Mayo Clinic Minute: What drowning doesn’t look like

• July 7, 2023

Deb Balzer | (TNS) Mayo Clinic News Network

Just like last summer, there are reports this year of a lifeguard shortage around the nation, meaning many public swimming pools and beaches may be closed or their hours limited. Without trained lifeguards on duty, water safety becomes an issue, especially for children.

Dr. Michael Boniface, a Mayo Clinic emergency medicine physician, says drowning happens quickly and quietly so make sure children are always supervised by an attentive adult.

A sunny day at the beach or pool can take a dark turn in seconds.

“Drowning in this country remains one of the leading causes of accidental death in children and affects adults, as well,” says Dr. Boniface.

On average, more than 10 people die from drowning each day, most of them children. But he says drowning doesn’t usually look how people expect it to look.

There isn’t the splashing and screaming you see in movies.

“In most cases, you don’t see a struggle,” he says. “You just see somebody under the water or floating face down.”

But in some cases, there is a window of a few seconds where you might notice some signs.

A drowning person won’t wave their arms because their arms instinctively push down to try to get them above water.

And a drowning person is unable to make any sound, so if a child is noticeably quiet, that’s a red flag.

Dr. Boniface says the most important thing you can do is take steps to prevent a drowning. That means limiting alcohol, fencing off a pool and keeping an eye on kids in the water.

“This involves close, constant adult supervision, somebody watching the water at all times,” he says.

___

©2023 Mayo Clinic News Network. Visit newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

​ Orange County Register 

BuyBuy Baby stores going dark after bankruptcy auction falters

• July 7, 2023

By Jeremy Hill | Bloomberg

BuyBuy Baby’s stores will shut down after the baby brand — once cast as Bed Bath & Beyond’s prized asset — garnered no adequate going-concern bids in a bankruptcy auction, according to court papers.

New Jersey-based baby goods company Dream on Me Industries Inc. won a bankruptcy auction for BuyBuy Baby’s intellectual property last month, but advisers kept searching for a buyer for the whole business. A notice posted to Bed Bath & Beyond’s docket late Thursday indicates none emerged. A hearing to approve the intellectual property sale is scheduled for July 11, court papers show.

SEE MORE: Bed Bath & Beyond is coming back, in name only, after Overstock buys brand

The failed sale caps a tumultuous period for BuyBuy Baby and its parent company, which is also shutting down. BuyBuy Baby was a key part of last-ditch efforts to keep Bed Bath & Beyond out of bankruptcy — it was seen a bright spot in an otherwise troubled business.

Bed Bath & Beyond sold its flagship brand last month to online-only retailer Overstock.com Inc. for $21.5 million. Overstock has since said it will relaunch Bed Bath & Beyond online.

Representatives for Bed Bath & Beyond didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

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​ Orange County Register 

Cheesecake Factory announces its 2023 flavor for National Cheesecake Day, July 30

• July 7, 2023

The Cheesecake Factory will begin serving a new flavor, Cookie Dough Lover’s Cheesecake with Pecans, to celebrate National Cheesecake Day on Sunday, July 30.

The Calabasas-based chain launched a new loyalty program, Cheesecake Rewards, and people who sign up before July 30 can qualify for a slice of any flavor of cheesecake for half price if they dine in on July 31 or Aug. 1, according to a news release. The offer is good for every member in a group up to six people, providing at least one member is enrolled in the program.

New members will also receive a free slice of cheesecake if they join before Labor Day, Sept. 4, and for their birthdays, according to the chain’s website.

As usual for its new flavors, The Cheesecake Factory will donate 25 cents to the relief organization Feeding America for every slice of the Cookie Dough Lover’s Cheesecake sold through July 29, 2024.

Last year’s new flavor was Basque Cheesecake, which has a slightly different texture from New York-style cheesecake. It will remain on the menu, according to the chain.

Information: thecheesecakefactory.com

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​ Orange County Register 

Jason Dietrich reflects on a remarkable, transitional season

• July 7, 2023

The “drink from the firehose,” as Jason Dietrich described his first year at the wheel of the Ferrari of Cal State Fullerton’s athletic department was still fresh in his mouth last fall when he spoke to the survivors and newcomers about what awaited them in Year Two of the Great Baseball Overhaul.

To understand Dietrich’s audience, it’s necessary to parse who some of the 17 survivors and 22 newcomers to the Cal State Fullerton baseball team were and what they represented in the big picture. Because that picture would eventually frame the season and what transpired.

Let’s start with the survivors, which included the likes of starting pitchers Tyler Stultz and Fynn Chester, outfielder Nate Nankil, utilityman Caden Connor, third baseman Zach Lew, catcher Cole Urman and reliever Evan Yates. They were among the ones who survived Dietrich’s postseason purge of the CSUF baseball program last summer.

That purge came in the wake of a 22-33 overall record and a 14-16, seventh-place Big West finish, when Dietrich and his staff whittled the roster from 43 in the fall of 2021 to 20 by the end of the 2022 season. The purge was so all-consuming that Dietrich said at the end of last season some of the 20 players who got to the end of that season wouldn’t be back.

The newcomers, which included transfer arrivals like closer Jojo Ingrassia, infielder Maddox Latta and outfielder/pitcher Moises Guzman, were coming into a program in flux. The Ferrari was on blocks and they were expected to help the survivors get it out of the garage. Sooner, rather than later.

“As a coaching staff, we have to do our best to paint a picture,” Dietrich said. “We worked hard all fall to create the picture of what it meant to be a Cal State Fullerton baseball player. We went over the beliefs and the culture and talked about the direction of the program and where we’re at. It took a lot of trust on both parties, but at the end, they bought into what we were striving for. At the end, they bought into all of it.

“We did a good job of getting the kids to believe in themselves and understand what it means to play baseball at Cal State Fullerton. That’s what we did in the fall: stress the importance of what this program means to the alumni and to build pride.”

To see what that picture looked like come June 2023, we drop in on another talk Dietrich had with the Titans. That came in late May, with the Titans on the cusp of their first Big West title in five years — despite an eight-game losing streak in May that threatened to derail what was a 11-4 March and 13-5 April. Prior to that stumble, the Titans won nine consecutive series, including taking two of three from Cal State Northridge, UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara, their three closest pursuers.

CSUF went up to San Luis Obispo for the season’s final weekend needing one win in three games against a team that swept the Titans at Goodwin Field in 2022 and won all four in SLO in 2021.

Dietrich had the picture framed and ready to go.

“One thing I told them is ‘If I told you guys at our first team meeting that you were going to be tied going into the last week of the season and we had a chance to compete for the Big West title, how many of you would have taken it?’

“They all raised their hands.”

Their games followed their hands. The Titans — behind Stultz’s nine-strikeout outing and Urman’s 3-for-4, three-run, two-RBI effort — won that first game, 9-4 for their 30th win of the season. They’d take two of three, enough to finish 20-10 in the Big West and one game behind conference champion UC San Diego, which — due to its transitional status to Division 1 — was ineligible for postseason play. That gave CSUF the Big West’s automatic berth in the NCAA regionals — its first postseason trip since 2018.

That familiar occurrence brought a familiar trip to the Stanford Regional, where a 12-7 loss to Texas A&M — courtesy of 12 walks — and a 6-5 loss to Stanford bookended a 9-5 beating of San Jose State.

No matter. The picture in Dietrich’s second year rebuilding the Ferrari was overwhelmingly positive. The Titans improved by 10 games overall and by six games in the Big West. When you parse the numbers further, CSUF’s season was nothing short of remarkable.

Offensively, the Titans were seventh in the conference in team hitting (.277). They were sixth in on-base percentage (.374), fourth in runs (345), fourth in hits (540) seventh in home runs (37), and seventh in slugging (.406). They weren’t in the conference’s top three in any significant offensive category, although they did lead the conference in doubles and were second in walks.

The pitching numbers tell the same story. The Titans were seventh in team ERA (5.10), fifth in opponent’s batting average (.282), fourth in walks allowed (232) and fifth in runs allowed (313). They were third in strikeouts (490), with a team-high 90 of those coming from Stultz.

Truly a picture of the whole surpassing the sum of the parts.

“It was a good season for many reasons,” Dietrich said. “The uncertainty of going into the season with 17 returners and 22 newcomers. You’re trying to figure out what you have and to the players’ credit, they did a good job building chemistry. …

“We enjoyed being around them. This was a fun group of guys to be around,” Dietrich said. “The older guys and the new guys meshed, and they worked hard. During practice, it was good to see how they went about their business. They bought into what we were trying to do and they enjoyed each other. They bought into the accountability we set out for them.”

Nankil was the Titans’ lone All-Big West First-Team selection. The junior outfielder hit .307 with 37 runs and 38 RBI to go with a .827 OPS (on-base plus slugging). He led the conference with 21 doubles and his 75 hits were fourth in the Big West. Connor, who hit a team-best .333 with 40 RBI, 36 runs and 20 doubles, joined Ingrassia on the second team. Ingrassia (5-2, 2.63) tied for fourth in the conference with his seven saves.

Chester, Stultz, Lew, Urman and Yates were all honorable mention selections. Chester and Stultz won seven games apiece, tying for second in the conference. Lew led the Titans with seven home runs, 43 runs and 43 RBI.

Which brings us to the next entry on Dietrich’s to-do list: improving the Titans’ relative lack of depth, especially on the mound. Complicating matters is the fact he’ll lose Lew, Stultz, Chester and outfielder Carter White. He could lose Nankil, Connor and Urman to next month’s Major League Baseball draft. Dietrich said that key trio may return for their senior seasons if they don’t get drafted high enough.

That means Dietrich has another firehose to drink from. He must plan for them leaving — while accounting for them staying. That means juggling scholarship money and filling in pieces that may not need filling next year. This, with 17 new players coming in next season, including nine pitchers. They’ll join pitchers like Yates and Christian Rodriguez, who sat out 2023 after Tommy John surgery.

“I thought we were light on the mound. They competed, not to take anything away from them,” Dietrich said. “But if we had a couple of extra arms, it would have made a difference. … That’s where your depth is tested. We weren’t that deep. We were better than we were last year, but we were still light. But the one thing I liked about our guys is we competed our butts off. …

“I’m excited for next year, excited for the program and excited for the alumni.”

Nobody said drinking from a firehose — or driving a Ferrari — was easy. It just looked that way.

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​ Orange County Register 

Real estate news: 3 small apartment complexes sell for a combined $18 million

• July 7, 2023

A 17-unit apartment complex at 13931-13951 Illinois St. in Westminster sold for $6 million or $352,941 per unit, according to CBRE.

CBRE represented the seller, which it identified only as an out-of-state private real estate investor. The team also represented unnamed Orange County-based buyers in the deal.

“The property offered investors the opportunity to increase the return by improving the rent roll as well as add two detached accessory dwelling units to the property,” said Dan Blackwell, an executive vice president at CBRE.

The property at 13931-13951 Illinois Street, built in 1963, includes 14 single-story buildings on roughly 1 acre. All of the units are two-bedroom apartments.

The property owner, CBRE said, renovated at least 80% of the units recently. Updates included new windows and sliding doors, laundry hookups in some units, fresh interior paint, ceramic tile flooring and refinished cabinets.

Two small apartments traded in 1031 exchange

Two small apartment communities with a combined 38 units sold for $12.12 million in a 1031 exchange, CBRE said.

CBRE said it represented the buyer and seller in the sale of 18 units at 1800 W. Glencrest Ave. in Anaheim for $4.8 million. The seller of 20 units at 1887 Monrovia Ave. in Costa Mesa got $7.32 million.

The 20-unit Monrovia Arms Apartments at 1887 Monrovia Ave. in Costa Mesa was built in 1959 and features a single two-story building,

“I knew the owner of the 20-unit multifamily property in Costa Mesa was interested in selling after more than 20 years of ownership,” said Blackwell at CBRE.

CBRE colleague Andrew Boukather knew the owner of the Anaheim property who was “interested in exchanging his 18 units for more units in Costa Mesa.”

Neither party was identified but are based in Southern California, the brokerage said in a statement.

An unidentified Los Angeles-based investor bought the 18-unit property in Anaheim, CBRE said. The property at 1800 W. Glencrest Avenue was completed in 1962 and includes two, two-story buildings.

Newport Beach-based CapRock Partners and venture partner Ares Management have sold Tropical Logistics Phase II in North Las Vegas to Stockbridge Capital Group for $87 million. (Courtesy of CapRock Partners)

CapRock, partner sell Vegas center for $87 million

Newport Beach-based CapRock Partners and venture partner Ares Management have sold Tropical Logistics Phase II in North Las Vegas to Stockbridge Capital Group.

Terms of the sale were not disclosed by either firm, but the website CommercialSearch reported the sale price was $87 million.

The 21.9-acre Class A complex at 6325-6185 N. Beesley Drive was fully leased at the time of sale, CapRock said. The firm did not identify the tenants. Neighbors along Interstate 15 include Sysco, WestRock and TemperPack.

The property marked the third development completed in the Ares and CapRock joint venture.

“The sale of Tropical Logistics Phase II marks another successful milestone for our joint venture in Las Vegas,” said Jon Pharris, Co-Founder and President of CapRock.

The Orange County chapter of the United Nations Association appointed Julie Laughton as its ambassador of affordable housing. She is chief executive officer and owner of Julie Laughton Design Build in Laguna Beach. (Courtesy of Julie Laughton Design Build)

Industry people

The Orange County chapter of the United Nations Association appointed Julie Laughton as its ambassador of affordable housing. She is chief executive officer and owner of Julie Laughton Design Build in Laguna Beach. Laughton will work with local leaders in government, business, academia and nonprofits to address Orange County’s affordable housing crisis.

Real estate transactions, leases and new projects, industry hires, new ventures and upcoming events are compiled from press releases by contributing writer Karen Levin. Submit items and high-resolution photos via email to Business Editor Samantha Gowen at [email protected]. Please allow at least a week for publication. All items are subject to editing for clarity and length.

​ Orange County Register 

841,065 left California. Where will you find them?

• July 7, 2023

“Numerology” tries to find reality within various measurements of economic and real estate trends.

Buzz: Where did 841,065 ex-Californians go in 2021? That’s an outflow larger than the number of people living in Wyoming or Vermont or Alaska or North Dakota or the District of Columbia.

Source: My trusty spreadsheet looked at the latest state-to-state migration data from the Census Bureau to see where that flock might have the biggest clout within their new home state.

Fuzzy math: What might be the potential influence of all these ex-Californians?

Topline

Let’s start with the raw number of relocations.

The top destination was Texas, with 107,546 moving from California to the Lone Star State in 2021. Next was Arizona at 69,432, Nevada at 62,437, Washington at 57,576, Oregon at 51,623, Florida at 37,464, Colorado at 33,648, New York at 31,335, Georgia at 28,908, Idaho at 27,193, and Utah at 23,219.

Note: Seven of those 10 states are west of the Mississippi.

Conversely, Delaware got the fewest ex-Californians, with just 116. Then came West Virginia at 368, Vermont at 1,043, North Dakota at 1,525 and South Dakota at 1,670.

Details

Let’s compare those big relocations to state populations. We are translating migration patterns into the odds that you’d bump into an ex-Californian, class of 2021.

There’s a 50-to-1 chance that a resident of Nevada moved there from California in 2021. Yes, 62,437 California transplants vs. a state population of 3.11 million add up to one of every 50 Nevadans. No state had a greater inflow of Californians.

Next on my scorecard of ex-California influence was Idaho at 69-to-1, then Oregon at 82-to-1, Hawaii at 89-to-1, and Arizona at 104-to-1.

Or look at California’s main economic rivals. There’s 271-to-1 odds a Texan is a former Californian, Class of 2021. That’s the 15th highest. In Florida, it’s 576-to-1, No. 34.

And where’s it hardest to find this group of ex-Californians?

Tops? Delaware at 8,575-to-1 odds, then West Virginia at 4,804-to-1, Kentucky at 1,716-to-1, Alabama at 1,481-to-1, and Louisiana at 1,333-to-1.

Bottom line

When Californians leave, they often don’t leave the West.

Ponder the California outflow as its share of a state’s overall inflow from elsewhere in the nation.

Again, Nevada tops these rankings with California accounting for 47% of its 132,648 interstate arrivals. Next came Oregon at 39%, Idaho at 28%, and Arizona and Washington state at 26%.

Rivals? Texas was No. 8 at 18.2% and Florida, No. 38 at 5.6%.

Jonathan Lansner is business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at [email protected]

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​ Orange County Register 

California’s reparations proposal symied even before it’s revealed

• July 7, 2023

California’s three-year-old Reparations Task Force might have been much better off had it taken a week or so after the latest U.S. Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action before revealing its plan for monetary and other compensation to the descendants of African-American slaves.

For the court’s 6-3 decision ending affirmative action in college admissions (and likely in many other areas, too) makes it very plain that if California lawmakers actually adopt many of the task force’s 100-plus recommendations, they will quickly be struck down in courts that abide by decisions of the nation’s highest judicial body.

That’s because receiving benefits from the task force’s suggestions – and that’s all they really are – would depend mostly on ancestry and race rather than anything that has happened to any living individual.

That’s a complete no-no, wrote Chief Justice John Roberts in the Supreme Court’s governing opinion eliminating race-based affirmative action at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina, which served as stand-ins for all the other institutions that have practiced affirmative action for decades.

Meanwhile, the justices essentially upheld what California universities and some employers did after this state banned affirmative action via a 1996 ballot initiative.

Roberts wrote that if individuals have demonstrably overcome handicaps, overt racial or religious bias, poverty and other serious roadblocks to success, it’s fine to give them special consideration in college admissions. But race or ancestry by itself is no longer enough to merit such treatment.

That’s essentially what California universities have done since the late 1900s. The results have created student bodies not quite as diverse as before, but still allow for a very robust mix of races and ethnicities at this state’s colleges. Essentially, the California campus’ route around the end of affirmative action has been endorsed for use nationwide.

The same thing should happen with the Reparations Task Force recommendations, which provide formulae for the state to award billions of dollars worth of grants to the descendants of former slaves. They would be compensated not only for slavery, but also for post-slavery discrimination including injustices perpetrated by courts, health care systems, universities, real estate agents, red-lining banks, apartment landlords and employers, among others.

The task force recommends a blanket apology for treatment of African-American slaves, former slaves and their descendants in California, even though it was never formally a slave state. The group said nothing about other forms of slavery practiced here for many decades, including forced labor by Native Americans whose settlements were often destroyed, similar forced labor by imported Chinese workers and some other human trafficking offenses.

There is no mention of the fact that California fought to end slavery in the Civil War, although prior to that, slave owners could and sometimes did bring enslaved individuals here with them. The state’s African-American slave population rarely exceeded 10,000.

But the distinguishing fact about the task force recommendations is that they hinge almost entirely on ancestry – only direct descendants of African-American slaves need apply for any benefits if a procedure is ever established.

That runs directly contrary to the Supreme Court’s logic in striking down affirmative action. So it probably won’t fly in any court where a lawsuit might be filed against the restitution plan or any materially significant part of it that state lawmakers might someday pass.

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Of course, that does not rule out an official apology from the state for whatever role California played in sustaining or encouraging slavery. Nor would it rule out special grants to schools that serve predominantly minority student bodies. Such grants exist today.

Nor does it negate the recommendation that the state Department of Justice lead an effort to root out racial bias in courts and prisons. It also does not prevent carrying out the recommendation for “listening sessions” about racial injustices, collecting personal testimonies for historic preservation and use of school curricula to help end racism.

None of those things provide direct material benefits to any individual, even if they could lead to major improvements in the lives of many who believe they suffer discrimination today.

But direct financial benefits to individuals based on this plan are unlikely to materialize, despite the strong sense among many African-Americans that this would be yet another injustice against them.

Tom Elias’ email address is [email protected]

​ Orange County Register 

Douglas Schoen: Chris Christie may lose the battle but win the war against Donald Trump

• July 7, 2023

Trump-acolyte turned Trump-rival Chris Christie is off to an intriguing start in his campaign for the GOP presidential nomination. Since launching his dark horse candidacy in early June, Christie has taken swipes at Trump and DeSantis and garnered a modest bump in the polls.

Although a longshot for the nomination, Christie has been stronger than most pundits predicted. Due to his consistent schedule of television interviews and soundbites of him attacking Trump, he is receiving more national media attention than most other Trump challengers.

Arguably more important than the momentum and early success of Christie’s campaign is the blueprint he is laying out for other candidates. While Christie himself may have a limited path to winning the GOP nomination due to his unpopularity within the party, he’s creating a salient, persuasive, and effective anti-Trump playbook that not only another Republican could use to make up ground on the former president, but one that Democrats must leverage in 2024 to rebuild a winning coalition.

Christie’s head on approach to the GOP frontrunner has focused on Trump’s faults, missteps, and lies. He has all but said his purpose for running is to defeat his former friend and ally who he calls a “loser” and a “child.” 

The Christie playbook has included calling out Trump’s election lies, highlighting his repeated electoral losses, pointing to the evidence in Trump’s indictments rather than blaming the Department of Justice, questioning why so many of his former staffers say he should not be president again, and framing him as an unserious candidate who wants to be President again solely for personal gain.

During a CNN town hall with Anderson Cooper, Christie repeatedly lambasted him, saying Trump “doesn’t give a damn about the American people.” He continues to make the rounds on CNN, NBC, ABC, and Fox News shows to attack Trump’s record and his grievance politics. 

This strategy marks a stark difference from the rest of the field, including second leading candidate and Trump’s main rival Ron DeSantis, who has mostly tiptoed around criticizing Trump even when given clear opportunities to do so. Yet, it has been validated by a strong jump for Christie in the key state of New Hampshire, where he now finds himself in third place in the two most recent polls from the key state. In fact, the New Hampshire Journal poll has Christie just four points behind DeSantis.

The anti-Trump remarks have also garnered Christie a steadily growing donor network, which is critical to qualifying for the RNC debates. On June 18th, after just twelve days of campaigning, Christie announced he had reached 15,000 of the 40,000 donors required to make the debate stage. 

Christie has generated enough buzz to draw attacks from Trump himself, despite Trump’s claim that he only targets the opponent who is currently in second place. While sitting at just low single digits in national polls, Christie clearly has the former president’s attention and knows it, as he joked in this tweet.

To be sure, the former Governor of New Jersey faces a steep climb to the nomination due to his poor ratings among the GOP base. CBS/YouGov’s June poll found 79% of Republican primary voters currently say they are not even considering him, and a Monmouth University poll found his favorable ratings 26 points underwater. 

Yet, Christie has the potential to create the biggest lasting impact in the Republican Party – even if he doesn’t win. Christie is taking on Donald Trump directly, and by doing so, may be the one who can pave the way for a post-Trump Republican Party.

By continuing his viral attacks on Trump through the summer and fall, he may be able to take the former president down a notch in the polls and create an opening for a viable alternative who can follow Christie’s script. 

Indeed, even if a candidate with a strong chance to win employs Christie’s playbook, Trump is still the prohibitive favorite to secure the GOP nomination and the indictments have only further consolidated the Republican base behind him. 

Thus, Christie’s anti-Trump playbook likely offers more benefits to the Democratic Party in a 2024 Biden-Trump general election rematch. 

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Due to President Biden’s low approval ratings and poor marks on the economy, the Democrats must run a negative campaign that leverages Christie’s lines of attack to present a choice between Biden and Trump. Christie’s emphasis on Trump’s selfishness and irresponsibility may not work with GOP primary voters but will likely be persuasive with independent and moderate general election voters who were crucial to Biden’s 2020 win.

These voters, whose support will be imperative in 2024, swung to Biden largely because of fatigue from Trump’s drama and recklessness, which is exactly what Christie’s campaign is seizing on. Further, the nonstop attacks on Trump will turn out the liberal base for Biden and galvanize grassroots fundraising.

Realistically, Chris Christie’s campaign will be a success if he can knock down Trump and DeSantis enough to give an alternative, more sensible candidate a chance at winning the nomination. But the more likely scenario is he will refine anti-Trump messaging that will prove crucial to the Democratic Party’s effort to give Trump one final defeat.

What is the payoff for Chris Christie, a senior position in the next Biden administration or a high-level ambassadorship?

Douglas Schoen is a longtime Democratic political consultant. 

​ Orange County Register