptive access and paid leave for teachers and state employees after the birth of a child.

Cooper has called out four GOP legislators — three House members and one senator — whom he said made “campaign promises to protect women’s reproductive health.” Abortion-rights activists passed out fliers in the crowd Saturday with their names and office phone numbers. Anti-abortion groups accused Cooper of trying to bully them.

“The way he’s been showing up in their districts and harassing their constituents, it’s disgusting,” said Wes Bryant, one of about 70 anti-abortion protesters gathered across the street from Cooper’s rally for a prayer event.

One of the House members Cooper singled out is Rep. Tricia Cotham of Mecklenburg County, who voted for the bill mere weeks after she switched from the Democratic Party to the GOP. The move gave Republicans a veto-proof supermajority if all of their legislators are present and voting.

Cotham has spoken out for abortion rights in the past and even earlier this year co-sponsored a bill to codify abortion protections into state law. Rep. Ted Davis of Wilmington — another targeted legislator — was the only Republican absent from last week’s initial House vote. The Senate margin already became veto-proof after GOP gains last November.

Davis said last fall that he supported “what the law is in North Carolina right now,” which was a 20-week limit. Davis has declined to comment on the bill, but House Speaker Tim Moore said recently that Davis is a “yes” vote for an override.

​ Orange County Register 

Man, woman dead after being hit by car while crossing Anaheim street

• May 13, 2023

A man and woman were killed after they were struck by a car while attempting to cross an Anaheim street Friday night, May 12, authorities said.

Anaheim police were called to the 1000 block of South Anaheim Boulevard and found the two pedestrians in the roadway, Sgt. Jon McClintock said.

The man died at the scene and the woman was treated, but died of her injuries at a hospital, McClintock said.

The pair was not in a crosswalk and was hit by a car traveling southbound, McClintock said. The driver of the car was not driving under the influence and was not arrested.

Further information about the pedestrians was not immediately available. They were not identified pending family notifications.

Video from OC Hawk, a freelance news videographer, showed a silver Toyota sedan with damage to the front right side.

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​ Orange County Register 

Blood stem cell donor meets 15-year-old whose life he saved in Los Angeles

• May 13, 2023

It was a heartfelt meeting, as San Jose resident Chuck Woo met the 15-year-old with blood cancer whose life he saved.

Woo met Darrian Lu for the first time Thursday in downtown Los Angeles. Lu, an Alameda teen on the autism spectrum, had been battling acute lymphoblastic leukemia for two years. Woo was his blood stem cell donor.

“As soon as I knew I was a match, I said, absolutely, there’s no question about it. As a parent, I wanted to help potentially save a life,” said Woo.

In November 2021, Lu had his life-changing transplant at the Oakland Children’s Hospital. He said he was excited and grateful to meet Woo for the first time.

The emotional reunion was made possible by nonprofit Be the Match, which helps patients with life-threatening blood cancers find bone marrow and stem cell donors, increasing access to cellular therapy.

Nearly half of the registry’s Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander patients currently do not have a matching blood stem cell donor on the Be The Match registry.

Organizers say eligible donors can help increase those odds by joining the free registry, with a health history form and a cheek swab sample, through a kit sent to their home. Anyone who meets healthy guidelines is welcome, and more donors of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, and between the ages of 18 and 35, are most urgently needed.

As part of its campaign effort to reach more donors during Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Be The Match hosted a special live-streamed concert in Little Tokyo with singer-songwriter AJ Rafael, who is also a blood stem cell donor.

There are upcoming swab drives and donor events in L.A. and the Inland Empire. Visit BetheMatch.com for details and a list of events.

Related links

Where to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in Los Angeles County
‘Ten Thousand Things’ podcast finds stories in objects owned by Asian Americans
Michael Milken urges medical, science communities to speed up cures
City of Hope bone marrow recipients virtually meet their donors, both German residents
City of Hope opens on-campus hotel in Duarte for patients, families

​ Orange County Register 

Orange County restaurants shut down by health inspectors (May 4-11)

• May 13, 2023

Restaurants and other food vendors ordered to close and allowed to reopen by Orange County health inspectors from May 4 to May 11.

Anytime Hawaiian, 1650 S. Harbor Blvd., Suite C, Anaheim

Closed: May 10
Reason: Cockroach infestation
Reopened: May 11

Champagne Bakery at Asian Garden Mall, 9200 Bolsa Ave., Suite 116, Westminster

Closed: May 9
Reason: Rodent infestation
Reopened: May 10

Food sales at 98c Jumbo Dollar, 410 W. La Habra Blvd., La Habra

Closed: May 9
Reason: No water supply
Reopened: May 10

Grand Teriyaki Roll & Sub, 1704 S. Grand Ave., Santa Ana

Closed: May 9
Reason: Rodent infestation
Reopened: May 10

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This list is published weekly with closures since the previous week’s list. Status updates are published in the following week’s list. Source: OC Health Care Agency database.

​ Orange County Register 

Swanson: Austin Reaves showing Lakers what a wise investment he’ll be

• May 13, 2023

LOS ANGELES —Far be it for me to tell Rob Pelinka what to do: The Lakers’ general manager just orchestrated a from-13th-place-to-Western Conference-finals maneuver like he was a jet pilot doing a barrel roll.

But shucks, man. I don’t need a 50,000-foot view to see it: The Lakers better hang on to Austin Reaves. They found him, they gotta keep him.

Reaves, a 24-year-old undrafted free agent – and soon-to-be restricted free agent – from tiny Newark, Arkansas, just wouldn’t look right in any colors but purple and gold.

The second-year wing with the wispy brown bangs has already gotten a playoff “Bang!” from broadcaster Mike Breen. Long a Kobe guy, he’s nicknamed “Hillbilly Kobe” and he’s proving himself the perfect pairing with LeBron James.

The young man’s 54-footer at the halftime buzzer not only brought down the house, but it went down as the the longest shot by a Laker in the past quarter-century of playoff action.

The guy who, as Anthony Davis put it, “wants to take big, big shots, and makes big shots,” he ought to be a Laker for a good, long while.

What he’s done these playoffs cements it. What he’s doing these playoffs will make it pricier too.

For now, the 6-foot-5 Reaves is earning $1.5 million. A bargain! But by piling up performances like Friday’s – 23 points on 7-for-12 shooting, five rebounds, six assists in a 122-101 closeout victory over the dynastic Golden State Warriors – he’s clearly due for a raise. And dude’s about to drive a real hard bargain.

The Lakers can, of course, match any offer Reaves gets this offseason. And from what I’m reading, the most another team can offer him in starting salary projects to be $11.4 million for 2023-24. The Lakers, via Reaves’ Early Bird rights, will be able to offer $11.9 million.

That seems like a no-brainer, except there’s always a catch, as Bleacher Report’s salary cap expert Eric Pincus has reported. In this case, it’s the Arenas Rule, by which other teams with sufficient cap space could offer Reaves as many as four years, with the last two as high as a maximum salary.

So … as much as $36-38 million for the final two seasons of a four-year deal. I don’t know if a team will put that amount on the table, but I’m certain every bucket Reaves gets that pushes the Lakers closer to a title also ups his price, which could mean sacrificing someone else from the roster in the name of luxury taxes.

But Maya Angelou knew the play: When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.

So, say, when Jalen Brunson stepped up and averaged 21.6 points for the Dallas Mavericks in their Western Conference finals run last season, it was an accurate indicator of what else he had in the tank: 27.8 points per playoff game this year for his new team, the New York Knicks.

And when Reaves, in his first run under the NBA’s intense playoff lights, shows you what he’s capable of, believe him.

When he gives you 23 points, including 14 in the final quarter in your postseason opener in Memphis, believe him when he yells in his wonderful Arkansas twang, as he did that afternoon, “I’m HIM!!!”

‘I’M HIM”

Austin Reaves letting the world know pic.twitter.com/9y15iGbAh0

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 16, 2023

And when he figures it out on the fly against the four-time champion Warriors, believe he’s got more of that in him, too.

Believe what you beheld: After looking out of his depth in the first three games against Golden State, averaging nine points on 32.1% shooting, Reaves found his bearings.

He averaged 19.7 points on 48.7% shooting in the final three games of the series.

And that’s what Reaves wrought on offense while chasing around all-world scorers Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson on the other end, efforts that coincided with a most significant, severe slump for Thompson: A career 43.6% postseason shooter who’s averaged 19.2 points per postseason contest, he shot just 19 for 39 (21.4%) in Games 4-6, and averaged just nine points.

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But believe this too: You’re not the only one seeing what Reaves can do.

Other franchises and their fans who are paying closer attention in the playoffs are coming to realize that Reaves’ shine isn’t the byproduct of the Lakers’ omnipresent spotlight. It’s not a matter of him standing in the golden hue that surrounds LeBron.

He’s not some token character in a blockbuster plot.

He’s, well, he’s “Him!” He really is.

He’s a Laker. And so he should remain.

Austin Reaves in Game 6:

23 PTS, 5 REB, 6 AST, 4/5 3PM

Lakers advance to the WCF #NBAPlayoffs presented by @GooglePixel_US pic.twitter.com/6pgdhM1qpo

— NBA (@NBA) May 13, 2023

Austin Reaves on his buzzer beater at the end of the first half, playing in the LeBron-Steph rivalry and his experience so far in the #NBAPlayoffs. pic.twitter.com/p0fNiDW9fK

— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) May 13, 2023

​ Orange County Register 

U.S. Coast Guard cutter Narwhal to visit Ocean Institute today, May 13

• May 13, 2023

The Narwhal, a U.S. Coast Guard cutter that patrols the Orange County coastline and works with first responders, is coming to a dock at the Ocean Institute in Dana Point Harbor.

It will be open today, May 13, to tours from the public.

“We love providing unique opportunities for people to learn and are so thankful for partnerships, like the one we have with the Narwhal crew, to offer amazing educational experiences to the community,” said Riley Russell, education director at the Ocean Institute.

The visit will include information on boater safety, use of safety equipment and a demonstration of “Coastie,” the Coast Guard’s robotic mascot boat, she said.

The 87-foot Narwhal – typically docked at the Coast Guard’s facility on Bayside Drive in the Newport Harbor – is the only active Coast Guard unit in Orange County. It is one of seven cutters that operate in the Coast Guard’s Southern California fleet.

The ship’s crew will be aboard, and will also talk about life in the Coast Guard and what that’s like.

The Narwhal’s mission is to secure the country’s maritime borders, but its crew also participates in search and rescues, enforcing immigration laws, overseeing local fisheries and responding to oil spills. The ship typically patrols coastal waters from the Mexican border to the Channel Islands, under the direction of the US Department of Homeland Security.

“Providing free tours to the public helps people gain an appreciation of how the Coast Guard works with Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection to patrol and protect our coast,” said Garry Nelson, USCG AUX unit coordinator. “We are grateful to the Ocean Institute for partnering with us to make this day possible.”

The auxiliary, a volunteer group that supports the Coast Guard, is also a way for the public to interact with the Coast Guard and generally learn more about boating. There are three auxiliary groups in Newport Beach, one in Huntington Beach, one in Seal Beach and one in north Orange County.

Members include experienced boaters, former Coast Guard veterans and newbies. The Coast Guard Auxiliary, established in 1939, includes 26,000 men and women nationwide, serving in 825 local units.

If you go

What: Visit the Coast Guard cutter Narwhal

When: Tours go from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 13

Where: Ocean Institute, 24200 Dana Point Harbor Drive, Dana Point Harbor

​ Orange County Register 

Homes needed for Pekingese dogs found in desert

• May 13, 2023

A concerned person notified Friends of Orange County’s Homeless Pets that six Pekingese were left on a dirt road in a desolate area of desert with no food, water, shelter or nearby homes.

Upon learning about the dogs on social media, several people rushed to the area and were able to save all six, although some were so scared they had to be trapped. The dogs were infested with ticks, and their fur was matted. After being groomed, the dogs look beautiful and are much happier.

Two of the six, Benny and Jett, still need foster homes. All of the Pekes will be available for adoption once their veterinary care is complete.

Adoption donation: This will depend on the age of the dog. These pups are estimated to be from 1 to 6 years old.

Adoption procedure: If you are interested in fostering or meeting one of these dogs, email [email protected] for more information. If you’d like to adopt one of them, go online and fill out an application.

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​ Orange County Register 

One year after Laguna Woods mass shooting, Asian community mourns ongoing tensions, violence

• May 13, 2023

Laguna Woods resident Irene Cheng was out shopping on the morning of May 15, 2022 – the day a mass shooting took place at a local Taiwanese church in the quiet, mostly elderly south Orange County neighborhood.

“I saw the yellow tape around the church. Then I heard the news,” said Cheng, who lives in Laguna Woods Village, a senior retirement community; Geneva Presbyterian Church sits just outside the community’s gates. “I came home right away and had many emails from friends all talking about it, sending pictures. I was so shocked that this was right on our front door… our peace and security (was) shattered.”

One year ago, a mass shooting broke out at a community luncheon hosted by the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church, which uses the Geneva Presbyterian Church for services. The attack killed a 52-year-old doctor and wounded five elderly Asian victims.

And for many Asian Americans in Orange County and across the region, the church shooting still feels close to home – particularly after more recent incidents of targeted Asian-on-Asian violence, like the back-to-back shootings in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay.

“We must stop this kind of hatred,” Cheng – who is not related to John Cheng, the doctor from Aliso Viejo who heroically charged the gunman and lost his life – said. “Enough is enough.”

Cheng noted that the shooters in these three unrelated incidents were all elderly Asian men, who struggled with isolation.

The accused Laguna Woods gunman, 69-year-old David Wenwei Chou from Las Vegas, pled not guilty to attempted murder, special circumstances murder and hate crime charges last fall. He is being held in county jail.

Chou now faces nearly 100 federal charges – including hate crime, weapons and explosive counts, a grand jury decided on Wednesday, May 10, nearly one year after the attack. He could face the death penalty or life in prison without parole, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

(Chou is scheduled to return to state court in July for a preliminary hearing. A separate federal court hearing has not yet been scheduled.)

Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian church-goers were reuniting at a special Sunday service to honor Billy Chang, a former pastor visiting from Taiwan, when the shooting broke out.

After the initial struggle, Pastor Chang and fellow parishioners hogtied and disarmed the gunman before police arrived minutes later.

Authorities said the shooting was politically motivated. Chou was “upset about political tensions between China and Taiwan,” said Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes, and driven by a deep-seated hatred of Taiwanese people.

Leaders in Taiwan, a democratically run island 100 miles off of China’s east coast, have been pushing for independence from mainland China’s communist government for decades. But Beijing seeks to unify with Taiwan, which has its own population of millions, as part of its One-China principle.

Author James Zarsadiaz, a historian and professor at the University of San Francisco, studies Asian suburban communities. Zarsadiaz said that what happened in Laguna Woods “goes to show that there’s still deep-seated tensions” – particularly in older Chinese and Taiwanese generations who hold certain views about China, its political and cultural differences – and how that nationalist ideology “trickles down to immigrant communities.”

This can create divisions or “residual feelings about Communism, anti-Communism, mainland China vs. Taiwan,” Zarsadiaz said. He noted that, at the same time, the ideological divide is not as much of a concern to younger generations. But Chou, the alleged gunman, was part of that older generation “holding firmly to those ingrained beliefs,” Zarsadiaz said.  “And unfortunately, he went as far as taking his own radical beliefs out on Chinese parishioners at this church.”

KC Liu, the English ministry pastor from the Evangelical Formosa Church of Irvine, was preaching that day when he heard news of the attack just 20 minutes from his church.

“The first thing that came to mind was that it could have been us; that shooter could have targeted our church. We had the demographic (the shooter) was targeting,” said Liu. “What he did was extremely radical.”

His church has since beefed up security for services, and he knows other surrounding congregations – including Irvine Presbyterian – that have done the same over the last year.

Liu said that overall, church attendance hasn’t gone down, as people – immigrants especially – find community in their faith.

“Even that following Sunday, people immediately went back to worship because they knew they needed it. In the face of trauma, tragedy and sorrow, they came back to God,” Liu said. “I was so proud of our elderly and our community for their courage and resilience.”

Local Asian American leaders reflected back on the church shooting’s anniversary, and how it reverberates in the context of other targeted violent incidents.

“Every time there is a shooting, the community is retraumatized,” said Mary Anne Foo, executive director of the OC Asian Pacific Islander Community Alliance, one of the many groups that provided victims’ assistance resources in the wake of the Laguna Woods shooting.

“It’s been just one after the other … with hate crimes against elders and Asian-on-Asian mass shootings; it’s no different. It doesn’t matter who the shooter is,” Foo said. “The community is really concerned about access to guns, mental illness, access to mental health services for community members during this time.”

Irvine Vice Mayor Tammy Kim remembers after the church shooting, people were saying: “It wasn’t a hate crime; it was Asian-on-Asian.”

Related links

Accused Laguna Woods church shooter now faces nearly 100 federal charges
‘Dr. John Cheng saw the gun and immediately took action’ in Laguna Woods church shooting
Churchgoers hogtie gunman after 1 killed, 5 wounded at Laguna Woods church
Asian Americans grapple with mental health after Monterey Park mass shooting
Laguna Woods church shooting suspect called ‘too radical’ for Chinese communist group
Laguna Woods church shooting adds to history of hate, but hope isn’t lost
Why dance can be healing for many seniors after Monterey Park mass shooting

“To me, that doesn’t dismiss it or make it less of a hate crime,” Kim said. “People have to remember that Asian Americans are still not a monolith, and there’s a lot of international conflict that exists … we’re talking about major PTSD; the retriggering of a lot of trauma experienced by our elders through these attacks.”

Kim said that acts of violence can rekindle traumas for elders, especially immigrants and refugees who survived war, extreme poverty or political unrest in their respective homelands. Mental health isn’t top of mind for a community just trying to survive.

“When we talk about anti-Asian hate, our pan-Asian identity; about mental health and the lack of treatment that we receive as a community; about the lack of cultural competency in dealing with these issues, and the accessibility of guns … all of this plays into the narrative,” she added. “And we need to figure out solutions to make a systemic change.”

Psychologist Sheila Wu, director of the Asian Pacific Counseling and Treatment Centers, said that mental health resources and in-language counseling were offered to victims “immediately” after both the Laguna Woods and Monterey Park shootings.

Over the past year, residents have stood together to remember the Laguna Woods victims at interfaith vigils and fundraising events. Earlier in May, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department honored Dr. John Cheng with a posthumous Medal of Valor.

The Laguna Woods Village Chinese American Club, concerned about the possibility of lonely and isolated seniors in their community, started hosting more social functions and dinner-dances in the wake of the church shooting.

“We are all seniors. We know we all have different political and religious beliefs, but we respect each other,” Irene Cheng, who is a former president, said. “We want seniors to feel that they are not abandoned, and urge them to seek professional help” for mental illness.

Pastor Liu, of the Evangelical Formosa Church of Irvine, said that he generally keeps politics, especially Taiwanese-Chinese affairs, off the pulpit. Peace and harmony are more important, especially in a community still trying to heal.

“There are political divides, and definitely tensions … but we don’t shoot each other. We have Chinese mainlanders and Taiwanese congregants; we keep harmony by just talking about our shared faith in our Lord,” Liu said. “We’re brothers and sisters, and that is a stronger bond than the hate that divides us.”

​ Orange County Register