Curt Miller believes Sparks are ‘ahead of schedule’ 10 games into season

• June 17, 2023

LOS ANGELES — Sparks coach Curt Miller has nothing but great things to say about his former Connecticut Sun team, which he guided to the WNBA Finals last season.

“I think (Connecticut) is the odds-on favorite to win it. I don’t care (if) I say that. I think Connecticut is loaded and so we know what’s coming through the door,” Miller said ahead of the Sparks’ Sunday game against the Sun.

However, Miller is equally impressed by the way his team has responded to adversity after playing 25% of the 40-game regular season. If the season ended today, the Sparks (5-5) would be a playoff team, something that hasn’t happened in Los Angeles since 2020.

“A quarter into the season, with the amount of adversity that we’ve had, the two season-ending injuries (Steph Talbot, ACL) and Katie Lou Samuelson (pregnancy) before we even started the season, and then everything that’s happened,” Miller said. “We have the most games missed by any team in the league and we’ve been in nine of our 10 games and are .500. If the season ended today, we’re a playoff team, which they haven’t been recently, so I think it’s a remarkable first quarter for us. I’m so proud of where they’ve put themselves. If we can get healthy again, let’s see what happens but I think we’re ahead of schedule and I think we’ve really performed well.”

Los Angeles Sparks head coach Curt Miller shares his assessment of his team after 10 games into the 2023 WNBA season. The Sparks are 5-5 overall and would be a playoff team if the season ended today. #WNBA #WNBATwitter pic.twitter.com/lEuth6Pqd8

— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) June 17, 2023

Sparks point guard Jordin Canada finished with a regular-season career-high 22 points in the team’s 77-72 home loss to the Minnesota Lynx on Friday night.

The Sparks will host Connecticut (8-3) on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. at Crypto.com Arena. It’s the second game of a five-game homestand and the third in a stretch of six games in a 12-day span. Connecticut is led by a trio of talented forwards – Alyssa Thomas, Brionna Jones and DeWanna Bonner – who are averaging a combined 48.5 points and 23 rebounds per game.

“We have to lock in and move on, understand that obviously there are some things that we could work on,” Canada said. “We’re going to see (Minnesota) again (on Tuesday), but the schedule is crazy playing every other day. You just have to move forward, basketball is ups and downs. You’re going to win some and you’re going to lose some, but it’s all about how you respond. We have an opportunity on Sunday to come back harder and respond.”

“There’s no time to sulk and be down about this game,” added Sparks forward Dearica Hamby, who nearly had a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds against the Lynx. “The WNBA keeps going.”

Sparks starters Jordin Canada and Dearica Hamby on moving forward after Friday’s 77-72 loss at home against the Minnesota Lynx and getting ready for Sunday’s home game against the Connecticut Sun. pic.twitter.com/lPvdbOq1gU

— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) June 17, 2023

COOKE STARTS FOR BROWN

Sparks starting shooting guard Lexie Brown, who is averaging 13.3 points per game and shooting 42% from 3-point range, missed Friday’s loss to the Lynx with a non-COVID illness. Rookie guard Zia Cooke, the 10th overall pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft, made the first start of her career in Brown’s place.

Cooke finished with five points in 25 minutes and left the arena with some defensive pointers from Sparks legend Lisa Leslie.

“It felt good to be able to start for the first time,” Cooke said. “(Lisa Leslie) was giving me the best pointers, defensively telling me what I need to improve on, telling me everything I need to know and it made me feel good because it shows that she’s watching me out there. She’s not just here watching the game, but she’s actually paying attention to what I’m doing and giving me real feedback for me personally so I appreciate that.”

Ten games into her rookie season, Cooke said constructive feedback is paramount to her development.

“I know I don’t have it figured out and I like to get information. I like to be a sponge to the game,” she said. “This system is very hard to adjust to so it’s easier for me when I have people around me that are going to tell me the right things to do.”

Sparks rookie guard Zia Cooke on her first career start in the WNBA and what Sparks legend Lisa Leslie told her after the game. #WNBA pic.twitter.com/BIZp9gnpCd

— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) June 17, 2023

LINEUP ADJUSTMENT

Layshia Clarendon, who started six games at small forward this season, suffered a partial tear of the right plantar fascia in the June 9 victory over Chicago. Clarendon is currently in a walking boot and will be out for approximately 4-6 weeks.

In Claredon’s absence, the Sparks have turned to a starting frontcourt that includes 6-foot-6 Azurá Stevens at small forward, 6-2 Nneka Ogwumike at power forward and the 6-3 Hamby at center.

I’m breaking down the Los Angeles Sparks 77-72 loss at home to the Minnesota Lynx and Jordin Canada’s new career-high of 22 points but more importantly it’s time to assess the Sparks after 10 games into the season. What’s your take on the 5-5 LA Sparks? #WNBA #WNBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/qZmiqM1Gir

— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) June 17, 2023

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​ Orange County Register 

What you should know about indicator plants in your garden

• June 17, 2023

Just the other day, at the base of the trunk of my neighbor’s eucalyptus tree, I spotted a laurel sumac (Malosma laurina) seedling that had only recently sprouted. I have frequently seen volunteer seedlings of Mexican fan palm, Shamel ash, mulberry, Brazilian pepper, and fig trees in my neighborhood, but never a laurel sumac. 

Such seedlings, known as volunteers, generally sprout from seeds that have been consumed and then passed through the gut of birds or other animals before being excreted. The stomach acid of these animals assists in dissolving some of a seed’s protective covering, known as the seed coat, creating an aperture wide enough to allow a radicle or baby root from the plant’s embryo to poke through, followed by the emergence of the first leaf, after the excreted seed has been hydrated as the result or rain or irrigation. It’s also possible, of course, that a volunteer seedling results when the wind blows a seed from a nearby tree into the garden.

Years ago, I learned that laurel sumac, a California native, is an indicator plant where avocado trees are concerned. In other words, wherever you see laurel sumac growing, you can plant avocado trees with confidence that they will thrive in that environment. Since laurel sumac is frost sensitive, you can assume that frost is not an issue where it grows, an important factor in deciding where to plant avocado trees, since they are frost sensitive, too. Early growers of orange trees in Southern California would also select sites for planting orange trees, which are also frost sensitive, based on laurel sumac’s presence. You can view laurel sumac growing all along Sepulveda Boulevard between Sherman Oaks and West Los Angeles.

Interestingly enough, laurel sumac, like avocado trees, grows especially well on slopes. There are two reasons for this. First, both plants require excellent soil drainage. Avocado trees are plagued by Phytophthora root rot where soil drainage is impaired which explains why large acreages of them, whether in Santa Paula or in Temecula and Fallbrook, are grown on steep slopes. Second, even in areas with occasional frosts, planting on slopes is still an option where frost-sensitive plants are concerned since frost, like water, rolls downhill and settles there.  After a frosty night, plants at the base of a slope may show cold damage while plants growing upon that same slope remain healthy. Even in a garden, following a freeze, plants in low spots may display frostbitten, blackened leaves while plants only a foot or two away, but at a slightly higher elevation, may be fine. 

Indicator plants serve a variety of purposes. Dandelions and spotted spurge (Euphorbia maculata) thrive in compacted soil so where you see them you know that soil improvement is necessary, while wild mustard grows in sandy soil and is an indicator of a good area for planting California natives. Clover (Trifolium repens) is a sign of a nitrogen deficient soil (or lawn) while two weed species – chickweed (Stellaria media) and lamb’s quarters (Chenopodium album) – indicate a soil that is nitrogen-rich.

Through trial and error, we can identify our own indicator plants as far as watering is concerned. Especially now that hot weather is just around the corner, we want to minimize irrigation frequency so that our plants acclimate to our soil as it becomes increasingly dry. The longer we can go without watering, the deeper the roots of our plants will grow. I have a variety of flowering annuals and perennials in a bed that receives half-day sun; slightly wilted petunias guide me as to when watering is necessary.  

When flowers on apple trees drop off it’s time to plant corn and we are rapidly approaching the deadline for planting it unless we are willing to accept unsightly gray smut fungus bulging out of our ripening ears. When jacarandas are in full bloom, as they are now, it is a sign that spring is ending and summer has arrived. all the more reason to make sure mulch is in place before the assault of sizzling heat.

“Tough Plants for Tough Places: Invincible Plants for Every Situation” (Firefly Books, 2023), by Sharon Amos, provides us with the security of knowing which plants we can rely upon to grow, regardless of sun or shade exposure, soil type, or climate conditions. One of my favorite plants is sea holly (Eryngium bourgatii) and I was delighted to learn that it thrives in extreme conditions of drought, high wind, and sun-baked soil. This species is a study in purple flowers, purple thorns, and purple stems, growing two feet tall and two feet wide. 

This book was my portal to the discovery of ivy leaf or hardy cyclamen (Cyclamen hederifolium), a tough ground cover suitable not only for dry shade and every type of soil, but for the coldest winters you can imagine, including those in North Dakota. Of Mediterranean origin, all cyclamen species are spring and summer dormant, with flowers and foliage appearing in late summer or fall. In the manner of the familiar cyclamen planted for winter color, hardy cyclamen’s soil must be kept dry during its dormancy period to protect its tubers from rotting. However, in the case of hardy cyclamen, if you can keep it alive you will be rewarded with new plants sprouting from its seeds.

Select from 12 hardy cyclamen varieties, including one with silver leaves, at plantdelights.com, an online nursery that delivers a cornucopia of uncommon plants to your door. Incidentally, cyclamen is derived from “kuklos,” the Greek word for circle and refers either to the shape of the plant’s tubers or to the earthward, circular movement of its flower stems once petals have wilted. Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia) is another extremely tough species. It thrives in any well-drained soil and is unrivaled in the quantity of lavender blue flowers that it displays and in its status as an insect-attracting pollinator plant. Maintenance is easy; just cut it down to the ground when it finishes flowering in the fall.

California native of the week: Laurel sumac (Malosma laurina) is an evergreen that exhibits vigorous growth throughout the year. After a wildfire, it is the first plant to recover as it sends up new shoots from the remains of its woody base. Laurel sumac is a robust shrub that reaches a height and girth of 20 feet. It makes an outstanding informal hedge. New foliage is strikingly red in color before it turns dark green, but stems, leaf edges and leaf veins remain red. Laurel sumac is sometimes referred to as taco plant because its leaves curve upward from the center like taco shells. This tendency of its leaves to fold up is shared by sugar bush (Rhus ovata), a botanical cousin, and is a strategy employed to prevent water loss. Some people experience an allergic reaction to this plant. While not as notoriously dermatitic as poison oak – a California native in the same plant family – contact with laurel sumac may create a skin rash on some people. Laurel sumac foliage is famous for its fragrance, which has been likened to that of both citrus and apples.

Do you have any plants you use as indicators for performing garden tasks or evaluating soil conditions? If so, please let me know about them. Your questions, comments, and photos are always welcome and should be sent to joshua@perfectplants.com.

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​ Orange County Register 

Law enforcement veteran appointed to Laguna Niguel City Council to fill vacancy

• June 17, 2023

Gene Johns, a 31-year law enforcement veteran, is the latest appointment to fill a vacant seat on the Laguna Niguel City Council.

Johns, 63, who said he is focused on preserving public safety, fiscal health and a pro-local business climate, replaces former Councilmember Sandy Rains, who resigned on May 10. 

The City Council received applications from 20 interested residents for serving out the remainder of Rains’ term, choosing Johns during a special meeting on June 14. He will be sworn in on June 20.

Mayor Kelly Jennings said Johns’ “extensive law enforcement background and dedication to protecting communities is both admirable andinvaluable, aligning perfectly with our city’s core value of prioritizing public safety.

“As we move forward, the entire City Council is committed to working together in a positive, respectful, and constructive manner that focuses on the well-being and high quality of life that our residents expect and deserve,” Jennings said in a statement.

In her resignation letter, Rains said she could not longer serve in the current environment and it had “become clear that I am the right person at the wrong time in our community.” She had resigned earlier in the year as mayor, a role chosen among the council members.

In May, Councilmember Stephanie Winstead was appointed by the council to fill another vacancy left open when former Councilman Rischi Paul Sharma resigned in April.

Winstead previously served on several city committees and is a real estate attorney. She also spoke about the importance of preserving the community’s quality of life.

Winstead had come in third behind councilmembers Stephanie Oddo and Ray Gennawey in November’s election.

Winstead and Johns will serve the remainder of the terms that end with the November 2024 election.

Johns served as a deputy sheriff with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for 31 years – 24 of those years as a task force officer assigned to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration. He commanded a task force nationally recognized for disrupting and dismantling drug cartel operations, according to the city’s announcement.

Johns moved to Laguna Niguel when he retired seven years ago. He and his wife, also a law enforcement veteran, discovered the area after attending conferences in Dana Point. Johns, who then lived in Redondo Beach after growing up in Torrance, said he liked the spaciousness of the area and its proximity to wilderness parks.

The minute he moved to town, he said, he wanted to be involved with the city. After looking around, he decided the Traffic and Transportation Commission would be best.

“Everything in the city revolves around traffic and transportation,” Johns said. “Residents, businesses and people coming into town are all affected.”

Johns said he was “totally” shocked when the council majority – Councilmember Stephanie Oddo opposed – chose him from a field of “amazing people who applied.”

He decided to put his name in, he said, because he has plans for running for council in 2024.

He said he’s very interested in what happens with the Chet Holifield Federal Building, more commonly referred to as the Ziggurat. The building near Alicia Parkway has been a landmark in south Orange County for half a century, but is being sold by the government.

Like the new development proposed for Town Center at City Hall, Johns said he’d like to be involved with what happens when a developer buys the Ziggurat property and moves forward with it.

When he takes the dais, Johns said, he will “listen and learn.”

“I want to make sure I’ve done my homework,” he said, “and am ready to go.”

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​ Orange County Register 

Leaving California: What states are the safest places to live?

• June 17, 2023

It seems many folks, when starting their quest to leave California, talk about enhancing the sense of safety in their lives.

The Golden State’s migration woes have grabbed recent headlines as debate swirls about California being too soft on crime. So as a public service – no less, to provide an economic lesson or two – my trusty spreadsheet looked at a trove of statistics measuring the many factors surrounding the concept of “safety” for the 49 other states.

Now, feeling safe is somewhat vague but also very personal. Is it simply crime avoidance? Do you include chances for other “harm,” ranging from weather to business cycles, driving or working? And what about the costs of these hazards?

Yet for readers who are in a rush to exit California, my math says you’ll be safest in Massachusetts, followed by Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Rhode Island.

Safety seekers should avoid Louisiana, Arkansas, South Carolina, Mississippi and Oklahoma.

Now let’s be honest about the mathematical and philosophical challenges of any safety measurement. No ranking is perfect, and it’s impossible to account for everyone’s needs.

In my quest to find the safest states, I started with a collection of similar risk assessments by WalletHub, US News and World Report, and Consumer Affairs. I added scorecards on narrower security issues from MoneyGeek, Oxfam, Bankrate, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Then I topped it off with a dash of various government stats.

Here’s what I learned …

Crime counts

People often see “safety” as criminal acts and how to avoid them.

Talk about a topic that’s got lots of statistics but still is hard to quantify. Exactly, what is crime? Is it any legal transgression – or just the most serious, most violent offenses? Does that include your personal legal safety? Do you value quality or quantity of policing? How can one factor in the local justice system, too?

Three national measurements of public safety took on that calculation challenge. My composite index of those gradings says the best states to avoid crime are New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Your worst odds of dodging the criminals are found in Arkansas, Louisiana, South Carolina, Alaska and Colorado.

And California, if ranked, would be No. 32.

Other hazards

Safety isn’t just about crime. Life is filled with a host of other potential perils.

My scorecard devoted half of each state’s grade to risks outside of public safety. Let’s look at five threats, each equal to 10% of a state’s safety ranking.

Climate risks: What’s the chance your life is upended by Mother Nature?

Pick your potential peril: flood, fire, winds, drought, blizzard or earthquake. Various government agencies weigh these risks. Those measurements offer one way for someone shopping for a new hometown to measure the odds – both to their body and pocketbook.

Climate risks are smallest in New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Maine. And they’re highest in Louisiana, Mississippi and Iowa.

California, if ranked, would be No. 34.

Road hazards: Juggle this risk any way you choose. Accidents. Deaths. Drunken drivers. Road quality.

What you’re basically trying to answer is “How can I avoid America’s craziest drivers?”

This tally says the best drivers are in Massachusetts, Minnesota and New York. And the worst? Mississippi, Arkansas and New Mexico.

California, if ranked, would be No. 32.

Workplace safety: Depending on your career path, on-the-job injuries are something to worry about.

Plus, states have varying laws for protecting workers – both their health and wealth opportunities.

By this math, workers should feel safest in Washington, Oregon and Vermont. But be wary of jobs in Mississippi, Idaho and North Dakota.

California, if ranked, would be the fourth-best place to work.

Economic security: There are no financial guarantees in life and monetary calamity is another risk that can strike, too.

So where is wealth, personal finances and career most protected from hazards ranging from swings of business cycles to nefarious folks?

The best grades are found in Minnesota, Utah and Idaho. The worst are in Louisiana, Mississippi and New Mexico.

And California, if ranked, would be No. 31.

Insurance: You’ll have to weigh all these risks to choose what level of uncertainty is acceptable in any relocation.

Remember, insurance companies do similar risk calculations, and consumers will see those results in the form of the premiums companies charge.

The spreadsheet tallied auto and property policy premiums, comparing those costs to local incomes in order to rank state insurance expenses.

Financially shielding yourself from risk is most affordable in Virginia, Maryland and New Jersey. Insurance will take the biggest bite out of your wallet in Kentucky, Oregon and Maine.

And California, if ranked, has the 21st-best insurance costs.

Bottom line

What no math can do is gauge safety as a state of mind.

And this notion of personal security is as subjective and emotional as it can get.

Politically speaking, let’s politely say there’s a belief that “blue” states like California are poor bets for safety. Now, maybe my scorecard is wrong, but when I define “blue” vs. “red” states as those who supported President Biden in 2020 vs. those who did not, respectively, the average blue state had a No. 17 safety ranking vs. No. 33 for a red one.

Or consider that my rankings suggest ex-Californians don’t often relocate to what appear to be safest states. Look at popular destinations and their respective rankings: Texas (No. 43), Nevada (No. 36), Florida (No. 31) and Arizona (No. 25). There was an exception: Idaho was No. 10.

To be fair, perhaps the safety bar is low for those exiting the Golden State. California would have ranked a lowly No. 32 if it was included in my safety scorecard.

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com

Leaving California?

Here are the healthiest states to consider
What state is the best bargain?
If you want ‘fun’ lifestyle, here are states to move to
What states have the best job markets?
36 reasons why California’s so darn expensive
A 2022 guide to what state is best to move to
A 2021 guide to what state is best to move to

​ Orange County Register 

When your garden vegetables come in, avoid this common harvest delay

• June 17, 2023

1. Corn and tomatoes are self-pollinating. In corn, pollen from tassels falls onto the silks below. In tomatoes, pollen from a male stamen is transferred to a female stigma on the same flower. This process for both plants is generally facilitated by the wind so you may see less of a crop in an area where breezes don’t blow. To maximize pollination, it is therefore recommended to manually shake corn tassels so their polllen is shed onto the silks below. You shake tomato plants so that pollen is dislodged until it comes to rest on a sticky stigma. Tomato pollen is also released by the vibrations of bumble bees, so if you see them hovering around your tomato flowers, take heart. Growers of greenhouse-cultured tomatoes bring in bumble bees to maximize pollination and yield.

2.  Propagate virtually any woody perennial, shrub, rose bush, or vine through a process known as layering. Dig a shallow trench and bend a low, flexible shoot, after scraping off around two inches of its bark, into the trench. The portion that is scraped should be at least six inches away from the end of the shoot. Bury the portion of shoot with the scraped bark in the trench, holding it in place with landscape staples used for holding drip tubing or soaker hose snug against the ground. A significant clump of roots will eventually form where the bark was scraped, at which time you can detach the shoot from the mother plant, taking care to dig up as much soil as possible around the roots before transplanting to a container or other part of the garden. Prior to burying the shoot, dusting the area where bark has been removed with root hormone may accelerate the rooting process.

3. Where birds poaching on your fruit is a problem, forego bird netting and utilize tulle fabric instead. The problem with plastic bird netting is that shoots can grow through it and then it is a chore to untangle them from the netting. Tulle fabric, on the other hand, allows shoots to grow freely without getting tangled up in it. You can cover blueberry bushes and small trees in their entirety with this fabric while the fruit-bearing branches of larger trees can also be covered. Tulle fabric will also protect vegetables from the depredations of rabbits. You can find tulle fabric, which is significantly less expensive than plastic bird netting, at papermart.com. When you get there, search “economy-colored polyester tulle in bolts.” Thanks to Greg Alder (gregalder.com) for this useful tip.

4. As ironic as it sounds, one of the most problematic aspects of growing vegetables is harvesting them in a timely manner so that the pleasure of eating them is not lost. Perhaps this is due to laziness or perhaps to pride: We are so pleased with what we’ve grown that we just want to look at our beautiful crops and resist removing them from stem or stalk or soil. However, if you delay harvest once your vegetables are ready for picking, you will lose out on quality and sometimes lose them altogether. Delaying harvest may lead to rubbery pods on snow peas, sunburned bell peppers, split tomatoes, earworm-infested corn, woody or cracked carrots, pithy radishes, over-sized and flavorless zucchini, hardened asparagus spears, and lettuce that becomes bitter when it bolts (sends up flower stalks).

5. Climbing roses that only bloom over a single season such as Lady Banks and Cecile Brunner should be pruned when they stop flowering around this time, as opposed to late winter pruning recommended for roses in general. Although they put out massive growth each year, pruning of these climbers is less of a chore since both varieties are almost thorrnless. Lady Banks, with double white or yellow double flowers, and Cecile Brunner, with double pink blooms, are both mildly fragrant too.

Your questions, comments, and photos are always welcome and should be sent to joshua@perfectplants.com.

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​ Orange County Register 

Is CalPERS set to have a Bob Citron moment?

• June 17, 2023

Within two weeks we’ll have one of the most important numbers of the year: The funding level of the California Public Employees Retirement System, the nation’s largest public pension fund.

It serves 2.2 million members and pays out monthly to 669,876 retirees.

On June 30, 2022 it was only 72% funded, down from 81.2% a year earlier.

It’s desperately trying to raise that percentage to make sure it doesn’t head down toward Chicago’s eight pension funds which, combined, are only 34% funded.

The June 12 Financial Times reported CalPERS “is planning a multibillion-dollar push into international venture capital as the $442 billion fund tilts toward riskier asset classes in a hunt for higher returns after a ‘lost decade.’”

It would increase venture capital funding by $5 billion to $57 billion, or 13% of investments.

That’s not risky, John Moorlach told me. He became well known in the financial world, and later in many public-finance textbooks, when he predicted Orange County’s 1994 bankruptcy, during a failed election bid to replace Treasurer-Tax Collector Bob Citron. After Citron resigned, Moorlach was appointed to replace him. He later also served as a county supervisor and as state senator; in which later post I was his press secretary.

But what’s risky, he said, was a decision in 2021 in which CalPERS’ board, as described by Smart Asset, “approved an investment policy change on November 15 to use borrowed money and alternative assets to reach its investment-return target.”

Moorlach called that CalPERS’ Bob Citron Moment because that’s what Roulette Wheel Bob did: borrow to invest. If private persons or companies do it, that’s their business. But when public funds do it, the taxpayers are on the hook. That’s because of what’s called the California Rule, under which courts have ruled all collective-bargaining agreements with unions on pensions must be fully funded.

Moorlach pointed to a Nov. 17, 2021 comment on the CalPERS decision by investment guru Garret Jones: “‘Necessary’ returns are becoming increasingly more difficult to produce. When ‘safe money’ pensions are forced to take on risk to meet their objectives, the writing is on the wall. Just imagine what will happen when a ‘never ending bull market’ is no longer there . . . and when stocks, bonds and real estate decline in unison.”

Who knows, maybe it will turn out well. Moorlach compared it to “going to Vegas.” A friend of mine recently won $3,000 there.

I’m joking. That’s what logicians call the Gambler’s Fallacy, in which you expect a recent bout of good luck to continue.

The FT article also pointed out CalPERS “lost about $77 million on its investments in Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, both of which collapsed earlier this year.” Not a lot in this huge fund, but an indication of a failure to do due diligence.

Another problem is Senate Bill 252, by state Sen. Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach. It passed the Senate, 23-10, on May 25.

In the bill’s language, it would ban “making new investments or renewing existing investments of public employee retirement funds in a fossil fuel company,” by July 1, 2030.

But as an editorial from this newspaper’s editorial board in February noted, CalPERS invests only $9.3 billion in fossil fuels, while the global oil and gas market is $4.3 trillion.

The Saudis and Russians and other major oil producers only will laugh at this legislation, which won’t do anything to the fossil fuel industry but could end up hurting California’s pension system.

And when CalPERS divested from tobacco funds in 2001, according to Wilshire Associates, it lost $3.6 billion by 2018.

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But publicly funded pensions should be about one thing: Paying out pensions to retirees at the least cost to taxpayers. Anything else is ideological grandstanding.

Moorlach pointed out CalPERS’ expectations its fund will return 6.8% a year are unrealistic.

Instead, CalPERS should be holding 3.75% government bonds, which is what public pension funds started out doing years ago, making them much safer.

But then it would have to get more funding from state and local governments – meaning the taxpayers.

That gambling with the taxpayers’ money to gain unrealistic returns was the problem with Citron. He was returning 10% a year.

It was “free” money for local governments. They could increase salaries ad libitum. Until they lost it all.

John Seiler is on the SCNG Editorial Board. He previously worked as press secretary for Sen. John Moorlach. His email: writejohnseiler@gmail.com

​ Orange County Register 

The risk of extinction from the AI robots

• June 17, 2023

Haven’t done the AI thing. Haven’t got the ChatGPT app, apparently the most popular in history. Because now we’re supposed to let the whole evil network of artificial intelligence around the world listen in? Haven’t done one of those fun columns where you instruct the 0s and the 1s to write a column in the style of yours truly, and it does so, and you throw up your hands and say, Why bother?

I really haven’t worried about the thing taking my job. My dad sent me an AI poem and said now us poets are sunk, going forward. But it was a terrible poem. Not to worry.

On the writing front, I’m basically taking the attitude “Fresh Air” host Terry Gross takes. She asked ChatGPT to write lyrics about the end of a love affair to the tune of “America the Beautiful,” and let’s just say the robot is no Cole Porter.

I do realize that lots of technical writing jobs are at risk, where great prose, or verse, is not the point. And in the visual arts, yikes. Terrible time to be a graphic artist, for instance, when as Terry’s AI expert interviewee says, you can tell the thing to come up with a composite photo of a teddy bear riding a skateboard in Times Square, and it does so in seconds.

There’s a whole profession down the drain.

Furtherly depressing, my wife showed me an example of someone asking the program to paint a watercolor in the style of Anders Zorn and it did so, tout de suite. Pretty well, too.

OK, it’s bad. But “risk of extinction of the human race” bad?

That’s what a group of tech industry leaders, including some of the people who invented AI, called out as a little problem we are facing late last month. An existential threat to humanity. On a par with something greater than COVID, and the H-bomb.

“Mitigating the risk of extinction from A.I. should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks, such as pandemics and nuclear war,” reads a one-sentence statement released by the Center for AI Safety, a nonprofit organization. “The open letter was signed by more than 350 executives, researchers and engineers working in A.I.,” The New York Times reported.

Rats. There goes the neighborhood.

I’m still hoping for some kind of HAL solution. You know, one minute the computer in “2001” has killed the other astronauts, and our man Dave is still out on a space walk. “Open the pod bay doors, HAL,” orders Dave. “I’m sorry Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that,” answers HAL. Dave: “What’s the problem?” HAL: “I think you know what the problem is just as well as I do.”

My point is, Dave gets back inside. He pulls HAL’s plugs. “Dave, my mind is going. I can feel it.” Then HAL begins singing the old saw: “Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do. I’m half crazy, all for the love of you.”

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Then, somewhere out beyond Jupiter, Dave ages, dies, is reborn as some kind of space baby.

Not a problem, right?

And yet. “I think if this technology goes wrong, it can go quite wrong,” Sam Altman, chief executive of a firm called OpenAI, someone who knows a lot more about the robots than I do, told a Senate subcommittee. “We want to work with the government to prevent that from happening.”

So here’s the deal. Blue-collar workers have dealt with the threat and the fact of automation taking their jobs for decades. Now the robot chickens have come home to roost for white-collar workers, the kind of people who use 50-cent words like “existential.” The way we chill about it is to acknowledge that having to work less — as both anarchists and Marxists have long sought — is not necessarily a bad thing. Let the robots do the heavy intellectual lifting. Then the humans can go surfing. If they let us.

Larry Wilson is on the Southern California News Group editorial board. lwilson@scng.com.

​ Orange County Register 

When signing a lease, watch out for these ‘gotcha’ clauses

• June 17, 2023

Akin to having 50-yard line seats to the Super Bowl, very few people have experienced selling a company and crafting a lease with the buyer on a building that you own.

As you’ll recall, last week I delved into clauses and terms that you – as the owner of the real estate – should consider.

Today’s subject is a bit broader. Many of you have leased commercial real estate or know someone who has.

Certain paragraphs in commercial leases are non-starters and should be carefully avoided, or at a minimum, carry a complete understanding of the impact. I’ve often called these “gotcha” clauses because they can be like a blitzing linebacker who strikes from the blind side. You don’t see them coming until it’s too late to avoid the carnage.

So, we’re going to continue dissecting those common “gotchas” that are often hiding in the fine print of your commercial lease agreement. And continuing our football theme, let’s dive right back in, shall we?

First, there’s the infamous “pass-through” provision. This is like a surprise onside kick. It’s completely legal, but it’s a play you aren’t anticipating until you’re handed an invoice for a share of the property tax increase, a costly building repair or other operating expenses that the landlord has conveniently decided to pass on to you. Always have your special teams ready for this one.

Second, we’ve got the deceptive “relocation” clause. You’re enjoying a solid drive down the field, your business is building momentum, and out of nowhere, you’re forced to laterally move to a different suite in the building. This allows the landlord to relocate you at their whim, leaving you to handle the ensuing confusion, relocation expenses and the challenge of keeping your business in play.

Third, there’s the sneaky “escalation” clause. You think you’ve locked down your budget with steady rent, but then you find your rent increasing faster than a wide receiver on a deep route. The clause allows for yearly rent increases, leaving you scrambling to adjust your financial playbook.

Now, let me introduce two more linebackers you need to watch out for.

The “automatic renewal” is one such contender. This, often hidden deep in the lease, will automatically renew your lease for a predefined period unless you give notice within a specific timeframe. Missing the notification window can be just like a missed field goal at the final whistle – a minor oversight, but with major consequences.

Finally, beware of the “use” clause. This clause restricts how you can use the leased property, and any violations could lead to penalties or even eviction. It’s like stepping out of bounds when you’re sprinting toward the end zone – an action that may seem harmless but can abruptly stop your progress and cost you the game.

These “gotchas” might sound intimidating, but fear not. Like any savvy coach, you can prepare your strategy.

Read and understand each clause in your lease. Engage a skilled real estate attorney or an experienced commercial real estate broker to help you outsmart these challenges. Spot these blitzing linebackers before they sack you.

Next week, I’ll share some offensive plays to help you mitigate the “gotcha” impact. After all, the best defense is a good offense. Stick with me, and I’ll ensure you’re not only playing the game but also taking home the victory. Stay tuned!

Allen C. Buchanan, SIOR, is a principal with Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services in Orange. He can be reached at abuchanan@lee-associates.com or 714.564.7104.

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​ Orange County Register