Sacramento’s harmful policies drive the California exodus

• June 18, 2023

As the exodus of Californians and their businesses continues apace, Gov. Gavin Newsom denies reality, downplaying the flow of people and companies from his state as inconsequential. 

But the facts are well-documented — and grim: from January 2020 to July 2022, the state lost 600,000 people. That’s more than the population of Wyoming. The loss has been so severe that California lost a congressional seat for the first time in its history. Without a major change of direction, hundreds of thousands of individuals and scores of businesses will continue the flight from California.

Thanks, then, to the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce for acknowledging a problem Newsom can’t see — and for assessing the ways in which bad governance is responsible for the outmigration. Reading the 68-page document leads one to a simple conclusion: Government must do less.

The report features a compilation of interviews the Chamber conducted with 23 California CEOs who aren’t named. That offer (or demand) of anonymity is evidence enough of business leaders’ anxiety about the state’s reputation for hostility to free enterprise; who wants to criticize regulators in a state with a reputation for seeking and destroying business? The 23 CEOs describe their difficulties in detail, with one summarizing the sense of others thusly: “I have dealt with governments around the country, but the most business unfriendly [and] adversarial government is California.” 

The CEOs cite a long list of reasons businesses are leaving, including high tax rates, the burdensome regulatory environment, high energy costs, inadequate infrastructure, and the state’s out-of-control homeless crisis. Each of these problems can be traced back to state and local government policies, and that accounts for the Tax Foundation’s 2023 State Business Tax Climate Index (cited in the report) that ranks California as 48th in the nation for corporate, individual, property, and sales tax rates. 

Overzealous environmental regulation, particularly the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), is described in the Chamber report as “extraordinarily cumbersome.” Gov. Newsom has recently recognized the need to reform CEQA, which is notorious for tying up construction projects for years. But, perhaps unsurprisingly, Newsom’s proposed reform would exempt only government infrastructure programs from the disastrous law. Everybody else can labor beneath the dead weight of CEQA — or, as many have, simply leave the state altogether.

Add to that California’s far-fetched climate experiments, like the war on gas stoves, the untenable shift to wind and solar energy, a ban on the sale of gas-powered vehicles by 2035 (further threatening California’s already stressed power grid), and energy regulations that hit Californians with highest-in-the-nation costs for gasoline, natural gas and electricity.

California hosts half of the nation’s homeless population despite exorbitant state spending on “solutions” — $20 billion in just the past four years. This is on top of wildly expensive local government programs, like Los Angeles’ failing Measure HHH bonds. That program spends $800,000 for each unit of homeless housing, well above market cost.

The CEOs told the Chamber that solutions to the homeless crisis “have not been forthcoming” from urban politicians. Meanwhile, businesses bear the cost when patrons avoid high-vagrancy areas. 

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So what can California do to end the madness? Just do less. The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce report recommends a lighter regulatory touch, one that recognizes the regional variations in industry. Silicon Valley has different economic needs than the Central Valley; Inland Empire logistics firms aren’t LA’s aerospace, video production, and apparel firms; San Diego’s biotech industry definitely ain’t Hollywood. Trying to engineer a one-size-fits-all regulatory regime managed in Sacramento will stifle these important, organic regional variations.

The report doesn’t explain every issue perfectly. It concludes that “modern urban work-life amenities,” such as recreation opportunities, are necessary to attract workers and businesses. To many, that will sound like a call for the state to do more to “improve quality of life.” Rather, it ought to be a reminder that leaders ought to execute only their legitimate responsibilities — like improving public safety, cutting taxes, and reducing regulation. Ultimately, politicians should step back – should do less – and let individuals manage their own lives. The quality of life will improve when California tries a little human liberty. 

Even then, the reputational damage has been deep and broad. The results of a do-less campaign will take years before business leaders recover their faith in California. 

Sheridan Swanson is a research manager at the California Policy Center.

​ Orange County Register 

Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani hit back-to-back homers in Angels’ win

• June 18, 2023

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — No one expected Mike Trout’s puzzling to slump to last as long as it has, and now perhaps it’s finally over.

Trout homered just after Shohei Ohtani put the Angels up with a two-run homer in the fifth inning of the Angels’ 5-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday afternoon.

Ohtani, who leads the majors with 24 homers, has been sizzling for a month, while the Angels have been waiting for Trout to join him.

Even with only one of their sluggers slugging, the Angels had been winning, now with 11 victories in their last 14 games to bring a 41-33 record back home for a two-game series against the Dodgers. The Angels pulled ahead of the Houston Astros, into second place in the American League West and sole possession a wild card spot.

The leader during the hot streak has been Ohtani, who hit seven homers in the Angels’ seven-game trip. Meanwhile, many around the Angels were quietly — or not so quietly — concerned about Trout.

Trout came into the game hitting .252 with an .820 OPS, well below his career averages of .300 and .993. Over the previous 42 games, he’d hit .207 with a .687 OPS, with no homers since June 7.

“I was never worried about it at all,” Manager Phil Nevin said. “I’ve seen this before. Just as any good player goes through some struggles, compounded a little bit because it was every single day. He put in a lot of work. He kind of backed off his work. He added some work. The fact is he’s healthy.”

Trout has said all along that he’s feeling good, and he shrugged at various times during the cold streak, saying that either his timing or pitch-recognition was not what it normally is.

He said it finally started to feel right on Saturday, when he doubled, singled and walked, with a single on a 99 mph fastball from Aroldis Chapman.

“I felt like myself,” Trout reiterated on Sunday.

The difference?

“I think the biggest thing is I wasn’t loading, I was just gliding forward,” Trout said. “I had nothing behind it. That’s why I was under everything. Just trusting my work these last couple days. It’s been great.”

Sunday, Trout drew a walk from veteran Zack Greinke in the first inning. In the fourth, he yanked a double into left field. And in the fifth, just after Ohtani had homered to put the Angels up 3-2, Trout pulled his 15th homer of the season over the left field fence.

In the ninth, another struggling Angels hitter, Jared Walsh, hit a homer to give the Angels an insurance run. Walsh, who missed the first quarter of the season after dealing with neurological issues, had been hitting .111.

It was enough for a victory for Angels starter Tyler Anderson, who gave up two runs in five innings.

Although the left-hander has a 5.64 ERA, he has managed to get through at least five innings with the Angels in the game or ahead regularly. The Angels are 9-4 in his 13 starts.

“When I’m not pitching my best, which I haven’t been, just try to give us a chance to stay in the game,” Anderson said.

This time they were able to turn the game over to Jaime Barría in the sixth inning. Barria is the Angels No. 6 starter, but they have two off days this week, so they are able to use him out of the bullpen for now.

The Angels needed a fresh arm in the bullpen after the relievers were worked heavily earlier this week in Texas, which may have contributed to their meltdown on Saturday in Kansas City.

Barria worked three scoreless innings, and then closer Carlos Estévez pitched the ninth to pick up his 19th save in 19 tries. Estévez equaled the Angels record by converting his first 19 save opportunities of the season.

It sent the Angels into a happy clubhouse, having quickly put Saturday’s nightmare behind them with a victory, and also with the confidence that perhaps now they’ll have both of their stars hitting.

“You can’t win games with just two guys,” Nevin said, “but I think if there were any two back-to-back in this league that can do it, it’s those two that can carry a team for quite a while… When your superstars step up in big places, it gives everyone else around lot of confidence. We know we can compete with anybody.”

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Rickie Fowler, Wyndham Clark tied after U.S. Open’s third round

• June 18, 2023

LOS ANGELES — Like commuters on the 405 freeway at rush hour, the players at the top of the leaderboard at the start of play found it difficult to make much forward progress during Saturday’s third round of the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club.

Among the final 10 players to tee off on Saturday, the best score posted during an extremely difficult day of golf was a 2-under 68 posted by Scottie Scheffler. As a result, six players will start Sunday’s final round within six shots of the lead held by Murrieta native Rickie Fowler and Wyndham Clark, who are tied at 10-under 200. Rory McIlroy, looking for his first major title in nine years, sits in third place following his 1-under 69 on Saturday that leaves him at 9-under par 201. Scheffler is alone in fourth at 7 under.

Through 16 holes Scheffler was among the crowd feeling extremely frustrated, primarily because of his inability to convert any of the birdie opportunities he gave himself that could have propelled him closer to the players above him on the leaderboard.

Scheffler’s outlook and his position heading into Sunday’s final round dramatically changed when his second shot on 17 bounced on the green and proceeded to roll into the cup for an eagle, putting him back in red numbers for the first time since a birdie on the first hole. He followed the eagle by making a long birdie putt on 18, giving the former Masters champion some strong momentum heading into Sunday.

“I was fighting all day today, trying to just get myself back in position, just trying to make some birdies and avoid the bogeys,” Scheffler said. “I didn’t do a great job of that for most of the day but I grinded it out pretty hard. I felt like today was one of the days where I got punished for my mistakes, whereas yesterday I felt like I wasn’t getting punished at all. Today it seemed like every time I got offline, I was really fighting for par. Just fortunate to see that shot go in on 17 and then a nice birdie on 18 to kind of get myself back into it.”

After grinding so hard for much of the round, Scheffler’s big finish could very well provide the jump start he needs to rally from behind on Sunday and win his second career major championship.

“I’m standing there on 17 tee looking up at the board and I’m seven shots back and I’m thinking maybe I can steal one shot coming in, but really I’m just trying to hit the fairway there just to give myself some sort of chance, because if you miss that fairway on 17, I am going to be fighting for par again,” Scheffler said. “Then I hit a nice drive and the (second) shot goes in and it’s a huge boost. Then I hit another two good shots into 18, nail the putt, and all of a sudden instead of seven shots back I’m only three. So definitely a huge momentum boost going into tomorrow, and hopefully I’ll just keep it rolling.”

Before the leaders had even showed up at the course to begin preparing for their rounds, Tom Kim provided some hope for those needing to post a really low round when he went out and fired a 6-under 29 on the front nine. Kim started with a birdie on one and added four more birdies over his next five holes. After a par on seven, he birdied eight and nine, making the turn at 6 under. But three bogeys on the back nine led to a 2-over 37, leaving Kim with a 4-under 66.

“That back nine is really hard. You just don’t really have any bailouts,” Kim said. “Those three bogeys really don’t feel like bogeys because I barely missed it by a yard or two. But major championship golf, U.S. Open really brings it out of you. Would have been nice to kind of par in and see that bogey-free or see one or two more birdies, but if you told me at the start of the day, I’d take that score.”

Fowler will be attempting to go wire-to-wire when he tees off Sunday in search of the first major championship title of his career. Unlike Friday’s roller-coaster second round which saw Fowler post eight birdies and six bogeys, Fowler’s third round was much less frantic. Throughout the 18 holes he was never more than one shot higher or lower than his starting score of 10 under.

“A little bit of a grind out there today,” Fowler said. “Still hit some good shots, but with the firmer conditions and the pins being some kind of tucked front pins. When you miss the fairway, it makes it very hard to make par. I had to accept some bogeys there in the round early on, but I feel like we did a good job of kind of staying present, moving forward, and like I said, still a lot of quality shots. Through three rounds we’re in the spot that we want to be in.”

It appeared as if Fowler would finish the day alone at the top of the leaderboard but his short par putt on the final hole lipped out, dropping him into a tie with Clark. The miss seemed to surprise Fowler, who gestured with his hands in disbelief.

“You could see from the first putt, there’s a lot of slope there,” Fowler said. “I’m not sure why it didn’t move. It should have. I hit a good putt, just a bummer. It would be nice for that one to go in. Really doesn’t matter, having the lead, being one back, two back. You’re going to have to play good golf tomorrow.”

While Fowler said he has experienced the usual nerves that go with trying to win a golf tournament, he feels overall he’s been able to handle the pressure that goes with chasing a major championship better than he has in quite a while.

“This is the best I’ve felt all year and definitely in a long time,” Fowler said. “We all feel nerves at times, depending on certain shots or circumstances, but I mentioned it yesterday and then still stand by it. This is the best I’ve felt, let alone in a normal tournament but especially a major, and I would say really ever in my career.”

Early in the round, it appeared McIlroy might be ready to go low and distance himself from the pack. He birdied two of his first three holes and had good opportunities for birdies on several other holes on the front side. But time and time again his birdie putts just missed and over the final nine holes he, like everyone else in the field, found himself battling to keep from dropping strokes.

“The golf course definitely got a little bit trickier today than the first couple of days,” McIlroy said. “I felt like I played really smart, solid golf. Hit a lot of fairways, hit a lot of greens. Overall, yeah, pretty pleased with how today went, and feel like I’m in a good spot heading into tomorrow.”

While he’s one of the few players near the top of the leaderboard who have won a major, McIlroy said he doesn’t believe his previous success gives him any type of leg up heading into Sunday.

“It’s been such a long time since I’ve done it,” McIlroy said. “I’m going out there to try to execute a game plan, and I feel like over the last three days I’ve executed that game plan really, really well, and I just need to do that for one more day.”

As he strives to win the biggest tournament of his career, Fowler was asked what winning a US Open title would mean to him.

“I mean, obviously it would be huge, especially being here in Southern California, having a lot of people, family and friends that are out here this week,” Fowler said. “We have a chance tomorrow. I mentioned out there after going through the last few years, I’m not scared to fail. I’ve dealt with that. We’re just going to go have fun, continue to try to execute, leave it all out there, see where we stand on 18.”

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Bobby Miller’s magic runs out as Dodgers are routed by Giants

• June 18, 2023

LOS ANGELES – Rookie right-hander Bobby Miller has been checking off firsts at a rapid clip since making his big-league debut less than a month ago.

He checked off a couple more Saturday – first big-league home run allowed and first loss.

LaMonte Wade Jr.’s three-run homer was the big blow in a four-run fifth inning against Miller as the San Francisco Giants routed the Dodgers 15-0.

Miller hadn’t given up more than a run in any of his first four big-league starts and had kept the powerful lineups of the Braves, Yankees and Phillies in the park. But the Giants’ four-run fifth put an end to his 20-inning scoreless streak (and 27-inning homerless streak).

The rookie right-hander looked set to continue the magical start to his big-league career when he allowed just two hits through the first four innings against the Giants – one a ground ball that ricocheted off his back. But there were signs that his command wasn’t as sharp as it had been in his first four starts.

It got worse in the fifth. He walked Luis Matos to start the inning. Matos stole second and went to third on an errant pickoff attempt by Miller. The Dodgers brought the infield in and Brandon Crawford flared a single (57.5 mph off the bat) just over their heads and onto the outfield grass.

That snapped Miller’s scoreless innings streak and broke a scoreless tie in the game. It got worse.

Miller hit No. 9 hitter Casey Schmitt with a pitch then left a first-pitch curveball over the plate to Wade. He crushed it, sending it 399 feet into the back of the visiting bullpen.

Miller got out of the fifth but only after giving up a double to Thairo Estrada.

Another walk started the sixth inning. An infield single and another RBI single from Crawford followed to make it 5-0. When Miller’s pitch count reached 92, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts ended the rookie’s day.

Things didn’t get better from there. Alex Vesia came in and walked the first batter he faced, Wade, then gave up a first-pitch grand slam to J.D. Davis. Seven of the Giants’ runs were charged to Miller whose ERA went from 0.78 after his first four starts to a more mortal 2.83 now.

The Giants scored eight more runs against a Dodgers’ bullpen that has allowed 48 runs in 57 2/3 innings in June, showing no signs of shaking off its status as the team’s biggest problem.

One run allowed would have been too many on a day that saw the Dodgers’ offense get shut out for the first time since April and only the third time this season.

The Dodgers entered the game averaging six runs per game over their previous 27 and had been held under five runs just six times during that stretch. But a familiar face, Alex Wood, held them scoreless for five innings.

The Dodgers got just one baserunner as far as second with Wood on the mound. Michael Busch led off the third inning with a double and went no farther.

Reliever Tristan Beck completed the shutout, allowing just one hit after the sixth inning.

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U.S. Open: Par 3s at Los Angeles Country Club are having a big impact

• June 18, 2023

Among the top seven players entering the weekend, only Rory McIlroy and Harris English finished in the black versus Par-3s on the north course at Los Angeles Country Club.

Collectively, the leaders shot 28-under on par-4s and 28-under on par-5s. But the five eclectic par-3s, which in Round 3 featured the shortest hole in U.S. Open history? Two-over.

The same group was plus-one on the three-shot holes during moving day.

Playing 81 yards on Saturday, No. 15, the last of the bunch, produced plenty of discussion and action.

Three aces on the 15th this week — Matthieu Pavon and Sam Burns on Thursday, Matt Fitzpatrick on Friday — ranks one shy of the U.S. Open record set in 1989 on the 6th hole at Oak Hill Country Club.

Playing off its third-round yardage, several 15th holes would fit neatly between the tees and greens on each of the other Par-3s.

From the tips in descending order, No. 11 (290 yards), No. 9, (171 yards), No. 7 (284 yards) and No. 4 (228 yards) have continually challenged the field.

“It’s miles better than the other two long par-3s,” said Fitzpatrick, last year’s U.S. Open champion, of No. 15. “It’s not even a contest. For me, I just think that you got a sand wedge or a lob wedge or a gap wedge in your hand and you’re nervous, and I think that’s the thing. That’s why you’re always hitting 3-wood in, and 7-wood. You’re not nervous.”

Through 54 holes, however, only the 15th has yielded more birdies than bogies (105 to 33) among the par-3s.

Taken together, they have surrendered 219 birdies in addition to the three hole-in-ones.

But they have claimed 441 bogies and 55 doubles or worse.

A FOX AND A GARDNER

A USGA record 10,187 entries were accepted for the 2023 U.S. Open.

Of the 156 players who qualified for LACC, 61 at +2 or better made it to the weekend.

Tournament rules require golfers to have company on the course because not only are they responsible for keeping their own score, they need to be monitored, too.

Enter LACC’s director of golf, Tom Gardner.

Early last week, Jeff Hall, who oversees “inside the ropes” activities for the USGA, approached Gardner about being a non-competing marker in case an odd number of players got through.

When Frenchman Paul Barjon finished with a double bogey on the 18th Friday to miss the cut, 36-year-old New Zealander Ryan Fox lost a playing partner for the third round.

Going off the No. 1 tee in the first group at 9:33 a.m. on Saturday, Fox and Gardner completed 18 holes in three hours and four minutes, more than two hours faster than the average pace of play on Thursday and Friday.

“I’m not a competitor,” said Gardner, whose caddie, LACC head professional Rory Sweeney, fell short in his attempt to qualify for the 123rd U.S. Open. “But to be able to say that I got to play a U.S. Open setup on the weekend and see what it’s like and see the energy of the crowd and see the pins and the firmness and the rough and everything that goes along with it, it’s — I can’t really describe it.”

As confirmed by Gardner, Fox carded 1-under, 69.

Japan’s Ryo Ishikawa (+10) has the solo honors on Sunday.

BLAME THE EQUIPMENT

Scottie Scheffler, golf’s No. 1 player in the Official World Golf Ranking, hasn’t made putts the way he wanted the past few months so he put a new putter in his bag this week.

But the game’s best ball striker has driven the daylights out of the ball. So why would the 2022 Masters champion trash his driver on Friday night?

“I kept hitting it left,” Scheffler said following his third straight round in the 60s. “Then I grabbed the backup and it started going straight. And then I just tossed it away.”

This wasn’t a case of operator error. The face of Scheffler’s 8-degree TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus driver had flattened or caved in, he said.

After finding 6 of 13 fairways in the second round, the Texan, who turns 27 next Wednesday, hit 10 of 13 fairways in Round 3 and is three off the lead.

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Carlos Vela helps LAFC end skid with victory over Sporting KC

• June 18, 2023

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Carlos Vela scored in the final minute of regulation to rally Los Angeles FC to a 2-1 victory over Sporting Kansas City on Saturday night, snapping the club’s six-match winless streak in all competitions.

Alan Pulido scored on a first-half penalty kick and Sporting KC (5-9-5) took a 1-0 lead into halftime. Pulido’s PK score gave Sporting KC the lead in the 17th minute. Pulido has four goals in his last three matches after scoring just once in his previous 19 appearances.

LAFC (8-3-5) pulled even early in the second half when rookie defender Denil Maldonado took a pass from Mateusz Bogusz in the 48th minute and scored his first career goal.

Vela scored for a fifth time this season, using a pass from Aaron Long in the 90th minute to help the defending champions earn a much-needed victory. The three points pull LAFC into a tie with expansion team St. Louis City for the top spot in the Western Conference, one point in front of the idle Seattle Sounders.

John McCarthy had six saves for LAFC. Kendall McIntosh saved two shots for Sporting KC.

LAFC entered play 0-5-1 in its previous six matches in all competitions. The club had just three losses in its previous 26 matches. LAFC’s longest run without a victory came in 2021 when it had a 0-3-5 stretch.

Sporting KC had won four straight at home entering play after a 0-3-1 start.

LAFC lost by shutouts in four straight matches in all competitions coming into play. The club had failed to score in five of its last six matches after being shut out five times in its previous 67 matches in all competitions.

Sporting KC snapped a three-match skid against LAFC with a 1-1 draw earlier this season in LA.

LAFC returns home to host the Seattle Sounders on Wednesday. Sporting KC travels to play the Los Angeles Galaxy on Wednesday.

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Santa Anita horse racing consensus picks, Sunday, June 18, 2023

• June 18, 2023

The consensus box of Santa Anita horse racing picks comes from handicappers Bob Mieszerski, Art Wilson, Terry Turrell and Eddie Wilson. Here are the picks for thoroughbred races on Sunday, June 18, 2023.

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Santa Anita: Tranche upsets Mirahmadi and Fasig-Tipton Futurity field

• June 18, 2023

All the hoopla heading into Saturday’s $100,000 Fasig-Tipton Futurity at Santa Anita was centered around first-time starter Mirahmadi, a $1,050,000 yearling purchase named after track announcer Frank Mirahmadi.

Mirahmadi, a 2-year-old Into Mischief colt who was the 3-5 betting choice, didn’t run poorly, but he was no match for 20-1 longshot winner Tranche. Sired by Collected, Tranche won by 7 1/4 lengths after shipping in from Kentucky for trainer Luis Mendez.

Tranche, seventh in his debut at Keeneland on April 7 after a slow start and runner-up to the very impressive Youalmosthadme in the ungraded Kentucky Juvenile at Churchill Downs on May 4, broke quickly in the 5-furlong race and was never headed while carving out fractions of 22.15 and 45.36 en route to a final clocking of 57.68 seconds.

Ridden by Edwin Maldonado, Tranche collected the winner’s share of $60,000 to improve his earnings to $81,000. Mirahmadi held second, 1 1/4 lengths in front of Refocus. Going Mobile and Next Level completed the order of finish in the five-horse field.

“He ran a big race in Kentucky at Churchill and I really liked the horse today,” said Maldonado, who rode Tranche at Churchill. “In Kentucky, the horse that won (by 9 3/4 lengths) was a monster … I knew we had a shot in here, but I didn’t think he was going to run this big today. I was feeling great when I was turning for home by myself. I thought, ‘Yes, we got a good shot.’”

Maldonado and the colt’s owner, William Peeples, were more bullish about their chances heading into the race than the trainer.

“To be honest I wasn’t really (confident),” Mendez said. “In this business when you think you’re going to win it can sometimes go the other way. I mean, everybody on the team loved him, but I was not convinced. That beautiful field of horses was against him so I was a little worried.”

When did Mendez feel confident?

“When I saw him turning for home he made me excited,” he said.

Fasig-Tipton Debutante

Northern California invader Grand Slam Smile, who won her debut by four lengths at Golden Gate Fields on May 14 for trainer Steve Specht, tracked pacesetter Becky’s Dream from second much of the way before rallying for a half-length victory in the $100,000 race for 2-year-old fillies.

Ridden by Frank Alvarado, the daughter of Smiling Tiger was sent off as the 7-2 third choice in the short field of four. Crazy Hot, the 3-5 favorite, finished third, 5 1/4 lengths in back of Becky’s Dream (9-5).

Final time for the 5 furlongs was 58.41 seconds as the winner padded her career earnings to $83,400.

There was about a 10-minute delay to the start of the race when longshot Motet tried to sit down in the gate with jockey Kyle Frey, who was injured and taken off the track by stretcher. Motet was scratched.

According to track security, Frey was complaining of ankle pain and was taken to a local hospital for precautionary x-rays.

“Everyone was in the same boat at the gate,” Alvarado said. “Everyone (was) walking and waiting. I was worried a little bit because it is hot and she had never been in this kind of heat, but she handled it pretty good.”

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