Orange County boys athlete of the week: James MacDonald, University

• May 2, 2023

The Orange County boys athlete of the week:

Name: James MacDonald

School: University

Sport: Tennis

Year: Senior

Noteworthy: He won the CIF singles title at The Ojai Tennis Tournament. MacDonald defeated Niels Hoffmann of Corona del Mar 6-4, 6-2 in the final. He beat Sean Ferguson of Peninsula in the semifinals 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. MacDonald this fall will attend Harvard where he plans to make the tennis team as a walk-on. University is the top-seeded team in the CIF-SS Open Division playoffs.

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​ Orange County Register 

OC Museum of Art launches Women in Wine series this week

• May 2, 2023

The Orange County Museum of Art is launching a five-part food and beverage series called Women in Wine that kicks off Thursday evening, May 4. The series is a collaboration between the museum, Catering by Mix Mix, and Argaux, a female-owned wine purveying trio founded by Arden Gilfillan, Margaux Reaume, and Lexi Jones.

Alyssa McDiarmid, managing partner of Populaire Modern Bistro and Catering by Mix Mix at OCMA, cultivated a friendship with Jones. In May 2022, they began discussing ways to celebrate women and the local wine community. They eventually decided to launch the Women in Wine series at OCMA.

“Now that we’re settled in at OCMA, it gives us more time to do these events,” McDiarmid says. “How could we highlight and make it more cohesive for everyone, but also feature different parts of the museum? We’re trying to build up a fruitful relationship with the neighborhood and we’re still new here, at Verdant. People are still discovering us and I hope the series opens that door to more of that discovery.”

The inaugural event is intended to be extremely accessible.

“Something casual that doesn’t feel so scripted,” says McDiarmid. Sometimes people go to these events and it’s intimidating. The goal is you go and aren’t judged. You could be with your friends, learn something and eat some delicious cheeses. Lexi will bring in a bunch of wine from Savoie.”

The pairings begin with wine and cheese but as the series progresses, the food options lean towards the more unexpected. A burger and burgundy night on Friday, June 16, appetizers inspired by the 13 Women: Variation II exhibit on Thursday, July 20, and the series culminates with a 200-person sitdown farm-to-table dinner on Thursday, Sept. 21.

“I was just at Terrace (by Mix Mix) the other day,” says McDiarmid, who also manages the front of house and wine pairings at the restaurant group’s other South Coast Plaza location. She enjoys the tempo of her work. “I get to wear different hats and I get to enjoy different cuisines.” But it’s events like the Women in Wine series where she can showcase other women in the industry that really excites her.

We caught up with McDiarmid to ask about the series origins, what event she is most excited about, and why vegetables work so unexpectedly well with wine.

This interview is edited for brevity and clarity.

Q. How did the Women in Wine series get started?

A. The museum is always looking at more programming. Obviously, we’re a museum. But I thought, what about bringing more food and wine into it. There are so many wines you can feature and I wanted to do a more casual format.

Lexi (Jones) from Argaux is a good friend of mine. I have been working with her for years. She and her two partners started their business during the pandemic. I’m so enamored with what they’re doing (at Argeaux) and it just fits with what we’re doing at the museum with the “13 Women” (exhibit). Lexi has just put her all into Argeaux. She’s traveled around the world and met all these winemakers. I really wanted to work with them because they’re a female-owned company.

Q. Who thought of the burger and burgundy event?

A. (There’s) this book called “Big Macs and Burgundy: Wine Pairings for the Real World.” I thought that was just great and we needed to do an event based on that idea.

This is a sit-down dinner. We’re serving the burger from Populaire (Modern Bistro). We’re trying to cross promote the brands so that’s a fun way to do that. They’ll pour a premier cru Burgundy and something else … People talk about “pizza wine” (inferring that it’s a cheaper drink). But, I thought, how fun that people are taking a more serious approach to these pairings.

The idea of the whole series is to pair something you know (the burger or fried chicken) with something that you don’t necessarily know, and that’s the wine side of it. I like the idea of bringing people who are excited about food and wine into the museum.

Q. Museums usually aren’t the first places you think of for great food. Why is Verdant at OCMA different?

A. Heidi (Zuckerman, CEO and director of OCMA) said, “It’s great to be on this list of restaurants in museums. (Life magazine listed Verdant as one of the 5 best museum restaurants in the U.S. along with heavyweights such as The Modern at MOMA.) It’s only our first six months. We wanted to parlay this into something more and that is what the Women in Wine series is. We’re a museum first, but what if people were coming here just to go to the restaurant. It might be a way to have more female visitors come in and it celebrates the founding 13 Women.

The last event, Endless Summer, is a farm-to-table dinner. We’ll serve flatbread, pastas, kind of like The Ecology Center’s Green Feast, but at the museum. We’re pouring rosés and it’s going to be outside on the terrace. We’re hoping to get 200 guests. The others will be smaller, 75 to 100 people.

Q. You offer traditional burgers and fried chicken. But you also have vegetarian alternatives. Why was it important to offer plant-based dishes to pair with the wines?

A. That was a big part of doing the series, we’re offering something for everyone. We’re not moonlighting. We are a plant-based concept in our everyday life at Verdant.

Pairing wine with vegetables, it pulls out so many components that meat with its iron and blood flavors can’t match. You get different characteristics from the vegetables. You pick up on something else. The floral notes or the salt. It’s actually a really cool part of pairing the food here at Verdant. I do appreciate (plant-based cooking) so much more. People take for granted what you can do with vegetables.

Q. How can you substitute vegetables for fried chicken?

A. One of the things that I noticed here (at Verdant) was that at first we were pooh-poohed for not serving a burger. But, honestly we’ve converted people. I’ve had people say, “I would eat more vegetables if they were made this way.”

I don’t like anything pretending it’s not. So I don’t like processed or dyes in things. But the mushroom works as the fried chicken (substitute). We were thinking about what we could do that would be meaty and still have that fried chicken vibe. That’s it.

Q. What event are you most excited about?

I’m super excited about the Champagne and fried chicken event (on Aug. 17). That reads very Populaire, too. (Populaire Modern Bistro is known for its caviar garnished fried chicken with uni.) We’ll have chicken buckets for everyone.

With a lot of our partners and donors it makes sense for them to have access to these experiences. The burgundy and burger dinner will feature higher end wine pairings which will be interesting for everyone.

Women in Wine events

May 4: Cheese & Wine Tasting, $85

June 16: Burgundy & Burgers, $120

July 20: Summer Spritz & Artist Spotlight, $65

Aug. 17: Fried Chicken & Champagne, $75

Sept. 21: Endless Summer “Farm-to Table-Experience,” $120

All events start at 6 p.m. and are for guests 21 and older only. For more information and tickets, visit ocma.art/calendar/women-in-wine-wine-and-cheese/

​ Orange County Register 

Disneyland hot chicken stand turns down the heat, simplifies the menu

• May 2, 2023

An Orange County-based Nashville hot chicken concept has toned down the double entendres and doused a Ghost Pepper heat level to bring its brand of hand-breaded fried chicken to the Disneyland resort.

Clyde’s Hot Chicken opened a food cart in late April near the Disneyland Monorail station in Downtown Disney serving boneless fried chicken on a stick.

There are no plans for a permanent Clyde’s Hot Chicken location in Downtown Disney at this time, according to Disneyland officials.

SEE ALSO: Sprinkles Cupcakes closes at Downtown Disney to make room for new restaurant

The $14 Clyde’s Hot Stick Combo comes with five pieces of chicken, potato chips and pickle slices. The original Clyde’s Sauce and Clyde’s Ranch are $1 extra.

Two heat levels are available: Original with a Cayenne spice and sweet finish or Hot as Cali that blends Cayenne and Habanero spices. Timid tasters can get their hot chicken without any heat — just ask for it “naked.”

The hot chicken chain adjusted the Nashville-inspired heat levels to appeal to the family-friendly Disneyland audience at the Anaheim outdoor shopping mall.

Gone are the Habanero and Ghost Pepper spice level known as 1930 with the Hot as Cluck heat level renamed to a less irreverent Hot as Cali featuring a blend of Cayenne and Habanero.

SEE ALSO: Earl of Sandwich opens full-service restaurant in Downtown Disney next to pop-up shop

Clyde’s opened its first restaurant in 2019 next to the historic Fox Theatre in Fullerton and has since expanded to Santa Ana, Placenta and Montclair with a Yorba Linda location in the works. Clyde’s also has a concession stand in the Las Vegas Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium.

Clyde’s prides itself on serving all-natural chicken with no antibiotics, preservatives, hormones or artificial additives.

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The Downtown Disney location features a streamlined menu with little more than chicken on a stick and a few soft drinks. The small chain’s larger fast casual restaurants offer a broader menu with sandwiches, wings, tenders, chicken and waffles, fries, sides and milkshakes.

The Clyde’s Hot Chicken cart in Downtown Disney is open most days from 11 a.m. to midnight.

​ Orange County Register 

State audit of CalOptima Health raises concerns over accumulated surplus, hiring

• May 2, 2023

A state audit of Orange County’s provider of publicly funded health coverage, CalOptima Health, said the public agency accumulated $675 million in excess funds without a clear plan for spending it and did not follow best practices when hiring for some executive positions, according to a report released Tuesday, May 2.

CalOptima officials said in a statement they have already implemented some of the recommendations the state audit makes.

Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva had requested, a year ago, the Joint Legislative Audit Committee approve the audit of CalOptima’s budget, programs and services, and organizational changes.

One of the audit’s highlighted findings was how much surplus funding CalOptima had banked.

CalOptima is required by county law to implement a financial plan that includes the creation of a reserve. Under its policy, the agency must maintain no less than one to two months of certain revenues.

The audit reported that as of June 30, 2022, CalOptima had accumulated more than $1.2 billion of combined reserves and surplus funds. From 2014 to 2022, CalOptima’s reserves increased from $156 million to $570 million.

However, the $675 million in surplus funds beyond adequate reserves should have been used to improve services, the state audit says.

The auditor reported that CalOptima’s excessive surplus funds resulted, in part, from intergovernmental transfer funds that CalOptima did not spend. Those funds are a transfer that can be used for Medicaid covered services, auditors said.

While auditors said CalOptima had “historically retained a significantly larger percent” of the funds “than other managed care plans we reviewed,” as of August, CalOptima was retaining only 2% of those funds, and it recently reported that its board has allocated all of its remaining intergovernmental transfer funds to various programs addressing the health needs of members experiencing homelessness. However, its efforts to monitor the success of the programs it funded were inconsistent, the state report said.

The state auditor recommends the agency by June 2024 create a detailed plan to spend its surplus funds for expanding access or improving benefits.

The state probe also said there may have been a violation of state law prohibiting public officials from being financially interested in certain contracts when a board member entered into an employment contract with CalOptima to serve as its CEO in 2020.

On top of that, the public health agency has experienced higher executive turnover than the other managed care plans, and it lacks a written policy governing its process for hiring employees, the report said. The auditor also said CalOptima did not follow best practices when it hired three of the six executives reviewed.

“When CalOptima’s board chose to hire one of its own members to be the CEO, it created the appearance that the board was acting in the best interest of the individual involved rather than the best interests of the individuals CalOptima serves,” the state auditor’s report said.

The report recommends that CalOptima amend its bylaws to prohibit all CalOptima board members from being employed by the agency for a period of one year after their term on the board ends.

“As the largest health insurer in Orange County serving our most vulnerable populations, opportunities to increase transparency and improve services provide a major benefit to CalOptima Health and the patients we serve,” CalOptima CEO Michael Hunn, hired in 2021, said in a statement. “CalOptima Health would like to thank the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, as well as Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva, and the California State Auditor’s office for working with CalOptima Health while performing a comprehensive audit covering January 2014 through June 2022. We were pleased to learn that there were very few findings in the Auditor’s report. Actions are already underway to implement all recommendations.”

This is a developing story, please check back for updates.

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​ Orange County Register 

How ‘Little Richard: I Am Everything’ restores the rock ‘n’ roll icon to his throne

• May 2, 2023

Director Lisa Cortés says there’s one thing she’s often heard from people after they’ve watched “Little Richard: I Am Everything,” her new documentary on the colorful, complicated pioneer of early rock ‘n’ roll.

“People always say, ‘I learned so much about him and I thought I knew him,’” Cortés says on a recent video call about the film, which arrived in theaters and on-demand recently. “It’s quite a revelatory journey.”

It was the same for Cortés, too, the Oscar- and Emmy-nominated filmmaker says of her journey to fully understand the life and career of the performer born as Richard Penniman.

“I didn’t learn about him and all of the layers until I made this film,” Cortés says. “My introduction was the music, the joy of dancing around to ‘Tutti Frutti’ with my cousins as a kid.

“Even to this day, I can put ‘Tutti Frutti’ on for my niece, who’s 3 years old, and she loses her mind and starts singing along and gets super excited,” she says. “Because there’s something in the music that’s so joyous.”

“Little Richard: I Am Everything” seeks to place the singer of hits such as “Good Golly Miss Molly,” “Long Tall Sally” and “Lucille” on the throne as the true king of rock ‘n’ roll, a title that eluded him during his lifetime.

Archival interviews with Penniman, who died at 87 in May 2020, show it’s clear he seldom felt he’d received his due. Through new interviews with a host of entertainers such as Mick Jagger, Billy Porter, Nile Rodgers and John Waters – all of whom profess their love, admiration and emulation of him – it’s clear many others agree.

“My connection was solely the music, and then seeing him on talk shows, where you never got a sense of his contributions to rock and roll,” Cortés says. “He was there to be fun and almost be a comic foil in a way.

“And so making the film was a tremendous opportunity to see how someone born in Macon, Georgia in 1932 was so bold in their vision,” she says. “Someone who was so provocative and transgressive that they not only ignited this music form but had a lasting effect on so many artists who followed him.”

In an interview edited for length and clarity, Cortés talked about the film and the role that God, sex and religion played in Little Richard’s life.

Q: Tell me how you came to make this film.

A: Well, here’s the thing. Richard passed away in May of 2020, which is the height of the pandemic. Whenever somebody dies and they are an artist who has such tremendous hits, you hear their music all the time. So at a time that was very dark and challenging, I heard this music that was so joyous.

That brought back memories of being a kid dancing around with my cousins in the summer. And I wanted to learn more. I was like, ‘Wow, I wonder if there’s a doc on him,’ and then discovered there wasn’t.

Q: So you were inspired to make one?

A: I think I was especially intrigued when he passed away. You’ve got Bob Dylan giving tribute. You have [Foo Fighters’] Dave Grohl. You have Elton John. You have so many artists who are like, ‘He was the king, he was so important.’ Bruce Springsteen gave him a tribute.

Then I did a quick Google search. I’m looking at the YouTube of him inducting Otis Redding into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which is him actually inducting himself. That’s a very poignant piece of footage. He is calling out these stars in the audience, and he’s saying, ‘Why have you never given me anything? Why are you not recognizing me? I gave you your start.’

It’s humorous, but it’s also very painful because it’s an act of desperation. And I think many of us tap into this idea of being erased. Of being a part of something and losing that foothold.

Q: Why do you think he didn’t get the recognition he deserved? We know one reason is that the work of Black artists was often undermined as White artists rerecorded their work, often enjoying greater commercial support and success with White audiences. How did you come to see it?

A: I think you can’t deny that race and his queerness, that is a combination that was so threatening. The idea of putting a queer Black man in the ’50s on a pedestal, you know, was not going to happen. It’s unfortunate because those are the things that make him so incredible. That he’s a Black queer man who is elevating this art form, and adding so much passion and potency.

Q: Another fascinating part of the film is its exploration of his struggle to reconcile his passions for God, sex and rock ‘n’ roll. At different points in his life, he comes out as gay and then goes back in the closet; he plays rock and roll and then renounces it as the devil’s music, and so on.

A: I think most people don’t know that the renunciation of his queerness in the ’80s is predated by his renunciation of rock and roll in the ’60s. It is this really tragic pendulum that he’s on, and it’s this tension that is pulling him back and forth for a great portion of his life.

That was something that really stood out immediately when I spent the time doing my research. Because you see that he really is a divided soul.

Q: There’s so much wonderful footage in the film of Little Richard performing and giving interviews, things I’d never seen before. Are there things you found in your research that were particularly special finds for you?

A: I think it’s interesting when he tells us about his time after he’s kicked out of his home for being queer. That in downtown Macon, Georgia in the 1940s, there’s a place called Ann’s Tic Toc Room. A place where queer people, Black and White people, came together.

Because that is not in our kind of imagination about what could be possible in the South during this period. Homosexuality is illegal. Homophobia is rampant. But that he finds this community in this small city was pretty interesting.

I think the second part is when Little Richard tells us, ‘I go on the road, on the Chitlin’ Circuit, and I dress up as a woman.’ It tells you so much about all these different places and experiences that he is pulling from to create this musical gumbo.

Q: I was also fascinated by the musical dream sequences you included with musicians like singer-songwriter Valerie June, singer-pianist Cory Henry and gospel singer John P. Kee.

A: From the beginning of the project I knew I wanted to create dreamscapes. I see them as these seminal moments in Richard’s life, where these portals of possibility open. You know, he meets Sister Rosetta Tharpe (portrayed by Valerie June), who says, ‘Come sing with me,’ and then after being on stage with her at the Macon Auditorium, Richard’s like, ‘I want to go be a star.’

I chose all of those artists because they are a part of the legacy. The amazing Valerie June talked about her love of Sister Rosetta Tharpe. The same thing with Cory Henry, who started in the church but now not only can play gospel music but jazz and hip-hop and R&B and pop. And, of course, John P. Kee knew Little Richard.

So each of them felt connected to him in some way. And the same goes for everybody else who was interviewed in the film. They had to have an intimate connection.

And the people who were interviewed were immediately like, ‘I want to talk about Little Richard because the world needs to know what he did for me.’ And in turn for music and culture.

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​ Orange County Register 

Recipe: A local chef makes the best Baba Ghanoush, now you can too

• May 2, 2023

Zov. It’s a three-letter word that makes my stomach rumble with hunger. In Armenian, it means “whirlwind in the ocean. ” But to me, Zov translates as a culinary magician who knows exactly how to balance flavors in dishes.

The chef-owner of several Orange County restaurants, Zov Karamardian offers a delicious fire-roasted eggplant dip on her menus. Known as Baba Ghanoush, her version relies on grilled eggplant and roasted garlic to give it a tempting depth of flavor.

Zov’s Baba Ghanoush (Fire-Roasted Eggplant Dip)

Yield: About 8 to 10 appetizer servings

INGREDIENTS

1 whole unpeeled head of garlic

7 tablespoons olive oil, divided use

2 globe eggplants (about 2 pounds total)

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup tahini, see cook’s notes

2 tablespoons plain yogurt

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon dried red chili flakes

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Optional garnishes: chopped Italian parsley and diced tomato

For serving: toasted pita wedges, or lavash, or sturdy crackers

Cook’s notes: Tahini is a Middle Eastern condiment made from toasted ground hulled sesame seeds. It is served by itself or as an ingredient in hummus, baba ghanoush, and halva. Most supermarkets stock it, as do natural food markets.

PROCEDURE

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. To roast garlic, peel the outer layer of skin from head of garlic and leave remaining skins intact. Cut off the pointed top portion, leaving the bulb intact but exposing individual cloves of garlic. Place the head of garlic, cut side up, in a small baking dish and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of oil. Bake, covered with foil, 25 to 30 minutes or until cloves are soft when pressed. Cool completely. When ready to use, use your fingers to squeeze the garlic cloves from the parchment-like covering.

2. Meanwhile, start the barbecue for medium-high heat. Using a fork, pierce the eggplants on both sides several times. Grill the eggplants until the skins are charred and the centers are soft, turning them occasionally, about 30 minutes total. Place eggplants in a strainer to drain and cool for 10 minutes or until cool enough to handle. Cut eggplants in half lengthwise. Scraping as close to skins as possible, spoon the soft pulp into the strainer set over a bowl. Discard skins and any juices that accumulate in the bowl.

3. In food processor, combine eggplant pulp, 4 tablespoons oil, juice, tahini, yogurt, salt, cumin, red pepper flakes, and black pepper. Squeeze garlic from skins into the eggplant mixture. Pulse on and off until a very coarse puree forms. Cover and refrigerate until cold.

4. Just before serving, drizzle the remaining 1 tablespoon oil over dip. Sprinkle with parsley and diced tomato. Serve with toasted pita wedges, or lavash, or sturdy crackers.

Source: “Zov: Recipes and Memories from the Heart” by Zov Karamardian

Cooking question? Contact Cathy Thomas at [email protected]

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​ Orange County Register 

Game Day: Advantage Lakers in Game 1?

• May 2, 2023

Editor’s note: This is the Tuesday, May 2, 2023, edition of the “Game Day with Kevin Modesti” newsletter. To receive the newsletter in your inbox, sign up here.

Good morning. How big is Game 1 tonight for the Lakers and Golden State Warriors? That’s more than a rhetorical question. We’ll try to answer it after a glance at other news.

The Dodgers beat the Phillies, and J.P. Hoornstra writes that their season-high 15 hits, 13 runs and four-game winning streak are signs of recovery from a rough April.
Jeff Fletcher writes about what the Angels could do about their bullpen, which has an MLB-worst seven blown saves.
Andrew Knoll assesses the Kings’ pluses and minuses going into the offseason after another first-round playoff defeat.
And Kentucky Derby favorite Forte drew a post position near the outside while Santa Anita-based Practical Move, Skinner and Reincarnate will start Saturday’s race from near the middle of the 20-horse gate.

The Lakers and Warriors open their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series tonight in San Francisco. It’s the first playoff meeting since 1991 between the teams that have won 10 NBA titles in the 2000s. It’s the fifth postseason meeting between LeBron James and Stephen Curry.

Southern California News Group reporter Elliott Teaford and columnist Jim Alexander both pick the Lakers to win the series, both seeing a Game 7 victory for L.A. on the road.

“And before you scoff at Lakers in seven, remember who picked the Lakers in six over Memphis,” Alexander writes.

A potential Game 7 is 12 days away. For now, the pivotal game is Game 1.

Bay Area News Group columnist Dieter Kurtenbach picks the Warriors to win the series in six, wrapping it up in Los Angeles.

But Kurtenbach sees Game 1 as an opportunity for the Lakers.

“James will have his moments, if not entire games. He’s too great to write off,” he writes. “I also wouldn’t be surprised if he came out and claimed Game 1 — it’s the most rested he’ll be for the series.”

The Lakers, 4½-point underdogs this morning, have one big advantage in Game 1.

After winning their first-round series over the Memphis Grizzlies in six games, the Lakers and LeBron, 38, and Anthony Davis, a fragile 30, have had three full days off, while by taking seven to finish off the Sacramento Kings, the Warriors and Curry, 35, Klay Thompson, 33, and Draymond Green, 33, left themselves only one full day to rest and reset.

That might not be decisive. As Warriors coach Steve Kerr pointed out, his team won the afternoon Game 7 against Sacramento two days after losing the night Game 6.

“I think you saw what our older guys are capable of (Sunday) coming off of 36 hours rest,” Kerr said.

But over the past two seasons, including their 2022 NBA title run, the Warriors have generally not been at their best on one day of rest, going by data at StatFox.com. Their overall winning percentage after one day off (.568, 63-48) is no better than their record in back-to-back games, and their winning percentage against the point spread after one day off (.468, 52-59) is their worst in any “rest” category.

The Warriors might have rested stars in some short-turnaround games, of course, whereas they’ll hold nothing back tonight.

Game 1s usually are long forgotten by the time series like this are decided. If the Lakers win the series and advance to the NBA’s final four, they will have officially exceeded pre-season and even late-season expectations. It will be even more vindication for GM Rob Pelinka, whom columnist Mirjam Swanson writes about in today’s papers.

But the quickest route to a Lakers win in the series includes a Lakers win in the opener.

How big is Game 1? Huge.

TODAY

Lakers and Warriors play Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series at San Francisco (7 p.m., TNT).
Angels (starting Patrick Sandoval, 3.16 ERA) open a three-game series at St. Louis (Steven Matz, 0-3) (4:45 p.m., BSW).
Dodgers have Julio Urias trying to end his three-game losing streak vs. the Phillies and Matt Strahm (7:10 p.m., SNLA).
LAFC faces Philadelphia in the home leg of their CONCACAF Champions League semifinal after drawing 1-1 on the road (7 p.m., FS1, TUDN). Preview.

BETWEEN THE LINES

After the Lakers beat Memphis on the road in game 1, they went from +108 underdogs to -300 favorites to win the opening-round series. The same could happen if the Lakers beat Golden State in game 1 tonight after being +134 underdogs this morning to win the series. Bets on the Lakers to win the series should be made while the odds are attractive.

280 CHARACTERS

“I’ve been fortunate enough to cover top guys in both sports. Never talked to LeBron as part of a group of fewer than 40 reporters postgame. I’ve had random locker-room one-on-ones with Sid Crosby and Connor McDavid after a match.” – Kings writer Andrew Knoll ((at)AndrewKnollNHL) tweeting about the difference in attention paid to pro basketball and hockey.

1,000 WORDS

Feeling at home: Michael Busch, the Dodgers’ rookie second baseman, singles to center for his first hit at Dodger Stadium in the fourth inning of a 13-4 victory over the Phillies last night. Photo is by Ashley Landis for AP.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS

Thanks for reading. Send suggestions, comments and questions by email at [email protected] and via Twitter @KevinModesti.

Editor’s note: Thanks for reading the “Game Day with Kevin Modesti” newsletter. To receive the newsletter in your inbox, sign up here.

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​ Orange County Register 

Criminal justice reforms should not be scapegoated for any and every crime in California

• May 2, 2023

Editor’s note: This commentary was originally published in print on April 23 as part of a pro-con debate page. To read the counterpoint, click here.

Over the last decade, with widespread voter support, California has implemented sweeping criminal justice reforms which have significantly reduced the state’s reliance on its bloated and poorly run prison system for holding criminals accountable.

In 2010, California’s carceral system held over 162,000 people in state prisons, camps, in-state contract facilities and out-of-state prisons. That year, more than 6,400 people were sent to state prison whose controlling offense was simple drug possession. This was indeed the tough-on-crime era.

However, beginning in 2011, big changes came to criminal justice policy in California.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled California’s prison system was dangerously overcrowded. Not only were people dying in California’s prisons due to inadequate healthcare, but the overcrowding made effective rehabilitation incredibly difficult. Reflective of this, 54.3% of people released from prisons from 2011-12 and before were convicted for a new crime within three years (compared to 44.6% for those released in 2017-18).

In anticipation of the Supreme Court’s ruling, California enacted Assembly Bill 109 to shift responsibility for non-violent, non-serious and non-sex offenders to the local level.

Research published in The Annals of the American Academy of Political & Social Science in 2016 determined that AB 109 had no significant impact on overall crime, but may contribute to slight increases in property crimes.

“We’ve seen no appreciable uptick in assaults, rapes or murders that can be connected to the prisoners who were released under realignment,” said Charis Kubrin, professor of criminology, law at society at UC Irvine at the time.

The following year, Californians approved Proposition 36 to reform “three strikes” so that the “third strike” had to be a serious or violent crime. Nearly 70% of voters approved the measure. Thanks to the measure, thousands of people convicted for non-violent and non-serious crimes were resentenced and released from prison. In 2014, the Three Strikes Project at Stanford University reported recidivism rates of just 1.3% for those released under Prop. 36 compared to 30% for all prisoners in the same time period.

In 2014, nearly 60% of Californians approved Proposition 47 to reduce drug possession and low-level theft crimes from felonies to misdemeanors.

Prop. 47 has received the greatest scrutiny from critics. But the core premises are ones most Californians clearly agree with. One, people should not be hit with a felony record, which brings with it a litany of collateral consequences, for simple drug possession or low-level theft crimes. And two, society would be better off with greater investments in drug treatment, mental health treatment and crime prevention.

Since its passage, Prop. 47 has saved more than $600 million in reduced incarceration costs, with those savings required under the measure to be reinvested in crime prevention and rehabilitation programs. Programs funded by Prop. 47 savings include successful efforts in Los Angeles, Orange County, Riverside County and San Bernardino County to reduce recidivism for formerly incarcerated individuals, particularly those with mental health or substance abuse issues. Such efforts must be scaled up across the state.

There have been two significant studies on Prop. 47’s impact on crime, both published in 2018. One, by the aforementioned Professor Kubrin, determined Prop. 47 had no impact on crime. The other, from the Public Policy Institute of California, found that Prop. 47 had no impact on violent crime but may have contributed to an increase in larceny thefts.

In 2016, 64% of Californians approved Proposition 57 to increase good behavior and early parole opportunities for prisoners. Gov. Jerry Brown championed the initiative on the grounds that it could encourage prisoners to participate in rehabilitative programming behind bars.

Last month, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation issued a report on recidivism. Perhaps unsurprisingly, those who received educational merit and rehabilitative achievement credits have significantly lower post-release conviction rates (28.9% and 22.5%) compared to those released without any Prop. 57 credits (45.4%).

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What this suggests is that California must do more to ensure that prisoners are provided meaningful rehabilitation programs before they are released.

Taken together, I think the evidence shows that the biggest criminal justice reforms have overall been successful in their objectives.

But what about crime?

It’s always complicated. From 2011 to 2019, homicides, robberies, car thefts and burglaries all fell. Homicide, aggravated assault and car theft spiked during the COVID years of 2020 and 2021, while robbery, larceny and burglary continued to fall. Is that because of criminal justice reforms? It’s probably more complicated than that.

Fundamentally, claims of causation between reforms and upticks in crime remain poorly substantiated.

Sal Rodriguez can be reached at [email protected]

​ Orange County Register