Dodgers take 3 high schoolers on Day 2 of draft, beginning with Brady Smith

• July 11, 2023

The Dodgers kicked off Day 2 of the MLB amateur draft by selecting Grainger (Tenn.) pitcher Brady Smith. The right-hander was the first of 10 picks the Dodgers made between the third and 10th rounds of the draft, including a pair of compensation picks after the fourth round.

Smith, 18, is committed to Virginia Tech. Dodgers amateur scouting director Billy Gasparino said Sunday that he planned to select a number of high school players in addition to their first overall selection, Texas high school outfielder Kendall George, and he delivered three more beginning with Smith with the No. 95 pick overall.

In addition to a fastball that regularly clocks 93 mph according to multiple reports, Smith throws a slider, a curveball, and a changeup. Listed at a wiry 6-foot-2 and 170 pounds, Smith has also played basketball.

In the fourth round (127th overall), the Dodgers selected Wyatt Crowell, a left-handed pitcher from Florida State. Mostly a relief pitcher in college, Crowell had Tommy John surgery after making four relief appearances this season.

In the compensation round, the Dodgers selected University of Texas outfielder Dylan Campbell (136th overall) and Middle Tennessee State right-hander Eriq Swan (137th overall).

Campbell, like George, fills the Dodgers’ lust for base-stealing prowess, while Swan’s fastball reportedly topped out at 102 mph in college.

Joe Vetrano, a left-handed hitting first baseman from Boston College, was the Dodgers’ fifth-round pick (163rd overall). Initially a two-way player, Vetrano focused on hitting this season and blasted 22 home runs.

Carlos Beltran Academy shortstop Bryan Gonzalez was the Dodgers’ sixth-round pick (190th overall). The 17-year-old is committed to Illinois State.

Right-handed pitcher Patrick Copen of Marshall University was the Dodgers’ seventh-round pick (220th overall). He is listed at 6-6 and 220 pounds, and throws a fastball, slider and curveball.

High school outfielder Jaron Elkins was the Dodgers’ eighth-round pick (250th overall) from Goodpasture Christian School in Tennessee.

Ball State right-hander Ryan Brown was the Dodgers’ ninth-round pick (280th overall). Armed with a fastball and a changeup, his draft stock slipped due to arm and knee injuries as a junior.

The Dodgers’ final pick on Day 2 of the draft was Sacred Heart University shortstop Sam Mongelli.

The draft concludes with rounds 11-20 on Tuesday, beginning at 11 a.m. PT.

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​ Orange County Register 

Pilot sustains minor injuries after small plane crashes into Long Beach Airport building

• July 11, 2023

No commercial flights were affected Monday after a small plane crashed into the roof of a hangar building at the Long Beach Airport.

Firefighters responded to multiple reports of the plane crash around 2:30 p.m. on the 2900 block of East Spring Street. The plane, identified as a single-engine Cessna 172, had crashed while the pilot was practicing landings and takeoffs, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.

The pilot, a man in his 40s, was hospitalized with minor injuries, and no other occupants were on board, said Long Beach Fire Capt. Jake Heflin.

There was no active fire, but first responders also dealt with approximately 45 gallons of leaked fuel, which had begun making its way into the building, said Heflin.

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Lakers feeling ‘good’ about health of LeBron James, Anthony Davis

• July 10, 2023

LAS VEGAS — The Lakers accomplished most of their goals this offseason – they’re still looking to add another center – but they feel good about the moves they made.

However, none of their draft or free agency moves will be as impactful as the improved health of stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, both of whom dealt with and played through foot injuries last season.

While speaking with reporters at the Thomas & Mack Center on Sunday, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka provided optimism that James and Davis will move past the injuries.

“We feel good about the offseason and the treatment that A.D. and LeBron are getting,” Pelinka said. “All the reports have been good around both those injuries, in terms of the guys being able to move past them.”

James missed 13 consecutive games from Feb. 28-March 24 because of a torn tendon in his right foot.

He played in the final eight games of the regular season and all 16 playoff games, leading the Lakers to the Western Conference finals, but he was clearly limited physically.

The four-time league MVP cryptically hinted at considering retirement in the aftermath of the Lakers being swept by the Denver Nuggets in the conference finals. He also told ESPN after that game that he planned to get an MRI on his foot and could undergo surgery in the summer to correct the injury.

James, who will be playing his 21st season this fall and will turn 39 on Dec. 30, is entering the first season of a two-year, $99 million contract extension he signed with the Lakers last summer. He has a player option for 2024-25.

“We’ve said before, we want to let LeBron speak about his plans and his future for himself,” Pelinka said. “It’s been great interacting with him over the offseason. And I’ve loved seeing him coach his son [Bryce] down at the Peach Jam. That’s what the offseason is for – time to dive into family. It looks like he’s really enjoying that.”

James posted a series of pictures of the players the Lakers re-signed or signed after free agency started on his Instagram story earlier in July.

“It was also nice to just see him celebrate the roster, once we completed it,” Pelinka said. “A series of Instagram posts and different things, celebrating his teammates. And that’s just the leader LeBron is. He knows how to galvanize a group and bring them together and we’re just excited that he’s behind that.”

Davis missed 20 consecutive games from Dec. 18-Jan. 24 because of a bone spur and stress reaction in his right foot.

The 11-year veteran appeared in 31 of the final 34 regular-season games – he didn’t play both nights of most back-to-backs after his return – and played in every playoff game.

Davis, 30, will be eligible to sign a three-year, $167 million contract extension starting Aug. 4.

He has two seasons remaining on the five-year, $189.9 deal he signed with the Lakers in December 2020. He has an early termination option for his $43.21 salary for 2024-25 – the last year of his deal.

Pelinka declined to speak about the Lakers’ extension plans for Davis, citing the collective bargaining agreement.

“I wish the CBA allowed us to talk about negotiations before they’re allowed, but [there are] pretty strict rules around that,” Pelinka said. “So can’t really talk about contracts and negotiations, but couldn’t think more highly of Anthony Davis as a Laker and as a player. He’s helped deliver a championship to our franchise. He’s been an incredible captain and leader. We saw last year, willing to play through a hard foot injury to get our team to the Western Conference finals. So, just love having him as a part of our team.”

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​ Orange County Register 

Eubanks stuns Tsitsipas to join Djokovic in Wimbledon quarterfinals

• July 10, 2023

By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer

WIMBLEDON, England — Until about a week ago, even Chris Eubanks did not really believe he was capable of this sort of thing – of beating the world’s best tennis players at Wimbledon, of reaching the quarterfinals at any Grand Slam tournament, of winning match after match after match on grass courts.

“I would show up to tour events saying, ‘Oh, can I get through a couple rounds of here?’” he said during an interview the day before play began at the All England Club. “Now I genuinely can say, probably for the first time, I’m showing up to tournaments with higher expectations and really wanting to do well and put my best foot forward. I’m no longer feeling OK just being there. I know that I belong.”

Does he ever.

Eubanks, a 6-foot-7, big-serving American making his Wimbledon debut at age 27 right after claiming the first ATP title of his career, reached the quarterfinals at a major for the first time by stunning two-time Slam runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, in a little over three hours on Monday.

“It’s surreal. I can’t really describe it,” said Eubanks, who is from Atlanta and played college tennis at Georgia Tech.

“I just think the entire experience, all together, has just been a whirlwind. It’s been something that you dream about,” Eubanks said. “I didn’t really know if that dream would actually come true. I’m sitting here in it now, so it’s pretty cool.”

Defending champion Novak Djokovic, meanwhile, was temporarily knocked off course by big-serving Hubert Hurkacz but quickly got back in the groove on Monday to reach the quarterfinals.

Having edged two tiebreaks late on Sunday before being beaten by the tournament’s strict 11 p.m. curfew, Djokovic returned to lose his first set of the tournament before sealing a 7-6 (6), 7-6 (6), 5-7, 6-4 victory.

Eubanks is ranked a career-best 43rd right now and had a win-loss record of merely 6-10 before going on the run to the trophy at Mallorca, Spain, on July 1. That came on grass, which he decided he hated a month ago – calling it “the stupidest surface” in a text he sent to International Tennis Hall of Fame member Kim Clijsters – after exiting in the second round at a low-level ATP Challenger Tour event.

“Those words will never come out of my mouth for the rest of my career. The grass and I, we’ve had a very strenuous, I would say, relationship over the years,” Eubanks said after accumulating 53 winners, 16 more than Tsitsipas. “But right now, I think it’s my best friend.”

He is now on a nine-match winning streak after adding the upset of the fifth-seeded Tsitsipas to an earlier victory over No. 12 Cam Norrie at the All England Club. Next comes another challenge, meeting No. 3 Daniil Medvedev, the 2021 U.S. Open champion, for a berth in the semifinals.

“I know I need to be at my 100% and absolute best physically, tennis-wise, and mentally to try to beat him,” said Medvedev, who won his only previous meeting against Eubanks, at the Miami Masters in March. “He is not scared to make a bad shot and still to go to the net and try to finish the point there. Definitely a little bit different from other players.”

This is just the ninth Grand Slam tournament for Eubanks, who previously never had been past the second round at one of the sport’s most prestigious events. After questioning his ability to contend for titles, Eubanks thought about pursuing television commentary instead, and he’s worked on-air for Tennis Channel.

But he sure is having a terrific time with a racket in his hand these days.

And between matches, too.

“I checked my phone. It’s a bit nuts right now. It’s crazy to see my social media feed that I’m just used to kind of going to (and now) seeing it’s a lot of me. I’m like, ‘What is this? This is weird,’” Eubanks said. “But I think I’ve been able to find a way to compartmentalize everything, realize this is a pretty big moment, but also saying, ‘This is a tennis match that I need to play in a couple days.’”

During the latter stages against Tsitsipas, Eubanks waved his arms to the crowd to urge it to get louder. After smacking a one-handed down-the-line backhand winner that finished with the flourish of a flowing follow-through, giving him a break for a 4-3 edge in the fifth set, Eubanks held his right index finger to his ear, seeking more noise.

When he showed a bit of nerves while serving for the victory, missing a backhand, then a volley, he managed to settle down.

“Although it got a little bit dicey at the end,” Eubanks said, “I still could have the confidence to say: ‘I’m a server. I hit serving targets for these moments right here, and let’s just try to do what I know how to do.’”

He closed it out with a 127 mph ace followed by a forehand winner and, after shaking hands with Tsitsipas, stood at the center of the court with his thumbs up, his arms spread wide and a smile to match.

Eubanks soaked up all of the cheers – his supporters included Coco Gauff, the American who reached the fourth round in her Wimbledon debut at age 15 in 2019 and was the runner-up at 18 at the French Open last year – and then curled his fingers to turn his hands into the shape of a heart.

DJOKOVIC WANTS EARLIER STARTS

Djokovic is a bit tired of not getting on Centre Court until nearly 9 p.m. The waiting. The uncertainty. The rushing to try to finish matches by the 11 p.m. local curfew – or the annoyance at having to stop midway through a contest and wait until the following day to resume.

He offered a solution Monday afternoon after defeating Hurkacz for his 32nd consecutive victory in the grass-court tournament in their suspended match that carried over into Monday: Start play in the All England Club’s main stadium earlier than 1:30 p.m. Maybe at noon, say.

“It would make a difference,” said Djokovic, who is now into the quarterfinals and three wins away from what would be a fifth championship in a row at Wimbledon, an eighth overall at the place and a 24th career Grand Slam title.

“There are different ways that I’m sure they will address this issue,” said Djokovic, whose shoes are stamped with the number “23,” a reference to his current major trophy count, “and try to avoid having these kind of problems in the future.”

Yeah, Novak, good luck with that.

The head of the club made clear there is not much of a chance of such a switch.

“Matches are happening at a time when they’re accessible to people. We’re seeing (TV) viewing figures that are beyond our expectations and beyond previous years,” club chief executive Sally Bolton said, “so I think they probably speak for themselves.”

Play begins on the smaller courts at 11 a.m. and at Court No. 1 at 1 p.m., with Centre Court the last to get play underway. Because the tournament site is right in a residential area, local rules prevent matches from continuing past 11 p.m.; often, if a set ends around 10:30 p.m., the encounter will be suspended until the next day so as not to risk going past the cutoff time.

That happened in Andy Murray’s loss to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round, which got stretched into a second day after being the last on the schedule at Centre Court.

Djokovic’s third-round match, which also was last at that arena, appeared to be headed that way, too, but he managed to finish beating Stan Wawrinka at 10:46 p.m. Djokovic-Hurkacz, again last for the day at Centre Court, began with the retractable roof shut; they stopped at 10:35 p.m. When action picked up again a little more than 16 hours later, the cover was gone and the wind was whipping.

Djokovic said he warmed up at about 1 p.m. for both of those nighttime affairs and then was left with a key decision.

“Should you go back to the accommodation? The house nearby? Or should you stay (at the club)? Yesterday, I decided to stay,” said Djokovic, who will face No. 7 Andrey Rublev on Tuesday for a berth in the semifinals. “I stayed, basically, for seven hours, waiting for my match to start.”

Once it did, Djokovic was not quite at his very best against the 17th-seeded Hurkacz, who is best known for being the player to beat Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2021 in what wound up being the last match of the 20-time major champion’s career. Hurkacz held three set points when he led the opening tiebreaker 6-3, but he showed some shakiness and couldn’t hold on. Then he led 5-4 in the second tiebreaker – two points from taking it – and again allowed Djokovic to come through before the interruption Sunday night.

After Hurkacz made things interesting by grabbing a set Monday, Djokovic reasserted himself, as he so often does.

“Playing Novak,” Hurkacz said, “is just an incredible challenge to compete against.”

In addition to Eubanks vs. Medvedev, the other men’s match Wednesday will be top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz vs. No. 6 Holger Rune. Alcaraz got past 2021 Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3, and Rune also came back from a set down to beat No. 21 Grigor Dimitrov, 3-6, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (4), 6-3.

KEYS, RYBAKINA, JABEUR, SABALENKA ADVANCE

Mirra Andreeva’s fairy-tale Wimbledon debut came to an end after the 16-year-old from Russia was beaten, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2, by American Madison Keys, who battled back from a set and a break down to win the fourth-round tie.

World No. 102 Andreeva, who was looking to become the youngest player to reach the last eight of the grass-court Grand Slam since Anna Kournikova in 1997, fought valiantly against Keys but was ultimately overwhelmed by the more experienced player.

“Coming out here, you know that she’s a really great player. But you don’t want to be the player that loses to her for her to get to her first quarter,” Keys said on court afterward. “I’ve fallen short a few times and it’s great to be back in the quarterfinals here at Wimbledon.”

Keys, 28, began the match in her typically aggressive fashion, firing off powerful returns and groundstrokes to break serve and go 2-0 ahead.

However, Andreeva broke back immediately courtesy of a lucky net cord before showing great variation to upset Keys’ rhythm, making her opponent uncomfortable with slices and drop shots as she broke twice more in quick succession to take the opener.

Keys continue to commit a stream of unforced errors as Andreeva raced to a 3-0 lead in the second, but the 25-seed upped her game, putting the match back on serve with a delicate left-handed winner and forcing a tiebreak, which she won.

The breaker seemed to take the wind out of Andreeva’s sails. Keys stormed into an early 2-0 lead in the third set after Andreeva double faulted in her opening service game, before finishing off her opponent in a shade over two hours.

Keys will next play Aryna Sabalenka, who defeated No. 21 Ekaterina Alexandrova, 6-4, 6-0. The second-seeded Sabalenka won the Australian Open this year and has a 16-1 record in major tournaments in 2023.

Also Monday, defending champion Elena Rybakina was given an easy ride into the quarters after 13th-seeded Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia retired midway through the first set with a back injury.

“Now I’m feeling much better and more confident coming and playing on Centre Court,” Rybakina said. “It is different from the first round. I think it was just overall the atmosphere and the nerves to play the first match to get used to the grass, just to play some matches here. I think now mentally I’m much better. Physically also good now.”

Rybakina had just broken for a 3-1 lead in the first set when Haddad Maia winced in pain and clutched her back after netting a backhand.

Haddad Maia called on the physio and kept wincing as her back was being manipulated courtside. After leaving court to receive further treatment she returned in an attempt to resume the match following a 10-minute interval.

However, the way she stiffly bent down to pick up her racket from her chair to resume the contest signaled that the match might soon be over.

She tearfully went through the motions for one more game, clutching her back after every point before shaking her head to confirm that she could no longer continue.

Sixth-seeded Ons Jabeur set up a quarterfinal repeat of last year’s Wimbledon final against Rybakina after crushing out-of-sorts two-time champion Petra Kvitova, 6-0, 6-3, on Centre Court.

It’s just the quarterfinals this time around, but the Tunisian player has to go through the defending champion to have a chance of winning her first Grand Slam tournament.

“I’m probably going for my revenge,” Jabeur said on court. “It was a difficult final last year. It’s going to bring a lot of memories.”

“The first one or two weeks (after), I thought about it a lot. It was very painful. The good thing about it is I know I gave it everything. I’m someone that believes that it wasn’t meant to be, so I cannot force it more than it should be. I’m glad that I have this belief. I believe in destiny. It wasn’t supposed to be that year. Maybe greater things are coming after that final.”

Jabeur has been a Grand Slam runner-up twice – both times last year. After losing to Rybakina in three sets at Wimbledon, she lost to Iga Swiatek in straight sets at the U.S. Open – falling just short of becoming the first African or Arab woman to win a major tennis tournament in the sport’s professional era.

Two things jump out to Jabeur when she thinks about the Wimbledon loss to Rybakina, who represents Kazakhstan but was born in Russia.

“The fact that I was really exhausted like emotionally,” she began. “I wanted to keep pushing, but I felt little bit empty. Second thing, maybe what my coach kept telling me, to stick more to the plan, to do certain things, even though I was thinking something else in that match.”

The 28-year-old Jabeur hopes to “play more freely, just think about each point and not the results.”

Mission accomplished on Monday, when Jabeur felt free enough on Centre Court to execute a David Beckham-style – Jabeur is a fan of the England great – half-volley kick on a bouncing ball while up a set and 3-1.

The ninth-seeded Kvitova, who eliminated Jabeur in the first round at Wimbledon in 2019, dug herself a hole from the start, committing a double fault and three unforced errors to hand Jabeur a service break in the first game.

On Tuesday, top-ranked Iga Swiatek plays Elina Svitolina on Centre Court for a spot in the semifinals, and fourth-seeded Jessica Pegula faces Marketa Vondrousova in the day’s other women’s quarterfinal.

HANDSHAKE ETIQUETTE

Wimbledon is staying out of the politics of handshakes.

Elina Svitolina of Ukraine had urged tennis authorities to publicize that Ukrainians won’t be shaking hands with Russian and Belarusian players after matches – so that fans don’t boo because they think some players are being snubbed.

“We’ve no intention of doing that,” Wimbledon chief executive Sally Bolton said Monday.

Fans on Court No. 1 booed Belarusian player Victoria Azarenka after she didn’t go to the net to shake hands with Svitolina after the Ukrainian player’s victory on Sunday.

Azarenka knew that Svitolina doesn’t shake hands with Russians and Belarusians – in protest of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – and instead waved to her. She later said she was trying to be “respectful towards her decision.”

Second-seeded Sabalenka of Belarus echoed Svitolina’s call for an announcement “so players will not leave court with so much hate. … It would be good for the crowd to actually know what’s going on. There is a reason behind no handshake.”

Bolton, however, said there won’t be any instruction to Wimbledon umpires to make announcements about handshakes.

“Historically, in tennis, the decision on how a player reacts at the end of a match is entirely a personal decision for them and I think we don’t really want to start mandating what happens,” Bolton said. “We have an incredibly knowledgeable audience at Wimbledon and I think, in the most part, they would understand what was going on. I wouldn’t want to speculate on what everybody in the crowd was thinking last night.”

At the French Open, it was the other way around for Ukrainian players. Marta Kostyuk was booed when she didn’t shake hands with Sabalenka. Svitolina said she was also booed in Paris.

Medvedev, a Russian, said Azarenka being booed was a “big misunderstanding.” In a big crowd, he said, there’s bound to be people who don’t know the details.

“It’s a pity for sure for her that she got booed, and probably for no reason,” the third-seeded Medvedev said. “But I think the people didn’t know the story behind it, and that’s why it happened.”

AP sports writer Ken Maguire contributed to this story.

​ Orange County Register 

She’s 22, a doctoral student and debut author. Meet Altadena’s Kemi Ashing-Giwa.

• July 10, 2023

Science fiction, says 22-year-old author and student Kemi Ashing-Giwa, is what keeps her interested in science “when the going gets tough.” Ashing-Giwa, who grew up in Altadena here in Southern California, is in the early stages of a doctorate in earth and planetary sciences at Stanford University. She’s also debuting her first full-length speculative fiction novel, “The Splinter in the Sky,” out July 11 from Saga Press.

At the center of “Splinter” is tea specialist Enitan, whose sibling Xiang has been kidnapped from their small lunar province, which has been absorbed into a vast empire. When Enitan goes looking for Xiang, she is unexpectedly conscripted as a spy in the still-simmering conflict between the Empire and those it seeks to dominate. As she finds herself drawn into plots and counterplots, Enitan realizes how the Empire’s quest for dominance has fractured and absorbed traditions, language and art while dividing people into classes based on wealth and status.

Related: Sign up for our free newsletter about books, authors, reading and more

A space adventure at heart, “Splinter” also examines the aftermath of colonization, when the physical violence is over and the destruction of the culture of the conquered has begun. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Q. When did you start writing and how did your ideas for “The Splinter in the Sky” come about?

I’ve been writing for as long as I remember. One of my earliest best friends and I would work on a little short story together whenever we had a sleepover, building up a series each time we met up. It was called “Mammoth Land” and everyone was a sentient pachyderm of some sort, and we were the queens of this world. 

Speculative fiction has always been an escape for me. When I am processing, or working through very complicated things – whether they’re my own emotions, or whether they’re things that are happening in the world around me – I like to examine those things through the lens of science fiction and fantasy. There’s a sense of safety; there’s a sense of distance. 

The reason I wrote “Splinter in the Sky” is because when I was at home over the pandemic, I really didn’t have any responsibilities besides my classes and research projects. And I do recognize that’s a huge, huge privilege to have during this horrible, global tragedy. I felt I needed to make sure that I had a good understanding of the things that were happening in the world. 

I would start my day by waking up and reading all the news articles in my inbox, and then I’d go to Zoom University, and then I would watch the news – and then I would do four hours of doomscrolling on Twitter, right before I went to bed. I needed a way to process all the things that I was learning and all the things that I was feeling. “The Splinter in the Sky” was a way for me to do that, that didn’t feel overwhelming.

Q. What inspired the world-building? Did you use any resources or background books? 

There are a couple of different things that coalesced into “Splinter in the Sky.” One was that I got really into tea over the pandemic. For the book, I wanted a character that had an interesting job that I hadn’t read about before – so why not have Enitan be a tea specialist and put this useless tea knowledge that I’m accumulating to some use?

I also got really into reading nonfiction about ancient empires. One of the books I was reading was “The Great Empires of the Ancient World,” by Thomas Harrison; there was also Dominic Lieven’s “In the Shadow of the Gods,” which is about emperors in world history. Those influenced the Vaalbaran Empire in the book. 

Q. You’re from Altadena and attended school in Pasadena, which is where sci-fi great Octavia Butler is from. Was she someone you read?

I’m a huge Octavia Butler fan! “Bloodchild” was one of the pieces that inspired me to write short sci-fi horror stories.

Q. Did you tap into any family history or personal experience while writing this? 

My family is a group of extremely multicultural immigrants. My mom is from Trinidad and Tobago, her mom was from another island in the Caribbean. Her father is from China. My father is from Nigeria. Nearly all these places have been colonized. My feelings about that, and also watching my parents navigate American society and just figure out how to survive were very much incorporated into the book. Rather than violence, I think the main threat that empire poses, at least to me, feels more cultural, more insidious, more political. That definitely went into how I wanted the story to play out.

The Vaalbaran Empire is definitely inspired by the British Empire, which has a long, long history of looting and pillaging and stealing stuff – and then telling the cultures that actually produced those works of art, “You can come to our museums.” I also got very interested in the Ottoman Empire when I was doing revisions. I really wanted to dig into what happens after annexation, what happens after the main colonizing event? What are the things that unfold after an empire has dominance? 

N.K. Jemisin’s “The Fifth Season” was the biggest influence on me. I know when I was writing “Splinter,” I was thinking, “Yeah, my goal is to write 5 percent as well as N.K. Jemisin does; if I can do that, then I will be happy for life.” I wish writers of color could kind of admit to rage in their fiction, you know? Most of the time, you typically stick to subtle and gentle and respectable. But “The Fifth Season” just encompasses so much unbridled rage in a way that I found so powerful. 

Q. How does what you’re studying influence your writing and vice versa?

I have my degree in evolutionary and organismic biology and an astrophysics minor. Those definitely got tied into the world of “Splinter.” I spent time thinking about what the planets are and were like – for example, Enitan lives on a lunar colony on a moon that orbits a gas giant at the edge of the solar system. Gondwana was an actual ancient supercontinent on Earth, and that appeared in the story as the main planet.  Many of the smaller details didn’t make it into the book, because I’m sure it would have been really boring to read about. 

Overall, writing has made me a much better communicator than I would have otherwise been in science. When I was a kid, I imagined being a scientist was about mixing chemicals in the lab and writing equations on the board. It is that – and I do love that – but a large part, one of the most important parts, is communicating not just to other researchers and professors, but also just people in general. 

Q. What do you hope readers will take from this book?

I had originally intended to write a very straightforward, simple, revenge fantasy. But while writing it, I realized that would make for a fun story, but not necessarily a true story, at the end of the day. So the story is less about revenge and more about family and, at the risk of sounding really trite, hope and the beauty of life despite its trials and tribulations. 

Kemi Ashing-Giwa with Tananarive Due 

When: 7 p.m., July 11

Where: Vroman’s 695 E Colorado Blvd., Pasadena

Information: www.vromansbookstore.com/Kemi-Ashing-Giwa-with-Tananarive-Due-The-Splinter-in-the-Sky

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The Book Pages: ‘Translation State’ author Ann Leckie on Octavia Butler, AI & more
Octavia’s Bookshelf owner Nikki High on an incredible first week
Attorney and author Natashia Deón delves into LA’s troubled history with ‘The Perishing’
How ‘Murderbot Diaries’ author Martha Wells overcame a career in crisis to create the killer series

​ Orange County Register 

LA billionaire sells San Diego Union-Tribune to owner of Southern California News Group

• July 10, 2023

The majority owner of the Southern California News Group has bought the San Diego Union-Tribune from Los Angeles billionaire Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong for an undisclosed amount.

The U-T purchase by investor Alden Global Capital, announced Monday, July 10,  comes during turbulent times in the newspaper industry as audience and advertising are increasingly absorbed by search and social media companies. The U-T will be operated by Alden-controlled MediaNews Group, which also runs the 11 newspapers of the Southern California News Group.

“This valued acquisition enables MediaNews Group to advance its stewardship in California as the largest provider of news and information across the state as we continue our commitment to ensure newspapers remain viable well into the future,” said Sharon Ryan, executive vice president of California for MediaNews Group.

Alden’s purchase will grow the California reach of MediaNews Group which owns the Southern California News Group and more than a dozen newspapers in Northern California, including those with the Bay Area News Group.

A memo to the U-T staff announcing the deal said the Union-Tribune will need to “make some difficult staffing decisions as we assume management. Reductions will be necessary to offset the slowdown in revenues as economic headwinds continue to impact the media industry. We will seek efficiencies in business operations, distribution, and production while striving to support and prioritize the robust, local newsgathering needed to serve the communities that rely on the Union-Tribune for excellence in journalism.”

Cooperation between the U-T and SCNG newsrooms may be part of the future newsgathering operations, but sources close to the deal said it was too early for any specific announcements.

The memo highlights the financial stress created by Big Tech giants who’ve successfully lured readers and advertising away from newspapers – often by using  the newspaper industry’s own work.

“It’s no secret that our industry faces substantial revenue pressures brought on by big tech aggregators who redistribute our original content for their own profit, at the expense of our staff, diminishing our readership and causing declining advertising and circulation revenues,” the memo stated, “Despite impressive news reporting and a hardworking staff, the U-T has not been immune to these pressures.”

The U-T has San Diego roots that date to 1868. It was bought by Tribune Publishing in 2015 and then acquired along with the Los Angeles Times by Soon-Shiong three years later. The Times recently announced it was eliminating 74 positions in its newsroom, or roughly 13% of the staff.

A statement from the Los Angeles Times said the Soon-Shiong family “made a good faith effort to rebuild and support both news organizations. We hope that this change now will position both the L.A. Times and San Diego Union-Tribune to succeed. The ongoing work of transforming the L.A. Times into a self-sustaining institution will be our focus, as we believe that Los Angeles needs and deserves a strong, independent news organization.”

​ Orange County Register 

Madonna postpones Celebration Tour dates including four nights in Los Angeles

• July 10, 2023

Madonna has officially postponed the first leg of The Celebration Tour, which includes four dates at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles originally set for Sept. 27-28, 30 and Oct. 1.

Following her recent health scare due to a serious bacterial infection that led to several days in the ICU last month, manager Guy Oseary announced that the tour would be postponed until further notice.

On Monday, July 10, Madonna clarified for fans via Instagram that the tour would be rescheduled and would now kick off in October in Europe.

The “Material Girl” pop star shared that she’s thankful for all the prayers and positive energy fans have poured onto her the past weeks, noting she is now on the road to recovery.

“My focus now is my health and getting stronger and I can assure you, I’ll be back with you as soon as I can,” she wrote.

Live Nation is encouraging fans to hold on to their tickets as they will still be valid for the new dates once they’re announced. The tour, which will feature Madonna’s greatest hits, was supposed to launch this weekend at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, BC.

The 2024 dates on Jan. 7-8 at the Kia Forum in Inglewood and Jan. 11 at the Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert are still on as scheduled.

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​ Orange County Register 

At least 1 dead as relentless storms wallop Northeast

• July 10, 2023

By Kathy McCormack

Rescue teams raced into Vermont on Monday after heavy rain drenched parts of Northeast, washing out roads, forcing evacuations and halting some airline travel. One person was killed in New York as she was trying to leave her home.

Mike Cannon of Vermont Urban Search and Rescue said crews from North Carolina, Michigan and Connecticut were among those helping to get to towns that have been unreachable since torrents of rain belted the state overnight.

Cannon said the hardest hit area are along the mountainous areas of the Green Mountains in the state’s southern and central counties. The towns of Londonderry and Weston were inaccessible, and rescuers were heading there to do welfare checks. A state park in Plymouth was being evacuated, and water levels at several dams were being monitored.

The slow-moving storm reached New England in the morning after hitting parts of New York and Connecticut on Sunday.

See how storms are delaying,  West Coast airports: LAX, Burbank, Long Beach, John Wayne flights delayed, canceled by severe East Coast weather

The National Weather Service in Burlington, Vermont, said a flood watch remains in effect for all of Vermont until Tuesday evening. Meanwhile, heavy rain poses a risk of significant flash flooding throughout parts of New England on Monday.

“Widespread, heavy rainfall capable of producing considerable to catastrophic flooding is beginning to unfold. Road washouts are ongoing, and are expected to increase in extent and severity over the course of the day,” the Weather Service said.

The slow-moving storm reached New England in the morning after hitting parts of New York and Connecticut on Sunday.

One of the worst hit places was New York’s Hudson Valley, where rescuers found the body of a woman in her 30s whose home was surrounded by water. The force of the flash flooding dislodged boulders, which rammed the woman’s house and damaged part of its wall, Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus told The Associated Press. Two other people escaped.

“She was trying to get through (the flooding) with her dog,” Neuhaus said, “and she was overwhelmed by tidal-wave type waves.”

He said many roads and bridges were washed out. Officials believed everyone was accounted for, but they were trying to reach people to make sure they were OK.

Officials say the storm has already wrought tens of millions of dollars in damage. In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, said at a news conference Monday that the storm sent “cars swirling in our streets” and dumped a “historic” amount of rain.

“Nine inches of rain in this community,” Hochul said during a briefing on a muddy street in Highland Falls. “They’re calling this a ‘1,000 year event.’”

Hochul announced a state of emergency Sunday for Orange County. That included the town of Cornwall, near the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, where many roads were flooded and closed off.

The storm also interrupted air and rail travel. As of early Monday, there were hundreds of flight cancellations at Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark airports and more than 200 canceled at Boston’s Logan Airport in the last 24 hours, according to the Flightaware website. Amtrak temporarily suspended service between Albany and New York. In Vermont, some 25 state roads were closed.

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott said swift-water rescue teams from outside the state were needed.

“This is an all-hands-on-deck response,” he said at a Monday press conference. “We have not seen rainfall like this since Irene, and in some places, it will surpass even that.”

Scott was referring to Tropical Storm Irene in August 2011, when the state got 11 inches (28 centimeters) of rain in 24 hours. Irene killed six in the state, washed homes off their foundations and damaged or destroyed more than 200 bridges and 500 miles (805 kilometers) of highway.

Scott declared a state of emergency on Sunday. Some campers and people caught in their homes were rescued in central and southern Vermont, said Mark Bosma, spokesperson for the state emergency management office.

By the morning, some towns reported 2 1/2 to 4 inches (6.35 centimeters to 10.16 centimeters) of rain since midnight, and similar totals were expected during the day, said Robert Haynes, meteorologist with the Weather Service in Burlington.

“We still look like we’re on track for that potentially significant, locally catastrophic flooding,” Haynes said.

“This is one of those unique events that we don’t see very often around here,” meteorologist Marlon Verasamy in Burlington said of Monday’s storm.

He said the ground was already saturated and rivers were relatively high from recent heavy rains. Parts of southern Vermont had mudslides and road flooding from a storm Friday night into Saturday morning.

“It’s the same area being hit today,” he said.

Several communities in western Massachusetts have reported flooded and washed out roads, a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency said Monday.

The fire departments in Adams, North Adams and Clarksburg in the northwestern part of the state close to the New York and Vermont borders are also assisting homeowners with in pumping out basements, spokesperson Sara Porter said.

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A portion of Route 57 in Tolland was also flooded, she said. In Williamsburg, firefighters were trying to rescue someone who had become trapped in their home by floodwaters, emergency manager Denise Banister said.

Flash flooding and washed out roads were reported in western Connecticut and along the state’s shoreline. In Norfolk on Monday morning, fire officials said several culverts along Route 272 had crumbled or moved and about 50 homes had been cut off by flood waters that destroyed the roads leading to those properties.

McCormack reported from Concord, New Hampshire. Associated Press writers Lisa Rathke in Marshfield, Vermont contributed.

​ Orange County Register