Endorsement: No on Costa Mesa Measure C’s tax hike on businesses

• October 2, 2026

The city of Costa Mesa has long struggled with financial discipline. Just as you would hesitate in your personal life to hand over more money to a spendthrift, voters should be equally wary of the city’s latest pitch for more tax dollars.

California Policy Center’s Fiscal Health Dashboard has graded Costa Mesa a “D” from 2022 to 2025. As former Orange County state Senator John Moorlach recently noted, Costa Mesa has consistently been one of the lowest ranked cities in Orange County when it comes to fiscal health.

Yet here we are. Measure C, placed on the ballot by the city council, asks voters to increase the city’s business license tax, which has been fixed in place for 41 years. The city estimates the tax will raise $5.6 million for the city’s general fund.

As summarized by this newspaper, “The city’s business license fee has been capped at $200 a year since 1985, regardless of how much money a business makes. If the measure passes, businesses that make more than $500,000 in annual revenue would pay 50 cents per $1,000. So a business with $1 million in sales would pay $500 per year to operate in the city.”

Signing the official argument in support are government officials and the head of the local firefighters union.

Unfortunately, voters won’t see an opposing argument. Editorial board member John Seiler told the story why, but fortunately Sen. Moorlach has published his own brief rebuttal to the government’s arguments in favor.

“The proposed business tax could have been indexed for inflation for decades. So much for staying on top of municipal fees,” Moorlach noted, continuing, “The majority of the current city council will continue to nickel and dime the businesses and residents of Costa Mesa.”

Supporters argue the tax is a small fraction of gross sales, but if the amount is so negligible, the city government should easily be able to live without it. Local businesses already deal with rising costs, regulations, and taxes of all types. Measure C is simply another liability dumped onto contributing members of society by a government that refuses to live within its means.

Vote no on Measure C.

​ Orange County Register 

Dodgers anticipate Shohei Ohtani being in ‘a great spot’ for NLDS after dealing with injuries

• October 2, 2026

LOS ANGELES — He is the elephant in the lineup.

Shohei Ohtani’s presence looms large as the Dodgers prepare to open their postseason run with Game 1 of their National League Division Series on Saturday afternoon against the Atlanta Braves.

But what version of the four-time league MVP will be in the lineup on Saturday is a mystery. He has played just eight games in the past month and spoken to the media just once in the past six weeks, so assurances about his health have only come second hand.

But they have come.

“Everything is feeling great physically,” Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said this week. “The swings, once he came back, overall were in a good place. And using these five days to continue to get reps and feeling good into this series is really important. But feels like he’s in a great spot.”

Ohtani returned for the final five games of the regular season and went 5 for 21 (.238) with just one extra-base hit (a double), one RBI, no runs scored, eight strikeouts and only one walk. But that was enough for Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.

“I feel confident that you’re going to see the best version of Shohei of the last two months,” Roberts said, referencing a stretch that saw Ohtani hit .232 with a .745 OPS while compromised by knee and arm injuries.

“I know that’s sort of a low bar given his injury, but I do think that he’s as healthy as he’s been in quite some time, and every day from the training staff, it keeps getting better. So yeah, No. 1 he’ll be a threat being in the lineup, but I do think that the performance piece will be what we’re hoping for.”

Media were not allowed into the Dodgers’ workouts on Tuesday and Wednesday. Ohtani took batting practice on the field each day and also took three at-bats against Yoshinobu Yamamoto during Wednesday’s intrasquad game.

Thursday’s workout was open to the media and Ohtani was nowhere to be seen during batting practice or the intrasquad game that followed.

“His BP outside the last two days was really good,” Dodgers hitting coach Aaron Bates said during Thursday’s workout. “It was as good as we’ve seen it this year as far as the way the ball was coming off and the way he was getting his move off.

“He looked really good in his BP, in his work. He looks as good as he has as far as that goes. … The ball always comes off his bat hard, but the last two days in particular he was swinging very well.”

Bates said there have been no signs of any physical limitations in Ohtani’s work.

“The physical part he’s kind of moving past that,” Bates said. “Now it’s just getting the timing against different speeds, when he wants to get his move off, that sort of thing – kind of the usual stuff hitters go through as opposed to him navigating trying to achieve the physical components (while injured).”

The expectation is not to have Ohtani – or anyone else in the lineup – at 100% full strength, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said.

“I don’t think anyone is going to be at 100% in October,” Friedman said. “It’s a long, grueling season, and everyone’s on fumes. Our group, the team we’re playing against, everyone is on fumes. And it’s so adrenaline-based that, for me, it’s about each guy just drawing from their experience and having calmness in what they do. And I would bet on our talent to shine through.

“We don’t need anyone to try to do more.”

But they do need “a lot” from Ohtani, Roberts said, in a lineup that has underperformed at times and struggled against the better pitching staffs of the National League.

“We need him to be full strength and do what he does – take good at-bats, take what they give you,” Roberts said. “If they’re going to pitch around you to pitch to Mookie, so be it. And if they make mistakes, then hit it hard.

“Yeah, we need him to be healthy and strong. It certainly helps our offense.”

​ Orange County Register 

Orange County scores and player stats for Thursday, Oct. 1

• October 2, 2026

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

Scores and stats from Orange County games on Thursday, Oct. 1

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

The deadline for submitting information is 10:45 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 p.m. Saturday.

BOYS WATER POLO

ELITE 8 TOURNAMENT

JSerra 15, Santa Margarita 8

COAST LEAGUE

Estancia 18, Anaheim 11

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE

Sage Hill 14, Irvine 6

NONLEAGUE

Valencia/Placentia 10, Garden Grove 0

Brea Olinda 14, Pacifica 4

​ Orange County Register 

Southern California News Group endorsements for the Nov. 3, 2026 general election

• October 2, 2026

All year, members of the editorial board and Opinion team have been busy interviewing and surveying hundreds of candidates for public office across Southern California.

The Southern California News Group editorial board opines in newspapers across Los Angeles County, Orange County, Riverside County and San Bernardino. Our sister newspaper, the San Diego Union-Tribune, is also overseen by opinion editor Sal Rodriguez but maintains a separate editorial board.

As always, endorsements are considered with our commitments to limited government, economic liberty, personal freedom and free markets in mind. Often, these principles prove challenging to apply given the realities of contemporary politics and candidate quality, but we do our best given the choices at hand. 

With ballots due out soon for the November 3 election, below is a list of where our endorsements currently stand. This list will be constantly updated. 

All of these endorsements have been published either in print or online over the past month. More will be published over the coming days.

State Propositions

Proposition 1: No

Proposition 3: No

Proposition 4: No

Proposition 5:  No

Proposition 37: No

Proposition 38: No

Proposition 40: No

Proposition 41: Yes

Proposition 42: Yes

Proposition 43: Yes

Proposition 44: No

Proposition 45: Yes

Statewide candidates

Insurance Commissioner: Ben Allen

Controller: Herb Morgan

Superintendent of Public Instruction: Sonja Shaw

Inland Empire

23rd Congressional District: Jay Obernolte

35th Congressional District: Norma Torres

40th Congressional District: Young Kim

71st Assembly District: Kate Sanchez

47th Assembly District: Greg Wallis

36th Assembly District: Jeff Gonzalez

58th Assembly District: Leticia Castillo

32nd Senate District: Kelly Seyarto

Board of Equalization in San Bernardino County: Shannon Grove

Board of Equalization in Riverside County, San Bernardino County: Denis Bilodeau

Ontario Measure H sales tax: No

San Bernardino City Council in Ward 4: Fred Shorett

Mayor of Fontana: Acquanetta Warren

Los Angeles County

LA County Measure E: No

Pasadena Measure PFD: No

Anthony “AJ” Bayne for LA Superior Court Office No. 87

Anna Slotky Reitano for LA Superior Court Office No. 65

42nd Congressional District: Robert Garcia

Senate District 24: Brian Goldsmith

Los Angeles County sheriff: Robert Luna

Los Angeles city attorney: John McKinney

Los Angeles City Council in District 3: Tim Gaspar

Board of Equalization: Mike Gipson

Orange County

Santa Ana Measure N sales tax: No

Orange County District 4 supervisor: Tim Shaw

 Orange County District 5 supervisor: Katrina Foley

45th Congressional District: Derek Tran

40th Congressional District: Young Kim

42nd Congressional District: Robert Garcia

Senate District 38: Laura Bassett

Senate District 34: Rhonda Shader

71st Assembly District: Kate Sanchez

70th Assembly District: Tri Ta

74th Assembly District: Laurie Davies

Denis Bilodeau for Board of Equalization

Mayor of Tustin: Austin Lumbard

​ Orange County Register 

Pacific Airshow returns for 10th year with “biggest lineup” to date this weekend in Huntington Beach

• October 2, 2026

Thunderous jets performing jaw-dropping aerial stunts will take over the Huntington Beach skies and shoreline starting Friday, Oct. 2, for the 10th installment of the Pacific Airshow.

The three-day spectacle, which runs through Sunday, will feature civilian and fighter jet demonstrations, aerobatics, historical aircraft, and parachutists descending on the beach.

For the first time, attendees this year will also watch a jetpack and Flyboard demo off the beach — the aquatic jet-propelled Flyboards allow a rider to lift themselves high into the air.

The US Air Force Thunderbirds and Canadian Forces Snowbirds are headlining this year’s event — an anticipated return after military planes were forced to withdraw from the 2025 show due to the government shutdown. Pacific Airshow Director Kevin Elliott said NASA will also make an appearance this year with its fleet of aircraft painted in celebration of America’s 250th anniversary.

Wayne Ringelberg, chief pilot at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, CA, will be flying a customized F-15.

He described the aircraft as the agency’s “high-speed science airplane,” whose primary job is to fly alongside as support for the X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft. He explained at Thursday’s media preview day that “the F-15 is the only thing that we have that can go” at the X-59’s speeds and altitudes.

Ringelberg said it has been a “long time” since NASA flew in the air show and its participation was made possible with funds from the Trump administration, which is “all in” on public outreach efforts.

Elliot said he’s “feeling really good” about the air show’s 10th anniversary. He noted the good weather forecast, beachside views and “amazing lineup,” adding, “we kind of joke and say that Pacific Airshow is where the military likes to come to vacation.”

Someone else who’s waited to fly is Orange resident Jonathan St. Clair, who was selected last year as the “Hometown Hero” who gets to fly on a military aircraft in connection with the air show.

He had undergone more than a month of background checks and physical exams last year before the government shutdown happened and he was grounded, St. Clair said.

On opening day of this year’s event, St. Clair will join the Thunderbirds in an F-16 Fighting Falcon for a 90-minute demo, charging across the sky at up to 1,500 mph, an experience he excitedly compared to being “strapped to a bullet.”

“I’m really glad that it’s happening,” St. Clair said, adding that he watched “Top Gun: Maverick” recently to prepare for takeoff. “This is really a once-in-a-lifetime experience for sure.”

It’s been a busy summer for St. Clair, who completed a 30-day binge of Major League Baseball games at 30 different stadiums in a campaign to raise money and awareness for his foundation that’s dedicated to water safety and drowning prevention. He started the cause after his infant son drowned 12 years ago.

Other performers in this year’s lineup, which organizers are calling the “biggest” in the event’s history, include the Air Force F-22 Raptor demo team, the NASA F-5 Formation Team and the US Navy F/A-18 West Coast Rhino Demo.

Emma McDonald, a 36-year-old aerobatic and air race pilot from Australia, will be flying the Edge 540 racer, which is capable of up to 12 Gs and a 400-degree second roll rate.

“If you blink, you’ll miss this airplane,” said McDonald, a third-generation pilot who also participated in the Pacific Airshow’s Gold Coast edition in Australia. She said this will be her third year participating in the Huntington Beach show.

Asked what flying the Edge 540 feels like, she said the physicality has no comparison, but explained that at 12 Gs your body weighs 12 times more than normal and you can’t lift your arms.

“I get out of this airplane feeling like it’s been a boxing match, because it is so aggressive,” said McDonald. “It’s like someone with a hammer is hitting you on the body.”

Gates open at 9 a.m. each of the three days, with the show starting at 10 a.m. and ending at about 4:30 p.m. Public entry gates are on the sand south of the Huntington Beach Pier, between 1st and Huntington streets; pier tickets will have a separate entry on Huntington Pier.

A new sports bar with a two-story viewing tower will offer Fox Sports coverage of the action on the big screen.

Last September, the Huntington Beach City Council inked a deal with the air show’s operators to exclusively host the event for the next 25 years. The long-term contract came out of a $5 million settlement between the city and Code Four, the company that runs the air show, after the 2021 event was cut short due to an oil spill.

Tickets range from $20 for general admission, with premium viewing options available. For more information: pacificairshowusa.com

​ Orange County Register 

2026 Election: Laguna Beach Measure E would create term limits for council members

• October 2, 2026

Laguna Beach voters will decide in November whether there should be term limits on City Council service.

Measure E, if passed, would limit councilmembers to two consecutive four-year terms, with the ability to serve again after at least two years have passed. The city has a five-member council with members elected to four-year terms.

If a person is appointed or elected to fill a vacant seat for less than two years of a four-year term, the measure says they would be able to serve two consecutive four-year terms after that.

A citizens’ initiative petition placed the measure on the ballot.

Supporters of the measure said in their ballot argument in favor that Laguna Beach is one of the few cities in Orange County without term limits and that has resulted in “entrenched politicians” who become less responsive to voters and more beholden to special interests.

They also said that running against incumbents can be “a big deterrent for newcomers” and because of that, challengers have to spend significantly more than incumbents to win a seat. Term limits, they argued, would help level the playing field.

“With Laguna’s staggered election cycle, there will always be at least two members remaining on the council to help ensure there’s a continuity of experience and governance,” they added.

Those in opposition, also a group of residents, argued the measure is “asking voters to surrender the right to reelect the leaders they trust.”

In their ballot argument against the measure, they said councilmembers continue to win “because they are good and constituents trust them — not because the system is broken.” Term limits create “an arbitrary clock” for elected leaders, which “hands power to unelected staff and insiderswhile newly elected members are still learning the ropes,” they said.

Since 1992, 76% of Laguna Beach council members have served two four-year terms or fewer and only two have served four consecutive terms, the opponents said in their ballot argument, adding that on the current council three of five members are serving their first terms.

The measure would need a simple majority of voters in support to pass. If approved, it would apply to terms starting this November.

​ Orange County Register 

2026 Election: Newport Beach Measure H would impose limits on the city’s approved housing element

• October 2, 2026

A resident-sponsored initiative that proposes to limit state-required housing in Newport Beach will be put before the city’s voters in November.

Known as Measure H, the initiative proposes reducing the number of units the city includes in its state-mandated housing element by 65%.

The housing plan adopted by the City Council in July 2024, and subsequently approved by the state, calls for 8,174 new housing units in Newport Beach. The city isn’t expected to be the builder of those units, just have zoning and planning in place for their development.

But sponsors of the initiative say that number should be brought down to 2,900 units to meet the state’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation across the five areas where city officials have proposed developments.

Of that number, 2,160 would be reserved for extremely low-, very low-, and low-income households, with the remainder designated for moderate-income households, the measure says.

“Last time we checked, voters get to decide what is best for our city,” the initiative’s supporters said in their ballot argument in favor. “And the housing plan the community has proposed in Measure H satisfies state housing laws.”

The measure, according to an impartial analysis by Newport Beach City Attorney Aaron Harp, establishes a density range of 20 to 50 units per gross acre, plus additional density permitted by state law, “which may affect how residential development is distributed among sites.”

If the California Department of Housing and Community Development says this measure lowers housing growth, or if state law requires more housing, Harp also said the city may have to update its housing plan.

“Because the measure would establish voter-approved limitations on housing locations, densities, and affordability requirements, the city’s ability tomodify housing capacity, designate replacement sites or respond to future state housing requirements may be limited without voter approval,” Harp’s analysis says.

If the city doesn’t follow state law, it could face lawsuits and expensive fines, he noted.

Supporters of the measure say that the plan laid out in the initiative does not limit growth to only affordable housing. The plan accounts for all of the market-rate housing units previously approved by the city, they said in their ballot argument.

“Newport Beach needs more housing options,” the supporters of the initiative said. “But not unnecessary overdevelopment at the expense of our shared history. We can do better. Our measure calls for responsible housing planning. There is no need to change what has made Newport Beach the place we all call home.”

Councilmembers Noah Blom, Michelle Barto, and Sara Weber penned the ballot argument offering an opposing view of the proposed measure.

They said, in their analysis, the measure asks voters to discard “years of professional planning and public input in favor of a ballot-box rewrite” and could put the city at odds with the state.

“By restricting market-rate housing above moderate income, it pushes development into narrow income tiers, concentrating lower-income housing into fivedistinct communities rather than supporting integrated, mixed-income communities that provide greater housing diversity,” they said, adding it could make housing development hard to finance and could reduce the flexibility to evolve with future needs.

​ Orange County Register 

2 men behind explosion inside a Harvard Medical School building avoid jail time

• October 1, 2026

By MICHAEL CASEY

BOSTON (AP) — Two Massachusetts men avoided jail time on Thursday after they earlier had pleaded guilty to setting off fireworks at an empty Harvard Medical School building, an incident that sparked a huge law enforcement response and increased anxiety on the college campus.

Federal officials say 19-year-old Logan David Patterson and 21-year-old Dominick Frank Cardoza were in the Boston area for college Halloween parties last year when they broke into Goldenson Building, set off a firework before dawn and then fled. No one was injured.

The two pleaded guilty in April to conspiring to damage a building using a large commercial firework. On Thursday, they were each sentenced separately to three years of probation, 300 hours of community service and a fine of $28,517 to be paid by the pair.

“I believe the harsh consequences that flowed from this conviction are a sufficient deterrent,” U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley said in denying a government request for six months of home confinement for the pair.

A spokesperson for Harvard did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Along with the probation and fines, the pair will have to write a letter apologizing to Harvard. At his sentencing, Patterson also apologized in court. “This was a very serious act. At the time, I thought my actions were harmless and they turned out to be much bigger.”

Outside court, the lawyer for Cardoza, Stefan Rozembersky, said the sentence was fair given the circumstances behind the explosion. Neither of the defendants had a criminal record and both are working, one for a general contractor and the other doing landscaping.

“This was not a terrorist attack. This was not a coordinated attack against the government or aimed at Harvard; this was a couple of kids with firecrackers, not even bombs,” Rozembersky said, adding this was “mischief that went way out of control.”

Despite avoiding jail time, Rozembersky said the sentence still carries significant consequences. “It’s not without severity,” he said. “Having this felony record is going keep them from having some things in life and harm them for a long time.”

Witnesses said the defendants were visiting the Wentworth Institute of Technology for Halloween activities, including parties at area schools. On the morning of the blast, surveillance footage captured the two walking toward the medical school building wearing face coverings. Witnesses said the pair chose the building because it looked abandoned and got into it via the roof by climbing up scaffolding, the charging document states.

The pair lit a Roman candle outside of the building and placed a cherry bomb inside of a locker in the building, where the device exploded, according to the charging document. Harvard police said an officer responding to the fire alarm saw two people running from the building.

“The defendant committed a serious offense, even if that offense was motivated by immaturity and revelry rather than more serious intentions to cause damage or fear,” prosecutors wrote in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “The defendants trespassed on a university building in the middle of the night wearing face coverings, exploded a firework that caused significant property damage and public alarm, and fled the scene.”

The two could have faced a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

​ Orange County Register