OC students snowed in at science camps are coming home

• February 28, 2023

Hundreds of students who went away to outdoor science camps in the mountains last week and got stuck there due to heavy snowfall are expected back home Monday, Feb. 27.

Students from schools in Orange County’s Irvine, Garden Grove, Fullerton and La Palma, as well as the San Gabriel Valley, were snowed in at several camps in the San Bernardino mountains and unable to return as planned Friday.

By Monday late afternoon, students and teachers from G.B. Miller Elementary in La Palma, Gilbert Elementary in Garden Grove, Rolling Hills Elementary in Fullerton and Rowland Elementary in Rowland Heights either had arrived or were almost home.

In Irvine Unified, 120 students from Turtle Rock Elementary arrived home late Monday afternoon. And another 492 Irvine students — from Cadence Park, Oak Creek and Stone Creek schools — were still making their way home from the Pali Institute Outdoor Education Center in Running Springs, with the California Highway Patrol escorting buses down the mountain, as of Monday evening.

RELATED: Orange County students ‘snowed in’ at science camps due to weather

Southern California’s historic snowstorm and record-breaking rainfall led to the closure of all routes leading up to Big Bear and other areas where students were participating in what’s a rite of passage in California: a multi-day outdoor science camp. San Bernardino County, where the Big Bear region is, declared a local emergency Monday evening due to the weather.

While some enjoyed the extra snow time, it also led to some anxiety and homesickness.

“It’s been a rollercoaster,” said Rolling Hills teacher Jody Dyer, who was at the High Trails Outdoor Science School in Big Bear. “Even for those who have a history of going to camps and spending time at friends’ homes. They have fun. They feel homesick. Then they have a full day of activities and have fun. But in the evening, they start to feel bad again.

“And that’s where we come in,” said Dyer, who along with fellow teachers Kimberly Clary-Horn and Kyle Williamson has worked to keep up the spirits of the 69 sixth-graders from her school at “Camp High Trails.”

Teachers and camp counselors have been working around the clock to provide additional activities, meals and a safe place for the students, according to officials from various districts.

But some parents at Irvine Unified expressed concern about what they said was inadequate communication from the district. At least 30 parents met Sunday afternoon with Mayor Farrah Khan to ask questions. Khan did not respond to a request for comment.

“(Khan) explained what she knew and comforted as many people as she could,” said Parrisa Yazdani, who said she worried for her sixth-grader, who had just enough medication to last through Friday, as allowed by the camp’s rules. Yazdani said she asked the camp nurse to allow her daughter to skip her dose on Friday so she would have one for Saturday.

“No one (from the district) has contacted me about my daughter’s medication,” she said.

But teachers, Yazdani said, “have been phenomenal and gone above and beyond.”

Because students were not allowed to take cell phones with them, some teachers have used their own devices to help students communicate with families.

Some parents also questioned why school districts didn’t postpone the trips.

“We’re not in the 1900s. We have 10-day forecasts now,” said Irvine parent Feroz Kadar.

“I find that the communication — the level of clarity, of rigor, of detail, of transparency — appalling,” Kadar said, adding that he hopes the district will “better prepare” communications in future emergencies.

Both Yazdani and Kadar said they, along with other parents, valued above all else their children’s safety and wanted them brought down the mountains only once it is safe, regardless of how long that could take.

Irvine Unified parent Katie Fern, who has twins at Camp Pali, said she’s been happy with the level of communication from Stone Creek Elementary in Irvine from the get-go.

“We’ve had a Google Drive with photos of our kids every day. We had a Zoom call on Friday, where they set up five-minute calls,” she said. “I was getting enough information from the school. That was enough for me. I don’t know what the district could have added.” 

Irvine Unified Spokeswoman Annie Brown said in a statement Monday: “We understand that this fluid situation may have caused concern and frustration for our students, staff and families.”

“We would like to thank them for their patience and understanding as we continue to work diligently with the CHP, school and camp staff, our transportation team and other agencies on their safe return,” Brown said. “IUSD’s top priority is the safety of our students and staff. We continue to do everything in our power to ensure that our students are reunited with their families as safely and as soon as possible.”

At Centralia Elementary School District, Superintendent Norma Martinez also expressed gratitude to CHP “for their efforts to clear the road and prioritize our students coming down from camp.” Students were expected to return one day early, on Thursday, but a big rig accident closed the road.

The continued storm is expected to affect camps originally slated for this week. Irvine Unified canceled at least one planned excursion, and Anaheim Elementary is working with a camp to reschedule, said Superintendent Christopher Downing.

Saddleback Valley Unified had 96 students and adults at an outdoor science camp last week but was able to get them home Friday by transporting them via smaller 20-person vehicles down the mountain.

“There was great teamwork behind the scenes and good fortune of eventually hitting the timing right on the roads and thinking a little out of the box,” Saddleback Valley Unified spokeswoman Wendie Hauschild said Monday.

With Irvine Unified’s much larger group, more than 600 students, along with the severe weather conditions, “it would not be possible or safe to transport that number of students down the mountain in SUVs or other passenger vehicles,” Superintendent Terry L.Walker told parents in an email Friday.

CHP, he said, “heavily discourages families from driving to the camp sites.”

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​ Orange County Register 

Report: Lakers’ LeBron James could miss weeks with foot injury

• February 28, 2023

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Lakers’ quest to splash back into the postseason mix might have taken a brutal hit on Sunday night, amid the throes of one of the most enthralling wins of the season.

In the third quarter of an eventual 111-108 comeback win against the Dallas Mavericks, LeBron James landed awkwardly on his right foot and grabbed at it while writhing on the ground. Now, the team might have to play a good chunk of its remaining 21 regular-season games without the 38-year-old star.

The Athletic was first to report that James’ foot injury might cost him weeks in a regular season with only six weeks remaining. While James played through the fourth quarter on the injury, even going 5 for 9 from the field with a team-high 11 points in a massive comeback against the Mavericks, the report indicated that James’ foot will require “multiple opinions.”

James emphasized the seriousness of the injury on his Instagram account: posting a video of his right foot wrapped up in multiple layers in his Memphis hotel room, with an uninspiring but colorful caption.

The injury itself was noncontact, and James was overheard on TV microphones saying shortly after the fall that he heard “a pop.” Coach Darvin Ham said after the game he had not personally heard James characterize the injury that way.

Aside from casting doubt over James’ ability to play out the rest of the regular season, the injury is a serious blow to the scrapping Lakers (29-32), who were in 12th place in the Western Conference as of Monday morning with the ambition to climb to the No. 6 seed or higher. The Lakers were 2½ games out of the six seed and a game out of the No. 10 seed, the last play-in spot. They’ve been battling from the back of the standings all season long.

A trade deadline roster reshuffle had given rising hope to the Lakers: They are 4-1 since acquiring five new players, including D’Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley, all of whom have played in the starting lineup in the last three games. James had been dealing with a left foot injury before the All-Star break, playing in three wins since the deadline.

Part of the reason James played through injury was the team’s mounting urgency to win, he said.

“It’s been better, that’s for sure,” James said of his foot injury on Sunday night. “But I definitely wasn’t going to go to the locker room and not finish the game out tonight. Just understood the importance of the game and then with the momentum that we had, I felt like we could still win after being down. We’ll monitor it the next couple days, see how it feels and go from there.”

James is the team’s leading scorer (29.5 ppg) and playmaker (6.9 apg), as well as one of the leading rebounders (8.4 rpg). While he’s missed 14 of the team’s 61 games so far, he’s generally been the Lakers’ best player, and more available than teammate Anthony Davis, who has missed 24 games.

The Lakers are also expected to see Russell (right ankle sprain) miss additional time: The 27-year-old guard was listed as doubtful for the team’s Tuesday night game in Memphis. They’ll have one more road game in Oklahoma City before returning to L.A. for a five-game homestand.

The Lakers do have the benefit of one of the NBA’s easiest remaining schedules, with a .479 remaining opponent record. But they’ll play critical games against teams narrowly ahead of them in the standings over the next few weeks: Minnesota, Golden State, New Orleans and Dallas all before March 18.

James has a legacy throughout his 20-year career of being available, one of the reasons he was able to eclipse the NBA’s career scoring record earlier this month. But in his tenure with the Lakers during his mid- to late-30s, he’s struggled to stay healthy: He has missed 98 games in five seasons as a Laker (sitting out in Memphis will be his 99th), playing in 73% of all possible games. He missed just 71 games over his first NBA 15 seasons.

​ Orange County Register 

Orange County scores and player stats for Monday, Feb. 27

• February 28, 2023

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Scores and stats from Orange County games on Monday, Feb. 27

Click here for details about sending your team’s scores and stats to the Register.

MONDAY’S SCORES

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

TESORO TOURNAMENT

Semifinals

Beckman def. Mater Dei, 25-22, 25-21

Other Tesoro Tournament scores

Mission Viejo def. Marina, 25-15, 25-19

​ Orange County Register 

Clippers’ Tyronn Lue weighing how best to juggle backcourt minutes

• February 28, 2023

Even before adding a future Hall of Famer to the mix, Coach Tyronn Lue faced the challenge of finding minutes for the amount of talent on the Clippers roster. Now, with Russell Westbrook on the team, Lue’s job has gotten more complicated, and it didn’t take long.

It’s a situation Lue will continue to face in the Clippers’ final 19 regular-season games, including Tuesday’s home game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and beyond.

Two games after the team signed Westbrook, Lue had to choose between playing the former league MVP point guard down the stretch and into overtime against Denver on Sunday or Bones Hyland, an energetic second-year player. Or journeyman Eric Gordon.

And what about Terance Mann, who had performed solidly starting in a non-point guard role? Where does he fit in?

In the 134-124 overtime loss to Denver, Westbrook didn’t play a minute in the fourth quarter or the overtime, despite having scored 17 points, shot 60% from the field with only two turnovers and five steals in 25 minutes. Instead, Mann was on the floor during those minutes with brief stints by Hyland and Gordon.

In the 176-175 double-overtime loss to the Sacramento Kings on Friday, Lue sat Mann in favor of Westbrook down late in the fourth quarter and the overtime periods.

“He (Westbrook) pulled out a lot of games in his career, you know, and so I thought what hurt us was their ball pressure, getting up the floor, picking up full court,” Lue said about Westbrook’s play. “Keeping him in the game and on the floor to initiate because the pressure doesn’t bother him. I thought that was key for us.”

After the Kings game, Lue admitted that he probably should have played Mann more than 18 minutes.

“He was good. He should have played more,” said Lue, while acknowledging that someone else would see their playing time decrease.

“We all are just trying to figure it out. I know what T-Mann brings to the team,” Lue said. “Just trying to learn some things about the newer guys and just trying to put some different pieces together and see how it looks.

“I had a talk with T-Mann so he understands, but probably should have him on the floor a little bit more, but that’s a learning experience for me as well.”

Lue’s learning curve now includes having Westbrook share the ball-handling duties with Paul George and Kawhi Leonard without him losing his focus and playing outside of his game, which could lead to turnovers and wild shots.

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“We just have to make sure we keep him engaged in the game,” Lue said after the Denver loss. “He only had five shots at halftime, you know, so in the third quarter we wanted to come out and try to get him going together.”

Lue understands that each player wants to be on the floor as much as possible, but they are going to sacrifice their minutes at times for the team to be successful.

“They wouldn’t be where they are today if they weren’t competitors who want to compete,” Lue said. “We have a lot of good players and so every night is not going to be their night, so they have to understand that, and we have to understand that and whatever it takes to win is what we got to do.

“It’s just tough juggling all the good players right now, but we’ll get it down.”

​ Orange County Register 

Sen. Fetterman recovering, will be out a few more weeks

• February 28, 2023

By Mary Clare Jalonick | Associated Press

WASHINGTON — A spokesman for Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman says the Democrat is “on a path to recovery” after checking himself into a hospital for clinical depression earlier this month, and he is still expected to be away from the Senate for several weeks.

“We understand the intense interest in John’s status and especially appreciate the flood of well-wishes,” Fetterman’s communications director, Joe Calvello, said in a statement Monday afternoon. “However, as we have said this will be a weeks-long process and while we will be sure to keep folks updated as it progresses, this is all there is to give by way of an update.”

Fetterman is being treated at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he checked in Feb. 15 as he was still struggling with the aftereffects of a stroke. His office said at the time that he had experienced depression “off and on throughout his life,” but it had only become severe in recent weeks. Capitol Physician Brian P. Monahan recommended his hospitalization after an evaluation, his office said then.

Fetterman, 53, suffered the stroke last May as he was campaigning in a tough Senate race against GOP nominee Dr. Mehmet Oz. He won the election in November and was sworn in Jan. 3, giving Democrats an extra seat in the Senate and a 51-49 majority.

One of Fetterman’s main aftereffects from the stroke is auditory processing disorder, which can render someone unable to speak fluidly and quickly process spoken conversation into meaning. To manage it, Fetterman uses devices in conversations, meetings and congressional hearings that transcribe spoken words in real time.

Post-stroke depression is common, with one in three stroke patients suffering from it, and is treatable through antidepressant medication and counseling, doctors say.

Pennsylvania’s other senator, Democrat Bob Casey, returned to the Senate on Monday. He had also been away in recent weeks after he underwent surgery for prostate cancer.

​ Orange County Register 

Report finds substantial increase in Orange County homeless deaths

• February 28, 2023

Deaths among those in Orange County’s homeless community have risen substantially over the past decade as the number of accidental deaths has begun outpacing natural ones, according to a county report released on Monday.

The Homeless Death Review Committee found that deaths among the local homeless rose from 103 in 2012 to 395 in 2021, with drugs becoming the leading cause of death.

According to the report, the number of accidental deaths among the homeless surpassed natural deaths beginning in 2020. More than 75 percent of the accidental deaths that year were drug related, according to the report, and three-quarters of the drug-related deaths involved fentanyl.

The committee wrote that the rise in fentanyl-involved deaths was particularly concerning. The powerful synthetic opioid was found to be a factor in 144 of the 395 homeless deaths in 2021, according to the report.

Members of the committee also raised particular concerns about the suicide and homicide rates among Orange County homeless, both of which were significantly higher than the national average and pointed to a population more at risk of crime and mental illness.

Looking at the deaths in 2021, the committee found that 300 of the 309 homeless individuals had spent at least some time in jail in Orange County during the five previous years.

Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes — whose department runs the jails and whose coroner division led the Homeless Death Review Committee — said the findings were “telling,” adding that “it’s clear we have challenges ahead to reduce the number of deaths among people experiencing homelessness.”

“We continue to enhance efforts to address the fentanyl epidemic and provide critical resources to those trapped in addiction,” Barnes said in a prepared statement. “It will be imperative that we also look at the clear correlation between incarceration of people experiencing homelessness and work to increase the number of people taking advantage of programs while they’re in custody.”

The committee — which also included experts from county agencies, city police departments, hospitals and non-profits — was created to look at the root causes of homeless deaths and determine if there are ways to prevent future deaths. The report released on Monday is the first from the committee, which was created in January 2022.

The report found that the number of deaths among the homeless increased incrementally from 2012 to 2019 before jumping substantially — by 55 percent — between 2019 and 2020, the first year of the pandemic.

Among the recommendations outlined in the report was pursuing legislation that would allow a case by case review of each death by the committee — which is currently limited to viewing aggregate data — as well as expand options for substance abuse treatment, increase the availability of Narcan — a medicine that can reverse an opioid overdose — and explore changes to sentencing laws that would focus on substance abuse treatment in lieu of incarceration.

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​ Orange County Register 

Man pleads guilty to meth-fueled fatal collision in Buena Park

• February 28, 2023

A 37-year-old Anaheim man pleaded guilty on Monday, Feb. 27, and was immediately sentenced to 10 years in prison for a methamphetamine-fueled crash in 2018 that killed a pedestrian in Buena Park.

Jason Douglas Rarey pleaded guilty to a felony count of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.

Rarey killed 51-year-old San Sebastian Tec Tamayo of Buena Park on June 23, 2018. Rarey admitted he was driving high on methamphetamine and was going 62 mph in a 40-mph zone, according to court records.

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Tamayo and his family were walking home from a gathering just before 10:30 p.m. that night, crossing the street in a crosswalk at Western and Jackson avenues when the victim was struck.

Tamayo was pronounced dead at the scene.

​ Orange County Register 

USC workers urge school officials to refrain from anti-union tactics

• February 28, 2023

USC shuttle drivers and dispatchers who claim they’re grossly underpaid are urging school officials to refrain from anti-union tactics as they prepare to vote on whether to join SEIU Local 721.

On Feb. 6, a majority of the school’s 30 shuttle drivers and two dispatchers filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to hold a union election, which is set for March 23. They claim USC managers have sent deceptive emails to the workers with anti-union messages.

Drivers also fear school officials may start holding “captive audience” meetings to spread misinformation and dissuade them from voting to unionize.

They plan to stage a rally at 11:45 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 28 outside the USC Dworak-Peck School of Social Work to call for a “fair, open and clean union election” for shuttle drivers and dispatchers that’s free of interference and union-busting tactics by school administrators and managers.

The workers expect to be joined by a coalition of students, labor allies and community members.

“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 in a statement.

Olivarez said USC President Carol Folt needs to know the workers “emphatically support” joining SEIU Local 721 to have a stronger voice on the job and better advocate for themselves and their passengers.

USC responds

In a statement issued Monday, USC Auxiliary Services said it values shuttle drivers and the work they perform.

“We also value the direct, collegial and cooperative relationship we have with our drivers and our ability to flexibly and directly respond to their concerns and needs as they arise,” the department said. “We do not believe they need a third party to speak for them.”

Still, USC said it respects the drivers’ right to decide whether they wish to have a union represent them.

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.

SEIU Local 721 mini bus drivers in Riverside negotiated and won a $10,000 cash bonusin 2022, for example, while Gold Coast Transit drivers in Ventura County start off at $22.51 an hour with every driver set to receive a 3% raise on June 25.

“USC shuttle drivers currently do not have the power to negotitate bonuses,” the union said.

In a posting on SEIU’s website, USC shuttle drivers 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.

“In other words, we cannot fight back against unjust discipline,” the drivers say.

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

In a recent interview posted on USC Annenberg Media, shuttle driver Chris Harris, bemoaned the wages he and his colleagues earn.

“We are one of the lowest paid companies as far as transportation,” he said.

​ Orange County Register