Orange County restaurants shut down by health inspectors (Jan. 4-11)

• January 13, 2024

Restaurants and other food vendors ordered to close and allowed to reopen by Orange County health inspectors from Jan. 4 to Jan. 11.

El Carnaval, 2026 W. Fifth St., Santa Ana

Closed: Jan. 10
Reason: Insufficient hot water
Reopened: Jan. 10

Landers, 1814 N. El Camino Real, San Clemente

Closed: Jan. 10
Reason: Rodent infestation
Reopened: Jan. 11

Nha Hang $1.99 Restaurant, 7971 Westminster Blvd., Westminster

Closed: Jan. 9
Reason: Cockroach infestation
Reopened: Jan. 10

Food sales at The Home Depot, 6200 Irvine Blvd., Irvine

Closed: Jan. 4
Reason: Rodent infestation
Reopened: Jan. 10

Quan Kim Thap, 15422 Brookhurst St., Westminster

Closed: Jan. 4
Reason: Insufficient hot water
Reopened: Jan. 9

Ozen Sushi, 7185 Lincoln Ave., Buena Park

Closed: Jan. 4
Reason: Rodent infestation
Reopened: Jan. 5

El Maguey Bar & Billiards, 2058 S. Main St., Santa Ana

Closed: Jan. 4
Reason: Rodent infestation and insufficient hot water
Reopened: Jan. 4

Cha2Cha, 9840 Katella Ave., Garden Grove

Closed: Jan. 4
Reason: Cockroach infestation
Reopened: Jan. 5

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This list is published weekly with closures since the previous week’s list. Status updates are published in the following week’s list. Source: OC Health Care Agency database.

​ Orange County Register 

I am so un-obsessed with the border

• January 13, 2024

Un-obsessed with the border, the southern border, the one everyone is talking about, I clearly need to get with the zeitgeist: The border! The border!

It’s like Conrad’s Kurtz in “Heart of Darkness”:  “The horror! The horror!”

It’s an existential dread.

But when I do think of the border, I sometimes get, instead of the zeit or the geist, a little contrarian.

I recall the work of the performance artist Chris Burden, who, before he got famous with the lamp posts at LACMA, used to do funny things to make you think. Back when essentially all the demon weed consumed in California came from Mexico, or Colombia by way of Mexico, in the early 1970s, Burden went down to the border, found a place where the Rio Grande wasn’t very wide, attached a joint to the fuselage of a balsa-wood wind-up airplane, and, standing on the American side, twisted the rubber band and flew it across the river, where it crash-landed.

He called the piece “Coals to Newcastle.”

There are many people who want to come to the United States of America. Instead of making me feel bad, which I understand from editing the letters to the editor is what that makes many people feel, it makes me feel good. I get to live where everyone who isn’t from Norway wants to live! And I’m already here, natural-born! Lucky me.

This is apparently an eccentric point of view. So, sue me.

Sometimes, when I am in Mexico  — which is not often, but we did get to spend 10 days tromping the terrible sidewalks of the CDMX last spring, enjoying the great art, architecture, music, food and drink  — I try to track down a quote from a 1980s stoner film in which one young Southern Californian character says to another, “We blew it, man. We coulda been more like Mexico.”

Can’t find it.

Perhaps the best culture would be some perfect melding of American and Mexican styles of living. Big-time economic opportunities; fewer neurotic worries about getting ahead.

Maybe such a culture already exists somewhere: Spain. Did you know the Spaniards are the longest-lived people on Earth?

But I digress. I am supposed to join the crowd and get het up about the border. OK, let’s work up some outrage here. Yes, it’s scary and weird, seeing thousands of people marching from way the hell down below said border, thousands of miles, toward it, after crossing the harrowing Darien Gap and all. Things aren’t nearly as bad in Mexico as they are in Venezuela, Cuba, and look at that Ecuador, where prison bosses take over the capital with impunity.

But that was on AMLO, the awful president of Mexico. When he finally decided to shut it down, he did. Talk about a country with a southern border problem.

Then there’s fentanyl, a lousy killer drug. It’s cheaper to make outside this country, so people smuggle it in. It’s also not all that expensive to make in this country. Shut down the border, there’s still fentanyl.

Terrorists coming over the border with the ordinary people who just want a job? I regret to inform that if a well-funded terrorist really wants to come in undetected, the long northern border offers vast opportunities from the great white north.

The people who want to come to the U.S. want to do so because they are eager to work. There are millions of jobs here that they can fill. They need us; we need them. Set up a bracero-like system and let them in. If Congress worked on that instead of various impeachments, its members could get it done. But they don’t. And so we are stuck with the border situation.

The best thing we can do is help the poor migrants. Do so at donate.amnestyusa.org or safeharbors.net/donations.

Larry Wilson is on the Southern California News Group editorial board. lwilson@scng.com.

​ Orange County Register 

Free advice for 2024 from a real estate broker

• January 13, 2024

As I pen this, we begin the second week of 2024.

National Football playoff matchups are set, the first professional golf event is in the books. Washington vs. Michigan takes center stage for the NCAA football championship. (Go, Huskies!).

It feels like winter in Southern California as temps dip into the 30s at night. The Iowa presidential primaries are just over a week away, which officially begins an election year.

Yes! A lot is happening. As 2024 ramps into full swing, here’s the advice I’m giving to my owners and occupants of industrial buildings.

Look at total cost

Generally, our annual transaction mix is around 70% leasing and 30% sales. 2023 was no exception.

2022 reversed that ratio as we experienced a buying frenzy in the first half of the year. But as I mentioned in my annual prediction column last week, I expected some rate softening last year and we got it. For context, let’s use a 40,000 square foot building in the Inland Empire.

In January 2023, the prevailing ask was $66,000 per month triple net – rent net of operating expenses. By the end of 2023 it had dropped to $54,000 – an 18% decline. However, ignored in that calculus are the “gross up expenses” of property taxes, insurance and costs associated with mowing the lawn, servicing the air conditioners and keeping the roof water tight. These vary widely.

For an owner who purchased his building recently, expect these extras to be approximately $6,000 per month. The low end — for an owner who’s held title for many years could be half — $3,000 per month.

Added to our triple net rates and a $54,000 per month cost escalates to a range of $57,000-$60,000.

We advise clients these days to consider the “grossed up” rates when comparing alternatives.

Who’s buying what?

More buildings for sale will hit the market this year.

Fueled by vacancies — something we’ve not experienced in years — some owners will cash out instead of originating new leases.

We just completed a deal where the owner spent 36% of the lease’s future income just to attract our client to his building.

Downtime, abated rent, beneficial occupancy, refurbishment, tenant improvements and paying commercial real estate professionals for their representation are among the expenses necessary.

We’ll also see sales of buildings to their tenant occupants. I’ve mentioned many times in this space: Your best buyer is your resident.

What about interest rates, you may be wondering?

Some wise person once opined, “You marry the building, you date the interest rate.” Focus on the price you’re paying. You can always refinance if rates settle lower.

Also, consider owner financing. We struck a sale last year using this structure.

Encumbered by a long term lease that paid them effectively a 3% dividend, the owners were thrilled to sell, carry the paper and get a higher return. Plus, the crush of taxes is protracted.

Expiring lease

If you occupy a building under a lease arrangement, and your lease expires sometime in 2024, we advise proceeding with caution, particularly if your lease started before 2021.

Lease rates have experienced an exponential rise but are now softening.

Depending on the nature of your ownership (private or institutional),- you might be able to strike a renewal at a rate below that of the market.

Pay special attention to the owner’s cost to replace you.

Remember the example above where an owner spent 36% of his future income just to secure a resident? Some owners can’t afford to do this and are willing to reduce the rate in order to keep you.

Look to Class A industrial buildings as well. Our prediction is that these rates will soften, and you might be able to get a better building for the price of one that’s a bit more antiquated.

Election year

Jonathan Lansner did a masterful job reviewing election year trends as they affect our economy. If you didn’t catch his piece, “Are presidential elections good or bad for California’s economy,” I’d highly recommend you find it, cut it out, and pin it to your bulletin board. Enough said.

Cap rates

We pay very close attention to a United States Treasury instrument known as the 10 Year Treasury.

Commercial lending, as well as capitalization rates, closely follow this indicator.

We started to see a fairly astronomical rise in 10-year notes last year. They reached a crescendo in November, topping 5% for the first time in a couple of decades.

They’ve now settled back to a more reasonable 4%.

Simply, you can invest idle cash and receive a risk-free return of 4% on your money. Many opt to do this vs. investing in the uncertainty of real estate ownership.

For context, this same rate at the beginning of 2022 was a paltry 1.76%. As the 10-year note falls into the 3-½ % range, institutional investors shift their focus to investing in commercial real estate, which has the effect of lowering capitalization rates. This could spell a spate of buying activity by the big boys.

Allen C. Buchanan, SIOR, is a principal with Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services in Orange. He can be reached at abuchanan@lee-associates.com or 714.564.7104.

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​ Orange County Register 

Santa Anita horse racing consensus picks for Saturday, January 13, 2024

• January 13, 2024

The consensus box of Santa Anita horse racing picks comes from handicappers Bob Mieszerski, Art Wilson, Terry Turrell and Eddie Wilson. Here are the picks for thoroughbred races on Saturday, January 13, 2024.

Trouble viewing on mobile device? See consensus picks

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​ Orange County Register 

Reports: Clippers to host 2026 NBA All-Star Weekend at Intuit Dome

• January 13, 2024

The Clippers are finalizing an agreement with the NBA to host the 2026 All-Star Weekend at the new Intuit Dome in Inglewood. The Athletic was the first to report the plans.

Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, who privately financed the $1.8 billion arena located near SoFi Stadium, will meet with reporters on Tuesday. He is expected to be accompanied by NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who will announce the site of the 2026 game.

The 17,700-seat Intuit Dome is scheduled to open in August, ahead of the 2024-25 season.

Los Angeles last hosted NBA All-Star Weekend in 2018 at Crypto.com Arena, which was then known as Staples Center. L.A. has hosted the midseason event six times (1963, 1972, 1983, 2004, 2011, 2018), more than any city in the league.

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According to an ESPN report, the Kia Forum, which is also owned by Ballmer, will play some role in the All-Star Weekend festivities for the first time since it hosted the 1983 game.

The 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend will be held next month in Indianapolis, followed by the 2025 All-Star Weekend in San Francisco.

​ Orange County Register 

Defense sparks Trabuco Hills boys basketball’s lopsided win over Capistrano Valley

• January 13, 2024

MISSION VIEJO — The Trabuco Hills boys basketball team used its senior leadership and experience to overwhelm Capistrano Valley in a 57-36 rout Friday at Capistrano Valley High.

The game was the South Coast League opener for Trabuco Hills (16-5, 1-0), which is ranked No. 11 in the Orange County Top 25.

Capistrano Valley (11-11, 1-1) was coming off a 40-39 win over Tesoro in its league opener Wednesday.

“It doesn’t matter what the records are, to come in here and get a win at Capo, specifically to start league, is massive,” Trabuco Hills coach Sean Sullens said.

It was the first time Trabuco Hills has won a game at Capo Valley since 2013 when the Mustangs won 48-46. That victory was Sullens’ first time facing the Cougars as the head coach at Trabuco Hills.

Trabuco Hills’ defense sparked the lopsided result Friday. The Mustangs allowed just seven second-chance points and nearly all of Capo Valley’s shots were contested.

Sullens credits the team’s seniors for the defensive success.

“When you start five seniors, you should defend like we did tonight,” Sullens said. “The five senior starters all have experience starting in the South Coast League and with our length, it’s good to hold them to 36.”

“We didn’t want anything to be easy and realistically nothing was.”

A key to the Mustangs’ success on both ends of the court was center Matt Mowers, who was playing in his first game after missing a month due to injury. The senior had nine points with six assists and two blocks.

“He’s kind of like a safety blanket for us,” senior Sam Meza-Tallada said of Mowers. “It feels great to have him on our side.”

Meza-Tallada led the Mustangs with 13 points, and nine of his points came in the second quarter when the Mustangs built a 20-point lead.

Arshia Amini had nine points for Trabuco Hills and Jordan Nguyen had eight points, six rebounds and four assists.

Trabuco Hills shot 50 percent from 3-point range in the first half and 41 percent for the game.

“We weren’t rushing anything,” Sullens said. “In games that we have struggled, we were shooting early-shot clock 3s. Nearly all of our 3s were quality, open shots that we would give ‘A’ grades to.”

Gabe WIlliams led the Cougars with nine points on three 3-pointers. Tyler Davis gave the Cougars quality defensive minutes off the bench and had two steals.

Both teams and their coaches seemed to enjoy the atmosphere Friday, which featured a nearly full gym with loud groups of student sections from both schools.

“It’s fantastic,” Sullens said. “Any time we play another team in South County, the kids know each other. The crowds are fantastic and we love it.”

The Cougars will host San Juan Hills in a league game Wednesday.

Trabuco Hills will play its first home game of the season Wednesday against Tesoro.

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​ Orange County Register 

Canyon boys basketball, minus its top scorer, beats Villa Park in Crestview opener

• January 13, 2024

ANAHEIM — The Crestview League boys basketball opener between Villa Park and Canyon on Friday at Canyon High School was played at a frenetic pace for most of the first half.

But because of missed shots and turnovers by both teams, the low score didn’t match the fast pace.

The contest was played at a more controlled pace in the third quarter and that’s when the Comanches began to take control.

Canyon led by five at the half, then extended the lead to 11 in the third quarter and while the home team had some difficulty putting the game away down the stretch, the Comanches had enough of a cushion to hold on for a 54-50 victory.

“Yeah, it was sloppy,” Canyon coach Nate Harrison said. “Big crowd and a big game. I felt like we took control of the game in the third quarter and then just turnovers late allowed them to stay in the game, but yeah, I’m proud of our kids.”

The victory is the eighth in a row for the Comanches (16-4, 1-0), who have won the past three without their leading scorer Jaden Goodall.

Harrison had no information Friday on the nature of Goodall’s injury or how long he will be sidelined.

“We don’t know what the prognosis is yet,” Harrison said. “So we’ve been battling. He’s important to us and we’ve just been battling to keep our head above water.”

Josh Goodall, Jaden’s twin brother and Canyon’s second-leading scorer, has picked much of the slack during his brother’s absence.

Josh Goodall scored 20 points to lead Canyon on Friday, including back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Comanches a 37-26 lead midway through the third quarter.

Canyon led by 11 early in the fourth quarter when the Spartans (11-11, 0-1) went on a 9-2 run and were within four with 2:32 remaining.

A pair of free throws by Staf Yilmazturk gave the Comanches a seven-point lead with 40 seconds remaining, which was too much of a deficit for the Spartans.

Harrison had plenty of praise for Villa Park’s Malakhi Johnson, who scored 10 of his team-leading 19 points in the fourth quarter.

“A lot of credit to Malakhi, who just played a phenomenal basketball game,” Harrison said. “That kid really wanted it. He played really hard and played with his heart.”

Villa Park coach Kevin Reynolds said his team accomplished its goal defensively, which was to hold Canyon to under 55 points.

A long scoring draught by the Spartans in the first half was a key factor in the loss, Reynolds said.

“I thought we had shots but we couldn’t make them,” Reynolds said. “We thought we would get a little more offense than we did.”

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​ Orange County Register 

Youthful Los Amigos boys basketball races past Loara to stay unbeaten in league

• January 13, 2024

ANAHEIM — Los Amigos boys basketball has a roster with just one senior on it, so coach DeAndre Ferguson notes that “growing pains” have been a theme this season for the Lobos.

However, their youth was not a deterrent as they defeated Loara 63-46 in a Garden Grove League game Friday night at Loara High.

Los Amigos improved to 13-6 overall and 3-0 in league play as they were led by a sophomore, Mekhi Belote, who had a game-high 23 points, and a freshman, Marc Basallo, who scored 13 points.

“They are going through the growing pains,” Ferguson said of his team. “And they’re slowly coming out of it, but there’s many more (games). They (Belote and Basallo) had a great night tonight but it was a team effort.”

Lobos guard Tomas Pacheco and teammate Joshua Martinez both had eight points, and Rich Toledo played great defense on Saxons center Markus Toscano, an all-league selection last season.

Toscano grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked two shots but was held to eight points.

“Richie (Toledo) is special, he’s an impact player, no matter what,” Ferguson said. “He brings a lot to the table. If it’s not scoring, its rebounding and defense. He shows up in other ways,”

Toledo collected 10 rebounds and two blocks.

Loara coach Mohammad Abuhadwan credited Los Amigos for its defensive effort on Toscano.

“They have a lot of length to match him,” Abuhadwan said. “I thought they did a good job getting a hand up on him, they were physical with him, and their athleticism was a factor against us.”

Los Amigos jumped out to a 8-1 lead in the first quarter before the Saxons (13-7, 2-1) settled in and chipped away at the deficit thanks to a pair of 3-pointers from Raska Neak.

Neak finished with 12 points on four 3-pointers and Aaron Cortez added 11.

Belote was active in the opening quarter, scoring eight points.

Loara tied the game 14-14 to end the quarter when Cortez drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

The Lobos outscored Loara 15-5 in the second quarter and took a 29-19 lead into halftime.

Los Amigos and Loara went back and forth in the third quarter with Basallo knocking down three 3-pointers during the eight-minute period.

That helped the Lobos keep a 10-point advantage thanks to the clutch shooting from Basallo.

“That’s a special point guard right there,” Ferguson said of Basallo.

Belote scored 10 points in the fourth to help the Lobos pull away while Gerald Loadholt added six points.

The Lobos continue league play next week when they face La Quinta while Loara will look to bounce back against Santiago.

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​ Orange County Register