El Dorado baseball clinches playoff spot with victory over Foothill
- April 28, 2023
PLACENTIA – As El Dorado pitcher AJ Frausto said, “It was make it or break it.”
El Dorado made it to the playoffs by beating Foothill 4-0 in a Crestview League baseball game Thursday, the final day of the regular season for both teams.
A solo home run by El Dorado junior center fielder Isaac Cadena in the bottom of the fifth inning broke up a scoreless tie.
Frausto, a junior right-hander, threw a complete game.
The Golden Hawks finished second in the league (4-2 league record), and Villa Park won the league championship. The top two finishers in a four-team league like the Crestview are guaranteed berths in the CIF Southern Section playoffs.
The playoff brackets will be released Monday at 10 a.m.
Frausto scattered five hits over his seven innings. He struck out nine, gave up one walk and hit one batter. .
Foothill senior right-hander Andrew Parker held El Dorado hitless through four innings, facing the minimum 12 batters. Then Cadena entered the lefty-hitter’s box to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning and launched the first pitch he saw over the right-center field fence.
“I was actually looking for a fastball,” Cadena said, “and he came in and he just hung a curveball.”
Two outs later Lucas Raya singled. He scored on Brady Abner’s double into the right-center field gap for a 2-0 lead.
El Dorado, No. 10 in the Orange County Top 25, scored its other two runs with two outs in the sixth inning. Evan Rolbiecki was hit by a pitch and scored on Cadena’s triple into that right-center field gap. Cadena scored on an error to make it 4-0.
Frausto’s fastball had as much pop in the seventh inning, when he struck out two Knights, as it did in the first inning.
“I knew what I was going to get from AJ,” said El Dorado coach Matt Lucas. “He’s one of our best competitors.”
So competitive that when Lucas visited the mound with two outs in the seventh, Frausto was adamant about finishing the game.
“I told him, ‘Come on, man, I’m not taking you out of this game,’” Lucas said. “‘I’m just giving you a little breather.’ And AJ was saying ‘I’m ready to go! Lets go, lets go!’”
Frausto understood the importance of Thursday’s game.
“Getting the ball, I knew I had to come out and do my thing,” Frausto said. “I was very happy that I stayed consistent in all my innings.”
County No. 12 Foothill, which beat El Dorado 10-2 on Tuesday, had its best chance to score in the second inning.
Parker hit a one-out single, advanced to second base on an errant pick-off throw to first and moved to third on Brian Harbour’s single. Ezekiel Vargas laid down a bunt that was fielded quickly by El Dorado first baseman Abner who slung the ball to catcher Raya in plenty of time to tag out Parker.
Foothill went 3-6 in league, as did El Modena. Because El Modena won two of its three games against Foothill, El Modena is the league’s No. 3 representative and Foothill is No. 4.
Foothill, a CIF-SS Division 1 team, is 14-14 overall, so it has the .500-or-better record required to be considered for an at-large playoff berth.
El Modena, a CIF-SS Division 2 team, went 14-12-1 overall and meets the criteria for an at-large berth.
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Orange County Register
Read MoreWant to intern this summer for The Orange County Register? Here’s one opportunity taking applications
- April 28, 2023
The Asian American Journalists Association, Los Angeles Chapter sponsors a summer internship in The Orange County Register newsroom, and applications are being taken now.
The deadline is May 5; here is what you need to know:
The Orange County Register is seeking a talented, dedicated intern for its local news desk. The intern will work 30 to 32 hours per week, covering general assignment and breaking news, as well as Little Saigon and other Asian communities. Preference will be given to applicants invested in or interested in the Vietnamese or other Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, and who have ties to Southern California.
Applicants should have experience in news or feature writing.
Interns may be required to work remotely at the time of the internship.
This position is funded by a grant from the Asian American Journalists Association, Los Angeles Chapter. Interns will be matched with a mentor and receive a free AAJA membership.
Send a cover letter, resume, three writing samples and at least two references to Register local editor Heather McRea at [email protected] by 5 p.m. Friday, May 5. Use the subject line AAJA-LA/REGISTER REPORTING INTERNSHIP.
Orange County Register
Read MoreSouth Pasadena pays $500,000 to settle civil rights lawsuit from Black Lives Matter protesters
- April 28, 2023
South Pasadena will pay $500,000 to settle a civil rights lawsuit filed by Black Lives Matter protesters who alleged the Police Department failed to protect them against attacks by white supremacists during a series of protests in 2020.
Fahren James, the founder of Black Lives Matter South Pasadena, and Victoria Patterson, a Black Lives Matter supporter who has lived in the city for nearly 30 years, filed the lawsuit in 2021, alleging they were spat on, struck with rocks and, in one instance, nearly hit by a truck.
But they said South Pasadena police refused to take action against their assailants in all but one of the attacks and never properly classified any of them as “hate crimes,” according to an amended complaint in the case.
“I am an African American woman who was the victim of multiple hate crimes, but SPPD treated me as less than human, particularly when they sided with my White attackers, leaving them free to attack me again and again,” James said in an October 2021 statement announcing the filing of the case.
The department’s failure to arrest or cite individuals accused of assaulting the protesters “emboldened their attackers and left them in grave danger,” according to the lawsuit.
The city investigated and sustained 21 complaints against officers, according to a prior statement by attorney Laboni Hoq. The investigation found that officers had failed to follow the rules for reporting hate crimes, had not taken detailed and accurate reports, were hostile and dismissive to those reporting the crimes, and had turned off their body cameras improperly.
The city blamed the poor policing on a lack of training and assigned the officers to receive additional instruction on the “policies and procedures in place regarding hate crimes,” a spokesperson said in August 2021.
“After months of complaints by Plaintiffs and community members, the City finally investigated them and found that over half the police force had violated SPPD’s Hate Crimes and other policies in their response to attacks on Plaintiffs and other BLM protesters,” Hoq wrote in the amended complaint in November 2022. “However, on information and belief, the City failed to discipline a single officer in connection with these findings, resulting in zero accountability for the harms Plaintiff suffered.”
South Pasadena previously denied the allegations in prior court filings and initially attempted to have the case dismissed.
A press release announcing the settlement states the South Pasadena City Council authorized the $500,000 payment “in the interest of resolving this matter.” Deputy City Manager Domenica Megerdichian, listed as the point of contact on the release, declined to comment or to provide the settlement agreement without a reporter first submitting a public records request.
“While the City and its officers have been dismissed, this is an ongoing litigation with other parties, so we are not commenting at this time,” Megerdichian said in an email.
The alleged attacks happened from July to November 2020, according to the lawsuit. In the first, Joseph Richcreek spat on James and Patterson and “spewed racial epithets” at them. South Pasadena police were called, but did not arrest him. Two days later, the lawsuit states, he returned and threw rocks at James, hitting her leg.
When James attempted to have him arrested, the officer who responded told her she would have to make a citizen’s arrest before he could get involved. The same man came back a third time a week later and threatened the group with a metal pipe, and a responding officer declined to arrest him.
Richcreek eventually was charged with two counts of misdemeanor battery for spitting on the women, but not for the other incidents. Attorneys for James and Patterson attributed the prosecutors’ decision not to treat the matter as a hate crime to South Pasadena’s allegedly biased police work, which did not include interviews with witnesses.
In October 2020, another man “intentionally drove his truck over a sidewalk and almost hit James in order to stop her from putting up a protest sign.” Though officers arrived and found the truck still parked on the sidewalk near where James had been standing and were provided video of the incident, they did not arrest or cite him, as the officers believed he was not attempting to hit her.
The department later put out a press release saying it would recommend charges to the District Attorney’s Office, but prosecutors declined to pursue the case.
A coalition of civil rights and criminal justice advocacy groups asked Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office to investigate the South Pasadena Police Department in 2021. Bonta’s office acknowledged the complaint at the time and said it would review the matter, but has not released a conclusion.
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Orange County Register
Read MoreHorse racing notes: Juan Hernandez gets his first Kentucky Derby mount
- April 28, 2023
SANTA ANITA LEADERS
Through Thursday
JOCKEYS / WINS
Juan Hernandez / 5
Umberto Rispoli / 5
Edwin Maldonado / 4
Abel Cedillo / 3
Joe Bravo / 2
TRAINERS / WINS
Peter Eurton / 3
Craig Lewis / 3
Doug O’Neill / 3
Three tied / 2
WEEKEND STAKES (SANTA ANITA)
Saturday
• $200,000 Grade II Santa Maria Stakes, fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up, 1-1/16 miles
• $100,000 Grade III Providencia Stakes, 3-year-old fillies, 1-1/8 miles (turf)
Sunday
• $100,000 Grade III Wilshire Stakes, fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up, 1 mile (turf)
• $100,000 Santa Barbara Stakes, fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up, 1½ miles (turf)
DOWN THE STRETCH
• The Bob Baffert-trained Adare Manor, fresh off an allowance victory, heads a field of six in Saturday’s $200,000 Grade II Santa Maria Stakes for older fillies and mares at Santa Anita. The 4-year-old Uncle Mo filly will be ridden for the third consecutive race by Juan Hernandez, winner of Santa Anita’s Classic Meet riding title in a breeze and tied with Umberto Rispoli with five victories apiece through the first week of the Hollywood Meet. Adare Manor has won three of nine races for earnings of $381,600.
• Edwin Maldonado, who turned 40 on Dec. 1, is riding as well as ever. He won a career-high-tying four races on one card at Santa Anita last weekend and is sparking memories of 10 years ago when he snapped Martin Pedroza’s stranglehold on the riding title at Fairplex Park and then won the Hollywood Park fall meet in 2012. Maldonado revitalized his career during the 2021 Del Mar summer meet thanks in great part to a potent working relationship with agent Tony Matos.
• Hernandez has parlayed immediate success since arriving at Santa Anita in 2020 with the chance to ride in his first Kentucky Derby. The 31-year-old Hernandez replaces Hall of Famer Victor Espinoza aboard the John Shirreffs-trained Skinner, who was third, beaten by only a half-length by Practical Move in the Santa Anita Derby. Skinner, 21st in the Derby points standings, drew into the race Thursday morning when Sunland Derby winner Wild On Ice, 20th on the list, suffered a catastrophic injury during a workout at Churchill Downs.
— Art Wilson
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Orange County Register
Read More$2.28 billion award in Lake Elsinore child sex-abuse case could be largest ever
- April 28, 2023
A Riverside County jury has awarded $2.28 billion — perhaps the largest amount in a child sexual-assault case in U.S. history — to the stepdaughter of a one-time Lake Elsinore church elder who admitted in his criminal trial decades ago to committing lewd acts on a minor.
Before the jury on Tuesday, April 25, ordered the man to pay $836 million in general damages and $1.44 billion in punitive damages, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints settled out of court for $1 million and the woman’s mother agreed to pay $200,000, according to the attorney for the woman, who is now 41.
The stepfather did not show up to the civil trial, said the lawyer, Gary A. Dordick. The jury returned the verdict on the third day of deliberations.
The Southern California News Group is not identifying the relatives to protect the victim.
“Mrs. Doe wants everyone to know there is no shame in being a victim of abuse,” Dordick said.
The victim does not expect to receive much of the award, Dordick said, with her stepfather in his 70s and working in a trophy shop.
But she felt vindicated.
“It’s part of her healing process to have this despicable person held responsible,” the lawyer said. “The jury verdict was very satisfying to her emotionally. We would like to take whatever he has as punishment.”
Dordick told jurors that if Fox Corp. agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems $787.5 million to settle the defamation lawsuit that damaged the voting machine company’s reputation, then his client was entitled to at least $1.6 billion in combined damages for suffering physical abuse.
The lawyer said he is not aware of a larger award in a similar case: “We think it’s the biggest. I’ve been doing this 36 years. It’s the largest sexual assault verdict in history.”
In 2018, when a jury in Georgia awarded $1 billion to a 20-year-old woman who said she was sexually assaulted by a security guard six years earlier, the woman’s attorney said he believed it was the largest such award to an individual in U.S. history.
In the Lake Elsinore case, the victim alleged in her lawsuit that the abuse began around 1987 and that after she joined the church, the abuse continued in the church sanctuary, parking lot and gymnasium.
According to the civil lawsuit, in 1994, when the girl was 13, she told a church bishop about her accusations and so he organized a meeting with her, him and the parents. “The bishop talked about forgiveness,” the lawsuit says.
The mother, in a court filing, denied the allegation that she knew about the assaults but did nothing to stop them.
The abuse continued, the civil suit says, until the victim told her high school basketball coach. Authorities were called, and the stepfather was arrested. In 1997, he pleaded guilty to one count of committing three or more acts of lewd conduct with a child under the age of 14, Superior Court records show.
In that case, the victim was his client, Dordick said.
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Orange County Register
Read MoreSanta Anita horse racing consensus picks, Friday, April 28, 2023
- April 28, 2023
The consensus box of Santa Anita horse racing picks comes from handicappers Bob Mieszerski, Art Wilson, Terry Turrell and Eddie Wilson. Here are the picks for thoroughbred races on Friday, April 28, 2023.
Trouble viewing on mobile device? See consensus picks
Enjoy the consensus horse racing picks online? Subscribe
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Orange County Register
Read MoreNFL draft: Chargers select TCU WR Quentin Johnston at No. 21
- April 28, 2023
LOS ANGELES — The Chargers provided quarterback Justin Herbert with another weapon, selecting TCU wide receiver Quentin Johnston with the 21st pick in the NFL draft on Thursday night.
The 6-foot-3, 208-pound Johnston led the Horned Frogs in receiving the last three years. He had 60 receptions for 1,069 yards and eight touchdowns last season as TCU went from unranked at the beginning of the season to the College Football Playoff national title game, which it lost to Georgia.
Johnston joins a talented Chargers receiving room that already has Keenan Allen, Mike Williams and Joshua Palmer. General Manager Tom Telesco and Coach Brandon Staley were looking for someone who can stretch the field or generate mismatches for explosive pass plays.
The Chargers also need to build depth at the position since Allen is going into his 11th season and missed seven of the first nine games last season with a hamstring injury. Williams was sidelined for five games.
The Chargers selected Johnston over Zay Flowers (Boston College) and Jordan Addison (USC). Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba was the first wide receiver to be selected, going to Seattle with the 20th pick.
Much more to come on this story.
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Orange County Register
Read MoreLinnea Johansson leads after 1st round of LPGA’s LA Championship
- April 28, 2023
By JILL PAINTER LOPEZ The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Linnea Johansson shot a 7-under-par 64 to take a one-shot lead after the first round of the JM Eagle LA Championship on Thursday at Wilshire Country Club.
Johansson had a bogey-free round, one of just five in the first round.
“Obviously a great day, great round,” said Johansson, who had a morning tee time. “Played fearless golf today and really went after a lot of pins and managed to hit them very close and roll in the putts. I actually managed to roll in the longer ones more than the shorter ones. It was just a great day.”
Minjee Lee, who won at Wilshire Country Club in 2019 when it was a different event, shot a 6-under 65 and is tied for second along with Gemma Dryburgh.
“I think it kind of reminds me a little bit of home, just the look of the bunkers and just how they’re situated on each hole,” Lee said. “Yeah, it just kind of gives me good vibes. I started pretty, just with pars, and then made three birdies in a row. That was nice to finish off my front nine. Then a couple more on the back nine. It was a nice, solid day.”
Lilia Vu, a Southern California native, won her first major at the Chevron Championship last week and shot a 2-under 69 to land five shots back. Both of her LPGA victories have come this season.
Nelly Korda, who just moved back to No. 1 in the world after a third-place finish at the Chevron Championship, also shot a 2-under 69.
NOTES
Eight of the top 10 golfers in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings are in the field vying for the $3 million purse. … Just a few months ago, the underground tunnel that takes golfers from the front and back nines was under water because of the deluge of rain storms and some of the course was under water, too.
Orange County Register
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