Angels’ Mike Trout diagnosed with left wrist fracture

• July 4, 2023

SAN DIEGO — Mike Trout fractured the hamate bone in his left wrist on Monday night, the Angels announced on Tuesday. The injury typically costs a player four to eight weeks.

The Angels’ star suffered the injury on a swing in the eighth inning of a loss to the Padres.

As the three-time MVP spoke to reporters while he awaited the test results on Monday, he was distraught at the prospect of another injury.

“Just praying the results come back clean,” he said. “It doesn’t feel great.”

It turned out to be an injury that is fairly common among baseball players. Normally it occurs during a swing, when the knob of the bat presses against the bone at the base of the hand by the wrist. The bone is typically removed during surgery, and a player can return to action once the surgical wounds have healed and strength is restored.

Boston Red Sox infielder Yu Chang suffered a fractured hamate on April 24. He began a rehab assignment about a month later, but felt some discomfort and needed another month. He is currently on another rehab assignment.

Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco was out two months with a fractured hamate last year.

Last year, Andrew Benintendi broke his hamate on Sept. 2 and had surgery on Sept. 6, and he did not make it back with the Yankees, who were eliminated from the postseason on Oct. 23.

In 2019, Cleveland’s José Ramirez missed just four weeks with a broken hamate.

The Angels recalled Jo Adell from Triple-A to replace Trout on the active roster. Adell was hitting .271 with 23 homers — most in the minors — and a .956 OPS.

For Trout, this marks the third straight year that he’s missing a chunk of the season with a significant injury. He suffered a strained calf in May 2021, costing him the rest of the season. Last July he hurt his back, missing five weeks.

The Angels had been proactive in trying to prevent soft-tissue injuries with Trout by giving him regular days off. He had been out of the lineup eight times in the Angels’ first 87 games, with a plan to reduce those days off as the schedule provided more off days in the second half. Trout last played more than 140 games in 2016.

This injury, a broken bone, was seemingly not preventable with rest, though.

The recent of run of injuries will cost Trout another opportunity to play in the All-Star Game. Although he was elected as the starter for the 10th time, this will be the fourth time that he’s unable to play. He missed the game in 2017, 2021 and 2022 because of injuries. With the 2020 All-Star Game canceled because of the pandemic, Trout has not played in the All-Star Game since 2019.

The bigger concern is the impact on the Angels’ season.

The Angels are 45-42, six games back in the American League West and three games back in the wild card race. Although they were on a hot streak early in June that vaulted them into the thick of the race, they’ve lost nine of their last 13 games.

Trout had been in a slump, by his standard, for much of the season, but he said he was starting to feel better over the previous couple weeks. He hit .340 with four homers and an OPS of 1.121 in his last 14 games.

For the season, Trout is hitting .263 with 18 homers and an .863 OPS.

Trout joins second baseman Brandon Drury, shortstop Zach Neto and catcher Logan O’Hoppe among the Angels’ everyday players on the injured list. The Angels are hoping to get Drury and Neto back just after the All-Star break. O’Hoppe could be back in late August, at the earliest. Third baseman Anthony Rendon has been on the injured list twice, but he’s healthy now. They have already lost Gio Urshela for the season.

“We’ve talked all along about our depth and it’s been tested,” Nevin said on Monday night, before Trout’s diagnosis was known. “We’ve been adding to that. We’ve lost some big pieces to this. We’ve talked about having the next guy up. Same thing in this case.”

In other news, the Angels optioned right-hander Victor Mederos to Triple-A and recalled right-hander Gerardo Reyes.

More to come on this story.

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Reaffirming our nation’s independence

• July 4, 2023

The Fourth of July, Independence Day, is a good time not only for hot dogs and fireworks, but to reflect for a moment on what makes this country unique, the qualities that enabled it to become in some ways the most successful country in history, and to contemplate the extent to which those qualities still animate Americans.

It has been said that the United States is the only country founded on an idea, or a set of ideas, rather than on ethnic or racial similarities, kinship, conquest or the simple fact of a relatively homogeneous group of people living in the same geographic region for centuries. Those ideas are summed up in the Declaration of Independence, the document whose signing and promulgation we celebrate. In some ways it can lay claim to being the most revolutionary public document in human history.

Aspects of the idea that people are not just vassals of the powers that be, interchangeable cogs in the great machinery of society presided over by leaders who had by and large established themselves through conquest and pillage, had been growing for centuries before 1776. But the circumstances surrounding the decision of the colonists to separate from Great Britain offered the opportunity to summarize emerging principles in a uniquely eloquent manner.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident,” the Declaration proclaims, “that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” By “created equal,” of course, the founders were not so naïve as to believe that we were all equally tall, intelligent, beautiful or worthy, but that we have equal value in the sight of God or Natural Law and should receive equal treatment rather than preferences or punishment based on our status from government. Every human being has a certain inherent dignity, and decent people respect that.

It has become fashionable to talk of certain privileges or amenities bestowed by government as “rights,” but the Declaration is clear that people are “endowed by their Creator,” with certain rights, and that these rights exist prior to and take precedence over any claims by government. This was and still is truly revolutionary. The rights discussed — life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness — are genuine rights in that they can be exercised without impinging on the equal rights of other human beings.

So what is government’s job in a system that recognizes unalienable rights? Simply “to secure these rights.” This implies a government of limited powers, for a government of unlimited powers will surely become a threat to rather than a securer of personal rights.

Our government has grown in scope, power and ambition far beyond the imaginings of those who put their lives on the line (and, in some cases, lost them) by signing the Declaration of Independence. Yet the spirit of independence, the healthy distrust of overweening government power, remains a stubborn American characteristic. Long may it thrive.

This editorial was originally published July 4, 2009.

​ Orange County Register 

Why you should stay away from sick sea lions, for their good — and yours

• July 4, 2023

The best (and safest) way to help sick sea lions, it turns out, is to not really help at all — except for calling the experts.

A toxic algae bloom up and down the California coast has been sickening sea lions and other ocean mammals over the last month or so, causing them to come ashore in alarming numbers, which has overwhelmed care facilities.

More than 1,000 sea lions and more than 100 dolphins have been reported sick or dead along the California coast. And more than 100 sea lions likely suffering from domoic acid toxicity have stranded themselves on Los Angeles area beaches since the bloom, the L.A. County Department of Public Health said in a Friday press release.

“To see a sea lion on the beach in the middle of a crowded summer day, that’s not normal,” Dave Bader, chief operations and education officer for the Marine Mammal Care Center, in San Pedro, said in a Friday interview.

While you may want to go up to the sea lions and do what you can to help them, it’s best that you don’t. There are mulitple reasons why — including that you can be poisoned by the toxin too.

Here’s everything you need to know about the sick marine mammals and why staying away from them is the best thing you can do to help — especially since the Fourth of July is a typically busy beach day.

Why you should stay away

A neurotoxin in the algae, domoic acid, gets concentrated through ingestion as it goes up the food chain. So when small fish eat the sea greenery, the toxin builds in their tissues, then the sea lions eat the fish.

Because they’re semi-aquatic, it’s not uncommon for sea lions to come onto shore if they’re sick — or just want some air.

“If people didn’t exist in the world, there would probably be sea lions on the beach,” Bader said. “But because we do, they don’t really haul out on local beaches anymore.”

When they do, it’s usually to rest, he added.

“They don’t spend their entire lives in the water,” Bader said. “It’s natural for them to come out onto shore if they’re in need.”

But the domoic acid can cause the animals to behave in ways they normally wouldn’t, Bader said, including hauling out onto the beach even with lots of people around.

Sea lions typically stay away from people, Bader said, and it’s rare for them to be aggressive. But because of the neurotoxin, Bader said, the animals may act differently — potentially endangering humans who get too close.

“Because these animals are sick and unpredictable,” Bader said, “coming in close contact with them, you could get bitten.”

Giving the sea lions space so they’re not worried is one thing people can do to help them heal, Bader said.

And for what it’s worth, it’s also illegal to harm or harass the animals under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, Bader said.

Marine experts and public health officials have urged people to stay at least 50 feet from stranded sea lions, Bader said.

And if you see an animal on a beach, the best way to help is to email a picture of it, along with a photo of the nearest lifeguard tower, to info@marinemammalcare.com. People can also call 1-800-39-WHALE to report stranded sea mammals.

“We’re trying to find the most restful and calm spaces for them to be so they can sleep, be not stressed,” Bader said. “When you have the flu, the last thing you want to do is go to work; you need the most restful situation to recuperate. For sea lions, it’s not too dissimilar.”

Are humans at risk of getting sick?

In short, getting to close to these sick animals can make you ill as well.

But that’s not the only way people can get domoic acid poisoning. They can also get it by eating recreationally caught shellfish, Bader said.

Commercial shellfish, however, is generally considered safe, as it gets tested and wouldn’t make it to market if were contaminated.

But the California Department of Public Health has issued an advisory warning folks not to eat sport-harvested mussels, clam or scallops that come from from Santa Barbara County, per LA County’s Friday release.

Symptoms of toxicity, also called amnesic shellfish poisoning, can occur within 30 minutes to 24 hours after eating toxic seafood, according to CDPH. In mild cases, people may experience vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, headache and dizziness, with the symptoms disappearing within several days.Severe symptoms include trouble breathing, confusion, disorientation, cardiovascular instability, seizures, excessive bronchial secretions, permanent loss of short-term memory, coma or death.

There’s really no telling when things will calm down with the algae bloom, Bader said. Marine experts say this algae bloom could last six to eight weeks, based on instances in the past, Bader said, but we’re already four weeks in — so it’ll be at least another month before things clear up.

“It depends on what the waves and water want to do,” Bader said. “Algae responds to oceanic conditions, so as long as the ocean is favorable for that algae to grow, it’ll keep happening.”

With warmer temperatures ahead for July 4 and beyond, it looks like the algae won’t die down too soon.

​ Orange County Register 

How do I go about patenting my invention? Ask the lawyer

• July 4, 2023

Q: Two questions: I have come up with a device and have the detailed drawings for it. Now I want to try to patent it. How do I go about doing that?

J.S., Rancho Palos Verdes

Ron Sokol

A: Patent law allows you to patent an invention, machine, process, plant or design. Once (or if) you have determined that your device can be protected by a patent, you will then decide what type of patent you need.

There are different kinds of patents. I believe the two most common are a utility patent, which protects new inventions, machines, processes, compositions of matters, article of manufacture, and any improvement on these items; and a design patent, which protects the aesthetic or the appearance of an invention. There can be an invention that qualifies for both of these kinds of patents, in which event you may file for both.

Note that the utility patent protects how your invention works or functions, whereas the design patent protects the appearance of your device.

The threshold issue: If you are going to seek to patent a device with the United States Patent & Trademark Office (whose website is online), you have to present a novel invention. This “novelty” requirement means your invention is different from anything that has ever been patented before and different from anything that has even been publicly disclosed.

Research indicates that if you have something that is patentable, you must file the application within 12 months of publicly disclosing your invention, or from the date you offered it for sale. Note that a part of your due diligence should be to research whether any one has ever patented the device you are pursuing, or has already disclosed it to the public.

Patent law is a specialty. It is not uncommon for a patent lawyer to be an engineer or have a good working knowledge of the engineering field. I would be remiss if I did not encourage you to consult with (if not retain) a patent law specialist.

I also have not mentioned a provisional patent, which you may want to consider, or a plant patent.  So, again, give thought to sitting down with a specialist.

Q: Second question: What is meant by non-obviousness? I understand my invention has to be “non-obvious.”

J.S., Rancho Palos Verdes

A: Non-obvious is both a subjective and factual inquiry, undertaken by the patent examiner to assess if your invention is new, or instead just a combination of previously patented or publicly disclosed inventions. The subjective part is that the examiner is conducting the determination as to whether an ordinary person skilled in the field, pertinent to your invention, would have believed the invention is obvious at the time you filed.

Bottom line, you want to be able to show that there is a real difference between your invention, and previously patented and publicly disclosed items.

Vocabulary

Utility patent: This is what most people think of when they think about a patent. It’s a long, technical document that teaches the public how to use a new machine, process or system. The kinds of inventions protected by utility patents are defined by Congress. New technologies, such as genetic engineering and internet-delivered software, are challenging the boundaries of what kinds of inventions can receive utility patent protection.

Provisional patent: United States law allows inventors to file a less formal document that proves the inventor was in possession of the invention and had adequately figured out how to make the invention work. Once that is on file, the invention is patent pending. If, however, the inventor fails to file a formal utility patent within a year from filing the provisional patent, he or she will lose this filing date. Any public disclosures made relying on that provisional patent application will now count as public disclosures to the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Design patent: This patent offers protection for an ornamental design on a useful item. The shape of a bottle or the design of a shoe, for example, can be protected by a design patent. The document itself is almost entirely made of pictures or drawings of the design on the useful item. Design patents are notoriously difficult to search simply because there are very few words used in a design patent. In recent years, software companies have used design patents to protect elements of user interfaces and even the shape of touchscreen devices.

Plant patent: Just what it sounds like, a plant patent protects new kinds of plants produced by cuttings or other nonsexual means. Plant patents generally do not cover genetically modified organisms and focus more on conventional horticulture.

Ron Sokol has been a practicing attorney for over 40 years, and has also served many times as a judge pro tem, mediator, and arbitrator. It is important to keep in mind that this column presents a summary of the law, and is not to be treated or considered legal advice, let alone a substitute for actual consultation with a qualified professional.

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Niles: ‘Rogers: The Musical’ shows the importance of live theater at Disneyland

• July 4, 2023

Live musical theater is back at Disney California Adventure, and I could not be happier.

“Rogers: The Musical” opened in the park’s Hyperion Theater last week. The Hollywood Land facility had been dark since the pandemic, after Disneyland closed the “Frozen — Live at the Hyperion” production that had played there since 2016. “Rogers: The Musical” will run through Aug. 31.

More from Robert Niles

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Universal wins, Six Flags loses in annual attendance report
Why Disney’s Star Wars hotel was too much, for too few
With Arctic Rescue, SeaWorld stretches the definition of ‘family coaster’
Here’s what’s missing from DisneylandForward

After that, Disneyland has not announced what will happen in the theater. But I hope that it does not remain dark for long. Live theater provides an important draw for any theme park, and Disney should continue to set an example for the industry by supporting it in all of its theme parks.

As for “Rogers,” the new musical surprised me. “Rogers: The Musical” is a punchline in the Disney+ series “Hawkeye,” where it first appeared. When Disneyland announced that it would bring an expanded, 30-minute version of the musical to the Hyperion, I worried that the park could not sustain a joke for that long. Disneyland’s reveal that the production would include a second satirical number, “Star Spangled Man” from “Captain America: The First Avenger,” along with “Save the City” from “Hawkeye,” did not help ease my concern that this would be a one-note show that left audiences cringing as much as laughing.

Don’t worry. “Rogers: The Musical” triumphs. The production offers three exceptional original songs that help frame the show as a classic, heart-tugging Broadway romance. Led by director Jordan Peterson, the creative team has delivered a show that delivers the emotional mix that fans have come to expect from the best Marvel productions. Sure, fans will laugh at “Save the City,” and even more so when Nick Fury sings in a new number which leads up to that. But fans will cry and cheer, too.

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Good word of mouth, along with the enduring popularity of the Captain America character, should help keep the nearly 2,000-seat theater filled multiple times daily for show’s limited run. When shows are running, the Hyperion Theater is a people-eater that helps improve wait times at other attractions throughout Disney California Adventure and Disneyland.

But expanded resort capacity isn’t the only reason why Disneyland should keep the Hyperion running. Theme parks can, and should, use their popularity to help more fans discover and fall in love with theater. Live theater helps develop and sustain generations of actors, singers, writers, composers and designers — many of the creative artists that theme parks need to bring adventures to life for their fans.

Street entertainment and character shows help create the magic in Disney’s parks, but there’s nothing like seeing a show in a big house like the Hyperion to help more fans discover why Broadway remains such a popular and enduring art form. Success drives imitation in entertainment, and I would love to see Disney do whatever it can to inspire the entire theme park industry to commission and support more large-scale, live professional theater for fans across the country and around the world.

​ Orange County Register 

Happy Independence Day: Political Cartoons

• July 4, 2023

Check out our regular cartoon gallery featuring some of the best cartoonists from around the world, and across the political spectrum, covering current issues and figures.

​ Orange County Register 

Los Alamitos horse racing consensus picks, Tuesday, July 4, 2023

• July 4, 2023

The consensus box of Los Alamitos horse racing picks comes from handicappers Bob Mieszerski, Art Wilson, Terry Turrell and Eddie Wilson. Here are the picks for thoroughbred races on Tuesday, July 4, 2023.

Trouble viewing on mobile device? See consensus picks

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Watering right can save gardeners money, gallons and their plants, too

• July 4, 2023

By Jessica Damiano

Until I installed soaker hoses throughout my vegetable beds this year, I’d always watered my plants by hand, which over the years had become tiresome.

Standing outside holding a garden hose wasn’t exactly my idea of a good time, but it directs water precisely to the soil above roots, making sure it lands where it’s needed. That eliminates waste, and goes a long way toward preventing diseases like powdery mildew. That’s good for plants, the environment and the water bill.

Placing flexible, porous rubber or fabric soaker hoses on the soil around plants is another preferred way to irrigate, as it allows water to seep slowly over roots. Drip irrigation hoses (rigid tubes with emitter holes that drip or stream water) work similarly.

There are plenty of other easy ways to save water around the garden.

Applying water in the morning, for instance, allows time for it to permeate deeply into the soil before the sun gets too hot. Wait until later in the day, and a good portion of that water will evaporate from the soil surface before doing its job. Later still, and moisture could stick around overnight, risking mold, mildew and fungal diseases.

How you water is just as important as when. Giving plants a quick, daily sprinkle offers little if any benefit to roots, which, depending on the plant, could extend a foot or more into the soil. Instead, water less frequently but deeply.

And when the soil is really dry, it’s even more important to slow down, or the water will run off without penetrating the surface, just as a bone-dry kitchen sponge has difficulty absorbing a spill.

You can recycle water from boiling pasta, vegetables and eggs instead of pouring it down the drain, as long as it hasn’t been salted. Water from dehumidifiers can be used, too. Waste not, want not.

Redirect a downspout to fill a rain barrel, then use the captured water to fill watering cans. Or use an adapter to attach a garden or soaker hose to the spigot hole at the bottom of the barrel.

When planting a garden, we typically give thought to what looks good with what and (hopefully) each plant’s sunlight requirements. Consider water needs, too, so as not to overwater drought-resistant plants when trying to appease thirsty water hogs nearby.

For the same reason, it’s a good idea to keep lawns separate from trees, shrubs, groundcovers, perennials and annuals if you use an automatic sprinkler system, which, by the way, wets the foliage of plants in the path of the spray, making them susceptible to disease.

Better yet, use native plants, most of which are drought-tolerant. They’ll need regular watering during their first year or two, but once they’re established, they can typically get by on rainwater alone, except maybe during prolonged heat waves. To find plants native to your area, plug your zip code into the online databases at T he National Wildlife Federation (https://www.nwf.org/NativePlantFinder/Plants) and Audubon Society (https://www.audubon.org/native-plants) websites.

When planting in the garden, incorporate a generous amount of compost into holes to increase the water-holding capacity of sandy soil and improve drainage in clay.

Apply 2 to 3 inches of mulch around trees, shrubs and plants to retain soil moisture, reduce surface evaporation and inhibit weeds. Wait until the soil warms up before mulching, and keep the material a few inches away from stems and trunks.

When planting containers, look for a potting mix that includes vermiculite, a moisture-retaining mineral. Soil moisture polymer granules such as SoilMoist can also be added to reduce watering needs by as much as 50%.

You can even tear open a (clean!) baby diaper and mix the absorbent hydrogels with your potting mix, or simply place an unfolded diaper at the bottom of a container (plastic side down, with holes poked in for drainage) to absorb and hold moisture. Just don’t use any of these if your container includes succulents or other plants that require dry, well-draining soil.

If you’re using an automatic sprinkler, set the timer for early in the morning, preferably just before dawn. Look for a timer with a rain sensor, or manually override its programming to avoid waste on rainy days.

Most lawns need about 1 to 1 ½ inches of water per week, including from rain, but you won’t know how much your system puts out unless you test it. Set a tuna fish can on the lawn during a cycle, then measure the water accumulation in the can.

A rain gauge, which sort of looks like a test tube marked with measurements, will also inform on rainfall amounts.

___

Jessica Damiano writes regular gardening columns for the AP.

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