The Compost: Sustainable homes, jobs, wine and more at free event

• October 10, 2023

Welcome to The Compost, a weekly newsletter on key environmental news impacting Southern California. Subscribe now to get it in your inbox! In today’s edition…

Would you live in a hexagon-shaped home if it was climate-friendly?

What about a dome?

Those are some of the designs chosen by student homebuilders from across Southern California and beyond who are competing in the inaugural Orange County Sustainability Decathlon at the OC Fair & Event Center. I talked to some of those students about their homes, and I spoke with event founders about how this all came to be, for a recent story. The free event is now halfway over, but there’s plenty of time to catch the second half!

During the first half of the decathlon, which ran Oct. 5 through Oct. 8, visitors got student-guided tours of the homes built by teams from UC Irvine, Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Long Beach, Cal Poly Pomona, UC Riverside and more. They could also watch a fashion show with thrifted clothing, a falconry presentation with live birds, a symphony performance and more. If you missed it, you can watch the opening ceremonies and speakers from the first half of the event on the OCSD23 YouTube channel. Or hop over to Instagram to see highlights, including interviews with many of the student teams.

Here’s a smattering of online feedback from visitors who’ve made it out so far:

“The students did such an amazing job. The future is bright!”
“Good stuff!”
“So neat to have this in Costa Mesa!”
“Great job everyone! You make your schools proud!”

Now the volunteer crew behind the festival is getting ready for the second half, which kicks off Wednesday and runs through Sunday evening. Some key events for the second half of the festival include:

Guided model home tours from 3-9 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
An awards ceremony from 2-3 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Saturday to recognize different elements of these sustainable student homes
A job and school fair focused on careers in sustainability from 3-6 p.m. Friday
A sustainable beer and wine garden open 3-6 p.m. Thursday and Friday and noon to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
A presentation on building homes using concrete made from hemp from 4-5 p.m. Thursday
A demonstration of technology that can extract water from air from 6-7 p.m. Friday

The event is free to attend. But if you visit OCSD23.com and register to attend, you’ll get access to download a free app, which has details about events each day.

— By Brooke Staggs, environment reporter

 PROTECT

Santa Susana site sparks new concerns: A watchdog group is raising concerns about possible water contamination from Santa Susana, a hilltop site between the Simi and San Fernando valleys that suffered a partial nuclear meltdown decades ago. Local officials tell our Olga Grigoryants that the water is safe and they’re working to address the pollution. …READ MORE…

Meat processing plant is a smelly neighbor: Vernon residents who live near a plant that processes meat parts have complained about putrid smells for years, until air quality officials finally shut the facility down. But a deeply reported series by Julia Barajas with LAist reveals the company has partially reopened the plant and is suing air regulators in hopes of getting back to full-scale operations. …READ MORE…

Edison sued over wildfires: Orange County is suing Southern California Edison and T-Mobile, claiming that the companies’ failure to maintain equipment caused the 2020 Silverado Fire and the 2022 Coastal Fire. Our Sean Emery reports county agencies want to recoup their costs for dealing with the two wildfires, though no price has been given. …READ MORE…

Background: The state forestry department also sued Southern California Edison and T-Mobile last year over the Silverado Fire.

Weigh in on creek project: Since the 1980s, federal authorities have discussed replacing trees and other greenery surrounding the Santiago Creek bed in Santa Ana with a flood control channel. The goal is to prevent flooding in the area during heavy rains. But area residents are now pushing back against the idea of ripping out the natural habitat to send more rainwater out to the ocean, our Destiny Torres reports, with comments on the proposal accepted through Nov. 14. …READ MORE…

 BREATHE

Remembering our smoggy past: It’s sometimes tough to make younger folks and Southern California transplants grasp just how severe our smog problem was before key environmental protections started to kick in half a century ago. Just point them to this new column from the L.A. Times’ always great Patt Morrison to get them up to speed. …READ MORE…

 TRANSPORT

Train ride gets even cleaner: Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner passenger trains, which run through Southern California, are now operating on renewable diesel. Annika Bahnsen reports the change will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 63% throughout a train’s lifecycle. …READ MORE…

Get a roundup of the best climate and environment news delivered to your inbox each week by signing up for The Compost.

 REGULATE

Wild burros prompt new law: Wild burros in the Inland Empire — and problems they cause — are the focus of a new state law that Gov. Gavin Newsom just signed, which lets counties work with nonprofit groups to care for, remove and relocate burros. Jeff Horseman reports an area that runs roughly from Colton to Moreno Valley is home to the largest undomesticated burro population in California. …READ MORE…

Debate over solar payments pivots to apartments: On Thursday, Ben Christopher with CalMatters reports the California Public Utilities Commission is expected to vote on whether to reduce payments that owners of solar panel-equipped apartment buildings get for electricity generated on their rooftops. It’s similar to a controversial change the commission approved in December for single-family homes. Environmentalists say both policies will hurt California’s climate goals. …READ MORE…

Dive deeper: Sammy Roth, who’s now the first climate columnist for the Los Angeles Times, says California needs to get its act together on rooftop solar.

New limits on port emissions debated: Local air quality regulators are considering new rules that would require companies to reduce emissions at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which contribute to higher rates of asthma and other illnesses for nearby residents. But our Donna Littlejohn reports business groups are pushing back, warning the rules will hurt jobs, the local economy and the nation’s supply chain. …READ MORE…

 CELEBRATE

The beach is back: A stretch of Capistrano Beach is usable again, after crews moved enough sand to fill 13 Olympic size swimming pools from the Santa Ana River to the coast to replace eroded sediment. Locals say it’s cause for celebration, though our Laylan Connelly also has words of caution about the need for ongoing sand replenishment. …READ MORE…

Miracle water year: California ended its water year on Saturday with enough rain and snow to fill the state’s reservoirs to 128% of their historical average, Adam Beam with the Associated Press reports. That makes the past water year, which runs through Sept. 30, among the wettest in recorded state history. …READ MORE…

A ladder along Annie’s Canyon Trail, which goes through a sandstone canyon in Solana Beach. (Photo by Brooke Staggs, Orange County Register/SCNG)

 EXPLORE

Easy ladder hike with bonus wetlands: Want a short hike that takes you by bird-filled wetlands, through a narrow slot canyon and has views of the ocean? Annie’s Canyon Trail in Solana Beach is just 1.5 miles if you start from the Rios trailhead like we did. But it packs so much in! This trail has been on my list since I first read a couple years ago about how a local woman named Annie bought this land. Apparently the canyon was long known to locals as the Mushroom Caves, with walls covered in graffiti. After Annie bought it to preserve as a public trail, volunteers marked the path and cleaned the graffiti to reveal these golden sandstone surfaces. The short canyon gets very narrow at times. There are some big steps up and one fun ladder to navigate, but it’s otherwise an easy trail. Just make sure that when the path forks, you follow the sign to the “hard” portion through the canyon so you’ll be going up the one-way path!

 PITCH IN

Get paid to rip out grass: For this week’s tip on how Southern Californians can help the environment… Single-family homeowners in Los Angeles’ disadvantaged communities will soon be able to apply for rebates for replacing their lawns with water-efficient landscapes. The Department of Water and Power just got $14.9 million in state grants to help fund the rebates. Residents are encouraged to watch their water bills for details, which are coming soon. …READ MORE…

Thanks for reading, Composters! And don’t forget to sign up to get The Compost delivered to your inbox.

​ Orange County Register 

More schools stock overdose reversal meds, but others worry about stigma

• October 10, 2023

Rae Ellen Bichell, Virginia Garcia Pivik | (TNS) KFF Health News

Last year, a student fell unconscious after walking out of a bathroom at Central High School in Pueblo, Colorado. When Jessica Foster, the school district’s lead nurse, heard the girl’s distraught friends mention drugs, she knew she had to act fast.

Emergency responders were just four minutes away. “But still four minutes — if they are completely not breathing, it’s four minutes too long,” Foster said.

Foster said she got a dose of naloxone, a medication that can rapidly reverse an opioid overdose, and gave it to the student. The girl revived.

Forty-five miles away in Colorado Springs, Mitchell High School officials didn’t have naloxone on hand when a 15-year-old student overdosed in class in December 2021 after snorting a fentanyl-laced pill in a school bathroom. That student died.

Colorado Springs’ school district has since joined Pueblo and dozens of other districts in the state in supplying middle and high schools with the lifesaving medication, often known by one of its brand names, Narcan. Since passage of a 2019 state law, Colorado has had a program that allows schools to obtain the medicine, typically in nasal spray form, for free or at a reduced cost.

Not all schools are on board with the idea, though. Though more districts have signed on since last year, only about a third of Colorado districts had enrolled in the state’s giveaway program at the start of this school year. And within the dozen counties with the highest drug overdose death rates in the state, many school districts had not signed up in the face of ongoing stigma around the need for the overdose reversal medication.

The federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration recommends that schools, including elementary schools, keep naloxone on hand as fatal opioid overdoses rise, particularly from the potent drug fentanyl. And 33 states have laws that expressly allow schools or school employees to carry, store, or administer naloxone, according to Jon Woodruff, managing attorney at the Legislative Analysis and Public Policy Association, which tracks naloxone policies across the country.

Among those, about nine states require at least some K-12 schools to store naloxone on-site, including Illinois, whose requirement goes into effect in January. Some states, such as Maine, also require that public schools offer training to students in how to administer naloxone in nasal spray form.

Rhode Island requires all K-12 schools, both public and private, to stock naloxone. Joseph Wendelken, a spokesperson for the Rhode Island Department of Health, said in the past four years naloxone was administered nine times to people ages 10 to 18 in educational settings.

In early September, the medication also became available over the counter nationally, though the $45 price tag per two-dose package has some addiction specialists worried it will be out of reach for those who need it most.

But the medicine still isn’t as publicly widespread as automated external defibrillators or fire extinguishers. Kate King, president of the National Association of School Nurses, said reluctance to stock it in schools can stem from officials being afraid to provide a medical service or the ongoing cost of resupplying the naloxone and training people to use it. But the main hang-up she’s heard is that schools are afraid they’ll be stigmatized as a “bad school” that has a drug problem or as a school that condones bad choices.

“School districts are very careful regarding their image,” said Yunuen Cisneros, community outreach and inclusion manager at the Public Education & Business Coalition, which serves most of the state’s school districts. “Many of them don’t want to accept this program, because to accept it is to accept a drug addiction problem.”

That’s the wrong way to think about it, King said. “We really equate it to our stock albuterol for asthma attacks, our stock epinephrine for anaphylactic reactions,” she said.

Colorado health officials could not say how often naloxone had been used on school grounds in the state. So far this year, at least 15 children ages 10 to 18 have died of fentanyl overdoses but not necessarily in schools. And in 2022, 34 children in that age group died, according to the state Department of Public Health and Environment. That included 13-year-old José Hernández, who died in August 2022 from a fentanyl overdose at home just days after starting eighth grade at Aurora Hills Middle School. His grandmother found his body over the bathroom sink in the early morning.

With the arrival of this new school year, supplies of naloxone are on hand for kids in more Colorado schools. Last year, state lawmakers appropriated $19.7 million in federal aid to the Naloxone Bulk Purchase Fund, which is accessible to school districts, jails, first responders, and community service organizations, among others.

“It’s the most we’ve ever had,” said Andrés Guerrero, manager of the state health department’s overdose prevention program.

According to data provided by Colorado’s health department, 65 school districts were enrolled in the state program to receive naloxone at low or no cost at the start of the school year. Another 16 had reached out to the state for information but hadn’t finalized orders as of mid-August. The remaining 97 school districts either didn’t stock naloxone at their schools or sourced it from elsewhere.

Guerrero said the districts decide whom to train to administer the medicine. “In some cases, it’s just the school nurses. In some cases, it’s school nurses and the teachers,” he said. “And in some cases, we have the students as well.”

In Durango, the 2021 death of a high schooler galvanized students to push for the right to carry naloxone with them to school with parental permission — and to administer it if need be — without fear of punishment.

It took picketing outside a school board meeting to get permission, said Hays Stritikus, who graduated this spring from Durango High School. He’s now involved in drafting legislation that would expressly allow students across the state to carry and distribute Narcan on school grounds.

“The ultimate goal is a world where Narcan is not necessary,” he said. “But that’s just not where we live.”

Some health experts disagree that all schools should stock naloxone. Lauren Cipriano, a health economist at Western University in Canada, has studied the cost-effectiveness of naloxone in secondary schools there. While opioid poisonings have occurred on school grounds, she said, high schools tend to be really low-risk settings.

More effective strategies for combating the opioid epidemic are needle exchange sites, supervised drug consumption sites, and medication-assisted treatment that reduces cravings or mutes highs, Cipriano said. But those approaches can be expensive compared with naloxone distribution.

“When the state makes a big, free program like this, it looks like they’re doing something about the opioid epidemic,” she said. “It’s cheap and it looks like you’re doing something, and that’s, like, political gold.”

Denver Public Schools, the largest school district in Colorado, started stocking naloxone in 2022, said Jade Williamson, manager of the district’s healthy schools program.

“We know some of the students are on the forefront of these things before older generations,” Williamson said. “To know where to find it, and to access it when needed through these adults who’ve trained, whether that’s a school nurse or a school administrator, I think it brings them some sense of relief.”

The state’s seven largest districts, with more than 25,000 students each, all participate in the state program. By contrast, a KFF Health News analysis found, only 21% of districts with up to 1,200 students have signed up for it — even though many of those small districts are in areas with drug overdose death rates higher than the state average.

Some school districts figured out a path to getting naloxone outside of the state program. That includes Pueblo School District 60, where lead nurse Foster gave naloxone to a student last year.

The Pueblo school district gets naloxone at no cost from a local nonprofit called the Southern Colorado Harm Reduction Association. Foster said she tried signing up for the state program but encountered difficulties. So she decided to stick with what was already working.

Moffat County School District RE-1 in Craig, Colorado, gets its naloxone from a local addiction treatment center, according to district nurse Myranda Lyons. She said she trains school staffers on how to administer it when she teaches them CPR.

Christopher deKay, superintendent of Ignacio School District 11Jt, said its school resource officers already carry naloxone but that the district enrolled in the state program, too, so that schools could stock the medication in the nursing office in case a resource officer isn’t around.

“It’s like everything — like training for fire safety. You don’t know what’s going to happen in your school,” said deKay. “If the unthinkable happens, we want to be able to respond in the best way possible.”

This story was produced with reporting assistance from El Comercio de Colorado .

—-

(KFF Health News, formerly known as Kaiser Health News (KHN), is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs of KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling and journalism.)

©2023 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

​ Orange County Register 

What can I do if I am the victim of identity theft? Ask the Lawyer

• October 10, 2023

Q: Never thought this would happen to me. Someone somehow got my Social Security number, obtained a credit card and charged items on it. I found out when the bill came. Now what?

A.S., Torrance

Ron Sokol

A: If an identity thief steals your SSN, he or she may use it to apply for a credit card or loan, and also seek to receive medical, disability and other benefits.

There are a number of steps you can take, not the least of which is reporting the matter to law enforcement right away, and to the Federal Trade Commission (with regard to the FTC, see the information at the end of this column).

In addition, place a fraud alert (freeze your credit) and get your credit reports; see if anything else is happening as a result of the theft of your SSN. You will no doubt want to replace your Social Security card (online you can read about this at ssa.gov/number-card/replace-card).

Be proactive!

Q: Is there insurance for identity theft?

J.V., Irvine

A: There is insurance for identity theft. Research indicates the typical policy provides certain financial protection if your identity is stolen, and may also provide you with alerts about suspicious activity. Such a policy usually will cover the costs of restoring your identity, and in some cases may reimburse you for money lost as a result of the unauthorized transactions.

Bottom line, if you have a trusted insurance agent, go over carefully with him or her what is available in the way of identity theft insurance. If you “do it yourself,” make sure you know what you are getting, and not getting, along with your options.

FTC

The Federal Trade Commission has a helpful online link if you are the victim of identity theft. Go to identitytheft.gov/#/. Among other steps, there is a form you should promptly fill out and submit to the FTC.

Ron Sokol has been a practicing attorney for over 40 years, and has also served many times as a judge pro tem, mediator, and arbitrator.  It is important to keep in mind that this column presents a summary of the law, and is not to be treated or considered legal advice, let alone a substitute for actual consultation with a qualified professional.

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​ Orange County Register 

Schools chief Thurmond urges statewide paid internships program

• October 10, 2023

By JOSE HERRERA, City News Service

LOS ANGELES — As part of a summit focused on preparing students for the future, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond on Tuesday, Oct. 10, called for the development of a statewide paid internship program to help teens and young adults work and learn about career pathways.

The two-day summit held at the California Department of Education headquarters in Sacramento and broadcast online is aimed at connecting partners such as school districts, workforce agencies, public housing agencies and government agencies, among others, to develop the internship program and help prevent youth from engaging in crime, according to Thurmond’s office.

The paid internship program will also be designed to connect participants with career advisers to “ensure they have a secure role in the global economy in the years ahead.”

During a news conference to begin the summit, Thurmond said there are thousands of students who are homeless across the state and many more who are on their own, stressing that students are in need of housing, mental health support and career advising.

“That’s what this summit is about — building together with partners from every sector,” Thurmond said. “We will be designing today for the next hour or two, a strategy for how to launch a statewide youth strategy for paid internships.”

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass joined the news conference virtually from L.A. City Hall. She noted that Los Angeles, like other California cities, have become expensive to live in.

Bass added that while for some individuals, who come from middle- and upper-class families that may support them, a long-term unpaid internship is feasible, but for the majority of young people, that’s not the reality.

“I have had interns with me for the last 20 to 30 years as I’ve done this type of work. There’s always been interns, but because I have focused on kids from challenging circumstances, we’ve always needed to provide some financial support,” Bass said.

FILE | Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)

Bass highlighted $53 million the city received from CalVolunteers, a state office aimed at bolstering volunteering and civic action. The $53 million will help connect 4,000 young people to jobs and provide them training by May 1, 2024. More than 1,300 young people participated in the CalVolunteers-funded programs, such as Angelenos Corps and Student 2 Student, she said.

Internships can often be a “life changing experience” for young people, exposing them to careers that might not be accessible in their communities, Bass said.

According to Thurmond’s office, the summit will explore ways to design paid training and career coaching programs and examine other programs that may help, such as mentoring, mental health and housing programs. The program will be designed to connect for youth ages 13 to 24.

The summit will focus on how to launch programs and pilots in Oakland as a start and examine ways to expand to other cities such as San Francisco, Sacramento, Fresno, Los Angeles and San Diego.

In 2022, Thurmond sponsored Assembly Bill 2088 to fund paid internships for youth and he has signaled that will support a similar measure in the 2024 legislative cycle. Thurmond and partners will be contacting foundations, corporations, donors, nonprofits and businesses to help fund pilot programs until a legislative allocation can be pursued in 2024.

Those interested in participating in the summit or in supporting the paid internships program can contact [email protected].

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​ Orange County Register 

Making water conservation a ‘California way of life’: Controversial state rules could cost $13 billion

• October 10, 2023

Saying the targets to cut water use in cities and towns will be costly and difficult to achieve, water agencies throughout California have raised concerns about an ambitious state proposal that would require more water conservation statewide beginning in 2025.

The State Water Resources Control Board’s proposed regulations would mandate conservation measures by more than 400 cities and water agencies that serve about 95% of Californians. The measure could save about 413,000 acre-feet a year by 2030, enough to serve about 1.2 million households per year.

During the last three-year severe drought, which ended this year, the Newsom administration set voluntary conservation goals that were largely ineffective. Californians used only about 6% less water from July 2021 through the end of last year compared to 2020, far less than Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 15% goal.

The new rules are mandated by a package of laws — enacted in 2018 by the Legislature and former Gov. Jerry Brown — that aim to make “water conservation a California way of life,” not simply an emergency drought measure.

Water providers from the Mojave Desert to Sonoma County and beyond warned at a board workshop on Wednesday that the regulations would be a challenge, particularly because many would have to make steep cuts to outdoor water use. About 80 people, mostly representing water agencies, spoke during the meeting, which lasted longer than eight hours.

The regulation would cost water suppliers about $13.5 billion from 2025 to 2040 — more than 40% of which would fund rebate programs and other efforts to cut residential water use, according to the water board. But the benefits are anticipated to reach about $15.6 billion between 2025 and 2040, largely from reduced water purchases by both suppliers and customers.

“It’s awkward, because we are committed to water use efficiency,” said Ryan Ojakian, government relations manager for the Regional Water Authority, which represents Sacramento-area providers. “It really comes down to, are the regulations feasible? Are the costs worth the benefits? And what are the consequences in achieving the regulations?”

The water board is expected to vote by next summer on the rules, which could go into effect next fall.

Water suppliers, not individual customers, would have to meet the targets — and each supplier would need to figure out its own strategy. These could include rebates that encourage customers to swap out thirsty lawns for more drought-proof landscapes or rate structures that penalize heavy water users.

Water providers said it will be difficult to squeeze more conservation out of their customers.

“They want us to save water at such an accelerated rate, that even if we had all the money, we would not be able to convince our customer base to participate at the rates we need them to,” said Joe Berg, director of water use efficiency at the Municipal Water District of Orange County. “We can build it, but they don’t necessarily come.”

The state agency’s formula sets targets for each water agency based on goals for indoor and outdoor residential water use, business landscapes with dedicated irrigation meters, losses like leaks and other variables, such as the presence of livestock in a region.

In the rules, the state’s targets for indoor and outdoor water use in residential areas ratchet down, beginning in 2030 and then again in 2035.

Suppliers that fail to live within their prescribed water budget could face escalating consequences that could eventually lead to fines of $1,000 a day starting in 2027 or $10,000 a day during droughts.

Tracy Quinn, CEO of the environmental group Heal the Bay, told the board that water conservation measures are critical as California stares down a water-scarce future.

Between the declining snowpack, ongoing haggling over Colorado River water, groundwater regulations and projections that climate change could dry up 10% of the state’s water supply, “there is an incredible need for us to do a rulemaking that’s going to require the efficient use of water,” she said.

About 231 agencies serving nearly 27 million Californians are already on track to meet the 2025 objectives without reducing their water use, mostly in the San Francisco Bay Area and Southern California. And 71 agencies serving 8.5 million Californians are expected to meet the 2035 standards as well, including the city of San Diego, the San Jose Water Company, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, the Irvine Ranch Water District and city of Santa Ana.

Cumulatively, the rules are expected to save about 6.3 million acre-feet between 2025 and 2040, mostly from residential measures.

Berg said the regulations could cost Orange County water agencies more than $707 million over 11 years to implement. But more than that, he said, he’s concerned that the standards for outdoor water conservation accelerate too quickly.

“If an agency were to look at the cost to comply and compare that to the cost of the fines, it wouldn’t surprise me if an agency just says, ‘Okay, we’ll just take fines,’” Berg said.

Claire Nordlie, water use efficiency supervisor for the city of Santa Rosa in Sonoma County, echoed those concerns during the workshop.

“I really want to emphasize that sustained water savings are difficult to achieve. It takes decades of time, and a significant investment of resources, as well as a population and a culture within your service area that want to participate,” she said.

Nordlie said fewer and fewer people are participating in the city’s rebate program for removing lawns, which offers $1 for every square foot of grass removed. Customers surveyed say that it costs about $7 a square foot to tear out their lawns. That cost, Nordlie said, is a major barrier.

“If customers don’t want to participate, we can’t force them to,” she said.

Jay Lund, director of the Center for Watershed Sciences at the University of California, Davis, told the board he’s concerned that the regulations could affect public trust.

“Certainly some aspects of our society are really upset every time you come in there with a new regulation, and so I think we have to bear that in mind,” Lund said. “Because that blowback can be very bad for a lot of more important things than this.”

Smaller water agencies, especially in inland regions, will be the hardest hit. Ten suppliers serving about 200,000 Californians are expected to face cuts upwards of 30% in 2025, but the number increases to 84 suppliers serving 3.7 million Californians in 2035. Included are the cities of Atwater and Kingsburg, the Oildale Mutual Water Company and the West Kern Water District, according to state data.

Jennifer Cusack, director of public and government affairs with the Hi-Desert Water District in Yucca Valley on the edge of Joshua Tree National Park, said the water agency has long struggled with its water supply and there’s little room for additional conservation. Many ornamental lawns are already gone and indoor water fixtures have been improved.

“There’s not a lot of opportunities for savings in our community, because we’ve done so much already,” she said. “A lot of folks don’t even irrigate their homes. They have dirt lots or maybe some trees.”

Even so, the desert water supplier is expected to be out of compliance with the 2030 and 2035 targets, which, she said, “just raises a red flag.”

In response to earlier calls for increased flexibility, state regulators offered an alternative pathway that would give some providers, such as those serving disadvantaged communities, extra time to meet a 2035 outdoor water-use target, provided they meet certain criteria.

​ Orange County Register 

The biggest winners in the Disneyland Magic Key settlement aren’t annual passholders

• October 10, 2023

The biggest winners in the $9.5 million Magic Key class action lawsuit weren’t Disneyland annual passholders, but rather the plaintiff, the settlement administration firm and the lawyers.

Disney agreed in September to settle a federal lawsuit alleging that annual passholders who purchased the $1,399 Dream Key in 2021 were unable to make theme park reservations at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure despite the promise of “no blockout dates.”

SEE ALSO: How to get your Disneyland Magic Key class action settlement

As a result of the class action suit, each of the 103,435 Dream Key annual passholders will get $67.41.

Magic Key passholders will get about $7 million of the $9.5 million settlement. The other $2.5 million will go to fees related to the case.

Magic Key passholder and plaintiff Jenale Nielsen of Santa Clara County will get $5,000 — 75 times what each of the other keyholders get as an “incentive award” for her time, effort and service.

SEE ALSO: Judge allows Disneyland passholder lawsuit to move forward

The class-action lawyers representing Nielsen are requesting $2.375 million — or 25% of the $9.5 million settlement.

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The settlement administrator for the Magic Key class action case estimates notification costs will run $147,547.The class action settlement administration firm provides notice to passholders, pays out the cash awards, fields inquiries, handles unclaimed funds and deals with all the expenses and taxes related to the settlement.

Disney is out $9.5 million plus attorney fees as a result of the Magic Key lawsuit — but it could have been much worse.

Nielsen’s lawyers had sought $39 million in the class action suit — or $379.19 per Dream Key annual passholders, according to court documents. The settlement saved Disney nearly $30 million in potential damages.

​ Orange County Register 

Mongolian rockers The Hu go to battle to save the Earth in new animated video ahead of OC show

• October 10, 2023

When it comes to its music videos, Mongolian-born band The Hu usually goes pretty epic, often depicting its members as heavy metal musical warriors in the middle of eye-stunning open landscapes that hark back to their ancient culture.

In its new video however, the band has gone with animation instead. But the video is still epic and the message still just as powerful.

Shortly ahead of its local show at the Observatory in Santa Ana on Oct. 24, the four-piece band released its first-ever animated video for the environmentally conscious song “Sell The World,” which is from the band’s 2022 sophomore album “Rumble of Thunder.”

“Our message has always been protecting mother nature and protecting and defending her and it seems like now is a pretty good time to have people be aware and protective of what we have. We only have one planet,” Galbadrakh Tsendbaatar, the band’s lead singer, who goes by Gala, said through a translator during a phone interview.

Formed in 2016 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, The Hu use traditional instruments like the morin khuur (horsehead fiddle) and a tumur khuur (jaw harp) and mix heavy metal music with guttural throat singing in their native language and lyrics that often touch on ancient war cries and honoring ancestors.

In the new video the band’s lyrics about saving the Earth are mixed with violence and gore to send a stern warning about the environment.

It depicts a butcher harvesting the organs of a woman to auction off to the wealthy. The woman represents the Earth and it’s all a metaphor for how humanity treats nature. There are violent fight scenes as chaos ensues on the auction floor while the Earth is figuratively being torn apart limb by limb.

“In the video it shows that through everyone’s greed they’re just destroying Mother Earth,” Gala said.  “It seems like the best way to get this message specifically through the audience is through animation. Through live action it may have taken a lot out of us especially when we’re touring,” he added.

The band, which performed at Coachella last year, is on a current 18-stop U.S. tour that included an Oct. 8 scheduled stop at the Wiltern in Los Angeles before they return to Orange County at the end of the month.

While their message is a serious one, the band still plans to rock and have a good time when they take the stage at the Observatory.

“We’re touring with our second album and it’s been great so far. It’s going to be a great show, we’re really looking forward to it,” Gala said.

The Hu

When: 7 p.m. Oct. 24

Where: The Observatory,  3503 S Harbor Blvd, Santa Ana,

Tickets:

Information: thehuofficial.com

​ Orange County Register 

Orange County girls athlete of the week: Malia Cottriel, Newport Harbor

• October 10, 2023

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The Orange County girls athlete of the week:

Name: Malia Cottriel

School: Newport Harbor

Sport: Golf

Year: Junior

Noteworthy: Cottriel shot a school record for girls or boys over nine holes with a 6-under-par 29 in a Wave League match against Edison. She recorded two eagles and two birdies in the round, which came two days after she carded a 3-under-par 32 in a victory against rival Corona del Mar.

Please send nominees for Orange County girls athlete of the week to [email protected] or @ocvarsityguy on X or Instagram

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​ Orange County Register