Julio Urías returns to form in Dodgers’ win over Pirates

• July 7, 2023

LOS ANGELES ― The time Julio Urías spent rehabbing a strained left hamstring was an eventful one for the Dodgers’ pitching staff.

Bobby Miller and Emmet Sheehan were thrust into the rotation from the minor leagues. Clayton Kershaw hurt his shoulder. Daniel Hudson returned from one knee injury and was potentially lost for the season with another.

Against this backdrop, Urías’ return could not come soon enough, but he was victimized by a series of bloop hits and shoddy defensive plays on Saturday in Kansas City and the Dodgers lost.

The Dodgers’ defense did not always play to Urías’ favor in a 5-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday night. It scarcely mattered. Urías resembled the pitcher who finished in the top 10 of the National League Cy Young Award voting each of the last two seasons in front of an announced crowd of 42,036 at Dodger Stadium.

After allowing a two-run “double” to Nick Gonzales in the second inning – Dodgers left fielder David Peralta charged in, only to watch the ball sail over his head – Urías retired 11 consecutive hitters until issuing a leadoff walk to begin the sixth inning.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was hoping to stretch out Urías to six innings and 90 pitches; Urías met that goal with two pitches to spare. He allowed three hits, two runs, walked one batter and struck out eight – his most in a game since May 2.

After a frustrating couple of months of inactivity, Urías earned the rest he’ll get during the All-Star break. He might need it after putting the team on his back Thursday night.

“It’s really frustrating,” Urías said in Spanish. “Everyone wants to be out here, competing, doing their thing, being able to put their foot in the sand, help the team win.”

The Dodgers (49-38) took three of four games from the Pirates (40-47). Thanks to the Arizona Diamondbacks (50-38) losing their fourth straight game, the Dodgers are now a half-game back of first place in the National League West.

The Dodgers’ offense consisted of Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and a well-timed home run by Max Muncy.

Betts (2 for 4) led off the first inning with a double to left field against right-hander Johan Oviedo (3-10). Freeman (3 for 4) followed with his 15th home run of the season.

After Peralta’s gaffe helped tie the score at 2-2 in the second inning, it appeared Urías might be stuck with a no-decision. But a double by Freeman, followed by Muncy’s 20th home run of the season, gave the Dodgers a 4-2 lead in the sixth inning.

Freeman, who knocked in an insurance run in the seventh inning, went 7 for 17 in the series. Betts went 4 for 15 with three walks and a home run. Muncy went 4 for 14 with two homers and two walks.

Each of Muncy’s home runs exited over the center field fence – a positive sign for the struggling slugger.

“It just tells me my hands are doing what they’re supposed to do,” Muncy said. “Even though I pull the ball quite often, my approach is always to the center of the field. It’s just my hands don’t always allow that to happen. Even the first at-bat, I hit a line drive to left field. That just tells me that my swing’s doing what it’s supposed to do. If I just keep trusting that, there’s going to be some results coming.”

Nick Robertson, Brusdar Graterol and Alex Vesia kept Pittsburgh scoreless over the final three innings on a short-handed night for the Dodgers’ bullpen.

Robertson had been recalled earlier in the day from Triple-A Oklahoma City. Graterol was a game-time decision, with prospect Landon Knack ready to take his place on the roster in case a minor shoulder injury sent Graterol to the injured list. Vesia converted his first save of 2023, in only his second opportunity.

The Dodgers had been considering bringing starter Noah Syndergaard off the IL early in case their bullpen needed reinforcements for their two-game series against the Angels. Thanks to Urías’ long start and a clean finish by the bullpen, Roberts said that won’t be necessary.

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Freddie pic.twitter.com/HU82PdIgMQ

— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) July 7, 2023

Max puts the #Dodgers up 2⃣! pic.twitter.com/lRwy9d85Il

— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) July 7, 2023

El 6 de Julio. pic.twitter.com/w17J2HlEVE

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 7, 2023

Smooth like Freddie. pic.twitter.com/heHVjrZs9d

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 7, 2023

“I’m kinda getting used to number 50 in the dirt.” Freddie Freeman is getting comfortable seeing Mookie play SS. pic.twitter.com/ZQFpAmByZM

— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) July 7, 2023

​ Orange County Register 

HGTV star Christina Hall’s former Newport Beach house lists at $8 million

• July 7, 2023

A renovated Newport Beach home previously owned by HGTV star Christina Hall is up for grabs at $7.995 million.

The ask is 49% more than the $5.35 million county documents show the 39-year-old host of “Christina on the Coast” and “Christina in the Country” got in June 2021.

With its metal roof and board-and-batten siding, this 4,804-square-foot, two-story house sits on over a half-acre lot with a resort-style backyard. Constructed in 1999 and updated by the current owner, it has five bedrooms, five bathrooms and an open-concept floor plan.

The listing calls it a “perfect harmony of minimalist aesthetics and efficient space utilization.”

Inside are all-white walls, wide-plank, white oak flooring, clerestory windows and a soaring vaulted ceiling with skylights. An oversized center island with seating outfits the gourmet kitchen that opens to the great room.

Slide-away glass doors extend the living space out.

The backyard features a new pool and spa, raised sundecks, lawns, an outdoor shower, and a pavilion with bar seating and built-in heaters.

Back inside, the primary suite encompasses two levels. It has a loft, wraparound patio, walk-in closet and a new bathroom with a freestanding tub and a walk-in shower.

A three-car garage with new doors, porch swings and motorized gates add to the offerings.

Keven Stirdivant of Kase Real Estate holds the listing

Records show Hall, 39, purchased the house in June 2018 in an off-market deal for $4.1 million as Christina El Moussa and put her signature on it — but that’s what she’s known for.

She got her start on the long-running “Flip or Flop” alongside her first husband, Tarek El Moussa, with whom she shares two children, daughter Taylor, 12, and son Brayden, 7. She was also previously married to Ant Anstead of “Wheeler Dealers” fame, father of son Hudson, 3.

Hall now co-produces her latest HGTV shows with her third husband, real estate agent Josh Hall.

Peek inside Christina El Moussa’s new $4.1 million home

Christina El Moussa of ‘Flip or Flop’ buys gated home in Newport Beach for $4.1 million

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​ Orange County Register 

Lakers’ Austin Reaves part of young Team USA roster for FIBA World Cup

• July 7, 2023

Lakers guard Austin Reaves on Thursday was officially named to the 12-player Team USA roster for the upcoming 2023 FIBA World Cup.

Grant Hill, running his first major international event as executive director at a time when most of the top American players will be unavailable, opted for youth, size and defense for the squad that will play in the Aug. 25-Sept. 10 tournament in the Philippines, Okinawa, Japan and Indonesia.

Reaves also re-signed with the Lakers on Thursday after the restricted free agent agreed to return on a four-year, $56 million Early Bird maximum contract late last week.

He’s coming off a breakout season in which he averaged 13 points, 3.4 assists and 3 rebounds in 28.8 minutes (64 games with 22 starts).

The 6-foot-5 Reaves stepped up in the postseason as the team’s third-leading scorer, averaging 16.9 points, 4.6 assists and 4.4 rebounds in 36.2 minutes (16 games, all starts) during the Lakers’ run to the conference finals.

The 25-year-old, who went undrafted out of Oklahoma in 2021, originally signed a two-way contract with the Lakers in August 2021 before signing a standard two-year NBA deal the following month ahead of the 2021-22 season.

Team USA will open first-round play against New Zealand on Aug. 26, with matchups against Greece (Aug. 28) and Jordan (Aug. 30) to round out the first round of the group phase. Team USA will play all of its group games at Manila’s Mall of Asia Arena.

The U.S. team, which includes former Lakers Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart, will begin training camp in Las Vegas in early August before playing a series of exhibition games as part of the USA Basketball Showcase.

Team USA’s full roster:

• Paolo Banchero (Orlando Magic)

• Mikal Bridges (Brooklyn Nets)

• Jalen Brunson (New York Knicks)

• Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves)

• Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana Pacers)

• Josh Hart (New York Knicks)

• Brandon Ingram (New Orleans Pelicans)

• Jaren Jackson Jr. (Memphis Grizzlies)

• Cam Johnson (Brooklyn Nets)

• Walker Kessler (Utah Jazz)

• Bobby Portis (Milwaukee Bucks)

• Austin Reaves (Lakers)

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​ Orange County Register 

Dodgers reliever Daniel Hudson’s return from one knee injury is curtailed by another

• July 7, 2023

LOS ANGELES ― Daniel Hudson’s emotional return to the Dodger Stadium mound was actually an emotional exit.

The veteran pitcher suffered a right MCL sprain on the 28th of his 29 pitches in the ninth inning of Wednesday night’s 6-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. There is no timetable for his return, Dave Roberts said, and the manager would only venture to say he is “hopeful” Hudson can return this season.

“I just can’t put into words how frustrating, how disappointing this is for him,” Roberts said of Hudson. “It’s going to be quite some time (before Hudson returns). He gutted it out. I don’t know how he made those last two pitches.”

Hudson began the ninth inning of the two-run game by allowing a double and walking two batters to load the bases. He struck out Henry Davis, retired Carlos Santana on a medium-shallow fly ball, then struck out Jack Suwinski on an 86-mph slider in the dirt to strand all three runners.

Hudson was credited with his first major league save since June 8, 2022.

“I know the grind, and what he’s gone through,” Roberts said of Hudson. “You feel like an outcast when you’re not around. You feel ‘why am I doing this, is it worth it?’ You finally get to a point where you’ve gotten back and the highest of highs of getting a save. Then to fall back, when the adrenaline settles in and you realize that you’re back on the IL and going to be missing a significant amount of time, my heart breaks for him.”

The 36-year-old right-hander only appeared in three games after completing his rehab from a left knee injury that ended his 2022 season prematurely. His arrival was highly anticipated for a Dodger bullpen that began Thursday with a 4.47 ERA, 24th in Major League Baseball.

Coincidentally, right-hander Yency Almonte was placed on the paternity list Thursday to attend the birth of his first child. Right-hander Brusdar Graterol is also dealing with a shoulder issue, Roberts said.

The severity of an MCL tear comes with a wide range of possible timetables for return. For a Grade 3 tear – the most severe sprain someone can incur without needing surgery – the typical estimate for rehabilitation is at least six weeks.

A six-week timetable would have Hudson in rehab until the middle of August, but there are mitigating factors. He was already dealing with soreness in his left knee after each outing, a remnant of the left ACL tear that required season-ending surgery in June 2022.

“I think we have plenty of rehab and therapy equipment to get me through” the season, Hudson said Monday.

Now, the Dodgers will have to make do – again – without one of their best high-leverage right-handed relievers. They are considering activating pitcher Noah Syndergaard from the injured list to provide some reinforcement for their two-game series against the Angels.

Syndergaard hasn’t pitched since June 7 and hasn’t appeared out of the bullpen in a major league game since Game 4 of last year’s National League Championship Series with the Philadelphia Phillies. He was 1-4 with a 7.16 ERA in 12 starts this season before landing on the IL with a finger blister.

Left-hander Alex Vesia and right-hander Nick Robertson were recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City to replace Hudson and Almonte on the active roster.

The bullpen’s need for help was matched only by Hudson’s determination to be part of the solution.

“He was committed to coming back this year,” Roberts said of Hudson. “He could’ve walked away last year, committed to coming back. For it to end right now the way it did, it hurts.”

ALSO

Right-hander Jimmy Nelson, on a rehab assignment with Triple-A OKC, doesn’t appear to be a candidate to be activated this weekend. “The stuff, getting the stuff where it needs to be, to be major league ready and serviceable, we haven’t quite gotten there yet,” Roberts said. … The Dodgers brought Landon Knack up to the taxi squad. The 25-year-old prospect had a 3.29 ERA in three starts at Triple-A since his promotion in June. Roberts said Knack would join the bullpen as a possible long reliever only if Graterol was placed on the IL.

UP NEXT

Angels (RHP Griffin Canning, 6-3, 4.29 ERA) at Dodgers (RHP Tony Gonsolin, 4-3, 3.69 ERA), Friday, 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, Bally Sports West, 570 AM, 830 AM

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​ Orange County Register 

Alexander: Ducks’ No. 2 pick Leo Carlsson showing his stuff at development camp

• July 7, 2023

IRVINE — The tipoff that Leo Carlsson might indeed be the second-best player in what many consider the Connor Bedard draft – first among equals, as it were – could be this: A month before last week’s NHL selection process, the 18-year-old Carlsson was playing with the big boys in the IIHF World Championships.

“Orebro (HK, the Swedish professional team for which he played last season) had him on the wing most of the year, almost the whole year,” said Matt Keator, Carlsson’s Boston-based agent, in a phone conversation. “And then he goes to the Swedish national team and he’s their first-line center on the national team at the Worlds.

“So that says a lot about him as a player and a prospect.”

Carlsson had three goals and two assists and was a plus-5 in that tournament, playing with and against seasoned professionals. That was a few months after logging three goals and three assists with a plus-4 in the World Junior Championships in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, Canada.

Those tournaments, as well as his performances with his club team – including 10 goals and 15 assists in 44 games this past season – convinced the Ducks to make him the No. 2 pick last Thursday, just another head-spinning moment in what has been a frenetic few weeks for Carlsson.

Among his Swedish teammates at the Worlds was Ducks forward and assistant captain Jakob Silfverberg. While Carlsson – rated the top European prospect coming into the draft – had no way of knowing whether the Ducks would use pick No. 2 on him, it was certainly a possibility. But his conversations with Silfverberg were less about the Ducks’ organization and “more like the weather and stuff,” he said.

That is a selling point, obviously. The beach day Carlsson and several others enjoyed on July 4, a day off during the week-long development camp, had to have reinforced that.

The World Championships, which concluded for the Swedes on May 25 when they lost to tournament co-host Latvia in the quarterfinals, began a hectic few weeks. That included two different trips home to train with Orebro, the NHL draft combine in Buffalo, a visit to Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final in Las Vegas with fellow prospects Bedard, Adam Fantilli and Will Smith and then the draft itself in Nashville.

The NHL combine is not the type of televised dog-and-pony show we see from the NFL. No on-ice evaluation; just physicals and lots of job interviews.

“Basically, it was a meeting … and then maybe an hour’s rest or 30 minutes rest, and then the next meeting,” Carlsson said. “And then lunch, and then more interviews and stuff like that. So pretty easy, actually.

“I mean, I got some tips from my agent on some answers and stuff like that. But I was myself. I didn’t have any problems with it.”

He seems capable of handling the difficult stuff, and the crazy stuff, even when his journey to Nashville turned into a 14-hour drive with his family because of weather-related flight cancellations. Is it a challenge to stay calm when things around him aren’t?

“Not really, to be honest,” he said. “I don’t know how to say it, but nothing becomes too crazy for me.”

This week he is wearing practice jersey No. 37 at the Ducks’ development camp at Great Park Ice, and maybe the low number is indicative of his status here. Even so, with on-ice skills work and physical testing interspersed with sessions on such things as nutrition and leadership, and with so many new faces to put names to, it can be disorienting.

“I think I’ve spoken to everybody,” he said. “I mean, of course, it’s hard with new faces everywhere, stuff like that. So it’s kind of hard to remember (who) is who sometimes, because there’s so many.”

New coach Greg Cronin had heard glowing reports of Carlsson, but in getting his first close look this week one thing stood out: At 6-foot-3 and a listed 194 pounds, he’s “a big kid.”

“Some guys that are 6-3 are narrowly built,” he said. “He’s got a big frame. I don’t know what his weight was at the combine, but if he’s a 193-pound guy in early June, what’s he gonna look like a year from now? … His frame can support 220 pounds, I think fairly easily. So that’s the first thing that stands out. And then he’s got long arms. He’s got reach and he’s got range to him. You know basketball people trumpet length a lot. He’s got length to him.

“It’s early, so we don’t know how much his body is going to grow in the next year, two, three, or four. But I think his upside, in relationship to his body growth, is huge. I mean, Connor Bedard’s not a big guy, right? So he doesn’t have Leo’s size. He’s got other skills that are really terrific. That’s why he’s the first pick overall. But I do think, just watching him skate, watching him move, he’s an athletic kid, which is important too. His athleticism to me shows up in practice with his skating and his movement in tight spaces.”

Carlsson said he grew up idolizing Sidney Crosby, but as a guy who has size but is shifty and won’t shirk his defensive duties, a more accurate comparable might be the Kings’ Anze Kopitar, who is 6-3, 225. And Carlsson has shown, through two seasons in the Swedish Hockey League and then the World Championships, that even at 17 and 18 he’s unfazed against more experienced competition.

No. 2 picks in the NHL draft are more of a risk than you might think. Going back through 30 years of drafts, you can find a little more than a handful who turned out to be true impact players: Drew Doughty, Evgeni Malkin, Daniel Sedin, Patrick Marleau, Chris Pronger and Trevor Linden. Guys like Eric and Jordan Staal (brothers taken No. 2 four years apart), Gabriel Landeskog and Jack Eichel are part of the next tier. And there are a lot of players taken No. 2 in that span who never reached the potential expected of them.

Carlsson already has a shot at being the best Ducks’ No. 2 pick ever, though the other two were productive in a different way.

Bobby Ryan, picked right after Crosby in the 2005 draft, had four straight 30-goal seasons for the Ducks and was eventually traded to Ottawa in 2013 for a package that included Silfverberg. Defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky, picked in ’94, was traded for future Hall of Famer Teemu Selanne in 1996, then reacquired in ’99 and traded to New Jersey in the summer of 2002 for a package that included Petr Sykora … and the Devils wound up beating the Ducks in the 2003 Stanley Cup Final.

But the immediate question Carlsson faces: After this development camp, which concludes Friday with an open practice at 11 a.m. and a 3-on-3 scrimmage at noon at Great Park Ice’s Five Point Arena, does he go back to Sweden for another year’s seasoning or start the clock on his NHL career?

The Swedish Hockey League preseason begins on Aug. 1, well before the early September start of the Ducks’ rookie camp, but Keator said there was “no rush” to what will be a group decision.

“He’ll talk to his family, his Swedish agents, myself, (Ducks GM) Pat Verbeek, his staff, and we’ll come to a consensus,” Keator said. “But in the end, it’s Leo’s life. And you know he’s going to make the decision with our input. But it’s a consensus thing. We all work together, and I’ve talked to Pat about it a few times, and he’s been great. And we’ll just see how it evolves.”

Whenever and however it does evolve, we know this: Leo Carlsson will approach it calmly.

[email protected]

​ Orange County Register 

Hotel group files unfair labor practice charges against Unite Here 11

• July 7, 2023

A bargaining group representing 44 Southern California hotels has filed unfair labor practice charges against the workers’ union with the National Labor Relations Board.

The charges allege Unite Here Local 11 broke the law by attempting to force the hotels into a contract with elements that have nothing to do with their employees and “could harm the Los Angeles tourism industry.”

SEE MORE: Hospitality workers return to work, but more walkouts possible, union says

The move comes after hundreds of hospitality workers picketed 19 Southern California hotels over the July 4th weekend before returning to work July 5. Union officials have warned that more walkouts could occur at 44 other hotels at any time.

The Coordinated Bargaining Group said Unite Here is insisting the hotels support a controversial LA County ballot measure requiring them to house the homeless along with regular guests. They say Unite Here also wants them to impose a 7% tax on guests of unionized hotels as a means of growing Local 11’s footprint outside Los Angeles.

RELATED: What’s behind the workers’ strike at Southern California hotels?

Both of those factors, the group said, would dissuade some travelers from coming to Southern California.

“Insisting that these provisions must be in any contract settlement, and striking to include them is not only unlawful, but is also a real obstacle to reaching agreement on a contract,” said Keith Grossman, a spokesperson for the Coordinated Bargaining Group.

Grossman said Local 11 is not bargaining in good faith and has refused to provide documentation relating to its demands. He added that the union is falsely claiming the Coordinated Bargaining Group’s proposal may not secure employees’ healthcare for the next four years when it actually would.

Pete Hillan, a spokesman for the Hotel Association of Los Angeles, said the homeless mandate and tax issue fall under the purview of city governments — not hotels.

“This is a real head-scratcher,” he said. “And the demand that hotels provide housing for homeless individuals wouldn’t come without wrap-around services that address mental illness, drug addiction and safety precautions for housekeepers.”

Unite Here co-President Kurt Petersen said the hotels are “paying thousands of dollars so attorneys can file frivolous lawsuits” when the money could be better spent on affordable housing so hotel workers could afford to live in Los Angeles.

“The only unhoused people in hotels are the hotel workers who are struggling to pay rent, doubling up, moving further away — and sometimes living in their cars,” he said.

And that 7% tax?

Petersen said that could replace the “junk fees” hotels charge and could be used to fund affordable housing for hospitality workers.

“As everyone knows, hotels have two rates,” he said. “When you book a room it might be $250 a night. But then it becomes $300 when they add in bogus charges for things like wireless service. Everyone knows it’s a scam.”

More than 15,000 Southern California hotel workers voted early last month to authorize a strike as they bargain for a $5-an-hour pay hike, more affordable health care, a secure pension plan and “safe and humane” workloads.

They include room attendants, cooks, dishwashers, front desk agents, servers and food service workers.

The top concern among the employees is the rising cost of housing. In a recent union survey, 53% of workers said they have either moved in the past five years or will be forced to move in the near future because of soaring housing costs.

Christian Morales, a laundry worker at the Hilton Pasadena, makes $20 an hour but says it’s not enough.

“My wife works, too, but our rent is $1,500 a month and we have gas, grocery costs and a $500-month car payment,” he said. “Everything is getting expensive.”

Hillan called the union’s picketing “theatrics.”

“It does harm to union members and to the hotels, and it’s bad for tourism,” he said. “Why would someone come here for a convention when they know they could run into a labor situation?”

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​ Orange County Register 

Judge Andrew Napolitano: Democracy without safeguards and constraints is a threat to liberty

• July 7, 2023

“Which is better — to be ruled by one tyrant three thousand miles away or by three thousand tyrants one mile away?” — Rev. Mather Byles (1706-1788)

Does it really matter if the instrument curtailing liberty is a monarch or a popularly elected legislature? This conundrum, along with the witty version of it put to a Boston crowd in 1775 by the little-known colonial-era preacher with the famous uncle — Cotton Mather — addresses the age-old question of whether liberty can long survive in a democracy.

Byles was a loyalist, who, along with about one-third of the American adult white male population in 1776, opposed the American Revolution and favored continued governance by Great Britain.

He didn’t fight for the king or agitate against George Washington’s troops; he merely warned of the dangers of too much democracy.

No liberty-minded thinker I know of seriously argues today in favor of a hereditary monarchy, but many of us are fearful of an out-of-control democracy, which is what we have in America today. I say “democracy” because there remain in our federal structure a few safeguards against runaway federal tyranny, such as the equal state representation in the Senate, the Electoral College, the state control of federal elections, and life-tenured federal judges and justices.

Of course, the Senate as originally crafted did not consist of popularly elected senators. Rather, they were appointed by state legislatures to represent the sovereign states as states, not the people in them.

Part of James Madison’s genius was the construction of the federal government as a three-sided table. The first side stood for the people — the House of Representatives. The second side stood for the sovereign states that created the federal government — the Senate. And the third side stood for the nation-state — the presidency. The judiciary, whose prominent role today was unthinkable in 1789, was not part of this mix.

In his famous Bank Speech, Madison argued eloquently against legislation chartering a national bank because the authority to create a bank was not only not present in the Constitution but also was retained by the states and reserved to them by the 10th Amendment.

In that speech, he warned that the creeping expansion of the federal government would trample the powers of the states and also the unenumerated rights of the people that the Ninth Amendment — his pride and joy because it protected natural rights — prohibited the government from denying or disparaging.

He gave that speech in February of 1791, 11 months before the addition of the Bill of Rights — the first 10 amendments — to the Constitution. Given the popular fears of a new central government, Madison assumed that the Bill of Rights would be quickly ratified. He was right.

His Bank Speech remains just as relevant today.

Had Madison been alive during the presidency of the anti-Madisonian Woodrow Wilson — who gave us World War I, the Federal Reserve, the administrative state, the popular election of senators and the federal income tax — he would have recoiled at a president destroying the three-sided table. Wilson did that by leading the campaign to amend the Constitution so as to provide for the direct popular election of senators.

Nor would Madison have stomached the efforts today by liberal Democrats to amend the Constitution to provide for the direct popular election of the president.

Part of Madison’s genius was to craft anti-democratic elements into the Constitution. And some of them — like retaining state sovereignty — created laboratories of liberty. President Ronald Reagan reminded the American public in his first inaugural address that the states formed the federal government, not the other way around. Had I been the scrivener of that speech, I’d have begged him to add: “And the powers that the states gave to the feds, they can take back.”

Reagan also famously said that we could vote with our feet. If you don’t like the over-the-top regulations in Massachusetts, you can move to New Hampshire. If you are fed up with the highest state taxes in the union in New Jersey, you can move to Pennsylvania.

But the more state sovereignty the feds absorb — the more state governance that is federalized — the fewer differences there are among the regulatory and taxing structures of the states. This has happened because Congress has become a general legislature without regard for the constitutional limits imposed on it.

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If Congress wants to regulate an area of human behavior that is clearly beyond its constitutional competence, it bribes the states to do so with borrowed or Federal Reserve-created cash. Thus, it offered hundreds of millions of dollars to the states to lower their speed limits on highways and to lower the acceptable blood alcohol level in peoples’ veins — this would truly have set Madison off — before a presumption of DWI may be argued; all in return for cash to pave state-maintained highways.

The states are partly to blame for this. They take whatever cash Congress offers, and they accept the strings that come with it. And they, too, are tyrants. The states mandated the unconstitutional and crippling lockdowns of 2020-2021, not the feds. The states should be paying the political and financial consequences for their misdeeds, not the feds. They took property and liberty without paying for it as the Constitution requires them to do, not the feds.

Byles feared a government of 3,000. Today, the feds employ close to 3 million. Thomas Jefferson warned that when the federal treasury becomes a federal trough, and the people recognize it as such, they would only send to Washington politicians — faithless to the Constitution — who promise to bring home the most cash.

In a democracy, faithless to constitutional guarantees, the majority will take whatever it wants from the minority — including its liberty and property.

Andrew Napolitano is a syndicated columnist.

​ Orange County Register 

3 teens arrested in connection with pizza delivery driver’s slaying in Stanton

• July 7, 2023

Three teenagers were arrested Wednesday, July 5, on suspicion of murder in the 2022 killing of a pizza delivery driver who apparently tried to help an elderly man being assaulted in Stanton, authorities said.

Anaheim residents Adrian Castaneda, 19, and Damian Ivan Mayorga, 18, as well as  Garden Grove resident Henry Diep Le, 19, are accused of fatally shooting Juan Cristalinas last June at the 7000 block of Lessue Avenue, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release.

Cristalinas, who was 49 and lived in Santa Ana, had been trying to help a 76-year-old man who was apparently being beaten by a group of men demanding money, the release said. The 76-year-old man was also shot but survived.

It was not immediately clear whether the suspects knew any of the victims.

“Juan leaves behind three sons, a loving wife, and three beautiful grandchildren. He was a hardworking, loving man. He had two jobs and spent his weekends working on cars as a mechanic. He was the kind of person who always stood up for others and wasn’t scared of doing the right thing,” a GoFundMe set up for Cristalinas said.

Castaneda, Mayorga, and Le were all being held at Orange County Jail as of Thursday evening, according to jail records.

Bail was set at $1 million each. Le was due in court Thursday, while Castaneda and Mayorga were expected to appear Friday.

Pizza delivery driver killed, elderly man wounded in Stanton neighborhood

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​ Orange County Register