Asa Hutchinson formally launches 2024 campaign in Arkansas

• April 26, 2023

By ANDREW DeMILLO and MICHELLE L. PRICE

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson formally launched his Republican presidential campaign Wednesday, pledging to “bring out the best of America” and aiming to draw contrasts with other GOP hopefuls on top issues, including how best to reform federal law enforcement agencies.

Hutchinson kicked off his 2024 bid in his hometown of Bentonville, on the same steps where he launched an unsuccessful U.S. Senate campaign 30 years ago.

“I ran as a conservative Republican when being a Republican was like having a career-ending handicap,” Hutchinson said, adding, “And now, I bring that same vigor to fight another battle, and that battle is for the future of our country and the soul of our party.”

The stalwart conservative, who announced in a television interview earlier this month that he intended to run, has been a rare figure among announced or expected GOP presidential hopefuls in his willingness to criticize former President Donald Trump, calling for him to drop out of the 2024 race instead of seeking another White House term.

Related Articles

And while Trump has fixated his campaign message around his false claims about the 2020 election he lost, Hutchinson has said voters need a candidate who is not focused on the past.

While some of the other contenders who served in Trump’s administration struggled to carve out distance from Trump, Hutchinson has been able to draw from his lengthy resume in government and roots in America’s heartland. Without mentioning Trump by name Wednesday, Hutchinson offered a contrast to the former president’s derision of federal law enforcement by emphasizing his own background, with previous service as head of the Drug Enforcement Administration and former undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

“There are a few misguided leaders who say we should defund law enforcement, we should defund the FBI. I am here today in support of our law enforcement heroes,” Hutchinson said.

He went on to say, “We should not defund the FBI, but we do need serious reform to refocus the core functions of our federal law enforcement.” He said the FBI needs to be “trimmed down and focused on its No. 1 duty: leading our counterterrorism mission.”

Hutchinson, also a former U.S. attorney and congressman, launched his bid a day after President Joe Biden formally announced his reelection campaign. Hutchinson has argued that neither Biden nor Trump is focused on the future.

“I am confident we will even survive through the destructive policies of the Biden administration, but the time for change is now,” said Hutchinson. “It is time to bring out the best of America.”

On Wednesday, Hutchinson also offered a contrast to the isolationist approach some other Republicans have taken about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, saying he agreed “with those who say we do not want an unending war in Ukraine, and the best way to avoid a long war is to help Ukraine win today.”

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, entrepreneur and “Woke, Inc.” author Vivek Ramaswamy and radio host Larry Elder are also in the Republican race. They, along with expected and potential candidates like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, have largely avoided criticizing Trump and have at times defended him.

Hutchinson’s announcement took place in the tree-lined town square of Bentonville, the birthplace of Walmart. The city of nearly 57,000 people in the northwest part of the state is where Hutchinson first served as a city attorney starting in 1977 and where he first ran for office with an unsuccessful bid for local prosecutor.

Hutchinson’s second gubernatorial term ended in January, but he’s been a defining figure of Arkansas politics for more than four decades. His successor is Trump’s former press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

Elected to the U.S. House in 1996, Hutchinson won a seat his older brother, Tim, had held for two terms. Serving as one of the House managers prosecuting the impeachment case against President Bill Clinton starting in 1998, Asa Hutchinson stayed in the House until 2001, when he resigned to serve in the Bush administration.

After the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, the National Rifle Association selected Hutchinson to lead a task force to study school safety and recommended putting armed guards at every school in the country.

Elected governor in 2014, Hutchinson signed a series of income tax cuts and restrictions on abortion, including an outright ban on the procedure that became effective when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Hutchinson later said he wished that the measure had included exceptions for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest, but didn’t push for lawmakers to add those exemptions after the court ruling.

On Wednesday, Hutchinson steered clear of culture war issues otherwise dominant in some sectors of GOP politics, focusing on his overall commitment to safeguarding America as “democracy’s lighthouse.”

Hutchinson supported many of Trump’s policies but began to break with him over his lies about the 2020 presidential election. He has also criticized Trump for the 2020 peace deal he negotiated with the Taliban and for high government spending in his administration, calling Trump “one of the reasons that we added to our national debt and our deficit.”

Randy Zook, the head of the Arkansas Chamber of Commerce, attended Wednesday’s launch and said Hutchinson found a way to “thread the needle” as governor even as the state moved further to the right. Zook cited as an example Hutchinson’s decision to support keeping the state’s Medicaid expansion, but with changes such as a work requirement that was blocked by a federal judge.

“I think there’s a lane for him,” Zook said. “The country is looking for a reasonable and sensible and positive conservative. Asa fits that bill.”

Hutchinson has also shown a willingness to criticize some of his other rivals, telling The Associated Press he disagrees with the way DeSantis has sparred with Disney after the company opposed legislation DeSantis signed in Florida barring school instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity.

“It seems very Trumpian to me as to how he’s approached it,” Hutchinson said. “I don’t think government ought to be punishing the private sector because we don’t like what they say.”

Kathy Travis, a retired schoolteacher from Bentonville who attended Hutchinson’s launch, said she voted for Biden in 2020 but was leaning toward supporting the former governor. Travis, who wore a shirt that said “#AnyoneButTrump,” said she was pleased with Hutchinson’s handling as governor of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“He’s just a regular guy who’s made his way in politics and maintained his values,” Travis said.

Price reported from New York. Meg Kinnard contributed to this report from Columbia, S.C.

​ Orange County Register 

Santa Monica OKs $122.5M settlement of sex abuse claims against ex-employee

• April 26, 2023

Santa Monica will pay $122.5 million to 124 people who alleged they suffered sexual abuse as children at the hands of a former city employee who volunteered with the Police Activities League, attorneys said on Wednesday, April 26.

The settlement, approved Tuesday night by the Santa Monica City Council, brings to nearly $230 million the amount paid by the city to resolve legal claims brought against the city over the alleged actions of Eric Uller, who killed himself in 2018 after being charged with various molestation counts.

Uller worked with the city as a systems analyst when he was arrested that year on allegations that he had been molesting boys as far back as the late 1980s.

Attorneys representing alleged victims said he volunteered with the city’s Police Activities League, claiming to be a police officer and even showing children a badge and gun to gain their trust.

“My heart goes out to the victims who have experienced so much pain and heartbreak,” Santa Monica Mayor Gleam Davis said in a statement. “The settlement is the city’s best effort to address the suffering of the victims in a responsible way, while also acknowledging that the harm done to the victims cannot be undone.”

Attorney Brian Claypool, who represented many of the plaintiffs, alleged that Uller groomed young children through the PAL program, often giving them food, money or gifts, and sometimes taking them to sporting events. He alleged in lawsuits that city officials were made aware of Uller’s behavior as early as the 1990s, but nothing was done.

“How can so many young kids in the city of Santa Monica have gone through this horrible abuse?” Claypool asked. “Putting aside the money that’s been paid … we need to know that the city of Santa Monica will never let this happen again.”

Uller was placed on leave immediately following his arrest. He was found dead in his apartment later that year, shortly after being charged with felony counts including lewd acts on a child and continuous sexual abuse.

City officials said that following the allegations against Uller, numerous steps were taken in an effort to avoid a repeat of such crimes.

According to the city, it expanded its requirements for Child Abuse Mandated Reporter Training for all employees, volunteers and contractors, and established a child-protection officer position to oversee implementation of child abuse prevention measures.

“The city has remained vigilant by implementing best practices and strict policies to ensure that these unconscionable acts do not occur again,” City Manager David White said in a statement.

Related Articles

​ Orange County Register 

‘Psycho bouldering’ at the End of the World

• April 26, 2023

As I approach the End of the World, a dark seaside cliff of hardened lava, my gaze pivots between the clifftop and the rolling swell of ocean below. The rocks look a lot higher in person than the photos led me to believe. Adrenaline hits me.

End of the World is on the west side of the Big Island of Hawaii, where my wife, son and our nanny, Sofia, took an eight-day vacation this month. Climbing was merely icing on the cake of what was supposed to be a freediving trip for me, but things didn’t quite turn out as planned.

At the side of the cave we eye potential routes and mime sequences we envision. “You can’t fall in the middle of the cave because the tide will smash you into the rocks,” a local teenager tells us. “I’ve seen people medivacked out of here.”

Great, I think. Just what we need: another trip to the hospital.

On the first one, fie days ago, I went in for what I thought was a sinus infection and ended up COVID positive. So much for freediving. Or much of anything really.

By the last day of our trip I was out of isolation, so we decided to check out the climbing.

“Deep water soloing” is the English term for climbing above the sea without a rope, but I prefer the European name for this crazy climbing style. “Psicobloc,” as they call it, literally means “psycho bouldering.” And it’s no wonder why: It’s easy to fall off uncontrolled and hit the water all wonky, and the currents are unpredictable.

Back in 2009, in Mallorca, Spain, my friend James was on a horizontal roof 30 feet above the waves. He groped for a hold, then tried to move off it when … crack! “Aaaaaaaaaaaahhh!” He screamed as he plummeted, arms and legs flailing. His left hand dropped the broken hold and his back smacked the water with a sickening slap. Then all went quiet.

Sofia Gonzalez climbs bravely through the middle of the cave, just moments before her plunge into the sea. (Chris Weidner / Courtesy photo)

“James!” I shouted. “You OK?”

“Help…” he muttered feebly between gulps of seawater. I stripped my shirt and prepared to jump in, but by then he grabbed our safety line and signaled “OK.” With effort, he slowly hand-over-handed the rope and flopped onto a ledge like a drowned rat. His back was bright purple for days.

“You have to be careful which pockets you put your fingers in,” a Hawaiian kid says, snapping me out of my reverie, “because some will slice your fingers open.”

I downclimb to what looks like the easiest route and start climbing. Indeed, the sculpted rock is the sharpest I’ve ever climbed. The moves feel casual, but I’m nervous. I test every hold before pulling hard, even the ones that look solid. I top out shaky but satisfied.

Sofia and Heather, on the other hand, both float up it, unafraid.

Next, I attempt the belly of the cave but I can’t seem to find a way. I climb up and down to no avail. All I see is wet rock above, and the only possible routes look way harder than they’re graded. Excuses overwhelm my brain, and I retreat. I don’t even earn style points by falling off trying.

Heather Weidner on her successful ascent of “Rip Hide,” the central line in the cave — and a play on words considering what the sharp rock does to skin. (Chris Weidner / Courtesy photo)

Sofia, however, wins big points by going for it and whipping from the middle of the cave (against which we were warned). She takes a thigh-slapping plunge but escapes the tide to safety. Heather, like me, tries to find a way but backs off. Unlike me, she tries again. This time she commits and is upside-down in the roof, grasping for holds she can’t see. The water churns beneath her, white and foamy like the jaws of a hungry beast, yet her focus remains on each move. She pulls the lip — all four limbs spread-eagled — and then her left foot cuts loose. Her audience (me, Sofia and some locals) watches from the side and collectively gasps. She halts the swing, gets her foot back on and rocks over the final bulge.

After a week of vacation COVID, Heather’s success at the End of the World feels like a victory for us all.

Contact Chris Weidner at [email protected]. Follow him on Instagram @christopherweidner and Twitter @cweidner8.

​ Orange County Register 

NFL draft: Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud primed to extend Southern California’s quarterback legacy

• April 26, 2023

Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe now

Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud returned to their roots to complete their preparations for the NFL draft, where their names are expected to be among the first called Thursday during the opening day of the festive event.

The duo trained in recent weeks in Southern California’s fertile cradle for quarterbacks prospects, not far from their old high school campuses of Mater Dei and Rancho Cucamonga, respectively.

Young and Stroud worked under the watchful eye of private quarterback coach John Beck of Huntington Beach-based 3DQB, an elite training group. Beck also coaches at the same high school that produced the last Southern California quarterback selected in the top three of the NFL draft – Sam Darnold out San Clemente High and USC.

You think you’ve heard this story before? Try again.

Two Southern California quarterbacks with impressive collegiate credentials could be selected among the first four selections in Kansas City, Mo.

Image if John Elway or Carson Palmer had SoCal running mates at the very top of the draft in 1983 or 2003 when they were No. 1 draft picks after rising from Granada Hills and Santa Margarita. That’s what Young and Stroud appear on the cusp of accomplishing.

“It’s awesome and definitely enforces the belief that the SoCal region does the best job producing quarterbacks,” said national recruiting analyst Greg Biggins of 247Sports, who has covered Young and Stroud since high school. “I’m not surprised at all. We had Bryce rated as the No. 1 QB nationally and C.J. was No. 3, and both were predicted to be first-round picks.”

Young, the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner at Alabama, is projected to be selected No. 1 overall by the Carolina Panthers, according to one of the latest mock drafts at NFL.com.

Stroud, a Heisman Trophy finalist at Ohio State, is projected to be the next QB selected at No. 4 by the Indianapolis Colts.

The SoCal products polished their craft training with Beck and 3DQB. The Huntington Beach-based group was co-founded by Adam Dedeaux, grandson of former USC baseball coach Rod Dedeaux, and Tom House, the throwing specialist who has worked with Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Palmer among others.

Beck stressed efficiency and awareness while tutoring Young (5-10, 204) and Stroud (6-3, 214) for the NFL combine, their pro days and private workouts for teams.

“There’s a lot of things that both these guys do extremely well,” said Beck, who played quarterback at BYU and coaches QBs at San Clemente. “But they are different, not only from body type but to the way their bodies move. … and teams recognize that (for their schemes).”

“Bryce is extremely twitchy. Great sense of space. He has like that sixth sense of what’s around him, so you see him more maneuverable in the pocket in trying to create lanes. He plays a lot like a point guard in basketball,” Beck added.

“C.J. has a bigger frame. If he is moving in the pocket, it’s for avoidance purposes to take off and run. … C.J. wants to come off a (shot)gun action and he wants to deliver a downfield shot to a deep crosser to somebody on an outlet. That’s what his strength is. He’s going to be able to stand in that pocket.”

Young’s lack of height has been heavily debated entering the draft, but Beck is confident how his protege views an evolving game.

“This is the relationship, size-wise, that he has to the game. It’s all he knows,” Beck said of Young, who grew up in Pasadena and played at Cathedral of Los Angeles before transferring to Mater Dei. “It used to be desired to have somebody 6-foot-4 stand back behind a big offensive line to deliver balls. It’s not like that anymore.”

“If you ever hear size come up, it’s more of a durability, not an ability, thing,” the coach added.

Young and Stroud will offer their future teams plenty of intangibles, too.

Dating to high school, Young is known for his composure, faith and close relationship with his father Craig. He also was the first Black starting QB at Mater Dei.

Stroud also stands up for his faith and became a gritty leader after his father Coleridge was sent to prison.

“When you see two guys who are at the front of the draft like C.J. and Bryce Young, you know this is a byproduct of the competition that we have in the CIF Southern Section,” said Rancho Cucamonga coach Brian Hildebrand, who coached against Stroud in high school while at Roosevelt.

“For two guys to come out of here who are from just miles apart from each other,” the coach added, “it’s awesome to see and you really pull for both guys.”

Related Articles

​ Orange County Register 

NFL draft: Which UCLA players might get picked and when

• April 26, 2023

With the NFL draft beginning Thursday, here’s a look at where UCLA prospects can expect to be selected over the weekend.

Zach Charbonnet

Position: Running back

Year: Senior

Size: 6-foot, 214 pounds

Projections: Charbonnet isn’t talked about in most draft conversations because of the value placed on the position group, but he has been considered as a top five running back in this year’s draft. With only one or two running backs expected to go in the first round, Charbonnet may be considered a great value for a team on Day 2 of the draft and work himself into a starting role sooner rather than later.

Dorian Thompson-Robinson

Position: Quarterback

Year: Redshirt senior

Size: 6-2, 203 pounds

Projections: Thompson-Robinson’s stock has risen throughout the draft process after appearances at the East-West Shrine Bowl and the NFL draft combine. Thompson-Robinson has been mentioned as a Day 3 sleeper by draft pundits. He isn’t expecting to come in and start right away and believes joining the right system like the Eagles and Bengals could help further his development.

Atonio Mafi

Position: Offensive lineman

Year: Redshirt senior

Size: 6-3, 338 pounds

Projections: Mafi made a strong impression during the East-West Shrine Bowl with several highlights dominating defenders throughout the week surfacing on social media. His big frame and good hand placement could attract a team to take him in the 5th or 6th round.

Jake Bobo

Position: Wide receiver

Year: Redshirt senior

Size: 6-4, 206 pounds

Projections: Bobo isn’t afraid to use his size to his advantage when the ball is in the air and is an effective run blocker. He may not have the ideal speed for a receiver, but there’s the possibility a team could turn him into a pass-catching tight end if he’s willing to put on some weight. He has experience as a special teams returner and has the versatility that could help him become a late-round selection.

Jon Gaines II

Position: Offensive lineman

Year: Redshirt senior

Size: 6-4, 303 pounds

Projections: Gaines was developed into a versatile lineman at UCLA and helped anchor an offensive line that was a semifinalist for the Joe Moore Award. He’ll likely be a guard or center at the NFL level and is expected to be an early Day 3 pick. He played in the NFLPA Bowl and the East-West Shrine Bowl.

Related Articles

Kazmeir Allen

Position: Running back/receiver

Year: Redshirt junior

Size: 5-9, 175 pounds

Projections: Allen has elite speed and versatility could make him an attractive late-round prospect for NFL teams. He has played as a running back and receiver during his five years with the Bruins. He’s also served as a primary kick returner.

​ Orange County Register 

$15 million donation fuels UCLA effort to create debt-free education

• April 26, 2023

LOS ANGELES — Fueled by a $15 million donation, UCLA announced an effort Wednesday to raise funds for student scholarships as part of a larger goal of creating debt-free education by 2030 by removing the need for student loans.

The UCLA Affordability Initiative was unveiled thanks to a $15 million donation by real estate investor and UCLA graduate Peter Merlone.

“UCLA was founded on the notion that access to a top-tier education should be available to talented individuals of all backgrounds and financial means,” UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said in a statement. “Peter Merlone’s gift, and the UCLA Affordability Initiative as a whole, will help us preserve our ability to attract stellar students from across the state — and set them up for success after graduation.”

According to the university, traditional discussion of college affordability generally focuses on the cost of tuition, while overlooking ancillary costs such as housing, books, food, transportation and other expenses.

With Merlone’s donation, UCLA will grant four-year scholarships of about $20,000 — at $5,000 per year — to as many as 35 California resident students beginning next year. University officials said the money could dramatically reduce or eliminate the need for student loans.

“First, UCLA is working to create a better understanding of the true cost of college and how that challenge is typically met, in part, through student loans,” Gary Clark, UCLA’s interim vice provost of enrollment management and executive director of undergraduate admission, said in a statement. “Second, we’re seeking to provide an alternative to student loans. With enhanced scholarship support from philanthropists, we can reduce the financial pressure of obtaining a UCLA education and ensure UCLA is the first choice for all California students who receive offers of admission.”

Merlone, who earned his UCLA degrees in 1979, said in a statement that he attended the university “in a different era, when student loans were rarely seen.”

“I care about making an impact with my giving, and scholarships are the most direct means for me to do that,” he said. “I know others share my concern for California’s students, and I hope my actions inspire more people to step forward with scholarship support.”

More information on the initiative is available online at tinyurl.com/7m75ck62.

Related Articles

​ Orange County Register 

We Build The Wall founder imprisoned for fraud

• April 26, 2023

By Jake Offenhartz | Associated Press

NEW YORK — The co-founder of a fundraising group linked to Steve Bannon that promised to help Donald Trump construct a wall along the southern U.S. border was sentenced to four years and three months in prison on Wednesday for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from donors.

Brian Kolfage, a decorated Air Force veteran who lost both of his legs and an arm in the Iraq War, previously pleaded guilty for his role in siphoning donations from the We Build the Wall campaign.

A co-defendant, financier Andrew Badolato, was also sentenced to three years for aiding the effort. He had also pleaded guilty. A third man involved in siphoning funds from the wall project, Colorado businessman Tim Shea, won’t be sentenced until June.

Kolfage and Badolato were also ordered to pay $25 million in restitution to the victims.

Absent from the case was Bannon, Trump’s former top political adviser. He was initially arrested aboard a luxury yacht and faced federal fraud charges along with the other men, but Trump pardoned him during his final hours in office.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg brought new, state charges against Bannon last year. He is awaiting trial. Presidential pardons apply only to federal crimes, not state offenses. Bannon has called the case “nonsense.”

Kolfage, Badolato and Shea were not pardoned by Trump, leaving them to face the prospect of years in prison.

Prosecutors said the scheme was hatched by Kolfage, who served as the public face of the effort as it raised more than $25 million from donors across the country. He repeatedly assured the public he would “not take a penny” from the campaign.

As money poured into the cause, Kolfage and his partner, Shea, turned to Bannon and Badolato for help creating a nonprofit, We Build the Wall, Inc. The four defendants then took steps to funnel the money to themselves for personal gain, prosecutors said.

An attorney for Badolato, Kelly Kramer, described Bannon as “a leader and primary beneficiary” of the scheme, noting that his own client received a much smaller payout than the pardoned associate.

While prosecutors acknowledged that Badolato profited the least of the four defendants, they described him as the “connective tissue” between Kolfage and Bannon, helping to direct the kickbacks between the two parties.

Kolfage, 41, told Judge Analisa Torres that he was “remorseful, disgusted, humiliated.” He said he had not anticipated the scale of donations that would flood in for the cause and soon found himself drifting away from his initial goal, which he said was “putting a spotlight on the country’s broken immigration system.”

“I made a promise not to personally benefit and I broke that promise,” he said.

Torres said the defendants not only cheated their donors but contributed to a “chilling effect on civic participation” by tarnishing the reputation of political fundraising.

“The fraudsters behind We Build The Wall injured the body politic,” she said.

Kolfage received more than $350,000 in donor funds, which he spent on personal expenses that included boat payments, a luxury SUV and cosmetic surgery, prosecutors said in a court filing.Bannon was accused of taking more than $1 million through a separate nonprofit, then secretly paying some of it back to Kolfage.

Badolato, 58, and Shea also stole hundreds of thousands from fundraisers as well, prosecutors said.

As part of a plea deal, Kolfage and Badolato agreed not to challenge a sentence within the agreed-upon range: between four to five years for Kolfage and 3 1/2 to four years for Badolato.

An attorney for Kolfage previously argued that his client should avoid prison time given his lack of criminal history and severe disability.

Some sections of a border barrier were built by We Build the Wall on private lands, but the nonprofit is now defunct.

​ Orange County Register 

The pandemic brought a man closer to his neighbors — and inspired his album of songs about each of them

• April 26, 2023

Darcel Rockett | Chicago Tribune

When the world was isolating in pandemic bubbles, Alex Hardaway was channeling his inner Bob McGrath — the late “Sesame Street” character who sang the “People in Your Neighborhood” song.

Hardaway began a marathon music project — his first solo album, called “Be My Neighborhood,” where he wrote a song for each of his neighbors in his 15-unit Andersonville apartment building. The album debuted Thursday.

During the height of the pandemic, Hardaway, a longtime employee at Chicago’s Oiistar Japanese restaurant, had started doing maintenance work around the building to chip some money off his rent. That led him to meet all his fellow tenants. The 33-year-old graduate of The Theatre School at DePaul University said a lot of his musical material comes from real life interactions.

“All the songs are kind of about me and my relationship with these people and my own psyche,” Hardaway said. “If you listen … you’ll hear that it’s a lot of second guessing and chewing on what interactions took place, or just a script of exact conversations that I just had with these people.”

It took the better part of three years for the Arlington, Texas, native to compose the music, write the lyrics, find professional orchestral musicians willing to play instruments on the album (for a modest fee) that matched the personality of each neighbor and get his work mastered by Adam Selzer, who has done audio production work for bands like the Lumineers, the Decemberists and She & Him. Hardaway played guitar, mandolin, bass, the ukulele and some percussion instruments while his girlfriend, Tuckie White, an actor, playwright and writer, sang backup vocals in a coat closet turned studio.

The result is a folksy album with 13 songs with names like: “Kasey and the Girl She Lives With,” “Keva and Miranda,” “Shea and Sheena” and “Seamus.”

Seamus is a neighbor who tends to nod his head in greeting to Hardaway without engaging in a traditional sense. His song’s lyrics include:

“What you do is like a magic trick

slipping away in the blink of an eye

waving hands while looking confused

Has got to work for you most of the time.”

Hardaway said the “Leanne and Anthony” song centers on how people can be socially awkward and how they can send mixed signals. “We both had young dogs that would play together and I just could not keep the ball in the air conversationally with them,” he said. “It was dead silence most of the time and I chewed about that for a long time. We’re fine now, but when I was writing these songs, I was feeling like I would see them four blocks down the street, and we would make eye contact and they would just take a bold right. Like they thought there’s no way we’re gonna walk into that dude.’”

The musical interludes entail many of the things people who share walls endure — everything from noise created when your ceiling is someone else’s floor and convincing those we live by to give us a chance to show we’re good people.

Neighbor Tim Dean’s song tells of the day his cat didn’t survive a tussle with a neighbor’s dog. Hardaway described the moment when he had to tell Dean about the incident and why calling out to his late cat was futile.

“I was like, ‘Hey, I know you’re Tim and I’m Alex. I have some awful news, my friend,’” Hardaway said. “He just sat down and was like, ‘I cannot believe that happened.’ I wanted to write a song about that moment, because it’s so hard when you have to deliver news like that to someone you don’t know.”

Dean, a clinical psychologist, said he’s honored to be included in the project. His two favorite tracks are “Shea and Sheena” and “Larry.”

“Larry’s a very sweet man,” Dean said. “He worked for the CTA for like 30 years. His song is about him retiring. Larry is the one that helped my cat the most, took my cat to the vet. … Larry’s the other protagonist in my song.”

Sheena Roque knew about Hardaway’s album but has since moved to Evanston with her fiance, Shea. She admits to being a “keeping to herself” kind of person, but when she met Hardaway, it was refreshing.

“He’s the most neighborly neighbor we’ve ever had,” she said. “My fiance and I are planning on getting married sometime this year. I would love to play the song at the wedding because it’s a song about us.”

Alex Hardaway, who wrote a song about all of his neighbors in his 15-unit apartment building during the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, is seen outside his Andersonville home on April 5, 2023. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune/TNS)

“I got really lucky because I met some really great humans making this thing,” Hardaway said. “This project snowballed into something I never imagined and the cherry on top came when Adam Selzer stepped in for the finishing touches.”

Hardaway reached out to Selzer on a jobs website with a long email about his project. Selzer, a producer from Portland, Oregon, responded. He said it’s not common to get a project as interesting as what Hardaway put together. Hardaway and Selzer said Andy Shauf’s 2016 album, “The Party,” which describes the people seen at a party, is the only album they’re aware of that takes a similar bent. Hardaway said it got him thinking about how the mundane could be musical.

“I’ve always been really drawn to albums that have some sort of common thread and his idea of using his apartment and creating all these worlds for these characters just sounded really interesting to me,” Selzer said. “Each song had a different featured orchestral instrument. And I thought that was so cool because it had this whole separate identity with an instrument that was unique to that song compared to the rest of the album.”

“Be My Neighborhood” was an uphill climb for Hardaway. He would create four or five songs for each person and he would then have to choose which best represented them.

“It started out as a big exercise, but it became way bigger than I thought it could be,” he said. “I’m just a chatty Texas boy and I like to find out what’s going on with people. I don’t know why I’m very curious, but if more than my mom hears this record, I’ll be thrilled.”

Hardaway says we can afford a bit more “Hello, neighbor! How was your day?” in our lives.

“It’s good to reach out to people,” he said. “When I pass people on the street, I try to smile and say ‘Howdy’ or something like that. Over the pandemic, I started talking to this older man who lives down the street, a retired flight attendant and a wonderful piano player. I told him I heard him through the window. Two days later, I’m in his apartment and he’s playing piano for me, feeding me wine and we’re getting into a deep conversation about where we’re from. It’s so interesting what can happen if you just look up, look someone in the eyes and say hello. It can take you a lot of places.”

“Be My Neighborhood” is available on platforms like Bandcamp . Follow @cowboy_shoes for more information.

___

©2023 Chicago Tribune. Visit at chicagotribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

​ Orange County Register