How to deal with a noise complaint? Ask the lawyer

• April 4, 2023

Q: We live in a nice neighborhood. Noise has never been an issue — until the house next door was rented to a family that parties. Those parties go well into the night at any given time, including after 10 p.m. We have reached out to them, to the owner of the house and to the police, so far to no avail. What can we do to get peace and quiet?

P.S., San Pedro

A: California Health & Safety Code Section 46000 provides: “(f) All Californians are entitled to a peaceful and quiet enjoyment without the intrusion of noise which may be hazardous to their health or welfare.” If the noise is objectively unreasonable, you may have grounds to seek an injunction in court (to stop the offensive noise) and to pursue damages under the legal doctrine of nuisance (e.g., Civil Code Section 3479).

The city and/or county where you live may also have a noise ordinance, which sets forth when noise is to stop. Your boisterous neighbors may be breaching that ordinance, thereby violating the law. Under the guidelines of California Penal Code Section 415, it is illegal (i.e., a crime) for a resident to knowingly create loud and unreasonable noises as a means of disturbing another. Unnecessary noise can arise at any time, and punishment can include imprisonment and/or a fine.

It may be most prudent now to sit down and go over the situation with a lawyer. Your lawyer can address your options, pros and cons, and could write at least a firm letter that might finally get the neighbor to knock off the loud noise.  A copy of that letter could also go to the owner of the property, to put them on notice of any responsibility they may have. Ultimately, a court action (I am sad to say) might be necessary against the neighbors. You would seek to abate (restrain) the nuisance, and as noted above, you may seek damages as well.

Lastly, is the noise such that it disrupts not just your peace and quiet, but also others in the neighborhood? If so, pooling resources may be a practical approach.

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Q: We live in an apartment complex. There is one tenant who is a “mean drunk.” At times,he is belligerent and out of control. We have two kids, both under the age of 10. They are afraid of this man. We are concerned he may cause harm — not just to himself but also to others and the property. The landlord has spoken with him but his behavior persists. Can the landlord be held liable if someone or something is now injured or damaged by this derelict?

S.J., Tustin

A: Your rental agreement (and his) probably has language that prohibits the drunken tenant’s misconduct. The landlord therefore could have a basis to evict him. Moreover, you indicate the landlord knows about the misconduct. Thus, if it continues, and the landlord is found not to have acted responsibly to get it to stop or mitigate it, or otherwise taken steps so that others there (like you and your kids) are relieved of the fear and stress, there is potential liability for the landlord.

The landlord has a duty to provide quiet enjoyment for you. The landlord is not treated as a “super protector” by the law, but in the circumstances you describe, it would behoove the landlord to remedy the matter. As things stand, the landlord knows or ought to know that harm to person and/or property is foreseeable.

Ron Sokol has been a practicing attorney for over 40 years, and has also served many times as a judge pro tem, mediator, and arbitrator. It is important to keep in mind that this column presents a summary of the law, and is not to be treated or considered legal advice, let alone a substitute for actual consultation with a qualified professional.

​ Orange County Register 

OC Parks’ free Sunset Cinema announces its 2023 summer series lineup

• April 4, 2023

OC Parks’ Sunset Cinema series is gearing up for its annual event this summer. This season will include a new lineup of films coming to parks throughout the county every Friday night from June 9-Sep. 8.

Event sites for the outdoor movies will open at 6 p.m. and films will begin at 8 p.m. Each screening is family-friendly, free and includes parking. Guests can bring in their own picnic items, low-back chairs and blankets for seating. Food trucks and booths will be available on-site with bites and beverages for purchase. There will also be a beer and wine garden open to those 21-and-older.

Here is the lineup of movies for the 2023 film series.

June 9: “Thor: Love and Thunder” (2022) at Craig Regional Park

June 16: “A Bug’s Life” (1998) at Craig Regional Park

June 23: “Minions: The Rise of Gru” (2022) at Carbon Canyon Regional Park

June 30: “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” (1986) at Carbon Canyon Regional Park

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July 7: “Top Gun: Maverick” (2022) at Yorba Regional Park

July 14: “Clueless” (1995) at Yorba Regional Park

July 21: “Lightyear” (2022) at Irvine Regional Park

July 28: “Nacho Libre” (2006) at Irvine Regional Park

August 4: “Cruella” (2021) at Mason Regional Park

Aug. 11: “Kung Fu Panda” (2008) at Mason Regional Park

Aug. 18: “Spider-Man: No Way Home” (2021) at Laguna Niguel Regional Park

Aug. 25: “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” (1971) at Laguna Niguel Regional Park

Sep. 1: “Uncharted” (2022) at Bluff Park at Salt Creek Beach

Sep. 8: “Mamma Mia!” (2008) at Bluff Park at Salt Creek Beach

Craig Regional Park is located at 3300 N. State College Blvd., Fullerton; Mason Regional Park, 18712 University Dr., Irvine; Irvine Regional Park, 1 Irvine Park Road, Orange; Carbon Canyon Regional Park, 4442 Carbon Canyon Road, Brea; Yorba Regional Park, 7600 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim; Bluff Park at Salt Creek Beach, 33333 Pacific Coast Highway, Dana Point; Laguna Niguel Regional Park, 28241 La Paz Road, Laguna Niguel.

For more information, go to ocparks.com.

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OC Parks announces the lineup for its free 2023 Summer Concert Series

• April 4, 2023

OC Parks has announced the return of its Summer Concert Series held at various parks throughout the county on Thursday evenings from June 22-Aug. 24.

Fans can enjoy live music under the stars from a variety of acts at Craig Regional Park in Brea, Irvine Regional Park in Orange, Mason Regional Park in Irvine, Mile Square Regional Park in Fountain Valley and Bluff Park at Salt Creek Beach in Dana Point.

The concert series is free to attend and is suitable for all-ages. Food trucks will be there serving a variety of dishes and there will be a beer and wine garden for those 21-and-older. Guests are also able to bring their own picnic items and blankets for seating. Doors open at 5 p.m. with the music starting at 6 p.m. All of the shows end by 8 p.m.

June 22: Paco Versailles at Craig Regional Park

June 29: TBA at Craig Regional Park

July 6: The Rembrandts at Irvine Regional Park

July 13: Ozomatli at Irvine Regional Park

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July 20: No Duh: The Ultimate Tribute to No Doubt at Mason Regional Park

July 27: FlashPants at Mason Regional Park

August 3: The English Beat at Mile Square Regional Park

August 10: The Aquabats! at Mile Square Regional Park

August 17: Queen Nation at Bluff Park at Salt Creek Beach

August 24: Flashback Heart Attack at Bluff Park at Salt Creek Beach

Craig Regional Park is located at 3300 N. State College Blvd., Fullerton; Mason Regional Park, 18712 University Dr., Irvine; Irvine Regional Park, 1 Irvine Park Road, Orange; Carbon Canyon Regional Park, 4442 Carbon Canyon Road, Brea; Mile Square Regional Park, 6801 Euclid Street, Fountain Valley; Bluff Park at Salt Creek Beach, 33333 Pacific Coast Highway, Dana Point.

For more information, go to ocparks.com.

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Trump surrenders to authorities in New York hush money case

• April 4, 2023

By MICHAEL R. SISAK, ERIC TUCKER, JENNIFER PELTZ and WILL WEISSERT

NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump surrendered to authorities Tuesday at a Manhattan courthouse ahead of his arraignment on criminal charges stemming from a hush money payment to a porn actor during his 2016 campaign.

Wearing his signature dark suit and red tie, Trump turned and waved to crowds outside the building before heading inside to be fingerprinted and processed — a remarkable reckoning after years of investigations into his personal, business and political dealings and an extraordinary moment in U.S. history.

He arrived at court in an eight-car motorcade that took him from Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattan through the main north-south highway on the east side of the city, past landmarks such as the United Nations. Along the way, the voluble ex-president posted on his social media platform: “Heading to Lower Manhattan, the Courthouse. Seems so SURREAL — WOW, they are going to ARREST ME. Can’t believe this is happening in America. MAGA!”

The booking and appearance before Judge Juan Merchan should be relatively brief — though hardly routine — as Trump learns for the first time the charges against him. Trump will plead not guilty, according to his lawyers, and is expected to enter the plea himself, as is standard in the court.

Merchan has ruled that TV cameras won’t be allowed in the courtroom.

Trump, who was impeached twice by the U.S. House but was never convicted in the U.S. Senate, is the first former president to face criminal charges. The nation’s 45th commander in chief was escorted from Trump Tower to the courthouse by the Secret Service and may have his mug shot taken.

“He is strong and ready to go,” Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina told The Associated Press. Earlier, Tacopina said in a TV interview that the former president wouldn’t plead guilty to lesser charges, even if it might resolve the case. He also said he didn’t think the case would make it to a jury.

New York police said they were ready for large protests by Trump supporters, who share the Republican former president’s belief that the New York grand jury indictment and three additional pending investigations are politically motivated and intended to weaken his bid to retake the White House in 2024. Journalists often outnumbered protesters, though.

Trump, a former reality TV star, has been hyping that narrative to his political advantage, saying he raised more than $8 million in the days since the indictment on claims of a “witch hunt.” His campaign released a fundraising request titled “My last email before arrest” and he has repeatedly assailed the Manhattan district attorney, egged on supporters to protest and claimed without evidence that the judge presiding over the case “hates me” — something his own lawyer has said is not true.

Trump is scheduled to return to his Palm Beach, Florida, home, Mar-a-Lago, on Tuesday evening to give remarks, punctuating his new reality: submitting to the dour demands of the American criminal justice system while projecting an aura of defiance and victimhood at celebratory campaign events. At least 500 prominent supporters have been invited, with some of the most pro-Trump congressional Republicans expected to attend.

A conviction would not prevent Trump from running for or winning the presidency in 2024.

Inside the Manhattan courtroom, prosecutors led by New York’s district attorney, Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, are expected to unseal the indictment issued last week by a grand jury. This is when Trump and his defense lawyers will get their first glimpse of the precise allegations against him.

The indictment contains multiple charges of falsifying business records, including at least one felony offense, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press last week.

After the arraignment, Trump is expected to be released by authorities because the charges against him don’t require that bail be set.

The investigation is scrutinizing six-figure payments made to porn actor Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Both say they had sexual encounters with the married Trump years before he got into politics. Trump denies having sexual liaisons with either woman and has denied any wrongdoing involving payments.

The arraignment will unfold against the backdrop of heavy security in New York, coming more than two years after Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in a failed bid to halt the congressional certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s win.

Trump was defiant ahead of his arraignment. He used his social media network to complain that he was going to court in a heavily Democratic area, declaring, “KANGAROO COURT” and “THIS IS NOT WHAT AMERICA WAS SUPPOSED TO BE!” He and his campaign have repeatedly assailed Bragg and even trained scrutiny on members of Bragg’s family.

Despite that, the scenes around Trump Tower and the courthouse where Trump will stand before a judge did not feature major unrest. Police tried to keep apart protesters supporting the former president and those opposing him by confining them to separate sides of a park near the courthouse using metal barricades.

Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of Trump’s staunchest supporters in Congress, staged a brief rally at the park, but the scene was so chaotic that it was hard to hear her over the crush of reporters and protesters.

“We’re the party of peace,” Greene said, thanking those Trump supporters present. “Democrats are communists.”

Embattled Republican New York Rep. George Santos also showed up in solidarity with Trump, saying, “I want to support the president.”

“I think this is unprecedented and it’s a bad day for democracy,” Santos said, suggesting that future prosecutors could target Biden and other presidents with other cases, which “cheapens the judicial system.”

One demonstrator hoisted a sign reading “Trump or death 1776 2024,” but others carried placards showed images of Trump in prison.

The public fascination with the case was evident Monday as national television carried live images of Trump’s motorcade from his Mar-a-Lago club to a private, red, white and blue Boeing 757 stenciled with his name. From there, Trump was flown to New York, where cameras followed his motorcade into Manhattan and he spent the night at Trump Tower as he prepared to turn himself in.

The former president and his aides are embracing the media circus. After initially being caught off guard when news of the indictment broke Thursday evening, Trump and his team are hoping to use the case to his advantage. Still, they asked the judge in a Monday filing to ban photo and video coverage of the arraignment.

New York’s ability to carry out safe and drama-free courthouse proceedings in a case involving a polarizing ex-president could be an important test case as prosecutors in Atlanta and Washington conduct their own investigations of Trump that could also result in charges. Those investigations concern efforts to undo the 2020 election results as well as the possible mishandling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.

Many top Republicans, including some of Trump’s potential rivals in next year’s GOP presidential primary, have criticized the case against him. Biden, who has yet to formally announce that he’s seeking reelection next year, and other leading Democrats have largely had little to say about it.

Prosecutors insist their case against Trump has nothing to do with politics.

Tucker and Weissert reported from Washington. Associated Press journalists Jill Colvin, Bobby Caina Calvan, Larry Neumeister, Karen Matthews, Larry Fleisher, Deepti Hajela, Julie Walker, Ted Shaffrey, David R. Martin, Joe Frederick and Robert Bumsted in New York and Colleen Long and Michael Balsamo in Washington contributed to this report.

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National Burrito Day 2023: Where to get cheap burritos on April 6

• April 4, 2023

National Burrito Day falls on the first Thursday of April, so the date fluctuates. This year, it’s April 6.

Southern California fast food chains are responding with offers for discounted burritos, and for a lucky few loyalty club members, they could be free.

Here are some chains that have announced discounts.

Chipotle Mexican Grill: The Newport Beach chain will be sending out codes on a Twitter account,  @ChipotleTweets, the can be texted to 888-222 for the chance to win one of 10,000 free burritos, according to a news release. chipotle.com

Chronic Tacos: The Aliso Viejo-based chain is offering 50% off burritos ordered through its app on April 6, according to a news release. Use the promo code “burrito” at checkout. The offer is limited to one burrito per customer. On that date, Chronic Tacos will also have a giveaway on Instagram of one free burrito a week for a year. chronictacos.com

El Pollo Loco: The Costa Mesa-based chain is using National Burrito Day to launch an overhaul of its rewards program and a new app. On April 6, new and existing Loco Rewards members will receive a buy-one-get-one burrito. Then on the 30 days between National Burrito Day and Cinco de Mayo, 30 members will be picked to receive 1 million points, according to a news release.

Miguel’s Jr.: Bean and cheese burritos and bean, rice and cheese burritos will sell for $1.99 on April 6, according to a news release. miguelsjr.com

Rubio’s Coastal Grill: Every burrito on the menu will be on sale for $7.99 on April 6. Customers can use the coupon code BURRITO for online or app purchases or scan a QR code at the cash register. It is available on the chain’s website. rubios.com/coupons/burrito-day

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OC Fair 2023: The Fab Four will return to Pacific Amphitheatre

• April 4, 2023

Fan favorites The Fab Four announced they’re coming back to Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa to play all of The Beatles No. 1 hits during the run of the annual OC Fair on Saturday, Aug. 5.

Tickets to the show are $22.50-$32.50 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 8 at Ticketmaster.com.

Mariachi Sol de Mexico de Jose Hernandez will also return to the OC Fair & Event Center this summer with two shows inside The Hangar at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 6. Tickets to the shows are $20-$35 and go on sale at 10 a.m. April 8 at Ticketmaster.com.

Last week, promoters announced a couple of shows in The Hangar including Red Corvette: A Prince Tribute on Friday; Aug. 4 and Yachty By Nature (Yacht Rock cover band) on Saturday, Aug. 5. Tickets to both of those shows are on sale now for $20-$25 at Ticketmaster.com.

The annual OC Fair is taking place July 14-Aug. 13 and tickets to shows happening inside The Hangar and at the adjacent Pacific Amphitheatre during that time period include same-day fair admission. For more information on the OC Fair go to ocfair.com. For the most up-to-date concert lineup at Pacific Amphitheatre, visit pacamp.com.

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Ban on state travel to red states may end

• April 4, 2023

California’s performative ban on state-funded travel to states with policies Sacramento politicians don’t like may soon end. Sen. Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, has introduced Senate Bill 447 to repeal California’s ban on travel to two dozen states with anti-LGBT laws. But, of course, there’s a catch.

Back in 2016, the state imposed a travel ban on “non-essential” state travel to select states. The list of states has continued to grow, including to states like Florida for restricting transgender women from participating in public sports teams intended for biological women.

In practice, the ban doesn’t really stop travel from California lawmakers and officials to such states. Last summer, for example, Gov. Gavin Newsom vacationed in Montana, which is subject to the travel ban.

Needless to say, none of the states facing the bans have decided to change course just because fewer California state-funded delegations were dropping by.

As this editorial board wrote three years ago, “these travel bans are really just a way to dupe voters into thinking Sacramento is doing something when it’s clearly doing nothing.”

Which brings us to Sen. Atkins’ proposal to scrap the travel ban.

In place of the travel ban, Senate Bill 447  authorizes the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development “to  promote social equity, civil rights, and antidiscrimination through marketing and advertising campaigns” through a new effort called the Building and Reinforcing Inclusive, Diverse, Gender-Supportive Equity Project.

Promoting civil rights and opposing discrimination is certainly noble, but it’s not hard to see the actual subtext of the bill. In other words, the state will consider lifting the ban on state travel so Gov. Gavin Newsom can travel to red states to campaign.

The bill comes as Newsom has launched a federal political action committee called “Campaign for Democracy” through which he plans to “take the fight to states where freedom is most under attack.”

In other words, Newsom wants to spend a lot more time out of California and specifically in Republican states of the sort currently subject to the state-funded travel ban.

The governor clearly has his eye on the White House and is doing everything he can to build up his national name ID and demonstrate to national Democrats that he is serious about leading the national party against the GOP. That’s the long and short of it.

It would be nice, though, if Newsom could be as serious about governing his own state as he is about politicking in other states. There’s no shortage of tangible problems to solve in California that Newsom was elected to try to solve. Alas, Newsom is more concerned about his political career than anything else.

​ Orange County Register 

Owen Wilson would FaceTime people in his Bob Ross-inspired ‘Paint’ outfit

• April 4, 2023

In “Paint,” Owen Wilson plays Carl Nargle, the host of a painting show on Vermont public television, who despite his lack of artistic talent is something of a superstar.

Writer-director Brit McAdams’s new film is a comedy filled with funny performances by Michaela Watkins, Stephen Root, and Wendi McLendon-Covey, but it also includes brushstrokes of melancholy.

That’s part of what Wilson says attracted him to a role, which is superficially based on the real-life painter and posthumous pop culture icon Bob Ross, both in the huge halo of hair and fondness for basic landscapes that you –.yes, you, TV viewer! – can replicate at home.

That mix of comedy and pathos is part of what attracted Wilson to the role, he says.

“I tend to watch a lot of documentaries,” Wilson says on a recent video call. “It’s rare that I’d ever pick a comedy.

“The emotions that people are feeling have to be sort of real to me,” he says.

“Paint” lets Carl Nargle be both the source of much humor – how can you not laugh at that hair and wardrobe? – and its heart. When his world starts to crumble around him, you feel for him even though he’s largely brought all his troubles down upon himself.

“I think with Carl, it’s not funny, of course, to him,” Wilson says. “It’s painful. Now that can be why I enjoy documentaries. I can find it funny when you see people experiencing these real emotions that we all get hit with. Vanity and pride and insecurities, and the ways we try to hide those.

“And Carl is really having to face that,” he says.

Bob Ross, but evil

For writer-director McAdams, who told the audience at the “Paint” premiere recently that it took 13 years to get the movie made, inspiration for “Paint” came from his experiences watching and working in television.

As a boy growing up in the ’80s, he wasn’t allowed to watch much TV, though his mother made an exception for the soap opera “General Hospital.”

“I’m old enough and my family was cheap enough that we didn’t have a remote control, so the catbird seat was right in front of the TV set where there was a knob to change the channel,” McAdams says. “So as ‘General Hospital’ would end, I would have just a moment to keep the TV on. I’d turn that knob and it was like the clicking of a bomb: tick, tick, tick with each turn.

“And then Bob Ross would come on,” he says. “We would start by being like, ‘Who’s this guy with his hair and the whispering,’ and then he would start this with magical, just a brown brushstroke that would become a branch, and then a tree, and the tree would become a forest, and the forest an entire mountain-scape.

“You would go from sort of laughing or thinking, ‘Who is this guy?’ to just being completely transfixed by what he created,” McAdams says. “I just always loved the idea of someone having that power over everyone – where people wanted to hear that voice and be in that comfortable place.”

Years later, working at the VH1 cable network in his 20s, McAdams says he was first thrilled to meet so many of his idols, then dismayed to realize that not all of them lived up to his expectations.

“What I realized was that a lot of my idols are better on stage than off,” he says. “Then my thought was: If you are a rock star at 22, how hard would it be for you to evolve beyond that if you stayed a rock star? And who would I be if I had never evolved from a 22-year-old?

“That’s the genesis of this character in a lot of ways,” McAdams says. “He’s the biggest painter and the biggest star of PBS in Burlington, Vermont. He’s had the top show for 22 years and would he ever evolve into who he should be if people kept telling him he was everything to them?”

Bob Ross, he stresses, was not the stunted, self-absorbed character that Carl Nargle is in “Paint.”

“He was seemingly the nicest person and by all accounts always was,” McAdams says. “I liked the idea of, What if there was someone like him, not him at all, who came across as just the nicest person in the world and wasn’t? What if you use that whisper and that power of grabbing people’s attention to keep them hanging on his every word and every breath and every stroke?

“What would happen if you didn’t use that power for good? That’s basically the idea behind it.”

Vintage brushstrokes

Carl Nargle isn’t just stuck as an artist, though he does paint Mount Mansfield over and over again, having decided, after learning that the Burlington Art Museum doesn’t have a single painting of Vermont’s highest peak, that that’s how’ll finally get his work on its walls.

He’s also stuck in time – the haircut he picked from a ’70s poster in the barber shop years ago, sure – but also his clothes, his airbrush-painted ’70s van with sofa bed in the back, and his caddish behavior toward women, from his long-suffering ex Katherine (Michaela Watkins) to the much younger Jenna (Lucy Freyer).

Wilson described what it felt like slipping into his character’s skin – and wig and calico-yoked shirts and high-waisted jeans.

“My dad worked at the PBS station in Dallas, and in the late ’70s. If you went down and walked around that station, you saw some Carl Nargle-looking people,” he says. “For me, it was a little bit self-conscious at first putting on the wig and the wardrobe. I don’t know if it appealed to the little kid part that likes putting on a disguise or a costume, but I started to get into it.

“I would like to have a list of all the friends that I Facetimed with – or sometimes not even friends, but somebody that was almost like a business meeting that I’d call and not say anything about the way I looked,” Wilson says of the surreal transformation he experienced in full hair, makeup and costume. “That would make me laugh and entertain me sometimes up in Saratoga Springs (New York, where the film was shot).”

McAdams said the crew working on the production, working with a modest budget and only 20 days to shoot, outdid themselves in recreating Carl’s world. Including dozens of paintings purportedly by Carl and a younger, more talented painter Ambrosia (Ciara Renée).

Wilson says he took painting classes to prepare for the role. “They actually have a Bob Ross school for painters,” he says. “But I don’t think I ever completed a Carl Nargle original.”

McAdams laughs when asked whether he has any Carl Nargle Mount Mansfields that he brought home from the shoot.

“Yes, I do,” he says with a grin. “There’s some additional shots and stuff coming up so they’ve been used. But yeah, they will be on my walls for years.”

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