Possible tornado reported in Montebello; several buildings damaged

• March 22, 2023

A strong microburst — which some witnesses dubbed a possible tornado — heavily damaged several buildings in Montebello today, with video from the scene showing portions of rooftops being ripped off industrial structures and debris swirling in the air.

um tornado in south montebello @ABC7 @KTLA pic.twitter.com/houu2nW1zn

— Daniel (@djavim) March 22, 2023

The National Weather Service on Tuesday night issued a brief tornado warning in southwestern Los Angeles County, but it was allowed to expire after about 15 minutes when weather conditions eased.

There was no such warning in place late Wednesday morning when the powerful winds hit Montebello, near the area of Washington Boulevard and Vail Avenue.

The National Weather Service’s Los Angeles office, based in Oxnard, confirmed early Wednesday afternoon that it will be sending a “survey team” to Montebello to assess the damage in response to “reports of possible tornado damage.”

The NWS earlier dispatched such a team to the Carpinteria area, which suffered damage Tuesday evening that could have been the result of a small tornado or landspout.

There were no immediate reports of injuries in Montebello. Cell phone video from the area showed portions of rooftops being ripped away in Montebello, and other debris swirling in an circular pattern in the air. Another video showed a funnel-like cloud forming above the area as rooftops are ripped away.

Additional video from the aftermath showed multiple vehicles in the parking lot of an affected building with heavy damage, including shattered windows and body damage from flying debris. Some vehicles appeared to have rear bumpers ripped away.

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​ Orange County Register 

Angels react to Shohei Ohtani vs. Mike Trout World Baseball Classic duel

• March 22, 2023

TEMPE, Ariz. — While the baseball world was focused on the matchup between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout to end the World Baseball Classic, it was nothing like the feelings their Angels teammates were having back in Arizona.

“I was nervous as hell,” first baseman Jared Walsh said Wednesday morning. “I was sitting there and my heart was pounding. I love Sho. I love Mike. … That was a win-win, but also a lose-lose. You care about all those people involved.”

Infielder David Fletcher said the anticipation grew as the elements aligned for the matchup.

“When Shohei walked down to the bullpen and I realized Trout was up and they were up by one, I was like ‘Holy (expletive),” Fletcher said. “You can’t make that up. That was a pretty storybook ending.”

Manager Phil Nevin said his phone was flooded with texts asking him who he was rooting for.

“That never even crossed my mind,” Nevin said. “I love this game. There’s no other sport, no other arena that could build that type of drama. That’s why our game’s the greatest game there is… Two players on the same team. The last out. It’s one run. It’s the two best players in the world.”

The highly anticipated matchup ended with Ohtani striking out Trout on an 87 mph sweeper that had 19 inches of break.

“The last pitch he threw, there’s not a hitter alive that’s going to hit that pitch,” Nevin said.

Walsh and outfielder Jo Adell, speaking as hitters, said that’s an impossible pitch for a hitter to handle in March.

“I’m sure, knowing Mike, how hard working he is, he’s a little unsatisfied with that game,” Walsh said. “I have a feeling when it really matters during the year, he’s going to pick us up in a huge spot down the stretch.”

Therein lies the other narrative that surrounded all of the excitement of the performance of these two generational players in the World Baseball Classic.

The unavoidable backdrop to this moment was the reality that Ohtani has never even been close to playing in a pennant race for the Angels, let alone the postseason. Trout has not been in the playoffs since 2014.

This could be their final season in the same uniform, with Ohtani set to become a free agent.

The thoughts going through the minds of Angels fans were also going through Adell’s mind as he watched Ohtani, Trout and No. 2 starter Patrick Sandoval all starring in the high-intensity environment of the WBC.

“I think it fires all of us up,” Adell said. “Anyone who watched that and saw the competitiveness between those two, I think it’s good going into the year for them to have felt sort of a postseason atmosphere. … It’s pretty cool for them to have that experience and come back and bring some of that energy here.”

Ohtani and Sandoval will be back in Angels camp in Tempe for one last tuneup for the regular season.

Ohtani will pitch in a minor-league game Friday. Nevin said the plan all along was to make room for Ohtani to pitch one inning in the final if Japan needed him. It was his bullpen day in preparation for a start Friday, which sets him up to be on his normal five days’ rest before starting Opening Day the following Thursday in Oakland.

Sandoval will pitch Sunday in a minor-league game, which lines him up for the second game of the season, the following Saturday in Oakland.

Both pitchers were scheduled to throw in big-league exhibitions – Ohtani against the Padres and Sandoval at Dodger Stadium in the Freeway Series – but the assignments were changed to minor-league games to reduce the stress after pitching with the intensity of the WBC.

“They’ll have hitters and be facing a different uniform, but the intensity they’ve pitched at the last three weeks, we need to throttle that back,” Nevin said.

As for Trout, he would not have played Wednesday or Saturday – the final day in Arizona – and the Angels are off Thursday, so he’d have come back to Tempe only to play on Friday. The Angels are instead having him go back to Southern California. He will work out at Angel Stadium on Friday and Saturday and play in the Freeway Series on Sunday at Dodger Stadium.

GOOD SHOWING

Right-hander Austin Warren said he feels like this spring he’s thrown even better than he did when he had an impressive showing in the majors in 2021, before a 2022 season spoiled by a freak injury.

Warren broke his nose when a ball hit him while he walked across the field during batting practice in May. Warren didn’t throw for a month and a half while recovering from the injury. He also suffered headaches for two months after that, and didn’t get sufficient sleep when he had to sleep upright immediately following the broken nose.

That added up to a 5.63 ERA in 14 games and eventually losing his spot on the 40-man roster.

This spring, Warren has allowed two runs in eight innings, with nine strikeouts and no walks. He said he’s also benefited from a new sweeper that he’s added.

“I think it’s a good pitch to have in my arsenal,” he said. “I can throw it any time, any count. Just keep hitters on their toes and not know what’s coming.”

Warren, 27, is in the mix for a spot in the Opening Day bullpen, but probably more likely to start the season in the minors. He nonetheless offers the Angels encouraging depth if he can repeat – or improve on – the 1.77 ERA he posted in 16 big-league games in 2021.

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NOTES

Catcher Max Stassi is away from the team dealing with a “family emergency,” Nevin said. …

Left-hander José Suarez is scheduled to pitch in a minor-league game Thursday, which is an Angels off day. Right-hander Griffin Canning will start the exhibition against the Padres on Friday, while Ohtani pitches in a minor-league game. Left-handers Tucker Davidson, Tyler Anderson and Reid Detmers are scheduled to start the three Freeway Series games against the Dodgers. …

On Saturday, the Angels will use a collection of relievers for their final game in Arizona. Sam Bachman, one of the Angels’ top pitching prospects, is among the relievers on the list to work in that game. Bachman has pitched two scoreless innings so far in big-league exhibitions. He is going to be stretched out to start in the minors this season.

​ Orange County Register 

How long can you ski and snowboard this season? Record snow means more time on slopes

• March 22, 2023

Don’t put away those skis and snowboards just yet, it’s going to be a longer-than-usual season on the slopes.

Local ski resorts are still digging out from the most recent storms, with more snow possible, but resort operators are looking ahead, announcing Tuesday, March 21, they’ve already extended their seasons thanks to record snowfall.

Mammoth Mountain will stay open until at least July, while sister operator Big Bear Mountain Resort announced at least one of their mountains – Snow Summit, Bear Mountain or Snow Valley – will remain in operation through at least April. Mountain High will be open until, at least, mid-April.

The extension to the end of April for Big Bear Mountain Resort is about a month longer than typical end-of-season dates, which often wrap up end of March or early April.

Big Bear Mountain Resort has received more snow this season than in the past 20 years – an estimated 210 inches has been recorded with more falling as the latest storm rolls through. Last year, for comparison, the mountain had 69 inches. In 2019-20, an estimated 168 inches fell, but pandemic closures kept people from enjoying those end-of-season springtime conditions.

Resort spokesperson Justin Kanton said this year is “the most snowfall of this millennium,” noting their records go back to the 1999-2000 season.

Another 3- to 5-feet could fall by the end of Wednesday, he noted. “We’re hoping the powers-that-be can keep the roads clear and passable for people.”

Bear Break will make a come back on April 15 – the spring break-style party on the hill encourages people to wear retro gear, with a pond skimming event and music.

“As we get more fully into spring and temps start to warm up and we get some of those clear blue skies, you’ll see more of that beach vibe on the slopes with people wearing short sleeves and tank tops,” Kanton said, though warned UV exposure is 14% higher on the hill so wear a good sun screen and keep hydrated with more than just adult beverages.

John McColly,  chief marketing officer for Mountain High in Wrightwood, said the resort had gotten 2 feet in 24 hours already with this storm, calling conditions “the best snow and spring conditions in years.”

In addition to the West Resort, the East Resort will be open Friday and through the weekend and will also offer night skiing.

The tentative close for the season will be around mid-April, but there’s been three years in the past 20 when the resort was able to stay open into May, he said.

“We’ll stay open as long as snow conditions and crowds permit,” he said. “We definitely would stay open late if possible.”

Mammoth’s season will extend even longer, into summer and through at least July – meaning you could spend Fourth of July on the slopes. No firm close day has been set and there’s a good chance the resort could even stay open into August.

The resort is just inches from surpassing its record snowfall of 668 inches set during the 2010-11 season – and that’s expected to happen in coming days.

One of the most popular events, the Pond Skim, is set for April 16. It’s where costumed skiers and snowboarders try and skim over a 100-foot pond at Canyon Lodge.

Lauren Burke, director of communications for Mammoth Mountain, said anytime there’s this much snowfall in the Sierras, it’s exciting, but people also start looking forward to the warmer weather ahead.

“It’s incredible to be a part of a historic season like this, where we are going to break the all-time record,” she said. “As we move into April, I think everyone is excited for sunshine and spring skiing. It’s truly going to be the best spring skiing we’ve ever seen.”

People don’t always equate California with snow, but having a mountain with a summit more than 11,000 feet tall, a snowpack that holds up and the ability to go surfing one morning and skiing the next, makes the region unlike any other in the country.

Crowds are more spread out during the spring, spending fewer hours on the slopes as more offerings open up. During summer, a person can go on the slopes, then do summer activities such as mountain biking or golfing in the afternoon.

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“If you haven’t made a trip up, and the huge snow storms have scared you away, there’s four more months of skiing to be had,” Burke said.

It’s also a great time to learn how to ski or snowboard, with soft snow and sunshine making conditions ideal for beginners.

The resort has stayed open into July about 15 times in past years, and into August only a handful of times, the last time in 2017, Burke said. “We expect this to be one of our longest seasons on record.

​ Orange County Register 

DEA warns horse tranquilizer xylazine is making fentanyl overdose crisis worse

• March 22, 2023

Joseph Wilkinson | (TNS) New York Daily News

The drug xylazine, which has been linked to an increase in overdoses, has now been seized in 48 of 50 states, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced Monday in an alert.

Xylazine, also known as tranq, is often cut with fentanyl. Xylazine is legal as a horse tranquilizer, but it’s not approved for human use.

“Xylazine is making the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, fentanyl, even deadlier,” DEA boss Anne Milgram said in the alert. “The DEA Laboratory System is reporting that in 2022 approximately 23% of fentanyl powder and 7% of fentanyl pills seized by the DEA contained xylazine.”

Fentanyl is cut with xylazine to extend the high that users feel. The average fentanyl high is relatively short, but the sedative effects of xylazine can make it last longer.

However, xylazine itself is not an opioid, meaning that overdose-reversal drug naloxone, better known by the brand name Narcan, does not work on it.

Because xylazine is often found in opioids, medical experts still recommend administering Narcan and calling 911 when around someone suffering an overdose.

More than 107,000 people died from overdoses between August 2021 and August 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Two-thirds of those overdoses involved fentanyl, but the feds did not know how many also involved xylazine because medical examiners do not always test for it, and it doesn’t show up on basic toxicology screenings. Earlier this month, several people died of xylazine overdoses in Syracuse within a week.

The drug was first detected in large quantities in Philadelphia before spreading across the country.

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

​ Orange County Register 

Stagecoach 2023: See who will be grilling with Guy Fieri

• March 22, 2023

Lainey Wilson, “Sons of Anarchy’” star Taylor Sheridan, Old Dominion and ZZ Top are among the stars who will be hanging out with Guy Fieri at the Stagecoach County Music Festival this year.

The festival used social media to announce its schedule of cooking demos with country stars and pitmasters at Guy’s Smokehouse during the three-day festival, which runs April 28-30  at the Empire Polo Club in Indio.

Guy’s Smokehouse is essentially a food hall for smoked meats in the midst of the festival, but it has become an attraction in its own right as much as the music stages. The TV star makes regular appearances with his lineup of pitmasters as well as country music artists, while his assistants hand out barbecue samples. Celebrities who are attending the festival also swing by.

When Stagecoach announced its lineup last September, Jon Pardi said he wanted in on the action.

“I would definitely do some barbecue with him; he’s a good dude.”

Pardi got his wish. He’s one of the musicians on the schedule. Here is the rest of the lineup.

Friday, April 28:

3 p.m. Adam Perry Lang and Pat Martin

4 p.m. Jon Pardi

5:50 p.m. ZZ Top

Saturday, April 29

3 p.m. Chris Conger and Rashad Jones

4 p.m. Niko Moon

5:50 p.m. Old Dominion

Sunday, April 30

3 p.m. Brandon Shepard and Operation BBQ

4 p.m. Lainey Wilson and Taylor Sheridan

5:50 p.m. Bailey Zimmerman

Three-day general admission passes are $389; three-day Saloon passes are $799; Corral Reserved Seating is $829-$1,999; three-day Corral Reserved Standing Pit is $1,499; RV camping is $620-$1,620; Car camping is $244; Lake Eldorado camping is $679-$899; preferred parking is $99 and any-line shuttle passes are $70. All passes are available at stagecoachfestival.com.

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​ Orange County Register 

Albano’s Diamond Club: Orange County softball standouts last week, March 22

• March 22, 2023

Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe now

Dan Albano’s Diamond Club outstanding softball players last week, March 13-18:

Kaylee Layfield, JSerra, Jr., SS

Layfield went 4 for 7 with three RBIs and a triple to help the Lions defeat No. 14 Tesoro and Rosary.

Loula McNamara, Tesoro, So., P

McNamara allowed two runs on seven hits, struck out six and walked none in six innings during a 2-1 loss against No. 10 JSerra.

Audrey Robles, El Modena, Sr., 2B

The Concordia-bound infielder went 5 for 8 with a home run, two doubles and five RBIs to help the Aztecs defeat El Dorado and No. 6 El Modena.

Jillian Torres, Santa Margarita, So., CF

Torres went 3 for 4 with two home runs and a double in a 5-3 loss against No. 4 Orange Lutheran in the Trinity League.

Brianne Weiss, Orange Lutheran, Jr., P

The Notre Dame commit scattered seven hits and struck out 15 in a complete-game victory as the Lancers defeated No. 11 Santa Margarita 5-3.

PAST SELECTIONS

March 15

Giselle Alvarez, Los Alamitos, Sr., 3B

Makenzie Butt, Fountain Valley, Jr., INF

Alysa Del Val, Pacifica, Sr., 2B

Kai Minor, Orange Lutheran, So., CF

Sara Pinedo, El Modena, So., P

March 8

Auddrey Lira, Villa Park, So., P

Malaya Majam-Finch, Fullerton, Fr., P

Peyton May, Orange Lutheran, Fr., P

Zoe Prystajko, Huntington Beach, Jr., P

Natalie Romero, Rosary, Sr., P

Please send nominees for Diamond Club softball players of the week to Dan Albano at [email protected] or @ocvarsityguy on Twitter

​ Orange County Register 

L.A. teachers union proves yet again it’s not about the children

• March 22, 2023

Since seizing control in 2020 of the United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) in a maneuver characterized by even the uber-liberal LA Magazine as a “hostile takeover,” Cecily Myart-Cruz has made little secret of her desire to leverage the union and its vast resources as a vehicle to advance a radical, socialist, anti-Semitic political agenda rather than advocate on behalf of teachers, let alone students.

And now, right on schedule, she’s teamed with Service Employees International Union (SEIU) to involve her own union’s members in a three-day strike the Los Angeles Times is calling the “largest and longest full disruption of education in the nation’s second-largest school system since the six-day teachers’ strike of 2019.”

The work stoppage began on March 21 and is being orchestrated by SEIU 99, which represents about 30,000 bus drivers, teacher aides, campus security aides, special education assistants, custodians, gardeners and cafeteria workers. The union is seeking a whopping 30% across-the-board pay raise on their behalf and, true to form, Myart-Cruz is pressuring her own members to walk out in sympathy.

But, of course, wages, benefits and working conditions are just a starting point for someone who, in a 2020 interview, asserted, “The union has to be about social justice.”

Myart-Cruz’s stewardship of UTLA began three years ago, when only 5,300 members ⎯ about 16% of its dues-paying total ⎯ participated in the union’s leadership election. She got 69% of that 16% running against a candidate who wanted UTLA to concentrate on actual teacher concerns rather than partisan politics.

In the years since, Myart-Cruz has used her position to embroil UTLA in a laundry list range of radically liberal causes having nothing to do with education, including:

“Racial justice”:Medicare for all;The millionaire tax:Financial support for undocumented families; and,Rental and eviction relief.

Even more inexplicable was Myart Cruz’s bizarre insistence that UTLA boycott Israel over its conflict with Hamas.

But nothing more vividly illustrates her contempt for everything ⎯ including students and her own membership ⎯ that might stand in the way of her socialist agenda than her callous determination to keep L.A. schools closed during the COVID pandemic while she grandstanded for her personal objectives.

In early March 2021, for example, when feckless California Gov. Gavin Newsom tried to bribe teachers back into classrooms by promising $2 billion worth of incentives for schools agreeing to reopen before April 1, Myart-Cruz brushed aside his proposal as a “recipe for propagating structural racism.”

While her district’s students languished at home grappling with an epidemic of depression, substance abuse and even suicide, Myart-Cruz stubbornly refused to capitulate, waiting until late April to only partly reopen for hybrid, part-time learning.

When parents complained, pointing to the low incidence of COVID cases in schools that had fully reopened, the race-obsessed Myart-Cruz dismissed their concerns as the product of unexamined privilege.

A year later, Smarter Balanced Assessments found the percentage of LA Unified School District students meeting or exceeding state standards in English dropped by about two percentage points compared to the pre-pandemic 2018-19 year ⎯ falling from 43.9 to 41.7%.

In math, the drop was steeper, falling by five percentage points from 33.5 to 28.5%.

But for Myart Cruz, the physical, emotional and educational devastation wrought by her hard-line stance was simply collateral damage.

“There is no such thing as learning loss,” she retorted when confronted with her own record. “Our kids didn’t lose anything. It’s OK that our babies may not have learned all their times tables. They learned resilience. They learned survival. They learned critical-thinking skills. They know the difference between a riot and a protest. They know the words insurrection and coup.”

Could it be more clear that UTLA finds itself in the grasp of an unhinged zealot who thinks of LAUSD’s 600,000 K-12 students as nothing but pawns to be traded for political victories?

And now she’s at it again, in a strike that doesn’t even directly affect her members.

Whatever else the ongoing work stoppage may be about, for Myart-Cruz and her allies at SEIU 99, the school district’s workers, students and parents are irrelevant. Stripped to its essence, this is all about the larger goal of imposing by bullying, blackmail and backroom deals a failed political philosophy they know would be rejected at the ballot box even in loony, leftist California.

 Aaron Withe is CEO of the Freedom Foundation,.

​ Orange County Register 

Actor Dick Van Dyke injured in car crash in Malibu

• March 22, 2023

Actor Dick Van Dyke suffered minor injuries when the car he was driving crashed a week ago in Malibu, authorities said today.

The “minor” single-vehicle crash occurred on the morning of March 15, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Paramedics were sent to the scene as a precaution, and an accident report was taken, the sheriff’s department reported. Further details were not released.

ABC7 reported that the 97-year-old actor’s silver Lexus crashed into a gate.

Last month, Van Dyke became the oldest contestant to appear on the Fox singing contest “The Masked Singer.”

Van Dyke starred on CBS’ “The Dick Van Dyke Show” from 1961 to 1966. “Bye Bye Birdie” launched his movie career in 1963, followed by the hit musicals “Mary Poppins” (1964) and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” (1968).

In 2018, Van Dyke, who has won four Emmys and one Grammy, made a dancing cameo in “Mary Poppins Returns.”

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​ Orange County Register