The Book Pages: Octavia’s Bookshelf owner Nikki High on an incredible first week

• February 25, 2023

If you’ve ever thought a bookstore would be the best place to wait out a cold, stormy Southern California day, well, you’re right.

Yesterday, I caught up with Pasadena’s most celebrated new bookstore owner, Nikki High of Octavia’s Bookshelf, and she described the shop that day.

“I had a great day. It was cozy, the rain was coming down on the skylight, and there was just a lot of conversation, mostly around Octavia Butler,” says High. “It just felt so fulfilling. There were a couple of kids in there and some couples and friends and solo shoppers and people just conversing with each other and looking at the books.

“I sat back and looked around and thought, This is it. This is what I was hoping to do,” says High, sounding both deeply moved and extremely tired.

The BIPOC-focused bookstore, which is just in its first week of business, is already a phenomenon, one that has touched people as a place to celebrate representation, community and, of course, books.

The store opened on Saturday, Feb. 18, and there was a line – a very long line – to get into a bookstore. And nobody seemed to mind.

I was there and it was incredible: hundreds came for the event, which featured poet Joshua Evans starting things off with a poem that brought High to tears. It was a beautiful moment, one of many, and set the mood of the day.

With crowds of patrons lined up and down the street, owner Nikki High welcomes them to Octavia’s Bookshelf on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023, at 1361 N. Hill Ave. in Pasadena. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)

“You probably saw me crying; I cried throughout the day and they were just tears of joy and relief that we got our doors open. And it was, I would say, probably one of the best days of my life.” (It was a good day for the rest of us, too.)

So yes, the line was long – I waited an hour or so to get inside and shop and some waited nearly two hours – but it was full of happy, smiling people. (You can read my colleague Georgia Valdes’ report with photos by John McCoy, including the lovely one above, for more on the day.)

This was special: The people I waited with were all strangers to each other, but we didn’t stay glued to our phones ignoring each other – a feat, considering we were a bunch of bookish introverts. Up and down the line, people chatted, exchanged book recommendations and held each other’s places, generally making the whole thing a total pleasure.

“Readers are an incredible community, but the way that they showed up to support this store,” High says, laughing in amazement, “selling close to 3,000 books in two days. It was quite successful.”

The store is a compact oasis of excellent books and authors: Octavia E. Butler, Toni Morrison, James Baldwin, Audre Lorde, R.F. Kuang, Lauret Savoy and many more.

I got myself a copy of Butler’s novel “Dawn,” which had been recommended by one of my linemates, along with Justina Ireland’s “Dread Nation,” which injects a zombie apocalypse into the American Civil War (that should be interesting to read in between episodes of “The Last of Us”). Finally, I picked up Aaron Philip Clark’s “Blue Like Me,” a 2022 crime novel set in LA that sounded terrific.

Along with books, I got cards and a tote bag – because I like tote bags almost as much as bookstore T-shirts. I left happy and looking forward to my next visit.

On Thursday night, High sounded pretty happy, too.

“I am just so lucky to be a part of that. I met so many people, and I just felt such community and love and support,” says High. “You know, you mentioned folks standing in line for hours – some people up to two hours – and they were just all in a really good mood.

“I could not have imagined a better outcome. It’s beyond my wildest dream.”

For more info, go to octaviasbookshelf.com. And High is scheduled to be among the local booksellers, authors and food trucks at the inaugural Be The Change Book Festival at Central Library 222 East Harvard Street, Glendale, on Saturday, February 25th, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. (It’ll be indoors!)

Remembering Tom Verlaine’s life among the books 

Tom Verlaine of Television performs during the All Tomorrows Parties festival held at UCLA on March 15, 2002. (Photo by George Campos / The Press-Enterprise)

Speaking of bookstores, Seattle’s Phinney Books alerted me to a piece of writing I wanted to share with you all, because I just loved it.

Following the death of Television singer and guitarist Tom Verlaine, Colin Groundwater wrote a lovely remembrance of the influential musician for Literary Hub. (Television’s “Marquee Moon” is a beautiful album I’ve listened to many, many times.)

But the piece wasn’t about Verlaine’s musical life; it was about his yearslong ritual of haunting the $1 book carts that line the front of New York City’s epic bookstore The Strand. While the store has faced difficulties in recent years, it is a wonder, a place I always try to visit when in New York.

Verlaine, who took his stage name from the French poet, was one of the shoppers known as “cart sharks,” the determined, intense devotees who focused almost exclusively on finding treasures in the cheap books outside. The article describes a kind of ecosystem of seekers of which Verlaine was one.

As someone who worked in a record store and encountered the delightful range of serious music shoppers, I appreciated Groundwater’s description of The Strand’s clientele.

And, honestly, there’s something kind of moving about Verlaine, a rock icon, if not a rock star, spending his time pawing through books when not on tour or recording.

While the cliche of rock stardom is parking your Rolls in the swimming pool, that never seemed very appealing to me.

But looking for good books?  If that’s not making it, I don’t know what is.

OK, some final thoughts before we get to the Q&A. Did you see “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania”?

I support your judgment either way.

But – minor spoiler ahead – my favorite part of the movie involved an author reading at San Francisco’s City Lights Bookstore.

Although, I found that scene harder to buy than shrinking heroes and quantum realms. As a lifelong comic book reader, I can buy into most every crazy plot point except for this: If an actual superhero gave a reading at a local bookstore, it would be a lot better attended than the one in the movie.

Finally, I wanted to share this photo of my dog, just as I found her one afternoon, hovering over author Rebecca Makkai’s new book, “I Have Some Questions for You.” This, you can take as a recommendation; the book is terrific.

No, I didn’t pose this. I came upon my dog eyeing (and yes, licking) Rebecca Makkai’s wonderful “I Have Some Questions for You.” (Photo by Erik Pedersen)

Sign up for The Book Pages
Miss last week’s newsletter? Find past editions here
Dive into all of our books coverage

​ Orange County Register 

As storm pummels region, homeless folks often left to weather cold outside

• February 25, 2023

Frigid temperatures, heavy rain and snow — and even hail — brought by a severe winter storm that will continue into the weekend has forced Southland residents to bunker in their homes.

But not everyone has a home in which to seek shelter.

While forecasters and government agencies have advised residents to avoid the outdoors as the worst of the storm makes its way along the West Coast, for the thousands who are homeless across Southern California — including nearly 70,000 in Los Angeles County alone — the options for shelter are limited.

In Long Beach, for example, about 100 people without shelter camped out under the awning of the Billie Jean King Main Library, in downtown, on Thursday evening, Feb. 23, in an attempt to keep safe.

Tony Johnson, who’s been without permanent shelter on and off for the past 10 years, was among them.

“We just try to stay warm and dry as best we can,” Johnson said on Friday morning.

Several local agencies have increased their outreach efforts this week to ensure those in danger of hypothermia or other health hazards are protected from the cold.

But the region, officials say, lacks the general infrastructure to handle such harsh winter conditions. And the infrastructure that exists is distributed unevenly. San Bernardino and Pasadena, for example, lack winter shelters entirely, while Los Angeles County’s homeless population is so large it’s unlikely near-unlimited resources would be enough to help everyone.

So many of those on the streets have no other recourse than to endure the tempest the best they can.

“There are fewer people experiencing homelessness who die of hypothermia in New York than there are in LA,” said Kimberly Roberts, deputy chief programs officer at the nonprofit LA Family Housing. “We see more health-related incidents as a result of cold and wet weather because we don’t have the shelter system that colder states and communities have actually established.

“We just don’t have that system,” she added in a Friday interview, “and we don’t have those resources available at the same scale.”

Hypothermia — which often occurs by overexposure to cold weather or water — happens when the body loses heat faster than it can produce it. If left untreated, the condition can cause heart and respiratory failure, and often results in death.

The medical emergency is a chief concern among unhoused folks, particularly during severe weather events — like the one making its way through Southern California this weekend.

The region’s geography, though, poses another threat to people without shelter:

Flooding.

The Los Angeles foothills, in particular, are prone to flooding and mudslides, Roberts said, and the banks of the LA River — which some unhoused folks camp out on — can overflow, with strong currents able to sweep people away.

“People are often residing in places that flood very easily — but not often, so they may not know the risks of being in a specific area,”  Roberts said. “We’re faced with trying to make sure people are not dealing with the elements that lead to health issues like hypothermia; we’re also trying to make sure that they’re at high enough ground — when the flooding and the water does come  — to be safe.”

LA Family Housing’s outreach teams have worked to connect with folks across the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys over the past week, Roberts said, offering interim housing, transportation to higher ground, emergency winter shelter and other resources.

“For those that were not able to find shelter, or were not interested in shelter, we’re offering them resources to stay as safe as possible and reduce risk,” Roberts said. “We’re offering sleeping bags, tents, tarps, shoes, umbrellas, ponchos, food — anything that we can offer to keep them as dry and as warm as possible in the rain.”

LA Family Housing, alongside multiple other nonprofits throughout the county, work in tandem with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority to provide interim shelter.

But as it stands, the agency has just under 300 beds available through its winter shelter program, according to agency spokesperson Ahmad Chapman.

“We have great concern and operate with all due urgency for all of our people experiencing homelessness in LA County,” Chapman said in a Friday interview. “In times like these, with severe storms, our outreach teams work even harder to make sure that as many people as possible can feel every resource we have available, so that folks can be safe and get out of the cold and wet like we’re experiencing this weekend.”

Alongside the traditional winter shelter program, which is seasonal, LAHSA also activated an augmented version of the program, Chapman said. That program gets activated during severe weather conditions.

“The augmented winter shelter program has been reimagined so that we can offer hotel and motel rooms to folks so that they can escape the cold and wetness that we’re experiencing this week,” Chapman said.

LAHSA currently has about 500 vouchers available for hotels and motels, he said.

In Long Beach, which has its own Homeless Services Bureau, officials are also taking advantage of the county’s augmented winter shelter program, according to agency manager Paul Duncan.

The city’s own winter shelter, at the former Community Hospital, is currently at capacity.

Long Beach was set to open a second winter shelter at the Silverado Park gym next week — but that plan is currently being reconsidered entirely after pushback from the community.

But regardless, those beds would come online too late for the current storm.

Outreach staff from the Long Beach Fire and health departments, though, hit the streets on Thursday and Friday to alert people living along the LA River about the potential flooding hazard, Duncan said.

“The goal is to ensure everyone is aware of the impeding weather and any risks and asking people to move from areas that look like they could be more highly prone to flooding,” Duncan said in a Friday email, “and (ensure) that they are aware of resources and have items that can be beneficial in keeping warm through the rain.”

The city will conduct further outreach throughout the weekend, Duncan added.

Members of the Long Beach Rescue Mission, an organization the provides shelter and social services to unhoused folks, spent the bulk of Friday driving around the city in their own outreach van to hand out care packages and lunches — and transport people back to their shelter to stay dry.

“This is actually our first rainy day since we’ve been doing this program,” John Wimberly Sr., an outreach coordinator at the Rescue Mission, said.

By early afternoon, he’d already taken three people back to the shelter, he said.

Volunteers and staff focused their efforts on MacArthur Park — a popular spot for those who are homeless, on both rainy and sunny days — where a handful of folks without shelter took cover from the storm. Many were bundled up in blankets, some only reaching out a hand to accept a lunch or care package.

“We start out with lunches and care packages, sometimes we have clothes to accommodate certain people,” Wimberly said. “If we don’t have clothes for them now, we’ll come back again after we go back (to the shelter) to stock up.

“We had restocked with a full complement of sweaters and jackets and jeans,” he added, “and we went on location and we pretty much cleared out.”

But so many folks were seeking shelter from the storm, Wimberly said, that the Rescue Mission staff had trouble finding people in the locations they normally frequent.

Pasadena, meanwhile, doesn’t have a winter shelter set up at all — though the city is currently in talks with a site that is expected to serve as its emergency location next winter.

“We wish we had a bad weather shelter but we have not been able to identify an appropriate site over the last, well, since the beginning of the pandemic,” Housing Department Director Bill Huang said Friday.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, Pasadena had an emergency shelter operate every winter for the past 30 years.

“In lieu of having a bad weather shelter,” Huang said, “we do have some weather-activated motel vouchers.”

Those are provided by a local nonprofit, Friends In Deed. About 75 people have been moved into motels through that program, Huang said.

Tony Zee, a Pasadena firefighter and member of the city’s homeless outreach team, said his crew have helped about 20 people find shelter from the storm over the past week.

“The hardest part is finding enough hotels,” Zee said Friday.

In the Inland Empire, San Bernardino also doesn’t operate an emergency shelter, according to a Friday email from city spokesperson Jeff Kraus.

Instead, those without shelter must rely on emergency shelters run by local nonprofits.

Operation Grace, for example, is one such facility that assists women and children under 11 years old — but it only has six beds.

And those beds are already occupied by people progressing through a 90-day program geared toward getting them back on their feet.

Still, Operation Grace has been able to link those who are homeless to other shelters and services during the storm.

“This is a really tough winter season,” Executive Director Jessica Alexander said by phone Friday. “We typically see an increase in requests for shelter in the winter months anyway, but this is an especially tough winter, so all nonprofits, including Operation Grace, are seeing an increase in calls for service.”

In Riverside County, storm outreach teams have been engaging unsheltered residents everywhere — offering them places to stay. Transportation to shelters also is being provided as needed.

Related Articles

The county is coordinating with its in-house Emergency Management Department to expand assistance efforts should concerns worsen, said Housing Department Deputy Director Tanya Torno.

Nonprofits are an immense help with homeless response in Southern California, Roberts said.

But the reliance upon those organizations, she said, has also triggered questions about how the system, as a whole, can function better — including during crises.

“There’s definitely conversations across the community to address the need for a more responsive system,” Roberts said. “But that’s true regardless of the weather.”

It’s times like these, though, when usually temperate California finds itself trapped in a tempest, that homeless folks need a robust support system.

Or they’ll have to survive on their own.

Staff writers Christina Merino, Brittany Murray, and Brian Whitehead contributed to this report.

​ Orange County Register 

Orange County students ‘snowed in’ at science camps due to weather

• February 25, 2023

Southern California’s weather events delayed the return trip of hundreds of Orange County students participating in outdoor science camps in the mountains.

At least two Orange County school districts have students spending extra time at their days-long science camp due to inclement weather while parents at a third district were expecting the arrival of their children late Friday, Feb. 24.

Nearly 500 students from Irvine Unified School District’s Cadence Park, Oak Creek and Stone Creek schools were supposed to return Friday but will have to remain at “Camp Pail” in Running Springs until this weekend when driving conditions are expected to improve, a district spokeswoman said.

Another 120 students from Turtle Rock Elementary will stay put at a camp in Crestline.

Related links

Rare blizzard warning issued for some Southern California mountains
Is it snow or graupel? Here’s how to tell the difference

“We continue to collaborate with camp staff, local fire departments and the CHP to help ensure our students are safe and well cared for,” said Irvine Unified spokeswoman Annie Brown.

In the Centralia Elementary School District, 72 students are at the Emerald Cove Outdoor Science Institute Camp with two of the school’s teachers and camp staff, Superintendent Norma Martinez said in an email. They will likely be staying until Sunday.

“As far as being ‘snowed in,’ being in a camp, surrounded by classmates, trained staff and caring teachers is the best way to ride out the storm,” Martinez said.

At Saddleback Valley Unified, 96 students and adults tried to leave a day early, Thursday, but large buses were no longer allowed up the mountains.

By Friday morning, the district had four smaller 20-person vehicles “to drive up the mountain and pick up students and staff,” district spokeswoman Wendie Hauschild said.

“It took two round trips, but we were able to get everyone safely down the mountain and into the larger buses,” said Hauschild. “The larger buses are due to arrive at their school this evening (Feb. 24).”

At the Pali Institute Outdoor Education Center, staff has been working with the schools’ teachers to offer more games and activities and some snow time outside, said Ben Waterhouse, the center’s assistant director.

”The main goal is to make sure the kids are safe,” he said.

“Some of the kids today wrote a bunch of notes and hung them around our dining hall, expressing things like ‘stay positive’ and ‘smile today’,” Waterhouse said. “This is one of those events that all of us will look back on 10 years from now and think this was a cool opportunity.”

Alli West, an Irvine resident whose sixth-grader, Fletcher, is at Camp Pali, said she suspects her son is having a grand time.

“I would say most of the kids are so happy to still be there, and probably many of the adults are dying to pick them up,” West said. “My kid is probably in hog heaven.”

Related Articles

​ Orange County Register 

Lakers’ D’Angelo Russell doubtful to play Sunday in Dallas

• February 25, 2023

EL SEGUNDO — The Lakers are uncomfortably familiar with the best-laid plans, and exactly what they’re worth.

Their latest grand strategy of starting three former teammates alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis lasted all of 8½ minutes after the All-Star break, when D’Angelo Russell stepped on Donte DiVincenzo’s foot and twisted his right ankle.

Now, the Lakers’ latest starting lineup – meant to take them through the rest of the regular season and possibly beyond – might be on hold. Russell is doubtful for Sunday afternoon’s game in Dallas against the Mavericks, who recently retooled themselves with Kyrie Irving. The one big positive Coach Darvin Ham could offer was that Russell, a 2019 All-Star, has no “structural” damage in his ankle – though he trotted out of the arena Thursday night with a concerning limp.

But Ham also said Russell, 27, was attentive during Friday’s practice, as the Lakers prepared for their three-game trip against some challenging Western Conference clubs.

“Even though he’s not able to be physically active with the rest of the group, he’s out here listening as we’re talking about Dallas,” Ham said of Russell. “Doing some things on the court, he’s right there on the sidelines soaking it all in and continuing to learn our system, our terminology. So, it’s good, man. It’s a good vibe.”

If the Lakers are forced to use a 31st starting lineup Saturday, the silver lining is that they’ve gotten used to it. The team’s depth shined through in their 124-111 victory over short-handed Golden State on Thursday, with eight players scoring in double figures (including five off the bench). James and Davis combined for just 25 of those points – and while the Lakers will want to squeeze more production out of their stars, it’s reassuring that they don’t need to.

“Simply put, it says we’ve really improved our roster by leaps and bounds,” Ham said. “Those guys that we brought in, our guys that’s in the fold and have gotten minutes, are able to be aggressive and feel comfortable being aggressive.”

Ham cited the increasing comfort level of Rui Hachimura, who had 14 points on 5-for-9 shooting against the Warriors, as well as the outburst from Malik Beasley who had 25 points to lead the team. Jarred Vanderbilt didn’t have a dramatic stat line with four points, nine rebounds and two assists, but his hustle and defense have brought an element to the starting lineup it was missing.

Related Articles

The back line is liable to be tested this week in Dallas. While Irving and MVP candidate Luka Doncic are backcourt players, they have a gift for maneuvering into the paint – or for finding open teammates in position by the rim with their passing. Vanderbilt figures to be one of the players tasked with guarding Doncic, who had a near-triple-double against the Lakers on Christmas Day.

“He’s a great player, he plays at his own pace,” Vanderbilt said. “So just try to corral him with length and physicality, and just not let him be comfortable. When he’s comfortable, he’s a great player. So just try to knock him off balance a little bit and make everything uncomfortable for him.”

In their last four games, all with their trade deadline acquisitions, the Lakers have carried a plus-6.3 net rating (seventh in the league in that span) and gone 3-1, largely against teams fighting for play-in spots above them. In the Mavericks, there’s a sense that they’ll test their mettle against one of the West’s best teams, replete with superstar talent.

“It’s going to be a good test for us on the road and we’ll see what our team really looks like,” Davis said Thursday night. “But I’m very confident in our team and in our group going into any game.”

​ Orange County Register 

Orange County scores and player stats for Friday, Feb. 24

• February 25, 2023

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

Scores and stats from Orange County games on Friday, Feb. 24

Click here for details about sending your team’s scores and stats to the Register.

FRIDAY’S SCORES

BASEBALL

PBR LEGACY TOURNAMENT (AZ)

Cypress 4, Bishop Verot (FL) 2

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

TESORO TOURNAMENT

Mater Dei def. Mission Viejo, 25-20, 25-19

REDONDO TOURNAMENT

Servite def. Highland, 2-0

Ser: Hamar 7 kills. Foy 6 kills. Duarte 6 kills.

Note: Servite’s Ethan Bautista tied a school record with 6 aces.

NONLEAGUE

Bellflower def. Whittier Christian, 25-5, 25-5, 25-14

​ Orange County Register 

Many OC families reaching ‘food cliff’ as pandemic assistance with buying food ends

• February 25, 2023

Nearly 300,000 Orange County households will no longer see a pandemic bump in benefits that has been helping with buying food for nearly three years.

In March, federal funds added in response to the declared coronavirus emergency will end, reducing the benefits provided through the state’s CalFresh program by at least $95 – and for many families, the estimated loss will be about $170.

No recipients will lose their CalFresh benefits, only the extra bump that was delivered in a separate payment in the second half of the month. In Orange County, it had been an extra infusion of about $30 million a month.

CalFresh, the food assistance program, is based on income and other factors and is open to families and individuals, including many seniors, who rely on supplemental aid to purchase food. Some older adults could see their benefits falling from $281 to $23.

The pending reduction in benefits has been dubbed a “food cliff” by some, and Orange County agencies and food banks have been preparing to help soften the landing. Though they knew it was coming, officials only learned after December’s congressional vote on its next spending bill that the payments would stop in March.

And then it was go-time to get the word out so county residents know the other help that might be out there for them, said Jamie Cargo, spokesperson for the county’s Social Services Agency, which administers the CalFresh program locally for the state. The agency, along with CalOptima, which provides health insurance to OC residents most in need, and nonprofits fighting hunger in the county have participated in the outreach.

“We can acknowledge this is a tough time for folks especially to lose these benefits,” Cargo said. “It is not the best time for this to be happening. We are all trying to come together and support the best we can with what we have.”

Cargo said SSA is encouraging recipients to call its offices to review their incomes and expenses because people might be eligible for other options for additional benefits – that goes for any residents who might be struggling in the current economy.

“Call us, tell us your situation. Let’s see if you are eligible,” Cargo said. “We see the need, we want to do the best to help folks.”

The reduction in benefits comes amid rising food costs from inflation and lingering impacts on families from the pandemic, officials said.

“The increased costs of groceries, gas and rents, to name a few areas that have seen prices go up, strain the budgets of the average family. For families receiving assistance benefits, those increases cause further struggles,” SSA Director An Tran said. “Our vulnerable populations will feel the loss of the emergency allotments more acutely now.”

At the Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County, its leaders are hearing from the food pantries they supply that the amount of people looking for food has already been increasing.

“Some are already reporting double the amount of people,” said Claudia Keller, CEO of Second Harvest, which supplies about 300 pantries on a weekly or monthly basis. “We started seeing the need creep up in January.”

Before the pandemic, about 249,000 people countywide were seeking help with getting enough food, Keller said. During the pandemic, the number went up to 650,000. Once impacts from the pandemic began to wane and people were getting jobs back, the numbers dipped down toward 300,000 again.

“What we didn’t plan for was food inflation, increased gas and housing prices,” Keller said, adding that present numbers are up to 371,000 a month looking for food at the pantries. “When these enhanced benefits go away, it will make it worse again.”

With the inflation and food supply chain tightening, Keller said Second Harvest turned to buying 60% of its food. Instead of just buying cases of cans, the food bank is now buying pallets of food. But it has also been able to grow a lot more of its own produce on its farm in Irvine. It is buying milk and eggs from dairies and farms in Chino.

“We’re also stocking up on non-perishable products,” Keller said. “We’re not going to be able to food bank our way out of this, but we’ll be as ready as we can be.”

“We’ll need people to step up – manufacturers and donors,” she said.

Helping people afford fresh, quality food helps improve their health outcomes, said Michael Hunn, CEO of CalOptima, which administers health insurance for about 973,000 county residents. “The food you eat is connected to your health.”

With reduced benefits and rising inflation, people might have to make the decision between paying rent and what food they buy, he said. So the agency has programs offered in various languages and geared toward different cultures on how to choose healthy but economical food items and stretch purchases with recipes and cooking lessons.

The agency is also partnering with the county SSA office to coordinate outreach because they serve many of the same people. Many residents who receive health insurance through CalOptima are also CalFresh beneficiaries – or could be – so the two agencies have created a system for transferring people calling in for services between the two as needed with a “warm handoff” so they reach the right people, Hunn said.

The Laguna Food Pantry in Laguna Beach, which used to serve people in a sort of mom-and-pop general store setting, now hands out food in its parking lot where people drive up to receive boxes full of nutritious items.

“We do anticipate it will be a huge blow to the families we serve,” said Anne Belyea, executive director. “If the reduction is as much as anticipated, it’s a double whammy when people are already hurting from the pandemic and inflation has prices high. When their funds are cut, it’s detrimental. It’s a huge amount of money they’ve grown accustomed to.”

The pantry used to serve about 80-100 families; now, that’s gone up to more than 200 a day.

“Last month we were at 216 families a day; now, it’s up to 234 families,” Belyea said. “We’re seeing a wide range of people from different backgrounds. People who never needed help in their lives.

“We’ll continue to do all we can in looking for donations, purchasing opportunities, or vendors who can give us discounts,” she said.

Belyea also this week submitted her request for grant assistance to the city of Laguna Beach. The pantry leases the land it’s on from the city, and in past years, it was among those groups awarded a community assistance grant. Belyea this year asked for $25,000. Last year, the city gave the pantry $12,000.

“We’ve been very blessed we’ve been so embraced by the community,” she said. “It’s such a basic need to have food.”

Find resources and help at findhelp.org. Reach SSA’s call center at 800-281-9799 or find out more at mybenefitscalwin.org.

Related Articles

​ Orange County Register 

Interview: First lady says Biden is ready to run

• February 25, 2023

By Darlene Superville | Associated Press

NAIROBI, Kenya — U.S. first lady Jill Biden gave one of the clearest indications yet that President Joe Biden will run for a second term, telling The Associated Press in an exclusive interview on Friday that there’s “pretty much” nothing left to do but figure out the time and place for the announcement.

Although Biden has long said that it’s his intention to seek reelection, he has yet to make it official, and he’s struggled to dispel questions about whether he’s too old to continue serving as president. Biden would be 86 at the end of a second term.

“How many times does he have to say it for you to believe it?” the first lady said in Nairobi, the second and final stop of her five-day trip to Africa.

She added, “He says he’s not done. He’s not finished what he’s started. And that’s what’s important.”

Granddaughter Naomi Biden, who is on the trip, cheered the first lady’s comments after the interview.

“Preach nana,” she said on Twitter.

The president himself was asked about his wife’s comments just hours later in an interview with ABC News, and laughed when told of her remarks, adding, “God love her. Look, I meant what I said, I’ve got other things to finish before I get into a full-blown campaign.”

Biden aides have said an announcement is likely to come in April, after the first fundraising quarter ends, which is around the time that President Barack Obama officially launched his reelection campaign.

The first lady has long been described as a key figure in Biden’s orbit as he plans his future.

“Because I’m his wife,” she laughed.

She brushed off the question about whether she has the deciding vote on whether the president runs for reelection.

“Of course he’ll listen to me, because we’re a married couple,” she said. But, she added later, “he makes up his own mind, believe me.”

The wide-ranging interview took place on the anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and Jill Biden recalled her trip into the country last May to meet the besieged country’s first lady, Olena Zelenska.

They visited a school that was being used to help migrants who fled the fighting. Some of the families, Jill Biden said, had hid underground for weeks before making their escape.

“We thought then, how long can this go on? And here we are, a year later,” she said. “And look at what the Ukrainian people have done. I mean, they are so strong and resilient, and they are fighting for their country.”

“We’re all hoping that this war is over soon, because we see, every day, the damage, the violence, the horror on our televisions,” the first lady added. “And we just can’t believe it.”

Jill Biden also spoke extensively for the first time about her skin cancer diagnosis, which led doctors to remove multiple basal cell lesions in January.

“I thought, oh, it’s just something on my eye, you know,” she said. “But then they said, no, we think it’s basal cell.”

Then doctors checked her chest, she said, and they said “that’s definitely basal cell.”

“So I’m lucky,” the first lady said. “Believe me, I am so lucky that they caught it, they removed it, and I’m healthy.”

Raising awareness about cancer screening has been a cornerstone of her advocacy efforts for years, even before her son, Beau, died from a brain tumor almost a decade ago. She often says the worst three words anyone can hear are “you have cancer.”

When it was her turn to hear a doctor say that, Jill Biden said, “it was a little harder than I thought.”

Now, she said, she’s “extra careful” about sunscreen, especially when she’s at the beach, which she described as “one of my favorite places in the world.”

Jill Biden is the only first lady to continue her career in addition to her ceremonial duties, teaching writing and English to community college students. At 71 years old, she said she’s not ready to think about retirement.

“I know that I will know when it’s enough,” she said. “But it’s not yet.”

She said she left detailed lesson plans for a substitute teacher while she was on her trip, and she’s been texting with students as she was traveling. She plans to be back in the classroom at 8 a.m. on Tuesday morning, after arriving home from Africa around 3 a.m. Monday.

Education has been a flashpoint in American politics, especially with conservative activists and politicians trying to limit discussion of race and sexuality in classrooms.

“I don’t believe in banning books,” she said.

She added: “I think the teachers and the parents can work together and decide what the kids should be taught.”

During the interview, Jill Biden reflected on the legacy of former President Jimmy Carter, who recently began home hospice care. The Carter Center, which the former president founded after leaving the White House, was key in helping to eliminate the Guinea worm parasite in African countries.

“That’s the perfect example,” she said. “He’s such a humble man. He didn’t go out and shout, ‘Look what I’ve done.’ He just did the work.”

Jill Biden recalled Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, reaching out on the eve of Joe Biden’s inauguration two years ago.

“They called and said congratulations,” she said. “And it meant so much to me and to Joe.”

She also talked about visiting the Carters at their home in Plains, Georgia, early in Biden’s presidency.

“It’s not just that here are two presidents. It’s here are two friends,” she said. “Actually four friends, who have really supported one another over the years.”

Associated Press writer Chris Megerian in Washington contributed to this report.

EDITOR’S NOTE — Darlene Superville has covered the White House and first ladies since 2009 and is co-author, with AP Executive Editor Julie Pace, of a 2022 biography of Jill Biden.

​ Orange County Register 

Here’s who’s supporting and not supporting Ukraine against Russia

• February 25, 2023

It’s been a year since the Russians invaded Ukraine. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin signaled on Feb. 14 that the Ukraine Defense Contact Group’s 54 member states will continue to support Ukraine in the long run.

A recent Pew Research Center survey shows the percentage who say, when it comes to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. is providing too much, about right or not enough support to Ukraine.

A Pew Research Center survey in May found that 59% of Americans were extremely or very concerned about Russia invading other countries in the regions, not just Ukraine.

Total bilateral aid: Government commitments in % of GDP

The IFW-Kiel Institute for the World Economy’s Ukraine Support Tracker lists and quantifies military, financial and humanitarian aid promised by governments to Ukraine between Jan. 24, 2022, and currently through Nov. 20. It covers 40 countries, specifically the EU member states, other members of the G7, as well as Australia, South Korea, Turkey, Norway, New Zealand, Switzerland, China, Taiwan and India. The database is intended to support a facts-based discussion about support to Ukraine.

U.S. Aid to Ukraine Far Exceeds That From Other Countries

However, some European governments, such as Latvia and Estonia, are making larger financial contributions to Ukraine relative to the size of their own economies.

When compared with the U.S. military assistance to other top recipients, including Afghanistan and Israel, the extraordinary scale of this aid comes into view.

Some of the military aid the U.S. has given:

8,500 Javelin anti-armor systems

8 NASAM systems

46,000 other anti-armor systems and munitions

4 Avenger air defense systems

1,600 Stinger anti-aircraft systems

Missiles for HAWK air defense systems

142 155 mm Howitzers and ammunition

1,500 TOW missiles

45 T-72B tanks

200 M113 armored personnel carriers

1,000 Humvees

700 Switchblade drones

20 Mi-17 helicopters

Skirmishes between Russia and Ukraine have been going on for years, but it’s been a year since Russia’s major invasion began in 2022.

Ukraine historical snapshot

Following the collapse of czarist Russia in 1917, Ukraine achieved a short-lived period of independence (1917-20), but was reconquered and endured a brutal Soviet rule that engineered two forced famines (1921-22 and 1932-33) in which more than 8 million died. In World War II, German and Soviet armies were responsible for 7 to 8 million more deaths. Although Ukraine achieved independence in 1991 with the dissolution of the USSR, democracy and prosperity remained elusive as the legacy of state control and endemic corruption stalled efforts at economic reform, privatization and civil liberties.

Russia’s occupation of Crimea in March 2014 and ongoing Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine have hurt economic growth and prevented it from being eligible to join NATO.

Population

43.7 million (2020)

Languages

Ukrainian (official) 67.5%,

Russian 29.6%, other 2.9%

Economic significance

After Russia, Ukrainian was the most important economic component of the former Soviet Union, producing about four times the output of the next-ranking republic and it also accounted for more than one-fourth of Soviet agricultural output.

Until 2014, Ukraine was the main transit route for Russian natural gas sold to Europe, which earned Ukraine about $3 billion a year in transit fees, making it the country’s most lucrative export service.

In 2017, Ukraine redirected trade activity toward the EU, displacing Russia as its largest trading partner.

The invasion

On Feb. 23, 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave a speech in Russian in which he appealed to the citizens of Russia to prevent war. A day later, Russia invaded Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed the objective was to “demilitarize” and “de-nazify” Ukraine. Putin and Kremlin media continue to deny that the Russian invasion is a war, instead describing it as a special military operation.

Refugee situation

The invasion has caused Europe’s largest refugee crisis since World War II.

In the first week of the invasion, the UN reported more than 1 million refugees had fled Ukraine; this subsequently rose to at least 7,405,590 by Sept. 24, and 8 million by Thursday.

About 2.5 million refugees have fled to Russia and 1.5 million are in Poland.

87% of the refugees are women.

5% indicate children have been separated from parents.

Death toll

There is no exact number and media outlets have conflicting estimates. But according to U.S. Defense Department estimates in November the total deaths were:

100,000 Russian and 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or injured in the war.

In January, Gen Mark Milley, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, suggested about 40,000 civilians had died after being caught up in the conflict.

Divided world

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the UN convened its first emergency session in 25 years. The 193-member assembly has since voted on four special resolutions addressing various concerns with regard to Ukraine.

The UN General Assembly passed a resolution by a large majority in October, calling on countries not to recognize the four regions of Ukraine that Russia has claimed.

The countries who voted against were Belarus, North Korea, Nicaragua, Russia and Syria.

A majority of those countries abstaining were African nations, alongside China and India.

Reparations?

In November, nearly 50 nations cosponsored a resolution that calls for Russia to pay war reparations to Ukraine. The UN General Assembly passed the resolution, but not all were in favor.

The countries that voted against were Bahamas, Belarus, Central African Republic, China, Cuba, North Korea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iran, Mali, Nicaragua, Russia, Syria and Zimbabwe.

Sources: The Associated Press, Reuters, The United Nations, The Institute for the Study of War, Al Jazeera, BBC, Council on Foreign Relations, IWF Kiel Institute for World Economy, Pew Research Center, Institute for the Study of War

​ Orange County Register