21 free fun things to do for Halloween 2026 in Southern California

• October 5, 2026

It’s time for all things spooky and creepy — or maybe just orange and pumpkin-spiced, depending on your mood. You can spend a fortune at scary theme parks, but why? Here are 21 fun things to do without spending any money. Free is good, right? We like free.

Oct. 9 — Pasadena: Like felines? Then check out the Spooky Doodle Party at Tailtown Cat Cafe from 5 to 6 p.m., sponsored by the Altadena Library. Anyone age 18 and over can attend. You’ll doodle creepy cats and ghastly ghosts among the cafe’s friendly cats. (Normal cost to spend an hour here is $20.) Tailtown Cat Cafe, 1780 E. Washington Blvd.Space is limited. (They need room for the cats.) Registration and release form are required. Register to attend here: altadenalibrary.libnet.info/event/17196327

Oct. 9-11 — Mission Viejo: How about a Haunted Escape Room where you and your friends must solve eerie puzzles and clues to solve the mystery and get out? And what if it were entirely free, sponsored by the Mission Viejo library? Interesting, right? It’s only for three days and you’d better sign up now because spots are starting to be snapped up. Each seat you sign up for is actually for up to four people. List all the participants when you sign up. For ages 8 and up. Library Heritage Room,100 Civic Center. cityofmissionviejo.libcal.com/calendar/libraryprograms

Oct. 15 — Long Beach: Want to paint and decorate your own miniature papier-mache skeleton? Then get thee to the downtown Main Library in Long Beach at 4 p.m. Meet in the Studio. Materials will be available for the first 15 arrivals. While you work, you’ll learn about the artists who influenced this art form, especially for Mexico’s Day of the Dead. This is for ages 12 and up. Call 562-570-7500 to learn more. Billie Jean King Main Library, 200 W. Broadway. longbeach.gov/library/events/

Oct. 15 — Monterey Park: The city’s 8th annual “Monster Mash” Halloween event is from 4 to 7 p.m. at Barnes Park. Admission is free. This is in conjunction with the farmers’ market. Live entertainment and fun. Bring your own bag for goodies. Live entertainment, games, freebies and more. Barnes Park Field, 350 S. McPherrin Ave. montereypark.ca.gov/1329/Monster-Mash

Oct. 16-18 and Oct. 23-25 — Lake Forest: Enjoy this fall tradition for six nights at the Heritage Hill Historical Park with the sixth annual Fall-O-Ween. It will be open special hours from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. Costumes are encouraged. Family activities include a spooky straw maze, scavenger hunt, photo opps, giveaways while supplies last and more. 25151 Serrano Road. parks.oc.gov/events/fall-o-ween

Oct. 16 — San Jacinto: Join the Riverside Animal Services at its San Jacinto campus from 2 to 6 p.m. for a free, fun trunk-or-treat event with candy, live music and … free animal adoptions all day long! Rescue a homeless pet and get free candy too. (No private pets allowed, sorry.) 581 S. Grand Ave. San Jacinto.rcdas.org/events/trunk-or-treat-2026-san-jacinto-valley

Oct. 17 — Eastvale: Head to the Eek!Vale Halloween Festival from 4 to 10 p.m. with trunk-or-treating, live entertainment, haunted maze, kids’ costume contest, characters, a community ofrenda, food vendors and more. Free parking. 13200 Citrus St. rivcodistrict2.org/events/eastvale-eekvale-halloween-festival

Oct. 17 — Jurupa Valley: Yes, it’s the Jurupa Valley Boo-Rupa with tricks, treats, games and more fun with Halloween at Rancho Jurupa Regional Park. Trunk-or-treat with the VW Car Club, go on a hayride, play games, go through a Halloween maze and more. This runs from 5 to 10 p.m. Free trick-or-treat bags for the first 500 kids. 4800 Crestmore Road. rivcodistrict2.org/events/jurupa-valley-boo-rupa

Oct. 24 — Anaheim: Get ready for the annual Anaheim Fall Festival and Halloween Parade, including live performances across multiple stages, a marionette show, kids and dog costume contests, kids crafts, a classic car show, scavenger hunt, Davey B. Gravey’s Tiny Cinema and more. Free parking. The car show starts at 10 a.m. and continues with other festivities through 4 p.m. Check the registration times for the contests. Parade starts at 7 p.m. This year it’s centered on Center Greens, adjacent to City Hall. 305 E. Broadway. Beware of road closures. anaheimfallfestival.org

Oct. 24 — Canyon Lake: This popular event’s been going on now for 33 years. It’s the annual Canyon Lake Parade of Frights, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Canyon Lake Town Center. Trick-or-treating, games, a costume parade at 11:30 and costume contests, along with a DJ. 31780 Railroad Canyon Road. rivcodistrict2.org/events/canyon-lake-parade-frights-0

Oct. 24 — Dana Point: Head to the city’s Halloween Spooktacular & Trunk or Treat from 1:30 to 5 p.m. at the Dana Point Community Center. There will be a haunted house maze, crafts, cookie decorating, games, trick-or-treating with police bloodhounds, the bomb squad, horse unit, K-9 dogs and more. Kids costume contest at 6 p.m. Free hot chocolate, popcorn and candy. Food for sale. 34052 Del Obispo St. danapoint.org/Community

Oct. 24 — Hawthorne: Head to City Hall for this year’s Hawthorne Halloween Spooktacular, from 3 to 6 p.m. There will be a trunk-or-treat, live dance performances, fun games, bounce jumpers, a costume contest and more. 4455 W. 126th St. instagram.com/p/Dd8L_LmERxd/

Oct. 24 — La Palma: Get on over to Central Park from 3:30 to 6 p.m. for the city’s annual Halloween Carnival. There will be costume contests for kids, groups and pets, games, treats and giveaways. Sign up in advance on site for the costume contests. The Kiwanis Club will sell food and drink. 7821 Walker St. lapalmaca.gov/365/Halloween-Carnival

Oct. 24 — Newport Beach: Visit the Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for a family-friendly Boo at the Bay Halloween party at the Muth Interpretive Center. Costumes are encouraged. Spooky stories, creepy crafts, strange animals, games and wacky science experiments will ensue. Also, booths and exhibits. Free parking. Bad weather cancels. 2301 University Drive. letsgooutside.org/activities/2026/10/24/boo-at-the-bay-family-halloween-party-6/

Oct. 24 — Pasadena: Drop by Victory Park from 3 to 6 p.m. for the city’s annual Fall Festival, including costume contests, free food and family fun. 2575 Paloma St.  cityofpasadena.net/parks-and-rec/event/fall-festival-2/

Oct. 24 — Torrance: It’s time for the annual Halloween Movie in the Park with plenty of Halloween-themed fun, entertainment and more. There’ll be a costume parade, display of carved pumpkinds, a cheer performance, kid zone, DJ and food for sale. The event starts at 4 p.m. and “Toy Story 5” screens at 6:30 pm. Bring your own low-back chairs and blankets. Wilson Park, 2200 Crenshaw Blvd. torranceca.gov/Our-Community/Events/Halloween-Movie-in-the-Park

Oct. 24-25 — Marina del Rey: Check out the family fun at the Marina Spooktacular … Halloween by the Harbor, a two-day festival at Burton Chace Park. It runs from 4 to 10 p.m. both days, and gets scarier after dark. DJ, juggling, magic shows and more. Beware of the Haunted Blackout Maze of Terror. All ages. Burton Chace Park, 13650 Mindanao Way. RSVP here: eventbrite.com/e/marina-spooktacular-tickets-1999539797360

Oct. 29 — Canyon Lake: It’ll be Nashville time for Halloween at the Canyon Lake Towne Center, when its Pumpkin Bash is held from 4 to 9 p.m. The headliner will be Ella Nation, a tribute band to Ella Langley, from Nashville. There will also be kids activities and Halloween fun. Costumes and boots are encouraged. 31780 Railroad Canyon Road. rivcodistrict2.org/events/canyon-lake-pumpkin-bash

Oct. 29 — Orange: Come on over to the Orange Circle in Old Towne for the Orange Treats in the Streets event, from 4 to 7 p.m. Stores will be handing out candy to trick-or-treaters and there will be a family costume parade. Enjoy the entertainment, games and more. Old Towne Orange Plaza, 1 Plaza Square. optevents.org/orangeinternationalstreetfair-2

Oct. 31 — Brea: Bring the kids in costume for Brea Downtown Treats on the Street. Kids can trick-or-treat at downtown shops and other merchants around Birch Street and Brea Boulevard from 5 to 7 p.m. breadowntown.com/events/

Oct. 31 — Los Angeles: Head to the historic Union Station for its 7th Annual Boonion Station from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.  The South Patio will be transformed into a free party for the whole family. There will be face painting, stilt walkers, crafts, dancing, balloon artists, trick-or-treating, a DJ and costume contests. Event is free; parking on site is $8 or ride the Metro. unionstationla.com

​ Orange County Register 

Soldiers seriously wounded in Iranian drone strike tell AP the military’s medical system failed them

• October 5, 2026

By JULIE WATSON, JACK BROOK and KONSTANTIN TOROPIN

The shrapnel hit Army Lt. Col. Arturo Lincón’s body like shattered glass.

One chunk of metal lodged into the left side of his jaw. Another piece sliced through his salivary gland before bouncing off his jaw and piercing the back of his neck, severing an artery and embedding in a vertebra.

Lincón was among dozens of U.S. soldiers injured in an Iranian drone strike on March 1. The attack on the second day of the U.S. war with Iran killed six troops who were providing logistical support of critical supplies at Port Shuaiba in Kuwait.

Whether the military was properly prepared for treating its wounded has become a sharp point of contention. Soldiers and family members have told The Associated Press of a failure to recognize the seriousness of injuries, a poor plan to get the wounded to hospitals and red tape that has hindered follow-up care. The Pentagon has said that the medical care was appropriate.

Nine U.S. service members who were wounded spoke to the AP on the record — rare for troops still in the Army — about what they describe as a medical system that left them in many ways fighting to get treatment on their own.

The medical care was just one of the military’s failures stemming from the Port Shuaiba attack that soldiers described to the AP. The Army declined to comment on the AP’s reporting, saying it had not yet briefed the families of those killed on the outcome of its investigation into the attack. The Pentagon also declined to comment.

The soldiers’ criticism comes against the backdrop of years of disinvestment and drawdowns in the Middle East by multiple administrations and political leaders who sought to end U.S. involvement in the region. Those choices left the region without any major U.S.-run medical facilities.

Lincón’s wounds included a damaged left vertebral artery, which supplies blood to the brain, and put him at risk for a stroke. That was not considered by the Army to be serious enough to be admitted to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, a major U.S. military facility, even though Lincón said a nurse there marveled that he was alive.

Instead he was sent to the nearby Army barracks and told to schedule outpatient appointments.

“I was just kind of on my own, at least it felt like that,” said Lincón, a veteran of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Lincón’s was not an isolated case.

Another soldier who had shrapnel removed from his head, Maj. Stephen Ramsbottom, said he waited over four months to receive his MRI results.

“I’ve had to build my own case for everything,” Ramsbottom told the AP. “It’s very frustrating.”

Soldiers helped save each other after Iranian attack

After the deadly drone strike, soldiers, who are equipped with tourniquets and trained in first aid, tended to each other and then searched on Google to race the wounded to the nearest hospital in Kuwait City about 20 minutes away.

Some of the most seriously wounded soldiers were medically evacuated from Kuwait within two days. Lincón, who was only about 7 feet (2.1 meters) from the blast, spent a week hospitalized there where he had surgery to remove shrapnel from his jaw. He said medical staff told him he had a traumatic brain injury from the force of the blast that ruptured his eardrum and left him briefly blinded.

Chief Warrant Officer 4 Rodney Bearman, who had shrapnel embedded from his face to his legs, and some of the other soldiers who were briefly seen at Kuwaiti medical facilities were sent to the homes of U.S. government employees. Iran had unleashed missiles and drones that made it risky for evacuation flights.

Some 10 days after the attack, the soldiers were loaded onto a cargo plane. They sat on the floor with straps, including Bearman, who could barely eat or lie down.

When they arrived in Germany, Bearman said they learned they were not documented as wounded in combat and would not be hospitalized at Landstuhl. Instead, they were sent to the barracks, as Lincón had been, and told to get outpatient care. Bearman said they were documented that way due to a coding error.

“Never did I think that if I was wounded that these things would happen,” said Bearman, who has served for over three decades, including in Afghanistan. “Some sacred trust that I thought would never be broken was broken.”

Lincón says he went days without pain medication. He carried a CD with a copy of medical records from Kuwait that he showed the ER doctor at Landstuhl who expressed concern that he had not been evaluated yet by a trauma team.

Pentagon says all wounded troops are evaluated

Soldiers may not be aware of initial evaluations, like the Army’s battlefield concussion evaluation, that focus on identifying symptoms such as double vision or repeated vomiting and other observations. Troops with mild TBIs and hit by shrapnel often returned to duty quickly in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many soldiers who spoke to the AP did not know the severity of their TBIs.

A Pentagon official told the AP that Landstuhl’s mission, especially in battlefield casualty situations, is focused on stabilizing patients to transfer them for more specialized care at a military hospital in the U.S. rather than admitting them.

Meanwhile, large hospitals closer to Kuwait have been shuttered. For example, Air Force Theater Hospital at Joint Base Balad in Iraq was handed over to the Iraqi government in 2011 as part of drawdown efforts.

In a statement, the Pentagon said that all wounded troops who arrive at its medical facilities are evaluated and may be admitted based on the severity of the injury according to physicians who follow “healthcare-industry practices.”

After about a week in Germany, many of the injured soldiers were sent to Fort Hood in Texas, where they underwent the Army’s demobilization process to return deployed troops home.

Medical records shared with the AP by Ramsbottom and another officer show they were not diagnosed with TBIs until Fort Hood. The officer, who was blown off his chair, said he did not get care for weeks after that diagnosis and had to identify the specialists he needed, like a neuro-ophthalmologist to diagnose the blurred vision from his TBI rather than counting on the military’s medical system.

Maj. Billy Key says he did not get specialized care until mid-April when he was sent to a U.S. soldier recovery unit to be treated for his head injury, hearing loss and the smoke inhalation that damaged his lungs.

“It took too long,” he said.

Dr. James Kelly, chief medical scientist at the Invisible Wounds Foundation, which is focused on military brain injuries, said it’s still not uncommon for a TBI diagnosis to take longer than it should, which could impact a soldier getting treatment as early as possible for the best outcome.

“It’s disappointing but not surprising,” said Kelly, an emeritus professor of neurology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. “In a war scenario, it goes on a fair bit.”

An initial thorough check should be done by a medically trained person, not simply another soldier, he said. Kelly said that too often medical records note only a concussion, which is in fact a mild TBI, but can be overlooked.

Many soldiers are struggling months after the attack

Lincón spent seven weeks getting specialized outpatient care at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland, before being sent home to Kansas. Shrapnel is still in his back because it was too close to his spinal cord to remove without risking being left paralyzed. He struggles with dizziness that disrupts his life, he said.

He was awarded the Purple Heart and is back on active duty as an instructor at Fort Leavenworth. But his troubles continued beyond medical care.

Lincón, who was born in Texas to Mexican parents, was issued only a temporary one-year passport after his passport was blown up in the attack and he was asked for additional documentation to prove his U.S. citizenship. After the AP reached out to the State Department to inquire about his case, the 1995 West Point graduate said he received a call saying the request for more information was a mistake and he would be receiving a passport that would be good for 10 years.

“I’m American enough to have fought in three different wars,” Lincón said.

He’s also concerned his medical records are incomplete. His claim for Traumatic Injury benefits under the Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance was denied due to not meeting the threshold for hearing loss, though it never addressed his other issues, he said. The program gives cash to service members who suffer severe injuries.

The Army’s Human Resources Command did not immediately respond to an email from the AP asking for an explanation.

“I’m fortunate to survive and that’s how I look at it,” Lincón said. “That’s the only way to look at it at this point.”

Watson reported from San Diego, Brook from New Orleans and Toropin from Washington. Associated Press journalist Nicholas Ingram in Ankeny, Iowa, contributed to this report.

​ Orange County Register 

Soldiers and Gold Star families press Army leadership after deadly Iranian drone strike

• October 5, 2026

By JACK BROOK, KONSTANTIN TOROPIN, JULIE WATSON and RUSS BYNUM

WASHINGTON (AP) — On a sunny, cloudless morning on March 1, the day after President Donald Trump started the war against Iran, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan was coordinating critical Army supplies out of Port Shuaiba in Kuwait.

In an instant, a drone crashed through the ceiling and exploded, killing Marzan, who had served in the military for 36 years. The force flung soldiers into the air, fragments of sheet metal and glass shards impaling them. The tin roof was peeled back “like opening up a sardine can,” one soldier recalled.

Six soldiers were killed and dozens were injured in the deadliest known strike on U.S. troops since Operation Epic Fury commenced on Feb. 28.

For many, the attack at Port Shuaiba has receded into memory as the war nears its eighth month. But to those there that day and their families, it showed the cost of a hastily drawn conflict. The planning had apparent flaws, and commanders did not take intelligence reports of the Iranian threat seriously enough, leaving wounded soldiers questioning Army leadership and the military medical system.

In the aftermath, many of the wounded — some with decades of service and combat experience — told The Associated Press that commanders had been warned that the facility, a rectangular building with wooden sides at a working seaport and industrial area south of Kuwait City, was particularly vulnerable to a drone strike.

That warning went unheeded, the soldiers say. Some also said higher-ranking officers pushed for an all-clear to be called, but it’s not certain from their accounts who ultimately made the decision to move soldiers out of a safer space in nearby bunkers. The wounded also would later say their serious injuries were not treated promptly or adequately in the weeks following the attack.

“We have the right to know what really happened,” Marzan’s widow, Tina Marzan, told the AP. “If somebody messed up, those people need to be held responsible.”

In a chaotic battle, clarity is elusive

Battlefield conditions are inherently chaotic and assessments drawn by those involved are often in tension. The AP’s account of the attack is based on interviews with 13 soldiers, primarily officers, serving in key positions of responsibility there or familiar with high-level briefings leading up to the strike.

Along with several Gold Star families — the military’s designation for relatives of a soldier killed while on active duty — many are raising their concerns publicly for the first time and calling for the Army to reconcile what they say are failures of preparedness.

Several soldiers spoke on the record, which is rare for troops still in the Army. Others spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. Some details of the attack have been reported by other news organizations, including The Washington Post and CBS News, but the AP is reporting other details for the first time.

In the early days of the war, Trump described it as a “little excursion” that would end quickly but now has no off-ramp in sight. The toll can be measured in 19 U.S. personnel killed, more than 800 wounded and at least $44 billion spent to wage the fight.

The Army declined to comment on the AP’s reporting on the Port Shuaiba strike, saying it had not yet briefed the families of those killed on the outcome of its investigation into the attack. The Pentagon also declined to comment.

“Out of respect for the primary next of kin who will be scheduled for briefs on the official findings of the completed investigation, we will not comment on specific details, individual accounts, or leaked portions of the report at this time,” the Army said in a statement.

The Army completed its investigation of the Port Shuaiba attack in June but has yet to release a report, citing the need to redact sensitive information, said an official familiar with the Army’s investigation who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the report has not been released.

Commanding officers followed a familiar playbook

The story of the attack really begins in June 2025, when the U.S. bombed three nuclear sites in Iran. In anticipation of a counterstrike on U.S. troops in Kuwait, military planners relocated soldiers to Port Shuaiba, which the Army used for decades on the belief it was safer.

In the lead-up to the war in February, that was the same playbook followed by Major Gen. John Hinson, the two-star general overseeing logistics for U.S. Central Command in the Middle East, and Brig. Gen. Clint Barnes, who led the 103rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command, an Iowa-based Army Reserve unit serving a nine-month deployment in Kuwait under Hinson’s command. All six soldiers who died, and many of the dozens wounded, were from the 103rd.

Hinson and Barnes chose not to deviate from the plan despite knowing that the port lacked defenses against drones and was seen as increasingly likely to be attacked, according to five officers and an enlisted soldier familiar with the U.S. intelligence and threat assessments. The generals were following orders made at U.S. Army Central, which oversees Army units in the Middle East, and Central Command to leave the nearby Army base, Camp Arifjan.

Hinson declined to comment on the record for this story. Barnes did not respond to text messages and telephone calls.

Even before the attack, the threat of a drone strike was well known. But the command team rejected proposals to move the entire logistics headquarters to other sites identified as safer locations outside Kuwait, farther away from Iran, according to Major Billy Key, an operations planner working for Barnes who has served in the Army for more than 20 years. Another officer confirmed the alternate plans were scuttled. The port was about 65 miles (104 kilometers) from the Iranian border.

“Kuwait was just too close, that’s the bottom line,” Key said. “Kuwait was in striking distance of low-flying drones.”

Senior leadership believed that a core group of the more than 200 soldiers who had been handling logistics at Camp Arifjan needed to remain in Kuwait. Two senior officers, including Lt. Col. Tim Halbur, told the AP that there were communications advantages to being there, so a small crew of about 75 soldiers was sent to the port to set up a temporary field headquarters for logistics in the region. Dozens of troops from other units were also present.

One enlisted soldier, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the command team is facing unfair criticism for hard decisions to balance its ability to carry out a crucial logistics mission with the inherent risks of war.

But six officers told the AP that the logistics headquarters’ jobs could have been done from a safer site outside Kuwait, so long as they had access to a secure communications network.

“We did our work on a computer,” Key told the AP. “We could have been anywhere.”

During meetings, officers overseeing protection told Hinson and Barnes, among others, that Port Shuaiba would not be safe for troops due to the lack of air protection against drones, according to five soldiers who were present: Key, Maj. Stephen Ramsbottom and three others familiar with high-level briefings who insisted on anonymity due to fear of reprisal.

They said the generals were more focused on defending against missiles and were not prepared for drone warfare. “This type of fight has been going on for five years in Ukraine, and our excuse is we didn’t expect it to happen to us,” Ramsbottom said. “That’s preposterous in my mind.”

While the three major U.S. military bases in Kuwait had bolstered air protection heading into the war, the only U.S. air support for Port Shuaiba came from a Patriot anti-missile system in the vicinity of Camp Arifjan that was ill-equipped for shooting down Iranian drones.

While the system is capable of detecting the small aircraft, large numbers of drones are able to quickly deplete a battery, and the Patriot missiles cost vastly more than the drones. Using the system to down drones also then leaves the area vulnerable to far more deadly missile attacks.

Neither Hinson nor Barnes was empowered to change anti-air or drone defenses at the site.

“There was nothing that was going to intercept a threat coming at us other than ballistic missiles,” Ramsbottom said.

Just days before the relocation to the port in late February, a group of intelligence officers pressed Hinson and Barnes to not go there. Hinson asked whether Port Shuaiba was on a list of planned Iranian targets that had been obtained by U.S. intelligence before Operation Epic Fury and was told that it was not on the list but was considered a likely secondary target, according to two officers familiar with the meeting.

The officers said Hinson still made the call to go.

Lt. Gen. Patrick Frank, then leading Army Central, signed off on the plan to move to Port Shuaiba when Hinson briefed him, Halbur and another senior officer said.

“Obviously, somewhere at the two-star, three-star level, they knew the intelligence reports,” Halbur said. “We were just told, like, ‘Hey, yeah, we’ll be fine there.’”

One officer who was involved in logistics and was wounded in the attack said staying at the Kuwaiti port seemed appropriate. Lt. Col. Arturo Lincón of the Defense Logistics Agency said Port Shuaiba had existing infrastructure for secure communications that could accommodate their unit and Jordan, where U.S. military operations also are based and many soldiers were being relocated, was already getting crowded.

Captain was concerned about port’s safety the morning of the attack

At the start of the war, missiles from all sides lit up the screen inside the command post at the port. Soldiers rushed in and out of bunkers. They could feel booms shake the ground.

That night, at least five quadcopter drones hovered over the port and appeared to be surveilling the U.S. military site, according to Key, who said one was only about 40 feet (12 meters) above him. He said he told senior officers what he saw, and it was passed up the chain. “That was the last I heard about it,” he added. Intelligence briefings had warned that quadcopter drones were a sign of impending strikes.

The next morning, March 1, Capt. Cody Khork, who oversaw safety for the unit and had strongly advised against going to the port, confided to Ramsbottom that he felt they should not leave their bunker because of the barrage of missiles and drones coming in, according to Ramsbottom. Both Khork and Ramsbottom were concerned that the radar being used to issue all-clears was not picking up low-flying drones.

“We knew we were not safe,” said Ramsbottom, who would end up with a piece of shrapnel sticking out of his head and a traumatic brain injury. “No one knew the drone situation.”

In the hours before the deadly strike, higher-ranking officers pushed Khork to get troops cleared to leave the bunkers, said Ramsbottom, who was with Khork in the bunker. The team was under tremendous pressure to carry out its mission, which included tracking munitions levels and fuel across the region, and that could not be done from inside the bunker.

It remains unclear who ultimately made the decision to leave the bunkers, which were within several hundred feet of the operations center. Around 10 a.m., about 20 minutes after the final all-clear was issued, an Iranian drone smashed through the operation center’s roof.

Ramsbottom and Key recalled the drone struck seconds after Khork passed by them and said “good morning.” Key was blasted into a metal cabinet and knocked unconscious. When he awoke, his ears were ringing and he stumbled through the rubble, coming across Khork’s lifeless body. A group of soldiers helped take Khork’s body from the wreckage to ensure he could be buried with dignity.

Key later recounted the scene to Khork’s parents at his funeral in Florida several weeks later, telling them their son appeared to die instantly.

“I would have wanted someone to tell my family that if it were me,” Key said. “I felt compelled to tell them exactly what happened.”

Lincón, a West Point graduate, remained conscious but was severely wounded by shrapnel and briefly lost his eyesight. Another wounded soldier bandaged him and got him out of the burning building.

“Had it not been for those brave souls, there would have been a lot more, including myself, who probably (would have) burned there in place,” Lincón said.

Hinson and Barnes also suffered traumatic brain injuries from the blast, and Hinson’s hand was hit with shrapnel.

Planning was limited for a mass casualty event

The soldiers based at Port Shuaiba headed into war without having implemented a broad-based plan for a mass casualty event, seven soldiers, including senior officers stationed there, told the AP. Soldiers who still had their phones intact used Google to locate the nearest medical facilities. Some among the wounded would later say their serious injuries were not treated promptly or adequately in the weeks after the strike.

A medical service officer had prepared an evacuation plan that would have included setting up collection points for transporting wounded soldiers, but she was among the group sent to Jordan, and her plan was never briefed and put into place. She declined to comment.

“I’ve been in Iraq and Afghanistan. I’ve been in combat operations before. I know what right looks like, and this was not right by any means,” said Chief Warrant Officer 4 Jonathan Tenbrink, who has spent 35 years in the U.S. military and was wounded by shrapnel in his forehead, face, neck, shoulders and right arm.

Relocating to Port Shuaiba, some soldiers acknowledged there was also a false sense of security.

“It was the farthest thing from my mind that we would get hit there,” said Lincón, who had deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan multiple times in his 27-year Army career.

A hospital sent wounded soldiers to barracks rather than inpatient care

Even for survivors, there was peril ahead.

Halbur had been among a group of about nine soldiers medically evacuated, and he was having surgery at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland within a week, describing his care there as “excellent.” He said he was told by visiting top Army leadership that the Port Shuaiba soldiers were “the guinea pigs” for the medical system as Operation Epic Fury commenced.

But other wounded soldiers, including those with serious head injuries and shrapnel wounds, had vastly different experiences of delayed care after the attack.

One group, some of whom were treated at a Kuwaiti hospital for about 48 hours, holed up in residential homes in Kuwait for another week as Iran unleashed missiles and drones that made it risky for evacuation flights. Soldiers finally boarded a cargo plane flown to Germany.

There, they say, they were not admitted to inpatient care at the military’s main medical hub, the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, but were sent to Army barracks because they had not been documented as combat-injured troops. About a week later they were placed into demobilization at Fort Hood in Texas, a process not focused on providing medical care.

A Pentagon official told the AP that Landstuhl’s mission is to stabilize patients to transfer them for specialized care at a military hospital in the U.S., rather than admit them. In a statement, the Pentagon said that all wounded troops who arrive at its medical facilities are evaluated and may be admitted based on the severity of the injury.

Families of the fallen received a briefing

In early July, Gold Star families received a briefing from Frank, who had just ended his rotation as head of Army Central Command, providing a broad overview of the investigation’s findings. Tina Marzan said there was no admission of error.

Frank did not say anything about Port Shuaiba’s vulnerabilities, only that soldiers were moved around because attacks on other bases were expected, according to Marzan. Frank also told her that there was proper medical treatment available to those at Port Shuaiba, she said.

“Whatever happened unfortunately does not bring my husband back,” Marzan said.

One senior officer filed a complaint against Barnes and Hinson to the Army’s inspector general. But in a July 20 letter reviewed by the AP, the watchdog concluded that Barnes had not engaged in misconduct or “ignored reliable intelligence” in this complaint based on “the limited evidence” provided by the officer.

The agency also noted this complaint against Hinson was withdrawn, which the officer disputed to the AP. The officer told the AP he relayed his conversations with Barnes discussing intelligence briefings but told investigators he had not directly interacted with Hinson.

A wounded soldier can no longer salute

Halbur, a father of two from Ankeny, Iowa, had been deployed as an Army reservist seven months earlier, hardly expecting to be on the front lines of a full-blown conflict.

He had served for nearly 30 years, but today he can no longer salute. His dominant right arm will likely never be able to bend past 90 degrees again after the blast shattered his forearm in four places, including his elbow.

“I can’t squeeze both arms around my kids because my one arm won’t allow me to do that anymore,” Halbur said. “I want to coach my son’s football team, but at the same time, I can’t show them how to throw a football.”

He says that his children, age 7 and 8, are coming to learn that “dad’s never going to be the same.”

He wears the names of the six soldiers who died at Port Shuaiba engraved in a metal wristband: Maj. Cody Khork, 35, an easygoing history buff; Master Sgt. Noah L. Tietjens, 42, a passionate martial arts instructor; Maj. Jeffrey R. O’Brien, 45, a father of three who loved playing the saxophone; Master Sgt. Nicole M. Amor, a 39-year-old mother of two with a knack for sarcasm; 20-year-old Sgt. Declan J. Coady, an avid outdoorsman and Eagle Scout; and Marzan, 54, a mentor to many younger soldiers. Khork, Tietjens, Amor and Coady received posthumous promotions.

Halbur said that he looks at the wristband whenever he feels depressed by his arm’s limitations.

“I know that there are six families who would give that up in a heartbeat,” he said. “So that always kind of gives me a little more motivation to not be so glum about the things that I can’t do in my future. I’m still here.”

Brook reported from New Orleans, Watson from San Diego and Bynum from Savannah, Ga. Associated Press journalists Nicholas Ingram in Ankeny, Iowa, and Thomas Peipert in Colorado Springs, Colo., contributed to this report.

​ Orange County Register 

Steve Hilton, California governor candidate, 2026 election questionnaire

• October 5, 2026

Ahead of the November general election, the Southern California News Group compiled a list of questions to pose to the candidates who wish to represent you. You can find the full questionnaire below.

Name: Steve Hilton

Age: 57

Current job title: Small Business Owner

Political party affiliation: Republican

Incumbent: No

Other political positions held: None

City where you reside: Atherton

Campaign website or social media: stevehiltonforgovernor.com

State leaders have wrestled with whether California should provide health insurance to undocumented immigrants. Gov. Gavin Newsom initially proposed a $30 monthly premium for undocumented adults on Medi-Cal, and he later sought to increase it to $50. But the legislature decided to leave it up to the next governor to set the premium amount for undocumented adults. In your opinion, should undocumented immigrants receive state health insurance? If elected, would you require undocumented adults on Medi-Cal to pay a monthly premium? If so, what would you set that amount at? Explain your rationale. (Please answer in 200 words or less.)

Emergency care, yes. Full taxpayer-funded Medi-Cal for citizens of other countries who are in the country illegally, no. California cannot afford it when citizens and legal residents are already struggling to get appointments and the program is putting enormous pressure on the state budget.

Like Democratic leaders in Congress, I do not support full-scope Medi-Cal coverage for undocumented adults and would focus taxpayer-funded benefits on citizens and legal residents. That means I would not set a $30 or $50 monthly premium, because a small premium does not come close to covering the cost and leaves taxpayers paying almost all of it. California should continue to provide emergency care and protect public health as required by federal law. But full ongoing benefits must be reserved for people who are legally eligible for them.

The next governor may also have a say in whether to tax large businesses whose low-wage employees turn to Medi-Cal for health insurance. The legislature has directed the state Department of Finance to present, by next spring, options for a so-called “fair share” tax on such corporations to help fund Medi-Cal amid federal healthcare cuts. What is your position on this ongoing debate? (Please answer in 200 words or less.)

First of all, there are no “federal healthcare cuts” — the budget overall, and the amount of federal dollars coming to California, are increasing next year. The increase for California will be nearly $20 billion by some estimates. A multi-billion dollar increase is not a “cut.”

Secondly, the budget of the state of California has already more than doubled in the last 10 years, even as 1.9 million people, on net, have left the state. California is sleepwalking toward an economic and fiscal cliff. We already have the highest poverty rate, unemployment rate and cost of living in America. We have the worst business climate, as rated by Chief Executive magazine. Jobs are leaving every single day, and one of the main drivers is the fact that we already have the highest taxes in the country. We need to WAKE UP. We cannot afford to keep increasing spending and taxes — the tax base will simply disappear as the recent exodus of employers turns into a stampede. So no, I do not support yet another tax increase to shovel more cash into Sacramento’s bottomless money pit. This is another attempt to turn a spending failure into a tax increase. Large employers already pay taxes. This new tax would show up in higher prices, lower wages and fewer jobs. If a company violates labor law, enforce the law. But do not punish companies for employing Californians who qualify for Medi-Cal.

Before demanding more money, the state should fix Medi-Cal. End full-scope coverage for undocumented adults, crack down on waste and fraud, cut administrative costs, improve price transparency and make sure patients can actually find a doctor. California already taxes and spends more than enough to protect healthcare for the people the program was created to serve. We do not have a revenue problem. We have a spending, management and accountability problem.

The state has ambitious goals to transition away from heavy reliance on fossil fuels. Meanwhile, oil refineries in California that shut down in the past year said they did so in part because of the state’s costly regulatory requirements and decreasing consumer demand for traditional gasoline. But the closure of these refineries has drivers concerned about the price of gas going up — especially at a time when affordability remains the No. 1 concern for many Californians. How would you balance the state’s clean energy goals with desires to prevent Californians from further pain at the pump? (Please answer in 200 words or less.)

California’s current policy is not a balance. State leaders are deliberately making gasoline scarcer and more expensive in the hope that people will use less of it. But none of it has any impact on global temperatures, and EVs make up just 7% of the vehicles on our roads. Importing oil actually increases carbon emissions. This is ideologically driven insanity, with an added dose of cruelty as the people who pay the price are working-class Californians who can least afford it.

I would stop the policies driving refineries out of California, expand in-state oil production, reduce our dependence on imported oil and gasoline, and suspend the gas tax while permanent reforms take effect. We also need more nuclear, natural gas, geothermal and other reliable power.

We can have cleaner air and affordable energy at the same time. The answer is innovation and energy abundance, not mandates that shut down local facilities, export jobs and force us to import more fuel from overseas. My plan is to bring gas down to $3 a gallon and deliver reliable, affordable energy throughout California.

California’s high-speed rail project has been beset by delays, ballooning costs and federal funding cuts. Should the state continue with this project? Why or why not? If you support moving forward with the project, how do you propose the state pay for it? (Please answer in 200 words or less.)

No. High-speed rail has broken every promise voters were given on cost, timing, travel time and private funding. Proposition 1A did not authorize a blank check. I would stop state payments on Day One.

There is no credible plan to finish the current system without taking billions more from taxpayers. Continuing to spend money just because politicians refuse to admit failure is exactly how California ended up in this mess. We should protect taxpayers, see whether any of the work already completed can be put to useful purpose and put transportation dollars into projects people can use now, including safer roads, faster repairs and reliable local transit. It is time to stop throwing good money after bad.

Increasingly, we’re seeing communities push back on data centers opening in or near their neighborhoods. Environmentalists complain about the amount of water and energy that data centers need to operate. Residents complain about relentless noise pollution. And others worry about losing agricultural land to these centers. On the other hand, the tech industry emphasizes the role of data centers in supporting cloud computing and artificial intelligence. How would you balance the concerns of critics with desires to ensure that California remains a leader in innovation? (Please answer in 200 words or less.)

California should remain the AI capital of the world, but that does not mean approving every data center in every location. These are some of the richest companies in the world. They should pay their own way, not receive special treatment while families and small businesses are stuck with higher electricity bills, water costs or taxes.

Data centers should cover the power and infrastructure costs they create, meet clear standards for water, noise and safety, pay their full taxes and provide real benefits to the communities where they operate. Industrial and previously developed sites should be prioritized over neighborhoods and productive farmland.

Local communities should have the final say on whether a proposed site makes sense. We can support innovation and high-paying jobs without giving Big Tech a blank check. If a project cannot demonstrate that local residents will benefit rather than pay the price, it should not be built.

But in many ways the real problem is that NOTHING is being built in California when it comes to the AI revolution. All of the investment in high-end manufacturing and technology infrastructure is going to other states, especially Texas. We are sleepwalking toward an economic cliff: We already have the highest unemployment and poverty rates in America, and if we don’t change direction and rapidly improve our business climate, the recent exodus of business and investment will turn into a stampede. We cannot afford to be deliberately sending any jobs to other states. We have to WAKE UP before our economy completely collapses.

Should the state pursue litigation against the Trump administration over its active deportation of people living in the U.S. with expired visas who have pending applications to renew them or to gain more permanent residency status? Explain your position. (Please answer in 200 words or less.)

No. California should not spend taxpayer money on another broad political lawsuit against the Trump administration. Immigration is a federal responsibility, and after years of chaos and non-enforcement under the Biden administration, the federal government has every right to enforce visa requirements and immigration law.

That does not mean every case is the same. People who followed the rules and filed their applications on time should receive whatever protection federal law gives them while those applications are reviewed. But simply filing an application cannot become an indefinite shield from enforcement.

As governor, I would cooperate with federal authorities, especially in removing criminals and threats to public safety. If a specific federal action violates the law or a court order, that specific action can be challenged. That is very different from using California taxpayers’ money to obstruct the Trump administration simply because state politicians disagree with its immigration policies. We need a governor who will fight for Californians, instead of obsessively fighting political opponents.

Do you support Proposition 40, the proposed billionaire’s tax that would impose a one-time, 5% tax on individuals and trusts with a net worth of more than $1 billion? Revenues from the tax would primarily go to fund healthcare-related programs, including Medi-Cal, though a small portion would also be used to fund food assistance and education-related programs. Explain why you do or do not support this measure. If you don’t, what alternative solution do you propose so that the state has money to pay for the types of services this tax is intended to fund? (Please answer in 200 words or less.)

No. California does not have a revenue problem. It has a spending problem. This one-time wealth tax would drive entrepreneurs, investment and jobs out of California. It has already cost the state billions of dollars in lost revenue. It is probably the most self-destructive proposal ever put before California voters.

The state already spends more than $350 billion a year. The budget has more than doubled in the past 10 years, as even as our population has fallen by nearly 2 million, according to CNN. We have more than enough money to provide the services our people need. Billions of dollars are being wasted through cronyism and special-interest protection. We can improve healthcare, food assistance and education by cutting waste, fraud, failed projects and bureaucracy instead of imposing another tax. My Operation Zero Waste plan identifies tens of billions of dollars in savings, including ending state support for high-speed rail, reforming Medi-Cal eligibility and stopping fraud.

We also need to grow the economy by making California affordable enough for people and businesses to stay. Fund essential services first, cut what does not work and stop pretending every program is entitled to unlimited taxpayer money. That is how we protect these services for the long term.

There is growing debate about whether political candidates or committees should be allowed to run ads created with the use of artificial intelligence. Recently, we’ve seen videos or images depicting a candidate’s political opponent in disparaging ways – and which some critics say falsely misrepresent their political rival. If AI-generated content is permitted, should there be restrictions on its use? What should the terms be, if any? Explain your position. (Please answer in 200 words or less.)

AI ads are obviously and firmly in the long tradition of American political communication, including cartoons, caricatures and satire. AI is a tool. Political ads made with AI should follow the same basic rules as ads made any other way. Fraudulent impersonation, forged endorsements and false information about how or when to vote should be prohibited.

Our campaign has used AI to create obvious political satire. That is legitimate political speech. California should not create a censorship system in which politicians or government officials decide what criticism, parody or satire voters are allowed to see.

A sweeping restriction on anything created “in whole or in part” with AI would also cover ordinary editing tools used in countless videos and images. Punish fraud and deliberate deception that causes real harm, but do not use AI as an excuse to protect powerful, entrenched political machines and incumbents through government censorship.

A law signed in 2024 establishes statewide standards for new, large warehouses in California, including distance buffers separating warehouses from schools, homes and other so-called “sensitive receptors.” Do you support Sacramento having a role in local land-use decisions when it comes to logistics? Why or why not? Is there anything else state government should do when it comes to regulating warehouses? (Please answer in 200 words or less.)

State government has a limited role. It can set basic standards for fire safety, hazardous materials, truck emissions and protecting homes and schools. But it should not make every local land-use decision. A warehouse serving the Port of Los Angeles is not the same as a project next to farmland in the Central Valley. Cities and counties are in the best position to decide where warehouses belong, with clear rules and input from the people who live there.

The bigger state failure is often enforcement. The Boyle Heights warehouse disaster showed what happens when government fails to act quickly on fire hazards, contamination and rotting waste. I would make sure safety rules are enforced, require operators to have credible emergency and cleanup plans, and hold them accountable when they fail. We do not need another layer of overlapping rules that delays responsible projects without making anyone safer.

Tell us about a time you’ve changed your mind on a political position. What was it, and what changed your mind? (Please answer in 200 words or less.)

I changed my mind about how we should measure economic success. Earlier in my career, like many people in politics, I paid too much attention to the numbers politicians and economists celebrate: growth, investment and corporate profits. Then, while researching More Human, I saw a chart showing executive pay soaring while ordinary workers’ wages stayed almost flat. It was impossible to look at that and say the system was working.

That changed my politics. Economic policy should not be judged by whether the biggest institutions are doing well. It should be judged by whether working people can afford a home, raise a family and get ahead.

That is why I believe in positive populism: back small business, break the grip of monopolies and special interests, cut the costs government imposes on families, and put power back in the hands of people. Growth matters, but who it reaches matters more.

Bonus question: What is the best book you’ve read this year? Explain why you found it compelling.

I enjoy reading books that give me a break from politics, and have always loved cookbooks and books about food: I used to run a couple of restaurants and generally have done most of the cooking in our house.

I recently read a wonderful book that combined local recipes with a travel guide featuring some of our great National Park lodges. It was such a delight. One of the great joys we’ve had as a family since moving to California in 2012 has been exploring our beautiful and magnificent National Parks, and this book brought so much that I love together in one place!

​ Orange County Register 

Xavier Becerra, California governor candidate, 2026 election questionnaire

• October 5, 2026

Ahead of the November general election, the Southern California News Group compiled a list of questions to pose to the candidates who wish to represent you. You can find the full questionnaire below.

Name: Xavier Becerra

Age: 68

Current job title: Former Secretary of Health and Human Services

Political party affiliation: Democrat

Incumbent: No

Other political positions held: Member, California State Assembly (AD 59, 1990-1992); Congress (CA-30, 1993-2017); California Attorney General (2017-2021); Secretary of US Health & Human Services (2021-2025)

City where you reside: Sacramento

Campaign website or social media: xavierbecerra2026.com

State leaders have wrestled with whether California should provide health insurance to undocumented immigrants. Gov. Gavin Newsom initially proposed a $30 monthly premium for undocumented adults on Medi-Cal, and he later sought to increase it to $50. But the legislature decided to leave it up to the next governor to set the premium amount for undocumented adults. In your opinion, should undocumented immigrants receive state health insurance? If elected, would you require undocumented adults on Medi-Cal to pay a monthly premium? If so, what would you set that amount at? Explain your rationale. (Please answer in 200 words or less.)

Every Californian should have access to health coverage – and that includes undocumented Californians who work, contribute to our communities, and pay an estimated $8.5 billion a year in state and local taxes.

Coverage costs money, but the alternative costs taxpayers even more. A family with no primary care doctor ends up in the emergency room – at far greater cost to the system – and far greater harm to their health. Federal law requires hospitals to treat emergencies regardless of immigration status, so we pay either way. The most effective way to lower healthcare costs is to keep people healthy in the first place.

The next governor may also have a say in whether to tax large businesses whose low-wage employees turn to Medi-Cal for health insurance. The legislature has directed the state Department of Finance to present, by next spring, options for a so-called “fair share” tax on such corporations to help fund Medi-Cal amid federal healthcare cuts. What is your position on this ongoing debate? (Please answer in 200 words or less.)

Some of California’s largest and most profitable corporations pay wages so low that their workers qualify for taxpayer-funded Medi-Cal, effectively subsidizing their labor costs with public money while putting competitors that do the right thing at a disadvantage. And Washington made it worse with a $1 trillion cut to Medicaid to fund massive tax breaks for those same corporations.

This year’s state budget laid the foundation for this fight through the Fair Share from Big Corporations Act, directing the Department of Finance to bring forward options by March 2027. If I have the honor of serving as governor, I would look forward to working with the legislature to turn that groundwork into a real, enforceable policy.

I will pursue a fee on large employers who do not offer health coverage to their low-wage workers who qualify for Medi-Cal, so corporations that shift their healthcare costs onto taxpayers pay their fair share. Profitable companies should not get to pass their obligations onto working families.

The state has ambitious goals to transition away from heavy reliance on fossil fuels. Meanwhile, oil refineries in California that shut down in the past year said they did so in part because of the state’s costly regulatory requirements and decreasing consumer demand for traditional gasoline. But the closure of these refineries has drivers concerned about the price of gas going up — especially at a time when affordability remains the No. 1 concern for many Californians. How would you balance the state’s clean energy goals with desires to prevent Californians from further pain at the pump? (Please answer in 200 words or less.)

California’s clean energy goals are absolutely achievable, and we must make sure they are affordable.

We also must be clear about why gas prices spiked this year: The biggest culprit is the reckless war in Iran pushed by Donald Trump – who has endorsed my opponent – a war that triggered the largest oil supply disruption in history. Prices have spiked from $1 to $2 a gallon in California. We must stop the disastrous policies coming out of this White House. I have fought Donald Trump and won, all the way to the Supreme Court, and I will continue that fight as governor.

At home, I will manage our energy transition with intention. As governor, I will protect consumers from price shocks while we build the clean energy economy that frees California from oil price spikes for good. I will use the state’s oversight authority to make sure no refinery goes offline unless we have a plan to replace its supply – working to keep facilities open where possible and securing affordable fuel where we cannot.

California’s high-speed rail project has been beset by delays, ballooning costs and federal funding cuts. Should the state continue with this project? Why or why not? If you support moving forward with the project, how do you propose the state pay for it? (Please answer in 200 words or less.)

California should build high-speed rail for its people. But finishing it means being honest that the current approach has failed taxpayers. I will pursue a plan that connects the population centers Californians were promised – on a budget and timeline leaders are held accountable to.

That starts with a serious review of where the money went, what we can cut, and how we build faster and leaner. The state has committed $1 billion per year through 2045 from cap-and-invest funds. I will use that guaranteed revenue to secure financing, bring in private capital through the investor process already underway, and fight to restore the appropriated federal dollars Donald Trump ripped away from a project Californians voted for.

California is the world leader in innovation. We can make this work – with sunlight on every dollar and a plan measured in real results.

Increasingly, we’re seeing communities push back on data centers opening in or near their neighborhoods. Environmentalists complain about the amount of water and energy that data centers need to operate. Residents complain about relentless noise pollution. And others worry about losing agricultural land to these centers. On the other hand, the tech industry emphasizes the role of data centers in supporting cloud computing and artificial intelligence. How would you balance the concerns of critics with desires to ensure that California remains a leader in innovation? (Please answer in 200 words or less.)

California’s communities must come out winners from the growth of advanced computing infrastructure. I will pursue an economic-forward standard: Data centers that operate in California must cover the full costs of their own energy and water needs, add value to our current energy and water infrastructure, run on clean power, and meet disclosure requirements on energy, water, and noise so communities can see the facts before a project is approved.

The concerns are real. Farmers deserve a say when agricultural land is at stake, and local voices belong at the table and deserve a piece of the prosperity on day one.

Should the state pursue litigation against the Trump administration over its active deportation of people living in the U.S. with expired visas who have pending applications to renew them or to gain more permanent residency status? Explain your position. (Please answer in 200 words or less.)

The people with pending applications whom Trump is deporting are trying to follow the rules: They filed their paperwork, paid their fees, passed their background checks, and waited in a line the federal government created. Donald Trump is targeting immigrants who are doing what our country asked of them, and that tells you everything you need to know about his real agenda.

I led California’s fight against the first Trump administration’s attacks on immigrants and won – all the way up to the Supreme Court. In the DACA case, the Court held the government cannot lawlessly upend the lives of Dreamers, people who came forward, followed the rules, and trusted the process. The same principle is at stake here – and courts this year, including Trump-appointed judges, have already ruled that the administration must continue adjudicating pending applications rather than freeze them. As governor, I will work with our attorney general to protect immigrant families. We will use every tool California has to stop Trump’s hateful and disastrous policies.

Do you support Proposition 40, the proposed billionaire’s tax that would impose a one-time, 5% tax on individuals and trusts with a net worth of more than $1 billion? Revenues from the tax would primarily go to fund healthcare-related programs, including Medi-Cal, though a small portion would also be used to fund food assistance and education-related programs. Explain why you do or do not support this measure. If you don’t, what alternative solution do you propose so that the state has money to pay for the types of services this tax is intended to fund? (Please answer in 200 words or less.)

No. But let me be clear: Everyone must pay their fair share, and today the wealthiest Californians can watch billion-dollar fortunes grow untaxed while working families pay taxes on every paycheck. That’s not fair.

We need sound tax policy that is fair to all Californians. A one-time tax cannot provide the reliable, ongoing revenue that Medi-Cal, our schools, our housing and food assistance programs need year after year.

Good tax policy is predictable and transparent. It simplifies the rules for those who pay taxes, it closes tax loopholes, and it raises the funds necessary to provide all Californians with needed services. Reliable services require reliable funding, and as governor I will fight for both.

There is growing debate about whether political candidates or committees should be allowed to run ads created with the use of artificial intelligence. Recently, we’ve seen videos or images depicting a candidate’s political opponent in disparaging ways – and which some critics say falsely misrepresent their political rival. If AI-generated content is permitted, should there be restrictions on its use? What should the terms be, if any? Explain your position. (Please answer in 200 words or less.)

AI-generated content in political ads is here, and the terms of engagement should focus on transparency. Voters deserve to know two things about every political ad on every platform: who paid for it, and whether what they are seeing is real.

California has already built the foundation. State law requires campaign committees to disclose, clearly and conspicuously, when an ad is generated or substantially altered by AI – enforced by the Fair Political Practices Commission. As governor, I will make sure the FPPC has the funding and the tools to enforce that law, and I will work to extend disclosure rules to every type of media on every platform, so voters always know when they are consuming content funded by a campaign or committee with a vested interest in a specific outcome.

I will be honest about the harder question: courts have struck down California’s attempts to ban deceptive election deepfakes outright on First Amendment grounds. I will defend our laws on appeal and work with the Legislature to craft rules that protect voters and survive judicial review. Sunlight is the one remedy the courts have consistently upheld, and I will seek to apply it everywhere.

A law signed in 2024 establishes statewide standards for new, large warehouses in California, including distance buffers separating warehouses from schools, homes and other so-called “sensitive receptors.” Do you support Sacramento having a role in local land-use decisions when it comes to logistics? Why or why not? Is there anything else state government should do when it comes to regulating warehouses? (Please answer in 200 words or less.)

Yes. Whether a family can sleep at night or a child can breathe clean air at recess should never depend on the ZIP code they live in – and for too long, the burdens of the logistics boom have landed hardest on the same communities, from the Inland Empire to the Central Valley. Sacramento was right to set statewide standards for where and how large warehouses get built.

Those standards set a floor. Local communities may consider other commonsense, stronger protections.

Beyond siting, the state’s job is follow-through: enforce the buffer, truck-routing, and air-monitoring requirements already on the books, and accelerate the shift to zero-emissions trucks and charging infrastructure, because the diesel trucks serving these warehouses – and the noise and pollution they bring through neighborhoods at all hours – are the heart of the problem. Warehouses can be good neighbors. It’s the state’s job to make sure they are by enforcing state law.

Tell us about a time you’ve changed your mind on a political position. What was it, and what changed your mind? (Please answer in 200 words or less.)

In 1994, ​I believed that including labor standards and a domestic lending program for displaced businesses and jobs in NAFTA would protect American workers and small businesses. Time quickly showed that these additions to the agreement were not enough, which is why a few years later I became a leader of the opposition to other so-called free trade agreements, like the Central American Free Trade Agreement. I believe our trade agreements must protect and strengthen our economy, not displace workers. No one gets my vote unless I have a complete understanding of what I’m voting for.

Bonus question: What is the best book you’ve read this year? Explain why you found it compelling.

The candidate, through his campaign, declined to answer this question.

​ Orange County Register 

Why aren’t candidates’ names in alphabetical order on California ballots?

• October 5, 2026

Elections are supposed to be orderly affairs. But order — at least when it comes to names — isn’t what you’ll find on California ballots.

State law requires an annual random drawing to determine the order in which candidates will be listed on ballots, including the upcoming Nov. 3 general election.

As a result, candidates whose last names start with “A” don’t necessarily appear first in a list of choices for an elected office.

It’s a practice in place since 1975 “in response to court rulings declaring that standard alphabetical order or incumbent-first was unconstitutional,” according to an explainer on the California Secretary of State’s website.

The secretary of state, which oversees state elections, conducts a random alphabetized drawing on the 82nd day before an election to determine the order of names on a ballot.

The drawing for this year’s general election fell on Aug. 13. “H” won the top spot, with “U” coming in 26th and last.

For statewide offices — governor and attorney general, for example — the order of names differs depending on the state Assembly district in which a voter lives. This is meant to give each statewide candidate a chance to appear at the top of the ballot.

Does the order of candidates’ names matter?

It might, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Election Lab

Appearing first on the ballot in 2000 “increased George W. Bush’s vote share by almost 10 percentage points relative to appearing last,” read an analysis on the lab’s website.

In another case, researchers found that candidates for city council and school board in California whose names appeared first “win between four and five percent more than they might be expected to if they were listed later on the ballot,” the analysis added.

The analysis also cited researchers who cautioned against reading too much into the order of candidates’ names.

“Some have pointed out that the vast majority of studies concerning ballot order effects concentrate on the effect of being first, and ignore the implications of most other ballot positions.”

“This leaves open the possibility that, while the difference between being listed first and being listed last may be large, the difference between being listed first and being listed second may be relatively small.”

A ballot with names out of alphabetical order “forces voters to more closely scan the list of candidates,” Marcia Godwin, a professor of public administration at the University of La Verne, said via email.

“Intuitively, the effects likely matter less when there are only a few candidates on the ballot as opposed to a multitude.”

In general elections, “ballot order is less critical for positions that are down to two candidates after a top-two primary,” Godwin said.

In races for local offices, “ballot order likely matters more in the shrinking number of cities and school districts with at-large elections and a number of candidates,” she added. “The odds go up that a candidate near the bottom of the ballot may miss the last seat by a narrow margin.”

​ Orange County Register 

Former ‘American Idol’ singer Caleb Flynn awaits sentencing for wife’s murder

• October 5, 2026

By JULIE CARR SMYTH

A former Ohio music pastor who once appeared on “American Idol” was set to be sentenced Monday after a jury convicted him of murdering his wife while he was having an affair.

Prosecutors said Caleb Flynn, 40, staged a home invasion in February after shooting his wife, Ashley Flynn, a 37-year-old schoolteacher and volleyball coach. Flynn claimed she was killed by a burglar at their home in Tipp City, a suburb north of Dayton.

He sent a text message to his lover the night before the shooting, saying, “I choose you. I’m free. Actions will come tomorrow,” prosecutors said.

Flynn faces up to life in prison without the possibility of parole after the jury found him guilty last week of murder, felonious assault and tampering with evidence.

Flynn appeared briefly on “American Idol” in 2013, telling TV viewers about how his wife had encouraged him to chase his dreams on the singing competition. He sang before judges Mariah Carey, Randy Jackson and Nicki Minaj but did not advance to the main competition in Hollywood.

During closing arguments, prosecutors told jurors that Flynn wanted out of his marriage when he shot his wife. The couple’s two daughters were home with their father when police arrived.

During the trial, Alleigha Botner testified she met Flynn in 2022 while she was a 20-year-old intern at his church and had an affair with him for more than a year. She told jurors that Flynn said he hated his wife and had thoughts of killing her.

Jurors also heard AI-generated love songs that prosecutors say he made for Botner. Flynn didn’t testify on his own behalf, nor did anybody else.

The gun used to kill Ashley Flynn was not found at the scene, and his attorney told jurors that investigators found no evidence that Caleb Flynn fired a gun that day. Prosecutors said his fingerprints and DNA were at the scene and that his devices showed him moving about the house, even though he claimed he was asleep at the time of the shooting.

​ Orange County Register 

There’s a story behind every plant at Florahound in Sherman Oaks

• October 5, 2026

My father, when describing a unique individual, utilized a Greek expression. That expression was hapax legomenon, and it refers to a word that appears only once in a particular canonical text, be it the Bible, the works of Shakespeare, or that great white whale classic, “Moby Dick.”

In the world of horticulture, this expression of uniqueness applies to Leon Massoth, whose heritage, fittingly enough, is Sephardic-Greek. Thirty years ago, I interviewed Massoth when he had a nursery in West Hollywood on Fairfax Boulevard. After leaving that location in 2020, he set up shop for a few years in the Pico-Robertson area of Los Angeles before moving to his present location at 13711 Ventura Boulevard, just west of Woodman Avenue, in Sherman Oaks.

His business goes by the name of Florahound, a fitting moniker for its proprietor, who has traveled the globe tracking down exotic plants. Unfortunately, while composing this column, I learned that Massoth is closing his nursery Wednesday, Oct. 13. Until then, Florahound Rare Plant Emporium will be open every day from 10 am to 6 pm. Should you wish to access his rare plants or consult him for landscape design beyond this date, call (323) 816-6596.

Massoth’s love for plants oozes out of him. Many of his specimens have a story behind them involving indigenous peoples he encountered in his geobotanical expeditions. He tells these stories with enormous enthusiasm as he reveals rituals revolving around plants that have been practiced for countless generations by those living in their proximity.

And then there’s Massoth’s laugh. While in his presence, you are subjected to frequent, unfettered outbursts of glee that could only come from someone completely in his element, a person who knows his purpose in life and fulfills it in every living moment. In Massoth’s case, this purpose, mission, or higher calling appears to be a combination of growing rare tropical plants — many of them endangered species — and teaching others about them. When I asked Massoth how long he had been infatuated with plants, his answer was simple: “Forever.”

Most of the 300+ species and cultivars crammed into his floral emporium were germinated from seeds collected in places such as Vanuatu, a nation consisting of 80 islands in the South Pacific, Fiji, Western Samoa, El Salvador, Colombia, Brazil, and a host of Caribbean islands. Certain countries require that you obtain a phytosanitary certificate before collecting seeds and, in any case, you need a U.S. Plant Import Permit before bringing them back here.

Although their tropical origins would appear to restrict Massoth’s selections to indoor growing, most of his plants are, in fact, quite adaptable to many of our microclimates, given careful placement in the garden. And some of the plants in his collection, although native to equatorial latitudes, were collected at elevations of thousands of feet, meaning they are capable of surviving an occasional cold snap — but not a hard frost — and can grow outdoors in protected locations.

“When planting frost-sensitive tropicals outdoors, situate them under a tree,” Massoth advises, “since temperatures are 5 to 8 degrees warmer there than in the open air.”

Massoth has a particular fondness for vines and his robust specimen of lemon-scented jasmine (Jasminum azoricum) is loaded with starry white blooms at the moment. It is renowned for its cold tolerance, thriving even when temperatures dip to 26 degrees. On the other end of the hardiness spectrum, butterfly pea (Clitoria ternatea) must be brought inside when temperatures drop below 60 degrees. Indoors, it is most successfully grown next to a west- or south-facing window. Having placed it there, you can expect flowers most of the time. Choose from three cultivars, displaying either blue, lavender or double white blooms. Butterfly peas have experienced a recent surge in popularity due to their edible flowers’ use as a food and beverage dye. You can brew blue tea with blue butterfly pea flowers. And then, if you wish, turn it pink by acidifying it with a few drops of lemon or lime juice.

Massoth grows several plants with sweet fruit, including: Tongan banana, a Polynesian variety with short, thick, cylindrical, blunt-end fruit and an ornamental red trunk; mojo berry (Morus trilobata), growing only 4-7 feet tall and yielding elongated black mulberries from May through September; Panama Red passion fruit, borne on a vigorous vine growing as high as 25 feet with enormous harvests whose individual fruits are 30% larger than other passion fruits; green Indian eggplant whose pale green fruit splashed with white have a mildness and sweetness not found in the common purple type.

Massoth singles out Yume, a fragrant camellia developed in Japan, for special praise. “Yume” means “dream” in Japanese, and it really is a dream come true for the ornamental gardener. While requiring some shade in hot summer areas, it can grow in full sun near the coast. It blooms heavily from November until February with powerfully perfumed flowers whose petals alternate between white and pink with a large cluster of yellow stamens in the center and extremely dark green foliage. In sunny locations, flowers are so profuse that they completely obscure the leaves.

Massoth has a habit of growing two different plants in the same container. For example, he has planted a Yume camellia together with a dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides). This is a deciduous redwood first discovered in 150-million-year-old fossils. Thought to be extinct, a single tree was discovered growing in a Chinese forest in 1941, followed by finding another 1,000 in its vicinity. These plants do not share a container by chance but are ecologically compatible and mutually beneficial to one another where their needs for light and moisture are perfectly balanced. When planted in the garden, Massoth suggests encircling this ferny-leafed redwood, whose leaves turn bronze before dropping in the fall, with a group of these camellias, which come into bloom just as the redwood’s leaves disappear.

Among Massoth’s obsessions is Hibiscus. He has created some hibiscus hybrids himself, including a cultivar with gigantic, diaphanous salmon-pink flowers. He also grows Hibiscus mutabilis, a species distinguished by flowers that emerge as white pinwheels and then change to pink. He has this color-changing hibiscus growing in the same container as Schefflera Mato, whose golden, deeply lobed leaves offer an alluring contrast to the solid sea green hibiscus foliage.

Massoth is particularly excited about a jewel orchid (Macodes petola) whose foliage literally sparkles. Its velvety green leaves are highlighted by an intricate design of golden veins that glitter as you turn the plant this way and that; shining your cell phone flashlight on its foliage creates a near strobe light effect. This orchid is easy to grow, and its sparkling countenance will magnetically draw you towards it throughout the day.

Massoth is proud of the successes his clients report. “My plants perform well for my customers due to the meticulous instructions I provide regarding their care,” he informs me. He shows me pictures of a rare Kohleria hybrid sent by one of its purchasers. A relative of African violets with similar cultural requirements, his Kohleria plants grow up to eight feet tall and, in the manner of African violets, will flower much of the time. These plants, whose seeds were collected at an altitude of more than 7,000 feet in Colombia, never go dormant, despite the presence of rhizomes. The spectacular flowers on Massoth’s Kohlerias consist of tubular orange corollas that flare out into five pale yellow lobes covered with black dots.

Do you have a rare plant experience to share with readers of this column? If so, send it to joshua@perfectplants.com. Your questions and comments, as well as gardening conundrums and successes, are always welcome.

California native of the week: Santa Rosa Island sage (Salvia brandegeei) is a shrub that grows up to five feet tall and wide and blooms with masses of blue flowers. Indigenous to the valleys of the Channel Islands, whose name it bears, this species is one of the most glorious of all native sages when it flowers. It can grow in sand or clay but does best in close proximity to the ocean. Otherwise, it should be protected from afternoon sun. Leaves are dark green, fuzzy on their undersides, with gently toothed margins. Three five-gallon plants are currently available at the Theodore Payne Foundation (theodorepayne.org) in Sun Valley.

​ Orange County Register