The Manson ‘family’: A look at key players and victims in the cult leader’s killings

• July 12, 2023

By ROBERT JABLON and JOHN ROGERS

LOS ANGELES – In 1969, Charles Manson dispatched a group of disaffected young followers on a two-night killing rampage that terrorized Los Angeles. The killings remain etched in the American consciousness.

On Tuesday, Leslie Van Houten was released after spending more than 50 years in prison for two of those murders. She’s the only one of Manson’s followers who participated in the infamous Tate-LaBianca murders to go free.

Members of the Manson “family” arrived at the Hollywood Hills home of Sharon Tate on Aug. 8, 1969, where they stabbed, beat and shot to death the young actress and her friends — celebrity hairstylist Jay Sebring, coffee heiress Abigail Folger and aspiring screenwriter Wojciech Frykowski. As they made their way to the house, they encountered a teenager, Steven Parent, who had been visiting an acquaintance at the estate’s guesthouse, and shot him to death.

RELATED: Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten released from prison after 53 years

The next night, Manson led a handful of followers, including Van Houten, to the home of wealthy grocer Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary. Manson tied up the couple and left the others to kill them.

Manson and his followers also killed two others — musician Gary Hinman and Hollywood stuntman Donald “Shorty” Shea — in separate, unrelated attacks

In the decades since, some of Manson’s followers have died while others remain behind bars.

THE KILLERS

— Charles Manson was a petty criminal who had been in and out of jail since childhood when he reinvented himself in the late 1960s as a guru-philosopher. He targeted teenage runaways and other lost souls, particularly attractive young women he used and bartered to others for sex.

He sent them out to butcher LA’s rich and famous in what prosecutors said was a bid to trigger a race war — an idea they say he got from a twisted reading of the Beatles’ song “Helter Skelter.”

Decades after his conviction, Manson would continue to taunt prosecutors, parole agents and others, sometimes denying any role in the killings and other times boasting of them. He told a 2012 parole hearing: “I have put five people in the grave. I am a very dangerous man.”

He died in 2017 after spending nearly 50 years in prison. He was 83.

— Susan Atkins, convicted of the Tate, LaBianca and Hinman murders, was a teenage runaway working as a topless dancer in a San Francisco bar when she met Manson in 1967.

The Tate-LaBianca murders went unsolved for months until Atkins, who was in jail on unrelated charges, boasted to a cellmate about her involvement.

At trial, she testified she was “stoned on acid” and didn’t know how many times she stabbed Tate as the actress begged for her life. Atkins, who became a born-again Christian in prison and denounced Manson, tearfully recounted that confrontation during a parole hearing years later.

She died in prison of cancer in 2009. She was 61.

— Leslie Van Houten, a former high school cheerleader and homecoming princess, saw her life spiral out of control at 14 following her parents’ divorce.

She turned to drugs and became pregnant but said her mother forced her to abort the fetus and bury it in the family’s backyard.

Van Houten met Manson at an old movie ranch on the outskirts of Los Angeles where he had established his so-called “family” of followers.

She didn’t take part in the Tate killings but accompanied Manson and others to the LaBianca home the next night. She has described holding down Rosemary LaBianca with a pillowcase over her head as others stabbed LaBianca dozens of times. Then, ordered by Manson follower Charles “Tex” Watson to “do something,” she said she picked up a knife and stabbed the woman more than a dozen times.

Van Houten, 71, earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in counseling while in prison and led several prison programs to help rehabilitate fellow inmates. She was repeatedly recommended for parole, but two governors — first Jerry Brown and then Gavin Newsom — blocked her release.

However, she was finally freed after Newsom announced last week that he wouldn’t pursue efforts to keep her behind bars.

— Patricia Krenwinkel was a 19-year-old secretary when she met Manson at a party. She left everything behind three days later to follow him, believing they had a budding romantic relationship.

After he became abusive and bartered her for sex, she said she twice tried to leave him but followers brought her back, kept a close watch on her and kept her high on drugs.

She testified at a 2016 parole hearing that she repeatedly stabbed Folger, then stabbed Leno LaBianca in the abdomen the following night and wrote “Helter Skelter,” ’Rise” and “Death to Pigs” on the walls with his blood.

Krenwinkel, 75, remains in prison. Krenwinkel contends she is a changed person but was denied parole more than a dozen times. She was finally recommended for parole last year but Newsom reversed the decision.

— Charles “Tex” Watson was a college dropout from Texas when he arrived in California in 1967 seeking “satisfaction through drugs, sex and rock ‘n’ roll,” as he explains on his website.

He recalled meeting Manson at the house of Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson after seeing Wilson hitchhiking and giving him a ride home.

Watson, 77, led the killers to the Tate estate, shot to death Parent as he was attempting to leave and took part in the killings that night and the next at the LaBianca home.

He became a born-again Christian in prison and formed a prison ministry in 1980 that he continues to lead. Watson, who has authored or co-authored several books while in prison, maintains he has changed and is no longer a danger to anyone. He has repeatedly been denied parole.

THE VICTIMS

— Sharon Tate, 26, was a model and rising film star after her breakout role in the 1966 film “Valley of the Dolls.” She was 8 1/2 months pregnant when she was attacked, and she pleaded with her killers to spare her unborn son.

Tate’s mother, Doris, became an advocate for victims’ rights in California and was instrumental in a 1982 law that allows family members to testify about their losses at trials and parole hearings.

Her younger sister, Debra, also dedicated her life to victims’ rights and testified at countless parole hearings for the killers, demanding they never be released.

Tate’s husband, director Roman Polanski, was out of the country the night of the killings and has said it took him years to recover from the grief of losing his wife and baby.

— Jay Sebring, a hairdresser to Hollywood’s stars, was Tate’s former boyfriend and also begged the killers to spare her unborn child. He was shot, kicked in the face and stabbed multiple times.

Sebring had transformed the male haircare industry after graduating from beauty school in Los Angeles, and his clients included Warren Beatty, Steve McQueen, Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. He founded Sebring International in 1967 to market hair products and to franchise his salons internationally.

— Wojciech Frykowski and Abigail Folger had dined with Tate and Sebring earlier that night.

The 32-year-old Frykowski was a friend of Polanski’s from Poland and an aspiring screenwriter. An autopsy found he was stabbed more than 50 times and shot twice.

His 25-year-old girlfriend was the heir to the Folger coffee fortune. She managed to escape the house but was tackled on the front lawn and stabbed 28 times.

— Steven Parent, a recent high school graduate planning to attend college in the fall, had dropped by a guest house on the property to visit the estate’s 19-year-old caretaker, a casual acquaintance named William Garretson. He was leaving the property when Watson confronted him at the front gate and shot him to death.Garretson, who was briefly taken into custody, returned to his native Ohio soon after the killings. Except for his testimony during the murder trial, he rarely spoke publicly about that night. He died of cancer in 2016.

— Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, who owned a chain of Los Angeles grocery stores, had no connection to Sharon Tate or her glamorous friends.

Their home was chosen at random by Manson, who tied them up and then, before leaving, ordered his followers to kill them. Among the weapons used was a chrome-plated bayonet.

OTHER PROMINENT PLAYERS

— Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, 74, a Manson “family” member who was not implicated in the Tate-LaBianca murders, was sentenced to prison for pointing a handgun at President Gerald Ford in 1975. Since her release in 2009, she has lived quietly in upstate New York.

— Linda Kasabian, the trial’s key witness, was granted immunity from prosecution. She had accompanied the killers to the Tate house but was posted outside as a lookout. In that position she said she saw some of the killings.

The next night she remained in a car outside the LaBianca house as Manson tied up the victims, then left with him as the others stayed to kill them.

The 20-year-old moved in with the “family” a few weeks before the killings and fled immediately after. She turned herself in to authorities after the others were arrested. Kasabian later changed her name and lived out of sight for decades. She died on Jan. 21 in Tacoma, Washington. She was 73.

— Bruce Davis, 80, was convicted of taking part in the Hinman and Shea murders but was not involved in the Tate-LaBianca killings.

He testified at his 2014 parole hearing that he attacked Shea with a knife and held a gun on Hinman while Manson cut Hinman’s face with a sword. “I wanted to be Charlie’s favorite guy,” he said. Parole panels have repeatedly recommended his release, but governors have blocked it.

— Steve “Clem” Grogan, 71, once a ranch hand at the old movie ranch where Manson had located his followers, was sentenced to life in prison for taking part in Shea’s murder. In 1977 he told authorities where Shea’s body was buried.

Grogan was paroled in 1985 and moved to northern California.

John Rogers retired from The Associated Press in 2021.

Charles Manson — the cult and the killings

Newsom denies parole for Manson Family follower Bruce Davis
She says she’s Charles Manson’s sister and wants to control his estate
Man who claims to be Charles Manson’s grandson doesn’t have to take DNA test in battle over killer’s estate
How did 3 young women become involved in the Manson Family murders, asks new film
Charles Manson stirred bitter memories, fascination long after his cult’s murderous rampage in LA

​ Orange County Register 

Angels face long odds to reach playoffs after midseason slide

• July 12, 2023

ANAHEIM — Phil Nevin is already imagining how the Angels will look back on all of this.

“You talk about winning a World Series or getting to the playoffs, everyone talks about a defining moment,” the Angels manager said. “This may be ours. I don’t know. We got into the break with what looks like seven of our nine starters not in the lineup, we can look back at this point and say, ‘We weathered the storm. We got through it. We got hot at the right time and we’re playing in October.’”

The injury-ravaged Angels face a difficult – but not impossible – task to reach that goal.

A 1-9 stretch just before the All-Star break quickly turned their season from promising to disappointing.

The Angels are 45-46, in fourth place in the American League West. They are seven games behind the first-place Texas Rangers.

In the wild card standings, the Angels are fifth in the race for the third and final wild card spot, five games behind the Toronto Blue Jays. A five-game deficit with 71 to play doesn’t seem so daunting, but the fact that they also need to leapfrog the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Seattle Mariners makes it much more difficult.

If the teams ahead of them simply play at their current pace or worse, the Angels would need 90 victories to pass the Blue Jays, who are on pace for 89. That would require the Angels to go 45-26. They haven’t had a 71-game stretch with at least that many victories since 2014, the last time they made the playoffs.

And, of course, it’s likely that at least one of the teams ahead of the Angels will play better the rest of the way, raising the bar even more.

FanGraphs gives the Angels a 10.8% chance to make the playoffs. Baseball-Reference puts their chances at 4.0%.

With the odds stacked against them, each loss in one of the 16 games between now and the Aug. 1 trade deadline will intensify the discussion about whether the Angels should trade Shohei Ohtani, who is set to be a free agent after the season.

General Manager Perry Minasian explained the organization’s position with regard to Ohtani as “pretty self-explanatory with where we’re at,” but that was on June 21, when the Angels were 41-34 and sitting in the third wild card spot, ahead of the Houston Astros.

Even though their playoff chances now seem remote, the Angels are still believed to prefer to hold on to Ohtani to increase their chances of re-signing him.

The best thing they could do toward that end would be to win some games, making good on Nevin’s suggestion that their current adversity might be something they reflect on in a champagne-soaked clubhouse in a few months.

A couple of players currently on the Angels’ roster own rings that offer some reason for hope.

Relievers Jacob Webb and Tucker Davidson were up and down with the 2021 Atlanta Braves, who won the World Series after losing Ronald Acuña Jr. to a midseason injury and being under .500 at the All-Star break.

“We just kept believing,” Webb said. “The biggest thing was we never gave up hope and we knew that every guy in the clubhouse, we all have a job to do. You’ve got to take care of your job and when your time comes, your opportunity comes.”

The Braves were 44-44 when they lost Acuña, who tore his ACL on July 10, just about the same position the Angels were in when Mike Trout broke his hamate bone. While Acuña was done for the season, Trout is expected back.

“Right when we lost Acuña, the whole clubhouse was kind of in shock,” said Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman, whose last year with the Braves was in 2021. “The next day we played the Marlins and Pablo Lopez struck out the first nine of us all in a row.”

The Braves lost that final game before the All-Star break, and they caught their breath before returning in the second half. GM Alex Anthopoulos then added Joc Pederson in a trade. Freeman said that sent a message to the clubhouse.

“It’s not about who you bring in, it’s just that someone comes in,” Freeman said. “Instead of cashing in the season when we lost Acuña, (Anthopoulos) starts bringing guys in, and it’s like ‘OK, we’re still gonna go for this thing.’”

Freeman, who knows Minasian from their days together in Atlanta, said the Angels’ acquisitions of Mike Moustakas and Eduardo Escobar could be similar to the 2021 Braves’ deals for Pederson, Jorge Soler and Eddie Rosario.

“No one ever thought we’d be able to do what we did without Ronald, but somehow we came together as a unit real fast,” Freeman said. “I think it was pretty clear once Alex made that first Joc move, we were still going for this thing.”

The Braves, who won 88 games to overtake the New York Mets for the division title that season, were certainly the exception though.

Of the 238 teams to make the playoffs in a full season since the wild card era began in 1995 – excluding the pandemic-shortened 2020 season – just 11 made it after being under .500 at the All-Star break.

That doesn’t stop the Angels from believing they can do it. This is just the second year that there have been six available playoff spots in each league, instead of just four or five.

The Angels can also cling to the hope that they will get a boost from the return of some of their injured players. Shortstop Zach Neto, second baseman Brandon Drury and third baseman Anthony Rendon are all likely to come back shortly after the break ends. Trout and catcher Logan O’Hoppe could be back next month.

The Angels also still have most of the key pieces from a rotation that ranked sixth in the majors in ERA last season. At the moment they are 21st, suggesting significant room for improvement.

Positive spin is all the Angels have to fuel their belief that they can turn this season around.

“Just keep going, taking it one day at a time,” outfielder Mickey Moniak said. “I’ve said it a million times, even despite the injuries that we’ve sustained, we’ve got a good group in here still. I think that we’re a team that can compete with anybody.”

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​ Orange County Register 

Angels midseason report: Clock is ticking to turn things around

• July 12, 2023

FIRST-HALF REVIEW

HOW THEY GOT HERE: The Angels (45-46) have been consistently inconsistent, at times getting by because of their offense and at times with their pitching. There have only been rare moments when both were clicking at once. Hopes were high during a late June stretch when they won 11 of 14 games to reach eight games over .500. At that point, they were in a playoff position. After that, though, they finished the first half in a tailspin, losing nine of 10. Lately, they’ve been decimated by injuries, with center fielder Mike Trout, third baseman Anthony Rendon, infielder Brandon Drury, shortstop Zach Neto and infielder Gio Urshela all getting placed on the injured list in the past month. Outfielder Jo Adell is also hurt, but not yet on the injured list. Catcher Logan O’Hoppe has been out since April.

SECOND-HALF PREVIEW

KEYS TO SUCCESS: Shohei Ohtani, of course, has had a sensational season, both at the plate and on the mound. Beyond him, though, most of the Angels have actually failed to live up to expectations, either because of injuries or poor performance. Players like outfielder Mickey Moniak and catchers Matt Thaiss and Chad Wallach have all played well enough to cover some of the holes. The Angels have also made deals to acquire infielders Eduardo Escobar and Mike Moustakas, veterans who are better than the type of fringe major leaguers the Angels have relied on as replacements in the past. They could get Neto, Rendon and Drury back in the first week after the All-Star break. Trout could be back by mid- to late August, and O’Hoppe could be back by the end of August.

BIGGEST CONCERN: The Angels’ pitchers have mostly been healthy, and they still haven’t performed. They rank 21st in the majors with a 4.42 ERA, including a major league-worst 7.73 ERA during their 1-9 stretch to finish the first half. They need left-handers Patrick Sandoval (4.41), Reid Detmers (4.31) and Tyler Anderson (5.25) to pitch better. All have been worse than in 2022.

TRADE POSSIBILITIES: The Angels are not expected to trade Ohtani, even if they slip farther out of contention, because they want to try to re-sign him in the winter. If they do continue their free fall, though, they could move players like outfielder Hunter Renfroe or left-handed reliever Matt Moore, who are both free agents at the end of the season. If they are still within striking distance of the playoffs in a couple of weeks and decide to add, they could use a hitter to pick up some of the production lost by the injuries. They have enough holes and enough versatile players that they could fit someone who plays any position.

SCHEDULE HURDLES: The Angels’ first two series after the break are at home against the Houston Astros (50-41) and New York Yankees (49-42), two of the teams they are chasing for a wild card berth. After that, it gets slightly easier with series against the Pittsburgh Pirates (41-49) at home and the Detroit Tigers (39-50) on the road. They then travel to face the Toronto Blue Jays (50-41), another team they are chasing. The series against the Astros, Yankees and Blue Jays are even more important because the tie-breaker for a playoff spot is head-to-head record. The Angels are 2-5 against the Astros with six games left. They are 1-2 against both the Yankees and Blue Jays, with three games left against each.

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​ Orange County Register 

Disneyland sells out of Oogie Boogie Bash tickets in 12 hours after ‘nightmare’ sales launch

• July 12, 2023

Oogie Boogie Bash fans who waited 12 hours in a “nightmare” virtual queue to buy tickets only to experience online system errors and find all the dates sold out fumed on social media about Disneyland’s “epic fail.”

Disneyland sold out of every available date for Oogie Boogie Bash in September and October on the first day tickets went on sale to the general public on Tuesday, July 11.

SEE ALSO: These 12 Disneyland ride vehicles could fetch $750,000 at auction

Oogie Boogie Bash will run once again at Disney California Adventure on 25 select nights: Sept. 5, 7, 10, 12, 14, 17, 19, 21, 24, 26, 28 and Oct. 1, 3, 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 17, 19, 22, 24, 26, 29 and 31.

Fans who anxiously waited for a chance to buy tickets to the wildly popular Halloween event fretted all day as they watched dates repeatedly sell out on the Oogie Boogie Bash website.

“Oogie Boogie Bash tickets sold out while I was still sitting in the queue,” Iced Natcchiato wrote on Twitter. “I’ve been in the queue all day.”

SEE ALSO: She picks through Disneyland trash with one goal: Zero waste by 2030

Tickets for the annual event initially went on sale to Magic Keyholders on June 27 and to the general public on June 29. The annual passholder sale went off with relatively few hiccups, but technical troubles started with the Oogie Boogie Bash website shortly after the general public tickets went on sale. The technical troubles forced Disneyland to reschedule the general public online ticket sale to Tuesday — when hourslong waits further infuriated the Oogie Boogie faithful.

Fuming fans took to social media to vent their anger at Disneyland’s #EpicFail.

“Been waiting in the queue for six hours to get tix for Oogie Boogie Bash for my kids,” Kimberly A wrote on Twitter. “Now I’m getting a message tix may not be available. R u kidding me?”

SEE ALSO: Disneyland Duck Races turn It’s a Small World into the world’s biggest bathtub — See photos

Throughout the day, Disneyland warned those waiting in the virtual queue that tickets for the remaining dates of the after-hours, separate admission event were “extremely limited.”

“Due to high guest demand, you may see that your wait time begin to fluctuate and you may not be able to enter the ticket purchasing process,” according to the Disneyland website.

Dee Cruzie was heartbroken to get shut out of Oogie Boogie Bash tickets this year.

“What a major disappointment,” Dee Cruzie wrote on Twitter. “Disneyland wasted another 7 hours of my time to never even progress in the queue, yet some people getting them in 20 minutes? What a joke.”

Karina Gizel kept getting the same error message after finally making it out of the virtual queue: “Your request to add tickets can’t be processed.”

“Tried every date available for one ticket and this message kept popping up,” Gizel wrote on Twitter. “After this it kicked me out and reset my waiting time.”

Sean Nyberg summed up the feelings of many frustrated Disneyland fans: “This has been a nightmare.”

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This year’s edition of Oogie Boogie Bash will include familiar nighttime entertainment like the Frightfully Fun Parade, Villains Grove and “Mickey’s Trick and Treat” show along with trick-or-treat trails. Character costumes, food and merchandise typically have a seasonal flair.

Prices for the 2023 event range from $134 to $189. The 5-hour after-party starts at 6 p.m. with mix-in beginning three hours earlier.

​ Orange County Register 

California Legislature wants to throw a lot of good money after bad

• July 12, 2023

If throwing good money after bad is ever made an Olympic sport, California will bring home enough gold to pay off the deficit.

Four measures pending in the Legislature would enable tax increases for the purpose of spending more money on failed policies and mismanaged agencies. These bills should be stopped before they unleash burdensome new costs on Californians already struggling with the high cost of living.

Assembly Bill 1679 would allow Los Angeles County to further exceed the cap on local sales taxes, which state law limits to a combined total of 2% over the state’s 7.25% sales tax. Special state laws like this one have already enabled the cap to be exceeded, with the result that 47 cities in L.A. County now pay a sales tax rate of 10.25%.

AB 1679 would allow an additional half-percent increase in L.A. County’s sales tax to fund homelessness services and housing, replacing and expanding Measure H, the quarter-percent sales tax passed in 2017 and set to expire in 2027. AB 1679 has already passed the Assembly and will be heard today July 12 in the Senate Governance and Finance Committee.

Another bill that will be heard in the same committee today is Assembly Bill 1607. It would expand the power of the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency to place tax increases on the ballot to fund homelessness programs. LACAHSA was created in 2022 by Senate Bill 679 and empowered to put tax increases on the ballot to fund renter protections, affordable housing preservation and new affordable housing production. It was specifically excluded from funding homelessness programs, but AB 1607 would remove that restriction.

If Assembly Bills 1679 and 1607 are enacted, voters in L.A. County could see more tax increases for homelessness programs on the 2024 ballot. Notably, courts have said special taxes need only a simple majority to pass, not the two-thirds required for special taxes under Proposition 13, if placed on the ballot by a citizens’ initiative.

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A direct effort to undercut the taxpayer protections in Proposition 13 is Assembly Constitutional Amendment 1, set for a hearing today in the Assembly Local Government committee. ACA 1 would change the state constitution to allow local tax increases for certain public housing programs and any kind of “infrastructure” to pass with just 55% of the vote instead of two-thirds. A recent amendment to ACA 1 would extend the power to place taxes on the ballot to “a regional transportation commission” and “an association of governments” as well a city, county or special district.

A fourth bill seeking higher revenue is Senate Bill 532, which would increase bridge tolls in the Bay Area by $1.50, a tax increase to bail out “transit operators” that are “experiencing a financial shortfall.”

Public transit agencies in California say they’re facing a “fiscal cliff” caused by a lack of ridership and the end of federal COVID relief funding. That’s not a good reason to raise the taxes of the very people who are finding these systems unusable and choosing not to ride them.

Instead of addressing the waste and failures of costly homelessness policies and mismanaged transit agencies, Sacramento is greasing the skids for more tax increases. This would be a good time to call your representatives. Look them up at findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov.

​ Orange County Register 

Metrolink, Pacific Surfliner rail service set to resume in San Clemente — again

• July 12, 2023

Following months of on-and-off closures following numerous landslides that have halted ocean-front rail service, Metrolink and Pacific Surfliner are expected to resume service through San Clemente on Monday, July 17.

Emergency work the past month to build a temporary barrier wall to protect the tracks following landslides at Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens has been completed, according to a news alert.

The wall is 250 feet long and 12 feet high with the piles set 32 feet beneath the ground, according to rail agencies.

“Rail service has been suspended more days this year than not — our coastal economy relies on visitors, commuters and tourists to support our local businesses,” said OC Supervisor Katrina Foley, who serves as an Orange County Transportation Authority director. “Orange County transit is back on track thanks to the OCTA staff, California Transportation Commission, Metrolink, Amtrak Pacific Surfliner and the expedient efforts of our partners to build the soldier pile wall and protect our rail corridor.”

An initial halt to passenger rail service began on April 27 when the slope behind Casa Romantica began to slide. Service temporarily resumed in late May but was halted again on June 5, when significant additional sliding occurred.

Metrolink and OCTA worked in partnership to build the temporary barrier wall on an emergency basis to protect the tracks. The city of San Clemente is continuing work to stabilize the hillside for the long term.

A separate $13.7 million project in the works on the other end of town since October halted service for months until earlier this year. The tracks shifted along about 700 feet of rail, pinched between a collapsing hillside and waves on the ocean side battering the tracks near homes in the Cyprus Shore Homeowners Association.

That project to stabilize the hillside is also nearing completion and not affecting train service at this time.

OCTA in March voted to spend millions to study short and long-term solutions for the 7-mile stretch of train tracks through Dana Point and San Clemente that run right along the shore.

Metrolink and Amtrak both use the rail line for service from the Los Angeles and Inland Empire areas to San Diego, and it is also a key route for freight trains.

Metrolink customers can find updates and schedules here while Amtrak commuters can find alerts here.

​ Orange County Register 

Comedian and actor Tracy Morgan is coming to Morongo Casino & Resort

• July 12, 2023

Stand-up comedian and actor Tracy Morgan will make a fall tour stop at Morongo Casino Resort & Spa in Cabazon on Friday, Sept. 29.

Tickets for the show are on sale now for $49-$79 at Ticketmaster.com.

Morgan, a Brooklyn, New York native, began his career in stand-up comedy by performing at various clubs throughout New York City. Before landing major roles, he appeared on the sitcom “Martin” and the sketch comedy show “Uptown Comedy Club.”

In 1996, Morgan joined “Saturday Night Live” after television writer and film producer Lorne Michaels picked him over Stephen Colbert. The comedian performed as a regular until 2003 and with recurring characters such as Brian Fellow and Astronaut Jones.

After his run on SNL, Morgan successfully teamed up with former SNL castmate and writer Tina Fey on the Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning NBC sitcom “30 Rock.” He played the character Tracy Jordan, an impulsive movie star, a role that earned Morgan an Emmy Award. His most recent work in TV comedy was his three-season run of “The Last O.G.,” which aired on TBS from 2018-2021.

Morgan’s film credits include “G-Force,” the animated film “Rio” and most recently he starred in “Coming 2 America” alongside Eddie Murphy. Last year, the SNL alum became the ninth recipient of the Friars Club’s Entertainment Icon Award, joining past winners Tony Bennett, Martin Scorsese, Tom Cruise, Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal.

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​ Orange County Register 

After 30 years of Jimmy Eat World, Jim Adkins thinks this band thing might work out

• July 12, 2023

There’s a reason Jimmy Eat World has been such a constant presence in Southern California over the three decades since the alternative rock band formed in Mesa, Arizona in 1993.

Just look at a map, singer-guitarist Jim Adkins explains.

“I mean any tour that we would do, that’s the first place we would drive,” he says on a recent call. “Because like if you head east, I think that’s like five hours to El Paso but then it’s like 14 hours to anywhere else in Texas, and the drives get so long.

“You can go to San Diego and work your way up the coast and play so many gigs,” Adkins says. “Especially if you’re small. Like, the Troubadour isn’t gonna get mad you did a gig in Riverside. There’s no exclusion clause when you’re playing Koo’s Café in Santa Ana. That’s fine, man.”

In the early years of Jimmy Eat World, the Southern California circuit came to feel a lot like home.

“We just did what you normally do in your hometown,” Adkins says. “Working our way up the coast we just made friends. Met a lot of really amazing musicians and other bands that we’re friends with to this day.

“It’s just a part of our formative years, you know, not just as a music project but us as people.”

With alternative hits such as “The Middle” and “Sweetness,” both from the breakout 2001 album “Bleed American,” as well as “Pain” and “Work” from the 2004 follow-up “Futures,” Jimmy Eat World grew ever more popular in Southern California, playing bigger venues and frequently showing up on KROQ Weenie Roast and Almost Acoustic Christmas lineups.

This summer, Jimmy Eat World, which includes guitarist Tom Linton and drummer Zack Lind, both of whom like Adkins have been in the band since the start, and bassist Rick Burch, who joined a year or so later, is on tour with Manchester Orchestra. Their coheadlining Amplified Echoes Tour plays the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on July 19.

In an interview edited for length and clarity, Adkins talked about everything from the tour to the two bands deciding to cover one of each other’s songs, three decades of Jimmy Eat World to the moment when Adkins says he finally felt like this band thing was going to work out all right.

Q: How did you guys and Manchester Orchestra get together for this and what kind of show do you have planned for the Greek?

A: They’re a band I feel like have been friends of friends for a really long time. I’m surprised we’ve never ended up doing gigs before. There were a couple of times where we tried to tour with them but for whatever reason it didn’t materialize. This time the stars aligned.

The last couple of big tours we’ve done we’ve been clearly the support act. And with this one, it feels like it’s truly a night that us and Manchester Orchestra are hosting. We’re not going to neglect the songs that I know everybody wants to hear but I think in the extra time that we have we’re going to be playing some stuff that maybe fans haven’t heard in a while.

Q: You also recorded each other’s songs. You covered ‘Telepath’ and they did ‘Table For Glasses.’ What was that like?

A: Andy (Hull) from Manchester Orchestra and I’d been talking back and forth and we just sort of decided to do this. And we weren’t going to tell each other what song we’d chosen or show each other until basically we were done.

I kept making jokes to Andy like, ‘Oh, man, I don’t know if we’re gonna make it in time. I’ve got to find a trombone player for a ska version of ‘Gold.’ I think it really freaked him out. ‘It’s just a perfect chance to showcase some local rappers. It’s gonna be polarizing but you’re gonna love it.’

Q: How did you find the Jimmy Eat World way into a Manchester Orchestra song?

A: I approach cover songs a couple of ways. I think you can look at it like a karaoke version. Like you get to pretend you’re in that band, and that’s fun. And there’s like, ‘This is one of our old demos which we forgot about,’ and just what jumps out at you, what’s exciting about this. And you forget that it’s already a released thing and people like it. You just chase that with abandon and see what happens.

Both ways are really fun, but I think it’s kind of obvious we went with the abandoned way. We just made it ours, like a Jimmy Eat World song really.

Q: Thirty years as a band is a noteworthy achievement. In 1993, what were your realistic hopes for the band?

A: Honestly, I feel like it was just something fun. The horizon of our ambitions didn’t extend further than maybe next month’s gig. Or it would be awesome if we were able to put out a 7-inch (record). Or it’d be awesome if we got to book a show that was out of town. That’s all we kind of hoped for this thing.

Coming from Mesa, it’s not exactly like a hip, happening music scene, or at least it wasn’t when we were kids. And so we fell into a group of people that felt very realistic and motivated by pure intentions. It’s as empowering as it is nihilistic. You can do whatever you want because no one cares. The bummer is when you’re really stoked on something no one cares. So you better be doing it just for the reward of challenging yourself and making something exciting for you.

Q: So when did you finally feel like this was something that would last? Something that would pay the bills?

A: I mean, sometime around 2011 I think I might have started to let it sink in that this is what I do. Everything up until then was always just, ‘What is the next most realistic goal to set our sights on?’ Like after we did put out a 7-inch we could probably make an album. And then after we did play out of town it was like we could probably maybe do a week of touring.

Yeah, sometime around 2011, I guess maybe around our ‘Chase This Light’ record, I felt like, ‘Wow, I’m kind of doing this. I guess this is what I do.’ I still think it could go away at any minute. I still identify as the 14-year-old metal kid who really can’t take this that seriously.

Q: It’s interesting to me that even after all the success of ‘Bleed American,’ which had some of your biggest songs, the ones you’ve got to play every night, you still quite feel it.

A: I mean, it’s after the gig and I’m looking at a rusted drain in the concrete floor in the converted German slaughterhouse that we just played. And then our dressing room is right next to Cameron Diaz and we’re playing ‘Saturday Night Live.’ Like how do you let that go to your head? ‘OK, I’m this important,’ or, ‘Yeah, dude, here we are, man.’ It’s insane. Insane. Like there’s no feeling of job security or financial security or career status that comes with something that insane.

Q: I can see how that could feel disorienting or unsettled.

A: You’re just laughing to yourself and just happy that you’re there. And there’s immense gratitude for being there, but there’s not the feeling of something earned to be there. It’s like you are really lucky and you get to be here for now. Or here’s where you get to be right now, and maybe tomorrow you’ll still be here. Maybe not.

I don’t know, a lot of people don’t get that. But you are now, so, like, have fun. Because that’s what you got.

Jimmy Eat World / Manchester Orchestra

When: Wednesday, July 19

Where: Greek Theatre, 2700 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles

How much: $39.50-$79.50 plus fees

For more: Jimmyeatworld.com

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