Education report card: The nation and California’s latest scores continue to fall

• June 24, 2023

Education report card

Nationally, student scores plunged nine points in math and four points in reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, dubbed the nation’s report card. California’s scores were lower, too.

The scores reflect testing in fall 2022, comparing it to the same period in 2019, before the pandemic. The average math score is now the same as it was in 1990, while the average reading score is the same as it was in 2004. The lowest-performing students declined the most. In math, their scores fell by 12 to 14 points, while their highest-performing peers declined six points. Reading results were similar, with low performers seeing twice the decline.

You can see how California compares to every state here.

Newest national study

The National Center for Education Statistics administered the NAEP long-term trend reading and mathematics assessments to 13-year-old students from October to December of the 2022–23 school year. The average scores for 13-year-olds declined four points in reading and nine points in mathematics compared to the previous assessment administered during the 2019–20 school year. Compared to a decade ago, the average scores declined seven points in reading and 14 points in mathematics.

Missing more school

Students who took the 2023 long-term trend reading and mathematics assessments were asked how many days of school they had missed in the last month. Responses to the survey question for both subjects indicate a decrease in the percentages of 13-year-old students reporting having missed none to two days in the past month compared to 2020. Conversely, there were increases in the percentages of 13-year-old students who reported missing three or four days and students who reported missing five or more days in the last month. The percentage of students who reported missing five or more days doubled from 5% in 2020 to 10% in 2023.

Sources: Department of Education, National Assessment of Educational Progress, The Associated Press, Edsource.org

​ Orange County Register 

USMNT’s Weston McKennie, Sergiño Dest suspended for Mexico melee

• June 24, 2023

MIAMI — American midfielder Weston McKennie and defender Sergiño Dest were suspended by CONCACAF from matches they weren’t scheduled to play in, a result of their ejections from the Nations League semifinal against Mexico.

CONCACAF on Friday said that McKennie must serve a four-game suspension and Dest a three-game ban as a result of on-field conduct during the June 15 game. Mexican defender César Montes also was given a four-match suspension and defender Gerardo Arteaga was given a three-match ban.

Dest and McKennie are not on the roster for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, which starts Saturday. The U.S. Soccer Federation on June 12 announced a mostly junior varsity roster for the tournament, and the USSF said those games will count toward the suspension.

Montes and Arteaga are on Mexico’s Gold Cup roster.

CONCACAF’s discipline statement did not mention the homophobic chants by Mexican supporters that caused Salvadoran referee Iván Barton to end the June 15 match early. CONCACAF said after the game that it “strongly condemns the discriminatory chanting” and “will make a further statement in short order.”

CONCACAF general secretary Philippe Moggio did not respond to an email from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Montes was issued a straight red in the 69th minute after a harsh foul on U.S. striker Folarin Balogun in the June 15 match in Las Vegas, which sparked a melee that resulted in McKennie getting sent off with a ripped jersey. Dest and Arteaga picked up red cards in the 85th minute. The Americans beat Mexico, 3-0, to advance to the Nations League final, where they defeated Canada, 2-0, last Sunday to win a second title.

CONCACAF said the penalties were based on Nations League regulations and FIFA’s disciplinary code but did not cite specific provisions.

CONCACAF also fined the USSF and the Mexican Football Federation but did not announce the amount. It threatened “more severe sanctions could be taken should incidents occur during their upcoming matches.”

The U.S. opens its Gold Cup campaign Saturday against Jamaica (6:30 p.m. PT, FS1, TUDN) at Chicago’s Soldier Field while El Tri kicks off on Sunday against Honduras (5 p.m. PT) in Houston.

​ Orange County Register 

Orange County restaurants shut down by health inspectors (June 15-22)

• June 24, 2023

Restaurants and other food vendors ordered to close and allowed to reopen by Orange County health inspectors from June 15 to June 22.

Mae’s Cafe, 9062 Trask Ave., Garden Grove

Closed: June 15
Reason: Rodent infestation
Reopened: June 15

Paddy’s Station, 26701 Verdugo St., Suite B, San Juan Capistrano

Closed: June 15
Reason: Rodent infestation
Reopened: June 15

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This list is published weekly with closures since the previous week’s list. Status updates are published in the following week’s list. Source: OC Health Care Agency database.

​ Orange County Register 

Surfing dogs, ruff competition heats up Huntington Beach

• June 24, 2023

The dog days of summer are here.

The 26th annual Purina Pro Plan Incredible Dog Challenge Western Regional Competition kicked off on Friday, June 23, in Huntington Beach, bringing ruff competition to the sand and surf.

Surfing dogs took to the waves at Brookhurst Street, balancing on boards as they navigated the waters toward shore.

The main competition was held further north at Newland Street, where a dock diving event showcased pups sprinting off a 40-foot stage to launch into a 19,000-gallon pool. Qualifiers were also held for a freestyle flying disc contest and “fetch it” events.

The pups return to the sand on Saturday, June 24, to continue the agility, diving, disc and other competitions. The event, free to the public, will run from 10:15 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Newland Street at Huntington State Beach.

For a full schedule of events, go to purina.com

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​ Orange County Register 

Alexander: Power of three isn’t necessarily NBA ticket to success

• June 24, 2023

The world according to Jim:

• It’s a fallacy, really, that in the NBA you need a Big Three to compete for a championship. Yet Phoenix’s acquisition of Bradley Beal last week, starting a chain reaction that eventually deposited Chris Paul with the Golden State Warriors, suggests some teams haven’t gotten the memo. …

• Consider the last five league champions. Current champ Denver is built around should-have-been-three-time league MVP Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and a band of complementary players. Golden State last year had shooters extraordinaire Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, disrupter Draymond Green and a bunch of guys who knew their roles. Milwaukee in 2021? Giannis Antetokounmpo and a solid core around him. The Lakers in 2020? Good health for LeBron James and Anthony Davis (no doubt aided by the four-month pandemic break) and, again, complementary parts. Toronto in 2019? Same thing, built around Kawhi Leonard. …

• Miami might have rode the power of three to a couple of titles in 2012 and ’13 with LeBron, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, and we can debate whether Bosh was truly a star. But more realistically, and especially with the league’s increasingly punitive salary cap rule coming in, isn’t it better to concentrate on having the right pieces around your main guys? …

• The trick is convincing on-site superstars who want/demand input on personnel. They attack problems much as they did as teenagers, when they were recruiting their buddies to join the same AAU team. …

• Did Miami get the steal of Thursday night’s draft at No. 18 in UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez Jr.? With the polish that comes from playing four years in Westwood and the knack for doing the little things that equate to winning, he can have a quick impact in Miami. And if there truly is a “Heat Culture,” he fits perfectly. …

• Yes, the Lakers had a shot at Jaquez but instead took Jalen Hood-Schifino, the Indiana one-and-done guard, at 17. He’s more of a long-term play and should benefit from the player development skills of Coach Darvin Ham and his staff. His offensive game needs work, and I suspect Hood-Schifino’s presence won’t lessen the need to either re-sign or replace D’Angelo Russell. Think two or three years down the road. …

• With the Houston Astros in town to play the Dodgers, the timing of Rob Manfred’s interview with Time Magazine was interesting – and particularly his acknowledgment that offering Astros players immunity for information regarding the 2017 sign-stealing scandal was “maybe not my best decision ever.”

You think? …

• But I’d go further. The biggest blunder in the aftermath of the Great Trash Can Caper was treating Astros owner Jim Crane with a velvet glove. Crane allowed General Manager Jeff Luhnow’s anything-goes culture that led to the scandal, made Luhnow and field manager A.J. Hinch the scapegoats after the penalties came down and said, “No, I don’t think I should be held accountable.”

And he wasn’t, aside from a $5 million fine – chump change in baseball economics – and the loss of a couple of draft picks. A year’s suspension from ownership would have been more fitting. …

• Then again, this isn’t Bowie Kuhn slapping George Steinbrenner with a two-year ban for illegal campaign contributions, or Fay Vincent banning Steinbrenner in 1990 after he’d hired someone to dig up dirt on his own player, Dave Winfield. Manfred doesn’t discipline owners but coddles them, as we’ve seen in the way he’s enabled A’s owner John Fisher in his willingness to tank multiple seasons in order to burn bridges in Oakland and facilitate a move to Las Vegas. …

• Incidentally, you’ll love this: The A’s marketing slogan for the last few years in the East Bay has been “Rooted in Oakland.” Raiders owner Mark Davis, who fled to Las Vegas first, said one of his beefs with the A’s involves that (now hollow) slogan, which he construed as a slap at the Raiders.

If the shoe fits …

• If last week’s U.S. Open wasn’t already a triumph for golf in Los Angeles, the USGA announcement a couple of days later that the Open would be coming to Riviera in 2031 would have been. (It is, among other things, confirmation that broadcast partner NBC really, really likes being able to show the final rounds in prime time on the East Coast, given that this was the most-watched Open since 2019 at Pebble Beach.)

Plus it’s Riviera, more of a fan-friendly course than Los Angeles Country Club. Anyone who tried to walk the LACC course last weekend and tried (and failed) to find a patch of flat ground will understand. …

• The real heroes of last week’s tournament? The shuttle drivers. With no parking even close to the course, spectators and media had to park in Century City or at UCLA, and the shuttles between those points and the golf course were prompt and convenient. …

• Another big event announcement that should impact SoCal came down Friday. The FIFA Club World Cup, which is being expanded from a seven-team event to a 32-team tournament in 2025, has been awarded to the United States, likely in late June and early July. It will be a dry run for the 2026 World Cup, which will be shared between the U.S., Mexico and Canada but will have most of its host sites in this country.

And yes, you can assume SoFi Stadium will be one of the host sites in 2025 as well as ’26. …

• Today’s suggested motto for most of us on social media (and a lot of people who aren’t): “I may not always be right, but I’m always certain.”

jalexander@scng.com

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​ Orange County Register 

Galaxy defense beset by injuries and international duty

• June 24, 2023

Chris Mavinga’s first season with the Galaxy was interrupted by injury.

On Wednesday, Mavinga played 90 minutes in the Galaxy’s 2-2 draw against Sporting Kansas City. It was his first 90-minute effort since Oct. 9, 2022, when he was a member of Toronto FC.

“I tried to do my job, I was focused on winning duels and focused on every detail,” Mavinga said. “I feel like it was a good 90 minutes. I know I have room to improve.”

Mavinga’s return and road back to fitness come at a much-needed time as the club is running thin on center backs.

Eriq Zavaleta (El Salvador) and Jalen Neal (U.S.) are away for the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Sega Coulibaly has struggled with injuries and has appeared in only three games. And in Wednesday’s game, Martin Caceres was taken off on a stretcher after suffering what has been diagnosed as an avulsion fracture in his left knee, which could sideline him for the remainder of the season. He’s scheduled to undergo surgery Wednesday.

“He’s one of the most positive human beings I’ve ever come across in my life,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said of Caceres. “He’s got a positive mindset, he’s extremely disappointed because he knows the team is battling right now and to feel like he’s not going to be able to help the team in this stretch … he’s a team guy.

“That’s what’s hurting him right now as much as the injury and his time off, is that he feels like he’s needed in the team and he won’t be able to help the team right now. He’s positive in his mind, he’s trusting the process and the doctors and his mindset is he’ll get through this.”

Heading into Saturday’s road game against the Colorado Rapids (6:30 p.m., Apple TV+), the challenge for Vanney is finding a center back pair.

“We have short-term challenges,” he said. “We’ll try to do a little bit of defending by committee and by numbers just by virtue of not having many true center backs. Chris (Mavinga) being the one true center back. Kelvin (Leerdam) has played some center back inside of three (man back), he’s trained as a center back inside of a four (man back). We have probably three to five games where we’re going to have to find good solutions inside our group.

“The biggest thing is, we don’t have a lot of size in that true center back position. We’ll look inside the league and outside the league outside of that five-game stretch for ways to build upon our group. We have this stretch until the Leagues Cup break, we have some mechanisms to try to work inside of the league if the right opportunities exist to reinforce our group for the rest of the season and maybe beyond, and then after Aug. 3 (close of the summer transfer window) we can sign any players that are out of contract at that point.”

That leads back to Mavinga, who is welcoming the extra workload and the direction the team is headed. He said getting back to fitness was the first challenge after missing a month earlier this season.

“We’re three games unbeaten. We’ve played two tough games away, we played Kansas, they were in good form, we didn’t lose the game, Colorado is going to be a tough place, but we need to continue our form,” he said.

‘CHICHARITO’ UPDATE

The Galaxy said forward Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez underwent successful knee surgery Friday.

In an Instagram post, Hernandez said: “Already home resting and ready to smash it all into recovery.”

The team captain suffered a torn ACL in the team’s May 31 game at Real Salt Lake. He will miss the rest of the season.

GALAXY AT COLORADO

When: Saturday, 6:30 p.m.

Where: Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, Colo.

How to watch: Apple TV+ (free)

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​ Orange County Register 

Wall Street falls to close out its first losing week in the last six

• June 24, 2023

Another drop for stocks on Friday helped drag Wall Street to its first losing week in the last six.

The S&P 500 fell 33.56, or 0.8%, to 4,348.33, pulling back further from last week when it reached its highest level in more than a year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 219.28, or 0.6%, to 33,727.43, and the Nasdaq composite sank 138.09, or 1%, to 13,492.52.

Overseas markets also fell, while crude oil prices slipped amid worries that a stressed global economy may burn less fuel.

Europe’s economy appears to be weaker than expected, according to a preliminary report measuring manufacturing and services businesses. That added to the week’s hesitance in markets, caused by a crank higher in interest rates by central banks around the world as they try to get high inflation under control. High rates drive down inflation by slowing the economy, which raises the risk of a recession.

High interest rates in the United States have already dragged manufacturing and other industries into contraction, while also helping to cause several failures in the banking system that rattled confidence. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said this week that even though his central bank didn’t raise rates last week, it could still push through a couple more hikes by the end of this year.

Critics have also said the U.S. stock market was due for a breather after it climbed too far, too fast following a rally of more than 20% since mid-October. The S&P 500 just broke its longest weekly winning streak since November 2021.

Much of the exuberance was because the U.S. economy had managed to avoid a recession, even though the Fed hiked rates at a breakneck pace since early 2022. The job market in particular has remained remarkably solid.

Wall Street’s hope has been that slowing inflation could get the Fed to take it easier on rates, while a small cadre of stocks soared to incredible heights amid a frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology.

Wall Street traders for the most part are still expecting fewer rate hikes this year than what the Fed has suggested. They may once again be underestimating the Fed’s resolve, economist Ethan Harris wrote in a BofA Global Research report.

“Early in the hiking cycle, the focus was on avoiding a recession,” he said. “However, with persistently high inflation, the focus has shifted from erring on the side of doing too little to doing too much.”

A preliminary report on Friday indicated the overall U.S. economy is continuing to grow, even though manufacturing is shrinking and its output fell to a five-month low.

“The question remains as to how resilient service sector growth can be in the face of the manufacturing decline and the lagged effect of prior rate hikes,” said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence. “Any further rate hikes will of course have a further dampening effect on this sector which is especially susceptible to changes in borrowing costs.”

A slower economy could mean pressure on demand for energy, and the price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. oil fell 35 cents to $69.16 after paring earlier, sharper losses. Brent crude, the international standard, dipped 29 cents to $73.85 per barrel.

On Wall Street, tech companies were hit hard. Higher interest rates hurt all kinds of investments, from stocks to bonds to crypto, but high-growth stocks tend to be among the most impacted.

A 1.4% drop for Microsoft and 3% fall for Tesla were the two heaviest weights on the S&P 500. Nvidia, one of the biggest beneficiaries of the AI boom, fell 1.9% and was the third-heaviest weight on the index. It’s still up nearly 189% for the year so far.

On the winning side of the stock market Friday was CarMax. It jumped 10.1% after reporting much stronger profit for the latest quarter than analyst expected.

Coinbase rose 6.9% after winning a Supreme Court case. The crypto trading platform wanted to keep a dispute with a customer in arbitration, a process that many companies prefer over lawsuits in courts.

In European stock markets, Germany’s DAX lost 1%, and France’s CAC 40 fell 0.6%. The FTSE 100 in London slipped 0.5%.

On Thursday, the Bank of England hiked its main interest rate by a bigger margin than expected to a 15-year high. It was the central bank’s 13th straight increase. Central banks in Norway, Switzerland and Turkey also raised borrowing rates.

In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.7%. Stocks have slid there as China’s economic recovery stumbles following the relaxation of anti-COVID restrictions.

​ Orange County Register 

Starbucks union calls strike over Pride displays

• June 24, 2023

Workers at 150 Starbucks locations will strike in the coming week over what their union says is a clash over decor supporting LGBTQ+ causes, but the company denies it’s banned any such displays and accused the union of using misinformation as a tactic in labor talks.

Starbucks Workers United said in a tweet Friday that 3,500 workers will be on strike over the next week, starting with the flagship location in Seattle.

The union has tried to establish a foothold at Starbucks for some time and at least 358 Starbucks stores have petitioned the National Labor Relations Board to hold union elections. A Starbucks in Buffalo, New York, became the first to unionize early last year.

But those efforts have slowed in recent months with pushback from some workers who have resisted organization efforts. Starbucks on Friday said Workers United is using misinformation about its support for LGBTQ+ causes as part of ongoing contract negotiations.

“Workers United continues to spread false information about our benefits, policies and negotiation efforts—a tactic used to seemingly divide our partners and deflect from their failure to respond to bargaining sessions for more than 200 stores,” Starbucks said in a written statement.

Starbucks, based in Seattle, said last week that there had been no change to any policy on the matter and that its support for LGBTQ+ causes is “unwavering.” The company has been outspoken in its support for LGBTQ+ employees for decades. It extended full health benefits to same-sex partners in 1988 and added health coverage for gender reassignment surgery in 2013.

Starbucks Corp. is also currently selling Pride-themed tumblers in its stores designed by Toronto artist Tim Singleton, who is gay.

Workers United says that store managers around the country have curtailed or removed displays during a monthlong celebration of LGBTQ+ people. In some cases, the union said, managers told workers that Pride displays were a safety concern, citing recent incidents at Target where some angry customers tipped over merchandise and confronted workers.

Starbucks said recent anti-LGBTQ+ social media campaigns against brands like Disney, Target and Bud Light in some parts of the country have not changed its stance.

Brands like Chick-fil-A, which closes on Sundays for a day of “rest and worship,” and Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, have also been targeted online by anti-LGBTQ+ groups and individuals.

Several U.S. retail brands have faced backlash from conservatives over the display of LGBTQ+ merchandise, as well as criticism from gay rights groups for insufficient support for the community after the companies relented under pressure from conservatives.

Anheuser-Busch InBev’s efforts to market to the transgender community have led to a steep drop in sales of its Bud Light beer in recent weeks.

​ Orange County Register