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

• October 10, 2023

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

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

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

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

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

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

The $137 million project began in February.

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

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

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

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

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

The project is expected to conclude in 2025.

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

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

​ Orange County Register 

Dodgers’ bullpen shines in NLDS Game 2 loss to Diamondbacks

• October 10, 2023

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

​ Orange County Register 

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

• October 10, 2023

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

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

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

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

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​ Orange County Register 

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

• October 10, 2023

By MARK ANDERSON AP Sports Writer

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

GOLDEN KNIGHTS LIGHT TORCH

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

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

INJURIES

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

UP NEXT

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

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

​ Orange County Register 

Alexander: Dodgers’ stuff isn’t working in these playoffs

• October 10, 2023

LOS ANGELES – There are moments in the postseason – and as Dodger fans will attest, plenty of them in Games 1 and 2 of the National League Division Series – when the words of Billy Beane from two decades or so absolutely resonate.

“My (stuff) doesn’t work in the playoffs,” the longtime Oakland A’s team-builder said then, as Michael Lewis related in his 2003 bestseller, Moneyball, only Beane didn’t exactly say “stuff.”

“My job is to get us to the playoffs,” he added. “What happens after that is (freaking) luck.”

That’s relatively accurate, totally honest and undoubtedly infuriating to the true believers of so many franchises – particularly the one that plays here – who consider a World Series championship the goal and anything less a failure.

Then again, that’s life in the big city. And by those standards, high ones but not unreasonable, the Dodgers are 27 outs from failure after Monday night’s 4-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks put them in an 0-2 hole going to Phoenix for Games 3 and 4.

To reiterate: Beane was a brilliant baseball mind in an organization forced (or choosing) to pinch pennies. His searches for market inefficiencies that could be exploited helped the A’s reach the postseason 11 times in 21 years, but they only won two playoff series in that span.

The philosophy he spawned, piggybacking on the likes of Bill James and others willing to challenge baseball’s entrenched thinking, is now a staple of the game. One of its noted practitioners, Dodgers general manager Andrew Friedman, made his bones in Tampa Bay, another impoverished franchise, with the philosophy that no potential edge is too small to be at least considered.

So when the Dodgers are accused of overthinking – as they customarily are in the postseason – and those plans don’t work, you know where it comes from.

We probably shouldn’t take for granted the Dodgers’ 11 straight postseason appearances, or 10 division titles in that span, even though only one season to this point has ended in the ultimate triumph.

After all, you could be a Seattle Mariners fan. That team’s president of baseball operations, Jerry DiPoto, told his fans this after the Mariners had their streak of postseason appearances snapped at one, following a 20-season playoff drought:

“We’re actually doing the fan base a favor in asking for their patience to win the World Series while we continue to build a sustainably good roster.”

Logical, I suppose. But I can’t imagine that went over well.

Consider, in contrast, the Diamondbacks. Two seasons ago they lost 110 games, and they are now the third team ever to go from 110 losses to the postseason in three years, joining this year’s Orioles and the 2015 Astros. This year Arizona’s young, aggressive roster overcame a midseason slump to get to the postseason, swept Milwaukee in the wild card round and got the jump on the Dodgers in this series, first driving Clayton Kershaw to cover in the first inning of Game 1 and then taking advantage of Bobby Miller’s playoff inexperience in Game 2 while Arizona starters Merrill Kelly and Zac Gallen did what they usually do.

They seem to revel in the underdog role.

“We are so proud of what we do every single day and we fight the same fight every single day,” manager Torey Lovullo said Monday afternoon. “… We hear the talk. We hear that we’re maybe like the little brother that everybody can beat up on. We take that personally. We embrace it. We understand that we haven’t done a lot compared to the Dodgers or the Astros or some of the teams that are getting some of the notoriety. But we’re here and we’re ready to compete and we like it that way.”

The start of these playoffs has favored the underdogs, as was the case last year in the first test of the 12-team postseason format with its three-game wild card series and five-day byes for the top two division champs. As the Dodgers and D-Backs battled, road teams (i.e., lower seeds) were already 5-2. And after three of the four higher seeded teams lost in last year’s Division Series, there are reasons to question the fairness of those five-day breaks.

When Dave Roberts was asked before Game 1 if he’d rather been playing during those days off, he started, “Yeah, I think that I would rather …” and then bit his tongue.

“It’s nice to get into the Division Series, certainly,” he continued. “I don’t think that five days is ideal, but that’s the playoff structure. So the world’s not perfect. A couple-day break would have been nice. Five’s a little …”

Then his voice trailed off again before he added: “But there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Maybe winning 100 or so games is a bad idea from now on, or at least until the format changes to again reward excellence. In the era of the wild-card game, the winner may have had momentum going into the Division Series but also had to burn some of its pitching and usually had to face its opponent’s ace in Game 1. That at least provided a legitimate motivation to win your division.

But it’s the system we have, and it’s important to keep the following in mind, too.

“In my mind, once you’re in the postseason, every team is as good as any other team,” Max Muncy said Monday afternoon. “You see it every year. It’s not necessarily always the best team that wins; it’s the team that plays the best that goes out there and performs, the team that gets the hottest. Really that’s all that matters.”

Luck’s not always involved, either.

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​ Orange County Register 

Dodgers can’t dig out of another hole in NLDS Game 2, face elimination by Diamondbacks

• October 10, 2023

LOS ANGELES — When Brusdar Graterol entered in the second inning Monday night, the theme song of wrestling star “The Undertaker” played over the stadium sound system. It was a reference to Graterol’s costume when the team dressed up on the final road trip of the regular season.

Or was it more foreshadowing than a callback?

The Dodgers have looked like dead men walking through much of the first two games of their National League Division Series with the Arizona Diamondbacks and a 4-2 loss in Game 2 on Monday night has pushed them to the brink of elimination.

Down 2-0 in the best-of-five series, the Dodgers will try to avoid flat-lining in the first round for the second consecutive fall and the third time in the past five postseasons when they send Lance Lynn to the mound in Game 3 on Wednesday night at Chase Field in Phoenix.

But the offense will also have to show up.

The lineup that produced more than 900 runs during the regular season has scored just two in each NLDS game. Their twin MVP candidates, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, have gone a combined 1 for 13 with an infield single by Freeman in the first inning of Game 2 their only hit. Collectively, the Dodgers have hit .159 (10 for 63) in the series so far.

The failures of their depleted starting rotation, however, have hogged the spotlight in the first two games.

After Clayton Kershaw’s disastrous start in Game 1, the Dodgers turned to 24-year-old right-hander Bobby Miller, hoping that the rookie nicknamed ‘Bobby Ice’ would not melt on the postseason stage.

Well, he did better than Kershaw.

Miller lasted 11 batters, retiring five of them (one on a sacrifice bunt). His nerves were evident from the start. Only eight of his first 18 pitches found the strike zone including just two first-pitch strikes to the seven batters he faced in the first inning. Miller threw 15 breaking pitches (10 curveballs and five sliders) in the game. Only four were strikes and the Diamondbacks swung at just two.

The Diamondbacks put their first three batters on base against Miller. Corbin Carroll drew a walk. Ketel Marte bunted for a single and Tommy Pham loaded the bases with a jam-shot single to left field.

One run scored on a sacrifice fly, James Outman thumping into the center field wall to catch Christian Walker’s drive. Another scored on a ground out. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. drove in the third run of the inning with a two-out single to center field.

Coupled with the Diamondbacks’ six-run first inning against Kershaw, it was the first time all year the Dodgers gave up three or more runs in the first innings of back-to-back games.

On the off day on Sunday, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he would manage Game 2 like a Game 7. He backed that up early, pulling Miller in the second inning and going to his two best relievers for much of the season, Graterol and Ryan Brasier, followed by Joe Kelly and Evan Phillips, extending each of them.

They held the line for a rally that never materialized.

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A solo home run by J.D. Martinez in the fourth inning was the Dodgers’ only damage against Diamondbacks starter Zac Gallen. They put two runners on with two outs in the fifth but Gallen froze Freddie Freeman with a full-count curveball for a called third strike.

When Gallen allowed back-to-back singles with one out in the sixth, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo brought an early hook. With a run of left-handed hitters coming up, Lovullo brought in rookie left-hander Andrew Saalfrank.

Roberts countered with right-handed pinch-hitters Chris Taylor and Kiké Hernandez. Taylor walked to load the bases and Hernandez bounced a ground ball up the middle that Marte smothered behind second base, allowing one run to score but no more.

Saalfrank struck out James Outman before Lovullo toggled to right-hander Ryan Thompson. Roberts responded by sending left-handed Kolten Wong up as a pinch-hitter. Wong grounded out, stranding the go-ahead runs, and Hernandez’s infield single was the Dodgers’ last hit of the night.

More to come on this story.

​ Orange County Register 

LeBron James, Austin Reaves make debuts in Lakers’ first preseason win

• October 10, 2023

Lakers coach Darvin Ham has encouraged his team not to hesitate to shoot when they’re open behind the 3-point line.

Consider Monday night’s 129-126 preseason victory over the Brooklyn Nets in Las Vegas, the Lakers’ first preseason win, a step in the right direction.

The Lakers were letting it fly at T-Mobile Arena, knocking down 20 of 55 3-point attempts in the high-scoring matchup. They didn’t attempt 50 3-point shots during any game last season, preseason, regular season or playoff.

Eight Lakers scored in double figures, led by Rui Hachimura’s 19 points and Austin Reaves’ 18.

Reaves and LeBron James (10 points and five assists in 17 minutes) made their preseason debuts after being healthy scratches in Saturday’s opener against the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco.

James, Anthony Davis and D’Angelo Russell only played in the first half. Russell scored all of his 14 points (5-of-8 shooting, 4 for 5 from 3-point range) in the first quarter. Davis finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots in 14 minutes.

Taurean Prince, who started alongside Russell, Reaves, James and Davis, bounced back with 13 points after struggling in the opener.

But defending without fouling was still an issue, with Prince whistled for five fouls in 20 minutes after fouling out in 13 minutes against the Warriors. Christian Wood (10 points, six rebounds and two steals in 22 minutes) also scored in double figures.

Rookie wing and Las Vegas native Maxwell Lewis made significant contributions to the Lakers’ win in his hometown, scoring all 10 of his points in the final quarter.

Cam Reddish (right ankle soreness) and Jarred Vanderbilt (left heel soreness) didn’t play. The Lakers said before the game that both players are considered “day to day.”

The Lakers next play Wednesday night against the Sacramento Kings at Honda Center in Anaheim.

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​ Orange County Register 

New law makes top California transit agencies survey riders about harassment

• October 10, 2023

California’s top 10 public transit agencies must survey riders about safety, sexual harassment, and racial and gender-based discrimination in order to learn more about threats to riders of buses and trains, according to new requirements spelled out in legislation signed into state law.

Senate Bill 434 by state Sen. Dave Min (D-Irvine), signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Oct. 7, orders transit agencies to find out what kind of harassment, threats, assaults or fear riders experience — and on what lines or bus routes. A key focus would be on women of color including Asian-American Pacific Islanders (AAPI), the elderly, and members of the LGBTQ+ community.

The information would be used to address safety issues ranging from street harassment that can cause people of color and women to avoid public transit entirely, to threats and hate crimes. Supporters say the new law will result in a better understanding of under-reported harassment incidents, and allow agencies to target the problem with resources.

Supporters say that keeping track of incidents will give victims a voice. The emphasis could raise ridership of women from those subgroups. Female ridership on LA Metro buses fell from 53% in early 2020 to 49% in 2022, according to a survey taken from March to May of 2022. And female ridership on trains dropped from 46% to 44%.

“Millions of Californians refuse to ride public transit in this state because they do not feel safe,” said Sen. Min in a prepared statement. “From acts of anti-Asian hate to verbal harassment, a growing number of women, seniors, LGBTQ+ and other vulnerable communities too often ride in fear or have left our public transit systems altogether. I’m proud to say that we are finally taking action to address street harassment and putting in place data driven policies that put ridership experience first.”

The agencies involved are Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA), LA Metro, Long Beach Transit, City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT), San Francisco Muni, Bay Area Rapid Transit Authority (BART), Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit), Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, Sacramento Regional Transit District and San Diego Metropolitan Transit System.

“The numbers don’t lie. A staggering 77% of women experience sexual harassment in public spaces, and almost a third of that harassment occurs on mass transit,” said Min in a press release. “Additionally, the AAPI community has seen a surge in hate incidents in public spaces, many occurring on our public transit systems.”

SB 434 will work in tandem with a bill by Min from 2022 that tapped the Mineta Transportation Institute at San Jose State University to create a survey about transit safety, which transit agencies will distribute and administer. Using this institute’s survey can save the agencies money while helping them collect data on harassment and hate incidents. In turn, that can lead to better solutions to the problem, supporters say.

“Too often, our communities are facing verbal harassment, being called racial or sexualized slurs. Thee experiences make it less likely for us to take public transit,” said Candice Cho, managing director of policy and counsel at AAPI Equity Alliance in Los Angeles.

Cho told of waiting for a bus after a Hollywood Bowl performance and being called racial and sexually-explicit names by a man at the bus stop. She chose to take a ride-sharing service to her home instead of public transit, she said.

“I had the means to do that. But that is not always an option for people in our community who have to put up with this,” Cho said on Monday, Oct. 9.

She said while some transit agencies survey their riders, many do not report sexual or racial harassment. She said often a law enforcement officer would say that wasn’t a crime.

“By requiring transit operators to collect this information, Asian-American riders, and other riders can be heard,” she said. “You can’t fix what you don’t measure.”

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Related links

How can California buses and trains be safer? New bill aims to find out
Survey says: Fewer females ride LA Metro buses and trains, many citing safety and harassment
March in El Monte takes aim at anti-Asian violence and hate
LAPD: Hate crimes against Asian Americans increased in 2020, but more are likely going unreported
Metro riders speak out about crime, drug use and homeless on transit system

​ Orange County Register