Cherry Blossom Festival celebrates Japanese connections

• April 16, 2023

This weekend’s Orange County Cherry Blossom Festival is Huntington Beach’s celebration of culture not just with its sister city in Japan, Anjo, but with the area’s Japanese American community.

The Huntington Beach Sister City Association hosts the annual celebration, which helps fund a student exchange program with Anjo.

Cultural performances continue throughout the day Sunday, April 16, involving music and dance. At 10:30 there will be a planting ceremony.

The festival also offers a look at Japanese arts and crafts, other entertainment and, of course, food.

The festival is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Huntington Beach’s Central Park, 7111 Talbert Ave.  Information: occbfest.com

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​ Orange County Register 

Coachella 2023: Photos of artist-inspired outfits and fashion during Weekend 1

• April 16, 2023

The perfect fit is a big deal every year at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, which took over the Empire Polo Club in Indio April 14-16 and returns for its second weekend, April 21-23.

Southern California News Group photographers roamed the sprawling grassy venue to find outfits that stood out during Weekend 1. Some of the trends this year included silver, mirror ball and metallic looks, black and brown leather accessories, lots of ruffles, couples and friends color coordinating with wild patterns and a sea of black and pink attire inspired by Saturday headliner, K-pop group Blackpink.

There was plenty of fashion inspired by other artists on the lineup, too. Friday headliner Bad Bunny definitely has an influence on the black leather and mesh trend, while acts like Ashnikko definitely had people sporting bright and wild colored hair and stick-on face jewels. Whether intentional or not, there were also tons of fans giving a subtle punk rock nod to Blondie vocalist Debbie Harry’s iconic style.

 More Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival news

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Coachella 2023: Juliet Mendoza shares what it’s like to be one of the opening acts

Coachella 2023: See Day 1 photos of Bad Bunny, Gorillaz, Blink-182 and Blondie

Coachella 2023: Bad Bunny makes history and Metro Boomin brings out several special guests

Coachella 2023: Blink-182 plays its first show with Tom DeLonge in nearly a decade 

Coachella 2023: Grabriels impresses and Boygenius joins Muna during Day 1

Coachella 2023: See photos from Day 1 of the festival 

Coachella 2023: Excited fans strut into Day 1 to catch their favorite acts 

Coachella 2023: Weekend Two hasn’t sold out yet. Here’s why that’s good for you

​ Orange County Register 

LAFC aware rival Galaxy is winless yet dangerous

• April 16, 2023

Everything except history favors the Los Angeles Football Club ahead of Sunday’s match against the Galaxy.

This year, six games into league play, LAFC is unbeaten. The Galaxy hasn’t won. LAFC is healthy. The Galaxy has suffered with injuries. Key moments keep going LAFC’s way. The Galaxy feels like they can’t catch a break. LAFC supporters are expected to attend the first “El Trafico” of 2023 in droves. Galaxy supporters have issued demands and threatened boycotts of the five-time MLS champions who have not lifted a trophy since 2015.

Depending on your outlook of a derby that prioritizes intensity and sheer madness over standings and form, the teams’ polar opposite starts make the early-season clash either a dangerous moment or a significant chance.

“For them, it’s a huge opportunity to turn their season [around], turn a corner and make the results that have been disappointing so far from their perspective a positive one,” LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo said of the Galaxy (0-3-3, 3 points). “So a lot is riding on the game for them. But it is for us, too. It’s a huge opportunity for us as well.”

Coming into its fifth match in 16 days, LAFC (4-0-2, 14 points) has not conceded a goal in April. However, riding high on a trio of 3-0 victories, including consecutive triumphs over Vancouver to advance to the semifinal round of CONCACAF Champions League, means little even against a team with as many goals as points.

After dropping both contests at Dignity Health Sports Park in 2022, including a U.S. Open Cup knockout game, LAFC is 0-6-2 when it takes the short bus ride south on the 110 freeway.

Carlos Vela remains the lone player from LAFC’s expansion season of 2018. Just like the LAFC captain, everyone else who has adorned the Black & Gold over the past five years knows the same fate on away days against their city rival.

“In the back of our heads, we’re also mindful that we haven’t won over there in Carson,” LAFC midfielder Kellyn Acosta said. “So for us, it’s an opportunity to one, get points there; two, change that whole narrative that we can’t win there; and three, put ourselves in another position to move forward and have sights on our goals.”

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Backup goalkeeper Eldin Jakupovic is ruled out due to a leg injury following his first appearance for LAFC against Vancouver on Tuesday. Starter John McCarthy will be supported by Abraham Romero. Otherwise, all systems go for Cherundolo’s group, which aims to deliver like it has versus other opponents this year.

“It’s always funny to me because the games get crazier and crazier, which you think that could never happen,” Acosta said. “For us, obviously a lot of us got a taste last year. But this year we want to keep playing our way and hopefully have more control of the games.”

LAFC should feel heavy support away from BMO Stadium – potentially more than usual if a no-show protest from frustrated Galaxy watchers materializes. Six hundred tickets allotted to the “3252” are sold out, with thousands more LAFC fans expected to descend upon Galaxy turf for the midday kickoff.

LAFC (4-0-2) at Galaxy (0-3-3)

When: Sunday, 1:30 p.m.

Where: Dignity Health Sports Park

TV/Radio: FOX (Ch. 11), Apple TV+ – MLS Season Pass (free)/1110 AM, 980 AM

​ Orange County Register 

Kamala Harris rallies as high court eyes abortion pill rules

• April 16, 2023

By Bobby Caina Calvan and Stefanie Dazio | Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday urged Americans to take action during “a critical point in our nation’s history” as thousands of protesters demonstrated across the country against new limits to abortion rights making their way through the courts.

Saturday’s nationwide rallies were sparked by the U.S. Supreme Court’s actions the day before, when the high court intervened to delay rule changes that would have limited the way the abortion drug mifepristone could be used and dispensed. The limits were paused while the court reviews the case more thoroughly.

Harris made a surprise stop in Los Angeles at one of the rallies, where she called the latest upheaval over abortion rights a further incursion by conservatives into myriad “fundamental rights” many Americans thought they had.

“And so this is a moment that history will show required each of us — based on our collective love of our country — to stand up, and fight for, and protect our ideals. That’s what this moment is,” she said Saturday, speaking to several hundred demonstrators from the steps of City Hall. “When you attack the rights of women in America, you are attacking America.”

Some of the protesters voiced their anger at the steps of the nation’s high court, which took Friday’s action at the request of the federal Justice Department. The agency asked the high court to lift restrictions on mifepristone imposed by an appellate court in Texas earlier in the week. The decision by the appellate court reduced the window of time when the drug could be used and prevented the drug from being dispensed by mail.

Critics of the Texas and appellate court decisions, including pharmaceutical companies, viewed the courts’ actions as a dangerous intrusion into the authority of the FDA, which regulates how medications are sold and used in the United States.

Demonstrators in New York City stood behind a sign with a four-letter expletive directed at Texas, where a federal judge set off the latest salvo in the battle over abortion. They held signs urging the government to defend medication abortions.

But the crowd was modest, attracting a little more than 100 people outside the picturesque public library along Fifth Avenue.

Still, the demonstrators attracted looks from passersby along the busy thoroughfare, some briefly joining the group to lend their voices.

“It can be hard to get people out, because people are being bombarded with all kinds of assaults on their bodies and people are tired and poor,” said Viva Ruiz, who said she helped organize the rally.

“The news cycle is so fast that when one thing happens something terrible happens the next day. So it’s hard to sustain the momentum or the energy for people to be on the streets,” Ruiz said.

With few exceptions, many of the rallies — organized under the banner of a group calling itself “Bigger than Roe” — were held in smaller cities.

Since last year’s reversal of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized the right to an abortion, more than a dozen states have effectively outlawed abortion, while additional states have moved to further tighten abortion laws.

On Thursday, the GOP-dominated Florida Legislature moved to became the latest state to ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.

Restrictions on the delivery and use of mifepristone, part of a two-drug regimen to end a pregnancy, would be a further blow to abortion rights advocates. The other drug, misoprostol, can be used on its own, but doing so is less effective than using both drugs in combination.

When mifepristone was initially approved, the FDA limited its use to up to seven weeks of pregnancy. It also required three in-person office visits: the first to administer mifepristone, the next to administer the second drug, misoprostol, and the third to address any complications.

If the appeals court’s action stands, those would again be the terms under which mifepristone could be dispensed.

States that support abortion rights, including California and New York, have begun stockpiling misoprostol to assure their states have adequate supplies. Washington state is among those stockpiling a supply of mifepristone or its generic form. And Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Maura Healey said the administration is dedicating $1 million to help providers contracted with the Department of Public Health buy additional quantities of mifepristone.

More than 5.6 million women in the U.S. had used mifepristone as of June 2022, according to the FDA. In that period, the agency received 4,200 reports of complications in women, or less than one-tenth of 1% of women who took the drug.

Calvan reported from New York.

​ Orange County Register 

Kings’ Drew Doughty gets another shot at playoffs against Edmonton

• April 16, 2023

For the Kings defenseman Drew Doughty, a first-round rematch with Edmonton will offer even more novelty for the team’s second-longest tenured player than it will to his second-year teammates.

Last year, the typically durable Doughty was absent for 43 regular-season contests plus all seven playoff games after missing just 19 matches between 2008 and 2022. As the Kings watched 1-0 and 3-2 series leads dissipate in a set they ultimately lost to the Oilers in seven games, their leader in time on ice could only look on from a bird’s eye view.

“It was like watching your kid play in a game,” Doughty said. “I was worried if anyone was going to make a mistake. I was super intense during the game, I’d be yelling up top if they should have called a penalty. If we scored, I was jumping up and down, I was just super pumped for the guys.”

“I enjoyed watching the boys, but I hated every moment of it at the same time because I wanted to be playing, I knew I could help us out there, and that just makes this year more special for me.”

Kings coach Todd McLellan said what Doughty added to the team was as obvious as it was irreplaceable: a highly decorated player who had won two Stanley Cups and a Norris Trophy and who was capable of playing extended minutes against top players in critical situations, all while offering a unique leadership style.

“He’s more on the loud side of things, talking quite a bit. That’s how he gets ready and that’s how he gets the team ready,” said team captain Anze Kopitar, who with Doughty is the only remaining link to the Kings’ championships from last decade still on the roster.

Doughty brought to the table more than just his voice, which he joked Saturday that he was using to try to negotiate lower cap hits for the two players, Vladislav Gavrikov and Joonas Korpisalo, that the Kings picked up in a trade involving longtime goalie Jonathan Quick.

Doughty’s flair for improvisation, unwavering will to win and indefatigable motor have been staples of his game from Day One, and he’s always relished high-stakes competition. Doughty’s 52 points this season were the most since he scored a career-high 60 in 2017-18, the last campaign that saw Doughty appear in the postseason.

Yet it’ll be Doughty’s defense, along with that of his stalwart partner Mikey Anderson, that will be at the fore against Edmonton. Paired against the league’s best power play and a top line that features Connor McDavid, whose 153 points were the most in a single season in nearly three decades of NHL action, Doughty and Anderson have been as effective as anyone. McDavid and No. 2 scorer Leon Draisaitl combined for seven points in four games against the Kings this year, but slathered on 83 in 44 against the rest of the Pacific Division. The Kings also held Edmonton’s power play scoreless across three meetings and much of a fourth.

“We both get up for the challenge, we’re not scared of the challenge, we’re excited for the opportunity and we basically put the offense on the backburner when we’re out there against [McDavid],” Doughty said.

While two new ingredients to their mix, offseason acquisition Kevin Fiala and center-turned-winger Gabe Vilardi, seem destined to start the series in the press box, defenseman Alex Edler appears probable for the series and Doughty isn’t the only King who will be healthier in 2023 than in 2022.

Winger Viktor Arvidsson, who abruptly left the first practice of last playoffs and didn’t return until October’s season opener because of an injured disk, grinded his way through rehab and was one of the Kings’ more effective forwards this season.

“It’s hard to imagine that this practice, last year, at this time, we lost him. Talk about bad luck for him and for us. We missed him in that series,” McLellan said. “I think his play has just elevated as the year has gone on, he’s continually gotten better.”

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Linemate Phillip Danault praised Arvidsson’s passion and dedication and said their line felt like “something was coming back” in recent matches. Like Doughty, Arvidsson may have missed last year’s series but earned considerable experience earlier in his career, most notably on a run to the 2017 Stanley Cup Final with Nashville.

For Arvidsson, Doughty and every one of their teammates, they’ve made their money over the course of 82 games, but now it’s time to earn it in pursuit of the 16 wins that matter most.

“Being in the stands, seeing the fans go crazy in both arenas and seeing the emotion that all the guys were playing with on the ice just made me that much hungrier,” Doughty said. “I’m just super excited to get it going.”

​ Orange County Register 

Esperanza girls, Foothill boys pace new wave at Foothill Swim Games

• April 16, 2023

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SANTA ANA — The Foothill Swim Games stroked closer to its golden anniversary with a small but grateful group of competitors who took advantage of their chance to race at the tradition-rich event Saturday.

With multiple competing meets on the schedule and schools on spring break, several budding swimmers emerged at the 49th edition of the meet at Foothill High.

Esperanza’s girls and Foothill’s boys — both contenders from the Crestview League — won the team competitions that featured Santa Margarita’s split-squad, Crean Lutheran and Villa Park.

Villa Park junior Allison Mann and Crean Lutheran senior Andrew Teh — training partners with the SOCAL club — earned swimmers of the meet honors after winning a pair of individual events and posting swift leadoff times in the 400-yard freestyle relay.

“It’s a really fun environment,” Mann said the meet, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary next season. “Looking at the meet record times, they’re really fast here, and that just tells you how good this meet normally is.”

No meet records fell Saturday but there were numerous strong efforts.

Mann won two of her lesser-known events — the 200 freestyle (1 minute, 51.88 seconds) and the 100 butterfly (55.71) — and also led off the 400 free relay in 52.37.

Mann, whose specializes in the 50 and 100 free, continues to extend her family’s legacy at Villa Park. Her mother Michelle and sister Jennifer swam at Villa Park, also the alma mater of her father John.

“It’s really fun,” Mann of competing against the times of her mother and sister. “Last year, I ended up on our all-time list (at Villa Park), passing (my Mom) and my sister.”

Santa Margarita’s powerhouse girls had won eight consecutive Foothill Swim Games titles but had swimmers at the California Catholic Challenge in Atherton and the Fran Crippen Memorial Swim Meet of Champions, a top club meet in Mission Viejo.

Esperanza’s Jasmine Liu considered racing at the club meet but opted for the Aztecs and collected a pair of victories. The Minnesota-bound senior won the 200 individual medley in a school-record 2:04.52 and won the 500 free in 5:11.66.

“It was tough deciding (my schedule),” said Liu, who will race at the club meet on Sunday. “This is only meet I’ve done well at all year, including club. I’ve been struggling a little bit but this meet for some reason, something just clicked.

“My mindset changed and I’m really glad.”

Esperanza’s girls swept all three relays and received two victories from junior Gillian Sato (50 free/100 back) and one from Alyssa Dimitriadis (100 free).

“We’re swimming great, feeling great,” Esperanza girls coach Annette Nielsen said. “It’s getting me excited for the league finals and going on to CIF. They’re working extremely hard so they deserve it all.”

Foothill’s boys held off Crean Lutheran for the team title. Junior Troy Lee led the Knights by winning the 100 (48.05) and 200 (1:44.82) freestyles. Sophomore Jaiden Crivello — who played junior varsity water polo in the fall for Foothill  — won the 50 free in 21.98.

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Teh, a senior bound for Cal Baptist, threatened the meet record in the 100 backstroke with a first-place touch of 50.54. He also won the butterfly in season-best 49.61 and ledoff the 400 free relay with a lifetime-best 46.41.

“I’m proud of that one,” Teh said of his relay split. “I left it all in the pool.”

Crean Lutheran’s Tate Fitzgerald, a senior bound for Biola, also doubled with victories in the 200 IM (1:55.94) and 100 breaststroke (57.72).

“I’m looking forward to CIF and state, especially with our team,” he said.

​ Orange County Register 

Newport Beach church vandalized, will require 80k to 100k in repairs, pastor says

• April 16, 2023

A 27-year-old San Dimas man was arrested on suspicion of vandalizing a Newport Beach church in the early hours of Saturday morning, police said.

Rev. Paul Capetz, the senior pastor at Christ Church by the Sea on Balboa Peninsula, said he awoke to a voicemail from Newport Beach police around 3 a.m. Saturday about the vandalism. Newport Beach Police informed him that a man had apparently taken a baseball bat to the church’s stained glass windows and doors, according to Capetz.

“They were very valuable stained glass windows given by members a long time ago in honor of their loved ones,” Capetz said.

The man was arrested on suspicion of felony vandalism and transported into Orange County Jail later Saturday morning, Newport Beach Police Department Sgt. Sabrina Fabbri said. Further details, including his name, were not immediately released.

He is not believed to have had any connection to the church, Capetz said. It was not immediately clear what prompted the vandalism.

Christ Church by the Sea plans to resume worship Sunday morning after more than a dozen volunteers assisted with cleaning up the church Saturday afternoon, Capetz said, describing the vandalism as “traumatic” for the community.

The church’s physical recovery will be costly and likely require between $80,000 and $100,000 in repairs, Capetz said. The church will work to raise money on GoFundMe, he added. For now, the doors and windows will remain boarded up.

“People should know how vulnerable and violated we feel when something like this happens,” Capetz said. “I feel like I was punched in the gut. This is Easter and we are trying to celebrate a joyous message .. it was just a big huge curve ball today.”

​ Orange County Register 

Grand Prix of Long Beach: Kyle Kirkwood takes the pole for IndyCar main event

• April 15, 2023

LONG BEACH — It was just two years ago, in 2021, that Kyle Kirkwood was the series champion for Indy Lights, IndyCar’s support series.

On Saturday, in just his second season in IndyCar, Kirkwood won the pole position at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

It is the first IndyCar pole of Kirkwood’s young career.

Kirkwood will start first Sunday when the race begins at 12:45 p.m. Marcus Ericsson will start second, Romain Grosjean third, Alex Palou fourth, Scott Dixon fifth and Pato O’Ward sixth.

Qualifying began with two groups going 10 minutes each. The top six with the fastest laps in each group advanced to the top 12 for another 10-minute session. The Fast Six moved into the final round, where they duked it out for the pole.

Kirkwood had a top lap time of 1:06.2878 in the final round, slightly ahead of Ericsson’s 1:06.3253.

“I couldn’t be any happier than this,” Kirkwood, 24, of Andretti Autosport, said immediately following the session in a trackside interview. “Third weekend with the team and I already got a pole. I’m so happy.”

After winning Indy Lights for Andretti Autosport, Kirkwood’s path to IndyCar was to sign with A.J. Foyt Enterprises – not because he wasn’t wanted by Andretti.

“I knew we had something special when he was driving Indy Lights … for us, so I feel like he was the real deal then,” team owner Michael Andretti said. “Unfortunately, at that point we couldn’t give him a ride (in IndyCar) because there was not a seat open.

“But we did have it in the back of our minds (that) we’re going to make a seat open for him the next year and that’s what we did and he’s doing exactly what we thought he would do. And I think there’s a lot to come out of Kyle.”

Kirkwood said he loves street courses, so he drove like he felt quite at home on the streets of Long Beach.

“They’re super enjoyable,” said Kirkwood, of Jupiter, Fla. “Something about the walls just brings me comfort.”

He said he likes street courses because they bring a driver “out of his shell because you’ve gotta really push.”

“I find that enjoyable,” Kirkwood said. “I find the challenge of street courses enjoyable and the fact that it’s always changing and you have to learn so quick because I feel like that’s where … you tend to like places that you do really good at, of course, right?

“And I tend to come up to speed very quick. On new tracks and whatnot, I feel like I’m one of the best at going out there, doing three laps and being the quickest. And then I’m like, ‘Ah, there’s still time left (in the car),’ and that sort of thing.”

Andretti recently moved race strategist Bryan Herta to Lockwood, with Scott Harner taking over Andretti teammate Colton Herta, son of Bryan. Andretti said he did it for one reason.

“He was a driver himself, so he’s got all that experience,” Andretti said of the elder Herta. “So for a young guy, he’s a perfect guy to help mentor him.”

Colton Herta, who will start seventh, at 23 is actually a year younger than Kirkwood, but he is in his fifth full season of IndyCar.

Ericsson, 32, of Sweden, would have loved to be on the pole, but he was satisfied with second.

“Yeah, I was really happy with that,” said Ericsson, of Chip Ganassi Racing. “I think we worked a lot in the winter to improve our qualifying and being on the front row is a great achievement. I think when you’re that close, you want to be on pole, of course, and we were really close to it.

“But (we) didn’t have any new tires and Kyle had a set of new tires, so I think that was a difference maker. But overall, super happy. I think Chip Ganassi Racing has done a tremendous job. We had three cars in the Fast Six, had four cars in top 12; I think that says a lot. Super happy and really excited about tomorrow.”

Josef Newgarden, the 2022 race winner, qualified eighth after not getting out of the top 12 and into the Fast Six in knockout qualifying..

“I think there’s time in the car, I just can’t track it,” Newgarden said.

Scott McLaughlin will start ninth and Felix Rosenqvist 10th.

Two-time race winners Alexander Rossi and Will Power will start 11th and 13th, respectively. And one-time winner Helio Castroneves will be in the No. 16 spot.

Related links

Hall of Fame-bound Scott Dixon has second-fastest practice time for Grand Prix of Long Beach
Pato O’Ward brings momentum into Grand Prix of Long Beach
Grand Prix of Long Beach: Oh, baby, what a time it was for Josef Newgarden

​ Orange County Register