2026 Election: Measure K would make Orange a charter city

• October 3, 2026

Should Orange adopt its own charter? The question is going to Orange voters.

Orange is currently a general law city bound by state mandates. Measure K, which the City Council placed on the ballot, would establish Orange as a charter city.

Switching to a charter city, essentially a city with its own constitution, could give Orange more “home rule” authority over local affairs such as contracting, local elections, term limits and wages on public works projects, city officials have said.

The proposed charter is included with the measure on the ballot.

Measure K would require a simple majority of the vote in support to pass.

​ Orange County Register 

Take advantage of Kids Free October deals in San Diego now

• October 3, 2026

It’s October, and that means that it’s the 15th annual “Kids Free San Diego” month, with a host of deals and freebies through Oct. 31.

You can really save some dough, because the freebies include some of the most expensive attractions in the city, including both the San Diego Zoo and the Safari Park in Escondido, where up to six kids ages 3-11 get in free with a paid adult admission. (You still have to pay for parking). Hotels and restaurants have also jumped on the bandwagon.

Personally, I’d try to go on a weekday and get there before dawn — OK, not really, but as early as you can to beat the crowds.

For some sites, including the USS Midway Museum, Fleet Science Center, San Diego Air & Space Museum and Birch Aquarium, you need to get a free museum pass here: sandiegomuseumcouncil.org/kids-free-museum-coupons. You will be asked for your email

Learn more at SanDiego.org/KidsFree

There are many offers. Here are only a handful of what’s available:

• San Diego Zoo: Kids 11 and under free with paid adult admission. Active duty military adults with ID are also free. zoo.sandiegozoo.org/kids-free
• San Diego Zoo Safari Park: Kids 11 and under free with adult paid admission or active duty military ID. Check out the new elephant enclosure. sdzsafaripark.org/kids-free
• Legoland California, Carlsbad: Get one free child ticket with a paid adult one, through Dec. 25. legoland.com/llckidsgofree
• USS Midway Museum: Two kids 12 and under get in free with full-price paid adult admission. Get your coupon here: sandiegomuseumcouncil.org/kids-free-museum-coupons/
• San Diego Natural History Museum: Two kids 12 and under get in free with full-price paid adult admission. Get your coupon here: sandiegomuseumcouncil.org/kids-free-museum-coupons/
• San Diego Air & Space Museum: Two kids 12 and under get in free with full-price paid adult admission. Get your coupon here: sandiegomuseumcouncil.org/kids-free-museum-coupons/
• Maritime Museum of San Diego: Step aboard historic tall ships. One kid aged 6-17 get in free with each paid adult admission. (Ages 5 and under are always free) sandiego.org/plan-your-trip/deals-offers/kids-go-free-to-the-maritime-museum-of-san-diego/366

Check out all the offers online and note that this year, for the first time, Tijuana in Baja California has joined the kids free promotion. You can check out the offers at sandiegomuseumcouncil.org/baja-museums/

​ Orange County Register 

Chargers vs. Seattle Seahawks: Who has the edge?

• October 3, 2026

CHARGERS (0-3) at SEAHAWKS (2-1)

When: 1:25 p.m. Sunday

Where: Lumen Stadium, Seattle

TV/Radio: Ch. 2; 640 AM/103.9/98.3 FM (Spanish)

Line: Seahawks by 7

Notable injury designations

Chargers: OUT: LG Kayode Awosika (fibula), TE Charlie Kolar (forearm), WR Brenen Thompson (quadricep), DL Dalvin Tomlinson (hamstring); QUESTIONABLE: CB Donte Jackson (concussion), S Derwin James Jr. (hamstring), QB Trey Lance (groin), WR Ladd McConkey (foot), S Elijah Molden (hamstring).

Seahawks: OUT: RB Zach Charbonnet (knee), RB Jadarian Price (chest); QUESTIONABLE: S Ty Okada (hamstring), LB Chazz Surratt (calf).

What’s at stake: The Chargers haven’t started 0-4 since the 2017 season, their first in for Los Angeles after departing San Diego. They rallied for a 9-7 record and a second-place finish in the AFC West. The Seahawks are the defending Super Bowl champions, but they’re coming off a loss in Week 3 to the Washington Commanders and backup quarterback Marcus Mariota that ended their 12-game winning streak that dated to November of last season. The Chargers expect a salty response from the Seahawks in their noisy home stadium.

Who’s better: Tough to argue that the Seahawks aren’t the better team, given their stellar 2025 season and Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots, the team that defeated the Chargers in an AFC wild-card game. Seattle had one of the NFL’s top defenses last season and absolutely nothing has changed to start this season, although Mariota did throw three touchdown passes and the Commanders did score 33 points in Sunday’s victory over the Seahawks.

Matchup to watch: Can the Chargers adequately protect quarterback Justin Herbert and can Herbert finally find some semblance of rhythm and confidence in Mike McDaniel’s offense? So far, in losses to the Arizona Cardinals, Las Vegas Raiders and Buffalo Bills, Herbert has moved the Chargers’ offense only in spurts. Their best possessions have been their opening drives of each half, when plays are likely scripted ahead of time. Herbert needs more help from his teammates and his teammates need more help from him if they are to win.

Chargers win if: The Chargers can’t have a repeat of the unforced errors that have plagued them during their three-game losing streak to start the season. They can’t jump offside. They can’t false start. They can’t hold. They can’t be penalized for illegal blocks. They also can’t fumble or throw interceptions. Forcing turnovers is a key, too, since their margin for error is so small. It also would help if they converted red-zone opportunities into touchdowns.

Fantasy sleeper: Running back Omarion Hampton could be the X-factor if the Chargers’ ground game continues to improve and Herbert continues to post rather pedestrian numbers in the passing game. What’s that old saying? The running game sets up the passing game and the passing game sets up the running game? Something like that, anyway.

Prediction: Upset special? Nah, that was last week when the Seahawks lost to the Commanders. Game that turns around the Chargers’ season? Well, there’s a reason the oddsmakers favor the Seahawks by a touchdown, and who are we to argue? The misery index continues to rise for the Chargers against the Super Bowl champs. Seahawks 20, Chargers 10.

​ Orange County Register 

2 killed in strip mall shooting near Cal State Northridge, suspect flees

• October 3, 2026

Two people were shot and killed Friday night at a strip mall near California State Northridge, as shots rang out at a party that erupted into chaos.

The shooting was reported around 11:05 p.m. Oct. 2 at a strip mall on the 18000 block of Nordhoff Street, near Reseda Boulevard, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson said.

The victims were described as a man and a woman, both between 18 and 25 years old, according to the LAPD. No further details on the victims were immediately available.

Police are seeking one male suspect in connection with the shooting. No further suspect information was released.

Cell phone footage obtained by RMG News shows young people holding their cell phones up to film a performance, when suddenly the shots ring out.

“Hey everybody leave, everybody leave!” someone can be heard yelling through the scrambling crowd.

LAPD said there were dozens of minors at the party.

The strip mall is located a few blocks from the campus of California State University, Northridge. Police appear to have responded to the second floor of the strip mall complex where Ciel Nail Spa and the Artist Lounge businesses are located.

Freelance news video from the scene shows multiple minors being detained by police following the shooting and others evacuated by law enforcement personnel. A witness said the detainees were released by authorities and picked up by their parents.

Police were still on the scene of the shooting Saturday morning.

​ Orange County Register 

Angel City FC hitting its stride as NWSL playoffs near

• October 3, 2026

Angel City Football Club stared down a busy and important September.

If the month was a test, Angel City passed it flying with top honors. Angel City went 5-0-1 and climbed from outside the playoff line to as high as fourth in the NWSL standings

As of the start of this week’s games, Angel City was in sixth place.

Angel City had five players (goalkeeper Angelina Anderson, defenders Sarah Gorden and Evelyn Shores and midfielders Ally Sentnor and Maiara Nieheus) selected to the NWSL Best XI for the month and interim coach Leif Smerud also picked up an honor as the Coach of the Month.

“This is a team effort,” Smerud said. “The team has done very well in September and I’m surrounded by a good coach staff and together we have achieved to be unbeaten (in the month) and I accept that with pride and honor.”

For the first time in its history, Angel City reaches the final month of the season in the thick of a playoff race. The team’s first playoff appearance (2023) wasn’t clinched until the final day of the season. Even then, that team was never as close to the top of the league as this one is now.

There are just six points separating second place (Washington Spirit, 46 points) and eighth place (Seattle Reign, 40 points). Angel City sits at 42 points, which makes the final month of October even more important.

Angel City kicks off the month with a clash against first-place Gotham FC. The teams played to a scoreless draw in the first meeting Aug. 23 at BMO Stadium.

Gotham, with 34 goals, doesn’t score much. Angel City is second in the league with 44 goals. But Gotham also doesn’t allow many. Through 26 games, Gotham has allowed just 20 goals, tops in the league. Angel City is fourth with 28 goals against.

“What I like about the team is that we can win games in different ways,” Smerud said. “It’s going to be a big test for us to play a team like Gotham, just like it was playing Washington. I think finding the right balance between defending with and without the ball and attacking quick and attacking through longer attacks, that balance is important.

“I expect them to try to dominate it (possession) and I expect us to give them a fight.”

After Sunday, Angel City will have three games remaining: Oct. 17 at Denver Summit, Oct. 24 at home against Bay FC and Nov. 1 at home against Boston Legacy FC.

International duty calls

Angel City will have a staggering 10 players departing after Sunday for international duty next week.

Shores and Gisele Thompson will join the USWNT senior team for friendlies Oct. 10 and 13 against Spain.

Anderson, Sentnor, Carina Lageyre and Savy King will join the USWNT U-23s, with games set for Oct. 9 and 13.

Prisca Chilufya will be with Zambia for a pair of 2028 Olympic qualifying matches Oct. 8 and 10. Claire Emslie heads to Scotland for a 2027 World Cup qualifying playoff against Czechia on Oct. 9 and 13.

Sveindís Jónsdóttir gets a call-up to the Icelandic national team for their World Cup qualifying playoff against Croatia on Oct. 9 and 13.

Finally, Maiara Niehues will join Brazil for a pair of games against Argentinaon Oct. 10 and 13.

After the break, Angel City will resume the regular season Oct. 17.

“I think one of the benefits now is we have a very clear understanding of how we want to play,” Smerud said. “The players know it. We are able to execute it from game to game in a quite consistent way and that makes us having a break not a very big problem.

“Some of these players now have earned the right to have a short rest and then we are ready to go again.”

ANGEL CITY FC at GOTHAM FC

When: 10 a.m. Sunday

Where: Sports Illustrated Stadium, Harrison, N.J.

How to watch: ABC (Ch. 7)

​ Orange County Register 

How, when and why to divide garden perennials for better blooming

• October 3, 2026

By JESSICA DAMIANO | The Associated Press

If your spring and early-summer perennials are overgrowing their spaces, blooming less, producing smaller flowers or flopping over (possibly with a hole in their centers), they’re telling you they want to be divided.

Crowded plants often struggle because they must compete for limited water, nutrients and sunlight, and the diminished airflow between them also increases their risk of contracting mold and fungal diseases.

To avoid their inevitable decline, it’s best to divide them every three to five years. As a bonus, the practice will reward you with free plants for your garden.

Not every perennial, however, appreciates division. Plants with woody crowns or deep taproots, like lavender, Russian sage, butterfly weed and Baptisia, downright resent it.

As a rule of (green) thumb, gardeners should divide late-summer and fall bloomers in the spring, just after they emerge from the ground, and spring- and early-to-mid-summer bloomers in the fall, when the plants no longer need their energy stores for active growth and flower production.

In colder climates, fall divisions should be completed four to six weeks before the ground freezes to allow sufficient time for each replanted segment’s roots to establish before dormancy.

How to do the dividing

Watch the weather report and plan the task for a cool, cloudy day. Water the plant deeply one or two days prior to give it a hydrating boost and moisten the soil.

Cut plants down, if necessary, to better expose their crowns, or the junctures where their top growth meets their roots. That will also make them easier to work with.

Plunge a garden fork into the soil, about a foot away from the base of the plant. You can use a spade instead, but I prefer a fork because it minimizes damage to the root ball.

Apply pressure to the tool’s handle to raise a section of the clump, then remove the fork, step over to the next section of root, and insert and raise it in the same manner. Repeat all around the plant until you have loosened the entire root system and can easily lift it out of the ground.

Gently remove enough soil from the roots to enable you to better see the base of the plant’s shoots.

Small plants with loose roots can often be pulled apart by hand, but this won’t likely be the case if they are already overgrown and crowded, which is why we’re here in the first place.

So, grab a second fork and place it back-to-back with the first into the center of the root clump. Pull the handles in opposite directions toward the outside of the plant until the clump separates into two pieces. Very large clumps can be divided into three or even four plants, as long as each section has healthy roots and at least three strong shoots above it.

Plant immediately

To minimize the roots’ exposure to the dehydrating air, dig holes for your new plants immediately. Better yet, prepare the holes before digging up the plants, if possible.

Make each hole wider than the clump, but only deep enough to ensure the top of the root ball lands at or very slightly above the soil line when planted.

Cover with soil and tamp firmly to remove air pockets, then water well, but don’t fertilize.

Apply a layer of mulch over the bare soil around plants to retain water, discourage weeds and reduce soil temperature fluctuations over winter.

In spring, your new, free plants will begin their second acts as healthier, more vigorous plants with plenty of room to grow.

Until the next time.

Jessica Damiano writes weekly gardening columns for The Associated Press. She publishes the Weekly Dirt Newsletter.

​ Orange County Register 

Clippers’ Bradley Beal regains confidence following hip surgery

• October 3, 2026

INGLEWOOD — Clippers guard Bradley Beal faced the media for the first time in nearly a year and spoke of fear.

The fear of whether he will fully recover from left hip surgery. The fear that he might not return to being the player he was before fracturing his joint in a freak accident in the sixth game of last season. The fear that his career was over.

Beal said he was “100% scared” the first time he attempted a layup.

“I was very nervous, very not trusting of myself,” Beal said of the first time he tried to jump post-surgery. “I literally had to learn to walk all over again, run all over again, how to put pressure back on this side comfortably, like you said, with confidence and being able to jump, land with confidence.”

For months, Beal said he couldn’t successfully put on underwear without his wife’s help. So, understandably, he was anxious when he first stepped on the court after missing a year of practice and games.

The confidence was slow to return but now Beal can not only stand without a cane, he can run and jump without pain. He could see significant minutes off the bench this season, though he will not play in Sunday’s preseason opener against the Golden State Warriors in Honolulu.

His return has been slowed by recent inflammation in his right knee, but he is eager to show off the shooting and ball-handling skills that have helped him earn three All-Star nods over his 14 NBA seasons.

“As a human, you’re going to feel those things from the mental aspect of it, but when you actually complete it and nothing happens, you’re like, ‘Oh, okay. I’m all right here,’” Beal said.

“So, I’m fortunate that it was just a bone and a fracture, that it wasn’t any ligaments, wasn’t any tendons or anything like that.”

Beal also was grateful that he didn’t need a total hip replacement like his father.

“That’s not fun. So, I’m like I can’t be like my dad moving around with a hip replacement and at the airport thing going off every time,” he said, limping around like his father.

Beal, 33, is no stranger to injuries. He has endured sprained ankles and stress reactions in his legs, a non-displaced fracture of the scaphoid bone in his left wrist, injuries to his neck, pelvis and elbows. Name a body part and Beal has hurt it.

But he said the fractured hip changed him, humbled him in a way no previous injury ever had.

“It made me appreciate life, what we have, being able to utilize the limbs and body parts that we have,” Beal said. “… I don’t wish that injury on anybody. It was definitely a crazy journey.”

The Clippers believe in his rehabilitation and ability to still handle occasional point guard duties. Coach Tyronn Lue said he has seen video of him dunking, reconfirming the team’s decision to sign Beal to a two-year, $13.2 million deal in the offseason with a player option for the second year.

“I have no doubts at all,” Beal said. “I can still do my step-backs. I can dunk a basketball. I didn’t think I was going to be able to do that, so to be able to do that and do it explosively and do it almost a little bit better than what I did again when I came last year, I feel unbelievably more confident in that.”

The organization even returned his No. 3 jersey, the one he gave up last season when former Clippers star Chris Paul rejoined the team for an abbreviated reunion.

“I’m just happy to be in my number and just kind of get a clean start,” Beal said.

​ Orange County Register 

How to keep opossums from eating the fruit out of your garden

• October 3, 2026

Q: How can I keep opossums out of my garden? I have fruit trees, and I’m pretty sure they are eating the fruit right off the trees.

A: Opossums are good climbers, so any fence you put up will not keep them out. Look for spaces that might provide shelter, since they are more likely to forage close to home. Garden sheds, crawl spaces, and areas under decks or patios are attractive to opossums (and other critters). Secure access to these areas with chicken wire or hardware cloth. Clear away brush or stored wood, and trim up shrubs that may provide cover. Do not leave pet food outside since this attracts raccoons, skunks, and rodents in addition to opossums. Remove fallen fruit promptly for the same reason. A motion-activated sprinkler will repel any unwanted nighttime visitors without harming them.

Q: My trees and perennial shrubs were damaged by the latest heatwave. Many of the outermost leaves are shriveled and brown. Now that the heat has subsided, there is a lot of new growth at the branch tips. Should I just prune these branches now, or wait until they go dormant? They look strange!

A: Now that it is late in the growing season, I would leave the branches and new growth alone. Plants expend a considerable amount of energy to produce new leaves, and those leaves are producing energy for the rest of the plant (whereas the dead leaves are not). Even though it looks weird, leave the new growth alone. Once the leaves have fallen, you can prune as usual.

Q: My garden soil forms a crusty top layer that looks dry, but when I dig a little I find that the solid is either moist or even muddy underneath. Is there an easy way to tell whether I need to water or not?

A: You can purchase a soil core sampler probe, which will enable you to see a cross-section of your soil with less effort. As you’ve learned, just because the soil looks parched (even cracked) it might not be dry even half an inch below the surface. Bending down and digging around with a hand trowel can be tiresome and rough on the back. This tool will enable you to test in several different spots, so it is also useful for finding irrigation leaks.

Adding organic matter (compost, manure, or even kitchen scraps) will improve the texture so that eventually the soil will stop forming a crust.

​ Orange County Register