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.

UP NEXT

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 

Dennis Schröder lifts Lakers with his energy and efficiency

• April 12, 2023

LeBron James had the basketball and the Lakers’ play-in game against the Minnesota Timberwolves in his capable hands as the final seconds of the fourth quarter ticked down Tuesday. Everyone watching inside Crypto.com Arena and on TNT knew what would happen next.

James would drive and score the tie-breaking basket and the Lakers would complete their comeback from a 15-point third-quarter deficit, defeating the Timberwolves in the closing seconds and advancing to claim the seventh-seeded spot and a first-round date with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Well, James did drive to his right, drawing the Timberwolves’ defenders to him.

But then something unexpected happened.

James passed the ball to teammate Dennis Schröder, who was stationed in the opposite corner, with both feet planted behind the 3-point arc. Schröder accepted the pass and swished a 3-pointer that gave the Lakers a 98-95 lead with 1.4 seconds remaining. The sellout crowd roared.

“It’s Dennis, it’s classic Dennis,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham would later say.

The story didn’t end there, through no fault of Schröder’s. But, after Minnesota’s Mike Conley hit three free throws with 0.1 remaining to send the game to overtime, the Lakers seized control and subdued the Timberwolves for a 108-102 victory. Schröder had 21 points in a reserve role, including his clutch 3-pointer.

In many ways, the game and the ending were a microcosm of the season. There was a little good, a little bad and, ultimately, a pleasing result for the Lakers in the end.

“I told LeBron to get a great shot and attack the rim and just lay it up and get it over with,” Schröder said late Tuesday night. “But he always makes the right reads. He’s been doing this for 20 years. Middle of the season, I missed one of those to win the game, and (Tuesday) I was ready.”

Pressed for details, Schröder said he couldn’t remember his missed shot.

“It was one game,” he said. “I had a wide open shot in the corner.”

The past was in the past.

What mattered for the Lakers was that Schröder picked them up in ways great and small on a night when their supporting cast didn’t do enough supporting of James, who had 30 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, and Anthony Davis, who had 24 points, 15 rebounds and four assists.

Schröder made 5 of 12 shots, including 3 of 4 from beyond the 3-point arc, and had four rebounds and two assists in 33 minutes. He played all but one second of the pivotal fourth quarter, when the Lakers held the Timberwolves to 12 points on 3-for-15 shooting, and all five minutes in overtime.

D’Angelo Russell sat out all but a few seconds in the fourth quarter and OT, scoring only two points on 1-for-9 shooting in 24 minutes by game’s end. Malik Beasley scored five points on 2-for-3 shooting in 14 minutes, and Troy Brown Jr. had two points on 1-for-5 shooting in 17 minutes.

“Whatever the team needs right now, I just try to get it done,” Schröder said when asked about shifting from a starter to a bench player. “I didn’t even know before I got here. I see my name, that I’m not starting. End of the day, to play with those guys is easy, whether I’m coming off the bench or I’m starting. So, we are just competing on the highest level. We showed it again, and I’m glad we got the win.”

Ham said Schröder “lives for those types of moments,” reiterating his fondness for the 6-foot-3 guard from Germany who is in his second stint with the Lakers. Schröder’s standout play Tuesday was much-needed and much-appreciated, as Ham pointed out at game’s end.

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“Yeah, man, the kid is just – his heart, his competitive spirit, just his ability to make big plays and take tough matchups in the biggest of moments, his attitude, his confidence,” Ham said of the 29-year-old playing his 10th season in the NBA. “He’s unbelievable, extraordinary.

“Guys are going to have tough nights and other guys have to be ready to step up. It’s not about trying to just – I don’t know, I don’t know what the word is – but everybody is all-hands-on-deck. It’s about getting the win. It’s not about your way, my way, his way, but the best way to go about getting the win.

“He put us in position to come out on top.”

​ Orange County Register 

USPS raising cost of first-class stamp to 66 cents

• April 12, 2023

The United States Postal Service is set to raise the cost of a first-class stamp to 66 cents.

The increase from 63 cents will take effect July 9, 2023 unless a postal regulator overrules the hike. The agency’s price increase from 60 cents was approved in January.

The USPS has raised prices four times in the last two years and by 32% since 2019, when stamps went from 50 cents to 55 cents.

The new rates from the USPS board of governors raise overall first-class mail prices by 5.4%.

First-class mail accounted for about 31% total USPS revenue of $78.8 billion in 2022. However, the agency has seen a decline in mail and package volume so far in 2023.

The price jumps are part of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s plan to make up a projected $160 billion budget shortfall.

“As operating expenses fueled by inflation continue to rise and the effects of a previously defective pricing model are still being felt, these price adjustments are needed to provide the Postal Service with much needed revenue to achieve financial stability,” the agency wrote in a news release. “The prices of the U.S. Postal Service remain among the most affordable in the world.”

American Postal Workers Union president Mark Dimonstein expressed concern and stressed how the agency needed to strike a balance.

“There’s certainly a balance. We’re not economists, we understand inflation’s far too high for working people, but it also affects the Post Office. They are going to have to raise some rates, in order to be able to carry out its mission. But we don’t want them raised so far that they’re hurting customers,” Dimonstein told Federal News Network.

_____

©2023 New York Daily News. Visit nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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​ Orange County Register 

Here’s when Disneyland’s Splash Mountain is closing

• April 12, 2023

Disneyland’s iconic Splash Mountain ride, which has thrilled and soaked millions of parkgoers since 1989, will close for good on May 31, officials have announced.

The closure allows work to begin on a new attraction —Tiana’s Bayou Adventure — which will remake the ride using the theme of the “Princess and the Frog” movie’s continuing story. The ride will also be remade at Walt Disney World. The Splash Mountain attraction in Florida closed in January.

The Splash Mountain log flume ride opened in Disneyland’s Critter Country on July 17, 1989. Park designers reused animatronic creatures from the closed “America Sings” ride, and based them on sequences from the 1946 Disney movie “Song of the South,” also adding new characters such as Brer Bear, Brer Fox and Brer Rabbit. In total, the ride has 103 creatures.

Splash Mountain in Critter Country at Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, on Wednesday, August 10, 2022. Splash Mountain is a log flume based on the animated sequences of the 1946 Disney film Song of the South. In June 2020, Disney announced that the U.S. versions of the ride would be replaced with a theme based on Disney’s 2009 film The Princess and the Frog. The new ride, which will be titled Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, is expected to open at both Disneyland and Magic Kingdom in late 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Riders get into a “hollowed-out log” and ride it through swamps and bayous, ending up in a giant 52-foot waterfall drop, during which many, if not most, people get wet.

The ride was envisioned by famed designer Tony Baxter while he was stuck in traffic in 1983, according to the Disney archives. It also opened later at Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland.

In today’s world, it has come under fire by some for using elements from “Song of the South” that critics say perpetuate racial stereotypes.

As the first African American Disney princess, Tiana and her friends will freshen up the mountain and bayou setting.

“Tiana’s Bayou Adventure builds on the story of Princess Tiana, a character whose pride and perseverance reminds us of a universal truth: within us lies the potential to make our dreams come true,” Disney announced on its Disneyland blog Wednesday, April 12.

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Disney announced Wednesday that magical fairy godmother Mama Odie will be part of the attraction. She will also be voiced by Jenifer Lewis, who provided her voice in the animated Disney movie.

Designers are planning to add dozens of new animatronic figures to the reimagined ride, along with music and even the smell of New Orleans beignets.

In addition to Princess Tiana, returning characters from the film include Prince Naveen, Mama Odie, Louis, Eudora, Charlotte, “Big Daddy,” the King and Queen of Maldonia, and Prince Ralphie.

​ Orange County Register 

Middle Class Tax Refund: Early filers can amend 2022 returns to recoup taxes, IRS says

• April 12, 2023

The IRS reversed course this week, advising early tax filers who included the Middle Class Tax Refund as taxable income to recoup the money by amending their 2022 federal tax returns.

The Internal Revenue Service issued an advisory Tuesday, April 11 regarding various tax refunds issued by 21 states, California among them.

“Taxpayers who filed before Feb. 10 … should check their tax return to make sure they paid tax on a state refund before filing an amended return,” the IRS said.

READ MORE: Why does my accountant insist I file now instead of Oct. 16?

The agency also suggested taxpayers who worked with a tax preparer or accounting consult with them first to determine if an amended return is necessary.

Just two months ago, the agency advised tax filers not to amend their 2022 returns.

The MCTR was intended to be a stimulus payment for California residents who were paying more for just about everything thanks to record-high inflation. The Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom set aside $9 billion from the budget’s surplus in order to send taxpayers a “refund” ranging from $200 to $1,050 to qualifying taxpayers. (Social Security and welfare recipients who do not file taxes were not eligible for the MCTR.)

While it sounded simple enough, directing $9 billion to 16.8 million people wasn’t so simple. A third-party vendor, the Money Network, was hired to keep fraud in check. Instead, it struggled to get the payments to recipients, leading to jammed phone lines and millions of extremely frustrated Californians.

The New Year came with much confusion for MCTR recipients who got a 1099 form from the IRS, courtesy of the Franchise Tax Board.

Would the inflation rebate be taxed as a 1099 typically requires? For weeks, nobody knew.

RELATED: Tax filing deadline, for most in California, shifts to October

Accountants pondered the question in blog posts. Local readers sent dozens of emails our way asking for guidance. (Never mind the hundreds of emails asking, “Where’s my refund?” Some of those still persist today.)

By Feb. 10, two weeks after the tax filing season began, the IRS issued official guidance, saying the MCTR would not be taxed.

“In the interest of sound tax administration and other factors, taxpayers in many states will not need to report these payments on their 2022 tax returns,” the IRS said on Feb 10.

The IRS said that after a review, it determined it “would not challenge the taxability of payments related to general welfare and disaster relief.”

Also, if you’re filing an amended 2022 return, the IRS reminded us Tuesday that those can be filed electronically with any associated refund now available via direct deposit.

On Feb. 9, the IRS announced that people electronically filing a Form 1040-X would “for the first time be able to select direct deposit for any resulting refund.”

The IRS began accepting Form 1040-X electronically in 2020, but until 2023 did not offer direct deposit as an option for a refund.

Prefer to send a paper amended return? Send it here:

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
Austin, TX 73301-0052

If you still haven’t gotten a Middle Class Tax Refund and believe you qualify, here are some numbers to call:

The debit card customer line is 800-542-9332.

The Franchise Tax Board at 1-800-852-5711.

​ Orange County Register