Irvine Global Village this weekend features cuisine, culture from around the world

• October 11, 2023

The Irvine Global Village Festival is back at the Great Park; this marks the popular event’s 22nd year.

The multicultural event features music, art, food, kids’ activities, exhibits, a global marketplace and more, all to celebrate Irvine’s diverse community.

In the Kid’s Village families can experience karate demonstrations, learn to write their names in different languages, get a henna tattoo and more.

Several stages will showcase music and dancing from around the world, as well as martial arts and cultural ceremonies and there will be roving performers as well.

More than 30 food booths are planned.

If you go

When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 14

Where: Great Park, 8000 Great Park Blvd., Irvine

Cost: Free admission

Information: cityofirvine.org

​ Orange County Register 

Ozempic for weight loss is disrupting companies’ business model

• October 11, 2023

Leslie Patton | (TNS) Bloomberg News

As sales of appetite-suppressing drugs such as Ozempic and Mounjaro skyrocket, corporate America is grappling with the question: How does a less-hungry, less-impulse-prone consumer affect my business model?

Companies from Walmart Inc. to Conagra Brands Inc. are weighing how much to factor the diabetes drugs known as GLP-1s, increasingly being used for weight loss, into their strategies. Moves they make now could reverberate for years to come, so the pressure’s high to get it right.

“Companies will overreact. The smart money will take action, but act slowly,” said Gary Stibel, chief executive officer of New England Consulting Group, which advises consumer and health care companies.

John Furner, CEO of Walmart’s U.S. operations, recently said the retailer is seeing a “slight pullback in the overall basket” of food purchases as a result of the drugs, but added it’s too early to draw definitive conclusions. Conagra CEO Sean Connolly told investors recently that his company’s scientists are looking at the data, and the maker of Slim Jim and Swiss Miss could offer smaller portions in the coming years if that’s the way preferences evolve.

Companies are intensifying their scrutiny of the drugs amid a growing sense in the scientific community that the treatments represent a real breakthrough. Scientists have studied the GLP-1 hormone for more than three decades, but the newer, more potent drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro have opened the door for new discoveries and potential use beyond obesity and diabetes.

‘Brand-new territory’

“We’re still learning what else it might be good for,” said Daniel Drucker, a co-discoverer of the GLP-1 hormone who works as a professor of medicine at the University of Toronto. “This is brand-new territory.”

In the business world, most executives are still taking a cautious approach.

Adnan Durrani, CEO of Saffron Road, which makes frozen meals, chicken wraps and crunchy-chickpea packaged snacks, said snack companies “are talking about making smaller pack sizes and things like that, and that’s kind of nutty thinking because it’s just too early to know how much it’s going to impact consumer behavior.”

He recalled the olestra fad of the 1990s, when the fat substitute rapidly invaded the food aisle before being discarded due to its unpleasant side effects.

Bill Chidley, co-founder of brand consultant ChangeUp, cited the “whipsaw effect” that such trends can create, recalling SnackWell’s fat-free and low-fat cookies, which have now disappeared from the market. “Now, all of sudden you’ve got a product that is totally out of position,” he said. “The world flipped over.”

Atkins Diet

The Atkins Diet, which restricts intake of carbohydrates and gained popularity in the early 2000s, is also instructive. It fueled a whole category of products, including low-carb ketchup, ice cream and soft drinks. American Italian Pasta Co., which at the time was the largest U.S. pasta maker, and Krispy Kreme were pummeled by the diet, while Interstate Bakeries Corp., which was then the maker of Twinkies, cited the trend when it filed for bankruptcy in 2004.

But by 2005, companies including General Mills Inc. were reversing course as the diet’s popularity faded amid a lack of evidence it achieves durable weight loss.

“We’ve lived through what I think turned out to be a fad that we predicted would be a fad,” Richard Rosenfield, then an executive at California Pizza Kitchen, said in 2005. “It never seemed to affect our business. We did great through that craze.”

Nonetheless, remnants of the Atkins Diet still linger: Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. has burrito bowls for the carb-conscious that are now labeled as Keto and Paleo friendly. Starbucks Corp. sells high-protein boxes with cheese and eggs.

The experience could prove instructional today as analysts recalibrate their projections based on the expected impact from the drugs, which have long been used to treat diabetes but are increasingly being taken for obesity and weight loss. Walmart, for example, may want to think twice before it dramatically shrinks its grocery section.

Even so, recent findings are eye-opening. A survey of GLP-1 users by Jefferies showed that more than 40% of respondents said they were eating out less. A similar percentage reported ordering less when they did. About 70% said they’re eating less overall, and roughly the same amount reported “increased awareness of nutritional benefits for foods.”

Based on the results, Jefferies analysts say packaged-food companies including Campbell Soup Co., Hershey Co. and Post Holdings Inc. could be adversely affected. But the picture isn’t so clear, with the analysts also pointing out that about 60% of respondents intend to stop using GLP-1s once they reach their target weight.

“So the question remains if the new eating habits will continue once the drug usage fades,” they wrote.

Usage patterns

The usage patterns are another unknown. Patients often regain weight once they’ve stopped taking the drugs and experts say they may need to be on the medications for the rest of their lives to keep weight off permanently.

Bank of America analysts also projected risks in snacking and beverages, given the GLP-1s lower appetites and also appear to reduce the impulse to drink.

It isn’t just the obvious food-related categories that could be disrupted. Weight loss from GLP-1s could drive wardrobe revamps, according to Bank of America, particularly among the affluent who can budget for these medications, which currently cost more than $1,000 a month. Plus-size retailers such as Torrid Holdings Inc. could see sales decline, while Lululemon Athletica Inc. and Hoka sneaker parent Deckers Outdoor Corp. could benefit from healthier lifestyles.

Jessica Ramírez, an analyst at Jane Hali & Associates, said the pandemic provides a recent potential case study, noting that after COVID restrictions eased, many consumers gained a lot of weight, while others shed it. “They had to replenish their wardrobe,” Ramírez said, noting that apparel companies didn’t have an issue adjusting their offerings.

Companies now face the daunting task of weighing the evolving data to determine the right strategy.

“We always go through these cycles of a new miracle drug, a new miracle food ingredient,” said Saffron Road’s Durrani. “It’s really early days.”

———

(With assistance from Madison Muller, Jeannette Neumann, Tiffany Kary and Tonya Garcia.)

___

©2023 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

​ Orange County Register 

Michelle Steel: The United States must stand with Israel against Hamas terrorism

• October 11, 2023

The world saw the face of evil as Hamas terrorists launched countless missiles targeting Israeli civilians, invaded peaceful towns, killed over 900 innocent people, and dragged men, women, and children into Gaza to endure unspeakable horrors. At least 22 Americans were killed and several were among those taken hostage. My heart is breaking for the Israeli people who are suffering unimaginable pain. The images and stories coming from the region are nothing short of barbaric and the only acceptable response to these tragedies should be complete and utter support of our ally Israel as it fights to defend its people and bring these terrorists to justice.

President Joe Biden and Congress’ reaction in the coming days is vital. In President Biden’s address to the United States he gave his heartfelt support for the innocent people of Israel and committed to give aid to our ally, but conspicuously gave no mention of any strategy dealing with Iran, Hamas’ benefactor. Leading up to this attack, President Biden’s actions regarding Iran have been deplorable. He has empowered the rogue state, lifting sanctions worth $25 billion, waiving Iraq to send $10 billion to Iran, renegotiating the Iran nuclear deal, and authorizing $6 billion in exchange for hostages that is all but guaranteed to be funneled to Hamas or other terrorist proxies. This is a total of $43 billion to the Iranian regime.

I hope this war is a wake-up call to President Biden and his administration. Now is not the time to retreat from the global stage. The world needs the United States on the front lines, gathering support to aid our ally Israel and strangle the Iranian regime’s ability to ever orchestrate this depravity again.

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President Biden must unequivocally throw his entire administration’s support behind Israel, immediately freeze his $6 billion payment to Iran and all aid to the Palestinians, properly enforce Iranian sanctions, and immediately halt talks with the regime about re-entering the ineffective and dangerous nuclear deal. We must do everything possible to ensure Iran does not obtain nuclear weapons. If this is what Iran is capable of without nuclear weapons, imagine what it can accomplish armed with such power.

In conjunction, Congress must be swift in sending aid to our ally Israel as they fight for the safety of their families, including replenishing the Iron Dome, and pass additional ironclad sanctions against Iran. That is why I am calling for an immediate vote on my bill, the Solidify Iran Sanctions Act, to make sanctions established by the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 that are set to expire in 2026 permanent.

As our ally suffers one of the darkest days of her recent history, now is the time to stand up to swiftly bring justice to the evil regime that chants “death to the Jews” and “death to America.” I urge President Biden to end his tolerance of Iran’s terrorist agenda and stand side by side with our ally as they fight for their right to exist.

Michelle Steel represents California’s 45th congressional district.

​ Orange County Register 

Irvine council moves to transition to by-district elections, but voters will make the final decision

• October 11, 2023

Irvine voters will decide in March whether they want to transition to by-district elections.

The City Council on Tuesday, Oct. 10, adopted a map drawing district boundaries that will be presented to voters during a special municipal election on March 5, the same day as the primary elections.

The map, broken down into six districts, largely keeps neighborhoods intact in single voting districts, including Woodbridge, Great Park and Turtle Rock, and has at least one Irvine Unified high school in each district with the exception of the sixth.

The map does not take effect unless residents vote in favor of moving to by-district elections, where voters choose the councilmember who represents their geographic area. If voters approve it, the size of the City Council would increase from five to seven members with only the mayor elected at large.

Councilmembers Tammy Kim and Kathleen Treseder, who voted against the chosen Map 151, said they were concerned with the boundaries stacking voters of Asian descent into two out of the six districts. They had brought up similar concerns during a public hearing in September.

The final map selected by the Irvine City Council for by-district elections. (Courtesy of City of Irvine)

“Part of when we’re looking at the citizen voting age population, what we’re trying to do is ensure that we have as much parity within the various protected classes as we do in our at-large system,” Kim said. “Map 151 packs the AAPI community into District 1 and District 2. That is a form of gerrymandering, and that is not doing the AAPI community any favors whatsoever.”

The breakdown of concentrations of voters of Asian descent in the map are: 49% for District 1, 50% for District 2, 39% for District 3, 34% for District 4, 27% for District 5 and 29% for District 6.

Related links

Irvine council narrows maps for district elections, decision could be made next month
How might district-based elections change voting in Irvine?
San Clemente headed toward an elected mayor in planning for by-district elections
Laguna Niguel starts process to move to district elections by 2024

Treseder, who said she wanted a map with at least three districts with Asian representation above 40% and maintains UC Irvine student-populated areas in a common district, said the map is “by no means a unanimously favored map.”

Although most of the residents who spoke during Tuesday’s meeting favored that map, the Orange County Asian Pacific Islander Community Alliance and several UCI students and university-affiliated individuals spoke out against it. Students asked that the university maintain a district with the University Town Center, Park West apartment homes and other large student communities.

Treseder favored a student-supported map that she said “meets my criteria and looks out for the students” by bringing the “student-populated apartments within the UCI district.”

But Councilmember Larry Agran said the map ultimately chosen in the 3-2 vote Tuesday emerged as the “consensus map.”

“Map 151 is the most popular and least objectionable with no significant citizen objection,” Agran said. “We need a map that’s popular, meets all the criteria and can garner majority support when voters have their say.”

Tuesday was the fifth public hearing in the process to transition to by-district elections. After previous councils resisted pressure — and the threat of a lawsuit — to make the switch to by-district elections, current councilmembers decided in January to look at the election process further.

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In the last decade, several cities — and school and special districts — in Orange County have switched to district elections, including Anaheim, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Tustin, Westminster, Los Alamitos and La Palma, in part because of the threat of legal action based on the challenge that citywide voting marginalizes minority communities. Another round of cities have recently faced challenges to their at-large voting and are looking to also transition to district-based elections, including Laguna Niguel and San Clemente.

If approved by voters, the new system would go into effect in November 2024.

Current council terms would not be affected by the change. Because Irvine councilmembers are elected to four-year terms and were not all elected at the same time, only some districts would be on the November ballot.

The council on Tuesday also approved a budget adjustment allocating $500,000 for the March special municipal election.

​ Orange County Register 

Laguna Niguel, Lake Forest parks turn spooky for Halloween

• October 11, 2023

Families wandered the trail at Crown Valley Park over the weekend, snapping Halloween photos and munching on treats.

Halloween Snap & Treat hosted by Laguna Niguel’s Park and Recreation Department was the first of several fun family events planned by south Orange County communities early in the season.

Over the next two weekends, Heritage Hill Historical Park in Lake Forest will be decked out for Fall-O-Ween.

This is the third year OC Parks has hosted the free event, which gives visitors – who are encouraged to wear costumes – a chance to see the historical grounds decorated for the season and take pictures at various photo opp stations.

Guests can also walk through a hay maze, complete a scavenger hunt and more. Hours are 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 13-15 and Oct. 20-22.

And, Haunted Trails opens in Laguna Niguel Thursday, Oct. 12, for four spooky days.

The trails of Crown Valley Park will be turned into a sort of outdoor haunted house, with monsters to scare you.

Tickets for those brave enough to walk the trails are $15 onsite. The hauntings happen from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Thursday and Sunday and 6:30 to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

The event is not recommended for children younger than 12, organizers said.

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​ Orange County Register 

How can I remove my card information from a website?

• October 11, 2023

Poonkulali Thangavelu | Bankrate.com (TNS)

When you’re shopping online, you’ve probably seen retailers ask if you’d like to save your card information. While the rationale is that doing so is a convenience for you, it also creates a sticky situation that’s beneficial for the merchant since it encourages you to come back for future shopping.

While you should have the choice to decide whether you want to save your card information with a particular merchant, you may also find that you don’t have the chance to opt out of the situation.

As an example, reader Juanita recently shared that, “A local sports facility offers summer classes for kids. Weekly sessions can be purchased individually, and the person must register each time they sign up for a session. They only accept credit card payments, and although their payment form powered by EZ Facility offers the option to uncheck the statement ‘I authorize Longplex LLC to store my credit card information for future payments,’ the ability to uncheck it isn’t available.”

Understandably, Juanita wanted to know if this behavior was lawful. Here’s what she needs to know.

How to remove card information from an online site

Many merchants will ask you to set up an account and provide your personal information before you make a purchase, including your credit card details. However, some websites will also allow you to check out as a guest so that you don’t have to store your personal information on the site.

In case you have concerns about your card information being compromised and don’t have the option of checking out as a guest, you can complete your purchase and then remove your card information from the website. You should be able to do this by going to your account on the website and looking up your payment information. From there, you should be able to remove or delete the card information you provided earlier for your transaction.

Dark patterns undermine consumer choice

While this process seems simple enough, be aware that some merchants make it deliberately difficult for you to effectively exercise this option.

One way they do this is by designing their sites to utilize dark patterns that subvert your choices. For example, according to the Federal Trade Commission, dark patterns incorporate design elements that:

•Don’t allow consumers to “definitely reject” collection or use of data

•Repeatedly lead consumers to select settings they don’t favor and want to avoid

•Use confusing settings that lead consumers to make privacy choices they did not intend to choose

•Highlight choices that make for more information collection, while “graying out” options that allow consumers to avoid this

•Purposefully obscure privacy choices and make them difficult to find

•Use default settings that are geared to maximize data collection and storage

What if you can’t opt out of having a website store your information?

In Juanita’s case, if a website doesn’t allow for opting out of storing your credit card information — since she can’t uncheck the option to store the information — that seems like a design element with a dark patterns agenda.

In addition to the FTC, various state authorities have also been cracking down on dark patterns that are aimed at thwarting consumers’ choices. For instance, the California Consumer Privacy Act, the Colorado Privacy Act and similar legislation in Connecticut weigh in on the use of online dark patterns.

If Juanita wants to opt out of having a website store her card information, but finds that she can’t exercise that option, she should first see if she can resolve the matter with the merchant. If that doesn’t work, she could take up the issue with the appropriate authorities.

For one, she could file a report with the FTC. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has also been concerned about businesses using dark patterns to manipulate consumers, and she could put in a complaint with that agency. In addition, she could turn to her state attorney general for guidance.

The bottom line

Although retailer websites want to hold on to your card information to make it more likely that you’ll shop with them in future, you should be able to check out as a guest if you don’t want your personal details stored. If you don’t have that option, you can also try to complete your transaction and then remove your card information from the website.

If a website is designed so that your option to decline the storing of your credit card information cannot be exercised, it seems you’re being manipulated. If you can’t sort out the situation with the merchant, consider filing a complaint with the appropriate authorities.

Key takeaways

•Retail websites often ask you for your credit card information to complete a transaction, and they’d like to be able to hold on to that information for the future.

•If you aren’t comfortable storing your card information on a website, you should be able to check out as a guest or remove your payment information from the website after checking out.

•Websites can sometimes be designed to manipulate consumer choices — if there’s no way of opting out of having your information stored, you could take the issue up with the FTC or other authorities.

©2023 Bankrate.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

​ Orange County Register 

OC firefighter amasses crazy overtime pay

• October 11, 2023

As wildfires raged across California, state residents rightly appreciated the tough work state and local firefighters performed. In the aftermath of the latest fire season, fire officials and union representatives complained about having insufficient firefighting resources. As one news report explained, these agencies say they are “stretched to the limit.”

Yet few officials – including politicians from both parties – want to discuss one of the key reasons California struggles to keep a lid on seasonal wildfires: the oversized pay and benefit packages of existing unionized firefighters. Their unions point to the relatively low base pay earned by some firefighters to detract attention, but occasionally a news item brings the shocking pay and benefit numbers into view.

Last week, the Orange County Register’s Teri Sforza reported on an Orange County Fire Authority firefighter who earned $290,000 in overtime last year. Combined with salary and generous benefits, his total compensation topped $526,000. Amazingly, that’s lower than the overtime earned by some other California firefighters. (Keep in mind California’s inmate firefighters earn only a few dollars a day.)

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The Transparent California database shows such taxpayer-funded generosity is no aberration. We count 44 Orange County firefighters who in 2022 earned compensation packages above $400,000. Much of this includes overtime, but firefighter schedules – including paid time while on call sleeping – are set up in a way to maximize OT payouts. The taxpayer-backed unfunded portions of their pensions aren’t even included in these tabulations, by the way.

Such high costs are causing something known as “crowd out” – the pay packages crowd out funding for other public services. The pay and soaring overtime also are creating pressure for higher taxes at the local level. These inexplicable pay levels aren’t needed given the long lines that ensue whenever there’s a vacant firefighter position.

Meanwhile, big-spending, union-friendly politicians have been trying to further boost these pay packages. Assembly member Heath Flora, R-Modesto, authored a bill, Assembly Bill 1254, that would have given state firefighters automatic raises in perpetuity, but it fortunately died in committee. No wonder California taxpayers are also “stretched to the limit.”

​ Orange County Register 

Disneyland rolls out new pumpkin-shaped Cinderella carriage for $180,000 fairy tale weddings

• October 11, 2023

A ride in a new Cinderella-inspired pumpkin-shaped royal coach during a fairy tale wedding in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle will cost the father of the bride about $5,000 — but that’s chump change when you’re dropping $180,000 on a Disneyland wedding.

The new Cinderella Platinum Coach joins a fleet of royal carriages available for couples who spring for the wedding of a lifetime at the Anaheim theme park, according to Disney Weddings.

Disneyland has not yet announced a price for the Cinderella Platinum Coach or a date when the new royal coach will be available to rent.

Disney Weddings rents the current Crystal Coach for $4,500 per ceremony, according to the Married at Disneyland website. That’s more than twice as much as the $1,900 brides spend on average for a wedding dress, according to The Knot.

SEE ALSO: Pixar’s ‘Turning Red’ boy band 4*Town is coming to Disneyland — but for what?

The newest Disneyland wedding carriage pays tribute to Disney’s 1950 “Cinderella” animated film and the magical pumpkin coach that transported the servant-turned-princess to and from the Royal Ball.

The new Cinderella Platinum Coach — which can be used exclusively by marrying couples arriving to and departing from their Disneyland wedding ceremony — takes its platinum name from the Disney100 celebration of the company’s 100th anniversary.

Concept art of the new Cinderella Platinum Coach coming to Disneyland for Disney Weddings. (Courtesy of Disney)

Disney designers looked to real-life royal carriages for proportional, decorative and structural details and studied 18th century Rococo designs to evoke an era of royal elegance with the new wedding carriage.

The new royal coach joins a fleet of Disney Weddings royal carriages that include the Crystal Coach and vis-a-vis carriages.

SEE ALSO: 20 loudest Disneyland rides and 20 noisiest shows — with decibel readings

The existing Crystal Coach features a ribbed glass carriage in the shape of a pumpkin with sweeping navy blue suspension and ivy-covered wheels.

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The new Cinderella Platinum Coach looks a little bigger with an open-air gold-trimmed carriage festooned and brocade upholstery with elegant scrollwork and dangling lanterns atop a white curved suspension perch and wheels. The new horse-drawn carriage is accompanied by a driver and two footmen in full fairy tale regalia.

Disneyland weddings start at $15,000 and quickly climb above $100,000 for perks like symphony string trios, fanfare trumpeters and Mad Hatter cakes. An appearance by Mickey and Minnie during your nuptials will set you back $1,700, according to This Fairy Tale Life.

The ultimate Disneyland wedding package costs at least $180,000 for a Sleeping Beauty Castle ceremony with a King Arthur Carrousel pre-reception or Small World Mall reception, according to This Fairy Tale Life. In-park weddings take place before Disneyland opens or after the park closes.

​ Orange County Register