USC shuttle drivers, dispatchers vote to join SEIU Local 721

• March 25, 2023

USC shuttle drivers and dispatchers who say they’re grossly underpaid voted this week to join SEIU Local 721.

On Feb. 6, the workers filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to hold a union election, which was held Thursday, March 23 with a majority voting in favor. The school employs 30 drivers and two dispatchers.

“This historic win puts us in the driver’s seat, and gives us the ability to win fair pay, better benefits and a voice on the job,” driver James Sims said in a statement.

Sims said the election will improve the lives of shuttle drivers and dispatchers while also boosting the quality of services provided to passengers.

“We look forward to coming together with the university very soon, and in good faith, to begin the bargaining process to negotiate our first union contract at USC,” he said.

Representatives with USC could not be reached for comment Friday.

USC shuttle drivers start at $18 an hour, considerably less than unionized drivers at UCLA, who earn a starting wage of $22.74 an hour and top out at $30.58 an hour.

Unionized drivers at Los Angeles International Aiport earn even more, with a maximum hourly wage of $39.34.

SEIU Local 721 notes that other area shuttle drivers also receive periodic bonuses, something they say USC drivers don’t get.

What the drivers and dispatchers hope to gain through unionization:

Higher wages
The ability to negotiate union contracts that win improvements to shifts, workloads and health and retirement benefits
Grievance and arbitration procedures to enforce union contracts and provide fair appeal procedures for employee discipline

Moving forward, the workers plan to elect a bargaining team and negotiate a new contract.

Last month, the drivers and dispatchers said USC managers had sent deceptive emails to the workers with anti-union messages.

“We’re fed up with being underpaid and undervalued despite our critical role in keeping students, staff, faculty and visitors moving,” shuttle driver Sonia Olivarez said last month.

In a February posting on SEIU’s website, drivers also said they work as “at will” employees who can be let go at any time for any reason or no reason, with no recourse for unfair situations.

​ Orange County Register 

Russell Westbrook mentoring Clippers’ young guards

• March 25, 2023

Russell Westbrook has been called a lot of things. MVP. Toxic. Amazing ball-handler. Disruptor. All-Star. One of the best point guards in NBA history.

But mentor? That is among the roles Westbrook has taken on since joining the Clippers last month. And his pupils? Terance Mann and Bones Hyland, two of the team’s young guards, are happy to learn Westbrook’s secrets to success.

Asked what Westbrook has taught him, Hyland, a second-year player, said, “Man, everything. He’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer.”

From his spot on the bench, Hyland said his appreciation for Westbrook’s skills has grown since the two joined the Clippers (39-35) last month. Hyland, who spent his first one-plus seasons with the Denver Nuggets, previously had only seen Westbrook from across the court.

“I got so much love and just, just everything for Russ, man. I love watching him play, his energy,” Hyland said. “He goes out there and plays 99% every time. Well, 100%, 100% every time.

“He gives it his all. So just being alongside Russ, I learned so much and he’s always in my ear telling me the good things, what he sees out there for me. I’m glad to be a teammate alongside Russ.”

Hyland showed what he had learned so far in Thursday’s 127-105 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. He was all over the court, going 4 for 6 from 3-point range – making two more than his mentor – and shooting 6 for 13 overall for 16 points off the bench. He also had seven assists, four rebounds, one blocked shot and one steal.

Hyland and Mann provided a spark the team needed with All-Star wing Paul George out for the next 2-3 weeks because of a knee sprain. The Clippers are going to need more of that kind of youthful energy when they take on the New Orleans Pelicans (36-37) on Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena.

“When it’s my time, when my number’s called, I just go out there and give it my all,” Hyland said. “It was an amazing game tonight.”

Westbrook, 34, said he jumped at the opportunity to take on a leadership role with the Clippers, something he didn’t find with the LeBron James-led Lakers.

“I like to see other people do well,” said Westbrook, who starred at Leuzinger High and UCLA. “I really enjoyed it, honestly. Man, to see him play well tonight, it speaks so great for him.

“With Terance, my job is to make sure that he knows what’s going on, to keep his spirits high, make sure he knows what’s going on throughout the game. Tonight, he did that. He obviously knows how to play at a high level.”

Mann said Westbrook has helped him stay focused during games and “not worrying about the last play and moving onto the next one. Kind of just that relentless mentality of the next play is your best play, and I appreciate that from him.”

Coach Tyronn Lue said he is excited to see veterans, such as Westbrook, interact with the younger generation, keeping them ready to play.

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Westbrook called his new role – a fresh start so to speak – with the Clippers a great experience, something he is grateful to have found.

“God has put me in this position,” Westbrook said. “I’m thankful for that and I’m just going to cherish every moment I have and hopefully we are playing at the end of June.”

Because the one thing Westbrook has never been called is an NBA champion.

PELICANS AT CLIPPERS

When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.

Where: Crypto.com Arena

TV/Radio: Bally Sports SoCal, 570 AM

​ Orange County Register 

Marvel Zombies comes to life in a tabletop game at WonderCon

• March 25, 2023

Amid the hustle of hordes of cosplayers and comic book fans spilling into the Anaheim Convention Center for the first day of WonderCon on Friday, March 24 to pick up exclusive merchandise, get in the front rows of panel discussions or to get books and artwork signed by their favorite artists, there was a bit of calm as small groups hit up the CMON booth in the center of all the action to play tabletop games.

With all of the colorful costumes and the sights and sounds of a bustling convention surrounding them, WonderCon attendees were able to hunker down and play the new Marvel Zombies: A Zombicide Game.

“We love it,” said Geoff Skinner, senior vice president of U.S. operations at CMON as he stood inside the large booth and guests played games around him. “We were able to come back to WonderCon for the first time last year since the pandemic. We had the Marvel United game that had just come out and until then we hadn’t been interacting one-on-one with people and by far the most rewarding thing was seeing like a 10-year-old come play for the first time. It was fun to watch them take the time to learn and these games have a ton of strategy and they can pretend to be their favorite characters, too. Watching people come, sit down, play and try it out and later say that it was one of their favorite things of the convention; that’s one of my favorite things from these weekends.”

Marvel Zombies is the company’s latest game and is based on the five-issue limited series of graphic novels published in 2005-2006 that were written by “The Walking Dead” graphic novel series creator Robert Kirkman along with art by Sean Phillips and covers by Arthur Suydam.

CMON, which has released dozens of these types of games, used a Kickstarter campaign with the goal of raising $500,000 to create the new tabletop game. They were stunned when in just 16 days they received more than $9 million in pledges with more than 28,500 backers earlier this year. The basic version of the game is available now at most retailers for about $34.99, however expanded and deluxe packs that were available to those that participated in the Kickstarter campaign started at $130, but included additional pawns, which were hand-sculpted and put into molds instead of being 3-D printed, and limited edition character pawns. Those more exclusive sets will be shipped soon and are expected to be fully out to all the Kickstarter backers by June.

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“It was absolutely amazing,” Skinner said. “We couldn’t be more grateful for the fans that came out to support us. We had such a big first day; within the first three hours we did $3 million and it broke all of our internal records and we weren’t prepared for that. We hoped people would come out and like it, but just the amount that came, it was tough to keep up.”

Skinner said the interest in tabletop and board games has steadily increased since the early ’00s.

“Before the pandemic, I knew more people than ever that had game nights,” he said. “That could have been Cards Against Humanity, Zombicide or Catan, which is really popular and influential. But I think the match that was placed on the gasoline came when people were at home because of the pandemic and they were in their pods or with their families and they didn’t want to sit around inside. Even with as much binge-worthy TV as there was, you can only watch so much TV. It wasn’t just the uptick in the amount of people playing games again, it was also the acceptance of different types of games and people looking for different experiences.”

Those who attended WonderCon were among the first to be able to see all the exclusive pieces to the Marvel Zombies game, which in the more exclusive versions is for up to six players. Skinner said the game designers took cues directly from the comic book series, but there are a few things that set this game apart from similar games on the market.

“We made the zombies our playable characters as opposed to our normal Zombicide,” he said. “In most other games, you’re a survivor and trying to outrun, gun down or feed the zombies in some way. In this, you are zombie Hulk and you are zombie Iron Man. You’re playing against other heroes who have not been zombified and Spider-Man can swing in and try to defeat you and the non-zombie heroes can be your nemesis. You try to stave off hunger because in the comics, the whole point was every time they ate, they’d revert to normal and regret what they did, but they’d get real hungry again and they couldn’t help it.”

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The game is mission based and there are multiple objectives available in the included booklet where you have to find ways to flee waves of SHIELD agents that are coming for you or you have to eat a hero, Skinner explains.

“It offers a lot of different game play depending on the mission you want to play so a lot of times you can sit down at the table and play something you’ve never played before out of the same box,” he added.

CMON also had two other games for fans to try out including new board games based on Scooby-Doo! and Stranger Things. These games were also available to guests in the the general gaming area of the convention, which featured dozens of new tabletop games.

WonderCon 2023

When: 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday, March 25; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, March 26

Where: Anaheim Convention Center, 800 W. Katella Ave., Anaheim

Tickets: Badges are $35-$55 for adults; $18-$23 for kids ages 13-17, seniors ages 60 and older and active military at comic-con.org/wca.

​ Orange County Register 

Max Muncy, J.D. Martinez hit home runs as Dodgers tie Brewers

• March 25, 2023

THE GAME: Max Muncy and J.D. Martinez hit home runs as the Dodgers played to a 6-6 tie with the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday afternoon at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Ariz.

PITCHING REPORT: In his final tuneup before starting on Opening Day, Julio Urias allowed three runs in his five innings, two on back-to-back home runs by Josh VanMeter and Mike Brosseau. He gave up eight hits, walked three and struck out only one. … Alex Vesia and Caleb Ferguson combined to allow two runs in the sixth inning. … Evan Phillips and Shelby Miller each pitched a 1-2-3 inning.

HITTING REPORT: Muncy was 2 for 3 with a double to go with his home run. Martinez had a walk and his home run in three times up. … Trayce Thompson had a walk and an RBI double. … Hunter Feduccia has been one of the Dodgers’ best hitters this spring. The young catcher had a double in the eighth inning Friday and is 8 for 20 (.400) with three doubles, a triple, a home run and nine RBIs in Cactus League games.

UP NEXT: Royals (RHP Zack Greinke) vs. Dodgers (RHP Dustin May) at Camelback Ranch, Saturday, 12:05 p.m., SportsNet LA, 570 AM

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​ Orange County Register 

Scientists surprised four California sea otters died from strain of a parasite that could impact humans

• March 25, 2023

Four sea otters in California have died from a rare strain of the Toxoplasma gondii parasite that scientists said could pose a risk to human health.

Researchers called the finding a “complete surprise” because this strain of T. gondii had never been reported in any aquatic animal or in coastal California. Their study, led by researchers from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and University of California, Davis, was published this week in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science.

“Since Toxoplasma can infect any warm-blooded animal, it could also potentially cause disease in animals and humans that share the same environment or food resources, including mussels, clams, oysters, and crabs that are consumed raw or undercooked,” Melissa Miller, a California Department of Fish and Wildlife researcher and author of the paper, said in news release.

The four sea otters stranded from 2020 to 2022, and each had an “unusual and severe” condition called steatitis, or inflammation of body fat. Toxoplasmosis is common in sea otters, and it’s known that it can be deadly, the researchers wrote, but this strain of T. gondii was able to rapidly kill apparently healthy adult otters.

No cases have been reported in humans, but researchers called the otters “important sentinels” of the circulating strain, which could be a risk to people eating seafood or ingesting contaminated water.

“Because this parasite can infect humans and other animals, we want others to be aware of our findings, quickly recognize cases if they encounter them and take precautions to prevent infection,” Miller said. “We encourage others to take extra precautions if they observe inflamed systemic fat deposits in sea otters or other marine wildlife.”

Most people infected with T. gondii have no symptoms and aren’t aware of their infection, but severe toxoplasmosis can cause damage to the brain, eyes and other organs, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It can be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy and can lead to significant health problems after birth. People at higher risk for severe infection are infants born to mothers who were infected during or shortly before pregnancy and people with weakened immune systems.

To prevent any toxoplasmosis infection, the CDC recommends typical food safety practices such as cooking foods to a high internal temperature, rinsing fruits and vegetables and washing utensils.

Cat feces is known to contain high levels of the parasite, so the CDC urges people to keep pet cats inside, change the litter box every day — before the parasite becomes infectious — and wash hands well.

In the study, the researchers said more work is needed to investigate habitat or climate change factors that may have led to the spread of the rare strain in otters, and to examine whether other aquatic wildlife are infected.

The-CNN-Wire & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

​ Orange County Register 

Crestline resident thanks 71 Orange County firefighters for help after blizzard

• March 25, 2023

One Crestline resident went two days without food. A healthcare worker lost contact with an elderly resident for three weeks. Another resident had run out of pet food.

For 13 days after the recent storms that pounded communities in the San Bernardino Mountains, 71 firefighters with the Orange County Fire Authority worked long days: They dug out residents trapped in their homes and vehicles, helped open up roadways, and checked on others to make sure they were OK.

The firefighters, a mix of hand-crew members trained to combat wildfires and traditional firefighters as well, helped stranded residents get rides down the mountain for medical appointments, including two for dialysis, with the assistance of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. They looked in on a woman’s dad and ended up digging him a way out.

Tina Watson wanted to thank them.

To rescue mountain residents, San Bernardino County’s snowcats create their own roads

To get back into her Crestline home, on a visit from her other home down the mountain to check on the gas meter after other places had caught fire, hand crew members had created a path for her and her husband. They cleared off her deck, too, so it wouldn’t collapse from the weight of the snow and solidified ice. A hand crew member even held one of her arms and walked her to the door to ensure she wouldn’t slip.

So a Zoom call was set up for the 66-year-old on Wednesday, and she chatted with many of the OCFA firefighters who had gathered at Fire Station 18 in Trabuco Canyon, where the two OCFA hand crews that responded are based.

“It’s a simple thanks, but you have no idea the blessings you bestowed on so many people up there in the mountains,” she told them during a 25-minute-or-so call.

She was briefly brought to tears as she shared stories of elderly mountain residents who had been trapped and unable to access medicine or healthcare before the firefighters arrived early this month.

How the recent blizzard in San Bernardino Mountains compares to 1933 storms

“They had no heating, no firewood, no electricity, and no phones,” she told the firefighters. “The only reason they were able to get help was the two crews that were up there digging these people out.”

Scott Gorman, superintendent of a 25-strong OCFA hand crew that was part of the effort, said the work can be overwhelming for first responders during disaster-relief efforts. The level of urgency and demand can be an emotional roller coaster for the firefighters as well. The most difficult part, he said, is driving away at the end of the day, knowing there are still people in need.

“For me, that’s always the challenge,” he said. “You don’t want to leave them, because the situation is not over.”

So, for nearly two weeks, the OCFA firefighters kept going back.

​ Orange County Register 

Well prepared UCLA women look forward to South Carolina’s challenge

• March 24, 2023

The UCLA women’s basketball team will make its eighth Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA tournament on Saturday. The game will be on the biggest stage of the season and against arguably the best opponent they’ve faced all season: reigning national champion South Carolina.

The Bruins played the Gamecocks in late November and lost by nine points. Since then, South Carolina has gone on to earn the overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament after an unbeaten season. But a lot has happened for fourth-seeded UCLA since that time, too.

“That game was at the beginning of the year,” graduate student Gina Conti said. “We’ve learned a lot, we’ve faced a lot of different adversity and stacked it on top of each other. I’m excited that we get another go-around to play them.”

UCLA (27-9) will face South Carolina (34-0) at 11 a.m. at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina, after beating Sacramento State and Oklahoma in the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament.

The Bruins are 12-6 in road games this season and Saturday’s game could bring an intense crowd. The Gamecocks had an attendance of over 10,000 people in Columbia, South Carolina for their second-round game against South Florida.

UCLA will rely on the depth and maturity after rotating 10 players in for almost every game lately. The five freshmen average 19 minutes of playing time and three have played in all 36 games.

“We have a good mix of healthy naivety from the freshmen,” coach Cori Close said. “I think sometimes that serves them well. They don’t know that they’re not supposed to win. But then there’s also maturity of like, Charisma (Osborne), where they know what it takes. In those moments, we are going to look to Charisma to be our steadying force.”

Osborne, a senior, scored a career-high 36 points in UCLA’s last outing against Oklahoma. That’s the most points scored in a postseason game by any player in UCLA program history. Throughout the season, she’s reached double digits in scoring in 30 games.

Kiki Rice leads the freshmen and has started in 35 games this season. She’s the second-leading scoring player on the team with 11.9 points per game. Londynn Jones, Lina Sontag, Gabriela Jaquez and Christeen Iwuala round out the freshman group.

“All of us were the best from wherever we went to, but that’s not enough because everybody’s so good,” Iwuala said of the freshmen. “So what else can you bring besides the talent that got you to where you were, like, say in high school and stuff? I feel like that’s a big question in what we have here.”

South Carolina beat its first two opponents of the NCAA tournament — Norfolk State and South Florida — by a combined 63 points.

The Gamecocks, led by head coach Dawn Staley and her 400 wins, average 81 points per game while holding opponents to roughly 50 points. Zia Cooke averages 15.3 points each game and has made 61-of-169 3-pointers this season, but the Bruins are also keying in on Aliyah Boston (13.1 ppg) and Kamilla Cardoso (9.7 ppg) and South Carolina’s overall ability to score in transition.

Close said that South Carolina will have to contain a lot of what the Bruins can do, too.

“We actually probably have more ways in which we can score offensively than they do,” the 12th-year coach said. “We’ve got a lot of weapons offensively that they have to prepare for and so we’ve gotta make sure we use them all.”

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Emily Bessoir, a redshirt-sophomore, has been a big piece of UCLA’s scoring. She’s third on the team with 9.4 points per game and leads the team in rebounds with 5.8 per game. Conti has the most assists on the team with 115 and averages 3.3 assists per game.

UCLA is putting faith in the growth it has had since the last time facing South Carolina. There’s been a serious tone to this week’s preparations, but there’s also room for letting loose. It’s not uncommon to catch the Bruins holding mini dance parties when there’s a break in the work.

“We’ve done all the preparation already,” Conti said. “We’re not cramming things in. It’s not like we’re studying last-minute things. So by the time we get to that point where we’re dancing in a locker room, we should already know our stuff. We just trust that everyone’s put the work in.”

UCLA (27-9) vs. South Carolina (34-0)

When: 11 a.m. Saturday

Where: Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville, South Carolina

TV: ESPN

​ Orange County Register 

A last-minute guide to filing your 2022 return: EV credits, shrinking refunds and the end of pandemic tax relief

• March 24, 2023

Robert Channick | (TNS) Chicago Tribune

With less than one month to go before the April 18 deadline, the majority of the nation’s 168 million tax filers are once again scrambling to download software, organize receipts and call their accountants for last-minute help.

Procrastinators may find what early filers already know: Tax year 2022 is not producing as many happy returns as in previous years due to a number of changes, including the expiration of some pandemic-era tax breaks.

“People will be getting smaller refunds on average because of that,” said Dan Rahill, a longtime Chicago tax partner and past chairman of the Illinois CPA Society, who now serves as a wealth strategist at Wintrust Wealth Management.

From a reduced child tax credit to the end of a charitable tax break that allowed for an above-the-line deduction last year, the changes are most likely to erode refunds that have become the norm during the pandemic.

For the 63 million people who had already filed their tax returns as of March 10, the average refund is down 11% to $2,972, according to the latest IRS data.

That refund decline could get even steeper as the rest of the returns come in.

“The people that want to get it done right away are the ones that expect that refund, and they want to get that money back,” Rahill said. “If they don’t expect a big refund, there’s no urgency to file.”

On the upside, expanded EV tax credits and other clean energy initiatives from the Inflation Reduction Act, signed in August by President Joe Biden, could help boost refunds for some tax filers this year. And millions of Illinois filers are getting a small measure of relief from the IRS for those one-off state “tax rebate” checks mailed in September.

Here are some key changes to look for in the 2022 return.

Filing DeadlineThere will be a little more time to file this year because the deadline has been pushed back from April 15, which falls on a Saturday, to Tuesday, April 18. The extra 24-hour reprieve is thanks to Washington, D.C., celebrating its annual Emancipation Day on April 17, which affects tax deadlines in the same way as federal holidays.

Child Tax CreditIn 2021, Congress boosted the Child Tax Credit for one year through the American Rescue Plan, increasing the maximum credit from $2,000 up to $3,600 for children under 6, and $3,000 for children 6 through 17. The 2022 tax credit reverts to $2,000 per child, although Biden has proposed expanding it back to the $3,600 maximum for the next fiscal year.

Child and Dependent Care ExpensesAn American Rescue Plan increase on the maximum amount of care expenses you’re allowed to claim for a child or dependent also expired in 2022, dropping the maximum credit from $8,000 to $3,000 per person.

Charitable DeductionsThe 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act under then-President Donald Trump nearly doubled the standard deduction, eliminating the incentive for 90% of filers to itemize and claim charitable expenses as deductions. During the first two years of the pandemic, Congress gave charities a boost by allowing donors to claim an above-the-line deduction of up to $300 — even if they didn’t itemize. The added charitable deduction has expired as well for the 2022 tax year.

Clean Vehicle CreditThe Inflation Reduction Act expanded a tax credit of up to $7,500 for new electric vehicles and added a credit of up to $4,000 for used EVs purchased in 2023. But the law also added price caps, income limits and other restrictions that may reduce or eliminate the tax credit.

To qualify for the expanded $7,500 tax credit, new electric trucks, SUVs and vans must have a retail price of $80,000 or less, while other EVs cannot exceed $55,000. Individual taxpayers who make more than $150,000 a year are not eligible for the credit. The income cutoff goes up to $300,000 for buyers filing joint returns.

Used EVs must be at least two years old and cost $25,000 or less to qualify for the $4,000 tax credit. Income limits are $75,000 for individuals and up to $150,000 for joint filers.

A few other wrinkles to consider. New EVs purchased after Aug. 17 have to be assembled in North America to get the $7,500 tax credit for 2022. A cumulative 200,000-vehicle manufacturer’s sales cap has been eliminated in 2023, but Chevy, GMC and Tesla EVs sold last year do not qualify for the credit.

Requirements on the sourcing of critical mineral and battery components are also set to kick in during 2023, but are not in place for the 2022 tax year.

Residential Clean Energy Property CreditA 30% tax credit on the cost of residential solar, wind, geothermal heat pump and battery storage technology was extended by the Inflation Reduction Act through 2032, with no overall dollar limit on expenditures. A phased-down rate will be in effect for 2033 and 2034.

Tax Filing ExtensionsWith refunds projected to decline this year, Rahill expects more taxpayers to drag their feet all the way to April 18, and perhaps beyond.

The number of taxpayers filing for extensions, he said, is also likely to tick up this year.

“A big percentage of people are going to be affected by these expiring COVID tax incentives,” Rahill said. “A lot of them are not going to get that big refund anymore. So why hustle to their local tax accountant to get their taxes filed?”

[email protected]

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​ Orange County Register