OC prosecutors, sheriff’s officials mum on how they are fixing jailhouse informant problems

• October 13, 2023

Orange County prosecutors and sheriff’s officials won’t talk about how they have reformed the local justice system in the 12 months since a federal investigation confirmed their illegal use of jailhouse informants.

Aside from saying they are cooperating with each other and federal authorities, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office and the Sheriff’s Department are keeping mum, making it difficult for the public to determine what, if anything, they are doing to implement  recommendations from the U.S. Department of Justice.

And the DOJ’s civil rights division did not respond to a request for information.

Silence marks the one-year anniversary of the federal investigation that confirmed prosecutors and law enforcement for years were using a secret cadre of jail informants to illegally coax confessions out of targeted inmates who were not supposed to be questioned without their lawyers present. Authorities also failed to disclose their use of informants to defense attorneys.

“I don’t understand why (reform efforts) wouldn’t be public information,” said Jodi Balma, a political science professor at Fullerton College. “It’s not hard to say, ‘We’re going to follow the law and everyone who doesn’t will be terminated.’ “

Orange County Public Defender Martin Schwarz, whose agency has the largest stake in resolving the informant scandal, said he, too, has been kept out of the loop.

“It’s been frustrating to be in the dark about what steps toward remediation have been taken,” Schwarz said. “It’s important to remember that the report correctly concluded that the informant scandal continues to undermine public confidence in the integrity of the justice system in Orange County.”

Kimberly Edds, spokesperson for the district attorney’s office, said prosecutors would like to talk about their progress, but can’t because of the confidential nature of the federal investigation.

“In many instances, our efforts go beyond what the DOJ is recommending as we continue to work with the DOJ and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department to safeguard the Orange County criminal justice system,” Edds said in a prepared statement. “We look forward to being able to tell the complete story of how we worked collaboratively to eradicate the informant issues created by the prior administration and the practices we implemented to prevent them from occurring in the future.”

The six-year probe by the U.S. Department of Justice concluded last year that the agencies had not gone far enough to correct or prevent the violations and did not have the level of cooperation needed to fix the problems.

The DOJ report, a rare look by federal civil rights investigators into a prosecutorial agency, recommended an independent panel be formed to review past cases damaged by the improper use of informants.

It is unclear whether that panel was ever formed and which of the 23 recommendations, if any, have been implemented. The report had recommended that prosecutors and sheriff’s officials create a contract detailing each agency’s responsibilities in using jailhouse informants. The contract also would state prosecutors’ intent not to go forward with any case in which the contract was not followed.

Another recommendation was that both agencies do a comprehensive review of all cases and convictions in which jailhouse informants were used. A separate analysis by the Public Defender’s Office found that 57 homicide and felony cases were adversely affected by the illegal use of informants, with convictions being dropped, charges dismissed and sentences dramatically reduced.

Assistant Public Defender Scott Sanders also recently accused former prosecutor Ebrahim Baytieh, now a Superior Court judge, of misleading federal investigators about his use of informants.

Sanders called on federal investigators to revisit their interview with Baytieh as well as the new analysis of affected cases.

“We have presented very detailed allegations about a former prosecutor’s effort to mislead the DOJ during its investigation, and have also described a large number of previously unidentified affected cases,” Sanders said. “Obviously, these issues have to be addressed.”

Related links

Use of snitches unravels 57 murder and other felony cases in Orange County
Former top OC prosecutor conspired to hide evidence in murder case, defense attorney alleges
OC prosecutors, sheriff’s deputies violated rights in jailhouse informant scandal, DOJ concludes
OC judge drops conviction against inmate who ordered ‘hit’ on sheriff’s investigator
More accusations waged against top Orange County prosecutor in murder retrial

​ Orange County Register 

Chargers traded J.C. Jackson after he reportedly refused to play

• October 12, 2023

COSTA MESA — The Chargers repeatedly asked cornerback J.C. Jackson to play in their Week 4 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders at SoFi Stadium, especially after teammate Michael Davis tweaked his ankle. But Jackson refused, according to an NFL.com report earlier this week citing unnamed sources.

Davis played all but one of 73 defensive snaps; Jackson played none.

Jackson stood on the sideline with his shoes untied, declining to play because he said he wasn’t properly warmed up to enter the game. Jackson was active for the game, a 24-17 victory, after he was a surprise addition to the inactive list for the Chargers’ Week 3 win over the Minnesota Vikings.

It was an act of defiance that last week led to the Chargers trading Jackson back to the New England Patriots, where he had established himself as one of the most dynamic defensive backs in the NFL over the first four seasons of his career. He had earned the nickname “Mr. INT.”

With the Chargers, with whom he signed a mammoth five-year, $82.5 million free-agent contract with $40 million guaranteed in 2022, Jackson was “Mr. MIA,” as in missing in action. He played only seven games with the Chargers over one-plus seasons, intercepting only one pass.

“We just felt like this was the best course for our team,” Chargers coach Brandon Staley said Thursday of trading Jackson and a late-round draft pick in 2025 to the Patriots in exchange for a late-round pick in ‘25.  “There was a body of work to go off of. We felt like this direction was best for our football team.”

Reminded of past comments about taking a patient approach with Jackson in the wake of a significant knee injury suffered while defending a touchdown pass during the Chargers’ loss Oct. 23, 2022 to the Seattle Seahawks, Staley said, “Like I said, there was a body of work to go off of, two years’ worth of a body of work.

“We just felt like this was the best course for our team.”

Asked specifically about the NFL.com report that Jackson had refused to play while asked repeatedly by coaches to enter the Chargers’ victory over the Raiders on Oct. 1 at SoFi Stadium, Staley said, “I’m not talking any more about J.C. We’re moving forward as a team, and that’s behind us.”

The Chargers were 0-2 with Jackson on the field this season and 2-0 without him. He sat out two games last season after undergoing minor ankle surgery just before the start of the regular season and then suffered a season-ending ruptured right patellar tendon while preparing to jump to defend a pass.

By all accounts, Jackson was diligent in his rehabilitation work after undergoing surgery on his knee. He spent the offseason working out at the Chargers’ facility and attended springtime practices, although he wasn’t sound enough to participate fully with his teammates on the field.

However, the NFL.com report, citing unnamed sources, suggested that friction had developed between Jackson and the Chargers’ coaching, athletic training and support staffs. The article did not include specific examples, however, and Jackson was unavailable for comment Thursday.

Jackson played roughly half of the Patriots’ defensive snaps in his return to New England this past Sunday, a 34-0 loss to the New Orleans Saints. The Chargers returned from their bye this week, content with Davis, Asante Samuel Jr., Ja’Sir Taylor, Alohi Gilman and Derwin James Jr. as their top defensive backs.

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Gilman didn’t practice Thursday because of a heel injury, but fellow safety James was a full participant after sitting out against the Raiders because of an injured hamstring.

“Things just didn’t work out how we needed them to work out, you know, for both sides,” James said of the Chargers’ decision to trade Jackson. “I just feel like it was best for both sides. Like I said, we wanted it to work out, but it just didn’t happen. That’s what happens in the NFL.”

The Chargers play the Patriots on Dec. 3 at New England.

​ Orange County Register 

Meet USC’s De’jon Benton, a budding poet who always saw his own potential

• October 12, 2023

The microphone dangled from his right hand, a notebook perched in his left, the prose taking a minute to hit De’jon Benton’s tongue.

He was a thinker, not a rusher. And a sanctuary of creatives waited for him this August night, an artist development workshop the brainchild of Leila Steinberg, the founder of emotional-literacy foundation Aim4TheHeart and the first manager to one Tupac Shakur.

Participants, as required by Steinberg, must bring an artistic response to a particular topic for every workshop. And for two weeks, when he first showed up, Benton didn’t speak, Steinberg remembered. Not one word. No contribution. No discussion.

“Always hard with ballplayers,” Steinberg said, “because we have an impression that they’re not thinkers.”

But he came back. Always. So she figured there was something.

It hurts Regina Sherman to say, as a mother. But many simply never saw her son’s potential. Benton grew up with a stutter, taking speech classes through his time at Pittsburg High in the Bay Area, birthing a highly intentional and oft-deliberate approach to speaking. He had learning differences, his Pittsburg football coaches came to find, that sometimes necessitated explaining his assignments repeatedly. Sherman, herself, never anticipated Benton going to college for financial reasons, a largely single mother making ends meet on a nurse’s assistant’s salary.

Centennial High offensive lineman Ryan Suliafu, left, reaches out against Pittsburg High defensive tackle De’jon Benton in the first half of a game Aug. 25, 2017, in Corona. (Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

But Benton was recruited by USC out of Pittsburg, and has stuck out four tumultuous years as a Trojan to become a key piece of USC’s defensive line. Found himself, too, through lyricism and spoken-word, an outlet that’s grown since he first started putting pen to paper in high school.

When the 6-foot-1, 270-pound redshirt senior finally shared at the workshop, Benton gave an off-the-cuff, “Shakespearean” spoken-word performance, as Aim4TheHeart outreach director Louis King said, that blew the group away.

“I was like, ‘Oh, (expletive)’ … this kid’s mind is really special,” Steinberg said.

His second time sharing was written. And on the way from USC’s practice field, in the back of an Uber, Benton scratched a series of words out in his notebook, coming to stand in front of the group that night in black shorts adorned with a small USC logo. Pensive as ever.

Then launching into a story in spoken-word, voice deep and unwavering, of his journey, of heartbreak and blood spillage and a young man trying to make sense of chaos in the world around him.

***

I ask myself, he began, what would help me reach this potential?

In the eighth grade, Sherman got a call from one of Benton’s teachers, saying he was acting up in class. That was nothing new – the school rung her quite literally every single day about her son, Sherman emphasized – but the circumstances were. Somehow, he was goofing around, stood up on a chair, sat down and broke it.

Wait, how does he sit down and break a chair? Sherman questioned. “I don’t know,” she was told, “but he broke a chair.”

He was quiet, Sherman said, when he started at Antioch Middle School. One day, Benton called his mother at lunch. He didn’t usually call his mother at lunch.

“What’s wrong, son?” she asked, prying repeatedly beyond Benton’s one-word responses.

“I just don’t have any friends,” Sherman remembered her son saying, eventually. “I just feel alone, so I wanted to call you.”

It snapped her heart in two. She stayed with him on the phone for 30 minutes, until lunch was over.

“And then a few months later, he’s like, breaking chairs,” Sherman said. “So I guess he made friends.”

They lived in a part of Antioch, then, where there was absolutely no way Benton’s mother would let him walk home by himself. When Benton’s middle-school graduation rolled around, she got a call: He couldn’t get his cap and gown, because the school still hadn’t been paid back for the chair he broke.

She made $14 an hour. Barely had enough to pay rent. But Sherman made it work. Always did.

Things didn’t get easier in high school, when Pittsburg defensive-line coach Isamu Falevai – also a school counselor – noticed, simply, that Benton was struggling. He grew into a unique on-field talent, a blend of speed and size Pittsburg had rarely seen; but academic issues persisted from middle school, Sherman telling Benton to get his grades up or she’d call his coaches to not let him play.

If you aren’t vested in these kids, Falevai said, you would think they’re lazy. Benton was not. You’d think they were just trying to skate by. Benton was not. He had extraordinary depth, as then-defensive coordinator Charlie Ramirez said. He just needed time. And eventually, his coaches worked with him and his teachers to set up an independent learning plan, seeing rapid growth in his grades in his junior and senior years.

Her son, Sherman said, never gave up on himself.

“It might take him a while to get there,” Sherman said, “but he always, he gets there.”

***

The endurance of a man’s heart, over time, becomes weak, Benton continued in August, pacing across the room. No longer willing to fight. Eyes no longer light.

In Benton’s sophomore year at Pittsburg, JV coaches started telling Falevai that the player was always late to practice. Or hanging out in the locker room. Or just not there. And eventually, Falevai realized there was a deeper reason here.

So the counselor sat him down one day, and told Benton he’d stay until he told him what was going on.

Benton’s father Dwayne, Falevai learned, lived in Stockton with his family, about an hour away. Every so often, he’d call his son for help, needing someone to watch Benton’s young half-sisters. So the kid would find a bus to Stockton, or a ride up there, or something, and his own life would grind to a halt.

They had a great relationship, Sherman said, Dwayne once a football player and rapper himself who’d take baby De’jon to spend entire weekends in a studio. Life for his father grew tough, though, Falevai learning at times he’d tell his son he had no electricity or running water. It left Benton thinking of his siblings, feeling helpless, Falevai said, so the son would drop everything at a moment’s notice.

“My pops,” Benton said after one USC practice in September, “he had the same ambitions as I have now. He’s done exactly what I’ve done.”

“I used to see light in his eyes,” Benton continued, referring to his own line of prose. “And now it’s more so, survival mode. And so that had put it into perspective for me.”

The endurance of man’s heart becomes weak.

During his junior year, Benton started writing. Always had loved reading, always asking his mom to buy him books, vocabulary expanding behind a diminishing stutter. It became an outlet, experimenting with spoken-word, experimenting with beats, an outlet he never quite made public – to even his own mother – until he began with Aim4TheHeart.

An outlet to understand, to express, through avoiding going down the wrong path in Pittsburg because he’d think of the look on his mother’s face, through his father’s journey and his own, through his own grasp on the very meaning of everything.

***

There are places on this planet that never reached its potential, Benton finished at the workshop, a room rapt. I will reach mine. I won’t be the victim of my own eye.

When the lineman first signed with USC, Falevai was excited. Also worried.

“He’s special,” Falevai tried to explain to USC coaches. “You just gotta be patient.”

And Benton still struggled at times, Falevai said, his first couple years as a Trojan, with timeliness. He played sparingly his first three seasons, and then the coaching staff that recruited him cycled out as Lincoln Riley took over, and conventional wisdom laid that he ought to transfer.

Benton relented. He chose to stick it out. Majoring in Non-Governmental Organizations and Social Change, he wanted a degree from USC, he’d tell Falevai, his mom pushing him to finish his education.

“De’jon, when we got here, I didn’t know if he was going to make it – I mean, I didn’t know if he was going to make the rigors of the program, the demands, the accountability,” Riley said, after USC-Colorado in late September.

USC defensive end Solomon Byrd (51) celebrates a stop with defensive lineman De’jon Benton (79) during their game against Arizona State on Sept. 23, 2023, in Tempe, Ariz. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Last year, Riley said, was up-and-down for Benton. A lot of tough love. But even as USC has brought in a slew of new faces on the line, Benton has earned major snaps against Colorado and Arizona, sixth on the team in tackles for loss and sacks.

“It’s funny, when you kind of get all your life in order, all of a sudden – his grades are good, he’s on time for stuff – he’s playing good ball,” Riley said.

For now, spoken-word, rap, poetry are all an outlet for Benton, Steinberg said. Just an outlet. Wants to leave it there, for him to focus on the now, seeing music or a book or public speaking stark in his future.

“He hasn’t even realized how powerful when he’s in front of a room,” Steinberg said. “He just has an electricity, and a beauty about him.”

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The world around him, it appears, is catching up to the potential he’s seen in himself. Potential he wants to bring to a mic.

“It just made me have a different perspective,” Benton said, seeming to solve his own mind in real time. “Football was also that second life, as you could say. When I played football, I didn’t just see football as football. I see football as life – like a mini-simulation of life itself.”

“Everything leading up to the moment in which I’m supposed to play, and if I’m ballin’ or if I’m (expletive) the bed, it was all because of actions and what led up to that,” Benton continued. “I go back to the days … like, ‘Damn, OK. If I get another breath for tomorrow’s day, I’ll change it.’”

​ Orange County Register 

As Hamas, Israel battle, all eyes on Hezbollah to the north

• October 12, 2023

By Kareem Chehayeb and Abby Sewell | Associated Press

BEIRUT — Will Lebanon’s heavily armed Hezbollah militia join the Israel-Hamas war? The answer could well determine the direction of a battle that is bound to reshape the Middle East.

Hezbollah, which like Hamas is supported by Iran, has so far been on the fence about joining the fighting between Israel and the Gaza Strip’s Islamic militant rulers. For the past six days, Israel has besieged Gaza and hammered the enclave of 2.3 million Palestinians with hundreds of airstrikes in response to a deadly Hamas attack on southern Israel.

Israel, which has vowed to crush Hamas, is now preparing for a possible ground offensive. While the country’s political and military leaders weigh the next move, they are nervously watching Hezbollah on Israel’s northern border and have sent troop reinforcements to the area. Hezbollah, with an arsenal of tens of thousands of rockets and missiles capable of hitting virtually anywhere in Israel, is viewed as a far more formidable foe than Hamas.

Israel is anxious that opening a new front in the country’s north could change the tide of the war, with Hezbollah’s military caliber far superior to that of Hamas. But the fighting could be equally devastating for Hezbollah and Lebanon.

The possibility of a new front in Lebanon also brings back bitter memories of a vicious monthlong war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006 that ended in a stalemate and a tense detente between the two sides. Lebanon is in the fourth year of a crippling economic crisis and is bitterly divided between Hezbollah and its allies and opponents, paralyzing the political system.

Israel is especially worried about Hezbollah’s precision-guided missiles, which are believed to be aimed at strategic targets like natural gas rigs and power stations. Hezbollah is also battle-hardened from years of fighting alongside President Bashar Assad’s troops in neighboring Syria.

At the same time, Hamas and Hezbollah have grown closer as Hamas leaders have moved to Beirut in recent years. While Hezbollah has largely remained on the sidelines, people close to the group say an Israeli ground offensive could be a possible trigger for it to fully enter the conflict with devastating consequences.

Qassim Qassir, a Lebanese analyst close to the group, said Hezbollah “will not allow Hamas’ destruction and won’t leave Gaza alone to face a ground incursion.”

“When the situation requires further escalation, then Hezbollah will do so,” he told The Associated Press.

An official with a Lebanese group familiar with the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said Hezbollah fighters have been placed on full alert.

Hezbollah and Israel have targeted military outposts and positions in brief rocket and shelling exchanges on the border since the outbreak of the Gaza war. Three Hezbollah fighters were killed Monday, while Israeli officials said one Israeli soldier was killed in an anti-tank missile attack two days later.

Three Israeli soldiers were killed and five were wounded in a skirmish with Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants who crossed the southern Lebanese border into Israel. Hamas also claimed responsibility for firing several rockets into Israel from southern Lebanon.

Anthony Elghossain, a senior analyst with the Washington-based New Lines Institute, said that while neither Israel nor Hezbollah appears to want to enter “significant and sustained armed conflict,” there is a risk of escalation — even without a ground invasion of Gaza — if either side makes a miscalculation and oversteps the usual rules of engagement.

With an eye toward Hezbollah, U.S. President Joe Biden has warned other players in the Middle East not to join the conflict, sending American warships to the region and vowing full support for Israel.

“He’s backed up that warning with the deployment of our largest carrier group, the Gerald R. Ford, as well as again making sure that Israel has what it needs and that we also have appropriate assests in place,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday during a stop in Israel.

While Hezbollah officials and legislators have threatened escalation, their leader, Hassan Nasrallah, has remained silent since Hamas’ surprise weekend attack. The group in its public statements has said that they are continuing to monitor the situation. A spokesperson for Hezbollah did not respond to requests for comment.

An Israeli military spokesman, Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, said in a video briefing posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the situation is “relatively stable on the northern front.”

“We are monitoring the situation so that it doesn’t change,” he said. “We are deployed in significant numbers, strength and capabilities … and we are very vigilant to any attempt by Hezbollah to escalate the situation.”

A Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said international governments have urged Lebanese authorities to keep the crisis-hit country away from a new war.

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Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati called Thursday on all Lebanese groups to exercise self restraint and not to be pulled into “Israel’s plans,” an apparent message to Hezbollah. He said Lebanon condemns “criminal acts committed by Israel” saying that it is “wiping out children and civilians” and called on the international community to work on ending hostilities.

Israeli leaders have repeatedly warned that they would unleash vast destruction in southern Lebanon if war breaks out with Lebanon.

Israel in 2006 flattened large parts of villages, towns and cities in southern Lebanon and entire blocks in Beirut’s southern suburbs. Following the war, Lebanon received an influx of international funding, including from wealthy Gulf countries, for reconstruction.

However, as Hezbollah has gained power, Lebanon’s ties with Gulf monarchies have soured and the international community has grown frustrated with rampant corruption and mismanagement. On top of that, Lebanon’s government institutions are cash-strapped and dysfunctional.

“If war were to start now, we would be looking at a much slower and more complicated reconstruction,” said Mona Fawaz, a professor of urban studies and planning at the American University of Beirut.

Associated Press writers Bassem Mroue in Beirut and Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed to this report

​ Orange County Register 

Alexander: Who is to blame for yet another Dodgers playoff failure?

• October 12, 2023

So, Dodger fans, who do you blame?

It has become an ugly October ritual in L.A., one that’s been avoided only once over the last 11 years. A team whose goal is, and should be, a World Series championship falls short, and the finger-pointing begins.

Most of those fingers, at least from the fan base, will be aimed squarely at Dave Roberts, as usual. And if one move in Wednesday night’s National League Division Series sweep-clinching victory by the Arizona Diamondbacks encapsulated the fans’ problem with the manager, it was the sight of Roberts perfectly still along the dugout railing while Lance Lynn dug a hole his team could not escape.

It’s such an easy second-guess that even I’ll pile on. Didn’t the manager see anything after the second of the D-Backs’ record four homers in an inning, Ketel Marte’s 428-foot bomb that made it 2-0, that would have prodded him to make a change? Especially when Roberts had talked going in about treating this as a Game 7? Three of the four home run pitches were right around the heart of the hitting zone, none were above 91.7 mph, all were straight, and shouldn’t that have been enough of a tipoff?

Middle/middle is no way to succeed. https://t.co/Obiqsv1oM2

— Jim_Alexander (@Jim_Alexander) October 12, 2023

But we need to go way deeper than the “blame the manager” reflex.

Lynn, the major leagues’ regular season leader in home runs allowed, was pitching Wednesday night because he was the guy management settled for at the trade deadline in what should have been a desperate quest for starting pitching. Major injuries (Walker Buehler, Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin) created that desperation, and a horrible, horrible life decision (Julio Urías) after the deadline had passed exacerbated it. The two guys they wound up with when the smoke cleared on Aug. 1 were Lynn and Ryan Yarbrough, a starter-bulk guy who was effective in both roles during the season but for some reason wasn’t included on the postseason roster.

So yes, point some fingers directly at President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman and General Manager Brandon Gomes. And let it be noted that when so many other pursuits for pitching fell through at the deadline, I noted at the time: “The first report card will come sometime in October.”

It was a resounding F.

How else should we divide the blame pie? Do we point fingers at hitting coaches Robert Van Scoyoc and Aaron Bates? The slumps that enveloped Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman at the worst possible time (a combined 1 for 21) had a devastating effect on a team that averaged 5.59 runs in the regular season but scored two per game when it mattered most.

And does pitching coach Mark Prior get the blame for the inability of starting pitchers Clayton Kershaw, Bobby Miller and Lynn to get through as many as three innings? That was jaw-dropping, and it was a total switch – the starters letting down the bullpen, instead of the reverse.

(Those are facetious suggestions, of course. The guys who play can’t get it done, and the coaches and managers ultimately get the blame. That’s baseball.)

So who bears the responsibility for the roster composition? The Dodgers carried 13 position players for the NLDS but left right-handed hitting Amed Rosario off the roster in favor of lefty Kolten Wong. Wong was 0 for 2 with a walk in the series, and a serious right-handed bat was unavailable with the bases loaded and a 4-2 score in the seventh inning on Wednesday night, the game there for the taking against incoming reliever Andrew Saalfrank. Instead, light-hitting (and right-handed) Austin Barnes grounded out on one pitch to end the threat and, ultimately, the season.

All of these little moments added up to one big frustrating trend, again. This is now three times in the last five years that 100-plus victory Dodger seasons have ended in the NLDS.

Of course, if you want to elevate the postseason at the expense of the regular season, then we should hear no more about the 60-game sprint in 2020 leading to a cheap championship, especially since the Dodgers went through four playoff rounds, the last three in a COVID-19 bubble.

Oh, and has anyone seen Corey Seager lately? He has a shot at another ring with the Texas Rangers, playing in the same park where he hit seven home runs while earning NLCS and World Series MVP honors in ’20. Letting him walk was a mistake.

It’s easy to forget that this was considered a transition year of sorts for the Dodgers going in. Even before projected shortstop Gavin Lux wrecked his knee in a spring training game, it was apparent with a series of offseason moves obviously made to trim payroll and hoard its resources, the better to make a run at a certain left-handed hitting pitcher/DH who will be a free agent this winter. (And if Shohei Ohtani does choose the Dodgers, given that he won’t be able to pitch until 2025 while recovering from elbow surgery, why, he’ll fit right in.)

The tattered remnants of this year’s pitching rotation made it easy to forget that when the Dodgers were knocked out by San Diego in four games last October their rotation was likewise in flux, though nowhere near as ragged as this year’s. When your starters give up almost as many runs (13) as they record outs (14), as they did against the D-Backs, that’s failure of historic proportions.

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And maybe this, from last year’s playoff postmortem, bears repeating: “The old adage is that you can never have enough pitching. Maybe old adages should still have a place amid today’s analytics-fueled, executive-dominant baseball.”

We heard it so often during the season, how harmonious a clubhouse the Dodgers had, how guys got along and played for each other, etc. But the fist pumps at first base and (as colleague Mirjam Swanson wonderfully described them) Inflatable Man dances at second base seem hollow when things go south. There are enough veterans in that clubhouse for someone to stand up and inspire or hold others accountable. Did anybody do so in this case?

Maybe it’s time for someone at the top of the organization to speak out, be it team president Stan Kasten or chairman and controlling owner Mark Walter. And this should be the message: Going out in the first round is unacceptable, so either fix it or there will be changes … and they won’t begin and end in the manager’s office.

[email protected]

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts looks on from the dugout during the first inning of Game 3 of their National League Division Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday night in Phoenix. Roberts allowing starting pitcher Lance Lynn to remain in the game long enough to allow four solo home runs – all of them coming in the third inning – was being called managerial malpractice by some Dodgers fans the day after another 100-win season was followed by an early playoff exit. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)

​ Orange County Register 

Kings place Viktor Arvidsson on long-term injured reserve

• October 12, 2023

The Kings had two days off between games but when you’ve taken a job as a tightrope-walker in the NHL’s salary-cap circus, eventful moments are often unscheduled.

De-scheduled were the team’s practice and media availability Thursday, however the Kings confirmed that winger Viktor Arvidsson has been placed on long-term injured reserve. Arvidsson is in his third season with the Kings, having proven a prolific and versatile winger who put up 108 points in 143 games while playing in all situations in two years as a King.

Additionally, they sent Arthur Kaliyev and Alex Laferriere to the minors, while recalling Alex Turcotte and Brandt Clarke. Both Kaliyev and Laferriere’s demotions are mere paper transactions and they should return to the Kings imminently. Turcotte and Clarke’s purpose was less clear. They could also be paper transactions, but Arvidsson’s placement on LTIR could also open up the possibility of carrying a full roster after dressing just 19 players on opening night due to salary-cap constraints.

“Arvy isn’t going to be with us for awhile, I’ll break that news for you,” said Kings coach Todd McLellan said Wednesday after a 5-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche.

McLellan then said he was uncertain whether the lower-body injury Arvidsson sustained this week in practice would require surgery. He also lauded rookie Laferriere, who made his NHL debut thanks, in part, to Arvidsson’s absence as well as that of the suspended Kaliyev, whose ban will be lifted after Sunday’s match against the Carolina Hurricanes. Laferriere will likely stick around a bit longer, though Clarke and/or Turcotte could end up being the sort of paper transaction the Kings will make on an almost daily basis this season to accrue cap space for the trade deadline, or it could be a real opportunity for the two former top-10 picks.

The opening week of the 2023-24 season has offered a bizarre parallel with the final days of the 2021-22 campaign. In both instances, Arvidsson left practice abruptly and was not available afterward. What was described as a personal issue through laughter and smiles turned out to be a herniated disc that precluded him from playing in the playoffs and nearly forced him to miss the following season’s opener. Earlier this week, Arvidsson again left practice in a hurry. McLellan described Arvidsson as needing “an adjustment” and said he would be fine. Yet a day later, Arvidsson was day-to-day with a lower-body injury, the following day he was ruled out of both the first two games and now he has been placed on LTIR. Despite the nebulous nature of the revelations, it seemed more like a cautious approach rather than a deceitful one from McLellan, and General Manager Rob Blake later clarified the timeline in detail publicly in both instances.

While a timetable for Arvidsson’s return is not yet known, NHL rules stipulate that a player placed on LTIR must miss at least 24 calendar days of action and 10 regular-season games.

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​ Orange County Register 

Dan Albano’s 5 questions that are key to Mater Dei football’s game vs. St. John Bosco

• October 12, 2023

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Dan Albano’s biggest questions for Mater Dei in its showdown against St. John Bosco on Friday:

1. Can Mater Dei’s defense continue to dominate?

Mater Dei has produced some outstanding defenses over the years but this 2023 version is making a case that it’s one of the best.

Here’s one statistic that shows the unit’s dominance: 43 points allowed.

Yes, Mater Dei has technically allowed only 43 points, or 6.1 points per game during its 7-0 start. But remember, Centennial of Corona returned an interception for a touchdown against the Monarchs in the season opener, and Bingham of Utah returned a kickoff for a score the next week. Those touchdowns weren’t against the defense so one could argue that the Monarchs’ defense has allowed only 29 points or 4.1 points.

The defense also hasn’t allowed any points the past nine quarters.

JSerra quarterback Michael Tollefson, left, is sacked by Mater Dei in a Trinity League football game in Santa Ana on Friday, October 6, 2023. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)

Mater Dei’s unit is built on speed and aggressiveness, the latter of which often surfaces with one-on-one coverage in the secondary and blitzing.

The key for Mater Dei’s defense will be handling St. John Bosco’s running game led by UCLA commit Cameron Jones, an imposing 6-foot-3, 220-pound senior who has averaged 134.5 yards per game rushing in two Trinity League games.

The Braves certainly noticed that Centennial Corona’s Cornell Hatcher rushed for 105 yards against the Monarchs in the season opener.

2. Will Mater Dei’s defense force any turnovers?

OK, it might seem like Mater Dei could be asking a lot from its defense but forcing turnovers has been one of the unit’s trademarks in recent league games against the Braves.

In the 2021 game played in the spring, the Monarchs forced a key fumble and grabbed two interceptions in 34-17 win. And last season, they collected two more interceptions in a 17-7 triumph.

The game between those two — in the fall of 2021 — was largely decided by a five-TD performance by Mater Dei quarterback Elijah Brown.

RELATED: https://www.youtube.com/embed/z27zIf8z_iA“>Fryer’s preview and prediction for Mater Dei vs. St. John Bosco

3. Will Mater Dei’s Elijah Brown raise his game once again vs. the Braves?

Mater Dei senior quarterback Elijah Brown is 3-0 against St. John Bosco in league games with 585 yards, nine touchdown and zero interceptions.

Mater Dei doesn’t need another massive performance from Brown to win but it would certainly take some pressure off the ground attack and defense if his mastery against the Braves in league continues.

Quarterback play, of course, is always pivotal.

In the two games that Mater Dei and St. John Bosco struggled in this season, neither quarterback threw a touchdown.

Brown was blanked in the Monarchs’ 20-7 victory at St. Frances of Baltimore, Md. while Sanchez was shutout in a 30-23 loss at Kahuku of Hawaii.

4. Will two of Mater Dei’s top seniors play?

Last week in a 42-0 victory against JSerra, Texas-committed offensive tackle Brandon Baker and Alabama-committed cornerback Zabien Brown didn’t appear to start for Mater Dei.

One of the Monarchs’ strength is its depth. Sophomore Jeremiah Ponce started at right tackle for Baker while Chuck McDonald started at corner for Brown.

Mater Dei offensive tackle Brandon Baker (73) at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana on Thursday, July 6, 2023. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

But Friday is the biggest game of the regular season, so it’s worth monitoring whether Baker or Brown play.

They’ve been first-team All-County players, and Brown intercepted a pass against St. John Bosco last season in league.

5. How will Mater Dei handle the role of favorite while playing its first game in the rivalry under coach Frank McManus?

The weight of Coach Bruce Rollinson’s final game, including an emotional sendoff at Santa Ana Stadium in the semifinals, seemed to catch up with Mater Dei on the Rose Bowl grass last season in the CIF-SS Division 1 final. The Monarchs just couldn’t finish at the end in a 24-22 loss against St. John Bosco.

The Braves’ late defensive stand certainly played a major factor.

Mater Dei is loaded with players driven to make amends for that loss but they need to first navigate Friday on the road as the favorite.

The Monarchs, ranked No. 1 in the nation by multiple polls, need stay focused from the coaching staff to the players.

Mater Dei coach Frank McManus during a nonleague football opener game against Centennial in Corona on Friday, Aug 18, 2023. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)

First-year coach Frank McManus has coached in the rivalry as an assistant but now takes on veteran St. John Bosco coach Jason Negro, who has enjoyed his share of success against Mater Dei.

In the season opener, veteran Centennial Corona coach Matt Logan played his up-tempo style but added a few trick plays, especially on special teams. Mater Dei still won, and should take this one, but how will the night go emotionally for the Orange County juggernaut?

Yes, the Monarchs have been ultra-focused under McManus — especially on defense — but will they look tight or will they embrace the challenge of a big-game atmosphere.

Elijah Brown, for one, can show them how to perform in the spotlight but Rollinson often exceled in these moments. Now, it’s an opportunity for this Mater Dei squad to show it’s mettle without the legendary coach.

RELATED: Trinity League Football Podcast

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​ Orange County Register 

Sprouts unveils state-of-the-art distribution center in Fullerton

• October 12, 2023

Sprouts Farmers Market held a grand opening Thursday, Oct. 12 for a state-of-the-art distribution center in Fullerton that’s designed to shorten product delivery times and enhance the freshness of produce shipped to Sprouts markets.

The 337,000-square-foot facility, at 1829 E. Orangethorpe Ave., began operation in April and currently serves more than 95 Sprouts locations within a 250-mile radius. It’s equipped with temperature-controlled “ripening rooms” that are kept at 34 and 55 degrees to support the ripening process.

“This ensures optimal conditions for produce storage, providing shoppers perfectly ripe avocados and bananas,” Sprouts CEO Jack Sinclair said.

Sprouts said the center, which employs more than 190 workers, will reduce transportation-related emissions by shaving an estimated 725,000 miles from current delivery routes due to its closer proximity to stores.

The Fullerton facility is just 26 miles from Los Angeles, for example, while the company’s next closest distribution center in Union City, Ca. is 368 miles away.

The Phoenix-based grocer operates additional distribution centers in Aurora, Colo. Glendale, Ariz. Orlando, Fla., Wilmer, Texas and East Point, Ga.

A recent survey from Deloitte show that 68% of shoppers are willing to pay top dollar for fresh foods. On average, consumers will pay up to 28% more for fresh food as opposed to frozen, canned or processed alternatives.

But at least 80% of consumers and grocers think food suppliers have raised prices more than necessary to increase their profits.

Price is a top consideration when buying fresh foods, the study said, but consumers also look more to information related to supply chain and sustainability.

The Fullerton facility incorporates Sprouts’ dedication to sustainability with 11 electric vehicle charging stations for employee use and an EV terminal truck to assist with daily yard operations. The grocery chain also plans to incorporate solar panels at the center.

The distribution center will also support and expand Sprouts’ farm partnerships with a variety of local growers, including Eco Farms in Temecula, Cyma Orchids in Oxnard, Valdivia Farms in Carslbad and Windset Farms in Santa Maria, among others.

To celebrate the opening of the Fullerton distribution center, the Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation is awarding $65,000 to support new school gardening and nutrition education programs at Maple Elementary School and Commonwealth Elementary School in Fullerton.

The Deloitte report further notes that 91% of consumers believe a wholesome diet includes fresh food, while 64% of grocery retail executives say fresh food is the most important department for their company’s sales growth plan over the next 12-36 months.

In recent years, grocery retailer have faced a host of challenges. On top of rising costs and growing inflation, they have dealt with major supply chain disruptions — from shipping delays to labor shortages.

Sprouts’ most recent second-quarter earnings report shows the company generated $1.7 billion in net sales and opened six new stores. The company’s same store sales were up 3.2% for the quarter.

Headquartered in Phoenix, Sprouts employs about 31,000 workers and operates more than 400 stores throughout the U.A.

​ Orange County Register