HBO and Discovery programming to be combined in $16/month Max offering

• April 12, 2023

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE | AP Technology Writer

Warner Bros. Discovery unveiled a streaming service Wednesday combining iconic HBO programming such as “The Sopranos” with a mix of unscripted TV series in a push to reap more subscribers from what so far has been a muddled media merger.

The $16-per-month service, called Max, will be released May 23 in the U.S. and automatically replace the company’s existing HBO Max service in what is being promised as a seamless transition.

The existing Discovery Plus app featuring reality and unscripted series such as “Fixer Upper” and “Naked and Afraid” from a collection of TV networks will continue to be offered. That’s even as all that programming is made available within the new Max app, which will be marketed with the tagline “The One To Watch.”

The transition comes a year after the completion of a roughly $43 billion deal that spun off the AT&T’s WarnerMedia Division that includes HBO, CNN and TBS into Discovery, whose stable includes the TLC, HGTV, Magnolia and Food networks.

When the deal was announced in 2021, Warner Bros. Discover CEO David Zaslav envisioned it creating “the best media company in the world” backed by a vast library of movies, TV series, documentaries and children’s programming. The goal was to stand out among an array of streaming options competing for subscribers at a time many households are trimming discretionary spending amid stubbornly high inflation.

With Max now on the verge of rolling out, Zaslav said he still sees big things ahead.

“This is our rendezvous with destiny,” he declared during a presentation in the same studio where movies such as “Casablanca” and “A Streetcar Named Desire” were made. Those movies, as well as other Warner Bros. films, will be available in Max, which Zaslav hailed as “the streaming version of must-see TV.”

Given that the Max app will bring more pedestrian programming from the Discovery networks alongside the boundary-breaking series that have been HBO’s hallmark, Warner Bros. Discovery executives periodically emphasized HBO would remain the same groundbreaking network that recently caused a stir with the series “The Last of Us,” and is currently making waves with the final season of “Succession.”

Toward that end, the company said it would be announcing another offshoot of its most watched series, “Game of Thrones,” and is developing a new live-action “Harry Potter” series featuring a different cast from the popular film franchise based on the books by J.K. Rowling.

Warner Bros. Discovery is hoping the Max app helps turn the tide after a year of turbulence.

Since taking over the combined company, Zaslav has been shedding thousands workers and slashing other expenses to cope with the roughly $50 billion debt that the company took on largely because of the merger. The cost cutting included a decision to pull the plug on CNN’s streaming service a month after its launch in a move that quickly raised doubts about whether the Warner Bros. Discovery deal would turn out to be a flop.

The ongoing skepticism has been reflected in New York-based Warner Bros. Discovery’s stock price, which has dropped by more than 40% since the merger’s completion, including further erosion Wednesday that occurred after the company laid out its plans for the Max app.

Shares in Netflix, the world’s top streaming services, have fallen by 7% during same stretch amid concerns about its own slowing growth, which included a loss of 920,000 subscribers in the U.S. and Canada territory in 2022 that represents its biggest market.

Netflix, which ended last year with 231 million worldwide subscribers, is just one of a bevy of deep-pocketed streamers that the new Max app will be competing against. Other notables include Apple, Amazon, and Walt Disney Co., which offers apps for Hulu TV and ESPN in addition to Disney Plus.

The stiff competition prompted Netflix to introduce a lower-cost streaming plan that includes ads, an option that Max will offer for $10 per month for viewers willing to tolerate periodic commercial interruptions.

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​ Orange County Register 

GOP-controlled Arizona House ousts Republican lawmaker

• April 12, 2023

By Kyung Lah and Anna-Maja Rappard | CNN

State Rep. Liz Harris was expelled Wednesday from the Arizona House of Representatives for ethics violations resulting from inviting a conspiracy theorist to publicly testify before lawmakers earlier this year.

The resolution to expel the first-term Republican, elected in November, stated that she had brought “disrepute and embarrassment to the House of Representatives,” resulting in “disorderly behavior.” Forty-six Arizona representatives in the GOP-controlled House voted to remove her from her elected position, meeting a two-thirds threshold to expel lawmakers. Thirteen members opposed her expulsion.

CNN reached out to Harris at her legislative office and personal number. She has not responded to CNN’s request for comment.

Arizona Rep. Lupe Diaz, a fellow Republican, voted to expel Harris, saying on the House floor, “We need to have integrity in the institution, and I do not take this vote lightly. I do vote yes.”

Rep. Alex Kolodin, also a Republican, defended Harris ahead of the vote. “They [the public] will perceive that they don’t have a true voice in this body because when they elect somebody to rock the boat, and she does it … admittedly in the wrong way … a way that should have been better considered, that that member will be expelled. So, in order to protect this body, to preserve public trust and confidence in us and more importantly in the legislature as a means for being the peoples voice, and bringing about real change, I do sadly but resolutely vote no.”

When the resolution was passed, a voice off camera could be heard yelling, “Shame on you. Shame, shame, shame!”

The Arizona Legislature live stream then cut off.

In February, Harris had invited Jacqueline Breger to present findings of what Breger and Harris claimed were an investigation. Breger spewed a number of lies and attacks against public officials, including Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs. One of those lies spread on social media and resulted in Hobbs responding with a joke before cameras saying, “No, I am not involved with the Sinaloa cartel. I’m not taking bribes from them and I’m not laundering their money.”

Harris is a well-known conspiracy theorist and election denier in Arizona. She was a constant figure during the GOP-led review of Maricopa County’s 2020 ballots. Election experts condemned the review calling it an attempt to overturn the state’s election results.

Arizona House Democrats issued a statement supporting the expulsion, saying that “misinformation, lies and conspiracies are not harmless, and it’s not just politics.” They noted that the lies presented in Breger’s televised testimony were picked up by partisan media and social media influencers.

“The integrity of our institution was damaged in that moment. That damage continues to accumulate, and for that there must be accountability,” House Democrats said in their statement.

​ Orange County Register 

Bank turmoil led Fed officials to forecast fewer rate hikes

• April 12, 2023

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER | AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON — Turmoil in the banking system after two major banks collapsed led many Federal Reserve officials to envision fewer rate increases this year out of concern that banks will reduce their lending and weaken the economy.

The heightened uncertainty surrounding the banking sector also helped Fed officials coalesce around their decision to raise their benchmark rate by just a quarter-point, rather than a half-point, at their meeting March 21-22, according to the meeting minutes.

The Fed also revealed Wednesday that its staff economists have forecast that a pullback in bank lending will cause a “mild recession” starting later this year. That is a shift from their previous estimates, which had predicted that the economy would eke out positive growth this year. If the impact of the banking turmoil ends up being less than economists’ forecasts, a recession might be avoided, the minutes suggested.

RELATED: Cheaper gas and food provide some relief from US inflation

Overall, the minutes showed that the banking troubles have injected significant uncertainty into the Fed’s decision-making and reversed an emerging trend to keep raising rates aggressively to quell inflation. At their meeting last month, Fed officials projected that they will raise their benchmark short-term rate — which affects many consumer and business loans — just once more this year, in May.

Fed officials who spoke this week have also emphasized the importance of monitoring bank lending. There are already reports of small companies struggling to obtain loans, though it’s not yet clear how widespread the impact will be.

Before the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, many Fed officials had said they expected to forecast more than one additional hike this year because economic and inflation data showed that they still had more to do to control the pace of price increases. But according to the minutes of last month’s meeting, Fed officials agreed that the collapse of the two large banks “would likely lead to some weakening of credit conditions,” as banks sought to preserve capital by curtailing lending to consumers and businesses.

Several officials said they had considered supporting leaving rates unchanged at last month’s meeting. But they added that actions by the Fed, the Treasury Department and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to protect depositors had “helped calm conditions” in banking and reduced the risks to the economy in the short run.

Some other officials said they had favored a half-point hike last month because hiring, consumer spending, and inflation data still pointed to a hot economy. But given the uncertainty resulting from the banking troubles, they “judged it prudent” to implement a smaller quarter-point increase.

Also Wednesday, the government’s latest inflation data showed that price increases are slowing but remain far above the Fed’s 2% inflation target, making another quarter-point rise in its benchmark rate highly likely at its meeting next month.

Consumer prices were up 5% in March compared with year ago, much less than the 6% year-over-year increase in February. But excluding volatile food and energy costs, core inflation ticked higher — from 5.5% to 5.6%. Economists consider core prices a better read on underlying inflation.

Fed officials who have spoken this week have suggested that they will need to raise their key short-term rate for a 10th time in May. Economists outside the Fed increasingly expect the Fed to pause its rate hikes after that.

Mary Daly, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, said Wednesday that the March inflation report was “good news” but that price increases are “still elevated.”

“The strength of the economy and the elevated readings on inflation,” Daly said, “suggest that there is more work to do.”

Yet she also suggested that the Fed’s forthcoming rate decisions will hinge, in part, on how severely banks restrain lending.

“How much does that put the brakes on the economy so that we don’t have to tighten more?” Daly asked. “We don’t know the answer, but it’s one of the things we’ll focus on.”

The San Francisco Fed was the principal federal regulator for Santa Clara, California-based Silicon Valley Bank, whose collapse a month ago ignited financial turmoil in the United States and Europe. Daly declined to comment on the issue.

Tom Barkin, head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, said on CNBC that the March inflation report showed that core inflation was still too high.

“There’s still more to do, I think, to get core inflation back down to where we’d like it to be,” he said.

Austan Goolsbee, who became president of the Chicago Fed early this year, sounded a more cautious note this week. Goolsbee noted that stress in the banking system can weaken the economy and could mean that the Fed might not have to raise rates as much as it otherwise would.

“I think we need to be cautious,” he said. “We should gather further data and be careful about raising rates too aggressively until we see how much work the headwinds are doing for us in getting down inflation.”

Goolsbee did not say explicitly whether he supported another rate increase. Goolsbee, Daly and Barkin are among the Fed’s 18 policymakers, although only Goolsbee currently has a vote on rate decisions. The Fed’s regional presidents vote on a rotating basis.

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​ Orange County Register 

A Connecticut man says it was hard to ‘come out’ about his cancer. Here’s why he wants to tell everyone now

• April 12, 2023

Iran Brugueras, the owner of Hip Stop clothing and shoe store in Hartford, Conn., is going on a journey. Actually, Brugueras is on three different journeys.

Right now, Brugueras and his wife, Nora, are on a 40-day vacation, with stops in Australia, Bali, Thailand, Maldives, Egypt and someplace in Europe they haven’t decided on yet. Iran and Nora named their vacation “You Only Live Once.”

They’re on that YOLO trip as a result of a journey Brugueras started in the fall of 2021, when he was diagnosed with stage-four gastric cancer. The diagnosis led Brugueras to retire, to enjoy his life, family and however many years he has left.

Brugueras also is on a mission to help people speak openly about their physical and mental health. He “came out” as a cancer patient to open up to his community and give friends and customers the chance to talk about their own anxieties.

“I want to be transparent talking about cancer. I want to talk about the stigma of it. The stigma is why it took me a year and a half to come out publicly,” he said.

“I don’t want this diagnosis to have been in vain,” he said. “If someone is in a dark place, I want them to be able to talk about it.”

Nora, a longtime counselor for cancer patients, wants to help Iran break through those cultural stigmas.

“In our culture, Latin culture, people don’t want to talk about cancer. They don’t talk about feelings, especially men,” she said. “We want people to say, it’s OK to be scared. Whatever your feelings are, let’s talk about them.”

At first, his outreach was grassroots, talking to whoever came to his shop or ran into on the street, about his diagnosis, treatment and psychological state. Then he “came out” on social media.

“After that, a number of people, especially men, approached him to talk, whether about themselves or a family member struggling with a chronic disease,” Nora said. “It fueled him in a way you wouldn’t believe. It reassured him that this is his path.”

Now, he has created a website, hipstopcancer.com, where he plans to blog with updates on his health and wellness.

Mental health

Iran and Nora are no strangers to mental-health initiatives. In 2020, the couple donated $25,000 to Hartford Foundation for Public Giving to start a fund to make mental-health resources accessible to young people in the inner cities.

The fund is called the S.P.L.A.S.H. Project, which stands for Special People Looking & Aiming for Success & Health.

It was created in honor of Iran’s son and Nora’s stepson, Iran Brugueras Jr. The hip-hop up-and-comer in Waterbury struggled with mental-health issues, which he referred to in his music, before dying in 2016 in a car accident at age 20. SPLASH was Iran Brugueras’ professional name.

Despite the stresses of the pandemic and Iran’s diagnosis, Iran and Nora have given some grants through S.P.L.A.S.H. Project. Recipients include Hartford’s Toivo Center, which offers alternative mental-health therapies, and the NAMIWalks, sponsored by National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Iran Brugueras Jr.’s motto was “no excuses.” It’s become his father’s motto, too. Iran Sr. used that motto, at first, to keep up his daily work grind despite his medical treatment.

“I didn’t change my lifestyle. I still came to work every day, same schedule, same hours. I’m a grinder. I thought to myself, I have no excuses,” Iran said.

Now that motto has motivated him to let go of Hip Stop — he sold it to his Park Street business neighbor, Roberto Luis Martir — and focus on healing and wellness.

Iran Brugueras at his store Hip Stop on Park Ave. in Hartford on March 31, 2023. Iran has been diagnosed with stage 4 gastric cancer and has planned to travel the world tour with his wife Nora calling it “Y.O.L.O. Tour”. You can follow his trip through his website www.hipstopcancer.com (Aaron Flaum/Hartford Courant)

Family stores

Iran’s wellness and happiness used to be tied to Hip Stop. He started it in 1994 by setting up a mix-tape booth outside his mother’s Park Street store, Fiesta Time Florist and Party Shop.

“Ever since he was a little boy he liked to sell stuff. He went to New York and bought cassettes. In two days they were all sold,” said his mother, Maria Sanchez. “He went back and bought more cassettes, and CDs. He sold them all. Then he started to sell clothes.”

Iran worked on that spot for 15 years. “It looked like a hot dog cart, with an umbrella, with speakers playing hip-hop,” he said. He became well-known in the neighborhood, where friends and customers call him Pooch.

“I came to work on rainy days. I was outside at 5 below in the winter, all geared up,” he said. “That inspired me to work indoors.”

In 2010, he took a vacancy next door to Fiesta Time. Years later, both stores moved to their current locations, just a few hundred feet down the street, at 693 and 697 Park St.

Brugueras cut a hole in the wall, to build a door connecting the shops. While Sanchez chatted with customers buying flowers and decor for weddings, birthdays, quinceañeras and other parties, she could see her son through the door, selling his own wares.

In the shop, Iran’s merchandise expanded to what Hip Stop sells today: athletic apparel and shoes, jerseys, sports hats, backpacks, watches, sunglasses, neck chains.

Feeling unwell

Then, in mid-2021, about a year after launching the S.P.L.A.S.H. Project, with his business humming along successfully, Iran started feeling unwell.

“There was discomfort, a lot of acid reflux, bloating. I’d wake up in the middle of the night with a stomachache. From time to time I’d get a spasm in my lower back,” he said. “I went to the hospital a couple of times. They didn’t find anything. Later they thought it was H. pylori.”

He pushed to have a colonoscopy and endoscopy. The tests ended with a diagnosis of gastric cancer. He was 48.

“The symptoms are so common that most people with gastric cancer wait to get checked so they usually get diagnosed at a higher stage,” he said.

At first he was scared to ask about a “timeline,” Nora said.

“The doctor initially said, ‘we can’t cure you, but we will treat you. We’re just going to have to manage and balance your quality of life,’ ” she said.

“Based on the conversation, I did my own research. We thought, five years tops. Then he got up the courage to ask and the doctors confirmed that.”

Iran had 23 sessions of chemotherapy. “I saw the direction my body was heading, how fragile I was becoming. My immune system was weakening. I felt I didn’t have a shot if I continued to go down that road. So I decided to just continue without chemo and with immunotherapy,” he said.

He focused on meditation, yoga, working out every day and changing his diet. “I am pretty much a vegan now. I stay away from sugar and alkaline. No pasta. Nothing that comes in a box. Nothing too acidy,” he said.

He was feeling stronger and still working. Then Iran had an epiphany while mourning the death of his cousin’s husband, who died unexpectedly at age 63.

“On his property I observed his beautiful retirement home and all his beautiful vehicles and his boat. And he couldn’t enjoy it. All that hard work and he’s not able to enjoy it,” he said.

“He postponed retirement to save more money. That’s what hit hard. He was focused on working so he could live a comfortable life but you just never know when your time is up,” he said. “That’s how I was able to completely let go of the attachment I had to my business.”

New era at Hip Stop

Martir owns Hip Stop now, among his other businesses. Martir owns Celebrations At Wolfies, which rents party supplies such as bounce houses and rents out a storefront for events. In March, Iran had his 50th birthday party at Martir’s storefront. More than 100 people came. “Everybody loves Pooch,” Martir said.

Brugueras approached Martir about taking over Hip Stop. At first he hesitated. “He put in his sweat and dedication and built this store from the ground up,” Martir said. Brugueras finally persuaded Martir to buy the business.

Martir is now excited to put his mark on Hip Stop. A native of the North End, Martir shopped his whole life at Salvin Shoes, which opened in 1927 and was in business for 93 years, closing in December 2020.

“The atmosphere here is like Salvin,” he said. He even hired a longtime Salvin employee, Bobby Alves, to be the “face” of the store.

In a few months, Martir will expand Hip Stop when Sanchez, who is 74, retires and closes Fiesta Time. That door in the wall that connects the shops will come in handy.

“We’re going to use her space as a boutique for the more high-end shoes, Jordans, like that,” Martir said.

Time to retire

Sanchez, a native of Puerto Rico, came to Hartford for a two-week vacation to visit family when she was 21 years old.

“It was time for me to leave. They said, ‘please don’t go, stay a few more weeks.’ So I stayed. I stayed for 53 years,” she said.

Her small shop is jam-packed with a variety of decorations and supplies. Sanchez enjoys her place in the community, selling cake toppers, garlands, candles and flowers, making custom party favors with shiny satin ribbons, colored mesh and cute surprises inside. But she wants to retire.

“My son is not leaving me. We are leaving together,” she said.

Sanchez said “I know I will get involved with something else after I retire.” But first — like she did 53 years ago when she decided to stay in Hartford near her relatives — she is dedicating herself to her family. Like Iran, Sanchez’s daughter also has serious health issues.

“She needs me right now,” Sanchez said. “I have to be strong for them, but I know it is in God’s hands.”

Community

When Iran and Nora come back from their YOLO world tour, they will focus on his health, their family, his blog and building up community connections to start conversations.

“It’s become part of my life story, talking about how I deal with cancer,” he said. “I want people to know that cancer doesn’t define you. It’s not the end of you and there is hope. You can heal.”

That can be hard for people to understand, Iran said.

“People hear the word cancer and they immediately tie it to death. People might not know how to act or what to say around me. It might make them feel uncomfortable to talk to me. They might feel sorry for me,” he said.

Iran’s most recent CAT scan was in February. The cancer has not spread. He finds strength in that. Now, with Nora by his side, he wants people to see him continue his health journey.

“Cancer is not a death sentence for sure. You have to do your work. You have to be committed to a healthier lifestyle for sure. You can have hope,” she said. “He has to be able to find that silver lining, regardless of the prognosis he has been given. He is eager to continue to live life to its fullest for as long as he can.”

Susan Dunne can be reached at [email protected].

​ Orange County Register 

Kings look to finish regular season strong in Anaheim

• April 12, 2023

Although their paths have continued to diverge, circumstance has set the Kings and Ducks up to play their most meaningful Freeway Faceoff since Game 7 of the Stanley Cup quarterfinals in 2014.

The Kings hit the 100-point plateau this season. The Ducks find themselves among three teams with a shot to finish with the NHL’s lowest point total and the best chance of winning the opportunity to select phenom Connor Bedard in the upcoming draft.

When the teams square off Thursday at Honda Center, a win could finally cement the Kings’ playoff position and a loss might inch the Ducks closer to Bedard, though the Columbus Blue Jackets could secure the top lottery position by losing their final two contests.

The Kings will need at least one point or a Seattle loss of any kind to stay in the No. 3 position. If they do so, they’ll face either Edmonton, which wraps up its season against San Jose on Thursday, or Vegas, which will clinch the Pacific Division by earning a point in its finale Thursday against Seattle or with an Edmonton loss. If the Kings were to lose in regulation and Seattle beat Edmonton, the Kings would face the Central Division winner. There, Colorado led Dallas by one point entering Wednesday’s action, and the race will likely come down to Friday’s final game of the NHL season (Colorado vs Nashville).

In a 3-0 win over Vancouver on Monday, the Kings welcomed back defenseman Mikey Anderson. He contributed noticeably to the Kings’ third shutout of the season, each one by a different goalie (this time it was Joonas Korpisalo). Anderson’s range, mobility and positioning have been essential to the Kings in recent campaigns.

“Everything gets slotted back to where it should be. He’s a hell of a player, he defends so well, he cleans up a lot of mistakes from teammates and brings a physical edge,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said.

Defenseman Alex Edler made progress toward a return but should be considered doubtful for the regular-season finale in Anaheim. Forward Gabe Vilardi seemed a bit further off while Kevin Fiala, who was tied for the team lead in points with captain Anze Kopitar ahead of Game 82, was spotted wearing a knee brace after Monday’s game.

The victory against Vancouver saw Arthur Kaliyev score a goal to establish a new career high in points during what has been an up-and-down season for the sniping winger. Phillip Danault and Trevor Moore set up a goal in an effort that might help elevate the second line closer to the level of potency it showed last year.

“It’s been a little tough all year to get momentum. Mooresie was hurt for one quarter or half the year, so it’s hard to come back from this and get our pace back and get a playoff pace as well,” Danault said. “We’re getting there, we’re almost there. One more game and just keep the momentum going, as a team as well.”

The Kings have won both meetings with the Ducks this season by an aggregate score of 10-4. Winger Frank Vatrano had two goals and an assist for Anaheim, while the Kings were led by Fiala, who accumulated two goals and two assists.

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While they’ll have to drive only 35 miles or so to Anaheim on Thursday, the Kings will be heading a lot further south, all the way down under, when they play two games in Australia this fall. On Sept. 23 and 24, they’ll face the Arizona Coyotes at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena in a pair of preseason games that will be the first NHL matches played in the southern hemisphere.

Ducks at Kings

When: 7 p.m. Thursday

Where: Honda Center

TV/Radio: Bally Sports West/iHeart Radio

​ Orange County Register 

Ousted Black lawmaker Justin Pearson reinstated as Tennessee House member

• April 12, 2023

By Adrian Sainz

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The second of two Black Democrats expelled from the Republican-led Tennessee House will return to the Legislature after a Memphis commission voted to reinstate him Wednesday, nearly a week after his banishment for supporting gun control protesters propelled him into the national spotlight.

Hundreds of supporters marched Justin Pearson through Memphis to the Shelby County Board of Commissioners meeting, chanting and cheering, before entering the commission chambers, where officials quickly voted 7-0 to restore his position.

“The message for all the people in Nashville who decided to expel us: You can’t expel hope. You can’t expel justice,” Pearson said at the meeting, his voice rising as he spoke. “You can’t expel our voice. And you sure can’t expel our fight.”

Pearson is expected to return to the Capitol on Thursday, when the House holds its next floor session.

Republicans expelled Pearson and Rep. Justin Jones last week over their role in a gun control protest on the House floor after a Nashville school shooting that left three children and three adults dead.

The Nashville Metropolitan Council took only a few minutes Monday to unanimously restore Jones to office. He was quickly reinstated to his House seat.

The appointments are interim and special elections for the seats will take place in the coming months. Jones and Pearson have said they plan to run in the special elections.

The House’s vote to remove Pearson and Jones but keep white Rep. Gloria Johnson drew accusations of racism. Johnson survived by one vote. Republican leadership denied that race was a factor, however.

The expulsions last Thursday made Tennessee a new front in the battle for the future of American democracy. In the span of a few days, the two had raised thousands of campaign dollars, and the Tennessee Democratic Party had received a new jolt of support from across the U.S.

Political tensions rose when Pearson, Johnson and Jones on the House floor joined with hundreds of demonstrators who packed the Capitol last month to call for passage of gun control measures.

As protesters filled galleries, the lawmakers approached the front of the House chamber with a bullhorn and participated in a chant. The scene unfolded days after the shooting at the Covenant School, a private Christian school. Their participation from the front of the chamber broke House rules because the three did not have permission from the House speaker.

Support for Pearson has come from across the country, including Memphis. During a Monday rally in support of Tyre Nichols, who died in January after he was beaten by police during an arrest, backers of Pearson said the commission was “on the clock.”

“You’ve got one job — to reinstate Justin Pearson,” activist LJ Abraham said.

Pearson grew up in the same House district he was chosen to represent after longtime state Rep. Barbara Cooper, a Black Democrat, died in office. It winds along the neighborhoods, forests and wetlands of south Memphis, through the city’s downtown area and into north Shelby County.

Before he was elected, Pearson helped lead a successful campaign against a planned oil pipeline that would have run through neighborhoods and wetlands, and near wells that pump water from the Memphis Sand Aquifer, which provides drinking water to 1 million people.

He gained a quick reputation as a skilled community activist and gifted public speaker.

Should Pearson join Jones in returning to the Tennessee Capitol, they’ll do so when political divisions between the state’s few Democratic strongholds and the Republican supermajority were already reaching boiling point before the expulsions.

GOP members this year introduced a wave of punishing proposals to strip away Nashville’s autonomy. Others have pushed to abolish the state’s few community oversight boards that investigate police misconduct and instead replace them with advisory panels that would be blocked from investigating complaints.

Lawmakers are also nearing passage of a bill that would move control of the board that oversees Nashville’s airport from local appointments to selections by Republican state government leaders.

Particularly on addressing gun violence, Republicans have so far refused to consider placing any new restrictions on firearms in the wake of the Nashville school shooting. Instead, lawmakers have advanced legislation designed to add more armed guards in public and private schools and are considering a proposal that would allow teachers to carry guns.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Cameron Sexton’s office confirmed this week that a Republican lawmaker was stripped of a top committee assignment more than a month after he asked during a hearing if “hanging by a tree” could be added to the state’s execution methods. The speaker’s office declined to specify the reason for removing him from the committee.

Rep. Paul Sherrell was taken off the Criminal Justice Committee and transferred to another, and was “very agreeable” to the change, Sexton spokesperson Doug Kufner said.

Sherrell, who is white, later apologized for what he said amid outcry from Black lawmakers, who pointed to the state’s dark history of lynching. Sherrell said his comments were “exaggerated” to show “support of families who often wait decades for justice.”

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​ Orange County Register 

David Fletcher sees fewer at-bats as Angels look for best offense

• April 12, 2023

ANAHEIM — David Fletcher was once a big enough part of the Angels that his photo was one of the large portraits around the home-plate gate at Angel Stadium. The Angels thought enough of him to sign him to a five-year, $26-million deal.

Now, Fletcher has been in the starting lineup for just four of the Angels’ first 12 games. Two of those were during Anthony Rendon’s suspension and a third came when Rendon was a late scratch because of a sore shoulder.

Asked if he’s been frustrated or disappointed with his current role, Fletcher said: “A little bit, but I play when they tell me and I don’t when they don’t.”

The reason for his declining playing time is simple: The Angels have been trying to put the best offensive lineup on the field, and they believe that means Gio Urshela and Luis Rengifo getting most of the starts in the middle infield.

“I love him and I want to play him more, but right now we have a lot of guys swinging the bat well that are in front of him,” Angels manager Phil Nevin said.

From 2018-20, Fletcher hit .292 with a .732 OPS and played excellent defense, earning that contract. He was good in the first half of 2021, then finished in a slump. He lost most of last season with a core muscle injury that required surgery. When he played, he hit .255 with a .621 OPS.

This season, he’s off to a 1-for-15 start.

Fletcher said he’s not feeling any ill effects of last year’s injury. He’s simply waiting to see his name in the lineup.

“I just do whatever they tell me,” he said.

Nevin said Fletcher will get some more opportunities in the Angels’ stretch of 17 games in a row, beginning Friday, and 26 games in 27 days.

“There are going to be openings,” Nevin said. “Production will put you in lineups. He’s certainly capable of it. He’s done a lot of great things here as an Angel. He’s playing a valuable role right now, going in defensively when we need him. We know what he can do there.”

LINEUP SHUFFLING

Shohei Ohtani was not in the lineup Wednesday, which allowed Mike Trout to get a day at designated hitter.

That gave Nevin the chance to start Brett Phillips for the first time this year. Phillips was in the lineup in center field, which Nevin said gave them their best defense.

Nevin said Trout will get a full day off sometime on the upcoming trip. So far he has started all 12 games this season.

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Nevin said Ohtani was fine with getting a day off. He threw 92 pitches Tuesday night, and could get two straight off days including Thursday’s scheduled off day.

“I thought this would be a good time for him to get two days off his feet and he completely agreed,” Nevin said.

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Angels (LHP Patrick Sandoval, 1-0, 1.64) at Red Sox (TBD), 4:10 p.m. Friday, Fenway Park, Apple TV Plus, 830 AM.

​ Orange County Register 

Grazing goats wanted for wildfire protection at California observatory

• April 12, 2023

They’re affectionally known as the fire-eating goats: Star Grazer, Chewbacca, Galileo and Death — Destroyer of the Weeds.

The goats don’t actually eat the flames. They feed on its fuel. Soon the resourceful animals will be grazing the hills of Mount Hamilton, east of San Jose, surrounding Lick Observatory — destined to clear the brush and make the expansive pasture less prone to fire.

“There’s a big history of fires sweeping through the Diablo Range,” said Matthew Shetrone, deputy director of the University of California Observatories. “If you’re going to put a $65 (million) or $70 million facility at the top of a mountain, fire likes to climb mountains, so you’ve got to make sure you’re well protected.”

A Lick Observatory building destroyed by the SCU Lightning Complex Fire atop Mount Hamilton, Calif., on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020. Weed-eating goats will soon be seen grazing the hills for fire prevention around the observatory. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)

Over the past several decades, devastating fires have blackened the mountain. In 2020, the SCU Lightning Complex Fire burned 396,624 acres — the third-largest wildfire in California history — and came dangerously close to enveloping the more than century-old observatory. Fifty firefighters made an overnight stay on Mount Hamilton and stopped the blaze just 25 yards from several of the telescope domes.

RELATED: Snow falling on telescopes: Astronomy shut down on Mount Hamilton

Bringing goats to Mount Hamilton comes a year after the UC system utilized the livestock at its Santa Cruz campus, an initiative Shetrone described as a success. The observatory is currently campaigning to raise money to hire the goats — and their shepherds — for an initial season. The observatory is hoping to obtain a grant to fund the weed eaters for years to come.

Right now, the priority is to deploy goats around the cell towers, especially because new ones have been installed this year and are critical for emergency services. If there’s enough money, the observatory intends to station goats around the helipad and create a 5-acre buffer around some of the telescope buildings. The ultimate goal would be to cover more than 58 acres.

As of Monday afternoon, the observatory has raised nearly $72,000. They have yet to finalize a contract with a goat vendor.

Goats at Robertson Park wait to be moved from one grazing area to another in Livermore, Calif., on Thursday, May 7, 2015. Weed-eating goats will soon be seen grazing the hills for fire prevention on Mount Hamilton surrounding Lick Observatory. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)

Because the goats won’t make their grand arrival until May and June, the observatory is still working out some of the details.

There are concerns about deploying the goats, including the potential for predators.

“We don’t know if the mountain lions will come out of the nearby mountains and eat up all the goats or what other problems we’ll have,” Shetrone said.

To comply with the California Environmental Quality Act, the observatory must conduct a plant survey to identify any endangered plant species on Mount Hamilton and determine how to protect them from the grazing goats.

Using goats for fire protection has become an increasingly popular strategy in recent years for beating back brush as California’s wildfires intensify.

Genevieve Church, executive director at the San Francisco-based goat company City Grazing, said she’s seen a dramatic shift in the Bay Area in the last five to ten years as the seasons are quickly evolving.

While drought-plagued years have been a concern for many fire experts, rainy seasons, like this past winter, also pose fire risks. “When we have a drought, we have faster dry out, and in years we do have significant rainfall, we have more growth that is drying out faster,” Church said.

Many of City Grazing’s clients — which include municipalities, universities and schools — contract their goat services in May and June. However, many of California’s worst wildfires in recent years have occurred in the fall — most of that stemming from regrowth, Church said.

“We get as much done as we can in the early spring,” she said, “but really the best time in terms of preventing fires is between August to October.”

​ Orange County Register