Cole Custer looking for a strong start at Auto Club Speedway

• February 24, 2023

FONTANA — Cole Custer needs to get out to a fast start in 2023. Right now, the rain isn’t helping.

“They said this is a record amount of rain and snow for February, so it’s pretty crazy to happen this weekend,” said Custer on Friday from Auto Club Speedway.

The Ladera Ranch native was the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series rookie of the year but he’s back in the second-tier Xfinity Series this season, racing in the No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang in Saturday’s Production Alliance Group 300 (2 p.m. on FS1).

“As drivers, you get used to the hurry-up-and-wait,” Custer said. “We’re just waiting it out and seeing what the weather looks like and if anything they’ll delay us to another day.”

Champing at the bit to get out on the 2-mile tri-oval one more time, Custer expressed disappointment in the proposed changes to the primary race shape at Auto Club Speedway.

“It’s sad. This track is one of the best that we go to,” Custer said. “Every single driver looks forward to coming here because it is so racy. We wish we could keep it going. It’s the track I went to as a 5-year-old, asking for autographs from drivers, so it’s always been a special for me.”

Owner of one Cup Series win and one serious fine, Custer, 25, knows this season is pivotal for his career.

“It’s going to be a year of growth I think (and) I’m hoping to win a lot of races this season and that gets you in a lot of good conversations in order to get back (to the Cup Series),” Custer said.

Seen as an industry prodigy, Custer’s father, Joe Custer, is the team president of Stewart-Haas Racing and the chief operating officer of Haas F1 Team.

“I’ve obviously been lucky enough to grow up around it and start racing at 5, and it’s all you know,” Custer said. “From the time I was little, I was racing go-carts and quarter midgets, and it’s always been what I’ve loved to do.”

After growing up racing locally at Irwindale Speedway, Perris Auto Speedway and Orange Show Speedway in San Bernardino, Custer became the youngest NASCAR Truck Series winner as a 16-year-old in 2014.

When he turned 18, Custer was driving the No. 00 truck full time for JR Motorsports, co-owned by Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and living in North Carolina.

“You just try to learn as much as you can at every step,” he said.

He made the switch to the Xfinity Series and from 2017-19 scored 10 checkered flags, including wins at Fontana, Richmond, Pocono, Chicago, Kentucky and Dover in 2019.

Stewart-Haas Racing made the move to replace Daniel Suarez with Custer in the No. 41 Ford in 2020, and Custer because the first series rookie to win a Cup Series race since 2016 by passing and holding off Martin Truex Jr. at the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway.

Following a string of inconsistent results in 2021, Custer returned to the Xfinity Series with SS-Green Light Racing last year at Auto Club Speedway and won the race after leading for 80 laps.

In October, Custer and crew chief Mike Shiplett were fined $100,000 for allegedly slowing down to impede other drivers and assist teammate Chase Briscoe on the last lap of the Charlotte race. In November, Stewart-Haas announced that Ryan Preece was replacing Custer in the No. 41 and Custer would move back to the Xfinity Series driving a second full-time car behind the No. 00 for SHR.

“There have been times when things have been going good and times where it was a roller-coaster, so it’s just a matter of getting back to what you know how to do and getting some confidence, getting a feel for the cars and what you need,” Custer said. “The guys I’m working with are great, so I’m looking forward to hopefully starting strong here in Fontana.”

Speedway land sale reported

On Friday, Sport Business Journal reported that NASCAR had closed on a “major real-estate deal” of hundreds of acres of land on a northern parcel of Auto Club Speedway.

According to SBJ, the identity of the purchaser is unclear but a deed has been filed to San Bernardino County indicating California Speedway Corp., owned by NASCAR, stating a closed sale for 433 of the 522-acre site.

SBJ revealed in March 2020 that NASCAR was working to sell, and a nine-figure price tag is expected.

NASCAR has retained the rest of the site but has informed its fan base and industry partners that this weekend will be the last as the track currently stands.

Harvick to make 750th start

Kevin Harvick is scheduled to make his 750th consecutive Cup Series start in Sunday’s Auto Club 400 (12:30 p.m. on FOX).

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Harvick considers Auto Club Speedway his home track, having won there in 2011 and recorded five top 10s in his last seven races at ACS.

The Bakersfield native was the 2014 Cup Series champion and owns 60 wins in 22 years. He has said this will be his final full-time season as a Cup driver.

Harvick is third all-time in consecutive starts behind retired drivers Jeff Gordon (797) and Ricky Rudd (788).

​ Orange County Register 

Sen. Marco Rubio puts a hold on former Mayor Eric Garcetti’s ambassadorship nomination

• February 24, 2023

On Friday, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio put a hold on former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s nomination to serve as U.S. ambassador to India. Garcetti is expected to go before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, of which Rubio is a member, next week.

Garcetti was first nominated back in July 2021, and was renominated last month by the Biden Administration.

“The Biden Administration has nominated questionable individuals to multiple posts as representatives of the U.S. government,” Rubio’s statement announcing a list of nominees he is holding reads. “One of these nominees has ignored credible sexual assault accusations in his prior office…I will not turn a blind eye to these absurd nominations, which will hasten America’s decline.”

Related: The disastrous story of Eric Garcetti’s nomination drags on and on

This is not the first time this happened. Last year, Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, put a hold on Garcetti’s nomination. On May 5, 2022, Sen. Grassley released a report on Garcetti’s awareness of alleged sexual misconduct by his right-hand man. The report found, “that Garcetti likely knew, or should have known, that his former senior advisor was sexually harassing and making racist remarks toward multiple individuals. These findings contradict Garcetti’s testimony at a nominations hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.”

These finding are no doubt part of the reason why Garcetti’s nomination has continued to stall, despite Garcetti’s parents shelling out money on lobbyists to get their son the nomination. According to Politico, this lobbying effort included a botched attempt at pressuring Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly to support Garcetti’s nomination.

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In response to Sen. Rubio’s hold, the nonprofit group Whistleblower Aid issued a statement applauding the hold. “Senator Rubio’s hold shines a spotlight on the reasons why Eric Garcetti’s nomination has already created an unprecedented two-year vacancy in New Delhi. The clear record of Garcetti enabling sexual harassment at City Hall in Los Angeles and his attempts to strong-arm the U.S. Senate into overlooking these failures is disqualifying,” said Whistleblower Aid CEO Libby Liu in a statement. “It is disappointing that the Administration continues to put Garcetti’s ambitions ahead of the vital U.S.-India relationship, which would be better served by a qualified nominee with a clear record of ethical leadership and relevant diplomatic expertise.”

That is absolutely correct.

Eric Garcetti, as I have written before, was an utter disaster as mayor of Los Angeles. From homelessness to rampant corruption in city government, the city of Los Angeles lost a decade of progress with him as mayor. Garcetti once upon a time had the delusion that he had done such a great job in Los Angeles that he should be president. He snapped out of it, though, backed Joe Biden and years later is still hoping he gets his political reward in the form of an ambassadorship.

The United States deserves better. The people of India deserve better.

Sal Rodriguez can be reached at [email protected]

​ Orange County Register 

How UFC’s Tatiana Suarez struggled and persisted to fight again

• February 24, 2023

If everyone loves a good comeback story, then the world should spread its collective arms and embrace Tatiana Suarez on Saturday.

Still undefeated nearly a decade after embarking on a professional MMA career, Tatiana Suarez will walk to the Octagon for the first time in nearly four years against Montana De La Rosa on the UFC Fight Night 220 main card at UFC APEX in Las Vegas.

But to hear Suarez tell it, this is just another fight.

“I don’t approach it any differently. Just because, I mean, that’s how I’ve always been,” Suarez said in a phone interview Tuesday evening from Las Vegas. “I mean, I don’t like to put too much into anything, overhype or anything. The only thing that I trust in is just my abilities.”

But Suarez, 32, isn’t just another fighter. She was once on a fast track to what appeared to be, at the very least, a title shot if not becoming a titleholder. Her grappling skills were so dominant she began garnering comparisons to undefeated lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Cast in the unfortunate role of foil this weekend, De La Rosa (12-7-1) could prove to be a challenge on the mat for Suarez. Three of her five UFC wins have come by submission. Still, betting sites have Suarez as high as a 9-1 favorite, the biggest on the card.

“There’s not any pressure for me. If anything, she’s the one with the pressure,” De La Rosa, 28, said Wednesday at media day. “I mean, everyone says she’s the next Khabib or the woman Khabib, so I think she has a lot of expectations to live up to in this fight on Saturday.”

Since Suarez, then the second-ranked strawweight, defeated third-ranked Nina Nunes (nee Ansaroff) via unanimous decision in her last fight June 8, 2019, it will be 1,359 days between walks to the Octagon.

Prior to that, Suarez was laying waste to her fellow 115-pounders. Her two victories before Nunes were in 2018 against Alexa Grasso and Carla Esparza, both via devastating finishes.

Since then, Esparza won and lost the strawweight title in 2022 and Grasso will be challenging flyweight great Valentina Shevchenko for her belt at UFC 285 on March 4. But there are no sour grapes for Suarez.

“Unfortunately, I was just sidelined with injuries and, like, I couldn’t do it myself, you know? But I don’t envy them, you know what I mean? Or nothing like that.” Suarez said. “Like, I’m happy for them. And I’m glad that they are where they are. But it’s just like for me, in my mind, I already know that I belong at the top and that I’m going to be at the top. I just need to stay committed and determined like I always am.”

Is Saturday’s flyweight bout life or death? No, the Covina native and former Northview High wrestling standout already fought that fight and won it too, overcoming thyroid cancer in a diagnosis that derailed her dreams of wrestling in the 2012 London Olympics.

After becoming cancer-free, Suarez soon discovered Brazilian jiu-jitsu and MMA. In 2014, she went 2-0 as an amateur, then 3-0 as a pro over the next year. She landed a spot on the UFC reality show “The Ultimate Fighter” in 2016 and tore through that as well, annihilating all three opponents in the house before needing less than four minutes to submit Amanda Cooper in the final to win a UFC contract.

Suarez’s first serious neck injury actually proved fortuitous. That was what led to the discovery of a cancerous growth on her thyroid, followed by radiation treatment and the removal of her thyroid and several lymph nodes.

This second one, which occurred before the Nunes bout and became more aggravated during their fight, was the start of a two-year recovery process for disc issues and bone spurs.

“It was bad after the fight. It was really bad during, but it just got obviously worse throughout the fight,” Suarez said. “And by the third round … I was extra compromised.”

Then in the summer of 2021, two months before her comeback fight at UFC 266, Suarez’s knee was severely injured during a practice session. ACL, LCL, MCL, meniscus, all torn. Her PCL was partially torn. Major knee reconstruction followed.

“So basically, I was just wrestling, and I knew the guy was trying to take me down off the wall, and my leg just stayed,” Suarez said. “It got stuck then my knee completely just like … the other way. So there’s a pretty traumatic injury. Something I don’t really want to even think about.

“It was like … my leg was completely … like my knee was the different way. It was horrible. It was horrible.”

After months and months of recuperating and waiting, she was forced to undergo surgery, a grueling rehab and to be even more patient.

What’s more, it meant making the difficult decision to move from Rancho Cucamonga to Las Vegas, where Suarez knew she would be under the watchful eye of Heather Linden, the director of physical therapy at the UFC Performance Institute — “I think she’s the best in the game,” Suarez said — and could take advantage of all the facilities and amenities for free.

And now the one-time Olympic hopeful not only had to learn how to walk again, she had to learn to emerge from the darkness. And she had to allow patience to persist.

“It wasn’t great. I’ll tell you that. It’s hard to explain. It was a really hard time just because, you know, I had been patient for a while. And then I had to do the same thing all over again,” Suarez said.

Now it’s business as usual. The only change is Suarez will compete at flyweight, where at 125 pounds she can concentrate more on her game plan and less on cutting weight.

De La Rosa, a natural flyweight, believes this is to her advantage. “I just feel like there’s a lot of things that I can do in there that she hasn’t seen before, especially when she’s moving up to the flyweight division when she’s just been facing smaller opponents,” she said.

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After this fight, Suarez says she is open to dropping back down to strawweight and being a contender again.

“I plan on going back down. I just wanted to focus on the fight this time. I’m cutting, but it’s not as much as I usually do,” she said. “It matters to me. I just want to make sure I’m healthy. And I’m strong and I’m fighting.”

UFC 220

When: Saturday

Where: UFC APEX, Las Vegas

How to watch: ESPN+ (prelims, 1 p.m.; main card, 4 p.m.)

​ Orange County Register 

Orange Lutheran baseball winning games, but 0-1 against sprinklers

• February 24, 2023

Rain will probably force high school baseball games to be postponed or canceled Saturday.

Orange Lutheran, in a way, got off to something of a head start Wednesday.

It was water that stopped the Lancers’ game, although it was not from rain.

Orange Lutheran and Gahr were in the 10th inning of their game, a 4-4 tie in the Prep Baseball Report California Preseason Invitational tournament championship at Great Park in Irvine, when sprinklers came on at 11 p.m. due to an automated system.

No park personnel were available to shut off the sprinklers, so the game was stopped. In baseball parlance the game was “called.”

This game is never going to end will it?

Orange Lutheran and Gahr are still tied at 4 in the bottom of the 10th. pic.twitter.com/my3laAETxk

— Manny Alvarez (@MAlvarez02) February 22, 2023

As the game had passed the fifth inning, by CIF Southern Section rule 1515, “A regulation called game with a tie score shall be counted as ½ game won and ½ game lost for each team.”

“Once it goes five innings,” said Orange Lutheran coach Eric Borba, “the game is complete.”

Orange Lutheran junior Ben Reiland was 3 for 5 against Gahr to lead the Lancers offense. Reiland committed to Oklahoma State.

“We pitched really well (against Gahr),” Borba said. “We had to overcome seven errors. We pitched eight pitchers who struck out 10 and they walked only one.”

Orange Lutheran, No. 8 in the CalHiSports.com state rankings, won the PBR tournament opener 4-1 over Redondo, then beat state No. 18 Aquinas 6-1, and in the semifinals state No. 29 Corona 7-2.

Gahr is No. 30 in the CalHiSports.com rankings.

The Lancers are 4-0-1. They opened another Prep Baseball Report tournament that is in Arizona with a 12-5 win over Hamilton of Chandler, Ariz., Thursday.

NOTES

Foothill finished in seventh place in the Prep Baseball Report tournament. The Knights beat Huntington Beach 4-3 in the seventh-place game. Cypress finished in 11th place and Servite finished 13th with a 10-2 win over El Dorado in the 13th-place game. …

Cypress, JSerra and Ocean View also are in the Prep Baseball Report tournament in Arizona. JSerra’s game Friday against Arizona’s Camp Verde High is the Lions’ first game of the season. They are ranked No. 1 in Orange County and in CalHiSports.com’s California rankings. …

The CalHiSports.com baseball top 40 includes Villa Park at No. 4, Huntington Beach at No. 6, Santa Margarita at No. 9, Cypress at No. 13, Servite at No. 20 and Foothill at No. 37. Its “on the bubble” group includes El Dorado and Mater Dei. …

The Loara Tournament’s championship game has Pacifica (4-1) vs. Villa Park (4-0) at Glover Stadium on Saturday at 7 p.m., weather permitting, of course. Pacifica in the tournament beat Yorba Linda, J.W. North, Fountain Valley and Bishop Amat. Villa Park’s tournament wins were over Aliso Niguel, Millikan, Downey and Fullerton. …

Cypress and JSerra play each other twice next week. Their games are at Cypress on Wednesday at 3:15 p.m. and at JSerra on Friday at 4 p.m.

​ Orange County Register 

Newport Beach attorney accused of misappropriating $10 million to fund lavish Vegas lifestyle

• February 24, 2023

A Newport Beach attorney allegedly scammed a lender out of $10.2 million in 2022 to fund a lavish lifestyle that included jewelry, cars, around-the-clock gambling and a six-month stay at a swanky Las Vegas resort.

LDR International Limited, based in the British Virgin Islands, is suing Sara Jacqueline King, 39, who operates King Family Lending and is a partner of the King Reuben law firm, for breach of contract, fraud and theft.

“King Lending engaged in a massive fraud on the plaintiff,” states the 33-page lawsuit filed earlier this month in U.S. District Court.

King did not respond to a phone call and an email seeking comment. Her law office in Newport Beach purportedly is no longer in operation. She has not been charged with a crime.

Newport Beach attorney Sara King is accused of using $10.2 million intended for borrowers to finance her lavish Las Vegas lifestyle. (Image via U.S. District Court lawsuit)

According to the complaint, LDR International extended 97 loans to King Lending for third-party borrowers from January to October 2022.

Phony collateral

The borrowers’ loans purportedly were secured by collateral that included luxury automobiles, boats, yachts, jewelry, watches, valuable coins and earnings from guaranteed professional sports contracts, says the suit.

In each instance, King allegedly provided LDR International with phony title documents, appraisals, photographs and contracts, as well as proof of funding through cashier’s checks with the borrowers’ names redacted.

“Because the payee name was redacted, plaintiff could never verify that the funds were actually loaned to the third-party borrower,” the suit states. “In fact … there were no payments made by any third-party borrowers because there were no third-party borrowers or loans.”

LDR International alleges in the suit that King spent the majority of loan funds on an extravagant lifestyle at the Wynn Las Vegas resort, where she lived for six months, and gambled “24/7.”

The complaint also includes text from several emails King purportedly sent to LDR International bragging about her success in making lucrative third-party loans.

“Finally, my favorite and the most secure type of loan deal has finally arrived,” King purportedly wrote in a May 14, 2022, email. “Lending against guaranteed sports contracts. There is a professional hockey player who has a guaranteed contract for $3 million a year. He wants to borrow $500k for 6 months. Because it’s a major sports contract our maximum rate we can charge is 6%. Happy to offer you 4% as opposed to 3.6% of the money so it’s lucrative for you.”

King also sent LDR International a photo of herself with NFL quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen on a Las Vegas golf course in June 2022 to demonstrate her connection to high-profile athletes, the suit states.

Detective work

Ronald Richards, a Beverly Hills attorney representing LDR International, took matters into his own hands to prevent King from gambling away what was left of his client’s funds. He alerted various Las Vegas casinos of her alleged activities and asked employees to notify him if she was spotted.

“She would literally go from one place to another,” Richards said. “I couldn’t stop her from gambling.”

Richards finally hit the jackpot when a cocktail waitress at Resorts World Las Vegas, who allegedly had been victimized by King, snapped a photo of her seated at a gaming table wearing a white cap. The attorney sent the picture to casino security officials who used facial recognition technology to identify and locate King, who was escorted off the property.

Newport Beach attorney Sara King purportedly gambling at Resort World Las Vegas in 2022 (Courtesy of Ronald Richards)

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Some money recovered

Richards has been able to recover a little less than $2 million King allegedly misused. However, he considers the funds as interest because she hasn’t made any additional payments.

King’s ex-husband, Kamran Pahlavi, who has since fled to Morocco, has substantiated allegations of King’s fraudulent activities, the lawsuit says.

Meanwhile, King, who claims to have only $11.98 in her bank account, allegedly sent an email to LDR International on Feb. 9, requesting more money so that she can make back the funds she stole, according to the suit.

Richards said he has received several proposals from dubious individuals and companies seeking to take advantage of King’s financial misdeeds. A purported concert ticket-selling company in Jacksonville, Florida, recently offered to assume King’s $10.5 million debt provided it is paid $1.5 million.

“A case like this brings weirdos out of the woodwork,” said Richards, who has reported King to the State Bar of California. “I am not going to have my client wire a penny to any internet hucksters operating or purporting to operate with Ms. King.”

​ Orange County Register 

Will the Dodgers move Mookie Betts out of the leadoff spot?

• February 24, 2023

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Mookie Betts has been the leading man in the Dodgers’ offense almost since he arrived in Los Angeles. But Dave Roberts said he is at least considering moving Betts out of the leadoff spot this season.

“Yeah. I’m thinking about it,” the Dodgers manager said Friday. “I think having that discussion is thoughtful, makes sense, given the fact that you don’t expect him to steal bases like he has in the past. He’s shown more power, which potentially could have been more production as far as runs batted in. So I think having that discussion is responsible.

“I don’t know how that manifests itself. But, yeah, I’m thinking about that.”

The Dodgers tried that – briefly – in the truncated 2020 season. To start the season, Max Muncy hit leadoff against right-handed hitters with Betts second. Against lefties, Betts batted first.

It didn’t last long. Muncy suffered a fractured finger when he was hit in the hand late in the preseason and slumped. Betts took over the leadoff spot, primarily in front of Corey Seager, in August and the Dodgers’ offense took off.

At the time, Betts said he was more “comfortable” hitting leadoff. Now, he says it doesn’t matter and he’s open to batting anywhere in the lineup.

“I think that was just how the roster was constructed. And at the time I did care,” Betts said of the 2020 experiment. “Now I don’t. Now it’s whatever. I’m to the point where it doesn’t matter.”

Why did that change since 2020?

“Just a year older and my care factor for it is gone,” Betts said. “It is what it is. Just go do whatever he says do and don’t worry about it.”

Roberts acknowledged moving Betts out of the leadoff spot now would be largely motivated by a desire to take advantage of his power. Twenty-six of Betts’ career-high 35 home runs last season came with no one on base.

“It makes sense – but who knows if I’m going to hit 35 homers again, you know what I’m saying?” Betts said. “That’s why I say I don’t care about it. Things can change. Just day by day, step by step, at-bat by at-bat – no matter whether I’m first or last, it’s still the same thing. It just took a little time to understand it.”

Betts was in the leadoff spot 242 of his 254 starts in 2021 and 2022 – even with Trea Turner providing an experienced alternative. There is no obvious alternative now.

“The thing is, if you’re talking about moving Mookie, you’ve also got to have a better option, an option that makes sense,” Roberts said, acknowledging that he didn’t know who might be a better option.

One of the two teams in Thursday’s intra-squad game had Betts at the top of the order, followed by Freddie Freeman, Will Smith and Muncy – a right-left, right-left order that Roberts said “makes sense” as a starting point.

“It’s going to be hard to go wrong,” Roberts said.

“It’s just kind of trying to figure out – Mookie at the top, is it best? Where to put JD (Martinez), where to put Will Smith, where’s Max? I don’t think there’s a right answer. I think as we have conversations and let things play out it’ll kind of show itself.”

FORMER FIRST-ROUNDER RETIRES

When minor-leaguers report to the Dodgers’ training complex this spring, their first-round pick from the 2017 draft won’t be among them. Outfielder Jeren Kendall notified the team this winter that he was retiring.

“He called this offseason and just said he wanted to go back to school and wanted to move on from playing for now,” Dodgers director of player development Will Rhymes said. “Obviously we love Jeren, think he’s super talented, love the person and we support the decision even though we felt he had some career left in front of him.”

Kendall, 27, was the 23rd player selected in the 2017 draft and signed with the Dodgers for a $2.9 million bonus. The Dodgers were attracted by his athleticism and an enticing combination of power and speed. But even during his career at Vanderbilt, Kendall’s game featured a lot of swing and miss. That got more pronounced as a professional. Kendall hit just .209 and struck out in 39% of his at-bats.

He never made it to Triple-A. Meanwhile, 20 of the 22 players selected ahead of him in the 2017 draft have reached the major leagues. Rhymes acknowledged that Kendall “seemed to be” frustrated by the lack of progress in the adjustments he tried to make.

“He’s worked really hard. But to feel that maybe it was a little stagnant and wasn’t making the progress, I think, is fair,” Rhymes said. “He was a good worker. He always put forth maximum effort. Sometimes the performance in games takes time to catch up to that work. Maybe we were right on the edge of it clicking. Or maybe not. We don’t really know.

“It just didn’t work out – at least as of now – and he decided to move on.”

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ALSO

Roberts said Miguel Vargas will play second base in the Dodgers’ Cactus League opener against the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday – even though he won’t be swinging the bat. Vargas suffered a hairline fracture in the pinkie finger on his right hand and has not been cleared to resume hitting.

“He’ll play, call it, five innings on defense,” Roberts said. “But you can let the Brewers know he’ll be taking.”

​ Orange County Register 

Santa Ana mayor hired private security after receiving death threat

• February 24, 2023

Three weeks into her new mayoral job, Valerie Amezcua received a death threat.

Worried for her safety, the new Santa Ana mayor hired private security to do a threat assessment and accompany her at home, City Hall and events for about two weeks.

Meanwhile, Councilmember Johnathan Ryan Hernandez said he’s also been the target of threatening behavior, ranging from a local blog asking how he should die to police officers allegedly parking their patrol cars outside his home.

Santa Ana Mayor Valerie Amezcua received a death threat, prompting her to hire private security guards for a couple of weeks in January. (Photo courtesy Courtney Lindberg Photography)

On Tuesday, the City Council agreed to pay Amezcua’s security tab, up to $1,500, and set up a process that could allow councilmembers to be compensated for such bills in the future.

“Being in (the) office these days is not for the faint of heart, and it comes with the good and the bad,” Amezcua said.

Amezcua, a retired Orange County probation supervisor, said she doesn’t feel safe.

“I would like to feel safe and secure as the mayor of Santa Ana, but that’s not possible with the current situation,” she said. “Hopefully, this will be the last death threat I receive.”

Amezcua was in her City Hall office on Jan. 3 when a death threat against her was phoned into the city manager’s office. Amezcua said she wasn’t immediately notified but was told of the call 24 hours later.

“My husband was furious,” Amezcua said in an interview.

“He said, ‘You were in the office. Why didn’t they share it with you? You walked to the car by yourself,’” she said.

“The chief didn’t call and say, ‘We can send an undercover officer and go with you until the threat is contained,’” she continued.

Instead, Amezcua hired a private firm that for three days involved security guards checking her home, the council chamber, parking areas and event locations, before and after her arrival. For about two weeks, a security guard stayed in front of her house or accompanied her every day, taking 12-hour shifts, she said. No one has been arrested, as of Friday, for phoning in that threat.

The cost for the private firm was about $1,000. And Amezcua asked the city to reimburse her.

To do that, the council needed to adopt a resolution and take a public vote — since expenses like these are not already covered under existing reimbursement criteria, like travel and office expenses — and the council did just that on Tuesday night.

But City Attorney Sonia Carvalho warned councilmembers that if they want to pay upfront for expenses that fall outside current policy, they do so at their “own risk.” Under Santa Ana’s charter, they can only be reimbursed for items such as security if the council approves the expense via a resolution, she said. So no future reimbursement is guaranteed, she explained, and it’s up to the council to approve it each time.

Meanwhile, Amezcua hinted that a proposal from the police department is in the works “to protect the council and mayor.”

Hernandez, a councilmember since 2020, said he’s seen threats come from different quarters.

Last year, a city representative intervened and asked a local blogger to take down a poll that asked readers how Hernandez should die.

And Hernandez said earlier that summer both he and a relative were also threatened. That threat prompted the city to put out a statement vowing to investigate threats and denounce “any person or organization that uses anonymous websites and social media posts to intimidate or threaten the City’s employees or elected officials.”

Related links

Santa Ana councilman calls Anaheim police fatal shooting a murder
Anaheim police release video of September fatal shooting of Santa Ana man
Family of unarmed man killed by Anaheim police seeks $20 million
Santa Ana police blasted Disney songs to prevent a resident from filming them
Santa Ana council offers blistering rebukes to police who play Disney songs to thwart public video

“The City Council wants to make it absolutely clear that it will not tolerate threats against public officials and employees of the City of Santa Ana,” the statement said.

Hernandez also accused Santa Ana police of harassing him ever since the death of his cousin, Brandon Lopez, who was killed by Anaheim police during a standoff in Santa Ana on Sept. 28, 2021, involving both police departments.

Hernandez, along with other family members, was at the site when Lopez was fatally shot. Hernandez immediately called what happened a murder at the hands of police. In July, Lopez’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the cities of Anaheim and Santa Ana.

Hernandez has taken other stances calling out police for alleged wrongdoing, including officers playing copyrighted Disney music to avoid being videotaped near the councilmember’s home last year.

For over a year, Hernandez said, officers have taken to parking their patrol cars outside his home, sometimes blocking his driveway. Hernandez shared photos and video showing police cars parked outside his home.

“The public can see I’ve had increased interactions with police in my neighborhood,” Hernandez said. “I feel this is an attempt to threaten me, to silence me and to intimidate me.”

“My message to them: ‘This doesn’t stop me from doing the honorable thing, fighting for justice and peace,’” he said.

A Santa Ana police spokesperson said the department “is unaware of any verifiable information or instances of harassment involving Santa Ana Police Officers toward Councilman Hernandez.”

“If our Department becomes aware of any alleged misconduct involving any of our officers, we have policies to ensure we investigate the alleged misconduct,” said Sgt. Maria Lopez.

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​ Orange County Register 

LAFC vs. Galaxy season opener at the Rose Bowl called off

• February 24, 2023

No one wants to be stuck in traffic while it rains in Los Angeles, especially the city’s rival Major League Soccer teams.

With heavy downpours and chances of thunderstorms expected across the area into Saturday, the season opening “El Trafico” has been postponed due to safety considerations, the L.A. Galaxy, the Los Angeles Football Club and the league announced Friday, one day before their scheduled early evening kickoff at the Rose Bowl.

More information about the rescheduled match at the Rose Bowl will be announced at a later date. Tickets originally purchased for Saturday’s opener will be honored.

A flood watch remains in effect through the afternoon on game day, according to the national weather service, with rainfall rates forecasted up to an inch an hour as a storm from the Gulf of Alaska brings the coldest temperatures of the winter so far.

Light rain and temperatures in the low 40s were expected during Saturday’s match in Pasadena, pitting the defending MLS Cup champions and their five-time league champion rivals in what was trending toward a sellout crowd and a new MLS attendance record.

LAFC will open its season hosting the Portland Timbers on March 4 at BMO Stadium at 1:30 p.m. PT.

The LA Galaxy begins its 2023 by visiting FC Dallas next Saturday at Toyota Stadium at 5:30 p.m. PT.

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​ Orange County Register