California’s 7-year housing push has yet to boost building, experts say

• January 12, 2024

Despite passage of at least 140 housing bills, California has made little progress in solving its 2.5-million-home shortfall, a panel of experts told Realtors last week.

California’s municipalities issue fewer than 120,000 new home permits each year, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. But economists estimate the state needs to build 180,000 to 300,000 homes a year.

“Even with all the legislation, we’re not really getting up to snuff,” said Robert Kleinhenz, director of the Office of Economic Research at California State University, Long Beach. “There’s a lot of room for improvement.”

See also: See what’s behind California’s push to adopt more housing laws

Kleinhenz’ comment came during the Center for California Real Estate’s first event since the pandemic, held Wednesday, Jan. 10, in West Hollywood. The group serves as the California Association of Realtors’ think tank, tackling public policy issues affecting the real estate industry.

Frustrated by a lack of homes for sale and the lowest number of transactions in four decades, CAR members expressed concern about boosting the state’s housing supply.

Estimates for California’s housing shortfall range from nearly 1 million to 2.5 million units. Citing the state’s 2.5 million unit figure, CAR Chief Executive John Sebree asked, “How did we get there, first of all, and what are we doing about it? How we can increase supply?”

The panel of experts had few answers.

California “is still in a multi-decade period of woefully building fewer homes than we should,” said former state Housing and Community Development Director Ben Metcalf, now managing director of UC Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation.

“The state of California has put out something like 140 distinct pieces of legislation (aimed at) doing something on housing affordability since about 2016 or 17,” he said. “(But) we haven’t seen much benefit from any of that yet, unfortunately, in the permitting numbers.

See also: A detailed look at 12 new laws to boost affordable home construction

Metcalf said there are “a whole host of reasons” why it’s difficult to build new housing in California. Among them: environmental regulations, building codes, high builder “impact fees,” the cost of land, rising labor and construction costs and high interest rates for construction loans.

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In addition, there’s local resistance to new housing, in part because Proposition 13 limits property taxes that housing generates.

“It boils down to the cities that have to approve new housing. And many policies have been passed at the state level to try to get the cities off the mark,” said Kleinhenz, a former CAR economist.

But, he said, “cities don’t necessarily want to build more housing. From a city perspective, housing doesn’t pay because the cost of services isn’t covered by the amount of tax revenue generated from a new household. So, that’s one impediment. Then you’ve got the residents that the city council and planning commissioners and the mayor are representing. They don’t want to have their little corner of the world changed.”

The lack of housing has fueled bidding wars for listings for most of the past dozen years, causing the California house price to triple. At the same time, 2023 was tied for having the sixth-lowest for-sale inventory on record.

See also: Real estate agents, industry providers grapple with slowest market in 35 years

Home sales last year were more than a third below the statewide average.

“I just wonder where we’re going to get the 30% increase in inventory to get the 30% increase in sales? That’s my biggest concern,” said Selma Hepp, CoreLogic chief economist. “California has the most inventory-constrained market in years. People don’t want to move. We don’t have an increase in new construction. But on the flip side, we do have pent-up demand. If we had more inventory, we would have much more … sales.”

California’s homebuilding shortfall

A state housing plan determined in 2022 that California needs to build 180,000 new homes annually to close a shortfall of 2.5 million units by the end of the decade.

However, data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis show the state hasn’t built that many homes since 2005. The number of new home building permits has averaged just over 103,000 per year for the past decade.

California’s municipalities have issued just under 555,000 since Gov. Gavin Newsom took office in January 2019, up from 509,000 permits during the five years preceding Newsom’s tenure.

Here’s a breakdown of new home permits for the past decade:

2014: 82,603
2015: 97,611
2016: 100,629
2017: 111,788
2018: 116,411
2019: 109,904
2020: 104,554
2021: 119,558
2022: 113,094
Jan-Oct, 2023: 107,791

​ Orange County Register 

Citi cutting 20,000 jobs in CEO’s bid to boost returns

• January 12, 2024

By Todd Gillespie | Bloomberg

Citigroup Inc. said it will eliminate 20,000 roles in a move that will save it as much as $2.5 billion as part of Chief Executive Officer Jane Fraser’s quest to boost the Wall Street giant’s lagging returns.

Expenses company-wide are expected to drop to a range of $51 billion to $53 billion over the medium-term, Citigroup said. In the meantime, though, the firm expects to incur as much as $1 billion in expenses tied to severance payments and Fraser’s broader overhaul of the bank.

The outlook for cost savings helped mask a disappointing fourth quarter, when Citigroup’s fixed-income traders turned in their worst performance in five years as the rates and currencies business was stung by a slump in client activity in the final weeks of the year. Revenue from the business slumped 25% to $2.6 billion.

“The fourth quarter was very disappointing,” Fraser said in the statement. “Given how far we are down the path of our simplification and divestitures, 2024 will be a turning point.”

Shares rose less than 1% in New York. That’s after falling 1.8% on Thursday, after the bank reported billions in one-time charges from its restructuring and exposure to troubles in Argentina and Russia.

Fraser in September initiated the biggest restructuring of Citigroup in decades as she seeks to improve the bank’s returns. She has said the moves will allow the bank to eliminate bureaucracy, slimming it down from 13 management layers to just eight.

Fraser has also said the overhaul would help her boost a key measure of profitability known as return on tangible common equity to at least 11% by 2027 at the latest. She reiterated that medium-term guidance on Friday.

As it has sought to increase those returns, Citigroup decided to shutter its municipal business and distressed-debt trading unit, just as rival JPMorgan Chase & Co. invests further in the latter area. The bank is prepared to exit additional businesses within its markets division if they “don’t make sense for the go-forward strategy,” Chief Financial Officer Mark Mason said on a call with reporters.

The fixed income division faced a slew of headwinds in the final weeks of the year, Mason said, noting there was very little volatility in currencies and commodities.

Ultimately, firmwide headcount will decline by 60,000 jobs to 180,000 by the end of 2026, Mason said. That includes the 20,000 roles that will be eliminated as part of Fraser’s broader overhaul as well as 40,000 staffers that will depart when Citigroup lists its consumer, small business and middle-market banking businesses in Mexico in an initial public offering.

Citigroup’s results for the fourth quarter swung to a $1.8 billion loss, or $1.16 a share. That included a number of one-time items, including a $780 million charge tied to the severance the bank offered to employees impacted by the restructuring. The company also recorded a $1.7 billion charge to operating expenses in the quarter to cover a special assessment to replenish the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s coffers after a series of bank collapses last year.

Costs for the year ahead should be in the range of $53.5 billion to $53.8 billion — a decrease from the $56.4 billion the firm spent in 2023.

​ Orange County Register 

Idaho AD, president warned about Chris Gonzalez’s alleged abuse in December 2022

• January 12, 2024

The parent of a University of Idaho volleyball team starter detailed how Vandals head coach Chris Gonzalez had “created an extremely negative culture and hostile environment” in a 1,300-word letter to Idaho athletic director Terry Gawlik in December 2022.

Hans Doorn, father of Idaho setter Kate Doorn, said he received only a “generic” response from Gawlik to the letter in which university president C. Scott Green was also copied on and Gonzalez continued to bully and physically, verbally and emotionally abuse Vandals players through the 2023 season, according to 12 current or former Idaho players, five parents and two university employees. Gonzalez also allegedly pushed or shoved two players to the ground during practices in 2022 and improperly touched athletes, according to player interviews and university documents.

While Gonzalez continued an alleged pattern of abusive behavior that also included body shaming, depriving players of food and pressuring players to play or practice while hurt during the 2023 season, the Dorn letter shows that Gawlik and Green and other Idaho officials had notice of detailed examples of Gonzalez’s alleged abusive behavior.

“Chris Gonzalez has demonstrated abusive verbal behavior and created an extremely negative culture and hostile environment,” Doorn wrote in the Dec. 5, 2022 letter to Gawlik in which Matt Brewer, associate AD for compliance and Brian Wolf, the school’s faculty athletic representative, were also copied. “I am concerned about my daughter Kate’s mental health, and that of the entire women’s volleyball team. I am directing this note to Ms. Gawlik not only as the Athletic Director who oversees the athletic program, but as the Senior Women Administrator. These young female athletes need an advocate to help, provide advice, mentor, and to listen to their story of this volleyball season.”

But Gawlik and university officials have not listened according to Doorn, former and current Idaho players, other parents and university employees.

“We were very frustrated,” Doorn said in an interview Friday.

The revealing of the Doorn letter comes less than 24 hours after 10 current Idaho team members formally asked Green and Gawlik to place Gonzalez and the coaching staff on leave until a school investigation into abuse allegations against Gonzalez is completed.

Players and their parents have also alleged that Gawlik and other university officials have repeatedly ignored or dismissed their complaints or concerns over the past 17 months.

University officials, and Gawlik in particular, have been sharply criticized by players, alumni, boosters and some members of the Idaho media for not placing Gonzalez on leave while an investigation by the school’s Office of Civil Rights and Investigations and another probe by Texas law firm hired by the university proceed. Players and critics have also questioned Gawlik’s decision to attend the NCAA Convention this week in Phoenix in the midst of what even some of her supporters have described as the biggest crisis of her 4 1/2 year tenure as the Vandals AD.

Gonzalez, a Southern California native and former U.S. national team coach, is 5-51 in two seasons at Idaho.

“If he was coaching any other sport for his record alone he would already be let go,” Doorn said.

Gawlik and a university spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.

Gawlik is scheduled to meet with Idaho players on Tuesday. It will be the first time Gawlick has met with Idaho players since an SCNG report on December 30 revealed player allegations that Gonzalez has routinely physically, verbally and emotionally abused players during his two seasons at the Big Sky Conference school

Gonzalez is scheduled to hold his first practice with players on January 18.

Idaho players have repeatedly expressed concerns about their safety if they are required to practice with Gonzalez.

Gonzalez said in an email to SCNG Friday that, “yes, we have strategies in place” to deal with player safety concerns. “I am awaiting a response from our administration on which type of information I will be able to provide as the investigation is still ongoing.”

Dean of Students Blaine Eckles will also attend the meeting, Gawlik said.

A case manager from the Office of the Dean of Students “will attend and monitor all team practices, meetings, and activities where the coaches are present, or when requested by any of you,” Gawlik wrote in the email to the players.

A psychologist from the Counseling & Mental Health Center has also been assigned to the team.

“Additional concerns may be brought to the assigned case manager and additional support measures can be implemented, including individualized referrals to the appropriate services necessary to care for your welfare,” Gawlik also wrote.

But Doorn, Idaho players past and present, parents, alumni and financial donors question why Gawlik, Green and other university officials didn’t take similar action more than a year ago?

“I would have been great,” Doorn said Friday. “Then another group of (players) would have not had to go through the same things Kate did.”

In describing “textbook bullying behavior” by Gonzalez in his Dec. 5, 2022 letter to Gawlik, Doorn detailed examples of bullying, verbal abuse, “severe diet and meal issues while traveling,” and “zero attempts to create a culture or team identity, zero attempts at forming relationships with the athletes.”

Doorn also refers in the letter to meetings in which Idaho players presented examples of Gonzalez’s alleged abuse to Gawlik and information from women who played for Gonzalez at American University and Iowa that detailed the coach’s alleged abusive behavior.

“By now you have had a meeting with certain members of the current women’s volleyball team, including Kate, and therefore you are aware of this situation and the issues being raised,” Doorn wrote. “I implore you to look into each of these issues, examples, the breadth of how many people are involved, and the pattern of this behavior. The list of people that are involved includes current athletes, prior athletes that have already left the program, athletes from last spring, members of the support staff such as Trainers, Nutritionist, Strength Coach, and Biomechanist, and other members of the volleyball community. You have been presented with information from players that goes back more than 15 years and 4 years ago that outline this exact same pattern of abusive behavior by Chris Gonzalez. Please interview all these people, ask questions, and come to your own conclusions.

“There have been multiple examples of abusive verbal and other behaviors from Chris Gonzalez that I believe you are already aware of as indicated by you and members of the Athletic department attending multiple practices earlier in the season.

“There was no coaching taking place nor follow-up on what she could do to improve. Calling out an individual team member in front of everyone else is demoralizing, embarrassing, unproductive, and simply disrespectful. I am very concerned about how this may affect an athlete’s mental health. In addition, this creates an extremely negative culture and hostile environment. The entire season the players were so scared to make the littlest mistake and then to receive his abusive rhetoric. This is just one example, and there are many many more. The girls that met with Ms. Gawlik today (December 5th) have documentation on examples throughout the season, last spring, and from other athletes and coaches. There are several athletes that included their names as part of the letter. Several other athletes are reluctant to be named because they are afraid of the repercussions from Chris Gonzalez and are terrified of him not only because of his treatment this season but also because of his position of power that he wields over them in terms of their futures and scholarships. “

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Kate Doorn transferred to Sacramento State where she played in every one of the Hornets’ 130 sets during the 2023 season while directing the Big Sky’s top offense en route to winning the conference’s regular season title. Doorn was seventh in the Big Sky in assists per set (6.28). Idaho finished the 2023 season with 885 assists as a team. Doorn recorded 704 assists this past season all by herself.

Doorn wrote what he described as a follow up email to Green and Gawlik on Friday.

“My intent for this email is to once again implore you to be an advocate for these athletes and support them,” Doorn said. “The current athletes should not have to face the person that they accuse of abuse by seeing him in practice and on campus. Show these brave young people the respect that they deserve and place Chris Gonzalez on leave until the investigation into him has concluded.

“The University of Idaho is better than this. Do the right thing and support your students. “

RELATED

‘These are cries for help;’ Players allege Idaho women’s volleyball coach Chris Gonzalez regularly bullied them

Idaho expands investigation of volleyball coach Chris Gonzalez

Idaho volleyball players ask school to place Chris Gonzalez on leave

​ Orange County Register 

Aliso Viejo homebuilder, stung by falling prices, pulls out of Denver market

• December 20, 2023

Aliso Viejo-based Thomas James Homes will wind down its Denver operations by next fall and exit the state after finding a tougher-than-expected market.

“We did decide to phase out of the market,” confirmed Steve Kalmbach, president and COO of the home builder. “We have 34 homes that we are still going to deliver and sell in 2024.”

Denver’s housing market received a boost from in-bound relocations during the pandemic years, bolstering home prices, which attracted the Orange County builder to what it thought would remain a hot market.

Instead, mortgage rates spiked, making it harder for buyers to qualify. And that influx of transplants coming into the market tapered off. New homes have been selling for 5% to 7% below the expected price on delivery.

“Relative to our other locations, Denver wasn’t as robust,” Kalmbach said.

Bolstering that point, real estate portal Zillow said Tuesday that Denver ranked 1,820 out of 2,300 markets in popularity among people searching for homes on its website. The Mile High City dropped 1,108 spots from where it ranked last year, a sign of greatly diminished interest.

The most popular markets for people searching on Zillow were West Chester, Pa.; Nashua and Manchester, N.H.; and Wethersfield and West Hartford, Conn.

Thomas James Homes follows a hybrid model, offering five “library” plans or preset designs that buyers can choose from. It isn’t a custom-builder, but it isn’t a full-blown production builder focused on mass-producing homes in master-planned communities.

Instead, it focuses on infill construction, putting new homes on individual lots or small groupings of lots in well-established neighborhoods. That appeals to buyers looking to live closer to work in popular areas, but who don’t want the headache of remodeling an older house and who can’t afford to scrape a lot and do a custom-build.

Since arriving in Denver in the spring of 2021, the company has focused on Bonnie Brae, Washington Park, Cherry Creek, Hill Top, University Park, Platte Park, Sloans Lake, South Park Hill and Congress Park.

Kalmbach said the company’s business model relies on a “resilient pricing structure” for consumers. Translated, the company needed to see its new homes sell for what it expected them to sell for before construction started.

Finding buyers before completing homes was more of a struggle in Denver than in the builder’s other market, and because of that, homes often weren’t getting sold until the final stage, contributing to prices getting squeezed.

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The company often found it had to carry homes in Denver to the final stage, which resulted in prices getting squeezed.

With capital scarcer and costing more because of higher interest rates, the company needs to be more careful about where it invests, Kalmbach said.

Resources focused in Denver will be invested back into the builder’s more profitable operations in southern California, northern California, the Seattle area and Phoenix.

Thomas James Homes employed 32 people on its Denver team but recently let go of about a dozen of its staff, Kalmbach said. The remainder will help see homes through to final construction, which is expected to happen by August or September.

​ Orange County Register 

Norwegian Cruise Line’s latest ship caters to Gen-X crowd

• December 20, 2023

Norwegian Cruise Line’s newest ship Norwegian Viva has some serious Gen-X appeal.

Cruise lines have juggled the tastes of mixed generations on board for decades, but contemporary lines like NCL cater to the latest generation making vacation decisions, and a good chunk of that clientele call themselves children of the 80s.

So while the structure of Norwegian Viva, a sister ship to Norwegian Prima, and the second of six planned vessels that look to redefine NCL’s fleet, is somewhat generation-agnostic, the entertainment programming is definitely geared toward those who find themselves in their 40s and 50s.

“Beetlejuice: The Musical” is the marquee show on board Norwegian Cruise Line’s new ship Norwegian Viva, which arrived to Miami on Nov. 28, 2023 to begin its first Caribbean sailing season. (Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel)

That includes the marquee stage show “Beetlejuice,” a visually intense musical version of the Broadway hit, although condensed down to 90 minutes.

The stage show is based on the 1988 movie Beetlejuice directed by Tim Burton and starring Michael Keaton. As the title character, the ship’s “ghost with the most” eats up the stage sort of akin to Genie in Disney’s “Aladdin,” except with F-bombs.

For the sailing, the character honed his comedic crowd interaction to poke fun at NCL, and even the ship’s godfather Luis Fonsi, the Puerto Rican singer behind the hit “Despacito,” noting he didn’t even stay on board with the sailing after the ship’s christening ceremony.

The show’s stage production includes some masterful, creepy puppetry including a massive sand snake just like in the movie. The story, though, is its own tale departing from the source material for an entertaining show.

Press Your Luck Live is a game show on board Norwegian Cruise Line’s new ship Norwegian Viva, which arrived to Miami on Nov. 28, 2023 to begin its first Caribbean sailing season. (Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel)

The other major theater production on board also hearkens back to the ’80s with a version of the game show “Press Your Luck,” which originally ran from 1983-1986 hosted by Peter Tomarken, and saw a revival in 2019 hosted by Elizabeth Banks.

Just like the game show, the cruise line’s version lets contestants answer questions to build up a bank of turns with which they can press the button to stop a random board hopefully on cash or prizes, but also trying to avoid the show’s signature antagonist, the “whammy,” an animated red character that comes on screen suffering some sort of silly calamity in cartoon form, but also taking all of the contestant’s accumulated cash.

The show is known for contestants chanting, “no whammies,” between turns.

Classic 80s arcade games can be found in The Local dining venue on board Norwegian Cruise Line’s new ship Norwegian Viva, which arrived to Miami on Nov. 28, 2023 to begin its first Caribbean sailing season. (Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel)

Other Gen-X touches can be felt during the sailing, such as the classical strings versions of early ’90s hits like R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion” playing in the background like a Muzak station while dining in the main dining room Hudson’s, and the lineup of classic arcade games of Space Invaders, Donkey Kong and the Galaga-Pac-Man combo found for free play within the sports bar concept The Local.

For those who like their gaming a little more modern, but still enticing to Gen-X, the ship has its own version of the Galaxy Pavilion, which is filled with virtual reality games and even an escape room.

The ship is rife with options for those seeking an adrenaline fix as well.

The three-deck Viva Speedway on Norwegian Viva is the fifth go-kart track on board a Norwegian Cruise Line ship. (Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel)

At the top of that list is the three-deck go-kart track. Viva’s version is the fifth for the fleet, but only Prima and Viva have the triple-decker version.

The course of electric vehicles with piped-in engine revving sounds that can go up to 27 mph during group races, but also allows for spectators to aim and fire guns that let riders speed up their carts with a boost of earned energy. It’s a $15 extra cost, although cruisers can buy an unlimited pass for $199.

Norwegian Cruise Line’s second Prima-class ship Norwegian Viva arrived to Miami on Nov. 28, 2023 as it begins its first Caribbean sailing season. (Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel)

The ship also features two twisting dry slides that drop riders 10 decks in seconds while also leaving room for a small, but satisfying tube ride called the Tidal Wave that quickly shuttles riders into a small half pipe and down a quick drop that allows for quick turnaround and invites repeat rides.

The top deck also has a Vegas-style covered mini-golf course amid other gaming stations including dart board rooms.

For those who eschew adventure in favor of food, beverage and music, the ship is not lacking.

In addition to gratis dining at The Commodore Room, Hudson’s, The Local and normal ship buffet Surfside Cafe, the ship like Prima once again offers the food hall concept Indulge Food Hall, with little kiosks offering up Italian, Latin, Indian, barbecue and other cuisine that diners can order using touchpad screens. The food comes quick to both indoor and outdoor seating, and you don’t have to keep getting up to refill. Just tap, swipe and consume.

It has eight specialty restaurants including global cuisine offering Food Republic, Cagney’s Steakhouse, Hasuki Japanese grill, French offering Le Bistro, Mexican option Los Lobos with its curious entryway of sculpted animals, Nama Sushi & Sashimi, seafood offering Palomar and fine Italian dining Onda by Scarpetta.

The lineup of bars includes Syd Norman’s Pour House, which is like a hybrid of CBGB’s and a TGIF, and has cover band shows like “Rumours” featuring playing Fleetwood Mac hits.

The Metropolitan Bar on board Norwegian Cruise Line’s new ship Norwegian Viva features an interactive 52-foot long piece of digital art titled xe2x80x9cEvery Wing has a Silver Liningxe2x80x9d, by artist Dominic Harris. (Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel)

For the environmentally conscious, NCL has brought back the Metropolitan bar, which stacks its cocktail menu with sustainable alcohols and even Prosecco.

That’s also home to the 52-foot-long digital interactive mural called ” Every Wind has a Silver Lining by British artist Dominic Harris with thousands of silvery-blue butterflies that flutter into life as passengers walk by.

Norwegian Viva made its debut this past summer and is amid a short set of sailings from Miami before it migrates to San Juan, Puerto Rico, from which it will be sailing through March on an intense set of Caribbean itineraries, each one of which will feature a new island port of call for each day of the sailing.

​ Orange County Register 

Review: A kinder, gentler Grinch takes the stage in Costa Mesa

• December 20, 2023

While “nice” lists at Christmastime usually have “who’s-been?” names aplenty, there are comparatively few big-name seasonal “naughties.” .

Scrooge is the literary king, of course. Mr. Potter of “It’s a Wonderful Life” surely makes the cut. A hundred or so other forgettable Christmas movies needed at least one semi-baddie to fund plot conflicts.

But for worst of the worst, is it the Grinch who takes the cake? (Actually, in Dr. Seuss’ Grinch myth-origin book, he snatched more than cake: “He took the Who’s feast, he took the Who pudding, in fact he took the roast beast.”)

So, the Grinch is as beastly as it gets. And given he steals not just dinner, but all Whoville’s toys, fireplace stockings and even decorated trees it makes for a legitimate argument for his worst-ness.

But in the touring theater version “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Who Stole Christmas! The Musical,” which arrived in timely fashion at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts for a matinee-packed, one-week run, we encounter a many-tones-of green oversize mop of the Grinch (Joshua Woodie) who is fairly harmless and periodically charming.

That’s also a reasonably accurate summary of the 85-minute, intermission free musical itself.

The show is narrated by the Grinch’s dog Max. Actually, there are two generations of Max, with older/scruffier Max (W. Scott Stewart) as our reminiscing narrator, telling the tale in flashback.

The younger/friskier-tailed Max (Brian Cedric Jones) gives the Grinch someone to scheme aloud to in real time.  Plus, this Max briefly morphs into a canine version of Santa’s reindeer on Christmas Eve as Grinch flies away from his mountain aerie as a turncoat changeling Santa, off to creep down Whoville chimneys and steal toys, not give them out.

This show’s Grinch is a bit different than the source material. His intent here is less about greed and swiping stuff than generating tidings of no comfort and misery. His stated goal is to halt the joy of Christmas Day itself from dawning in Whoville.

As in the book, his redeemer is young Cindy-Lou Who (Aerina DeBoer) who likes the Grinch from the get-go, somehow aware that underneath his greenie-meanie exterior are loneliness and self-image issues that her hugs and friendliness can salve.

“Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical” will play at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa through Dec. 24. (Photo by Jeremy Daniel)

Given Seuss wrote his 1957 book for the age 3-8 demographic, you don’t go in expecting Sondheim. But the many un-catchy original songs in this show — with a couple exceptions — are serviceable at best and irritatingly chirpy when it comes to the Whos prattling on en masse about how besotted they are with Christmas.

This is squeamishly underscored because even while singing “It’s the Thought That Counts,” make no mistake, for these furry roly-polies — clad in decidedly Target bold red to marshmallow-y pinks – it’s ALL about the swag.

The show perks up whenever the Grinch takes center stage. Without question the top musical number is his one-man “One of a Kind.” Performed in front of a curtain of shimmering green tinsel it’s about as Broadway razzamatazz-y of a production number as this show has.

The other notable number is from the original 1966 animated half-hour made-for-TV telling. “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” has lyrics written by Seuss himself. In this production, a reprise of that tune found the Grinch shining (green, of course) footlights into the audience to help generate a sing-along from a very willing audience.

Woodie’s take on the Grinch is quite appealing. He somehow conveys slyness and being perplexed underneath all the facial pancake makeup. At one point, in disguise and wearing a cowboy hat to trick the Whos, when asked where he is from, the actor took a beat, then Texas-drawled out the reply “Who-ston”.

As one of the production’s two rotating Cindy-Lous, DeBoer’s crystalline vocals were on impeccable display Tuesday night during her duet with the Grinch in “Santa for a Day.”

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In a decidedly non-scientific poll after the curtain drop, I surveyed 5-year-old Nico Cespedes of Ontario who was with his mom and had been sitting next to me.

Cespedes had just seen his first-ever live theater show, and despite being a bit unsure about being in the dark when the house lights were first turned off, the number of dimples he flashed afterwards confirmed he had a very good time.

And, in search of a final verdict on the question of relative moral turpitude, did he think the Grinch was really bad?

“No. He was awesome,” Cespedes ruled. Then, rendering an unasked-for costuming opinion, he approvingly added, “He was really green!”

‘Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Who Stole Christmas! The Musical’

Rating: 3 stars (out of a possible four).

When: Through Dec. 24; 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m., 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Sunday

Where: Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa

Tickets: $59-$149

Information: 949-556-2787; scfta.org

​ Orange County Register 

New Orleans Saints at Rams: Who has the edge?

• December 20, 2023

SAINTS (7-7) at RAMS (7-7)

When: Thursday, 5:15 p.m.

Where: SoFi Stadium

TV/Radio: Amazon Prime Video/710 AM; 93.1 FM; 1330 AM (Spanish); Sirius 226, 225

Line: Rams by 4

Notable injury designations

Saints: OUT: DE Payton Turner (toe), DE Isaiah Foskey (quad), S Lonnie Johnson (knee), T Ryan Ramcyk (knee); QUESTIONABLE: RB Kendre Miller (ankle)

Rams: OUT: CB Tre Tomlinson (hamstring); QUESTIONABLE: OL Joe Noteboom (foot)

What’s at stake? As much as anything can be during the regular season. The winner of this game secures its grip on one of the NFC’s final two playoff spots while taking control of the tiebreaker over the loser with two games left in the season.

Who’s better? The teams are even in the standings, but the Rams have had the harder strength of schedule to get to this point, with the Saints only having beaten one team with a record above .500. While the New Orleans defense is on par with the Rams’, the Rams offense clearly stands above the Saints. QB Derek Carr has struggled in his first season in New Orleans and the Saints haven’t managed to get a reliable run game going, averaging 3.7 yards per carry.

Matchup to watch: Rams WRs vs. Saints DBs. Paulson Adebo (15), Isaac Yiadom (13) and Alontae Taylor (12) are in the top 12 in pass breakups this season. Paired with crafty veterans Marshon Lattimore and Tyrann Mathieu, the Saints have a dangerous secondary. But the Rams have their own weapons to counter. Cooper Kupp appears to have rediscovered his magic now that he’s close to 100% health. Rookie Puka Nacua continues to move the sticks. Veteran Demarcus Robinson has three touchdowns in three games. And the explosive Tutu Atwell is out of concussion protocol and ready to stretch defenses again. This is the matchup that could determine the game.

Rams win if: They take care of the football and don’t turn it over more than once. … They limit RB Alvin Kamara to below 100 yards rushing and turn the Saints into a passing team. … RB Kyren Williams rushes for over 100 yards for the fifth time in six games to take pressure off Stafford and the receivers.

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Fantasy sleeper: WR Demarcus Robinson. He can’t possibly do it four games in a row, right? Well, this was exactly who Robinson looked like in training camp and as soon as he’s gotten an opportunity he has matched that production. Pair in the fact that he’s clearly won over Stafford’s trust and it’s not a bad bet to put Robinson in your flex this week.

Prediction: Rams 31, Saints 24. Beat reporter’s record: 9-4 for the season; 7-6 against the spread.

​ Orange County Register 

How to track Santa on Christmas Eve

• December 20, 2023

There’s no one busier on Christmas Eve than Santa Claus, and one organization has been tracking his exceptional gift-giving abilities for more than 60 years.

This modern tradition actually started in 1955, “when a young child accidentally dialed the unlisted phone number of the (Continental Air Defense Command) Operations Center upon seeing an newspaper advertisement telling kids to call Santa,” according to the bi-national organization North American Aerospace Defense Command.

The director of operations at the time, Col. Harry Shoup, “answered the phone and instructed his staff to check the radar for indications of Santa making his way south from the North Pole,” the organization says on its website. And so the tracking of Mr. Claus began.

It continued when NORAD formed and replaced CONAD in 1958. Since then, NORAD says it has “has dutifully reported Santa’s location on Dec. 24 to millions of children and families across the globe.”

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If you’re interested in tracking Santa on Christmas Eve, you can call NORAD at (877) HI-NORAD or follow Santa’s location using NORAD’s Tracks Santa website — that’s the map above — or its social media channels.

While NORAD cannot confirm when Santa will be at each house, the organization says it does “know from history that it appears he arrives only when children are asleep!” That means between 9 p.m. and midnight on Christmas Eve in most countries, NORAD adds.

“If children are still awake when Santa arrives, he moves on to other houses,” the organization notes. “He returns later, but only when the children are asleep!”

Contributing: Kurt Snibbe, Southern California News Group

​ Orange County Register