Game Day: The Ohtani-Trout show must go on

• March 22, 2023

Editor’s note: This is the Wednesday, March 22, edition of the “Game Day with Kevin Modesti” newsletter. To receive the newsletter in your inbox, sign up here.

Good morning. Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout combined to produce a great baseball moment last night. Let’s hope it’s not the only time they do that.

In other news:

Paul George went down with a knee injury as the Clippers dropped a one-point game to the Thunder; word of a diagnosis is expected today.
All eyes were on injured Adem Bona (shoulder) and David Singleton (ankle) as UCLA’s men’s basketball team headed to Las Vegas for Thursday’s Sweet 16 game against Gonzaga.
Austin Ekeler said he wouldn’t mind staying with the Chargers, but he clearly wants his pay (14th among NFL running backs) to match his production (sixth at the position last season).
Tearing an ACL at the NFL scouting combine didn’t stop USC offensive lineman Andrew Vorhees from stoking draft interest with his bench-press performance.
The Dodgers can’t announce it yet, but Julio Urias is lined up to make his first opening-day start March 30 against the Diamondbacks, with Clayton Kershaw starting the season’s second game.
The rain prompted Santa Anita to cancel Friday’s card and shift the track’s three-day racing week to Saturday through Monday.
And here is how the Los Angeles Unified School District workers’ strike is affecting prep sports.

The World Baseball Classic final ended with Ohtani on the mound in relief and Trout at the plate, the Angels teammates facing each other for the first time in competition as Team Japan tried to protect a one-run lead over Team USA with the bases empty and two outs in the top of the ninth inning in Miami.

Since Major League Baseball’s new pitch clock wasn’t in effect, the tension was allowed to build. Twenty-five seconds elapsed, 10 more than will be allowed during the season, between when Ohtani got the ball back after a 102 mph fastball missed to make the count 3-2 and when Ohtani delivered the decisive pitch. Ohtani adjusted his cap and blew on his right hand. Trout exhaled through his lips as he got set. Nobody watching in the ballpark or on TV shouted, “Hurry up! I’ve got better things to do!”

When Trout swung and missed at a pitch that swept away from him, Ohtani turned toward onrushing teammates in a triumphant pose and Japan began an emotional celebration of a 3-2 victory and the country’s third championship in five editions of the WBC.

And Angels fans felt emotions of their own, decidedly bittersweet.

It was fun to see the two great Angels play starring roles, even for opposing teams, in a contest with World in the title. It was frustrating to realize the chances of them doing so, both wearing an Anaheim uniform, in a World Series seem as remote as ever.

Not only Angels fans, but anyone who likes to see the best players on the biggest stages hates the fact that while Trout and Ohtani have each won American League MVP awards during the five seasons they’ve been on the same team, they’ve never had a roster around them capable of making the AL playoffs or even cracking .500.

“Seeing Trout and Ohtani lead their teams onto the fields carrying flags makes me so, so frustrated about the Angels of the last half decade,” Washington Post baseball writer Chelsea Janes wrote on Twitter as last night began.

Even after some helpful offseason moves, the Angels are rated by betting markets as third in the AL West, eighth in the AL and smack in the middle of the 30-team MLB with 40-1 odds against winning the 2023 World Series.

The odds of Ohtani remaining an Angel for more than the one season remaining on his contract might be better than that, but they aren’t short.

Team owner Arte Moreno, speaking with Angels beat writers for the first time in more than three years last week, said that he’s prepared to pay the Major League Baseball luxury tax in order to sign Ohtani long-term but that contract talks haven’t begun.

Ohtani’s agent said last month that there’s no deadline for talks to begin, but hinted they’re more likely to wait until after the season.

Baseball columnist J.P. Hoornstra wrote that enticing Ohtani to stay involves more than money. Hoornstra noted that Japanese fans at the WBC brought their country’s tradition of singing personal jingles for each player.

“My proposal to Angels fans is simple,” J.P. wrote. “Make a unique fight song for Ohtani, and sing/chant/hum it before each of his at-bats at Angel Stadium. He will be the only player in MLB afforded this tradition – a unicorn treatment for a baseball unicorn. More than that, it will honor Ohtani’s heritage in a way that makes him feel right at home. It might just become the most compelling non-monetary reason for Ohtani to re-sign in Anaheim if the Angels miss the playoffs again.”

Ohtani’s price tag certainly didn’t go down after the WBC, in which he hit .435 with a home run and four doubles at the plate and recorded a 1.86 ERA with 11 strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings on the mound.

But the performance compounds the imperative for the Angels to do everything they can to keep Ohtani. Ohtani and Trout aren’t just, at their best, the two most watchable players in baseball right now. They’re the three most watchable, counting Ohtani with the bat and the ball.

Their turn in the shared spotlight with a lot on the line last night lasted 2 minutes 45 seconds and will be remembered around the globe as one of baseball’s finest moments.

As great as it was to see them compete against one another, it would be better yet for the Angels to keep them competing with each other, surround them with enough talent to play for pennants, and let that moment last for seasons to come.

TODAY

Lakers are one-half game out of 10th place and a play-in game as they host the Suns (7 p.m., SPSN, ESPN). Lakers update.
Angels face the Rockies in Scottsdale, Ariz. (1:10 p.m., BSW). Yesterday’s game report.
Dodgers meet the Mariners in Peoria, Ariz. (6:40 p.m., SNLA). Yesterday’s game report.

BETWEEN THE LINES

The Lakers are 1-1/2-point underdogs against the Suns tonight. Since LeBron James was sidelined in late February, the Lakers have a 5-2 record as underdogs, both straight up and against the point spread.

280 CHARACTERS

“Pretty crazy how MLB has run a 20-team tournament over two weeks on two sides of the globe and it comes down to the exact scenario everyone wanted before it started.” – Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) watching Shohei Ohtani pitch to Mike Trout with two out in the ninth inning of a one-run game.

1,000 WORDS

On top of the world: The Angels’ Shohei Ohtani (capless), former Dodgers pitcher Yu Darvish (11) and Japan teammates celebrate defeating Team USA 3-2 last night in Miami to win the World Baseball Classic Photo is by Megan Briggs for Getty Images.

TALK BACK

Thanks for reading the newsletter. What changes would you like to see in its daily content? Send suggestions, comments and questions by email at [email protected] and via Twitter @KevinModesti.

Editor’s note: Thanks for reading the “Game Day with Kevin Modesti” newsletter. To receive the newsletter in your inbox, sign up here.

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​ Orange County Register 

Man arrested in shooting at San Pedro beach park that injured 5

• March 22, 2023

A 22-year-old man with ties to a San Pedro gang has been arrested on suspicion of shooting at a group of family members and friends at Royal Palms Beach Park, injuring five, including himself, authorities said on Wednesday, March 22.

Jose Ortega was arrested in Orange County on March 9, five days after the shooting, Los Angeles police Capt. Brent McGuyre said at a press conference.

“We determined that during the altercation, the suspect was struck by one of the rounds potentially from his own handgun,” McGuyre said.

Ortega got to a hospital on his own or with the help of another, McGuyre said. Witness statements and surveillance cameras recently installed by the county at the beach helped to identifying Ortega as the suspect, police said.

Royal Palms Beach in San Pedro on Monday, March 6, 2023.(Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)

A firearm was found at the scene. Ballistics tests were ongoing to determine if that was the weapon that was used. McGuyre said he did not know whether that firearm was legal or a ghost gun.

Ortega was booked into jail on four counts of attempted murder, four counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of discharging a firearm at an inhabited vehicle, police said. He was charged with those counts and was being held on a bail amount of more than $4 million.

He also faces a carjacking count and three attempted carjacking counts from April 2021, inmate records show.

When asked why the Los Angeles Police Department waited a dozen days after the suspect’s arrest to announce it, the captain it was to protect the investigation.

“There were aspects of the investigation that would have been harmed if we announced early,” McGuyre said. “While the investigation is still ongoing, we felt the investigation was at a point where we could announce without significantly impacting the investigation.

“There was a significant amount of community concern surrounding this event, which is why we announced today,” he said. “Otherwise, we may have held off until the full investigation had been completed.”

Related: Royal Palms Beach to close early on weekends in wake of shooting

About 5:45 p.m. on March 4, officers flocked to the beach park, in the 1800 block of West Paseo Del Mar, after the shooting.

Among those at the park were two group: One of family members and friends, and another with ties to the San Pedro gang, McGuyre said. An argument broke out — over what was not revealed — which led to a fistfight and the suspect pulling out a gun and firing, the captain said. There has been no indication that the groups knew each other.

A man attempted to wrestle the gun away from Ortega and was shot, said Los Angeles Councilman Tim McOsker, who also spoke at the press conference. When the man’s son came to his aid, he was also shot. The two other injured victims were either other family members or friends, McGuyre said; he was unsure of their relationships.

Related: San Pedro beach shooting that injured 5 highlights safety concerns

The gunman and at least one other person fled in a silver car, police have said.

The father was still in the hospital in critical condition, the captain said. The three other victims and the suspect have been released from medical care.

Officials have said the shooting occurred during an unpermitted concert shortly before security guards were scheduled to arrive for the nightly patrol.

Because of the shooting, the park’s closing time has been bumped up to 4:30 p.m. from dusk on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

How detectives found Ortega in Orange County, where he lives, was not disclosed.

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​ Orange County Register 

I ate everything at Cafe Daisy in Disneyland’s Toontown — Here are my favorites from best to worst

• March 22, 2023

The new Cafe Daisy at Disneyland walks a culinary tightrope by offering a few fun and tasty theme park meals for adults while delivering a menu geared to fussy kids looking to fuel up fast so they can get back to playing in the refreshed Mickey’s Toontown.

The Cafe Daisy quick service restaurant opened this week in Mickey’s Toontown after a yearlong reimagination of the family-friendly themed land geared toward the grade-school crowd and their parents.

SEE ALSO: Disneyland trades Toontown’s cartoon chaos for family-friendly calmness

If you approach Cafe Daisy like you would a McDonald’s Happy Meal or a Chuck E. Cheese birthday party, then you’ll probably leave satisfied and satiated. But if you start comparing Cafe Daisy to most other restaurants at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, then you probably won’t be happy.

Cafe Daisy is closer to Alien Pizza Planet or Galactic Grill than it is to Bengal Barbecue or Flo’s V8 Cafe. If your taste runs more toward Carthay Circle or Napa Rose, then you should run for the exit of Toontown and eat someplace else.

Ranking my favorites on a menu mostly geared for kids is always tough. I tried to balance the needs of the 3- to-9-year-old crowd and their parents with my own tastes and expectations. Here are my favorites at Cafe Daisy ranked from best to worst.

Toontown ‘Tater Chips during a preview of Mickey’s Toontown inside Disneyland Park in Anaheim, CA, on Saturday, March 18, 2023. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

1) Toontown ‘Tater Chips

House-made Potato Chips with Chili-Cheese Sauce – $7.49

It feels a little strange to say my favorite thing to eat at Cafe Daisy are the potato chips — but it’s true.

They are totally addictive and truly delicious. I could have eaten them all day.

The chili cheese sauce is little more than movie theater nacho cheese with canned chili mixed together — but it went well with nearly everything on the menu.

The serving size is relatively small so you will want to get your own chips and dip. The chips minus the chili cheese sauce are served with a few other items on the Cafe Daisy menu. If you run out, just grab one off your kid’s plate when they’re not looking or they lose interest.

SEE ALSO: First Disneyland appearance for rare Disney character older than Mickey Mouse

Daisy’s Dressed-Up Dog during a preview of Mickey’s Toontown inside Disneyland Park in Anaheim, CA, on Saturday, March 18, 2023. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

2) Daisy’s Dressed-Up Dog

All-beef Foot-long with Chili-Cheese Sauce, Mac ‘n Cheese and Parmesan Potato Crispies with House-made Chips – $14.49

The “dressed up” part of the Daisy Dog was the best bite I had in Toontown. Disneyland chefs piled all the best parts of the Cafe Daisy menu onto the hot dog for a crunchy, savory, cheesy bite of junk food deliciousness.

The foot-long hot dog in a traditional-sized bun was comically hilarious to look at and thematically appropriate for the cartoon land — but I had to cut off the two ends of the dog so I could get to the business part of the meal in the middle. I didn’t want to eat a bunch of naked hot dog just to get to the good stuff.

The naked ends of the footlong dog didn’t go to waste — I dipped them in my leftover chili cheese sauce. Parents can also offer the uneaten ends to their picky eaters who only want the hot dog without the bun.

The Cafe Daisy hot dog is much better than anything you’d make at home on the stove. The quality of the dog was somewhere between Wienerschnitzel and what you’d get at a German deli.

Cafe Daisy sells a plain dog for $1.50 less, but why bother. Unless your kid is really hungry for a hot dog and nothing else.

SEE ALSO: I wore Disneyland’s new mix-and-match Toontown costumes with 1,000 combinations

Pepperoni Pizza Flop-Over and Cheesy Pizza Flop-Over during a preview of Mickey’s Toontown inside Disneyland Park in Anaheim, CA, on Saturday, March 18, 2023. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

3) Pepperoni Pizza Flop-Over

Pepperoni, Mozzarella, Provolone Cheese with Tomato Sauce – $10.49

I was really excited about the creative flop-over pizza and Disneyland’s culinary team didn’t disappoint.

I understand this is roughly equivalent to two slices of pizza folded in half — but I loved the concept and the presentation. Something about parmesan and oregano sprinkled on the bottom of the crust just called out to me.

The flop-over reminded me of standing in front of a New York City pizza joint eating a late night folded slice after a long day of sightseeing.

That folded presentation does make for a greasy experience — especially if it takes a while for your entire order to be assembled. Cafe Daisy has been fairly slammed the first few days of operation.

The parchment paper the flop-over is served in can get pretty greasy the longer it takes you to eat. Keep lots of napkins on hand and be careful not to drip the ruby red grease on your Mickey Mouse t-shirt.

SEE ALSO: Disneyland turns prop candy into real lollipops, chocolates and sour chews as life imitates art

Picnic Time Watermelon Lemonade (Disney)

4) Picnic Time Watermelon Lemonade

Minute Maid Lemonade Light with Watermelon Premium Syrup and Watermelon Gummies – $6.49

Lemonade is my go-to drink and I’m always looking for a way to plus-up the standard issue summer refresher.

A squirt or two of watermelon syrup added a little jolt of flavor to the drink and the cute watermelon gummies that sunk to the bottom were a nice finishing touch.

Estefani Arevalo takes picture of her daughter, Everlyn Arevalo, on a new picnic blanket in a grassy area at Mickey’s Toontown inside Disneyland Park in Anaheim, CA, on Saturday, March 18, 2023. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

5) Mac & Cheesy

$7.49 or toddler-size for $4.99 at Cafe Daisy

The run-of-the-mill mac ‘n cheese tastes better than you might expect. It’s creamy, cheesy and tasty.

I’m not sure I would order a side of it, but it was a surprisingly good accompaniment on the Daisy Dog.

Cafe Daisy lists the Mac & Cheesy under the Toddler Meal section of the menu and that seems about right. It’s perfect for the average preschooler’s palette. And you’ll enjoy eating your kid’s leftovers. It would be a shame to let it go to waste.

SEE ALSO: Disneyland rebuilds Mickey’s Toontown from the ground up for kids with special needs

Daisy’s Goody-Goody Donuts during a preview of Mickey’s Toontown inside Disneyland Park in Anaheim, CA, on Saturday, March 18, 2023. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

6) Daisy’s Goody-Goody Donuts

House-made Mini-Donuts with Cinnamon Sugar – $5.99

The cinnamon sugar donuts are made fresh at Cafe Daisy on a Krispy Kreme-style conveyor belt. They’re cute and perfect for sharing — but nothing to get too excited about and hard to enthusiastically recommend.

It’s pretty much impossible not to do the math on the five tiny donuts that cost $6 and look like the leftovers at the bottom of an Entenmann’s bag you have sitting in your pantry.

Disneyland does sugar better than anyone — so don’t waste your time on these mini donuts. The cost-to-benefit ratio is too low even by Disneyland standards. There are plenty of other places in the park to get your sugar fix.

SEE ALSO: First look inside Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway queue at Disneyland — See photos

The Cafe Daisy iced tea and cold brew during a preview of Mickey’s Toontown inside Disneyland Park in Anaheim, CA, on Saturday, March 18, 2023. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

7) Sweet Tea or Cold Brew Coffee

Granny Goof’s Garden Sweet Tea with Honey-Mango Syrup and Mango flavor-filled spheres – $6.49Cold Brew Coffee Caramel Mudslide with Sea Salt-Carmel-Toffee Sauce topped with Whipped Cream – $6.29

I’m bundling these two together since it’s really a dealer’s choice whether you want your caffeine injection via iced tea or iced coffee.

Both of these are syrupy sweet if that’s what you’re looking for — which is not my cup of tea (or coffee).

The common problem with Disneyland iced drinks is the syrup gets stuck on the ice and you end up only getting a hint of the flavor until you reach the bottom of the drink when you hit all the syrup that has collected with the melted ice.

The Cafe Daisy menu also offers black coffee, decaf and nitro cold brew without the added flavors.

SEE ALSO: Disneyland quietly opens EngineEar Souvenirs shop in Mickey’s Toontown

Minnie’s Mini Corn Dogs during a preview of Mickey’s Toontown inside Disneyland Park in Anaheim, CA, on Saturday, March 18, 2023. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

8) Minnie’s Mini Corn Dogs – $7.99

The kiddie corn dogs were a huge disappointment in large part because Disneyland makes one of the best corn dogs in the world.

It’s wildly unrealistic to think Disneyland would ever hand-dip thousands of little one-inch hot dogs every day — but that’s what I wanted. Sadly, I didn’t get anything close to the perfection served from the Little Red Wagon on Main Street USA.

Disneyland is a victim of its own success in this situation. These mini corn dogs are intended for kids, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be delicious.

This epicurean travesty is a crime against corn dogs and the perpetrator should be thrown in the Toontown Dog Pound Jail.

SEE ALSO: Disneyland plans Star Wars Month in May with return of Hyperspace Mountain

Spring Garden Wrap during a preview of Mickey’s Toontown inside Disneyland Park in Anaheim, CA, on Saturday, March 18, 2023. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

9) Spring Garden Wrap

Romaine and Quinoa Wrap with creamy Lemon Dressing and Toasted Pumpkin Seeds with House-made Chips $12.99

On a menu full of fun foods, the Spring Garden Wrap was a boring veto vote that seemed like an obligatory afterthought.

The Cafe Daisy garden wrap was like eating a bowl of crunchy lettuce and little else. It’s like Disney took all the best parts out of a salad. There just wasn’t much going on to recommend to anyone.

Disney has added a ton of meals in recent years without meat, poultry, seafood, shellfish or eggs. You can do much better at Disneyland if you’re looking for a veggie/vegan/allergy-friendly option.

SEE ALSO: Disneyland cleans every skull, mummy and snake in Indiana Jones Adventure refurbishment

Pepperoni Please Pizza during a preview of Mickey’s Toontown inside Disneyland Park in Anaheim, CA, on Saturday, March 18, 2023. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

10) Pepperoni Please Pizza

Pepperoni, Cheese and Tomato Sauce – $7.49

This cafeteria pizza tastes exactly like it looks: Bad.

This is on the menu simply for kids who refuse to eat anything.

I would never feed this to my kid — and thank goodness she has enough good taste and sense to never eat anything like it.

But if you know your kid’s appetite and you just want to enjoy your day at Disneyland without getting into a food fight, then this will do the trick.

There’s a cheese-only version of the softball-sized pizza for the finickiest eaters. The one saving grace of this kids meal: It comes with a Mandarin orange, applesauce and either bottled water or milk.

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Cafe Daisy knows its audience. The Toontown quick service eatery is the lowest common denominator for the 3- to 9-year-old demographic that knows what it wants and isn’t afraid to tell you. Fortunately, Disneyland has plenty of other better places to eat. Save your appetite and go someplace other than Toontown.

​ Orange County Register 

CSUF alum takes center stage as a fight choreographer

• March 22, 2023

Sword, rapier, dagger.

These are just a few of Michael Polak’s tools of the trade.

Luckily, he’s not a maniac on the loose — rather, the CSUF grad (theater arts 1993) is an actor as well as a stage and film fight choreographer.

Polak’s work recently was on display in South Coast Repertory’s production of “Appropriate,” the Branden Jacobs-Jenkins play that premiered off-Broadway in 2014.

In a climactic scene in “Appropriate,” which alternated performances with Lillian Helman’s “The Little Foxes” Feb. 5-26, estranged members of a family in present-day Arkansas with decades of resentment and pent-up anger get into a brawl.

“One thing I always ask myself is, ‘What is the story being told through violence?’ ” said Polak, whose recent film work as an actor includes “Mid-Century” (2022) starring Stephen Lang (the “Avatar” franchise).

How did a nice guy like Polak get into such a (fake) bone-breaking career?

At Dos Pueblos High School in Goleta in Santa Barbara County, Polak loved both theater and football — he played quarterback as a senior for the Chargers.

The physicality of stage movement always has appealed to him.

“Violence is another form of communication — it’s a terrible form of communication, but it happens when words break down,” said Polak, a fight choreographer for more than 20 years who’s a big fan of the intricately choreographed action movie series “John Wick,” starring Keanu Reeves.

Big lesson

It’s not that Polak has a thing for violence. He just specializes in having it faked on stage and on screen. And he honed his skills, in part, at CSUF.

While attending Dos Pueblos High School, Polak’s acting professor took him and other students on tours of four-year colleges with solid theater departments.

“I remember being impressed with Cal State Fullerton,” he said.

Sallie Mitchell, the former professor of theater and dance at CSUF, was instrumental in getting Polak to switch his major to theater arts when he became a Titan in 1991.

Initially, Polak planned to major in communications and minor in acting.

“She told me all degrees in a liberal arts program kind of all have the same weight,” Polak said.

He mostly acted at CSUF — he fondly recalls jumping sans clothes into a pseudo river in a scene in “The Grapes of Wrath.”

Knowing that an MFA would burnish his acting resume, Polak went straight to graduate school after CSUF, graduating from Penn State in 1996. One draw of Penn State: it offered classes in stage combat.

Polak then booked some jobs with the Texas Shakespeare Festival, Pacific Conservatory Theatre in Santa Maria, and ended up doing regional theater for three years in San Francisco — where his skills as a fight choreographer took off.

Polak recalls learning a big lesson from Gregory Hoffman, founder and master teacher of Dueling Arts International, a leading certification school for stage and film combat instructors.

“He was a huge mentor of mine,” Polak said.

Before class, an eager Polak had worked out on paper the details of a sword and dagger fencing scene between Hamlet and Laertes.

“Oh?” Hoffman said with a smile. “You’ve got it all choreographed already?”

Problem was, Polak had never worked with the actors, and they weren’t at the level he assumed they would be when it came to the physicality of the scene.

“It was the best lesson,” Polak said. “You must be able to assess who you’re working with first before you can choreograph anything. Like in baseball, if you want your closing pitcher to throw 100 miles per hour but he’s an off-speed pitcher, you’ve got to adjust.”

Hoffman said Polak is an exceptionally talented fight director and teacher.

“His experience as a working actor greatly assists him in helping tell the story within the staged fight that is appropriate for the scene and play itself,” Hoffman said. “I know him to be extremely dedicated to his craft and always exceptionally prepared for all his work due to his dedication to research and natural intelligence.

“And he seems to have an easy and comfortable manner of communicating with his actors, which is very important to gain their trust and create the best possible work.”

In addition to Dueling Arts International, Polak is certified by the Society of American Fight Directors.

Character-driven

After San Francisco, Polak moved to New York City where he continued to do theater.

Some TV projects over the years included roles on “The Young and the Restless,” “Guiding Light” and “Bel-Air.”

But stage work continues to be his sweet spot. In addition to SCR, Polak books a lot of work with La Mirada Theater for the Performing Arts.

He also is active at CSUF, doing some guest teaching and movement work and working with the Devised Performance/Physical Theatre program, one of the only programs of its kind in the country.

Polak works closely with directors to choreograph combat scenes.

“I always ask myself, ‘What’s the character’s relationship to violence?’ ” he said.

“What I mean is, have they ever been hit before or have they ever hit anyone before? Do they solve their problems by violence? Too often, actors just assume their character can do all sorts of cool stuff when it comes to fighting, but there’s nothing in the script that said they’ve ever hit anyone before.”

So, it’s up to Polak to make sure any combat is truly character driven.

“For ‘Appropriate,’ it was a large family fight,” he said. “And these are not people who have ever hit each other before.”

Safety is paramount in his work, Polak notes.

“You have to hide the illusion of violence,” he said.

And there’s a huge difference, Polak notes, between pushing and hitting someone.

Kind of like the difference between:

THWAPP! and WHAMMM!

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​ Orange County Register 

71 Freeway shuts down in Pomona after potholes cause flat tires

• March 22, 2023

Both sides of the 71 Freeway in Pomona were closed Wednesday morning, March 22, after potholes caused flat tires for more than a dozen drivers.

The California Highway Patrol said both the north and southbound sides of the 71 at Valley Boulevard were closed to traffic at around 4:30 a.m. after the flat tires were reported.

The CHP did not give an estimate for when the freeway would reopen.

The closure led to snarled traffic on the 71, from Valley Boulevard to Rio Rancho Road — almost four miles.

Potholes caused a similar closure on the 71 in the same location a week ago — causing flat tires for more than 30 vehicles.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

​ Orange County Register 

Northern California teacher spends 13 days hiking through snow to get to school

• March 22, 2023

The classic “old grumpy grandpa” saying goes something like this: “Back in my day, we walked 15 miles to school in the snow! Barefoot! Uphill! Both ways! And we liked it that way!”

For Eagle Peak Middle School eighth grade science teacher Paula Abajian, there is some truth in that saying for her, as she spent 13 days hiking through snow and ice to get access to a vehicle, to then drive or be driven to school. Monday evening, March 13, was the first day she could finally drive the road to her home since the snowy weather started on Feb. 22.

Eagle Peak teacher Paula Abajian hiking through snow to get to school.

For Abajian, the logistics were as follows. She and her husband and two young children live at 2,500 feet above sea level in the mountains above Willits. The road to their home is on a north-facing slope, with several feet of snow accumulating on it from all the storms and not melting much due to the lack of sun on the north face. Midway through the series of storms, the snow melted somewhat but then froze and turned to ice. The road was simply impassable near her home for close to three weeks.

From Abajian’s home, it was a 1.76-mile hike, according to her Apple Watch, downhill to access transportation, hence a 3.52 round trip daily, for a total of over 40 miles through the snow for the duration of the adventure.

“The snow early on was lovely,” says Abajian. “but as it got icier and more compacted, it was difficult to walk on.”

There were also additional logistical challenges for Abajian and her family. With her home being off the electrical grid and solar powered, eventually, the cloud cover prevented sufficient charging of the home’s batteries. At one point, she was hauling up gas cans for the generator to run power for the house.

On most days, she was hiking in the morning before sunrise and getting home in dim light or darkness. Her backpack would regularly be filled with food and provisions for home. Many days her children would stay with grandparents in town, but there were a few times they would hike in and out. “My daughter would take two steps forward in the snow, and one step falling back,” says Abajian.

Animal tracks along Paula’s route to and from school.

Abajian’s colleague at Eagle Peak, fifth-grade teacher Mackenzie Erickson, lives down the hill from Paula, and would often give her rides to school. One day the duo simply could not make it, even from Erickson’s house at a lower elevation. For Paula, this was a 3.52-mile round trip hike to not get to school. On another exceptionally stormy day, Paula could simply not leave her house.

“Paula has a deep sense of dedication to the profession,” says Erickson. “It was an adventure. We were glad to help, and it wasn’t entirely safe at times, but we are a community that supports each other. It was super amazing with all of the snow, even though it was also hard.”

Abajian summed up the experience by saying, “Overall, it was beautiful to be outside with nature and see the animal tracks, and I did close my exercise ring on my watch every day, but I am glad it’s over.”

Abajian shared stories of her adventures with her students, and they begged her to have a field trip up to her house to go sledding.

We had to cut my interview with Paula a little short as she had to go pick up her kids from school due to a flood warning.

Eagle Peak teacher Paula Abajian hiking through snow to get to school.

​ Orange County Register 

Muslims’ month of worship and contemplation

• March 22, 2023

More than 1 billion Muslims around the world are about to begin the observance of Ramadan, the month of fasting. It is believed that during Ramadan, the ninth month of the Muslim calendar, the Angel Gabriel began delivering the Quran, which was later transcribed into writing, to the Prophet Muhammad.

During Ramadan observant Muslims refrain from eating or drinking anything during daylight hours.

At the end of the day the fast is broken with a small meal and prayers, followed by visiting family and friends.

Fasting in the Muslim tradition is designed to bring spiritual benefits, chiefly a release from physical constraints and desires so one can concentrate on worship and appreciation of Allah.

The patience and forbearance induced by fasting extend to other areas of life.

Simple fasting from food can be ruined — rendered not pleasing to Allah — if spoiled by telling lies, slander, denouncing someone behind his back, swearing a false oath, greed or covetousness.

During the month of fasting Muslims are expected to read the Quran with special intensity and to seek opportunities for good deeds, especially helping the poor.

The end of the month is marked by the three-day celebration of Eid al-Fitr, when gifts are exchanged, and families and friends gather for large meals.

In these days, when fanatics have done so much to discredit Islam in the eyes of all too many people, Ramadan is especially important as a time of renewal and deepening of faith for serious Muslims.

Approximately 1% of Californians identify as Muslim.

Many are immigrants or the descendants of immigrants from countries as diverse as Indonesia and Egypt.

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Others are refugees from places like Afghanistan, Iran and Syria. And some, of course, are converts.

Whatever their roots, they are deserving of respect and understanding.

Yet for many, that is not what they experience.

A survey by the Council for American-Islamic Relations found that a majority of Muslim students have reported they feel “unsafe, unwelcome or uncomfortable” in school because of their religious identities.

And on a governmental level, this editorial board has long criticized instances of unjustified spying on the Muslim community, as happened in Orange County during the peak of the so-called “war on terror.”

It is imperative that California remain a place where people of all backgrounds can feel safe, welcome and comfortable to live their lives as they choose.

A version of this editorial originally appeared in 2010 and was written by the late editorial writer Alan W. Bock.

​ Orange County Register 

20 years later, Iraq war was clearly wrong

• March 22, 2023

During his infamous “mission accomplished” speech in May 2003 from the USS Abraham Lincoln off the coast of San Diego, President George W. Bush announced victory in the American war in Iraq.

“The transition from dictatorship to democracy will take time, but it is worth every effort,” said. “Our coalition will stay until our work is done. Then we will leave, and we will leave behind a free Iraq.”

Hindsight is 20-20, but it’s important to look back at major government efforts and compare the promises to reality. As Americans commemorate the 20th anniversary of that war, few analysts consider it a success — and the idea of a free Iraq seems preposterous.

Related: Antiwar.com’s Scott Horton on the Iraq war

The U.S. largely withdrew in 2011, but then sent troops back after the rise of Islamic State radicals.

The Biden administration finally ended the nation’s longest-running war in 2021 — but 2,500 troops remain and may serve in an advisory role for years.  The current Iraqi government receives among the world’s lowest scores for freedom. Islamic Iran gained great influence after our pull out.

According to a recent Reuters report, the United States spent nearly $3 trillion (including ongoing costs of veteran health care) on its wars in Iraq and Syria.

Related: George W. Bush is still just a war criminal to me

It cost 4,500 Americans their lives — and directly led to nearly 600,000 deaths in the region. And for what?

The mission was not accomplished.

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During the run-up to the war, the Bush administration convinced a nation still scarred by the Sept. 11 attacks that the coming invasion would combat international terrorism, force Iraq to rid itself of so-called Weapons of Mass Destruction and, then, create a democracy in a region governed by tyrants.

The administration’s connection between 9/11 and Iraq proved particularly flimsy and cynical.

We still recall war boosters — including pundits like Max Boot, David Frum and Bill Kristol — depicting the administration’s evidence as incontrovertible.

This editorial board consistently opposed the war, leading critics to question our judgment and patriotism.

Yet in hindsight, the best way for Americans (and the media) to commemorate this anniversary is to resolve to be more skeptical of such hubris in the future.

​ Orange County Register