Orange County scores and player stats for Thursday, April 27

• April 28, 2023

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Scores and stats from Orange County games on Thursday, April 27

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THURSDAY’S SCORES

BASEBALL

CRESTVIEW LEAGUE

El Dorado 4, Foothill 0

Note: El Dorado clinches CIF-SS playoff berth.

SEA VIEW LEAGUE

Aliso Niguel 6, San Juan Hills 0

Note: Aliso wins the Sea View championship, its first league title since 2019.

SURF LEAGUE

Fountain Valley 1, Corona del Mar 0

WAVE LEAGUE

Newport Harbor 2, Marina 1

GOLDEN WEST LEAGUE

Ocean View 4, Katella 1

ORANGE COAST LEAGUE

Orange 4, Santa Ana 0

Orange: Rodriguez 2-2, 2HR, 3R, 2BB. Laird (W, CG 7H 0R 1BB 5K).

SAN JOAQUIN LEAGUE

Capistrano Valley Christian 11, Pacifica Christian 0

BOYS GOLF

SOUTH COAST LEAGUE

Tesoro 178, Dana Hills 188

​ Orange County Register 

Land beneath Casa Romantica drops 10 feet, halts railroad service through San Clemente

• April 28, 2023

An already weakened bluff-top patio at San Clemente’s Casa Romantica cracked and fell about 8 to 10 feet down a hillside Thursday afternoon, April 27.

After cracking had appeared April 16 in the property’s ocean-view terrace, the City Council had approved on Monday spending $75,000 for a local geological firm to assess the extend of a landslide.

Crews from LGC Geotechnical Inc. had been drilling borings to install equipment in the ground to measure movement when the sandy earth began moving Thursday morning, said Councilmember Kevin Knoblock, who had been out to look at the damage to the patio at the back of the landmark.

At 1 p.m., the smaller terrace began slipping and then dropped; with it came the hillside, Knoblock said.

The drilling work had started Tuesday. Knoblock said crews from LGC were on site Thursday afternoon to continue to try and get better borings to assess the slide.

The area had been cordoned off, and nobody was injured. The debris field did get close to the railroad tracks that run at the foot of the hillside and passenger and freight service between Laguna Niguel and Oceanside was stopped “in an abundance of caution,” officials with Metrolink and the Orange County Transportation Agency said.

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

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​ Orange County Register 

San Juan Hills’ Taylor Fox outduels friendly rival Ella Roselli of Mater Dei for CIF-SS diving title

• April 28, 2023

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RIVERSIDE — The CIF-SS Division 1 girls diving championships returned to its familiar setting Thursday with ideal weather and tight competition but never stood a chance of really separating San Juan Hills’ Taylor Fox and Mater Dei’s Ella Roselli.

The training partners with the Mission Viejo Nadadores’ club are too close, and too supportive of each other, to be separated beyond the mandatory scores from the judges.

“I’m happy if she does good,” Fox said of Roselli.

“There’s no one better to lose to,” Roselli said of Fox.

So in some ways, the friendly rivals both won as they soared above the field at Riverside City College, which hosted the event for the first since 2019.

Fox’s clean technique and ability to adjust to the springboards contributed to a separation on the scoreboard. The junior committed to Texas delivered a consistent 11-dive list and claimed her second consecutive Division 1 title with a score of 582.85, outdistancing the Indiana-bound Roselli by about 30 points.

“(Her diving) is taking off,” Nadadores associate head coach Todd Mulzet said of Fox, who recently won U.S. regional titles on 3-meter and platform. “She’s very technical. All the mechanics are exactly where they need to be, and she is a competitor.

“If it comes down to ‘I got to hit this dive’ my money is on her,” he added of Fox. “She’s fierce.”

Fox showcased her technical side by earning several 9s and a 10 on a back dive on 1-meter.

She also was sound on more difficult dives, including a reverse 2 1/2 somersaults on 3-meter.

“I was happy with the consistency of my list,” said Fox, who improved her score from last season by almost 24 points. “One of my bigger goals is to be more consistent because I don’t do the hardest dives.”

Roselli, a senior, finished second with 552.80 points.

A former gymnast, Roselli started diving about 3 1/2 years ago and is headed to the Big Ten Conference. “I’ve come a long way,” she said.

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Fox and Roselli both said won’t compete at the section’s state qualifier on Tuesday because of diving conflicts.

Mater Dei freshman Gianna Kenrick placed third with 488.45 points and hoped to compete next week.

Fullerton senior Abigail Ekstrom and Cypress junior Isabella Chen finished first and second in the Division 3 final on Wednesday with scores of 533.25 and 528.70, respectively. The Penn State-bound Ekstrom claimed her second consecutive title.

In boys results Thursday, Capistrano Valley Christian sophomore Grant Schneider won Division 4 with a score of 576.90.

​ Orange County Register 

Fox ratings plunge for Tucker Carlson’s old time slot

• April 28, 2023

By David Bauder | Associated Press

NEW YORK — Hundreds of thousands of Fox News viewers are reacting to Tucker Carlson’s firing by abandoning the network in his old time slot — at least temporarily.

Fox drew 1.33 million viewers for substitute host Brian Kilmeade in the 8 p.m. Eastern hour on Wednesday night, putting the network second to MSNBC’s Chris Hayes in a competition Carlson used to dominate, the Nielsen company said.

That’s down 56% from the 3.05 million viewers Carlson reached last Wednesday, Nielsen said. For all of 2022, Carlson averaged 3.03 million viewers, second only to Fox’s “The Five” as the most popular program on cable television.

Carlson offered his own alternative to Kilmeade on Wednesday, posting a two-minute monologue on Twitter at 8 p.m. By Thursday afternoon, that video had been viewed 62.7 million times, according to Twitter.

Kilmeade had 1.7 million viewers on Tuesday and 2.59 million on Monday, when he told people who hadn’t already heard the news that Carlson would no longer be there.

Carlson had 2.65 million viewers on Friday for what he didn’t know at the time would be his last show on Fox. He was fired on Monday with no explanation given publicly, although there are no shortage of theories — including a former employee’s lawsuit that cited a toxic work atmosphere at his show, offensive statements by Carlson that came out as part of the Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit against Fox and his embrace of political conspiracy theories about the Jan. 6 insurrection.

The ratings slump echoes what happened at Fox following the 2020 election, when many viewers angered by the network’s crucial election night declaration that Joe Biden had won Arizona followed then-President Donald Trump’s advice to seek alternatives. That caused tremendous angst behind the scenes at Fox, which was illustrated in documents released as part of the Dominion case.

Asked for comment, Fox responded with a statement noting that Fox has been cable news’ most-watched network for 21 years with its team “trusted more by viewers than any other news source.”

In the wake of Carlson’s firing, viewing at the conservative network Newsmax has shot up for Eric Bolling, who hosts a show in the same 8 p.m. Eastern slot.

For example, Bolling had 510,000 viewers Wednesday night, compared to 168,000 on Wednesday a week ago, Nielsen said. On Tuesday, Bolling had 562,000 viewers, up from 122,000 the same day a week earlier.

The challenge for Newsmax will be making it last. Fox surged again following Biden’s inauguration as president, and Newsmax couldn’t keep up the momentum.

​ Orange County Register 

Galaxy, LAFC add U.S. Open Cup games to their already busy schedules

• April 28, 2023

The Galaxy and LAFC learned their U.S. Open Cup opponents on Thursday.

Both teams enter the tournament for the Round of 32, which is set to be played May 9-10.

The Galaxy, which advanced to the quarterfinals last season, will host the Seattle Sounders on May 10 at Dignity Health Sports Park.

The Sounders entered the tournament for the third round and survived a wild meeting with San Diego Loyal of the Division II USL Championship league, winning 5-4. The Galaxy has been placed in group 3, along with the Sounders, Portland Timbers and Real Salt Lake.

The Galaxy hosts Colorado in an MLS match on May 6, followed by the Cup match against Seattle on May 10 and another MLS match against San Jose on May 14. A road trip to Columbus (May 17) and D.C. United (May 20) follows.

LAFC’s calendar is already crowded with CONCACAF Champions League play. MLS rescheduled this Saturday’s game against Houston because of the Champions League. LAFC opened the CCL semifinal round with a 1-1 draw against the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday night in Chester, Pa., and will play the second leg on Tuesday in L.A. That will be followed by a league game against San Jose on May 6 and their U.S. Open Cup game on the road on May 9 against Monterey Bay FC at Cardinale Stadium in Seaside.

LAFC is in group four with the Colorado Rapids, Sacramento Republic FC and Monterey Bay FC.

If either the Galaxy or LAFC win their Cup games, then another game will get added to their May schedule with the Round of 16 set for May 23-24. The quarterfinals are scheduled for June 6-7, followed by the semifinals on Aug. 23 and the final on Sept. 27.

The Galaxy last won the tournament in 2005 and followed that with a runner-up finish in 2006.

LAFC lost to the Galaxy in the Round of 16 in last year’s U.S. Open Cup.

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​ Orange County Register 

Legislative effort to curtail trafficking fentanyl through social media stalls

• April 28, 2023

Only a few fentanyl-related bills survived a special public safety hearing in the California Legislature on Thursday — and one from Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris that would strengthen penalties for trafficking fentanyl through social media was not among them.

The special Assembly Public Safety Committee hearing — put together late last week to hear six bills after most fentanyl-related legislation stalled in the statehouse this year — gave the OK to bills meant to enhance cooperation among state organizations investigating opioid traffickers and to create an addiction and overdose prevention task force.

But the Irvine Democrat’s bill was held up in the committee. It sought to make the sale of fentanyl on social media punishable by imprisonment in county jail for up to nine years.

Legislators on the committee opted to move it to an “interim study session” — meaning the bill will be further worked on but won’t be passed anytime soon.

Petrie-Norris said she is disappointed in the result.

“The fentanyl epidemic is an urgent public health crisis, and we must act with real urgency to stop these tragic deaths,” Petrie-Norris said. “Yes, we need a comprehensive approach that includes more money for drug treatment, rehabilitation and education. We also need stronger enforcement — online traffickers who are poisoning our kids must be held accountable.”

Related links

Why bills to crack down on fentanyl dealers have been doomed in the state Legislature
Fate of fentanyl bills wavers in legislature

In 2021, fentanyl killed 5,722 people in California, many of whom thought they were taking prescription medications or other drugs.

Perla Mendoza from Seal Beach was one of several family members who recently traveled to Sacramento to implore legislators to end the hold on fentanyl legislation. Her son died in September 2020 after taking a pill he purchased through Snapchat that he believed to be pain medication. Instead, it had been laced with fentanyl, Mendoza said.

“Allowing them to continue business as usual, you’re setting up serial killers,” Mendoza recently said. “It’s so disheartening. (Dealers) know exactly what they can get away with. They are playing society.”

Public safety committees in the Assembly and Senate are known for becoming a “cemetery” for bills that either create new crimes, enhance existing crimes or result in more incarceration, said Chris Micheli, a veteran lobbyist in Sacramento.

Specifically, bills to increase penalties for possessing or selling fentanyl have hit a brick wall of liberal lawmakers who say sending more people to prison is not a deterrent but a return to failed strategies that in the past mostly penalized people of color.

“The focus should be on causation, prevention and treatment,” Sen. Steven Bradford, D-Gardena, said during a recent hearing. “We’ve seen this movie before. In the ’80s and ’90s, with mass incarceration … thousands of Black and Brown people doing life in prison for selling an ounce of cocaine where no one lost their lives.”

But Thursday’s outcome in the Assembly committee was immediately lambasted by Republicans and the California Police Chiefs Association.

The bills, Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher said, “were not criminalizing addiction” or “returning to the ‘war on drugs.’”

“Despite all the talk, the extremist legislators who opposed these bills guaranteed that innocent Californians will continue to die, victims of drug dealers profiting off poisoning our communities,” said Gallagher.

“We truly believe that this committee is out of touch with the public and not representative of the bipartisan group of legislators who have been trying for years to make a meaningful impact on the fentanyl epidemic,” said Chief Alex Gammelgard, president of California Police Chiefs.

Staff writer Tony Saavedra contributed to this report. 

​ Orange County Register 

Here are Orange County’s top 6 educators this year

• April 28, 2023

“Mrs. Chang, Mrs. Chang, Mrs Chang,” was the chorus that greeted fifth-grade teacher Vivian Chang as she walked outside her classroom, her mouth open in shock, to take in the sight of about 440 students lined up around the school quad to cheer for her.

She took a lap of honor, stopping to hug some students and high-fiving others at Red Hill Elementary School in Santa Ana.

Chang had just been surprised by Ramon Miramontes, deputy superintendent of the OC Department of Education, who burst into her classroom to inform her she is one of the county’s six 2024 Teacher of the Year recipients.

Across the county, teachers were surprised on Thursday morning, April 27, with an entourage consisting of Miramontes, district officials, representatives from SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union (the sponsor of the annual award), family and friends.

The teachers were awarded an apple trophy, a $25,000 check from the Orange County Teachers of the Year Award Foundation and an invitation to a reception at the Disneyland Hotel in November. The teachers will also have an opportunity to compete for California Teacher of the Year.

Here are the top educators in Orange County this year.

Laura Blackie

San Joaquin Elementary School, Saddleback Valley Unified School District

As a teacher in a Title 1 school in an underserved community, Blackie believes she has the opportunity to “close the achievement gap.”

Influenced by the story of educator Jaime Escalante in the movie “Stand and Deliver,” Blackie strives to instill in her students the desire, or “ganas,” to learn.

“I continually tell them, ‘You can do it,’” she wrote in her Teacher of the Year application. “I share stories of role models such as astronaut José Hernández, a son of migrant farm workers and a multilingual learner who succeeded in school once he became determined to do so.”

Blackie, who teaches second through fifth grades, started at Saddleback Valley Unified School District in 1995. Her motivation is her students and the “aha moments” when they grasp a concept.

Over the years, her teaching style has evolved, Blackie said, to incorporate technology and make the class more collaborative.

Recognizing that a large number of students in California are now multilingual learners, Blackie said, she incorporates her personal experience as a language learner in the classroom. She shares in her classroom how she became fluent in Spanish by tutoring her students in their homes over the summer break, asking their families to only speak with her in Spanish.

And her methods have been successful.

In her application, Blackie wrote about her student, Alejandro, who didn’t know any English when he joined her class.

“He has since worked as a dental hygienist and in a medical supply company and is now in college studying business administration and finance,” she said.

Vivian Chang

Red Hill Elementary School, Tustin Unified School District

Growing up, Chang experienced “some real emotional rollercoasters,” she said. Now, as a teacher, her top priority is to connect with students who experience adversity. The classroom, she says, is more than just for academics.

“Stories of hardships due to loss, illness, low income and divorce are all a part of my students’ important stories,” Chang said. “Knowing every one of my students’ stories is critical in order for me to be the best teacher I can be.”

Chang’s path to becoming a teacher was not an easy one. As a child, she moved with her mother to South Korea but had to move back to the U.S. two years later. Her father later suffered a stroke, resulting in Chang and her brother becoming his caretakers. As she pursued her education and teaching credentials, she had to work three jobs to care for her family.

These experiences, she said, have made her an empathetic teacher, focused on the socio-emotional needs of her students.

How does that translate to the classroom? When she introduces something new to her students, Chang asks them to place their fingers on their chests, showing on a scale of 1 to 5 if they understood the lesson.

“It helps me to know who needs more help and who needs my support. And it’s a great way for them to show me that information without feeling embarrassed,” Chang said. “It’s just between me and them.”

Chang and her students also agree to a “classroom constitution” at the beginning of each school year, a document proudly displayed above the whiteboard. It establishes expectations and designates the classroom as a safe place to make mistakes and act with integrity.

Kelli Elliott

Orange Coast College, Coast Community College District

Thiah Hung Phan, a second-year student, first had Elliott as a teacher when classes were online during the pandemic. He liked her “unique” teaching style so he enrolled in her courses again this year.

Elliott, he said, helps her students understand the material — and how to apply those concepts to real life. It’s the real deal, Phan said.

“She’s passionate, she knows what she’s doing,” said Shayda Roshdieh, a second-year student who takes two classes with Elliott. “You can clearly tell that she’s in love with what she does.”

Elliott decided to teach biology and environmental science at community college after teaching lab classes as a graduate student at Cal State Fullerton, particularly enjoying how she could break down concepts for students and show how biology can be something that is “really enjoyable, enlightening.”

Working with students is what keeps her coming back. “The more they ask me, the more I learn,” she said.

The job has its fair share of challenges too, she said. Since the students are a diverse population in different stages of their lives — some have families, some are returning students, others are veterans and many balance jobs with school — “trying to teach them all is really difficult, especially in some of my larger classes,” she said.

“I try to make myself available if they need me or if I am noticing that someone is slipping behind,” Elliott said. “I do my best to reach out to them.”

One of the ways Elliott reaches her students is through field trips, including to the Mojave Desert, one of her favorite spots.

Francisco Sandoval

Orangethorpe Elementary School, Fullerton School District

Racing is the clear theme in Sandoval’s classroom. Posterboards explain the different parts of cars, black and white checkerboard print adorns the whiteboard and Nascar and Formula One flags are stuck on the wall.

But Sandoval’s passion for racing translates into lessons: Math problems on distance, speed and time are explained through the sport, and students turn into journalists to “report” on different races for their language class.

Once he had the students interested in racing, Sandoval said, he began incorporating tech lessons. He divides students into multiple groups focused on the break system, the engine and the safety and interior workings of a car.

“If I am excited, they will get excited,” Sandoval said on why he decided to bring his passion for racing into the classroom. “Being able to talk about something that I am really passionate about, that I hadn’t done in the past, made it really fun.”

Once state testing concludes this year, Sandoval’s students plan to race mousetrap cars they built. When he assigned the project, Sandoval’s only requirement was “just to make it go.” But the students got creative.

“I had two kids who were able to turn it into a four-wheel drive system instead of a two- or three-wheel system,” Sandoval said, his face beaming with pride. “That’s what we want to see; we want to see them take things to another level and to start thinking critically.”

Matthew Smith

Red Hill Lutheran School

Eighth-grader Brogan Driscoll has attended every one of Smith’s after-school, late-evening Zoom assessment reviews, a holdover from the COVID era.

“They are so useful,” Driscoll said. “It establishes the foundation for all our tests and quizzes.”

Together with his algebra classmates, Driscoll clapped loudly as Smith accepted his Teacher of the Year award while some students yelled: “That’s my teacher!”

Smith, the first private school teacher to win the award, is the sort of educator who if he sees a need, works to address it.

Seven years ago, noticing all the neighborhood schools had a robotics program, Smith approached his principal about launching a dedicated middle school robotics program. Once he got the green light, he designed the school robotics lab, pursued the requisite certification and now, six years later, is at the helm of the thriving program, a sought-after elective at Red Hill Lutheran.

Smith also started an orientation program for new families and students in middle school, designing a parents’ night, planning a summer “playdate” for new and returning students, organizing a luncheon and creating a buddy system for students.

His role as a teacher goes beyond school hours. He is a regular at his students’ sporting events, dance recitals, family members’ funerals, musicals and graduations. By showing up, he is indicating to his students “that their relationships, interests and passions outside of the classroom are important to me,” he said in his award application.

Carrie Smith, Matthew Smith’s wife, said they recently took their kids to see one of his students perform in a production of “The Wizard of Oz.”

And the family might soon be headed to Italy with the money Smith was awarded Thursday. The Smiths had previously put off a family vacation to Europe because of the high costs, but now the holiday might be back on the table for the summer.

Leslie Whitaker

Esencia K-8, Capistrano Unified School District

In Whitaker’s classroom, just like in her life, music plays an important role.

Instrumental music plays for the first 25-30 minutes of the day in Whitaker’s classroom. During this time, she works with students one-on-one or in small groups to develop their reading or math skills. Then they sing a good morning song, an homage to “Singing in the Rain.”

Music is also incorporated in transitions between subjects or to illustrate key points during a lesson. And her class ends each day with a song to highlight scholarly behaviors.

“Singing brings joy, instrumental music brings peace, songs about content provide access and when we sing together, music facilitates a sense of belongingness,” Whitaker said.

And when she goes home for the day, she is always singing or playing on her grand piano, her husband Chris Whitaker said.

Leslie Whitaker was surprised by her husband and family Thursday morning. Her older sister, Marni Fisher, said the family came from all over Southern California to surprise her with the announcement because Leslie Whitaker is “everyone’s favorite.”

“Everyone loved her; everyone wanted to share a room with her,” Fisher said of her sister when they were growing up. “She was really good at keeping the peace.”

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​ Orange County Register 

NFL draft: Mater Dei alumnus Bryce Young taken at No. 1 by Panthers

• April 28, 2023

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Bryce Young’s talent outweighed concerns about his size.

The Carolina Panthers selected the slender and dynamic Alabama quarterback with the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft Thursday night, seven weeks after making a blockbuster trade with Chicago to move up to get their choice of potential franchise players.

The Panthers chose the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner over Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, Florida’s Anthony Richardson and Kentucky’s Will Levis. New coach Frank Reich said earlier in the week that the organization reached a consensus Monday after several weeks of deliberation.

Stroud, the Rancho Cucamonga High alumnus, didn’t have to wait long. He went No. 2 to the Houston Texans.

A dual-threat playmaker with a strong arm and an elite combination of instincts and intelligence, Young also possesses the intangibles and characteristics coaches desire, including leadership ability and a strong work ethic.

But the biggest question about Young is his size. He measured at 5-foot-10 1/8 and weighed 204 pounds at the combine. Though he dominated the SEC, some scouts and coaches fear Young may not be able to physically withstand all the hits in the NFL.

The Panthers couldn’t pass up his superior skills.

Kyler Murray, the No. 1 overall pick in 2019, is the only other QB since 2003 to be selected in the first round after weighing in at 207 pounds or less at the combine.

“I’m confident in my abilities,” Young said Wednesday. “I don’t know how to play the game another way. I’ve been this size relative to the people around me my entire life. I focus on what I control, and I can’t grow. That doesn’t fall into that category. I can’t get any taller. I focus on myself. I’m confident in myself with what I’ve been able to do and I’m excited for the work it’s going to take.”

The Panthers have sought an answer at quarterback since moving on from Cam Newton, who was the No. 1 overall pick in 2011 and the NFL MVP in 2015 when he led the Panthers to a 15-1 record and a Super Bowl appearance.

Young had a spectacular career at Alabama and the Panthers are hoping he can deliver the franchise’s first Lombardi Trophy. He played in a pro-style offense under offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien, the former Texans head coach who has returned to the NFL to run New England’s offense.

Young threw for 4,872 yards with 47 touchdowns and seven interceptions in his first season starting as a sophomore in 2021. Last season, he had 3,328 yards passing with 32 TDs and five picks while playing with a new supporting cast.

Stroud’s stock had seemingly dropped after reports that he scored poorly in the S2 Cognition test surfaced recently. He told the AP earlier in the day he didn’t know where he would end up going, even saying it could be top 20.

Instead, Stroud, a finalist for the Heisman Trophy the past two seasons, goes to Houston to help the rebuilding Texans move past Deshaun Watson.

Two months after the hometown Kansas City Chiefs celebrated another Super Bowl title with a downtown parade, a sea of red-clad fans lined up in the streets where the century-old Union Station served as the backdrop for the draft.

Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes and All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce walked on stage with the Vince Lombardi Trophy and riled up the crowd.

Mahomes implored them to scream louder — they did. Kelce asked if they wanted to trade up for the No. 1 pick.

But the Chiefs don’t need a QB. Carolina did.

​ Orange County Register