Funerals set for Nashville school mass shooting’s 6 victims

• March 31, 2023

By TRAVIS LOLLER and ADRIAN SAINZ (Associated Press)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Funeral arrangements were disclosed Thursday for the six people killed in this week’s school shooting in Nashville, as the grieving city mourns the victims of the horrific attack that transformed what should have been a normal day of school on a bright, sunny morning into wrenching tragedy.

Heartbreaking new details continued to emerge about the lives of the three adults and three 9-year-old students who police say were killed during the shooting Monday at The Covenant School. The children have been identified as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney. Also killed were Katherine Koonce, 60, the head of the school; Mike Hill, 61, a custodian; and Cynthia Peak, 61, a substitute teacher.

A funeral service for Evelyn was scheduled for Friday at Woodmont Christian Church in Nashville, with a private reception to follow, according to an obituary provided to The Associated Press by a family friend. Funeral guests are invited to wear pink or other joyful colors “in tribute to Evelyn’s light and love of color,” according the obituary. She will be laid to rest on Saturday in a private family burial.

Hallie’s family planned a private funeral for her Saturday at Covenant Presbyterian Church, where her father is the lead pastor. On Thursday, members of Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church, including the girl’s grandparents, were planning to pray the rosary for Hallie and for all those affected by the shooting, according to a Facebook post from the church.

The funeral for Hill has been set for Tuesday morning at 11 a.m. at Stephens Valley Church in Nashville, with visitation beginning at 10 a.m., pastor Jim Bachmann said.

A visitation for Koonce was scheduled for Tuesday from 5-8 p.m. at Christ Presbyterian Church, with a service the following day at 1 p.m.

The service for Kinney was set for 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Christ Presbyterian.

Peak’s visitation was scheduled for Saturday at 10:30 a.m., also at Christ Presbyterian, with a service at noon.

The funeral plans were announced as new information about Evelyn and some of the others was released.

In the obituary given to the AP by a family friend, Evelyn was described as “a constant beacon of joy” who loved art, music, animals and snuggling with her older sister on the couch.

“With an unwavering faith in the goodness of others, Evelyn made people feel known, seen, but never judged,” the obituary said. “Her adoring family members agree that ‘she was everyone’s safe space.’”

In preschool, Evelyn “would often position herself between two younger babies, intuitively offering comfort by patting their backs.” She would greet people with open arms and an infectious laugh, the obituary said.

Evelyn enjoyed crafting and drawing, and her teachers “would observe Evelyn studying the world around her with curiosity, eagerness, and clarity,” according to the obituary.

She also liked to sing along to tunes by Taylor Swift and from the Broadway show “Hamilton.” She also loved her dogs, Mable and Birdie, and wanted a rat for her 10th birthday.

“Strong but never pushy, she had self-composure and poise beyond her years,” the obituary said. “This girl ‘could read a room.’”

As Evelyn’s loved ones prepared for her funeral, William Kinney’s youth baseball league was taking steps to remember a teammate and friend.

The night after the shooting, a coach at the Crieve Hall Baseball park led a prayer and a moment of silence for the boy. The tribute was posted on the park’s Facebook page.

William had played baseball at the park in the past and his team this season was the Reds, said Steve Cherrico, director of Crieve Hall youth athletics. Players and their families have been encouraged to wear red in the field and in the stands, and red ribbons have been placed at the field where William played.

“We’ve covered everything in red,” Cherrico said. “We have put plenty of memory pieces on the ballpark itself.”

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Cherrico said league members were heartbroken at the loss of William and the others who were killed. Cherrico said it was not the first time that Crieve Hall has lost a player.

“The league has always stepped up and come together as a family,” he said.

In response to the park’s tribute, Major League Baseball’s Cincinnati Reds posted the following on Instagram: ”“Sending all of our love from Cincinnati,” with a heart emoji at the end.

___

Loller reported from Nashville; Sainz reported from Memphis, Tennessee; Ben Finley contributed to this report from Norfolk, Virginia.

​ Orange County Register 

California wildflowers: It’s not too late to plant and see them bloom this year

• March 31, 2023

1. Plant artichoke from seeds or root divisions – basal shoots with roots attached – at this time. If you can grow a single artichoke plant, you can grow a whole yard full of them. Shoots that grow out of the base of the plant – when they have grown to eight inches in length and have roots of their own – can be separated from the mother plant in the fall or the spring and transplanted and then grow into producing plants in three to four months time. While you wait for the edible flower buds to appear, you can enjoy the artichoke’s deeply cut, silvery foliage which is on display throughout the year. An artichoke can produce a crop for six years but, meanwhile, you will have propagated many new plants from it before its demise.

2. It’s not too late to plant California wildflowers and see them bloom this year. Plant them where nothing else will grow and you could be in for a pleasant surprise. They do not need to be fussed with as most of them will germinate on the soil surface or just beneath it as long as they do not dry out once germination occurs. After scattering the seed, walk on it so that it makes contact with the soil. If you wish, you can cover the seeds with a very thin layer of fast-draining soil or planter mix to protect from desiccation and from birds. The Theodore Payne Foundation nursery in Sun Valley (theodorepayne.org) has over a hundred species of wildflower seeds from which to choose.

3. There are four plants that spread wantonly in my sunny frontyard and you may wish to consider planting them in yours this spring for long-lasting color displays. The first is Pervuian lily (Alstrroemeria sp). It proliferates not only by seeds but by underground rhizomes as well. It completely disappears in the winter but comes to life more vigorously than ever each successive spring. Flowers are pink (and this is the cultivar that spreads most readily), red, purple, orange, or yellow and have a vase life of two weeks.

Montbretia (Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora) spreads both by ever-expanding clumps, thanks to its bulb-like corms, and by seed. It is extremely durable and you can be sure whether you plant a corm or scatter its seeds, it will grow without any additional effort on your part. Its sword-like leaves grow three feet tall and its flowers – borne alternately on two-foot stalks at 30 blooms per stalk, are narrow trumpets that blare in fiery oranges and reds. I have two memorable perennials whose seeds sprout at will throughout the garden. One is pride of Madeira (Echium candicans), with huge wands of purplish blue flowers. The best venue locally to view these plants is on the bluff that overlooks the old casino building on Catalina Island, where they grow in great profusion.

The other seed-scattering perennial is upright myrtle spurge (Euphorbia rigida). This succulent is presently showing off domed chartreuse flower clusters, but its eye-catching, chalk-blue stems and pointed leaves add a pleasing touch to every garden bed all year long.

4. If you do not have a yard or a patio but still want to grow vegetables, you can do so with grow lights as long as you are aware of the distance needed between lights and plants for your project to be a success. A reader sent me photos of tomato seedlings that were growing indoors that had turned completely yellow. The seedlings were under grow lights and, in such circumstances, either too little or too much artificial light had caused the leaves to yellow. As a general rule, grow lights should be positioned between two and four inches from foliage, with the lights being raised as the plants under them grow taller. If lights are further away, foliage is likely to turn yellow. By the same token, grow lights should be turned off at night (for at least eight hours) or leaf yellowing could also occur. If you do grow seedlings indoors, I would advise procuring a seedling heat mat for as little as $15 through online vendors. A seedling mat speeds up seed germination as it does rooting of cuttings taken from herbs, ground covers, and fresh terminal shoot growth of many ornamentals.

5. When planting shrubs and trees, keep in mind that the hole you dig should resemble a satellite dish; it should be three times the diameter of the root ball and the same depth. A plant’s feeder roots are confined to the top few inches of soil and this fact underscores the importance of applying and maintaining a layer of mulch that keeps these crucial roots cool and stress-free. When extracting the root ball from its container, make sure the roots growing in a circle have been untangled or pruned back. The root ball may need to be drastically reduced in size to remove all the tangles, but only in this way can you be sure that the roots remaining will grow straight and not just circle the planting hole and possibly cease to grow altogether. You may think you are doing harm to the plant by radically pruning its roots when in fact you will be giving it the best possible opportunity for root expansion.

Send questions, comments, and photos to [email protected]

​ Orange County Register 

Curious about that 100-pound fish line that runs above some Irvine streets?

• March 31, 2023

Q. Hi Honk: There is a thin wire strung between several metal poles about 30 to 40 yards apart in the median of University Drive in Irvine that goes from Harvard Avenue to Culver Drive. What is that wire’s purpose?

– Brent Sandberg, Irvine

A. You likely saw part of what is called an eruv, which in Irvine runs along the side of the 405 Freeway, to University Drive, to Harvard Avenue and back up to near the freeway to create a border in the shape of perhaps a shoe.

Approved by the City Council in 2004, it is maintained by the Beth Jacob Congregation of Irvine, which is inside the border along with apartment complexes and single-family homes.

“We work closely with the city,” said Ilan Wolf, on the congregation’s board of directors, referring to a permit and the ability to hire a company to repair the line if needed.

In Irvine, 100-pound fishing line, a berm and walls create the eruv.

Inside the eruv, some people of the Jewish faith can do things that are otherwise usually forbidden on the Sabbath in public areas. For example, they can carry items or push a stroller or a wheelchair.

Eruv districts have been in place for 2,500 years. Among the communities where an eruv has been created is in Long Beach’s Bixby Knolls neighborhood.

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Q. Do you know why when going northbound on the 241 Toll Road there is a long barrier between the lanes leading to the transition to go either west or east on the 91 Freeway? You can’t switch lanes if you find that you are taking the wrong exit.

– Mike Wick, Lake Forest 

A. At certain times of the day, a lot more motorists want to go east there rather than west. So the Riverside-bound lanes – there are two for each direction – would clog up more than those depositing drivers to the west.

“Adding to the bumper-to-bumper frustration were queue jumpers – drivers who attempted to bypass the congestion by driving in the left two lanes only to cut in at the last minute,” explained Eugene Fields, a spokesman for the Transportation Corridor Agencies, which runs that toll road and is one of the entities that signed off on the improvements. “These queue-jumpers created more congestion and safety concerns. ”

In 2016, double-white lines were put on the roadway and some signs posted to encourage civil driving.

Problems still persisted.

Now, Mike, you have heard Honk say his readers are the smartest in the land, right?

Well, in 2018 and again the next year, they wrote in and suggested a barrier go up dividing the lanes – one suggested using the type of flexible poles that have been deployed for years to separate the 91 Express Lanes from the 91 Freeway. Transportation officials told Honk the first time that the poles wouldn’t fit in there, and the second time that that strategy was among various options getting explored.

Finally, in February 2022, about 800 of the poles – called “channelizers” in transportation circles – were put in to improve traffic flow and safety. They stretch for one mile. New signs and messages emblazoned in the roadway were added as well to help direct motorists into the proper lanes.

HONKIN’ FACT: Palm Springs is holding its Cruising Through the Years Classic Car Parade on Saturday, April 8, celebrating the town’s 85th birthday. There is to be a car from each of those years. The celebrity grand marshal will be Nancy Sinatra. Some might tie her fame only to being Ol’ Blue Eyes‘ daughter. Not Honk. He is a big fan of “These Boots are Made for Walkin’,” her classic tune. (Source: palmsprings85.com.)

To ask Honk questions, reach him at [email protected]. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk. Twitter: @OCRegisterHonk

​ Orange County Register 

Vatican: Pope Francis to leave hospital on Saturday, eats pizza

• March 31, 2023

By FRANCES D’EMILIO (Associated Press)

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis is expected to be discharged on Saturday from the Rome hospital where he is being treated for bronchitis as his recovery proceeds in a “normal” way, even had pizza for dinner and will be in St. Peter’s Square for Palm Sunday Mass, the Vatican said.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni gave the update in a written statement on Friday. In a subsequent statement, Bruni said that Francis was due to be in the square for the Mass, which marks the start of Holy Week and ushers in a series of solemn public ceremonies that culminate on Easter on April 9.

RELATED: LA archbishop asks for prayers for hospitalized Pope Francis

Francis, 86, was hospitalized on Wednesday at Gemelli Polyclinic, where doctors said the pontiff was receiving antibiotics intravenously to treat his bronchitis.

“Yesterday went well, with a normal clinical recovery,” Bruni said. “In the evening (of Thursday), Pope Francis had dinner, eating a pizza, together with all those who are assisting him in these days of the hospital stay,” the spokesman said, including doctors, nurses, assistants and Vatican security personnel.

On Friday morning, the pope read newspapers and resumed his work after breakfast.

The pontiff’s return to the Vatican hotel where he lives “is expected for tomorrow, as a result of the last tests of this morning,” Bruni said.

The spokesman later added that, given the pope would return to the Vatican on Saturday, Francis was expected to be present in the square for Palm Sunday Mass. He didn’t indicate whether Francis would deliver a homily during the ceremony, a particularly long service, or if someone else might read it for him.

Medical staff decided to hospitalize him on Wednesday after he returned to his Vatican residence following his customary weekly public audience in St. Peter’s Square. The Vatican reported he had experienced difficult breathing in the previous days.

Bruni on Thursday evening said that antibiotic treatment for bronchitis had resulted in a “marked” improvement in his health.

Francis sent a tweet on Friday possibly inspired by his current health challenge.

“When experienced with faith, the trials and difficulties of life serve to purify our hearts, making them humbler and thus more and more open to God,” Francis wrote. The tweet carried a hashtag for Lent, the period of the liturgical year stressing penitence and sacrifice in the run-up to the joyous Church celebration of Easter, which marks the Christian belief that Jesus rose from the dead after his crucifixion.

The Vatican seemed keen to quickly dispel any worries about the pope’s physical fitness to carry on fully with his duties. Nearly immediately after the announcement of a discharge date for Francis, the Vatican announced that the pope would meet the prime minister of Bosnia-Herzegovina on Monday in a private audience at the Apostolic Palace.

The hospitalization came four days before outdoor Palm Sunday Mass, which usually draws tens of thousands of faithful, flocking to Rome before Easter.

Francis had already largely stopped celebrating Mass at major Catholic Church holy days because of a chronic knee problem, but had continued to preside at the ceremonies and deliver homilies.

Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re said Friday that Francis would be able to preside over — but not celebrate — Holy Week ceremonies.

The Holy Week appointments include a stamina-taxing late night Way of the Cross procession marked by prayers on Good Friday at the Colosseum in Rome and Easter Mass on April 9, which is traditionally followed by a long papal speech delivered from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.

During Wednesday’s hour-long public audience, Francis at times appeared visibly in pain when he moved about and was helped by aides.

In July 2021, Francis underwent surgery at Gemelli Polyclinic after suffering from a narrowing of his colon. As a young man in Argentina, Francis had part of a lung removed.

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​ Orange County Register 

GOP’s rigid positions on guns and abortion could cost them in 2024

• March 31, 2023

The tragedy at the Covenant School in Nashville marked America’s 131st mass shooting of the year, just 86 days into 2023. The murders of six people – including three children – by a gunman wielding three legally-purchased guns triggered a political response that we are all-too-familiar with. Democrats called for gun safety reforms, which Republicans made clear are off-the-table, even though such measures are proven to be effective and are broadly supported by the American public. 

The U.S. electorate, including many Republican voters, favor sensibly strict gun laws. Two thirds (67%) of registered voters nationally support banning assault-style weapons, and 88% support mandatory background checks on all gun sales. Among Republican voters, there is broad support for background checks (86%), and by a 8-point margin (49% to 41%), they favor an assault weapons ban.

Moreover, it strains credulity for prominent Republican officials to suggest that guns aren’t the problem, or that increasing the number of armed civilians will solve the gun violence epidemic. Among all other high-income countries, the U.S. stands out as the nation with the most firearms in the hands of civilians, the least restrictive gun laws, and by far the highest firearm homicide rate.

Three decades ago, in 1994, the U.S. Congress passed an assault weapons ban. The result? The number of both mass shootings and deaths from mass shootings fell. In the years following the ban’s expiration in 2004, there was an immediate and steep rise in mass shootings and gun-related deaths.

It goes without saying that the GOP’s guns-everywhere positioning is not grounded in reason, nor is it in line with public opinion. Rather, it is intended to appeal to the increasingly vocal far-right wing of the party, and to remain in the favor of special-interest gun groups like the National Rifle Association, which has given millions of dollars to Republicans in Congress over the last several decades.

This is clearly Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s goal. One of the most prominent Republicans in the country, DeSantis has moved drastically to the right on a number of issues, including guns, as he gears up to seek his party’s presidential nomination. He is likely to sign a recently passed bill that would allow civilians to carry loaded guns in public without a permit, which over three-quarters of Florida voters oppose.

Guns are not the only issue where the GOP is towing an extremist line and defying the data. Nationally, there is broad-based public support for abortion legality, and further, medical research underscores the necessity of ensuring access to safe and legal abortions from a public health standpoint. 

Yet, after Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court last summer, GOP governors across the country moved to restrict – or in some cases, eliminate – abortion rights at the state-level, and some Republicans in Congress floated a national ban. For his part, DeSantis is preparing to sign into law a six-week abortion ban bill, before most women even identify a pregnancy, which 75% of his constituents oppose. Taken together with his extreme gun positions, DeSantis’ actions to undermine abortion access demonstrate that he caters only to the far-right in the Republican Party, putting him completely out-of-step with American public opinion.

Let alone the tangible harm that DeSantis and other GOP officials are inflicting on the country with their extreme positions on guns and abortion, they are also essentially handing Democrats a successful messaging framework to deploy in 2024.

The 2022 midterms – or, more specifically, the historic underperformance Republican candidates – highlighted the political power of both issues, particularly abortion rights. Democrats were most successful in swing-states where abortion rights were ‘on the ballot,’ so to speak, either literally vis-à-vis a constitutional amendment, or being embodied by an extreme anti-abortion Republican candidate.

Likewise, post-election research conducted by Schoen Cooperman Research on behalf of Everytown for Gun Safety found that Democratic messaging on gun safety likely aided some Democrats in battleground races this cycle. The majority of voters in Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin indicated that gun policy was important to their vote, and were more likely to support “a Democrat who supports strengthening gun safety laws” over “a Republican who opposes more gun restrictions.”

These two issues are clearly salient individually, and even more powerful collectively. If Democrats in 2024 can drive home the argument that Republicans are putting public health and safety at risk by refusing to support both gun violence prevention measures and abortion access – which is part of quality healthcare – the GOP could once again face a number of losses in those important, contested, races. 

While the Republican Party’s guns-everywhere, anti-abortion agenda may resonate with the small but vocal far-right faction, this platform is isolating the GOP from the broader electorate. But, despite the clear warning signs, there is no indication that the party will change course anytime soon. 

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The top-two contenders for the 2024 Republican, DeSantis and Donald Trump, are locked in a fight for the far-right’s vote. Meanwhile, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the most powerful Republican in Washington, D.C., is essentially beholden to the extreme House Freedom Caucus as a result of the concessions he made to secure the speakership.

McCarthy’s silence in the days since the Covenant School shooting speaks volumes, as do the reactions of many Republicans who used the occasion to reaffirm their support for the Second Amendment. 

But the blunt response from Rep. Tim Burchett, who hails from the state where this tragedy took place, best-encapsulates how out-of-step with the national sentiment today’s Republican Party has become.

When asked what the Republican-controlled Congress would do to address school shootings, Burchett responded: “we’re not gonna fix it.”

Douglas Schoen is a longtime Democratic political consultant.

​ Orange County Register 

This is how you can celebrate, advocate during International Trans Day of Visibility

• March 31, 2023

The transgender community, as well as allies, will once again gather on Friday, March 31, to celebrate — and advocate for their rights.

Dozens of events are planned throughout the Southland on Friday in honor of International Trans Day of Visibility, an annual occurrence that both celebrates trans and gender-expansive people, and raises awareness about the increasing political, social and physical violence targeted toward their communities.

President Joe Biden issued a proclamation on Thursday, March 30, recognizing Transgender Day of Visibility. California lawmakers also recognized as Trans Visibility Week with several events at the Capitol.

Trans Day of Visibility was originally established in 2009 by trans activist Rachel Crandall-Crocker, who is the current head of advocacy group Transgender Michigan.

“I wanted to create a day so we didn’t have to be lonely anymore,” Crandall-Crocker wrote in a 2021 article for Them Magazine.

Trans Day of Visibility, since its creation more than a decade ago, has grown in popularity — with events to both honor and celebrate the lives of trans folks, while also acknowledging that discrimination still prevents many people from coming out and living authentically. The day is celebrated around the world annually on March 31.

With attacks and discriminatory legislation against the LGBTQ community — particularly transgender youth and adults — are on the rise in the United States, Trans Day of Visibility is a crucial platform for people within the community to assert their existence and demand human rights, while calling on allies to better support the trans and queer community, advocates say.

Transgender people are more than four times likelier to be the subject of violent crimes, including rape and aggravated assault, than those who are cisgender — people whose gender identity or expression matches their biological sex — according to a 2021 UCLA School of Law study.

Last year, at least 38 trans and gender nonconforming people were murdered, according to the Human Rights Campaign. The organization noted that number is likely an undercount because some victims’ deaths go unreported, while others aren’t identified as being trans or gender nonconforming.

Then there’s anti-LGBTQ legislation.

This year alone, there have already been more than 400 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced in state legislatures across the United States, according to the Human Rights Campaign — many of which specifically target young transgender and nonbinary communities.

Ninety of those bills, HRC said, would prevent trans youth from accessing age-appropriate, medically necessary and gender-affirming health care — two of which have already become law — alongside a slew of bathroom bans and other anti-LGBTQ bills.

This year’s proposed legislation continues a sharp upward trend in discriminatory anit-LGBTQ bills that have been introduced in state legislatures since 2021, HRC said.

“These relentless attacks on transgender people are causing real harm even in the states where legislation fails,” Olivia Hunt, policy director for the National Transgender Center for Equality, said in a February HRC press release. “75% of all LGBTQ+ youth say that hate crimes and threats of violence cause stress and anxiety — and that’s not surprising because they’re trying to live their lives.”

Trans Day of Visibility, meanwhile, is intended to be an answer to the onslaught of hate targeted toward trans, gender expansive and nonbinary people.

“Even though there are a number of bills targeted against us right now, I still think that, since the creation of Visibility Day, things really have changed for the better for the youth,” Crandall-Crocker wrote. “I  dream of a day when we can just be humans like everyone else. And I really do think that will happen.”

Here’s a look at some Trans Day of Visibility events planned throughout Southern California.

Inland Empire

Riverside LGBTQ+ Pride will host its March for Queer & Trans Youth Autonomy at 4 p.m. Friday. The demonstrators will assemble in downtown Riverside, outside of Back to the Grind at 3575 University Ave., and march toward City Hall.

Several elected officials, including Councilmember Erin Edwards, Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes and Rep. Mark Takano, will speak at the march, according to Riverside LGBTQ+ Pride’s website.

The organizers said they hope the march will inspire a larger dialogue about a series of issues facing young trans and queer people, which range from ensuring their safety in schools to developing policies that protect the right to gender-affirming health care.

“It’s time we collectively advocate for trans and queer youth as one,” the event page said. “Then, we will listen to a few different speakers on the issues facing trans and queer youth today.”

More information about that event is available on Riverside Pride’s website.

Los Angeles

QueerXcellence, an LA community organization, will host a march in Hollywood called “Trans Day of Vengeance.”

There has been a misconception around the term “vengeance,” trans advocates have said — with many outside of the LGBTQ community assuming the term implies violence. Twitter has even removed thousands of tweets and retweets referring to “Trans Day of Vengeance.”

Ella Irwin, Twitter’s head of Trust and Safety, said in a tweet Wednesday, March 29, that the company automatically removed more than 5,000 tweets and retweets of a poster promoting the event.

“We do not support tweets that incite violence irrespective of who posts them,” Irwin wrote in the tweet. “‘Vengeance’ does not imply peaceful protest. Organizing or support for peaceful protests is ok.”

But trans people and activists have pointed out that the term has been around within the community for years, and isn’t a call to violence.

“‘Trans Day of Vengeance’ is not a specific day or a call for violence,” said Evan Greer, director of the nonprofit Fight for the Future. “It’s (a) way of expressing anger and frustration about oppression and violence the trans community faces daily.

“Context is everything in content moderation,” Greer added, “which is why content policies should be based in human rights and applied evenly, not changed rapidly based on public pressure or news cycles.”

The tweets that were removed largely referred to an event planned for Saturday, April 1, by the Trans Radical Activist Network in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.

“This protest is about unity, not inciting violence. TRAN does not encourage violence and it is not welcome at this event,” the organization wrote on its website. “Our community has a stigma attached and significantly impacts marginalized communities at a higher intensity.”

The organizers of the LA protest, meanwhile, said much the same in an Instagram post.

“Trans people are getting killed at a terrifying rate. Alongside the new legislation, the turn will only get worse,” QueerXcellence wrote on its Instagram page. “We refuse to live in fear, we refuse to be eradicated — come celebrate Trans Day of Visibility with us … loudly.”

The demonstration will kick off at the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue at 5 p.m.

Long Beach

For folks along the coast, the LGBTQ Center Long Beach will host a Trans Day of Visibility Resource Fair at Bixby Park, 130 Cherry Ave.

“The Resource Fair during Trans Day of Visibility will be a time to celebrate the lives and existence of the transgender and gender-expansive community in Long Beach,” according to Visit Gay Long Beach.

After the resource fair — which kicks off at 2 p.m. — the event will continue with music and live entertainment from 5 to 9 p.m.

Orange County

The LGBTQ Center Orange County will host an event dubbed “Stand in Your Truth,” at the Center on 4th, 305 E. Fourth St. in Santa Ana.

The event — which kicks off at 6 p.m. — will feature resources for trans folks, live music, an art exhibit, an open mic night and a glam closet, according to the event page.

“This event is open to everyone who wants to connect, share and celebrate the Trans community in a safe and welcoming space,” the website said. “We are excited to provide wellness and educational resources, along with an open mic where community members can sign up and share their poetry, writing, speeches, or experiences.”

More information is available on the LGBTQ Center OC’s website.

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Virtual events

For those who’d rather celebrate from home, there are also a few virtual events for Trans Day of Visibility planned over the weekend, beginning on Friday.

The Trans Tech Summit is a free annual event that was created with the most marginalized members of the LGBTQ community in mind. It kicks off online on Friday.

“The TransTech Summit provides attendees with tools to grow their careers,” the event website said, “interact with new media technology, network with other LGBTQIA people, learn new skills, and access additional training tools.”

The four-day event concludes on Monday, April 3. For a list of events, visit the Trans Tech Summit website.

Staff writer Georgia Valdes and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

​ Orange County Register 

Swanson: Julio Urias reminds Dodgers why he’d be a wise long-term investment

• March 31, 2023

LOS ANGELES — Change the calendar, turn the page.

After the playoff whimper that spoiled and soiled last season’s bang-up 111-win regular season, the Dodgers get a chance to get their lick back in 2023, to go about it in a different way – starting by handing the ball to Julio Urias.

For the first time, the left-hander from Culiacán, Mexico, got the call to be the club’s Opening Day starter. Not Clayton Kershaw, who has thrown on Day 1 a franchise-record nine times, or Walker Buehler, who got that job last season but is out now after undergoing Tommy John surgery a second time.

This is Urias’ year.

In what he characterized as “an unforgettable experience,” the 26-year-old showcased his characteristic adaptability, getting the victory in the Dodgers’ 8-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday.

After giving up a couple of runs early, Urias retired 12 consecutive batters (one of them with an assist from right fielder Mookie Betts) before giving way to reliever Phil Bickford in the seventh inning, the Dodgers’ hitters having run through three Diamondbacks pitchers and scored seven runs in the same span.

Urias threw 57 of his 79 pitches for strikes, a quality start to what could be his final season with the Dodgers – if they whiff on keeping him.

If they allow one of the best starters in the National League to walk. Balk at what it’ll cost to secure the Cy Young Award-caliber talent whose father, Carlos, has a tattoo on his left arm depicting Julio striking out Tampa Bay’s Willy Adames in 2020, delivering the Dodgers their first World Series title in 32 long years.

If they let the most popular Mexican Dodger since Fernando Valenzuela – though his agent Scott Boras likens him to a modern-day Whitey Ford, because it’s that hard to hit him hard – take his talents to a second team.

You’d like to think that Urias, a homegrown star, is a Dodger through and blue.

Or that he could be.

But we know he’ll be bringing the heat in free agency, his future set to be negotiated by Boras. And that the mega-agent will no doubt ask for the sun, the moon, the stars, all the fish in the sea, sand on the beach, plus a truckload of Dodger dogs and probably a prime parking spot too.

Julio Urías MLB ranks last two seasons (’21-’22):

2.57 ERA (3rd)
0.99 WHIP (4th)
3.41 FIP (13th)
3.76 xFIP (22nd)
3.65 SIERA (18th)
.251 BABIP (2nd)
21.1 Soft% (3rd)
360.2 IP (13th)

If Julio puts together another top 10 season this year, he’ll be a $200+ million man. https://t.co/DDKR3Oi6ax

— Doug McKain (@DMAC_LA) January 13, 2023

“He’s certainly one of the top starting pitchers, if not the top one available in this market,” Boras said in something of a pitch an hour before one of his star clients threw his first pitch.

“He may only be five or six guys in the last 20 years who you could say could be a free agent at 27. Age-wise, he’s probably a level above. And ability-wise and performance-wise, if you look at his performance since (2020), really he’s kind of moved ahead of almost everyone.

“Talent-wise, market-wise, I would say, this is kind of an ideal player for them.”

But there’s no guarantee the Dodgers are going to go in for the guy like that.

After spending $296.6 million in payroll and taxes last season for a superteam that was ignobly excused, 3-1, in the National League Division Series by a San Diego Padres team with 22 fewer regular-season wins, the Dodgers eased off the pedal in the Brink’s truck they’d been wheeling around.

They let shortstop Trea Turner and outfielder Cody Bellinger depart, as well as clubhouse leader Justin Turner. Also: pitchers Tyler Anderson and Andrew Heaney.

But Boras is right: Urias is different.

In honor of Julio Urías’ 25th birthday:

A highlight reel of his 3 appearances in 2020 postseason elimination games.

10.1 innings, 0.00 ERA, final out of the World Series. pic.twitter.com/A5OQ37Slyy

— Dodgers Archive (@DodgersArchive) August 12, 2021

Since closing out the 2020 World Series, he came into 2023 with a record of 37-10 and a 2.57 ERA. Seventh in the NL Cy Young Award voting in 2021, Urias was third last season – and he should have been second.

Baseball’s only 20-game winner in 2021, he boasted a 2.16 ERA last year, becoming the first Mexican-born pitcher to claim the NL’s ERA title.

And, by design but also circumstance, he’s got many seasons’ worth of strikes left in the tank. Seven years into his career, Dodgers star Clayton Kershaw had thrown 1,378-1/3 innings; Urias took the mound Thursday having hurled 599-2/3.

Five days after his 16th birthday, they signed the phenom who had 10 eye surgeries by the age of 10 and who’d tell people, “God gave me a bad left eye and a good left arm.” Then baseball’s top pitching prospect, he made his big-league debut for the Dodgers in 2016 and that October became the youngest pitcher to start a major league postseason game.

He weathered major shoulder surgery, a 20-game suspension for suspicion of domestic violence and came on to live up to those great expectations.

All the while, the ball club, which is nothing if not meticulous, has made it a point to load manage the young man’s arm. Thinking of the future. And always of the postseason.

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Early on, they used him in a hybrid role, as a starter and in relief, and they’ve never had him throw more than last season, when he worked 185-2/3 innings – 58-2/3 fewer than Sandy Alcantara, the Miami ace and last season’s unanimous Cy Young awardee.

But for all that science-based, long-term planning, the Dodgers will have to invest more in Urias if they’re going to keep him around.

They’re going to have to give him lots of dollars and years, even if they won’t give him as many pitches as he wants – though they should take note when reports arise like Bob Nightingale’s in USA Today, which indicated “friends close to Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias, frustrated by the pitch limits that the organization has set throughout his career, are convinced that he’ll depart as a free agent after the season.”

I don’t know who those friends are, but I know who the Dodgers would be without Urias.

They’d be a club that’s missing something. With a hole where the pitcher with the championship arm and mettle once was. An unfortunate void without the guy whom fans have so long been so invested in.

They’d be missing their now and future ace, their Day 1 starter.

Julio Urias after giving up just two runs, four hits and striking out six in six innings in his first Opening Day (Night) start: “To send the fans home with a victory was a blessing. Truly a blessing.” pic.twitter.com/LdWTc00lBc

— Mirjam Swanson (@MirjamSwanson) March 31, 2023

​ Orange County Register 

Kraken hand Ducks their 6th straight loss

• March 31, 2023

By MARK MOSCHETTI The Associated Press

SEATTLE — After a frustrating eight-game homestand, a change of scenery did little to change the Ducks’ fortunes.

Jaden Schwartz and Matty Beniers scored within three minutes of each other in the first period and the Seattle Kraken hung on to beat the Ducks, 4-1, on Thursday night, handing the visitors their sixth consecutive loss as they started a three-game trip.

Daniel Sprong added a power-play goal with 4:18 left in the game and Alex Wennberg sealed it with an empty-netter. Martin Jones made 18 saves to help the Kraken keep their grip on the top Western Conference wild-card playoff spot.

Brock McGinn scored the lone goal for the Ducks, and Lukas Dostal made 35 saves.

Schwartz put the Kraken ahead at 7:57 of the first period. Will Borgen, playing on the right side behind his own blue line, angled a cross-ice pass that Schwartz caught up with just over the Ducks’ blue line. From the top of the left circle, Schwartz fired it past Dostal.

Beniers made it 2-0 at 10:37 when his shot went off the net, but came right back to him and he poked it in off the edge of his stick.

McGinn cut the Ducks’ deficit to 2-1 with 1:16 left in the second period. In a scramble behind the net, Derek Grant came up with the puck and got it out to McGinn in the middle of the left circle. McGinn’s shot went off Jones’ right pad and into the far side.

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Sprong got his 20th of the season to make it 3-1 when he skated around a defender and lifted a shot high over Dostal’s left glove. Wennberg’s 13th came on a shot from behind the red line into the empty net with 2:15 to go.

NOTES

McCann’s assist on Beniers’ first-period goal gave him 29 points (13 goals, 16 assists) in the last 28 games dating to Jan. 25. … Beniers continues to lead all rookies in scoring with 51 points on 21 goals and 30 assists. His goal total is tied with Dallas’ Wyatt Johnson. … Seattle won its 10th series of the season, going 3-1-0 against the struggling Ducks.

UP NEXT

The Ducks play at Edmonton on Saturday night.

The Kraken host the Kings on Saturday night.

More to come on this story.

​ Orange County Register