Inglewood OKs plan displacing 41 businesses to make way for people mover to sports, entertainment venues

• April 12, 2023

The Inglewood City Council has approved a plan that will displace 41 businesses and 305 workers to make room for a 1.6-mile automated people mover connecting the Metro K line to the city’s burgeoning sports and entertainment district.

The city’s relocation plan, passed unanimously by the council on Tuesday, April 11, estimates it will cost roughly $12 million to move the businesses from their current locations. That total doesn’t include any of the cost to acquire the properties, the plan notes.

“We’re really trying to do everything we can to help people stay within the city and thrive through the process,” Lisa Trifileti, the consultant hired to guide the project, told council members.

The city has assigned “relocation specialists” to each business to assist with the application process and with finding a new home, though the plan states there is no guarantee “that the business owner will find a replacement site that it finds to be acceptable.”

Before voting on the plan, Councilman Eloy Morales pledged the city will “go above and beyond’ to help those affected.

“Whatever the law allows us to do, we’re going to take it as far as we can to help the businesses succeed,” he said.

The relocations are expected to “happen over an 18-to-24-month period” and only businesses occupying the space at the time that the city makes an offer for the property — which could begin later this year — will be eligible for the relocation funds, the approved plan states.

Most of the businesses affected are either at the Inglewood Center shopping plaza at Market Street and Florence Avenue, or at the Holly Park Plaza at Prairie Avenue and Hardy Street. Both locations are slated to be replaced with stations for the Inglewood Transit Connector, the automated rail system that will ferry visitors to The Kia Forum, SoFi Stadium and the Los Angeles Clippers’ future home, the Intuit Dome.

The city of Inglewood may use eminent domain to acquire dozens of properties, including the CVS Pharmacy, for stations and maintenance facilities for the proposed $1.5 billion Inglewood Transit Connector. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

Amelia Hernandez, the owner of Selwyn Jewelers, said she is skeptical of the city’s promises. Selwyn is one of 21 businesses in the Inglewood Center that would be affected.

“It is going to affect more than 2,000 people who live within three blocks of this area, who walk here every day,” Hernandez said, noting that many of the plaza’s customers are elderly and live on fixed incomes.

She worries the project will “create chaos for the community” and leave business owners unable to recover.

One of the neighboring businesses went looking for a new space and found that rental rates were nearly double at other locations in the city, she said. “The prices are so astronomical, it’s a joke,” Hernandez said.

The ITC project, which has secured a little less than half of the $1.85 billion necessary, is being funded through federal, state and local grants.

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At Tuesday’s meeting, the city council stressed that there are no plans to spend any city funds on the construction of the project. The cost of operating the transit system, however, has not been finalized yet.

The relocation plan was updated this month to remove an earlier proposal to take over a site used by a Vons grocery store on Manchester Boulevard. The city, in response to backlash from residents, removed the Vons from the project’s scope and altered the transit system’s first station to incorporate the maintenance facility originally slated for the Vons property.

Inglewood is expected to learn whether it will receive a federal grant covering the bulk of the funds needed for the project, roughly $1 billion, within the next few months. The city plans to begin making offers on the properties needed for the project by the end of this year and needs to begin construction in 2024 to meet a 2028 deadline to come online in time for the Summer Olympics.

​ Orange County Register 

Angels’ Griffin Canning set to return to a major-league mound for first time in 649 days

• April 12, 2023

ANAHEIM — Griffin Canning’s journey is about to come to an end.

The Angels’ right-hander will start on Wednesday afternoon, his first time pitching in the majors since July 2, 2021, a span of 649 days.

“Obviously I’m excited,” Canning said on Tuesday. “I’m just looking forward to getting back out there and competing and helping the team win any way I can.”

Canning, who is a month shy of his 27th birthday, has been through a series of ups and downs in the six years since the Angels drafted him out of UCLA with their second-round pick.

He was arguably the best pitcher on their major league staff at times during his rookie season in 2019, and he also posted a 3.99 ERA and won a Gold Glove in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

But Canning’s back began to bother him in May 2021. He said he first felt some discomfort in his May 14 start at Boston, which was his third straight game allowing two runs or fewer.

Just when it seemed like he was figuring out some things, his performance began to deteriorate as he dealt with what was eventually diagnosed as a stress reaction in his lower back.

Canning missed the rest of the 2021 season, and he had a setback just before the start of spring training in 2022, leading to more time on the shelf. At one point the Angels and Canning faced a decision whether surgery was the answer.

They opted to continue rehab.

Canning finally started throwing again last fall, and he said since then he’s had no issues with his back.

He started doing Pilates and found the right routine to maintain his back.

“I just feel like I know myself a little bit better,” Canning said. “I know my body. I know if I am feeling something in certain areas, I kind of know how to get myself back on track and my recovery methods and stuff like that.”

Once Canning started pitching in spring training, he felt good and the results were encouraging. He allowed two earned runs in 13-2/3 innings in exhibition games, with 13 strikeouts and three walks. His fastball was 94-95 mph, which is up from his 93.5 mph average in 2021.

“I think this is just who I am,” Canning said. “I feel like myself and kind of can go out there and just focus on executing pitches. I’m really excited.”

So are his teammates, most notably left-hander Patrick Sandoval. Sandoval (Mission Viejo High) and Canning (Santa Margarita High) are both local products who work out together year-round.

“Seeing him in spring, that was Griff right there,” Sandoval said. “Nasty. Insane stuff with everything. Just a really (expletive) good pitcher. It’s really exciting. I’m really excited for him, because of all the work that he’s put in come to life.”

Manager Phil Nevin said there will be no special pitch limitations on Canning.

“I wouldn’t say 100 is out of reach,” Nevin said. “It just depends how the game goes.”

SUAREZ FOLLOW-UP

Left-hander José Suarez gave up four runs on 10 hits on Monday night, his second straight start with poor results this season. After the game, Nevin said Suarez’s pitches were “scattered” and he “has got to get better.”

A day later, though, Nevin said a closer look at his performance further encouraged him that Suarez has not been as bad as numbers.

“Shape-wise, pitch selection-wise, what his balls were doing when it left his hand, it all was better than last year,” Nevin said. “The location wasn’t as bad as I thought.”

Nevin referred to the average exit velocity on the hits Suarez allowed. Excluding the bunt, it was 85.7 mph.

Suarez will get a little extra time before his next start because the Angels will keep Shohei Ohtani on schedule and have him pitch on Monday in Boston. Suarez, or Canning, could then pitch on Tuesday in New York.

NOTES

Third baseman Anthony Rendon returned to the Angels’ lineup on Tuesday after missing Monday’s game with a sore left shoulder. Rendon had been hit by a pitch in the 10th inning of Sunday’s game. …

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Sandoval, Tyler Anderson and Reid Detmers are scheduled to start the first three games of the four-game series this weekend in Boston. …

Nevin said the Angels still haven’t decided what roster move they will make to clear a spot for Canning on Wednesday. They currently have 14 pitchers, which is more than the limit of 13 because Ohtani counts as a two-way player. The only relievers with options are Jimmy Herget and Andrew Wantz. The Angels also could put someone on the injured list.

UP NEXT

Angels (RHP Griffin Canning, first start) vs. Nationals (LHP MackKenzie Gore, 2-0, 2.38 ERA), Wednesday, 1:07 p.m., Bally Sports West, 830 AM

​ Orange County Register 

340,000 Teamsters to rally ahead of labor negotiations with UPS

• April 12, 2023

More than 340,000 UPS delivery drivers and warehouse workers are prepared to walk off the job if the shipping giant fails to provide a “fair and equitable agreement,” with their Teamsters union.

Rallies with representatives from 176 Teamster locals are being held this week throughout the U.S. ahead of the union’s national bargaining sessions with UPS. Teamsters Local 952 will rally Saturday, April 15 at its Orange headquarters.

Negotiations begin Monday, April 17, for the largest private-sector collective bargaining unit in North America. Their five-year labor contract expires July 31.

The Teamsters are seeking a contract that guarantees:

Higher pay for all workers
More full-time job opportunities
An end to forced overtime
Elimination of a two-tier wage system
Protection from heat and other workplace hazards

“We’re telling (UPS) we want a fair contract for our members,” said Eric Jimenez, secretary-treasurer for Local 952. “We’re asking everyone to show up. Let’s show this company we’re united and we’re going to stand together in this fight.”

Jimenez said the Teamsters hope to avoid a walkout. But if the two sides can’t reach a livable agreement, they’ll have no choice.

“We will put this country on strike, and we will shut down UPS,” he said Tuesday.

The union has several sticking points. One is the “22.4,” named after a 2018 contract provision that created a tier of lower-paid full-time workers, according to Jacobin, a publication that tracks politics, economics and culture.

The average annual pay for a UPS driver is $75,000 to $80,000 in California — one of the rare jobs that offer a livable wage, pension and benefits without requiring a college degree. Newer drivers in the 22.4 category do the same work as more senior drivers, Jimenez said, but their hourly pay falls $6 to $7 below that of their senior counterparts.

Newer drivers also have less control over their work schedules, which has led to high turnover.

UPS employees working in the company’s distribution centers earn far less, with many part-time workers earning as little as $15.50 an hour. The Teamsters want to hike that starting wage above $20 an hour.

“Part-time workers make up 65% of our workforce at UPS, but they only work an average of 3 ½ hours a day,” Jimenez said. “These are people who work in warehouses unloading trucks and trailers in hot weather. They could go work at TGI Fridays and make as much — plus, there’d be air conditioning.”

The Teamsters have taken issue with the lack of air conditioning in full-time drivers’ vehicles, as well as forced overtime, including six-day work weeks.

“We’ve always known there’s a lot of overtime during the Christmas season where employees will often work 60 hours a week,” Jimenez said. “But since the pandemic arrived Christmas season has turned into a forever season.”

Saturday’s rally is set to begin at 12:30 p.m. at Local 952, 140 S. Marks Way, Orange, and will be live-streamed on Facebook.

The national contract negotiations come just months after UPS reported record profits of more than $100 billion and a $19 million annual salary for UPS CEO Carol Tome.

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.2 million workers in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico.

​ Orange County Register 

Santa Margarita baseball does everything right in win over Corona in Boras Classic

• April 12, 2023

SANTA ANA – The formula of good pitching, timely hitting and error-free defense has won many baseball games.

It did so again Tuesday for Santa Margarita. The Eagles made the most of their three hits and got a complete game from Collin Clake to defeat Corona 2-1 in a Boras Classic South first-round game at Mater Dei.

Santa Margarita (15-3) will play Aquinas (13-2) in a second-round game Wednesday at 3 p.m. at Mater Dei. Corona (14-4) will play Cypress (16-5) in a consolation-round game Wednesday at 9 a.m. at Mater Dei.

Tuesday’s game, which ended Corona’s winning streak at eight games, matched two teams that are high in CIF Southern Section and state rankings. Santa Margarita is No. 2 and Corona is No. 4 in the CIF-SS Division 1 top 10. The CalHiSports.com California rankings have Santa Margarita at No. 2 and Corona at No. 3.

Clarke, a senior right-hander, gave up six hits and struck out eight. He allowed back-to-back walks in the second inning when Corona got its run. Clarke did not give up a walk after that.

“My coach (Willie Kuhl) talked to me and said, ‘It seems like you’re over-throwing,’ ” Clarke said, ” ‘so just to try to settle in and relax and hit your spots with your off-speed stuff.’ ”

On the other side, Corona left-handed pitcher Ethan Schiefelbein was terrific. The senior, who signed with UCLA, struck out 12 in six innings, exhibiting a high-octane fastball and confident command of his off-speed pitches.

Santa Margarita scored its first run in the top of the first inning. With two outs Luke Lavin singled, stole second base and scored on Logan de Groot’s two-strike single.

Corona tied it in the bottom of the second. Jaylen White and Billy Carlson got the back-to-back walks to start the inning. Daniel Rivera’s sacrifice bunt advanced White to third base and Carlson to second and Jared Saldana’s single made it 1-1.

Santa Margarita scored the go-ahead run in the sixth inning. With one out, Blake Wilson walked and Lavin’s opposite-field double dropped just inside the left-field line and moved Wilson to third base. When de Groot’s fly to short center required Corona center fielder Saldana to make a diving catch, Wilson tagged up and scored without a throw for a 2-1 lead.

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Eagles coach Chris Malec said Saldana’s diving catch offered a chance his team could not ignore.

“When (Saldana) left his feet,” Malec said, “you’ve got to commit to it and you’ve got to go.”

Corona got base runners in scoring position in the third, fourth and sixth innings but was unable to get them home.

The 16-team tournament continues Wednesday and Thursday and concludes with the championship game at JSerra on Friday at 6 p.m.

​ Orange County Register 

Germany moves to relax rigid family name system

• April 12, 2023

Associated Press

BERLIN — Germany’s justice minister on Tuesday launched plans to relax the country’s strict restrictions on family names — for example, allowing couples to take double-barreled surnames and pass them on to their children.

The current system “is about as up-to-date as a coal stove and as flexible as concrete,” Justice Minister Marco Buschmann said in a statement as he published the draft legislation.

As it stands, one partner in a married couple — but not both — can add the other partner’s name to his or her surname, but their children can’t carry both surnames.

The reform will allow both partners to take on a double surname, with or without a hyphen, and for their children to take that name too. Even if the parents both keep their original names, they will be able to give their children a double-barreled surname, regardless of whether they are married. The new system still won’t allow names that are more than double-barreled.

Buschmann also foresees making it easier for stepchildren or children of divorced parents to change their family names. And he wants to allow the use of gender-adjusted forms of surnames for people with names from languages in which that is common — a change that would, for example, benefit the Sorbs, an indigenous Slavic minority in parts of eastern Germany.

The legislation, which is supposed to take effect at the beginning of 2025, still requires the approval of the Cabinet and Parliament.

It is one of several social reform projects that Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s socially liberal three-party governing coalition agreed to embark on when it took office in December 2021.

​ Orange County Register 

Irvine will buy controversial asphalt plant for $285 million

• April 12, 2023

Irvine will pay $285 million for the controversial All American Asphalt Plant on Jeffrey Road, the focus of recent litigation and complaints from nearby residents about odors.

The first payment for the plant of $28.5 million — which is nonrefundable —  is expected to be made by the city on June 15, according to a payment plan Irvine officials outlined on Tuesday, April 11.

The asphalt plant must cease all production activity by Nov. 15 to receive the second payment of $228 million. Then, escrow is expected to close on Feb. 1, 2024, with Irvine making the final payment of $28.5 million the previous day.

In February, city leaders announced that funding for the purchase of the plant is set to come from a “concurrent deal” the city made with Irvine Company. According to that deal, Irvine Company will give the city approximately 475 acres of land, with about 80 acres (worth about $330 million, according to city documents) allocated for housing development.

The sale of the properties is expected to cover the cost of purchasing the asphalt plant.

The development will include 400 to 450 single-family homes and possibly condominiums, said Councilmember Larry Agran, a member of Irvine’s All American Asphalt subcommittee.

In addition to the housing community, Irvine is creating the Gateway Preserve, an approximately 700-acre open space preserve with hiking and biking trails on and around the land where the plant sits. The project is designed to include expansive green spaces, native gardens and outdoor classrooms, according to a video presented at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

The land for the Gateway Preserve will include the 11-acre asphalt site, which will be incorporated into the preserve and replaced with a park, interpretive area and staging ground for hikes in the open space. The preserve will also comprise 191 acres dedicated by Irvine Company as well as city-owned preserved land.

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The preserve will connect to the Limestone Canyon Nature Preserve, Black Star Canyon and the Cleveland National Forest, according to the presentation.

The City Council unanimously voted Tuesday to move ahead with purchasing the asphalt plant. The project, Councilmember Tammy Kim said, is “an amazing legacy that this council will be leaving behind.”

A representative for All American Asphalt did not speak at Tuesday’s meeting, and a spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.

The asphalt plant has been open since the early 1990s and predates development in Irvine’s northern area. But in recent years, residents have complained about odors emanating from the site. Irvine filed a public nuisance lawsuit in 2020 exploring options for relocating or even condemning the plant.

Because of the lawsuit, the asphalt plant team, City Manager Oliver Chi said, was concerned Irvine wanted to gain access to the site to do testing and bolster its case; therefore, it was opposed to Irvine assessing the conditions of the land ahead of a sale, Chi said.

So the purchase agreement, which councilmembers signed off on Tuesday, is considered “as-is,” meaning the city unable to “perform complete due diligence analysis” or an “in-depth on-site investigation.” Irvine will purchase an insurance policy — with a cost between $400,000 and $1 million, according to city documents — that covers the asphalt plant site, to cover the city in case there is “a large cost associated with cleanup or mediation,” Chi said last week.

Councilmembers also unanimously approved taking $500,000 from Irvine’s general fund for engineering surveys, design, site planning, utilities planning, market study and traffic analysis on the land donated by the Irvine Company plus the asphalt plant site.

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​ Orange County Register 

Dodgers’ self-critical Mookie Betts not happy with ‘inconsistent’ start

• April 12, 2023

SAN FRANCISCO — Mookie Betts was asked Monday afternoon to assess his start to the season.

“It’s been trash,” Betts said, leaning his head back for emphasis. “It’s been (expletive) terrible, bro.”

And then he went out and led off the game with a home run, the first of three hits, two RBIs and three runs scored in the game.

“Mookie said that?” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

“It’s typical of Mookie, man. It’s like (long-time college football coach) Lou Holtz, where he was always the underdog, everyone’s better and he’s just gonna try hard. Mookie’s always trash. He knows he’s the best player on the field every day.”

Monday’s three-hit game raised Betts’ batting average to .293 with a .945 OPS – hardly trash. But the disparity between his pregame assessment and his results Monday night is reflective of what Betts sees as lacking in his game so far this season.

“It’s been consistently inconsistent. Consistently inconsistent,” he said, identifying his main self-criticism. “That’s part of the game, right?”

A year ago, Betts was hitting .190 in late April and acknowledged beating himself up over it at the time, eventually emerging from his poor start with a scalding May (a .345 average, 1.157 OPS and 12 home runs).

“Last year, I didn’t have a clue. Last year, I was just lost,” Betts said. “I just didn’t know what I wanted to do. I was going and just wasn’t sure of myself, wasn’t sure of what I wanted to do in the box and the mechanics I wanted to work on. Now I’m a lot more sure. This year is a lot better than last year obviously from the beginning. I’m more sure, more confident. Plus J.D. (Martinez) is here. That’s my dude. He keeps me in line.”

Betts said he has also continued a practice he started last year of listening to inspirational or self-help books on tape, giving him better tools to handle the mental challenges of the ups and downs that come with a baseball season.

Roberts has his own philosophy about Betts’ start.

“I think he’s gotten off to a fine start,” Roberts said. “Out of the gates, you just want to kind of hold serve. If you can get out of the gates and then you can kind of find your footing. What you don’t want to do is dig yourself a big hole and chase the whole year.”

LOCAL HERO

Rookie outfielder James Outman grew up in Redwood City, just south of San Francisco, as a Saan Francisco Giants fan. His return to play at Oracle Park sent a parade of local media to Outman’s locker before the games Monday and Tuesday.

Outman’s friends and family, however, have not swamped him with ticket requests for the games. The rookie said he has only had to leave about eight tickets a day for friends or relatives.

Why not more?

“I don’t think they can bring themselves to wear Dodgers gear,” Outman joked.

MUNCY MASH

After his two-home run, seven-RBI game Monday, Max Muncy was asked to explain his history of success at Oracle Park – nine home runs, a .590 slugging percentage and 1.013 OPS in 36 games. The ballpark by the bay is not known as a hitter’s park, particularly for left-handed hitters.

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“It’s a weird place to hit,” Muncy said. “The wind is blowing in your face all the time. It’s cold. It was raining all night tonight. The acoustics are really weird. When you hit the ball square, it doesn’t sound very good here. It’s something to do with the air and the wind blowing all the time.

“So I really don’t have an answer for you. Because mentally it’s not a great place to hit. And then when you look out there to right field, you see how big it is. It’s kind of like, ‘Oh man.’ But maybe that’s part of it for me. Seeing right field and you see you don’t really want to hit it there. So that allows me to stay within myself, stay in the middle part of the field. Maybe that’s it.”

Muncy was not in the Dodgers’ starting lineup Tuesday. Roberts told him before the San Francisco series that he would get the middle game off with the Giants starting left-hander Alex Wood. Muncy has never hit Wood well (2 for 9 with four strikeouts) and Wood was the pitcher who hit Muncy in the hand during summer camp in 2020, leaving Muncy with a fractured finger.

UP NEXT

Dodgers (LHP Clayton Kershaw, 1-1, 3.75 ERA) at Giants (RHP Alex Cobb, 0-1, 2.53 ERA), Wednesday, 6:45 p.m., SportsNet LA, 570 AM

​ Orange County Register 

Robinhood to pay as much as $10.2 million for technical failures

• April 6, 2023

By Steve Dickson | Bloomberg

Robinhood Markets Inc. will pay California and six other states as much as $10.2 million in penalties for operational and technical failures after an investigation by state securities regulators that was sparked by outages in 2020.

The settlement involves “deficiencies at Robinhood in its review and approval process for options and margin accounts, weaknesses in the firm’s monitoring and reporting tools, and insufficient customer service and escalation protocols,” the North American Securities Administrators Association said in a news release Thursday.

“Robinhood repeatedly failed to serve its clients, but this settlement makes clear that Robinhood must take its customer care obligations seriously and correct these deficiencies,” Andrew Hartnett, the association’s president, said in the release.

The settlement stems from an investigation by state securities regulators in Alabama, Colorado, California, Delaware, New Jersey, South Dakota and Texas.

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“We are resolving this matter with the states and are pleased to put it behind us,” Lucas Moskowitz, Robinhood’s deputy general counsel and head of government affairs, said in a statement. “The settlement relates to past issues that Robinhood has since invested heavily in improving, including the launch of 24/7 chat and phone support, expanding our library of educational materials and strengthening the way we supervise our technology.”

California’s  Department of Financial Protection and Innovation said it found no evidence of willful or fraudulent conduct by Robinhood, and that the company cooperated with the investigation.

​ Orange County Register