Oh say can you see this national anthem battle ever ending?
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Wednesday he would like the issue “to go away,” but as the NFL prepares for the Aug. 2 start of the preseason, there’s no sign that the controversy over anthem protests is going anywhere. The league is currently negotiating with the players’ union for a new policy to replace the one adopted by team owners in May. It required players to stand for the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” if they were on the sidelines, but it allowed players who refused to stand for the anthem the option to remain in the locker room instead. Splitting the difference on penalties, the policy called for the league to fine a team over anthem protests but allowed the teams to decide whether to penalize their players.
The new policy didn’t please anybody, and the fight over anthem protests continues to overshadow the game on the field.
For the protesting players, the issue is racial discrimination in law enforcement and freedom of speech. The flag symbolizes both a deficient justice system and the right to speak out against it.
For the team owners, the issue is preserving the market share of an entertainment product. The flag symbolizes respect for the customers who respect the flag.
No wonder they can’t reach an agreement. King Solomon couldn’t solve this.
Or maybe he could. The biblical king famously ended a fight between two women over a baby by offering to cut the infant into two pieces with his sword. The NFL owners and players certainly share an interest in keeping the league together.
To do that, both sides will have to make a dramatic showing of respect for the other’s concerns. The owners could support and assist players who want to speak out publicly on issues, even if those issues are controversial. The players could do more public relations work on behalf of the league, bringing their star power to U.S. military bases and to events in support of first responders.
This controversy will only end when there is mutual respect between the players and the owners, or failing that, an agreement to pretend that there is, for the sake of the children.
Gov. Jerry Brown’s declaration of a state of emergency Thursday, July 26, for Riverside County as the Cranston fire burns in the San Jacinto Mountains brings state resources into play for both fighting the fire and helping during the recovery once it’s brought under control.
The declaration clears the way for state personnel, equipment and facilities not normally available to work in the local emergency, under the direction of the state Office of Emergency Services, and for the OES to provide local government assistance to Riverside County.
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The declaration also allows state agencies to quickly buy materials, goods and services to help in the response and recovery by waiving rules that control travel, advertising and competitive bidding — with proof that the expenses are for that reason.
The declaration also notes receipt of a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant to help fight the fire. The document does not disclose the amount.
There are smaller-scale effects as well.
• It waives the one-week waiting period for unemployment insurance applicants to receive benefits, if job loss was caused by the Cranston fire. That waiver is for those who apply from July 25 to Jan. 25, 2019.
• Fees are also suspended for several state-related expenses — replacement of driver identification cards, vehicle registration, or certificate of title, as well as restoration of birth, death, marriage and divorce records lost in the Cranston fire.
• Also waived are late penalties for failure to register or transfer of title for vehicles in a timely manner, if the Cranston fire prevented it.
• The declaration also temporarily broadens the power of the governor to commandeer property and personnel to respond to the emergency.
Chipotle is getting some tailwind from its latest earnings report as it prepares to move west.
The Denver-based company had a “solid second quarter” with sales above expectations, chief executive officer Brian Niccol told investors in a conference call Thursday afternoon.
Revenues increased 8.3 percent to $1.3 billion in three months ending June 30. Customers spent more during the period, due to a 4 percent price hike and the addition of queso to the menu. Customer traffic dropped 1.8 percent.
Net income, however, deceased 29.7 percent, from $66.7 million to $46.9 million, some of it due to expenses from restaurant and office closures.
Nevertheless, investors liked the numbers, with stock leaping from $446.76 to $474 after closing.
The move to Orange County wasn’t discussed in the conference call, but Niccol focused on other initiatives, including become more “culturally relevant”; increasing digital sales and making it easier for customers to pick up online orders; increasing deliveries; improving employee training; and expanding the menu without disrupting the chain’s current assembly line.
In a Q&A, Chipotle executives said they weren’t ready to start formally testing menu items developed in its Next Kitchen in New York City. In June, it showed off some of them to the press, including quesadillas, tostadas, and a Mexican chocolate shake.
Nothing frustrated California’s politically dominant liberal Democrats more this year than having to live with the reality that their holy grail of single-payer health care won’t happen here for years to come.
This is in part because of fiscal realities — the cost would be enormous. It’s also because of political reality. So long as Donald Trump is president, there’s absolutely no chance the federal government will cede Medicare dues paid by Californians to state government. Those dollars would be a key component in paying for any state single-payer plan.
So single-payer advocates have plumped since early spring for the next best thing: Moving toward universal health insurance coverage via a massive increase in the number of persons covered by Medi-Cal, the state’s version of the federal Medicaid program providing health care to the poor and indigent, and including as many as 250,000 undocumented immigrants.
Once the primary election was over, they began pushing even harder. In fact, vastly expanded government-supported or subsidized health insurance is a central part of the platforms of several Democrats who qualified for ballot slots in the November general election.
State senators Ed Hernandez, running for lieutenant governor, and Ricardo Lara, seeking the insurance commissioner’s post, are two.
So far, the package of Medi-Cal plans has passed several legislative committees. Even though the state’s new budget mostly leaves this area out, legislative supporters said they would keep pressing it.
When the bills passed a key state Assembly budget committee, Anthony Wright, executive director of the Health Access California coalition of more than 50 statewide groups, called it “a major down payment toward the goal of a more universal and affordable health system, in a way that can be advanced without the need for federal approval. California has already made great stride … by improving on the Affordable Care Act (better known as Obamacare), and these actions would further fill the gaps that too many Californians fall through.”
As originally written, the package would have expanded Medi-Cal to all income-eligible under-26 young adults regardless of their immigration status. It aimed to expand the pool of eligible senior citizens from those at 123 percent of the federal poverty level to 138 percent. And it would provide a tax credit to subsidize persons with between 400 percent and 600 percent of the official federal poverty level income.
These are standard liberal goals, with the exception of adding many thousands of undocumented immigrants to the state’s publicly funded health care.
For many, doing this raises several red flags, so that part has for now not survived. For one thing, there’s the question of whether it helps erase any real difference between U.S. citizens in California and immigrants, legal or illegal. If there’s little or no difference in rights and privileges, what’s to motivate the undocumented to work toward becoming citizens?
This is an era when non-citizens can already practice law here, work as election officials, get driver’s licenses and even vote in school board elections in one city, San Francisco. The undocumented poor also may soon become eligible to get a state earned income tax credit.
One question this raises: How much should citizens subsidize undocumented persons who have essentially sneaked into this country? At a time when millions of Californians are struggling just to make their rent and mortgage payments, is it right to spend hundreds of millions of their tax dollars on health care for the undocumented?
It’s difficult to quarrel with the need to educate and provide emergency health care to undocumented persons who will likely stay in this country and state for many years to come. Educating them helps create the well-prepared work force needed to keep many businesses here and encourage new ones to come. And both simple humanity and public health essentially demand that undocumented persons with serious, often contagious, illnesses and injuries be cared for.
But should they have full insurance coverage at public expense, including prescriptions and even elective surgeries?
That’s a moral issue that probably ought to be decided at the ballot box and not by legislators subject to the blandishments of lobbyists and campaign donors.
Jugos Victoria at 1421 S. Main St., Santa Ana, closed July 20 because of a rodent infestation, reopened July 23 (report).
Puff at 10130 Garden Grove Blvd., Garden Grove, closed July 13 because of a cockroach infestation, reopened July 20 (report).
This list is published online every Friday with closures from the previous seven days. Restaurant status updates are published in the following week’s list. Links to inspection reports provided when available. Source: OC Health Care Agency database.
Garden Grove and Seal Beach last week both added their names to a growing list of Orange County cities seeking to bolster coffers with a local sales tax. Both will ask voters in November to approve adding a 1 percent sales tax; the revenue will go toward their operating budgets.
The two cities came to their decisions under a tight deadline – Aug. 10 is the last day to place local measures on the ballot.
Santa Ana and Laguna Beach already placed local sales tax measures before voters in November. hichever cities win voter support will join five Orange County cities that already augment the 7.75 percent the rest of the county’s residents pay with an additional city sales tax – Fountain Valley, La Habra, La Palma, Stanton and Westminster. Most requested the additional revenue stream in 2016.
California’s base sales tax rate is 7.25 percent, and the state returns 1 percent of that revenue to cities. Orange County residents pay an additional half percent for transportation projects.
A 1 percent sales tax could raise an estimated $19 million annually for Garden Grove, according to a staff report. Seal Beach could see an extra $5 million per year.
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Garden Grove and Seal Beach officials emphasized the additional revenue would serve public safety. Cuts, they said, could mean longer 911 responses and fewer police officers.
“The Garden Grove Police Department is the leanest in Orange County for a city its size,” Police Chief Todd Elgin told the council.
In 1990, the city had 175 officers serving a population of 142,000, he said. Today it has 168 officers for 200,000 residents.
Meanwhile, Elgin said, his department must deal with ever-mushrooming issues concerning crime, homelessness and mental health crises.
Garden Grove Fire Chief Tom Schultz also said his department is understaffed – needing, among other personnel, four more paramedics to keep up with the demands of an aging population.
Seal Beach echoed such concerns.
“My residents don’t feel safe, and this is to hire more cops,” Councilwoman Ellery Deaton said.
The city’s interim Police Chief Joe Miller said his department could use another nine officers.
Both cities also emphasized that without more money they will be forced to reduce maintenance of parks, medians and streets.
Carolyn Cavecche, president of Orange County Taxpayers Association, said ballot statements for local sales taxes tend to “list all these incredible things the money will go to – hiring police officers, infrastructure, addressing homelessness, clean drinking water.”
“Dang, who can argue with any of that?” she said. “But then the taxes go into the black hole of the general fund, where they become the new baseline.”
Regardless, Seal Beach resident Jim Brady told the council, putting the sales tax on the ballot is just one step in the process.
“What’s the downside?” Brady said. “Let residents vote on what they want for our city.”
The buzz around two new doughnut shops in Orange and Huntington Beach is that they’ve got fancy offerings and locally themed varieties. These two cities’ downtowns typically rate highly in the pages of the Register’s Best of Orange County special section. Could it be that doughnuts are the latest way to show your hometown pride?
Donut Hub
Bunbora Tep had a doughnut shop before in Westminster but sold that to take a few trips to Cambodia so his children could get to know their extended family and the language better. Now he’s back in business at the Donut Hub in Orange which he owns with his wife Mandy Frey.
He looked for just the right space and found it at a former accupuncture office that took time to convert. This time around he wanted to do something a little different. “Me and my wife were thinking they can make those flavors on a cupcake so why not a doughnut? We got some plain donuts from other stores and we invited friends and family to test them out.”
The family gave the thumbs up and now the public has weighed in. The most popular is the lemon blueberry topped with fresh blueberries. To reward the locals who waited so patiently for them to open and have supported them since they opened on May 3, special flavors were created to honor the home town. The Orange Circle doughnut, named by its fans, sports a candied orange slice that’s torched to caramelize it a bit. There’s also an Orange Creamsicle doughnut with a creamy filling and vanilla orange icing. Then there’s the Doti Donut, named for Chapman University’s former president.
“Mr. Jim Doti came here for a doughnut and he brought back his wife and daughter for a breakfast burrito,” Tep said. “First he started with sea salt caramel and peanuts and then he said ‘How about coconut?’ When he liked that the best I said ‘How about I name that after you? And he said, ‘Great!’ He’s here almost every week.”
Other popular specialty flavors include the Peanut Butter Lover with rich peanutty filling, and chocolaty toppings, including pieces of peanut butter cup; the pistachio cream filled and creative twists such as tiramisu or hibiscus with magenta colored icing.
For those who like regular doughnuts there are excellent versions of glazed with chocolate icing and sprinkles, old fashioned and crumb to name a few. The shop also serves breakfast and lunch items, espresso drinks and smoothies.
But their most memorable creations start with citrus and they take those fresh ingredients seriously. “We do fresh frostings every day and lemon doesn’t last, so if anybody has lemons, bring them to trade for doughnuts!” Tep might be kidding but if you grow backyard fruit, it’s worth a try.
Basics: 665 N. Tustin St., Suite Y, Orange, 714-818-3097. Open 5 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Friday; 5 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday; and 5 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday.
Prices: Regular doughnuts are $10 a dozen. Specialty doughnuts are $25 a dozen. (Single specialty doughnuts are $2.50 a piece.) Loyalty program with points awarded for each dollar spent, just leave your phone number.
Duck Donuts
The first branch of this new franchise has landed in Huntington Beach and it couldn’t be more appropriate since several of its specialty doughnuts are beach themed: the Beach, the Boardwalk, Beach Ball, Sand Dollar, S’mores and others.
The chain started in the Outer Banks of North Carolina in Duck and Kitty Hawk. “Those are beach towns so that’s basically the theme throughout all of the Duck Donuts and it just fits,” said manager Jenn Baker. Most locations are back East. The next closest Duck Donuts is in Texas but the chain is making its move out west with one coming to Irvine and another to Encinitas.
Owners Gary Kopel and his wife, Dr. Minal Mehta, are locals from Huntington Beach and they knew to open in the height of summer on July 14. Now they’re ready for the US Open of Surfing. Wave riders can carbo-load here with breakfast sandwiches and sundaes but the main attraction is having your doughnuts made-to-order.
They start with a plain vanilla cake doughnut made in house – you can see the process in the shop. Then you add a coating, a topping and a drizzle. Pick your own or go for some one of the specialty selections. There’s the French Toast with maple icing, powdered sugar and cinnamon and there are summer selections – the strawberry icing with sprinkles is a favorite with little girls. Don’t miss the beachy items. We liked The Beach, a simple doughnut with vanilla icing and cinnamon sugar which adds a sweet sandy texture that looks like the shore. For the adventurous there’s the Bacon in the Sun with maple icing, chopped bacon and salt caramel drizzle.
There are 26 seats outside and 8 seats inside. So you might want to call ahead if you’re in a hurry, still this crew is pretty fast; they can make up a dozen in about 10 minutes when there’s no rush.
Basics: 18591 Main St., Huntington Beach, 714-375-5430, duckdonuts.com. Open: 6 a.m.-9 p.m. daily.
Prices: All doughnuts are $1.99 whether bare or with toppings. Each dozen is $18.75.
Last month, the Trump administration proposed merging the federal Departments of Education and Labor in a bid to streamline the federal government and the operations of the respective departments
It’s a proposal that rightly acknowledges the need to eliminate duplicative functions and have government run more efficiently.
It also compels a reexamination of the Department of Education, its mission and its effectiveness.
Established in 1979, the Department of Education has evidently failed in its mission to “promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness.”
Growth in the department’s budget over the past four decades hasn’t translated to improved standardized test scores, which have remained flat. Nor has it made college more affordable, as millions of Americans with a combined student loan indebtedness of over $1 trillion can attest.
As Neal McCluskey from the Cato Institute has noted, mounting evidence suggests federal aid has actually contributed to tuition inflation. While this certainly helps colleges pay for newer and grander accommodations and lawns, it’s hard to see the practical benefits to students.
None of this is in any way surprising. The notion of sending money through a Washington, D.C.-based bureaucracy for distribution to the states with at-times onerous and expensive strings attached is clearly a poor way of allocating funding for education.
Short of abolishing the department, and leaving its functions to the states, the next best thing is some form of downsizing.
The proposal to merge the Departments of Education and Labor would not only clear some redundancies and administrative bloat; it might even leverage the remnants of the Department of Education into something more productive than it is now.
“This would help create alignment throughout the education-to-career pipeline, while also creating coherence within the workforce development and higher education worlds,” the administration argues.
Ensuring American workers have the skills necessary to compete in the 21st-century economy is a laudable goal. It’s an improvement over the questionable status quo at the Department of Education.
A top defense lawyer seeking to have all Orange County prosecutors thrown off a low-level drug case is asking that the decision be made by a judge from another county.
Assistant Public Defender Scott Sanders argues in a motion filed late Thursday that local judges would be susceptible to the district attorney’s wrath at election time. District Attorney Tony Rackauckas also could steer important criminal cases away from the offending judge — a process called papering.
The motion to go outside Orange County will be heard Sept. 6 by Superior Court Judge Terri Flynn-Peister, who was accused by Rackauckas in 2014 of withholding evidence on informants while she was a federal prosecutor. Flynn-Peister denied the accusation in court.
Michelle Van Der Linden, a spokeswoman for the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, downplayed Sanders’ legal maneuver.
“This is simply more Sanders silliness and, unfortunately, naive reporters continue to waste ink on whatever he suggests,” Van Der Linden said.
This time, Sanders is trying to get the entire District Attorney’s Office kicked off an unremarkable drug case. The reason: jail deputies who misused informants and withheld evidence in past years went on to participate in 146 new cases without disclosing their misdeeds to defense attorneys.
The allegedly tainted cases include 85 high-profile arrests of Mexican Mafia members in the so-called Operation Scarecrow, according to the motion filed by Sanders.
Sanders’ gambit worked once in 2015, when a judge recused the District Attorney’s Office from prosecuting the case of mass killer Scott Dekraai, who killed eight people in 2011 at a Seal Beach beauty salon. The judge was responding to allegations by Sanders that prosecutors and deputies illegally used jailhouse inmates to glean confessions and then withheld their tactics from defense lawyers.
In the new motion, Sanders said prosecutors still have not learned their lesson, and they tend to blame other agencies.
“With Rackauckas having assailed the integrity of the judiciary, the media and the defense, he is now faced with a hearing that could prove the problems emanated directly from him and extend much further than was previously identified,” Sanders wrote.
The motion was filed on behalf of Oscar Galeno Garcia, who has been charged with possession of a controlled substance. A deputy obtained a warrant to search Garcia’s house in Garden Grove based on information from a “source” who said Garcia was selling methamphetamine. Deputies found 22 grams of meth in Garcia’s bedroom, but he denied using or selling the drug.
Sanders wrote in an earlier motion that the Orange County District Attorney’s Office and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department cannot be trusted to turn over evidence that could benefit Garcia.
Josh Rivera, working with teammate Mason Padjen, not pictured, analyzes a value-stream map of the entire process — receiving customer orders to shipping finished products in order to identify gaps that prevent needed parts from being available when needed. (Photo by Bob Bennett)
Safariland President Scott O’Brien, left, and former Toyota executive Bob Bennet, center, talk with Mihaylo Dean Morteza Rahmatian. (Photo courtesy of Cal State Fullerton)
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Safariland management interns collaborate with their coaches: From front: Chuck Emery, Chuck Emery, former Toyota national manager; Jose Govea, Safariland production manager; and CSUF students Phil Perez, Cristal Nunez and Dominik Dobrowolski. (Photo by Bob Bennett)
Phil Perez, CSUF student and leader of the raw materials ordering team, works with Safariland senior buyer Laura Quintana to understand the demand planning and raw material parts purchasing processes at the Ontario manufacturer. (Photo by Bob Bennett)
The program participants, from left:
Chuck Emery, former Toyota national manager; CSUF students Dominik Dobrowolski, April Slattery, Phil Perez, Victoria Almaraz, Cristal Nunez, Mason Padjen, Josh Rivera and Jeff Burton; David Juranich, member of CSUF’s Operations & Supply Chain Management advisory board; Bob Bennett, creator and leader of the CSUF-Safariland industry partnership Lean Operations & Supply Chain Management Lean Learning Laboratory. program. (Photo by Bob Bennett)
Toyota lean warehousing consultant Alan Noss, standing at right, analyzes data with Cal State Fullerton students, from left, Dominik Dobrowolski, Jeff Burton and April Slattery as part of the Toyota Way: understanding each individual problem, its business impact and its root cases. (Photo by Bob Bennett)
If President Fram Virjee had his way, all students graduating from Cal State Fullerton would have an experience like this one:
Eight students spent each Friday during spring semester applying the tenets known as “the Toyota Way” to solve the problems of an Ontario maker of police holsters and other gear.
As Virjee told the eight students in May:
“I bet when you walk into your next job, you will feel more confident, you will feel more able to communicate — ‘Oh, I’ve done this before! I know how to do this!’ — and that will be great.”
Since several of them have already landed jobs, the chances are good.
The students were the first cohort of the Lean Operations & Supply Chain Management Learning Laboratory, a new internship in Mihaylo College of Business and Economics that will continue this fall.
Coached by former Toyota managers, the students applied the carmaker’s approach to problem-solving to help the Safariland Group, a quickly growing manufacturer of law enforcement and sporting equipment, get its on-time delivery rates back on track.
“The results are far better than I even thought,” said Scott O’Brien, Safariland president. The company has seen big improvements in its delivery rates after the students put in standard operating procedures, he said, and his team even learned from the students.
“What made me feel good was to watch these kids grow,” O’Brien said.
O’Brien knew what he was tapping into at Mihaylo. A 1977 CSUF alum, he has been on the dean’s board for more than 20 years and funded the Scott and Deanna O’Brien Family Innovation Center on the center’s third floor.
Bob Bennett founded Lean Consulting Associates after retiring from Toyota, where he rose to general manager of Toyota’s $3 billion North American<br />Parts Logistics division. (Photo courtesy of Bob Bennett)
He had also served as chairman of the Toyota Supplier Council for five years. That’s how he knew Bob Bennett, who once headed North American operations for Torrance-based Toyota Motor Sales USA. Bennett, who is not a CSUF alum but is on the advisory board for Mihaylo’s OSCM degree program, proposed the internship to O’Brien and Mihaylo dean Morteza Rahmatian a year ago.
“To me it was a no-brainer. It was a home run for the students. It was a home run for Safariland. And I think it’s really great for the university,” O’Brien said.
He said he was in from day one because his company, which completed seven acquisitions in four years, saw its on-time delivery slip from about 95 percent to 65 percent last year. Employees were relying more on tribal knowledge than on solid procedures, he said. Customers were getting frustrated.
For example, the company was adding about 7,000 new parts a year. For a single gun holster, there might be various finishes, materials, sizes, right or left configuration; then multiply that times all the possible guns. “It doesn’t take long before it adds up,” O’Brien said. If a product was introduced or discontinued, all the records with that part number had to be updated correctly. They weren’t always.
In addition, the demand for Safariland’s products wasn’t constant but driven by events, such as a police department changing its service pistol. So there were peaks and valleys.
Bennett knew he and a couple of his old Toyota pals could guide the CSUF students to apply the Toyota Way to improve Safariland’s performance. After all, as Toyota grew its North American production to 1.2 million vehicles, the Torrance headquarters took over from Japan the management of its eight distributors here. A global mission to launch “just-in-time” logistics for service parts meant that the company went from replenishing dealers weekly to daily.
One principle of the Toyota Way is that a company works with its suppliers to agree on the smallest possible order lot the supplier can economically provide and what the lead time is. Any time inventory drops below a pre-determined level, the manufacturer automatically replenishes one small lot in that standard lead time.
“That’s Toyota’s secret. It’s daily, daily, daily, throughout the whole supply chain. Which makes everything more efficient,” Bennett explained. “With a short lead time and smaller quantities, you can carry less inventory. It kind of gets flowing like a river.” With daily replenishment, a company doesn’t have to rely on forecasts, which can be highly inaccurate.
One student particularly adept at statistical analysis, Phil Perez, helped implement such a system, called optimum inventory level, at Safariland, which had tracked its demand history only monthly.
“Bob Bennett and I spent many hours discussing various approaches/ideas in the application of the OIL concept,” Perez said.”This involved understanding the data we were working with and applying multiple inventory management techniques.” Perez helped identify opportunities to improve the ordering process of the company’s raw materials.
“Some of the analyses the students did, to actually pull the data out of the system and present it in a very visual way, to prioritize what part numbers needed to be fixed and in what fields, was really brilliant,” Bennett said.
But he emphasized that the solution didn’t rely on any “Aha” or genius moment, but on just breaking big problems down into individual ones, then using the scientific method to solve them.
Safariland has seen its on-time delivery rate climb back up since the students’ project, O’Brien confirmed.
“Scott was enormously impressed with the outcome,” said Rahmatian, the Mihaylo dean. “To my shocking surprise, he found it was a learning experience for him as well.” The internship might be expanded to more companies, he added. “It really could be a very beautiful feature for the college.”
Since graduating, Perez has started a job as a buyer for a manufacturing company. “I plan on utilizing several of the procurement concepts learned during the internship to assist me in the replenishment of inventory. I also plan on utilizing ‘Kaizen’ to look for ways to continuously improve existing processes.” Kaizen is the Japanese concept of continuous improvement and a key part of the Toyota Way.
Victoria Almaraz’s team aimed to improve productivity within the receiving area. They came up with an easier process that would flow better and changed the layout. “The last time I heard, the productivity had gone up and it actually exceeded our goal,” said Almaraz. She learned how to work with a team to come up with solutions, talk to associates on the production floor, collect data and analyze it, create standard operating procedures for different parts of the warehouse and create a value stream map.
At a ceremony celebrating the students’ completion of the program, Virjee pointed out that Safariland benefited from the results of the internship while students benefited from the experience, preparing them to make an immediate impact when they join the workforce.
“That is exactly what we want to produce,” Virjee said. “We want to be the university that is significant and different than other universities in the way we produce our graduates. … We want to create the experience where we transcend the borders of our campus and we provide a service for the community, and in return it is synergistic in that our community provides a way to build up and create skills and abilities for our students as they graduate.”
“Can you imagine if all 12,000 students we are graduating had this experience?” he added. “That’s our goal.”
How to apply
The Lean Operations & Supply Chain Management Learning Laboratory is a paid internship. Interested students should apply through the Center for Internships & Community Engagement at 657-278-3746 or cice@fullerton.edu.
One student’s takeaway
Joshua Rivera, one of the Cal State Fullerton students in the Lean internship, worked on the team analyzing raw material parts availability for Safariland’s production. He describes his work on the project:
“Our area of focus was the ordering side of Safariland. Defining the problem took us all around the business; we basically learned every step — from when the customers’ orders came in to when the product shipped out. After brainstorming and examining our ideas with the lead consultants, we went forward with developing an ABC analysis (which prioritizes inventory into three categories) using Safariland’s safety stock analysis review (a comprehensive list with every SKU in use).
“We created many versions of the ABC analysis, but ended up with an analysis that not only gave every product and raw material a designation based on annual spend, but also integrated a formula to show which would face a stockout and, in turn, cause a production delay. The analysis was implemented the last week of our internship and projected to save over $1 million annually just in one category of the Ontario site.
“The internship really tied together everything that I had learned in school. It was both humbling and empowering; there were some things I thought I knew well (like ABC analyses) that I found to be far more complex than I expected, and other things I didn’t understand (like optimum inventory levels) that I was able to see and grasp in real life. We liked to call it a ‘capstone job’ because it essentially wrapped up our college courses and showed us how to use everything we had learned.
“Another thing I really appreciated was how detailed the internship was. Up until then, I was unsure of where I wanted to apply my degree in a business. The internship allowed us to analyze a business from start to finish, and see each department and process up close. It really helped define what I wanted to look for in a first out-of-college job.
“I have no doubt in my mind that I will use what I learned in my internship in every job I have. We had the opportunity to work closely with mentors who have been in the industry their whole lives; I hope to have the experience and knowledge that they so effortlessly illustrated. Hopefully, I will have the same to pass on to others in the future.”
The 2020 Republican National Convention will be held in Charlotte, North Carolina, by default.
No other city offered a bid for it. The Nevada Republican Party submitted a bid to hold the convention in Las Vegas, but the city government and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority were notably absent from the proposal.
Even Charlotte almost backed out.
At its July 16 meeting, the City Council voted 6-5 in favor of making the bid after about 100 members of the public offered arguments for and against it. Mayor Vi Lyles made a point of saying that “hosting the RNC is not an endorsement of the administration.”
The Republican National Committee made no comment other than to quickly approve the award of the 2020 convention to Charlotte at its meeting in Austin, Texas, four days later.
Pat McCrory, a Republican and the former mayor of Charlotte for 14 years, blamed “the far left of the Democratic party” for the political pressure on cities to reject hosting the RNC convention.
He said “any sign of support” for the event “can be seen as a political suicide from the political left wing.”
Four Democrats on the City Council joined the two Republicans to support the convention bid. Five Democrats voted no. The Welcome Wagon, it’s not.
Security and cost are concerns for all high-profile events. But issues unique to the Trump presidency were also raised during the months before the bid.
According to newly released documents from closed-session meetings in June, Councilmember LaWana Mayfield asked hard questions about the convention’s impact on the city. “Have we taken into consideration the possible impact of boycotting?” she asked. “Have you looked at negative media coverage?”
A member of the local host committee promised that there would be a “robust PR team to address that.”
In the meantime, preparations and fundraising have begun.
The host committee is hoping to raise $70 million to cover the $64 million budget of the event, with something left over for unexpected expenses.
The framework agreement says Charlotte will be in charge of security, permits and transportation and will receive a $50 million federal grant to cover all security costs.
In the event that the grant doesn’t come through for any reason, the host committee has agreed to reimburse the city for whatever it spends on security, except for equipment that local law enforcement decides to keep.
Charlotte hosted the 2012 Democratic National Convention, which didn’t run into any boycotting problems, but did run a little short of funds.
Organizers said caps on personal contributions and restrictions on corporate donations were the reason the host committee came up $10 million short of its goal and had to borrow $8 million from Duke Energy, $6 million of which has not been paid back.
There are no restrictions on corporate sponsorships for the Republican convention, but the threat of boycotts might cause some companies to stay away.
The statements by Democrats at the Charlotte City Council meeting hold hints of what we’re likely to hear as the convention draws closer.
President Donald Trump, said council member Braxton Winston, is “an avatar of white supremacy.”
Remember when political conventions were so boring that the networks didn’t even bother to televise them until Day Four? Simpler times.
Unless otherwise noted, all events are on the Cal State Fullerton main campus, 800 N. State College Blvd., and are free and open to the public.
Grand Central Art Center
Exhibitions
The CSUF center is at 125 N. Broadway, Santa Ana. Exhibits are free. Information: 714-567-7233, grandcentralartcenter.com
“None of This is Real”: Through performance, installation, photographic documentation and social practice, artist-in-residence Lucas Murgida creates situations that allow audience members to experience private moments in public situations. His projects address ideas of service, perception, liberation, privacy, power and labor by using his employment — as a professional cabinetmaker, busboy, locksmith, yoga teacher and, most recently, working behind the scenes in the adult film industry — as research to inform his art. Ongoing.
“Yearning to Breathe Free”: Los Angeles artist Nery Gabriel Lemus delves into immigration through the lens of “The New Colossus,” a sonnet written by poet Emma Lazarus in 1883 to raise money for a pedestal for the Statue of Liberty. The sonnet depicts a mighty woman who lights the way for refugees and immigrants seeking shelter. Through watercolor paintings, sculptures and rugs, Lemus explores the terrain that immigrants traverse on their journey into the United States – the points of arrival and the beginning of new possible dreams. Through Sept. 16.
“Sergio De La Torre: Nuevo Dragon City”: This is the first in a series of works by artist Sergio De La Torre exploring the psyche of a seemingly invisible Chinese community living in Tijuana. The single-channel video aims to unveil this border town’s marginalized community through the lens of migrant teenagers. Through Aug. 12.
“outside the length of a room | or | diving into the blue sun”: California artist Kim Zumpfe’s site-specific installation engages with notions of safe spaces. She creates a transitional structure for control over one’s visibility: hiding, avoidance, evasion, escape and other strategies used to counteract coercive social and political relations. Zumpfe invites visitors to engage with space through a multitude of shared social gestures — lying down or resting, having tea or eating, ascending or descending. Throughout the exhibition, the artist and Grand Central Art Center will host a series of performances that directly respond to the concepts and environment of the installation space. Through Sept. 9.
Performance
The Wayward Artist presents an R-rated tale of twins separated in a galactic fight against the Empire, at Grand Central Art Center theater through July 29. (Image courtesy of the Wayward Artist)
“Twelfth Night — A Galactic Farce”: Twins separated in a galactic fight against the Empire struggle to be reunited on a distant planet. Disguising herself as a man, the princess becomes a servant in the household of Count Hand Solo. Meanwhile, Hand Solo, smitten with princess Armadilla, seeks her royal hand in marriage. Come experience Shakespeare’s story of mistaken identity and unrequited love in a foul-mouthed, sexually charged parody. Rated R — strong adult language and content. Select dates through July 29. $15 and $25. Tickets: thewaywardartist.org
“The Show Must Go On”: A short-form comedic improv show by Best Coast Improv, The Wayward Artist’s improv group. 7:30 and 9 p.m., every first Saturday of the month through Aug. 4. Grand Central Art Center Theatre. Free, but reserve tickets at thewaywardartist.org.
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute events
All events at Mackey Auditorium, Ruby Gerontology Center unless otherwise noted. Information: 657-278-2446, olli-Info@fullerton.edu or olli.fullerton.edu
History of Broadway Musicals: Learn about some of the most beloved Broadway musicals of the 1960s through 1990s. Instructor lectures, taped lectures, documentaries and short biographical clips of major Broadway composers and performers will be featured. The stories of these musicals are brought to life through the music of composers Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice, Kander and Ebb, Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, and Mitch Leigh and Joe Darion. Wednesdays through Aug. 8. Noon-3 p.m.
Jazz Series at Florentine’s: Enjoy live jazz and hear a discussion about the history of a theme. On Aug. 4, the theme is Soulful Jazz. 12:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m. Florentine’s Grill, 102 N. Harbor Blvd., Fullerton. Lunch menu available.
Fall Open House: Check out OLLI or share it with friends. Visit the facilities in the Ruby Gerontology Center, view the activity booths, meet members representing classes and activities, and learn about 2018-19 programs. Light refreshments provided. Membership registration will be available. Parking is free, and the OLLI Trolley will transport visitors from the State College Parking Structure on Gymnasium Drive. 9 a.m.-noon Aug. 11.
Fullerton Arboretum events and classes
All events at the arboretum unless otherwise noted. Information: 657-278-3407
Yoga in the Garden: Lengthen, strengthen and tone your body with certified yoga instructor Sarah Starr. Bring your own yoga mat and water, and dress in layers. Beginner to intermediate. 9-10:30 a.m. every second and fourth Saturday. Register at fullertonarboretum.com/Yoga-in-the-Garden/.
Volunteers pass out beer samples during the Brews & Blues fundraiser at the Fullerton Arboretum in 2016. This year’s event is Aug. 18. (File photo by Nick Agro)
Nature tours: Meet the arboretum’s guides at the Nature Center for a tour through the garden. 10-11 a.m. July 28.
Brews & Blues in the Garden: Unlimited craft beer tastes, wine, souvenir glass and live music. 5:30-9 p.m. Aug. 18. Combination ticket includes one full-price admission ticket and one designated driver ticket. All attendees must be over 21. Register at fullertonarboretum.com/Brews-and-Blues/.
Etc.
Through Aug. 19
Exhibit
“Cliff Cramp: Arts & Entertainment”: The art of Cliff Cramp, professor of illustration, will be on display at the Orange County Great Park through summer. The exhibit will feature his landscape paintings as well as his work for Lucasfilm/”Star Wars,” “Stranger Things,” “Lord of the Rings” and “Firefly.” The show also highlights the work of his former CSUF students. Through Aug. 19. Great Park Gallery, 6950 Maine Way, Irvine. Information: ocgp.org/arts or 949-724-6247
Aug. 4
Hike
Explore local geological history on an easy-to-moderate walk around Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary and up the Harding Truck Trail on Aug. 4. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Geology walk: Explore local geological history on this easy-to-moderate walk around the CSUF-owned sanctuary and up the Harding Truck Trail. Bud Benneman, geology instructor from Golden West College, will discuss the formation of the Santa Ana Mountains. Learn about local landforms, erosional patterns on the landscape and current faults. The program will include samples of rocks and minerals. 12:30-2 p.m. Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary, 29322 Modjeska Canyon Road, Silverado. Suitable for age 10 and up. $6. Reservation required: 714-649-2760. Information: tuckerwildlife.org
Aug. 13-16
Conference
Paul K. Chappell, an international peace educator and peace literacy director of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, will speak at the Gianneschi G3X Conference at the Mihaylo College of Business and Economics. (Photo courtesy of Cal State Fullerton)
G3X Conference: Formerly the Summer School for Nonprofits, this four-day conference presented by the Mihaylo College of Business and Economics features leading industry speakers who will equip attendees to grow the social sector and lead in philanthropic endeavors. Professionals in the nonprofit and social enterprise fields can network in an atmosphere reminiscent of a TED Talk conference. Jan Masaoka, CEO of the California Association of Nonprofits, is keynote speaker. $120 for one day, $290 for the week. CSUF students and faculty get in free. Register at commerce.cashnet.com/cashneti/selfserve/BrowseCatalog.aspx
Email Cal State Fullerton event information to local@ocregister.com
Carrie Fisher is seen in a 2012 photo at her home in Coldwater Canyon. (File photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
LOS ANGELES — The brother of Carrie Fisher responded gratefully Saturday to the news that the late actress will appear in the next “Star Wars” movie.
“I couldn’t be more personally thrilled and happy that our Carrie will reprise her role as Princess Leia in the new and final ‘Star Wars Episode IX,’ using previously unreleased footage of her shot for ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens,’” Todd Fisher said. “As we, her family, as well as her extended family of fans around the world so believe, Carrie’s Princess Leia is forever entrenched in the franchise and her indelible presence is fundamental to the film. J.J. Abrams understood Carrie’s iconic role, and he has masterfully re-crafted this final entry to include this unused and very last footage of Carrie ever taken, without resorting to CGI or animatronics. Our family and her fans will look forward with great anticipation for this one! Her force will forever be with us!”
Abrams, who directed 2015’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and will direct the new film, announced the casting news Friday.
Director Rian Johnson with Carrie Fisher (Leia) on set of “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.”
Carrie Fisher, from left, Debbie Reynolds, winner of the Screen Actors Guild lifetime award, and Billie Catherine Lourd pose in the press room at the 21st annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2015, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
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The Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles performs at the Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds Memorial Service at The Forest Lawn on Saturday, March 25, 2017, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP)
Singer Eddie Fisher, out of the hospital in time for Father’s Day, cuddles his two youngsters four-month old Todd, left, and 19-month-old Carrie. Looking on is their equally famous mother, actress Debbie Reynolds. (AP Photo)
Debbie Reynolds, left, poses for pictures with her daughter, Carrie Fisher, right, and the award given to her at the fifth annual Gypsy Awards, held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., Feb. 4, 1991. Previous recipients include, Sammy Davis Jr. and Hermes Pan. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
File – Actress Carrie Fisher (L) and her mother, actress Debbie Reynolds, arrive for Dame Elizabeth Taylor’s 75th birthday party at the Ritz-Carlton, Lake Las Vegas on February 27, 2007 in Henderson, Nevada. Reynolds, star of the 1952 classic “Singin’ in the Rain” died Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2016. She was 84. Her daughter, Fisher, died Dec. 27, 2016. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Actresses Debbie Reynolds (L) and Carrie Fisher attend the premiere of the HBO Documentary “Wishful Drinking” at the Linwood Dunn Theater on December 7, 2010 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
File – Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds. Reynolds was honored with the Life Achievement Award. pose backstage at the 21st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California on Sunday January 25, 2014. (Photo by Andy Holzman, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
File – Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher pose backstage at the 21st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California on Sunday January 25, 2014. Reynolds was honored with the Life Achievement Award. Reynolds, star of the 1952 classic “Singin’ in the Rain” died Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2016. She was 84. Her daughter, Fisher, died Dec. 27, 2016. (Photo by Andy Holzman, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
File – Actress Debbie Reynolds, left, and her daughter Carrie Fisher, 15, are en route to Madrid at Heathrow Airport in London, England, Feb. 12, 1972. (AP Photo)
Carrie Fisher, 16-year-old daughter of Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher, is pictured in New York, May 2, 1973. (AP Photo/Jerry Mosey)
Harrison Ford, as Han Solo of Star Wars fame chats with Carrie Fisher Nov. 13, 1978 during a break in the filming of the CBS-TV special The Star Wars Holiday. (AP Photo/George Brich )
Harrison Ford, as Han Solo of Star Wars with Carrie Fisher in the filming of the CBS-TV special The Star Wars Holiday Nov. 13, 1978. (AP Photo/George Brich)
Carrie Fisher, 16-year-old daughter of Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher, says it’s a hassle to be judged as the daughter of celebrities. But being Debbie Reynolds’ daughter admittedly has helped her get her present job in the chorus of “Irene,” in which her mother stars on Broadway. She is pictured in the back garden of the house on the East Side of New York where she lives with her mother, May 2, 1973. (AP Photo/Jerry Mosey)
Actress Carrie Fisher, left, is joined by her mother Debbie Reynolds after she opened in New York in “Censored Scenes From King Kong,” March 7, 1980.
(AP Photo)
File – Actor Harrison Ford, left, who played Han Solo in the move “Star Wars,” is pictured with his co-stars, Anthony Daniels, who played C-3P0; Carrie Fisher who played Princess Leia, and Peter Mayhew who played Chewbacca the Wookiee, as they take a break from filming a television special to be telecast during the holidays, Oct. 5, 1978. (AP Photo/George Brich)
American actress Carrie Fisher, star of the movie “The Empire Strikes Back,” sequel to the record-breaking “Star Wars” epic, cuddles up to a Stormtrooper in a London park, May 23, 1980. They were in London to promote the movie. (AP Photo/Dave Caulkin)
Entertainer Paul Simon, left, and his date Carrie Fisher chat with her father Eddie Fisher, April 21, 1981 at New York’s Savoy music hall following a performance by Count Basie. Woman at right is Lindsay Davis. (AP Photo/David Handschuh)
Actress Debbie Reynolds, second from right, and her daughter Carrie Fisher, right, chat with actress Maureen O’Sullivan, left, as actor Gary Merrill listens, Sept. 8, 1980, backstage at Broadway’s Lyceum Theater. (AP Photo)
File – Actress Debbie Reynolds, right, and daughter actress Carrie Fisher smile for the crowd of well wishers at a party in New York, Feb. 17, 1983 marking Miss Reynolds’ return to Broadway. Miss Reynolds steps into “Woman of the Year” which previously starred Lauren Bacall and Raquel Welch. (AP Photo/Nancy Kaye)
Actress Carrie Fisher and singer Paul Simon pose in doorway of midtown New York City apartment where their wedding reception was in progress Tuesday evening, Aug. 16, 1983. (AP Photo/Mario Suriani)
Actress and author Carrie Fisher is seen in Beverly Hills, Calif., Sept. 14, 1990. (AP Photo/Julie Markes)
File – Debbie Reynolds, left, poses for pictures with her daughter, Carrie Fisher, right, and the award given to her at the fifth annual Gypsy Awards, held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., Feb. 4, 1991. Previous recipients include, Sammy Davis Jr. and Hermes Pan. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
George Lucas, right, jokes with, from left, actor Harrison Ford, actress Carrie Fisher, and director Steven Spielberg, after being presented with the Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film at the BAFTA/LA 11th Annual Britannia Awards, in Beverly Hills, Calif., Friday, April 12, 2002. (AP Photo/Lucy Nicholson)
Actress Carrie Fisher poses for photographers on the red carpet before Comedy Central’s “Roast of William Shatner,” Sunday, Aug. 13, 2006, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Rene Macura)
Half-sisters Joely Fisher, left, and Carrie Fisher arrive to the Fox 2007 programming presentation in New York, Thursday, May, 17, 2007. (AP Photo/Stuart Ramson)
Actress Carrie Fisher leaves a performance of her Broadway show “Wishful Drinking” in New York, Wednesday, October 7, 2009. (AP Photo/Charles Sykes)
Actress Carrie Fisher attends the Jenny Craig press conference at Midtown Loft & Terrace on January 12, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)
File – Actress Carrie Fisher poses during an interview at her home in Coldwater Canyon in 2012. (File photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Actress Carrie Fisher poses during an interview at her home in Coldwater Canyon in 2012. (File photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
File – Actress Carrie Fisher poses during an interview at her home in Coldwater Canyon in 2012. (File photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Actress Carrie Fisher speaks onstage during the Comedy Central Roast of Roseanne Barr at Hollywood Palladium on August 4, 2012 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
(L-R) Renato Berta, Martina Gedek, Andrea Arnold, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Carrie Fisher, Jiang Wen, Virginie Ledoyen and Pablo Larrain attend the Opening Ceremony And ‘Gravity’ Premiere during the 70th Venice International Film Festival at the Palazzo del Cinema on August 28, 2013 in Venice, Italy. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images)
Carrie Fisher attends the Midnight Mission’s 100 year anniversary Golden Heart Gala held at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel on September 30, 2014 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Araya Diaz/Getty Images for The Midnight Mission)
Actress Carrie Fisher speaks onstage at the 21st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at The Shrine Auditorium on January 25, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
Actors Carrie Fisher (L) and Mark Hamill speak onstage at the Lucasfilm panel during Comic-Con International 2015 at the San Diego Convention Center on July 10, 2015 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Actors Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford at the Hall H Panel for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” during Comic-Con International 2015 at the San Diego Convention Center on July 10, 2015 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)
(L-R) Actors Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford pose onstage at the Lucasfilm panel during Comic-Con International 2015 at the San Diego Convention Center on July 10, 2015 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
(L-R) Actors Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and more than 6000 fans enjoyed a surprise “Star Wars” Fan Concert performed by the San Diego Symphony, featuring the classic “Star Wars” music of composer John Williams, at the Embarcadero Marina Park South on July 10, 2015 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)
Actress Carrie Fisher attends the World Premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens at the Dolby, El Capitan, and TCL Theatres on December 14, 2015 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)
Carrie Fisher attends the European Premiere of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” at Leicester Square on December 16, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
Actors Tom Hiddleston (L) and Carrie Fisher with her dog Gary attend the 102nd White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner on April 30, 2016 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images)
(L-R) Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, her dog Gary and John Boyega on stage during Future Directors Panel at the Star Wars Celebration 2016 at ExCel on July 17, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Ben A. Pruchnie/Getty Images for Walt Disney Studios)
Actress Carrie Fisher attends a special screening of, “Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds”, at Alice Tully Hall on Monday, Oct. 10, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)
Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. (1977) (Lucasfilm Ltd.)
Carrie Fisher during Wizard World Chicago Comic-Con at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center on Sunday, Aug. 21, 2016, in Chicago. (Photo by Barry Brecheisen/Invision/AP)
File – Actresses Debbie Reynolds (R), recipient of the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award, and her daughter, Carrie Fisher pose in the press room during the 21st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at The Shrine Auditorium on January 25, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. Fisher died on Dec. 27, 2016. She was 60. Reynolds died one day after the death of her daughter, on Dec. 28, 2016. She was 84. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
File – Actress Carrie Fisher attends a special screening of, “Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds”, at Alice Tully Hall on Monday, Oct. 10, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)
File – Actress Carrie Fisher poses during an interview at her home in Coldwater Canyon in 2012. Fisher, the daughter of Hollywood royalty who gained pop-culture fame as Princess Leia in the original “Star Wars” and turned her struggles with addiction and mental illness into wickedly funny books, a hit film and a one-woman stage show, died Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2016. (File photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Carrie Fisher in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. Fisher, the daughter of Hollywood royalty who gained pop-culture fame as Princess Leia in the original “Star Wars” and turned her struggles with addiction and mental illness into wickedly funny books, a hit film and a one-woman stage show, died Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2016. (Lucasfilm Ltd.)
“We desperately loved Carrie Fisher. Finding a truly satisfying conclusion to the Skywalker saga without her eluded us,” Abrams said in a statement. “We were never going to recast, or use a CG character.”
The next entry in the Star Wars saga, which doesn’t have an official title yet, is scheduled for release in December 2019.
Fisher, who was best-known for playing Princess Leia in the “Star Wars” film series but was also an accomplished screenwriter and author, died Dec. 27, 2016, at age 60, a day before the death of her mother, actress Debbie Reynolds, at age 84.
Danueal Drayton, 27, of Connecticut, who is suspected of killing a nurse and raping another women in New York, is facing charges of attempted murder, forcible rape, false imprisonment by violence and sexual penetration by a foreign object in connection with an attack on a North Hollywood woman. He has confessed to as many as six additional murders, the New York Daily News reported.
VAN NUYS — A man suspected of killing a nurse and raping another woman in New York and sexually assaulting and trying to kill a woman in North Hollywood after they went on a date last weekend has confessed to killing as many as six additional victims, according to a New York Daily News report that cites law enforcement sources.
Danueal Drayton, 27, of New Haven, Connecticut, was arrested about 5 p.m. Tuesday by police in North Hollywood. He is accused of sexually assaulting the 28-year-old woman, trying to strangle her and refusing to let her leave her apartment, according to Deputy District Attorney Elan Carr.
Drayton was also wanted in New York in connection with the killing of nurse Samantha Stewart, who was found dead in her Queens apartment on July 17, as well as the rape earlier this month of a woman in Brooklyn. Stewart, 29, was found dead by her father and brother, and authorities later determined that she had been strangled.
On Friday, the New York Daily News reported that Drayton confessed to committing two murders in Connecticut, one in the Bronx, one in Suffolk County, one in either Queens or Nassau County, and possibly another California homicide, according to a police source.
The source stressed, however, that it was unclear if Drayton was telling the truth about the additional crimes.
“My body did this, not my mind,” the paper quoted Drayton as telling investigators. “I didn’t want to do this. My body made me do this.”
Police believe Drayton met his victims through an online dating site.
The Daily News also reported that Drayton was released by authorities at a July 5 hearing in Nassau County after his arrest for choking his girlfriend in Inwood Park. The judge ruled that Drayton posed no flight risk, rejecting the county district attorney’s call to hold him on $7,500 bail.
“It would have been impossible for the judge at that time to foresee the allegations that are presently unfolding and coming to light,” a Nassau Court spokesman told the Daily News.
Drayton was supposed to be arraigned Friday, but he refused to board a bus meant to take him to court, according to ABC7. If he refuses to voluntarily appear for his rescheduled arraignment Monday, a court order will be issued to force him to appear.
He is charged with one count each of attempted murder, forcible rape, false imprisonment by violence and sexual penetration by a foreign object, and could face more than 23 years to life in prison if convicted as charged in the North Hollywood case.
HUNTINGTON BEACH — Tyler Gunter sat far from the rest of the three surfers, hoping a wave would come his way.
The Newport Beach surfer was already in first place when he paddled into his third wave of the heat, zig-zagging his way toward shore in front of the crowds that had gathered in Huntington Beach. He was able to solidify his first-place spot with a 5.3 score to advance to the next round.
Kanoa Igarashi of Huntington Beach competes in the junior men’s competition during the first day of the US Open in Huntington Beach on Saturday, July 28, 2018. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Tyler Gunter of Newport Beach competes in the US Open junior men’s division in Huntington Beach on Saturday, July 28, 2018. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
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Kanoa Igarashi of Huntington Beach competes in the junior men’s competition during the first day of the US Open in Huntington Beach on Saturday, July 28, 2018. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Tyler Gunter of Newport Beach competes in the US Open junior men’s division in Huntington Beach on Saturday, July 28, 2018. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Tyler Gunter of Newport Beach hits the surf to compete in the US Open junior men’s competition in Huntington Beach on Saturday, July 28, 2018. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Jeff Proodian of Huntington Beach competes in the US Open junior men’s division in Huntington Beach on Saturday, July 28, 2018. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Tanner Gudauskas, bottom, his brother Dane, top, and Pat, not pictured, host the Stoke-o-Rama competition for young surfers during opening day of the US Open in Huntington Beach on Saturday, July 28, 2018. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
“I’m feeling really good, I’ve been surfing out here a lot,” he said after his Round 1 heat on Saturday morning. “The waves are really rough. There’s some swell in the water, it’s a little frustrating. I’m just happy to make it through. In my eyes, this is one of the biggest surf events there is.”
The celebration would be short-lived, after Gunter was knocked out of the event later in the afternoon during his Round 2 heat at the U.S. Open of Surfing event that kicked off Saturday on the south side of the Huntington Beach Pier.
The US Open of Surfing brings an estimated 200 surfers from around the world to compete, some who get to sleep in their own beds and travel a short distance, others coming as far as Japan and Australia for a chance to take home a prestigious title. The event can mean valuable points and prize money for those who can make it to the final day.
The juniors kicked off the action on Saturday in 2- to 3-foot surf, challenging as a strong wind whipped up the ocean texture and made waves less-than ideal for competitors.
Fans cheered as locals took to the water. A group gathered to support Jeff Proodian, a 17-year-old Marina High School student from Huntington Beach and captain of the surf team who got a last-minute spot in the event after another surfer dropped out.
“I’m excited for him, I’m just happy he’s out doing what he loves to do,” said his mom, Jill.
Proodian couldn’t quite find the waves he needed, and was knocked out of the event.
“Those guys were ripping, I couldn’t really keep up with them. They just got the good waves and I couldn’t back it up,” he said.
Still, he emerged from the water with a smile.
“I’m pretty stoked, I had fun,” he said of his first Open.
Throughout the day, a handful of San Clemente surfers had standout performances and will move to the next round when the juniors event resumes.
Cole Houshman won his Round 2 heat with a score of 14.60; and Kade Matson and Crosby Colapinto took first and second spot in the same heat to advance to the quarterfinals. Fellow San Clementian Jett Schilling won his heat with a 11.93 score.
Houshman and Colapinto are matched in the first heat of the quarterfinals, while Matson and Shilling will go up against each other in Heat 2.
Gunter still has a chance to make his mark with a slot to compete in the trials Sunday with a spot in the main men’s event.
“This is a big contest, to win here in front of this crowd would be the coolest thing ever,” he said.
But he has to battle a lot of talent who are after the same goal. Some of the best surfers in the world are here to compete, among them standout locals such as Kanoa Igarashi, a Huntington Beach World Tour surfer who won the main men’s event last year.
“I won the event last year and the next day I was already thinking about this year. I don’t think people realize how much this event means to me. At the U.S. Open, surfers are rock stars,” Igarashi said in an event with the World Surf League. “It’s not about the points or the prize money. It’s all about the crowd. That’s what I thrive off of. It’s what motivates me.”
Then there’s others from Orange County like Kolohe Andino and Patrick Gudauskas, along with brother Tanner, who will be giving it their all.
When the women’s event kicks off, Santa Ana’s Courtney Conlogue will return to the water after not competing at most events this year because of injury. She’ll go up against Hawaii’s Carissa Moore in the first heat of Round 1.
Sage Erickson, of Ojai, will meet six-time world champ Stephanie Gimore, while Santa Barbara’s Lakey Peterson is up in Heat 4. Florida transplant and San Clemente surfer Caroline Marks will compete in Heat 6 of Round 1.
Forecasts are looking dismal for the week. Surfline.com is predicting 2- to 3-foot waves on Sunday and Monday, before they drop to 1- to 3-foot in mid-week. Organizers will make a call on Monday morning to determine which surfers will compete as the main men’s and women’s event gets underway.
Gudauskas, who will be joined by brother Tanner in the event, said he’s not worried about the small surf.
“Huntington always delivers, even when the forecast doesn’t look good,” Gudauskas said.
Alfie’s story: Sweet, elegant Alfie has been waiting for a new home since March. People tend to overlook black cats like Alfie because of the stigma that they are associated with bad luck, but that’s certainly not true. These sweet felines have been given an unfair reputation. Countries like Japan, Ireland, Great Britain and Scotland embrace black cats as pets, believing them to be symbols of good fortune. Alfie’s sleek black coat resembles sophistication and strength on the surface, and his curious, nutty, yet affectionate personality makes him the total package.
Adoption procedure: If you want to give Alfie the opportunity to debunk the negative myths that have surrounded these gorgeous house panthers for years, visit the Mission Viejo Animal Services Center and learn more about his reduced adoption fee. The center is located at 28095 Hillcrest. For more information, call 949-470-3045 or visit cmvas.org.
