Niles: Say no to No-Boo; Knott’s Scary Farm should be scary

• October 10, 2023

Innovation does not happen unless someone takes a chance. But whenever you try something new, you create the possibility for failure as well as success.

Like many theme park fans, I want to see parks trying new things from time to time, so I won’t roast Knott’s Berry Farm too hard for trying something new at its Knott’s Scary Farm event this year. I just hope that the park’s management sees its attempted innovation as a failure and does not bring it back again next year.

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This year, Knott’s has been selling a “No-Boo Necklace” to Scary Farm visitors who did not want to be scared when walking through the park’s many scare zones. One fan online compared buying and wearing that necklace to bringing a poncho to a water park. If you don’t want to be scared, what’s the point of going to a haunt?

Knott’s has to have known that the No-Boo Necklace was going to be controversial, and the park actually has leaned into the controversy. When Knott’s announced the item during its after-hours preview event for Knott’s Scary Farm, the devoted fans there greeted the news with a chorus of boos. Knott’s even wrote the No-Boo Necklace into the return of “The Hanging,” giving it as close to a starring role as anything else lampooned in that show.

Halloween haunts have grown into massive events for theme parks around the world, so of course parks are going want to continue expanding them. So long as those expansions do not dilute the nature of the event, that’s great. I have loved seeing parks’ creative teams work with non-traditional genres — from science fiction to the roaring ‘20s — when designing attractions for haunt events.

But seeing other people get scared at a haunt is as much a part of the attraction as getting scared yourself. That camaraderie — that shared belief that we are all fair game for the monsters — is one of the qualities that makes haunts so beloved among fans.

I understand that there may be circumstances in which people need an accommodation for scare zones. Those should be handled through guest services like any other necessary accommodation in the park. They should not be sold as a consumer product, like the $15 No-Boo Necklace. That just makes it feel like the park is trying to expand the haunt by marketing it to people who don’t want the core experience that the haunt was designed to provide.

Would Legoland feel as accommodating to families with young children if it started building huge looping coasters with severe height requirements? No. That would be an expansion that changed the nature of the place, much like adding No-Boo Necklaces to the mix at a haunt.

If Knott’s sells enough No-Boo Necklaces to make the product a financial success, it runs the risk of changing a core element of Scary Farm to the point where devoted fans won’t enjoy the event as much anymore. Knott’s has great family Halloween event with its daytime Spooky Farm. Let the fans who don’t want scares go there. Let Scary Farm continue to be scary for the rest.

​ Orange County Register 

Salvation Army unveils ‘Center of Hope’ housing shelter in Anaheim

• October 10, 2023

Salvation Army officials and government dignitaries on Monday, Oct. 9, unveiled 72 new units of permanent supportive housing in Anaheim, part of a “Center of Hope” created to help people who have experienced homelessness navigate forward in their lives.

“That miracle of bringing hope, restoring hope to lives of people,” said Doug Riley, who oversees the western territories for the Salvation Army, “that’s what we are doing here.”

The $38 million building, which the Salvation Army will manage, is located next to the Christian nonprofit’s adult rehab center and 325-bed emergency shelter near Ball Road and Lewis Street. The permanent supportive housing units will allow people who are emerging from homelessness to receive rental subsidies and access other services.

The housing project broke ground in January 2022. Ben Hurst, the Salvation Army’s director of operations in Orange County, said Monday it is the largest permanent supportive housing project in the county.

Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken said the emergency shelter next door, which opened in 2019, has served more than 1,300 people. This new addition will give people a new chance at life and bring stability and purpose, she said.

“We can no longer just offer a roof and four walls to solve homelessness,” Aitken said. “We need mental health support. We need life skills, and we need all the other services that keep people housed, stable and successful. Center of Hope will deliver on all of these, and it will change people’s lives in miraculous ways.”

The Center of Hope will eventually also include the Salvation Army’s Center for Applied Research and Innovation, which will look for best practices and new ideas to help people coming off the streets.

Riley said the catalyst for the project was Judge David Carter asking local officials five years ago to “do something” to combat homelessness in Orange County. He said they quickly emerged with the idea for the building that debuted on Monday.

The project received funding from federal, state and local governments, as well as from philanthropic fundraising.

The units will come with furniture, a kitchen and accessible showers, and there is a fitness center in the building.

Rep. Lou Correa said homelessness is the symptom of many problems, and he called housing with wraparound services such as this one a good solution.

“This is just the beginning,” Correa said. “We are gonna get busy and do more.”

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​ Orange County Register 

Swanson: Dodgers’ hitters succumbing to the pressure again

• October 10, 2023

LOS ANGELES — Hey, batter, batter, batter!! Swing, batter, batter!!!

Oh, sorry. Should we keep it down over here? Is that old sandlot refrain too much for this Dodgers ballclub, allergic as it apparently is to pressure?

The Dodgers’ bullpen – especially the way Manager Dave Roberts pulled the levers in Monday’s 4-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 3 of their National League Division Series – has come through as well as anyone could have hoped.

And their starting pitching has fallen as flat as anyone might have feared – Clayton Kershaw and Bobby Miller can claim a flabbergasting 40.50 ERA and a grand total of six outs.

But their hitting …

The Dodgers’ offense – allegedly their strong suit, their superpower – has no-showed, legit stood up every one of their fans who watched the first two games of this series. It’s setting up the second consecutive epic playoff fail, following last season’s 3-1 NLDS loss to the San Diego Padres – which featured the same sad theme: a lifeless offense.

The same team that scored 906 runs this season has managed just two runs in each of their two playoff games against Arizona. The Dodgers are hitting a collectively putrid .159.

Their two best players, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, a pair of NL MVP candidates, are 0 for 7 and 1 for 6 through two games, respectively.

What, you thought you’d get more from guys who this season became the first 1-2 hitters in big-league history to both have at least 25 home runs and an OPS over .975?

What, you expect the Dodgers will need those two to get going if they’re going to find a way to keep their season alive?

“Yeah, I mean, they’re our two best players,” Roberts said. “I think that they know that, so it’s pretty much … the last thing I want to do, though, is be redundant in the sense of, ‘we need these guys.’ When you start getting into that kind of mindset, it’s just – in baseball and hitting, in particular – it’s just not helpful.”

Betts echoed that refrain: “Can’t add more pressure; that makes it harder, it’s still the same game, have to go play and let the game dictate what goes on.”

In other words, don’t play the ball, let the ball play you? Got it.

You know all those cliches about pressure? How it’s diamond-making stuff, and how it can be a privilege – especially if you’re earning hundreds of millions of dollars for the trouble?

You can’t pretend the pressure away. You can’t run from it, can’t hide.

It’s always been there: Last year in the NLDS meltdown against the Padres, when a Dodgers team led again by Betts and Freeman, along with Trea Turner atop the lineup, scored just seven runs over the final three games on their way to a shockingly early exit for a club that had won 111 regular-season games.

Especially because it was against an opponent that finished 22 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West standings, and because of how poorly Betts performed in that four-game series, going 2 for 14 with one RBI.

And the pressure hasn’t gone away now, as they try to avoid a sweep against the Diamondbacks, who finished 16 games behind the Dodgers.

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The Diamondbacks might not be the better team, but they’re playing better, as the adage goes. Their hitters have shown impressive discipline at the plate, a real commitment to their gameplan, unwilling to swing at bad pitches.

The Dodgers have been so much less focused. Betts and Will Smith jumped at first pitches. Freeman spectated as strike three flew past him with runners on the corners in the fifth inning. Max Muncy waved at a third strike out of the zone in the eighth after having gone ahead in the count 3-and-0. And so on …

The pressure isn’t dissipating, but the shock of it is. The Dodgers have won the NL West 10 of the past 11 seasons and have only the short-season 2020 championship to show for it, so I can forgive their fans for feeling numb about the Dodgers’ current predicament.

We’ve seen this movie before, after all, and so we know, if there’s one thing these Dodgers know how to do is come up with a good story. It’s the endings they struggle with.

Too much pressure.

Dodgers star Mookie Betts watches from the dugout during the eighth inning of Game 2 of their National League Division Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday night at Dodger Stadium. Betts and the Dodgers’ hitters are struggling mightily and are one of the reasons the team finds itself at the brink of elimination in the best-of-five series. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

​ Orange County Register 

Former Dodgers star Steve Garvey launches bid for US Senate

• October 10, 2023

Former Dodgers star Steve Garvey made his foray into the crowded U.S. Senate race official Tuesday morning, launching a bid as a Republican.

For Garvey, who played 14 seasons with the Dodgers before he finished with the San Diego Padres for five seasons, a move into the political arena isn’t much of a curveball. He’s advocated for fitness-related bills in Washington and considered a political career right after his retirement from baseball in 1987, though he was sidetracked by issues in his personal life for a while.

But Garvey says it’s the increased animosity in politics, “the bickering back and forth” among politicians, that made him finally take the plunge.

“All through these years, I’ve had this wonderful life, but I’ve always been interested in politics,” Garvey, 74, said in an interview ahead of the announcement.

“The last few years, I’ve been more and more concerned about what’s happening in our society and the quality of our life and the dysfunction of Washington,” said Garvey. “I’ve got to stand up if there’s a way to actually run and be heard, and I think there is.”

So he’s running, Garvey said, to bring “a fresh voice with fresh ideas” to represent California.

Former major league baseball infielder Steve Garvey speaks during the annual Lifepath banquet at the Holiday Inn Conference Center in Upper Macungie Twp. on Wednesday, November 21, 2018. With the Los Angeles Dodgers, Garvey played in 1,727 games over 14 seasons. He is jumping into the U.S. Senate race in California for the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s seat. (Harry Fisher / The Morning Call)

Garvey helped lead the Dodgers to the World Series four times and was one of the stars of their 1981 championship; he also led the Padres to their first World Series appearance in 1984. He was part of a Dodgers infield that remained together for a record 8 1/2 seasons, was a 10-time All-Star and was selected as the National League’s Most Valuable Player in 1974.

During his career, especially his time with the Dodgers, few would’ve been shocked if he eventually ran for office. But the immaculate image he maintained for much of his career was shattered by revelations of multiple affairs, children he fathered, a rather public divorce and strained-at-best relationships with his first two children. He receded from the spotlight for a long time after seemingly living in it for much of the 1970s and ’80s.

Much of the attention to that part of his life has faded, though, and he’s mainly remembered as a Southern California baseball great.

And after Sen. Dianne Feinstein — who died in late September — said early this year she wouldn’t run for re-election in 2024, Garvey started talking with consultants about a possible run and acknowledged that in June.

Since Feinstein’s announcement — and even a bit before — several candidates clamored early to announce bids for the seat.

On the Democratic side, that includes Reps. Barbara Lee of Oakland, Katie Porter of Irvine and Adam Schiff of Burbank as well as former tech executive Lexi Reese.

It’s not yet clear if Sen. Laphonza Butler, a former union leader who was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newson and sworn into the Senate following Feinstein’s death, plans to run as well.

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On the Republican side, which includes Garvey, there’s attorney Eric Early, who unsuccessfully ran for attorney general in 2018 and 2022, as well as a few other contenders with no statewide name ID.

Name ID is not the biggest problem for Garvey — albeit, one of the first items on Garvey’s campaign to-do list is reintroducing himself, he said — and he’s drawing heavily on his baseball background in the race. His launch video juxtaposes coverage of his athletic career with his campaign message: “It’s time to get off the bench. It’s time to put the uniform on. It’s time to get back in the game,” he says in the spot.

Still, his entrance into the race begs the question: Can a Republican win in a California where Democrats hold every statewide office and dominate the legislative and congressional delegations? Could a baseball star running on the GOP ticket be successful in a state where Republicans, who are outnumbered about 2-to-1 by Democratic voters, have struggled for years to find candidates for top offices?

“If Garvey is going to duplicate his success, his chances get much better if he runs the same type of campaign that (former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger) did,” Dan Schnur, a former campaign consultant who teaches about political messaging at UC Berkeley and USC, has said.

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“Part of what made (Schwarzenegger) different is that he was extremely well-known,” Schnur said. “The other thing that made him different was his ability to combine a conservative economic message with a more centrist approach on social issues.”

The most recent time a Republican was elected to the U.S. Senate was 1988 when Pete Wilson won re-election to what would be his final term before becoming California’s governor.

And in the past two U.S. Senate races, Democrats outperformed Republicans by such a great margin that it was only the Democrats who advanced past the primary to make it into the November election.

Garvey says he’s not running with the party label in mind. He plans to focus on consensus building — like rebuilding a team, he said. When pressed on what issues drive his campaign, he said it’s “quality of life” concerns like the economy, public safety and education.

“Yes, I’ve got an ‘R’ next to my name, but in order to run for all the people, people have to know I care about all of them,” Garvey said. “Somebody needs to bring people together.”

“Sure, I’ll be a rookie,” he said, “but I’d like to think I’ll be a well-prepared rookie who has had life experiences who can represent the people of California and the people of this country.”

​ Orange County Register 

Eastbound 91 Freeway to close overnight in Corona three nights a week

• October 10, 2023

Beginning next week and continuing through November, the eastbound 91 Freeway in Corona will be shut down overnight, three days a week, for work on an interchange improvement project.

The nighttime closures are set to get underway Monday, Oct. 16, with all eastbound 91 lanes out of service from Green River Road to Serfas Club Drive, on the west end of Corona.

The lane closures will be in effect from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. The same closures will be implemented again on Tuesday, Oct. 17, and Wednesday, Oct. 18, according to the Riverside County Transportation Commission.

The agency said that the Monday-to-Wednesday schedule will be maintained, weather-permitting, until Nov. 30.

In addition to the general-purpose lanes, the two toll lanes on the eastbound 91 will be shut down at the same time.

The closures are required for the 71/91 Interchange Project, which entails replacing the current single-lane connector from the eastbound 91 to the 71 Freeway with a two-lane connector loop, which will facilitate a larger volume of vehicles at one time, reducing congestion.

The $137 million project began in February.

A commission statement said the nighttime closures will “allow crews to safely construct support structures for the new connector.”

The Green River Road on-ramp to the eastbound 91 will also have to be shut down for traffic safety during the work.

Commission officials recommend that motorists avoid the eastbound 91 during the overnight hours Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, starting next week, and instead use the 60 Freeway to the north as an alternate. Otherwise, traffic will be crammed into a single lane, taken off the freeway at Green River Road and funneled through the city to downtown, where drivers can rejoin the eastbound 91.

Along with expanding the connector itself, the project will also involve adding an eastbound auxiliary lane to the 91 and realigning the Green River Road on-ramp. The expressway, too, will be realigned to create space for the new connector.

Officials said that a wildlife crossing will be one of the other features of the reconfigured interchange.

The project is expected to conclude in 2025.

More than one-third of the project funding — $58.1 million — is being provided by the California Road Repair & Accountability Act of 2017, which hiked gasoline taxes to pay for infrastructure and other projects. The county’s Measure A revenue, which is generated by a half-cent sales tax, is also covering a share of the expense, while federal and other sources make up the difference.

Project information: www.rctc.org/71-91interchange

​ Orange County Register 

Dodgers’ bullpen shines in NLDS Game 2 loss to Diamondbacks

• October 10, 2023

LOS ANGELES ― After the Dodgers lost Game 1 of the National League Division Series, Manager Dave Roberts vowed to “manage Game 2 like it’s Game 7. And I’m going to do the same thing for Game 3.”

Monday, the Dodgers’ elimination-game strategy was revealed before an announced crowd of 51,449. The chorus of boos that greeted nearly every pitching change – there were four, beginning with starter Bobby Miller’s second-inning exit – combined bass notes of disappointment with a falsetto of incredulity.

But Roberts had no designs on winning a popularity contest, only a baseball game. Even that was just a tad out of reach in the Dodgers’ 4-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Now, the do-or-die nature of Game 3 is not a matter of choice for the Dodgers.

For a night at least, the “bullpen game” approach looked like the right one. The three runs Miller allowed in 1⅔ innings represented the difference between a win and a loss. And the four high-leverage relievers Roberts tasked with the final 7⅓ innings – Brusdar Graterol, Ryan Brasier, Joe Kelly and Evan Phillips – allowed four hits, only one run, and struck out nine.

“The bullpen was fantastic,” Roberts said. “Those guys gave us a chance to stay in the ballgame and to win. I can’t say enough about what they did. The series sets up well in terms of off-days, so they’ll all be available for Game 3.”

If Roberts’ own words were not enough to suggest a short leash was in store for Miller in Game 2, there was this: no bullpen in baseball had a lower ERA after the All-Star break than the Dodgers (2.26). Graterol (0.32), Brasier (0.31), Kelly (1.74) and Phillips (1.38) were among the best individual relievers during that stretch. They represented the strongest links in the strongest unit on the Dodgers’ pitching staff.

Miller fared slightly better than Game 1 starter Clayton Kershaw, completing the first inning on 32 pitches. But the Diamondbacks began the second inning with the hardest hit allowed by any pitcher in Game 2, a 110-mph single off the bat of Evan Longoria.

By the time Tommy Pham was announced prior to his second plate appearance of the game, the Diamondbacks had runners on first and second base with two outs. Graterol was warm. Roberts decided Miller had faced his final batter.

“He wasn’t sharp for me,” Roberts said of Miller. “I thought he was getting behind (in counts). Those guys saw a lot of pitches. … Being down 3-0 in the first inning. … The second inning, recalling the at-bat Pham had on him (a line-drive single). The guy behind him, (Christian) Walker, really squared the ball up in his first at-bat. At that time we couldn’t go down 4-0. I wanted to give our team a chance to extend the game.”

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The bullpen answered the call. Graterol retired Pham on one pitch, getting him to ground out on a 100-mph sinker. From there on out, the game was a fairly even match.

The Diamondbacks’ fourth and final run came on a solo home run by Lourdes Gurriel Jr. against Brasier in the sixth inning – and even that pitch was no beach ball. The down-and-away slider that landed in the left field bleachers yielded a .087 slugging percentage when thrown with two strikes in 2023, according to Inside Edge.

The Diamondbacks had runners in scoring position in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings but could not score. All three of their hits with runners in scoring position came against Miller.

Although the Dodgers are facing elimination after throwing “bullpen games” in Games 1 and 2, their relief pitchers have done little to dissuade Roberts from using the same strategy in Game 3.

​ Orange County Register 

26-year-old Santa Ana man dies after shooting, collision

• October 10, 2023

A 26-year-old man died late Sunday after he was shot, lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a fence in Santa Ana, police said.

The crash occurred just before midnight on the 2300 block of West 5th Street, where police found the victim, Gonzalo Carlos from Santa Ana, suffering from gunshot wounds in his upper torso, police said. Orange County Fire Authority personnel pronounced Carlos dead at the scene.

The shooting did not appear to be gang-related, Santa Ana Police Officer Natalie Garcia said Monday. Details surrounding the circumstances of the homicide are under investigation.

Anyone with information helpful to investigators was asked to call SAPD Homicide Section Detectives at (714) 245-8390 or Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIP OCCS.

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​ Orange County Register 

Raiders intercept Jordan Love 3 times, hold on to beat Packers

• October 10, 2023

By MARK ANDERSON AP Sports Writer

LAS VEGAS — Robert Spillane intercepted Green Bay’s Jordan Love twice, Amik Robertson made a game-sealing pick in the end zone, and the Las Vegas Raiders beat the Packers, 17-13, on Monday night to stop a three-game skid.

The Raiders’ offense did just enough, with Jimmy Garoppolo completing 22 of 31 passes for 208 yards and a touchdown while throwing his NFL-high seventh interception. Jakobi Meyers caught seven passes for 75 yards and a touchdown.

Love was 16 of 30 for 182 yards with the three interceptions.

Both offenses struggled. The Raiders (2-3) gained 279 yards and the Packers (2-3) finished with 285.

Las Vegas ended an eight-game skid against the Packers. The franchise last beat Green Bay in 1987 when it played in Los Angeles.

The Raiders took a 10-3 lead into halftime thanks to a 9-yard touchdown pass from Garoppolo to Meyers. Las Vegas had a chance for an even bigger lead after linebacker Spillane’s interception in the second quarter gave the Raiders possession at the Green Bay 7-yard line, but settled for a short field goal.

That kind of start was nothing new for the Packers, who have scored six first-half points in their past three games. They overcame a 17-0 deficit at the break two weeks ago to beat the New Orleans Saints, and last week outscored the Detroit Lions 17-7 in the second half but still lost by two touchdowns.

And, right on cue, the Packers opened the second half with Rudy Ford’s interception of Garoppolo. That led to AJ Dillon’s 5-yard touchdown run to tie the score.

Later in the third quarter, Green Bay failed to take advantage of a short field. Love found Christian Watson without a defender within about 10 yards of him. The 77-yard completion – and a horse-collar tackle penalty – put the Packers at the 3. But Green Bay had to settle for a chip-shot field goal to go ahead 13-10.

The lead didn’t hold up long. Josh Jacobs’ 2-yard touchdown run to open the fourth quarter put Las Vegas back in front.

GOLDEN KNIGHTS LIGHT TORCH

The Vegas Golden Knights, with the Stanley Cup in tow, lit the Al Davis memorial torch before the game. They drew a loud ovation from the crowd, which chanted “Go Knights Go.”

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The Knights will raise their championship banner Tuesday night before facing the Seattle Kraken in the season opener.

INJURIES

Green Bay got a boost when cornerback Jaire Alexander started after missing the previous two games with a back injury. … Packers linebacker Quay Walker (knee) and safety Darnell Savage (calf) were injured in the second quarter. … The Raiders entered the game thin at cornerback with Nate Hobbs (ankle) and Jakorian Bennett (hamstring) not playing.

UP NEXT

Packers: After a bye, they play at Denver on Oct. 22.

Raiders: Las Vegas coach Josh McDaniels goes against his old boss for the second season in a row when Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots visit on Sunday.

​ Orange County Register