OC lawmakers commemorate Black April with congressional resolution

• April 28, 2023

Reps. Michelle Steel and Lou Correa are commemorating the 48th anniversary of Black April with a bipartisan congressional resolution.

Black April marks the fall of Saigon and South Vietnam on April 30, 1975 to North Vietnamese troops. Millions of Vietnamese fled in boats to escape the communist regime, many finding a home in Orange County and building Little Saigon. Black April is marked locally each year with somber events.

The two OC lawmakers, who together chair the Vietnam Caucus in Congress, said they also introduced the bipartisan resolution to recognize the servicemembers — from Vietnam, the U.S. and other allied forces — who fought and lost their lives during the Vietnam War.

Steel, a Korean American, represents Little Saigon, the largest diaspora of Vietnamese people outside of Vietnam. Pointing to human rights violations and a lack of free speech in Vietnam today, Steel said the resolution serves as a somber reminder of the past while also reaffirming the country’s commitment to “defending democracy.”

“We do this resolution because it should not happen again,” Steel said.

“We lost over 58,000 U.S. servicemen and women during this war, and we have to remember one thing: Freedom is not free,” said the Seal Beach Republican. It is estimated between 200,000 and 250,000 South Vietnamese died in the fighting.

As Correa stood on the U.S. House floor Friday morning to make some remarks commemorating Black April, he was taken back to his high school years, he said, when he was in an ROTC program and preparing for the very real possibility of being drafted to Vietnam.

“I was ready to go fight for my country, for freedom in Vietnam,” he said in an interview Friday. Though the draft and war ended before Correa could be called up, he said he watched as neighbors and friends who went off to fight either didn’t come home at all or returned with “those invisible wounds” that altered their lives.

“There’s a lot of memories those years, and it always comes back when I think about the Vietnam War and the Vietnam experience,” Correa said.

The resolution, he said, also serves as a celebration of sorts of all that the Vietnamese people have overcome and accomplished in America, as well as a nod to the immigrant experience.

“What we’re living through right now, at the border, the people who are doing almost exactly what the Vietnam refugees did almost 50 years ago,” Correa said. “These refugees from Vietnam have done so much to transform our society — they have really injected a boost to our economy and our culture. We need to remember that, because especially in Orange County, we are changing on a day-to-day basis.”

Also joining the resolution as co-sponsors are California Rep. Jim Costa and GOP Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania.

In Westminster on Sunday, the day will be recognized with a wreath ceremony, prayers, songs and more at Sid Goldstein Freedom Park from 10 a.m. to noon.

And in Sacramento this week, legislators declared May 11 as Vietnam Human Rights Day. From Assemblymember Tri Ta, R-Westminster, the designation recognizes the “support of efforts to achieve freedom and human rights for the people of Vietnam.”

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​ Orange County Register 

‘We’ve got a little hero:’ Michigan seventh grader honored for taking over school bus when driver passed out

• April 28, 2023

A day after his heroic deed everyone still wanted to talk about Dillon Reeves, the Warren seventh grader whose quick action prevented a school bus crash earlier this week when the driver passed out.

During an appearance before a room full of reporters at Warren Consolidated Schools Administration Building, his parents and school officials said he’s received calls from the likes of Fox News, WWJ-AM (950), Warren Mayor Jim Fouts, and even a surgeon with Corewell Health.

Along with his classmates, a lot of people wanted to congratulate him on his heroic actions.

“His principal reported Dillon was the most popular kid in the school Thursday,” said his father, Steve Reeves.

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Dillon, 13, who attends Carter Middle School, was one of 66 students aboard a bus whose driver lost consciousness Wednesday. The bus was making its afternoon run on Masonic Boulevard near Bunert Road, when the driver began to feel uneasy.

According to an in-vehicle video from the incident, the driver radioed into the transportation department that she wasn’t feeling well and planned to pull over in front of Miller Park. After fanning herself with a ball cap, her hands drop to her side and her head droops down as she passes out.

Dillon Reeves can be seen grabbing the steering wheel and applying the brakes on the bus after the driver passed out. (SCREENGRAB OF IN-VEHICLE VIDEO)

A few second go by before Dillon, who was about five rows behind her, races to the steering wheel while applying the brake.

“Someone call 911 — now,” he shouted as he guides the bus to a gentle stop in the middle of Masonic, as the other students begin screaming.

Two Good Samaritans who saw what was going on jumped aboard the bus. One tended to the driver, while the other helped evacuate the students.

A few minutes later, Warren police and firefighters arrived and took over, officials said.

Fast-reacting student stops moving vehicle as Warren Con bus driver faints

“In my 35-plus years of education, this was an extraordinary act of courage and maturity,” said Warren Con Superintendent Robert Livernois.

Livernois said the driver, who he called “one of our best,” appears to have suffered a medical condition. She was still in the hospital Thursday undergoing tests.

While the video of the incident was being played for the media, Dillon looked down toward the ground as his father, mother, Ireta, and sister Raelyn, watched a screen.

“I asked him Dillon how did you know what to do, how did you know to drive that bus,” his mom said. “And he said ‘I watched her do it every day.’ He pays very close attention to everybody.”

Dillon’s dad added: “I don’t know if I will ever know what made him jump into action like that, but I’m extremely proud of him.”

As a video of the incident was being played, Dillon Reeves looked elsewhere. (MITCH HOTTS — THE MACOMB DAILY

Steve Reeves sheepishly said he’s allowed Dillon to drive on country roads, in a golf cart, or sit on his lap while dad drove.

“He’s just a good driver,” Reeves said. “I don’t want to say that out loud, but he’s very attentive to his surroundings.”

His parents say he’s an average young teenager who gets good grades, plays video games, basketball and hockey in the street. They say he hopes to become a police officer or professional hockey player when he grows up

“I want to be a firefighter,” Dillon quietly said, his only spoken comment at the news gathering.

Dillon’s parents say he is still overwhelmed by what happened and needs to process it.

“We’ve got a little hero,” Steve Reeves said.

​ Orange County Register 

More land sliding at Casa Romantica; residents evacuated, trains halted through San Clemente

• April 28, 2023

More soil slid down a slope beneath San Clemente’s historic Casa Romantica overnight, prompting officials to red tag and evacuate condominiums in a building located below and slightly north of the landmark. Train service remains halted through San Clemente.

On Friday morning, Mayor Chris Duncan said he was meeting with Kiel Koger, the city’s Public Works director, to see what the immediate concerns there are.

“There was slight movement overnight and some of the dirt made it closer to the railroad,” Duncan said. “More of the lower units had to be evacuated late last night.”

At about 10:30 p.m., Duncan said an Orange County Fire Authority search and rescue unit assisted the Orange County Sheriff’s Department with telling residents to leave the condominium building. Officials said six of the units were full-time residences.

“It was done out of an abundance of caution,” Duncan said.

Officials, including Koger, said the condos are not likely to slide down the hill because the building is on caissons pushed deep into the slope, but those units in the lower levels are being surrounded by falling debris, which could damage windows or otherwise endanger occupants.

The ground first showed evidence of movement on April 16, when some inch-wide cracks appeared on the casa’s ocean-view terrace. The city, which owns the century-old landmark, had a $75,000 geology study started on Tuesday to determine the extent of earth movement and to see if there was an ancient landslide below.

Over the last week, the cracks grew to feet, and the back portion of a smaller terrace on the 2.5-acre estate gave way on Thursday, April 27, its concrete base pulling away from the tiles and dropping nearly 10 feet.

The debris on Friday was even closer to the tracks and passenger and freight service between Laguna Niguel and Oceanside remained stopped “in an abundance of caution,” officials with Metrolink and the Orange County Transportation Agency said.

Service will only resume when it is determined safe, officials have said. Updates can be found on the OCTA, Metrolink and Pacific Surfliner social media and websites.

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Daily commuter service had only resumed early last week through town after several months of emergency repairs to a section of the coastal track further south that had been shifting because of a slipping hillside on one side and waves crashing on the other.

Casa Romantica is the historic home of the city’s founder, Ole Hanson, and is now used as a cultural and events center. The property overlooking the San Clemente pier, features gardens, an open-air courtyard, an amphitheater and ocean views from its terrace and patios.

As of now, all events planned there are canceled until future notice. The center had planned to host a Celtic Festival this weekend and had at least nine private events, including weddings, scheduled in the next month.

“The safety and well-being of our guests, patrons, volunteers, and staff remain our top priority,” Amy Behren, the center’s executive director, said Thursday. “We appreciate everyone’s understanding, and we will keep you updated on the status of the re-opening and rescheduling of events.”

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​ Orange County Register 

Got expired Bed Bath & Beyond coupons? These retailers will take them

• April 28, 2023

Bed Bath & Beyond’s competitors are coming to the rescue of customers looking to use expired coupons issued by the failed retailer.

Big Lots said Thursday that it’s “assisting shoppers nationwide” by accepting the expired coupons until May 7. Customers that bring one of the iconic blue-and-whites into one of its 1,425 stores will receive 20% off a purchase of $50 or more. The offer is only valid in stores.

“At Big Lots, our mission is to help people live big and save lots, which means we’re always thinking of ways to step up and deliver even more value to consumers,” said CEO Bruce Thorn in a press release

Similarly, the Container Store said Wednesday it is offering a 20% discount on any single item to customers “who bring a competitor’s blue coupon to any store location,” with the offer ending May 31.

Boscov’s, a department store with 50 locations, is also exchanging mailed Bed Bath & Beyond coupons for $10 off purchases of at least $50. The offer lasts until May 31 and is valid in store, according to its website.

Earlier this week, Bed Bath & Beyond filed for bankruptcy. The company gave customers until Tuesday to use its ubiquitous coupons. Now, the retailer is offering “deep discounts” on its products as it winds down operations. The store will stop accepting gift cards on May 8, and the brand’s Welcome Rewards points will stop being accepted on May 15.

History of Bed Bath & Beyond’s coupons

Bed Bath & Beyond introduced its oversized coupon for 20% off a single item three decades ago.

Over time, the oversized postcard-like mailer and digital coupon with an eye-popping purple-blue border and font blaring “20% off in-store or online” developed a cult following and became a successful marketing strategy to lure in repeat shoppers, a retail analyst previously told CNN.

The “Big Blue” coupons became a pop culture reference as celebrities and late-night talk show hosts popped it into their on-air conversations.

Rumors swirled on various social platforms that Big Blue coupons never expire, even though the weekly coupon does feature an expiration date.

Then the pandemic hit and walloped the retail industry. With stores closed for months, and consumers rethinking their nonessential purchases, Bed Bath & Beyond sales and profit took a hit. In late 2020, the retailer said it was scaling back on its popular coupon program to boost its business.

Two years later, company executives called the move a ‘big mistake,” admitting they had misjudged how much shoppers had come to embrace the regular cadence of the Big Blue coupons.

Now that the company is going through a liquidation process, Bed Bath & Beyond said it’s the end of the road for the coupons.

Bed, Bath & Beyond

The $11.8 billion mistake that led to Bed, Bath & Beyond’s demise
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Bed, Bath & Beyond’s bankruptcy plan will shutter, liquidate all stores
Bed Bath & Beyond is closing hundreds of stores, but they won’t be empty for long

​ Orange County Register 

The busiest days to fly around Memorial Day 2023

• April 28, 2023

Memorial Day may mark the unofficial beginning of summer in the U.S., but it’s the days ahead of it that kick off big airport crowds.

The holiday symbolizes the beginning of the summer vacation season for many Americans. But it’s hardly a vacation for airport employees, who typically get pummeled with the largest crowds of the year to date.

Some days around the long weekend are significantly busier than others, and if you can afford to be flexible when flying Memorial Day weekend, you’ll save money and avoid chaos.

The best and worst days to fly Memorial Day weekend

NerdWallet analyzed the past two years of Transportation Security Administration checkpoint data for the six days before and six days after Memorial Day, which shows how many passengers were screened at TSA checkpoints.

In 2021 and 2022, the Friday before Memorial Day was the most-crowded day to travel before the holiday, which is observed on the last Monday of May. As far as post-holiday, the Sunday after has attracted the largest crowds over the past two years.

Based on an average of the past two years, here are the most- to least-crowded days for the 13 days surrounding Memorial Day (including the holiday), ranked:

Sunday after Memorial Day (most crowded).
Friday before.
Thursday before.
Friday after.
Memorial Day (Monday).
Thursday after.
Tuesday after.
Wednesday before.
Sunday before.
Saturday after.
Saturday before.
Wednesday after.
Tuesday before (least crowded).

When broken out by pre- and post-Memorial Day travel, here are the three least-crowded days to travel ranked from least to most crowded. These are likely the best days to fly around Memorial Day weekend.

Pre-holiday:

Tuesday before.
Saturday before.
Sunday before.

Post-holiday:

Wednesday after.
Saturday after.
Tuesday after.

Why flying the Friday of Memorial Day weekend isn’t ideal

While the Friday before Memorial Day is always a big travel day, it was even bigger before the pandemic. For example, in 2019, the Friday before Memorial Day was the third-busiest day at U.S. airports for the entire year, losing only to the Sunday after Thanksgiving and the Sunday of Fourth of July weekend.

The Friday before Memorial Day has yet to reclaim a spot on the “busiest days to fly” podium since the pandemic (after all, the pandemic upended several travel norms), but it’s still noticeably more crowded than other airport visits from January to May. In 2021, the Friday pre-Memorial Day was the busiest day of the first five months of the year. In 2022, it was the second-busiest day in the same period.

Those figures indicate that the long weekend attracts a lot of folks who haven’t flexed their travel muscles in a while. Check-in and security lines will likely be longer — and potentially feel longer — if rusty travelers have forgotten, say, that you can’t pack a regular-sized jar of peanut butter in a carry-on.

Though flying the Sunday after Memorial Day draws bigger crowds, we can find some solace in the assumption that many of these travelers will be returning home. Perhaps they’ve already learned (or relearned) airport procedures and etiquette on the trip out.

The smarter, cheaper Memorial Day weekend itinerary

If you work a standard Monday-Friday workweek and have the holiday off, then leaving Friday after work and returning the Sunday after Memorial Day might make sense. This minimizes the number of vacation days you take, and you’d get eight full days of vacation.

But if you follow the classic Friday-Monday weekend travel itinerary, then you’ll pay — in terms of literal price and airport crowds. Deviate from that schedule to find lighter crowds and perhaps better Memorial Day flight deals, too. Try these travel days instead:

Travel on Saturday: Rather than rushing out from work Friday afternoon, take that evening to pack, spend Friday night in your own bed and take an early flight out Saturday.

Morning flights are often more reliable than evening flights: Those departing after 9 a.m. are twice as likely to be delayed than departures scheduled between 5 and 8 a.m., according to the Flight Disruption Outlook for Spring 2023 survey by travel booking site Hopper.

Fly home the Wednesday after: A lot of people opt for traveling on Memorial Day itself, and many people fly the day after. But relatively few people extend their trip one more day and fly Wednesday.

If you do, you’ll avoid the worst of the airport crowds. You increase your chances of saving money on airfare. Plus, you’ll be home in time for a delightful two-day workweek — which might be just enough time to wrap up lingering tasks without getting fresh projects dumped on your desk.

Fly home the Saturday after: You can still have a weeklong vacation and avoid Sunday’s crowds by flying home the Saturday after Memorial Day.

Then you’ll have a full day at home to knock out laundry and meal prep before the next workweek starts. After all, sometimes the most relaxing way to end a trip is taking a vacation from that vacation.

​ Orange County Register 

Californians continue to pay high gas taxes for bad roads

• April 28, 2023

California’s state fuel taxes are already the highest in the nation and, due to the state’s annual inflation adjustments could rise another eight percent in July. California’s drivers can rightfully wonder if the gas taxes they are paying to build and maintain roads are being put to good use.

California’s roads and bridges rank 47th out of 50 states overall in cost-effectiveness, safety, and condition, the 27th Annual Highway Report by Reason Foundation finds. According to the report, only Alaska, Hawaii, and New York state get worse results from their transportation funding, which ranks each state in 13 road and spending categories.

Compared to neighboring states, California’s overall highway performance and cost-effectiveness are far worse. Nevada ranks 21st out of 50, Arizona ranks 30th, and Oregon is 37th overall. California is frequently measured against Texas. But when it comes to the cost-effectiveness and performance of their highways, Texas ranks 19th overall, well ahead of California’s 47th place ranking.

Costs in California are certainly higher than in most other parts of the country, including Texas. But high costs are not California’s only problem. The state ranks below the national average in 12 out of 13 highway categories. Poor pavement quality, heavy traffic congestion, and high road fatality rates are three areas that need immediate improvement.

With its higher fuel tax, California’s drivers should presumably get smoother roads and fewer potholes. Instead, California ranks last in the nation in urban arterial road pavement condition. Nearly 10% of California’s urban Interstate pavement is in poor condition, ranking 47th in the country. On urban Interstates, California has more than twice Texas’ percentage of poor pavement. For rural Interstate conditions, California ranks 46th in the country and has 3.5 times the percentage of poor pavement as Texas.

California’s drivers also lose time and money stuck in gridlock. The state’s drivers wasted 31 hours in 2021 sitting in traffic congestion, ranking 44th in the nation. In recent years, the number of people working and shopping from home has helped alleviate some of the state’s congestion. However, if major employers continue to require workers to return to the office, California’s traffic numbers could worsen.

In other safety and performance categories, California ranks 25th in structurally deficient bridges, 39th in rural highway fatality rate, and 23rd in urban Interstate fatality rate. Those traffic fatality numbers are far too high for California. Given the large amount of money California collects in fuel taxes, these results are particularly disappointing.

Thankfully, California’s path to improving its highways and rankings is clear. The state should prioritize maintenance efforts on repairing potholes, smoothing rough roads, and upgrading pavement to help drivers and increase safety. Transportation officials should also identify and expedite the modernization and revamping of the state’s most essential structurally deficient bridges.

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Orange County once innovated, creating the nation’s first variably priced toll lanes to deal with the region’s infamous traffic jams. As Southern California continues to add toll lanes, the long-term plan should be to create a network of variably priced toll lanes that connect all major highways. The network would offer drivers, buses, and emergency vehicles a region-wide congestion-free alternative to gridlocked freeways, helping drivers and businesses.

The state’s roads and highways are vital to trade and the economy and must be repaired and modernized. While construction and labor costs in California are undeniably higher than in most other states, California should be doing better than it is with its current gas prices. For the money they’re paying in gas taxes, California’s taxpayers deserve better and safer roads, smoother pavement, fewer deficient bridges, and less traffic congestion.

Baruch Feigenbaum is a transportation policy analyst at Reason Foundation and lead author of the 27th Annual Highway Report.

​ Orange County Register 

Restaurant owner Alicia Cox offers food and drink to OC beach-goers

• April 28, 2023

On a warm April morning, Alicia Cox is busy talking to vendors. Cox’s beachside venues span from Bolsa Chica to Huntington State Beach and host special events with notable musical acts like Snoop Dogg.

“KROQ does a secret show out here each year,” says Cox, founder of Prjkt Restaurant Group. Last year, The Offspring performed. Once Netflix bought out SeaLegs and everything around it for a super fans event. The launch of “Outer Banks 3” kicked off with a music festival called Poguelandia: An Outer Banks Experience featuring Khalid and Lil Baby. It attracted nearly 7,000 people and generated numerous digital impressions.

Cox is a Huntington Beach resident so she knows the area well. She partnered with California State Parks and now oversees its beachside concessions. SeaLegs at the Beach in Bolsa Chica, Huntington Beach House by Beach Boulevard, Sahara’s Sandbar & Pizza by state beach’s “main lifeguard tower” at Magnolia Street and California Fork and Spoon, which will open next year near Brookhurst Street.

Sahara Whitney, 11, is all smiles after cutting the ribbon on a restaurant named for her, with her mother, Alicia Cox, right, and Madelynn Hirneise, CEO of Family Forward, left, and Kevin Pearsall, Superintendent, State Parks for Orange County at Huntington State Beach in Huntington Beach, CA, on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Cox began her career operating Orange County restaurants in 2011, when she created a business plan for SeaLegs Wine Bar. By the time her daughter, Sahara, was 1 the concept opened and the business grew.

It was followed by SeaLegs Wine Bar, SeaLegs LAX, and SeaSalt Woodfire Grill.

“Then, I came to bid on this,” says Cox, waving her arm at the sunshine washed sand surrounding her newly remodeled Huntington Beach House. It has an updated DJ booth, a Slush House that dispenses slushy margaritas, and a kitchen that serves birria ramen and giant burgers. A gold-colored hand statue by Damien Sanders of Monster Stage will be unveiled soon for photo ops on the sand.

Alicia Cox, CEO of Prjkt Restaurant Group, raises her hands as she joins others as they cut the ribbon on The Huntington Beach House at Huntington State Beach in Huntington Beach, CA, on Thursday, July 29, 2021.(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

For Cox, the strategy is to bring people to the beach earlier. She’s starting with brunch.

“It gets people here earlier and they stay for the day,” she says. “I want to make sure that guests come in and have a really good experience in Huntington Beach.”

Cox’s aspirations for the area extend beyond her concessions.

“It’s about giving back to our community and changing the way my daughter and the kids around me think,” she says. “That ripple effect starts with something.”

We met Cox at Huntington Beach House to discuss her plans for the area’s concessions, what to eat by the beach, and how her unique partnership with California State Parks came to fruition.

(This interview is edited for brevity and clarity.)

Q. How did you forge the partnership with California State Parks?

A. I saw this bigger picture. We’re going to reimagine the way you play when you come to these beaches. California State Parks, they’re the largest real estate holder in the state of California, and we’re one of the top parks to come and visit. I’ve met the director of the State Parks and some of the higher-ups, and they’re looking at us as a model of where the future can go. That was the idea with Kevin Pearsall (State Park Superintendent III, Orange Coast District, California State Parks), he wanted it to be more like those world class beach experiences in Europe and Australia.

Q. Tell us about the state-of-the-art vending machines. 

A. There’s this conex box, which is a shipping container. There’s nothing there. Now we have state-of-the art vending machines. You scan a QR code and put in your credit card info. Then a little door pops open. You rent basketballs, Bluetooth speakers that you can use on the beach, and firewood. We have 24-hour options that are just right there. We’re able to take this dead piece of real estate and turn it into a useful experience for people on the beach.

Music lovers gather on chairs and benches at SeaLegs at the Beach on Bolsa Chica State Beach for dinner, drinks and an outdoor concert by the Metropolis Chamber Musicians in Huntington Beach on Thursday, April 8, 2021. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Q. Is that why you started hosting events?

A. We’re recreating recreation. People come out to the beach every weekend. It can’t be that same stale feeling all the time. The idea is that when we get finished with California Fork and Spoon, you can take your bike all the way from Brookhurst (Street) to Warner (Avenue) and go to every venue for a different type of experience. There’s a SeaLegs Doggy Dog brunch on Saturdays with doggy cakes and puppuccinos. We have a DJ that’s playing the Dog Pound album mixed into all sorts of music. Then we have sponsors that do free giveaways, like treats and cool tennis balls. At Sahara’s we’re getting a full liquor license. As soon as I get that, we’re kicking off a Biggie brunch with ’90s and 2000s music. We’re also partnering with Strut (from Costa Mesa) to do the first OC Pride event out here.

Q. Music is an integral component of your venues. What acts do you book?

A. My sweet spot is growing the grassroots Orange County music base. Artists that may be on the verge of going on the next level. It’s having that platform to showcase their talents. We want to put eyes on them. Bands like Yachty by Nature. He is a math teacher. When we first started working with them, they were a smaller band. Now, they’re so coveted. Being out here and watching these artists grow became a passion that I didn’t know that I had. So fulfilling. It’s awesome to see them become something bigger and to know that we’re part of that process.

Birria Ramen is among the dishes on the menu at the Huntington Beach House. (Photo by Jenn Tanaka)

Q. The food at each venue is so different. Birria ramen at Huntington Beach House, calzones at Sahara’s Sandbar & Pizza, and churro waffles at SeaLegs at the Beach in Bolsa Chica. How do you come up with the menus?

A. I always think, how can we showcase different food on the beach? I’m always researching. At Sahara’s, you’ve got this beach-style pizza. It’s how we’re making the dough. How the dough rises because we’re next to the ocean. We tested so many different doughs and researched pizzas in the area. We nerded out and learned all about what makes good dough.

Restauranteur Alicia Cox and her daughter Sahara Whitney, then 11, at Sahara Sandbar & Pizza at Huntington State Beach in Huntington Beach, CA, on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Q. Sahara’s Sandbar & Pizza is named after your daughter. Is that why you donate $1 from every pizza sold to Families Forward?

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A. When I was bidding on the concept, I had to be really creative. I knew it was the widest gap of sand in the Western Hemisphere. Sahara was 7 or 8 at the time. She was talking to me and I was like, “Oh my gosh! Sahara, the most mysterious gap in the world, the desert!” When it was time for it to be executed, there was this moment where I thought, this is going to define her as a human being. Her name was on this. It had to be a teaching moment. My daughter had to realize that when she had an opportunity, she had to do good with it. So we started looking for a charity. We love documentaries and there was one about the motel kids in Orange County. To help other children, what can we do? Families Forward is an incredible charity that takes care of families who are on the brink of homelessness.

The last component was to actually get involved. We go and take warm meals to those families in Huntington Beach. It’s an unbelievably beautiful experience. It opens up such a perspective on life. It goes back to being grateful that we have all this so that we can do good for others. I’m glad that my daughter gets to be on the forefront of that.

For more information about Saturday afternoon concerts, visit sealegsatthebeach.com/events

​ Orange County Register 

Angel City FC’s Julie Ertz grateful to join ‘special’ team

• April 28, 2023

Julie Ertz’s Angel City FC debut might have ended with a loss, but it left the club with a what-if moment.

As in what if she had a full week of training to acclimate with her new team and surroundings. Ertz went 70-plus minutes in last Sunday’s loss against San Diego Wave FC.

“I’m so grateful to be here,” Ertz said. “I think the first word is absolutely ‘unbelievable.’ That’s the first word that comes to my mind.”

Saturday, Ertz will have her second game for Angel City as the club visits the Portland Thorns (7:30 p.m., Paramount+).

“I felt like she looked calm under pressure a lot, which I think translated to the rest of the team,” Angel City coach Freya Coombe said of Ertz’s debut. “I felt like they were a lot calmer on the ball as a result. Even when pressed, I think that she was able to deal with pressure really well and just play out of it calmly. And I think having her leadership in the center, to direct, is huge for us.”

Defender and captain Ali Riley believes the club will only grow the more time Ertz has on the field.

“We’re able to play a different style because we have her there,” Riley said. “We were able to win the ball back higher up the field. We had players playing the roles that they should be in, like Sav (Savannah McCaskill) being closer to the goal, having Alyssa (Thompson) and Claire (Emslie) being able to go 1v1 on the wing.

“We have players more comfortable in their positions and a lot of that is because we have the presence of Julie now, allowing players to be more attacking. I think we played a style of football that we’ve been aiming for.”

Angel City had high hopes of last week’s three-game homestand, but emerged with just one point. Angel City rallied to draw with Racing Louisville FC and lost their Challenge Cup game against OL Reign (2-0) and the first league matchup with Wave FC (2-0).

After Saturday’s game against the Thorns, they will face OL Reign on Wednesday in a Challenge Cup game in Seattle and return home against the Kansas City Current on May 7. It is a busy stretch, but one that gives Ertz more time to adjust to her new team.

“This team is special,” she said. “I knew it from the second I came in. This is a winning culture. This team wants to win. Every game they’re trying to figure out what it is. We need to continue to grow. It’s early in the season, which is great. Now it’s holding each other accountable both individually and collectively.”

Angel City FC at Portland

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday

Where: Providence Park, Portland, Oregon

TV: Paramount+

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​ Orange County Register