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Burroughs collected 15 hits in an 8-0 nonleague win over Harvard-Westlake. (Photo by Austin Gebhardt)
By Rick Assad
Scoring in five of the six innings and with two hitters collecting seven of the 15 hits, the freshman pitcher was in secure hands as the Burroughs High softball team blanked Harvard-Westlake 8-0 in a nonleague game at Olive Park.
Senior Phoebe Spangler, who came into the game with a .741 batting average and four home runs, swatted four singles and had two runs batted in.
Junior Chloe Centeno, who entered the contest with a .438 batting average, added three hits that included a double and also chipped in with an RBI which backed freshman hurler Valentina Reyes, who went seven scoreless innings, surrendering six hits, striking out three and walking three on Tuesday.
“I think my favorite thing about today and what I am most proud of is the defense,” longtime Burroughs coach Doug Nicol said. “I thought our defense really shut them down and supported Valentina’s pitching very well. It was a total team effort today in the defense department.”
Nicol also praised the young right-handed pitcher.
“For a freshman, Valentina is really shining. It is great to have her in the circle, and her future is bright,” Nicol noted. “She is so good at pitching to our defense and hitting her spots and our defense really shined today.”
The first three batters reached base on hits for the Bears (7-3) in the first inning as junior Alyssa Morales singled to center field, sophomore Karlee Earl, who entered the game with a .424 batting average, singled to left field and senior Gizelle Rangsiyawong, who also singled to left field in the fourth inning, lined an RBI double down the left-field line for a 1-0 lead.
The Bears played flawless defense versus the Wolverines. (Photo by Austin Gebhardt)
Two hitters later, Spangler swatted a base hit to right field that produced the second run of the frame.
In the home half of the second, Burroughs trotted six batters to the plate just like it did in the previous inning.
Senior Eliza Torres lined a base hit to right field and two batters later, Earl’s two-run double to left field increased the lead to 4-0.
Just like the first and second innings, the Bears scored two runs in the third frame and led 6-0 as senior Alyssa Rosales had an RBI single up the middle and the other run scored on an error.
The offense wasn’t done as Burroughs tacked on another run in the fourth inning to make it 7-0 on Centeno’s single to left field.
In the frame, seven batters came to the plate and three reached base on singles.
The Bears went down in order in the fifth inning, but scored a solo run in the sixth to make it 8-0 on Spangler’s single to center field that plated Centeno, who doubled down the left-field.
Freshman Alissa Cortez singled to center field in the sixth inning for the Bears but didn’t score.
Harvard-Westlake starting pitcher Morgan Hill had a tough outing after working one and two-third innings and yielding six hits.
Peyton Perriot came in and went four and one-third frames, striking out five, hitting one batter and giving up nine hits.
It wasn’t an easy afternoon for the Wolverines (2-3) but they threatened to score in the sixth and seventh innings.
Emma Tseng singled to left field in the sixth, advanced to second base on a grounder and third on a hit up the middle by Perriot.
Dylan Fischer then walked but Ainsley Nutting fouled out to first base and Jo Jo Beckerman lined out to second base.
In the seventh, Maiya Holly reached base on a one-out infield single but Fisher Hinnen grounded out and Tseng lined out to second base for the final out of the game.
Travis VanderZanden has driven his scooter into the gutter, having sold his hilltop Bel-Air estate at a $10.9 million loss.
The founder and former CEO of Bird, the Santa Monica-based scooter-sharing firm, sold the 10,000-square-foot mansion at 11507 Orum Road for $10.8 million, according to the Robb Report. The buyer was undisclosed.
In September 2020, the VanderZandens paid $21.7 million to comedian Trevor Noah for their Bel-Air home. “The Daily Show” host bought the spec home in 2018 from developer Jacob Cohan for $20.5 million.
The sale comes after VanderZanden and his wife, Samantha, sold their 13,800-square-foot mansion in Coral Gables, Florida, for $26 million — $13.9 million off its initial asking price.
After nearly six months of renovations, the Bird founder was ready to flip and fly — and listed the pad for $25 million. A would-be buyer inked a deal for the six-bedroom, nine-bathroom house, then fell out of contract.
By early last year, the 1.3-acre property’s asking price had sunk to $18.9 million.
A fire damaged the property after VanderZanden bought it, according to a source familiar with the matter, who added the entire interior needs to be remodeled. If the property was insured, it is likely the sellers got a payout claim.
The two-story contemporary home, clad in black and white, has floor-to-ceiling walls of glass overlooking Bel-Air Country Club. Highlights include a stone wet bar showcasing a 500-gallon saltwater aquarium, a cigar room, a den with a marble fireplace, a movie theater and quarters for a live-in housekeeper.
A gourmet kitchen has two marble islands, plus temperature controlled wine storage for 250 bottles. Upstairs, a 2,200-square-foot master bedroom has its own bar, sitting room, dual walk-in closets and an 800-square-foot balcony.
A family sports room has glass walls that disappear for easy access to the patio. A tree-lined backyard has a 63-foot infinity pool.
VanderZanden, a former Lyft COO and Uber vice president, in 2017 founded Bird, the nationwide electric scooter-rental service once valued at $2.5 billion. By 2020, Bird had been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, In December, the company declared bankruptcy.
— Dana Bartholomew
This story has been updated to reflect that a fire broke out at the home, causing significant damage to the interior.
In addition to Butta, Marci Wiser of KLOS (95.5 FM), Bryhana Monegain at KPRW (Power 106 FM), and Carolina “Caro” Marquez at KLLI (Cali 93.9) were also let go by the company.
DJs Monegain and Marquez could not be reached for comment. Station owner Meruelo did not respond to requests for comment for this story.
However, RadioInk.com earlier reported that Meruelo Media CEO Otto Padron shared a staff memo in which he referred to the cuts as “staff reductions.” The publication also reported that in addition to the four midday hosts, Meruelo also let go DJ Felli Fel who had held the afternoon time slot at Power 106 since 2000.
For Wiser and Butta, it’s been sad to leave the community of listeners at the stations where they had worked for years.
“I look at my listeners as family, extended family. I truly do,” says Wiser, who had worked at the classic rock station KLOS for more than nine years when she was let go. “The whole reason I got in this business is, well, I do have a love for music, but creating a connection with the listeners has always been really important to me, and that’s what makes it all worth it.
“So I miss my listeners and I hope to be back at it very, very soon,” she says.
“For me, my show was always interacting with listeners,” says Butta, who’d spent 12 years at the classic hip-hop station, the last 10 under Meruelo’s ownership. “When I entered radio, taking calls on the air and talking to the audience was kind of how I learned and how I’ve continued.
“My bread and butter is talking to listeners and joking around with them,” he says. “To do a syndicated show, it’s just not the same. It’s like playing tennis but you don’t have a player there. You have to play against the wall and it’s no fun.”
When asked about her next moves after leaving KLOS, Wiser hinted that there are things in motion but would wait until final decisions are made before talking about them.
Butta still has side gigs he’s long held. So many, in fact, he laughs at how difficult it is to remember them all.
“I’ve been in radio over 30 years, and even when I started radio I had other jobs,” he says. “Because you also know radio’s not gonna last forever.”
“So you always prepare yourself,” he says.
His gigs outside of KDAY include working at Dodger games as an in-game host, greeting the crowd as they arrive via the DodgerVision screens and playing games with fans between innings. He’s been an adjunct professor of radio at Mount San Antonio College since 2005. He’s got a syndicated Top 20 countdown show for international audiences.
There’s a podcast called Smooth Era premiering in the near future in which he’ll interview stars of ’90s R&B, and he does live DJ gigs online or in-person, such as a recent networking mixer hosted by Daymond John of “Shark Tank.”
Butta says he’s doing some networking for himself to replace the KDAY job and has been approached for opportunities in other radio markets or in syndication to do on-air shows or behind-the-scenes programming.
“People have been telling me, obviously, to do more podcasts or a syndicated show,” Butta says. “Then again, as I think of that, that’s part of the problem with radio. Syndication, automation, or voice tracks.
“It’s almost like I want to do it for the money, which I shouldn’t, because this is actually killing the industry that I work in and love,” he says.
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — What’s a celebration without delicious food and drinks? Well, the Oscars ceremony is the biggest celebration in Hollywood so of course the treats and drinks will be top notch.
Master chef Wolfgang Puck is celebrating an “Oscar” milestone as he marks his 30th year catering the event. For three decades, Puck has returned to serve up his delicious creations at the Oscars Governors Ball.
“It’s a great thing to do it for 30 years,” he said. “When I look back at my life, my career, I said, ‘You know, longevity is really the most important thing.’ Why? Because a lot of restaurants come and go, but very few stay on.”
While he says he can’t pick just one dish as his favorite, he says he – of course – will be serving the crowd favorite: potpie!
“We always have a great variety of traditional innovation. You cannot make everything new all the time because then people are going to miss the old stuff too,” said Puck.
Along with a detailed menu comes an exquisite selection of beverages for the occasion.
“The Oscars are about culture and the celebration of excellence, so I think for us to come together, you can’t celebrate excellence in German culture without good food and good wine,” said Clarendelle CEO Prince Robert de Luxembourg.
“There’s only champagne as a celebration drink, and the Oscars is such a celebration of art and craftsmanship and that’s who we are as well,” said Alexis Blondel, Chef de Cave Adjoint.
Of course, you can’t forget about the desserts (like a chocolate cigar!)
Plus, at the Governors Ball, everyone can go home a winner with a mini Oscar statue covered in 24 karat gold.
“We really kind of combined and married a lot of really fun, unique ideas to really make this ‘our Oscars’ if that makes sense,” said Executive Pastry Chef Ellen Maloney.
DON’T MISS the 2024 Oscars live Sunday on ABC! Red carpet coverage starts at 1 p.m. ET | 10 a.m. PT with “Countdown to Oscars: On The Red Carpet Live.” At 4 p.m. ET | 1 p.m. PT, live coverage continues with “On The Red Carpet at the Oscars,” hosted by George Pennacchio with Roshumba Williams, Leslie Lopez and Rachel Brown.
The 96th Oscars, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, begins at 7 p.m. ET | 4 p.m. PT, an hour earlier than past years, followed by an all-new episode of “Abbott Elementary.”
Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón is expected to advance to a November runoff, but it’s too early to tell who his challenger will be.
While polls show Gascón has grown deeply unpopular with a significant portion of L.A. County residents, polls and local political observers have suggested his strong progressive base will carry him out of a crowded primary field replete with challengers who spent more time attacking him than they did defining their own candidacies.
Four years after taking office on a popular criminal justice reform platform in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in 2020, Gascón found himself facing a different political landscape in this primary cycle. Multiple polls showed the incumbent with a disapproval rating over 50%, and a mix of frustrations with his policies and his perceived vulnerability led 11 candidates to challenge him.
While Gascón has undoubtedly had some successes in his term — including stepped up efforts to exonerate wrongfully convicted persons and an increased focus on prosecutions of police officers accused of misconduct and excessive force — his term has been rocked by public disputes with his own prosecutors and a litany of civil suits that have already cost the county roughly $7 million. Some of his reforms were deemed illegal by a judge in 2021 and critics have also blamed his policies directly for heinous crimes.
Property and violent crime rose in L.A. County from 2019 to 2022, according to California Department of Justice data. But other counties with more traditional prosecutors saw violent crime surge at much higher rates in the same time frame, a data point Gascón often stresses. LAPD data also show homicides and robberies have declined over the past two years and criminologists argue its disingenuous to solely blame a district attorney’s policies for crime spikes or declines.
The field chasing Gascón includes four prosecutors from within his own office, three judges and two former federal prosecutors. With resumes and messages that largely mirrored one another — 10 of the 11 challengers promised to roll back nearly all of the policies Gascón announced during his inaugaration speech — it became hard for a challenger to stand out from the pack.
Nathan Hochman, a former federal prosecutor who unsuccessfully ran for state attorney general in 2022 as a Republican, raised the most money in the primary. Now running as an independent, Hochman promised to “get politics out” of an office he says was made increasingly partisan by Gascón and the broader progressive prosecutor movement nationwide.
While he favors alternative sentencing outcomes for nonviolent defendants struggling with mental illness or drug addiction, Hochman also promised to seek the death penalty in some cases and make use of sentencing enhancements for gang and gun crimes, measures that can sometimes double the prison time for certain defendants. Critics have argued enhancements are disproportionately used against people of color.
Running as a moderate who can balance reform with justice, ex-federal prosecutor Jeff Chemerinsky was one of lone candidates to embrace criminal justice reform while challenging Gascón. Chemerinsky disagrees with much of what Gascón has done, but also said he’d largely eschew trying juveniles as adults and had serious reservations about the use of gang enhancements. Such positions have led other challengers to describe him as “mini-Gascón.”
Other top challengers include Deputy Dist. Attys. Jonathan Hatami and Eric Siddall, and Superior Court Judge Debra Archuleta.
Hatami was one of the three biggest fundraisers in the field, and the pugnacious prosecutor’s long history of publicly criticizing Gascón and his involvement with attempts to recall the D.A. made him popular with victims’ rights advocates. He was the only candidate to break from the pack in a USC/Dornsife poll earlier this year, snaring 8% of the vote and finishing a clear second to Gascón. Along with Archuleta, he received the endorsement of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the largest law enforcement union in L.A. County.
Siddall, a veteran prosecutor of cases involving gang crime and attacks on police officers, bagged the endorsement of the union representing rank-and-file prosecutors and has also frequently antagonized the district attorney through the union. Siddall was also running as a moderate, claiming to represent a “new generation of prosecutors” who want to balance reform and aggressive prosecution of violent criminals, but he and Chemerinsky often found themselves fighting for the same airspace.
Attendees of the BCC’s March 4 meeting rallied to help find new Board members and volunteers for the 91-year-old organization. Left to right: Denise Bergsrud, current BCC Treasurer Muskan Lalwani, BCC Parliamentarian Gabe Ayala, Acting President Anne-Marie Osgood; Yolanda Wu, Teresa Marasek, and Douglas Chadwick.
A critical juncture was reached at the Burbank Coordinating Council’s (BCC) latest meeting, as community members gathered to ensure the future of an organization that has been a pillar of Burbank’s humanitarian efforts since 1933.
Acting Board President and local realtor Anne-Marie Osgood led the spirited March 4 lunch meeting attended by 22 civic-minded individuals with a heartfelt plea for volunteers to step into leadership. With its board dwindling down to just two members by June 1st, the BCC faces an uncertain future, which could potentially lead to the dissolution of this venerable institution after 91 years of devotion to Burbank’s low-income families, Osgood said.
However, hope sparked as five new and old BCC members – Denise Bergsrud, Douglas Chadwick, Mary Ann La Russa, Yolanda Wu, and Catie Young – volunteered to form a Nominating Committee tasked with filling the vacant board positions.
The Burbank Coordinating Council, renowned for initiatives such as the Holiday Basket and Campership programs, has been a fundamental part of Burbank philanthropy, touching lives across multiple generations. The impact of these programs has been so profound that previous beneficiaries have become donors and volunteers, a testament to the community’s gratitude and desire to give back.
Janet Diel, a dedicated member of the Burbank Coordinating Council for 35 years and its president for 10 of those years, attended the meeting, sharing her experiences and emphasizing BCC programs’ meaningful impact on young lives. She recounted instances when community members and former students still recognize her and fondly recall the Coins for Campers program, a community-wide initiative embraced by Burbank students to raise funds to send qualifying kids to camp for free.
Multiple volunteer roles within BCC’s venerable holiday gift basket and campership program need to be filled, from Board positions to volunteers needed to coordinate donations, do data entry, communications, and organize food drives.
“You can make a real difference in carrying this work forward,” Osgood said. “We understand that people are busy, but we’re hopeful that we can find some people with time and energy to give to protect the legacy of this organization.” She emphasized that even if BCC were unfortunately forced to dissolve the organization due to a lack of volunteers to carry the work on, that they would find other community partners to take on its signature projects, such as the Holiday Basket program.
The Nominating Committee will present its slate of candidates for the Board positions at the BCC’s April 1 meeting, where it will be voted on. The new Board would be installed at the May meeting.
For more information on joining the board or volunteering, please attend the BCC’s next meeting on April 1 at Emmanuel Church, 438 E. Harvard Rd., Burbank, visit the Burbank Coordinating Council’s website, or email them at bcc.info1933@gmail.com. Your involvement might just be the deciding factor in preserving a legacy and sustaining a Burbank institution.
Los Angeles has long been America’s most car-centric city, but now a movement is underway to change the way Los Angeles moves.
NBC4 News projects that Los Angeles voters approved Measure HLA, an initiative that would require the city to redesign streets to be safer for pedestrian and bicyclists while holding city officials accountable.
What would Measure HLA do?
Measure HLA, also referred to as Healthy Streets LA, would require the city of LA to implement Mobility Plan 2035, which was adopted a decade ago to encourage the creation of more bike lanes and wider sidewalks but hasn’t yielded a lot of results.
The ballot measure would mandate the city to implement Mobility Plan projects, such as adding protected bike lanes whenever the city improves roadways.
Measure HLA would require the city to implement a street modification as laid out in the Mobility Plan whenever there’s an improvement to at least one-eight mile stretch of a road or sidewalk,
Proponents of the initiative say ballot measure would force city officials to make sure streets are repaved for buses, pedestrians and bicyclists.
“Today in Los Angeles, in general, most people only feel safe driving a car, and even that isn’t that safe because car crashes have a huge toll,” said Michael Schneider, the founder of advocacy group Streets for All. “It’s about giving Angelinos options.”
Proponents also argue that Measure HLA would keep pedestrians and public transit users safe as the city of LA had more traffic deaths than homicides in 2023.
Why opponents want voters to say “no” to Measure HLA
Opposition to the ballot measure was led by the Los Angeles City Firefighters union, which argues reconfigured streets with fewer traffic lanes will hamper 911 responses.
“There is an issue with public safety it will delay the response time for the members that I represent,” Freddy Escobar, President, United Firefighters of Los Angeles
The union also cited a report by Matt Szabo, the City Administrative Officer to argue Measure HLA would be costly to the city, requiring $3.1 billion unfunded liability.
“You would be adding a mandate without the funds to achieve that,” Szabo said during a city council meeting on Feb. 16.
Proponents of Measure HLA said Szabo’s estimations were overblown.
Shannon Bradley, MBA Chief Health Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Officer Keck Medicine of USC
Shannon Bradley, MBA, serves as the inaugural chief health equity, diversity and inclusion officer with Keck Medicine of USC. In this role, Bradley leads diversity, equity and inclusion efforts throughout the health system, establishing and tracking goals across the health system to ensure their success.
Laura Mitchel District Senior Manager Wells Fargo Bank
With 18 years of financial industry experience, Laura is the District Manager of the LAX Central districtbranch network. Laura is active within the Employee Resource Networks having served as the Chapter Chair and Communications Chair for the Women’s Connection andon the board of the Black/African American Connection.
Billionaire mining mogul Robert Friedland has bagged a second Santa Barbara-area estate, for $32 million.
Five months after the founder of Vancouver-based Ivanhoe Mines paid $46.9 million for a 2-acre bluffside estate in Carpinteria, Friedland bought an 8-acre estate at 319 San Ysidro Road in Montecito, according to the Robb Report.
The sellers of the 105-year-old, Roman-style “Pompeian Court” were Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, who’d sought $46.5 million.
The celebrity couple bought the five-bedroom, 10-bathroom villa in June 2022 for $22.5 million.
The 7,800-square-foot manor, built in 1919, lies behind an iron gate at the end of a quarter-mile long driveway lined with olive trees.
Described in the listing as a “classic Roman courtyard residence,” the single-story house was remodeled in 2000 before being revamped by DeGeneres and de Rossi into “a minimalist and soothingly neutral retreat,” according to Robb.
The square villa opens onto a central courtyard with Roman columns and an outdoor fireplace.
The 8-acre property includes two guesthouses, a poolside cabana, a small art studio and a temple pavilion.
They’re surrounded by a tennis court, a chardonnay vineyard, formal hedgerows and lawns with Italian cypresses, oaks and eucalyptus trees.
In October, Friedland and his wife, Darlene, bought the 9,400-square-foot mansion on 2 acres at 3165 Padaro Lane in Carpinteria. The off-market deal was the biggest in Santa Barbara County last year.
Padaro Lane, among the most prestigious addresses in Carpinteria, includes homes owned by Kevin Costner, Kourtney Kardashian, George Lucas, and Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis.
The Friedlands, who count their main residence as a luxury flat in Singapore, own two side-by-side estates in Beverly Hills they bought in 2021 for $26 million. In late 2020, they paid $16 million for Zsa Zsa Gabor’s longtime Bel-Air mansion — then bulldozed it. They also own a blufftop villa in Phuket, Thailand, with three infinity pools.
JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines on Monday said they are ending their agreement to merge, weeks after losing a federal antitrust lawsuit that challenged the deal.
The CEOs of the two carriers cited regulatory hurdlesin ending their merger agreement.
A federal judge in January sided with the Justice Department and blocked JetBlue’s attempted takeover of budget carrier Spirit. In his ruling, Judge William Young said JetBlue’s takeover of Spirit would “harm cost-conscious travelers who rely on Spirit’s low fares.” The airlines had argued that they needed to combine to better compete with the larger airlines that control most of the U.S. market.
JetBlue and Spirit had appealed the judge’s decision, but JetBlue noted the appeal was required under the terms of the merger agreement. Analysts had expected little chance of a successful appeal.
The Justice Department cheered the news on Monday, a year after it filed its suit to block the deal. “Today’s decision by JetBlue is yet another victory for the Justice Department’s work on behalf of American consumers,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
Spirit’s shares tumbled almost 11% on Monday to end the trading session at their lowest closing price on record, $5.76 per share, while JetBlue’s stock closed more than 4% higher at $6.75.
Almost two years ago, JetBlue swooped in with an unsolicited bid for Spirit Airlines, which had weeks earlier struck a merger agreement with fellow budget airline Frontier. JetBlue ultimately won Spirit shareholder approval to take over the discount carrier.
“It was a bold and courageous plan intended to shake up the industry status quo, and we were right to compete with Frontier and go for an opportunity that would have supercharged our growth and provided more opportunities for crewmembers,” JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty said in a note to staff on Monday.
“However, with the ruling from the federal court and the Department of Justice’s continued opposition, the probability of getting the green light to move forward with the merger anytime soon is extremely low,” she said.
Geraghty took over as CEO from Robin Hayes last month, tasked with stopping JetBlue’s losses, improving its operation and trimming costs. Activist investor Carl Icahn disclosed a nearly 10% stake in the airline on her first day, and days later won two board seats at the New York-based airline.
JetBlue’s prospective purchase of Spirit would have been a buoy for the struggling discounter airline, which is facing the grounding of dozens of its Airbus planes for inspections stemming from a Pratt & Whitney engine defect. Spirit expects compensation from the engine-maker as a result of the flaw.
With the deal off the table, Spirit must confront its financial problems alone, something its leaders say it is equipped to do.
The company said it was working to refinance its debt, and last month said it was on a path back to profitability thanks to better-than-expected demand. It projected revenue for the first quarter above analysts’ expectations.
“Throughout the transaction process, given the regulatory uncertainty, we have always considered the possibility of continuing to operate as a standalone business and have been evaluating and implementing several initiatives that will enable us to bolster profitability and elevate the Guest experience,” Spirit CEO Ted Christie said Monday.
He said that Spirit shareholders received $425 million in prepayments from JetBlue during the agreement, and that JetBlue will pay Spirit $69 million related to the agreement’s termination.
The Spirit deal wasn’t JetBlue’s first attempt at linking up with another airline to gain scale. It previously had a partnership with American Airlines in the congested Northeast U.S. to coordinate schedules and routes.
But last year a different federal judge sided with the Justice Department and knocked that partnership down, calling it anticompetitive. That ruling left open the possibility of tweaking the structure of the agreement and reviving it.
American appealed the ruling last year, but JetBlue did not, saying it would instead focus on its Spirit deal.
American CFO Devon May told reporters at an investor event on Monday: “We’ll see what opportunities there are going forward of having a new relationship.”
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren shoots as Lakers forward Anthony Davis, left, defends during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, right, shoots as Lakers guard Austin Reaves defends during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren, center, works for a rebound between Lakers forward LeBron James, left, and forward Anthony Davis during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander handles the ball during the first half of their game against the Lakers on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drives as Lakers guard Austin Reaves defends during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Lakers forward Taurean Prince, right, blocks a shot by Oklahoma City Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins, center, during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams drives as Lakers guard Austin Reaves defends during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Josh Giddey, right, is defended by Lakers guard Austin Reaves, center, during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Josh Giddey, right, intercepts a high pass intended for Lakers forward Anthony Davis, second from right, during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander reacts after a 3-point basket by guard Luguentz Dort during the first half of their game against the Lakers on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Lakers head coach Darvin Ham watches his team warm up before their game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Lakers head coach Darvin Ham claps during player introductions before their game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren scores on a reverse dunk in front of Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) during the second half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Lakers forward Anthony Davis dunks during the second half of their game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Lakers forward Anthony Davis dunks during the second half of their game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Lakers forward Rui Hachimura (28) shoots as Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren, left, defends during the second half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort, left, shoots over Lakers guard Spencer Dinwiddie, far right, during the second half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Lakers forward LeBron James passes the ball as Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort, left, defends during the second half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Lakers forward Anthony Davis smiles after scoring during the second half of their game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Lakers forward Anthony Davis reaches for a rebound between Oklahoma City Thunder forward Gordon Hayward, left, and center Bismack Biyombo during the second half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell, left, reaches for a rebound in front of Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace during the second half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell shoots during the second half of their game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell reacts after making a 3-pointer during the second half of their game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. Russell hit five 3-pointers while scoring 26 points to lead the Lakers to a 116-104 win. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Lakers forward Rui Hachimura takes a shot as the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Josh Giddey defends during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Lakers forward LeBron James takes a shot during the first half of their game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Lakers guard Spencer Dinwiddie takes a shot in front of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Aaron Wiggins, right, during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Lakers forward LeBron James takes a shot as the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Jalen Williams defends during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Lakers star Anthony Davis, center, is fouled by the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Jalen Williams during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Flea sits courtside for a game between the Lakers and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images)
The Oklahoma City Thunder’s Chet Holmgren, left, takes a shot as Lakers forwards Rui Hachimura (28) and Anthony Davis, far right, defend during the second half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander takes a shot during the second half of their game against the Lakers on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Actor Will Ferrell watches from a courtside seat during the Lakers’ game against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images)
Actor Will Ferrell, left, and Lakers center Jaxson Hayes meet after the Lakers’ game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images)
Lakers star LeBron James warms up before their game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Josh Gidde shoots in front of Lakers forward Anthony Davis, right, during the first half on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
LOS ANGELES — A couple of months ago, Lakers coach Darvin Ham and his staff introduced a new statistic: limbo rate, which is supposed to help quantify how well the team does, or does not do, moving on to the next play.
If the last couple of months have been any indication, the game-to-game limbo rate isn’t an issue for this team, with the Lakers bouncing back from Saturday’s home loss to the Denver Nuggets with a 116-104 home victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night, winning for the 10th time in the past 14 games and taking the season series (3-1) from one of the top teams in the Western Conference.
The Lakers haven’t lost consecutive games that weren’t part of a back-to-back set since mid-January, but they remain at the No. 9 spot in the standings.
“We’re behind the eight-ball a little bit, but we’re right there,” Lakers star Anthony Davis said. “In the event we don’t get the top six, you gotta go through the whole play-in kind of process again. We don’t really care what seed we’re in. We proved it last year, it doesn’t matter.
“We don’t look at it is, as we’d rather have this matchup than this matchup. For us, it’s just about getting in and tackling each opponent from there.”
Led by D’Angelo Russell (26 points, six rebounds and three assists), Davis (24 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots) and LeBron James (19 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists), the Lakers (34-29) defensively smothered a Thunder (42-19) team that entered Monday atop the Western Conference standings.
“They’re so well-coached that you can’t relax,” Russell said. “That team has got everything you need to win and to be efficient at this level. You’ve got to be ready to play against those guys. It’s no fluke (to beat them).”
Austin Reaves (16 points on 6-for-8 shooting to go with seven assists and six rebounds) made a pair of 3-pointers late in the first half to help get the Lakers back in the game while also being the primary defender against Thunder guard and league MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (20 points on 5-for-13 shooting, seven rebounds, four assists).
“He did a great job,” Davis said of Reaves’ defense against Gilgeous-Alexander. “Moving his feet knowing that Shai likes to get to his reverse-between, kind of like a little push-off, and get to his middy or get to the lane and use his pump-fakes and draw fouls and things like that.
“They’re already gonna make tough shots but you don’t want to compound that with putting them on the line as well. He did a great job starting off on him of just making it tough for him and funneling him to do our defense and giving great contests.”
After a slow start, which the Lakers battled back from to tie the score at 25 going into the second quarter after trailing by 12 early (18-6), the home team had full control of the game because of their defense.
The Lakers held the Thunder, who were playing on the second night of a back-to-back after a Sunday road victory over the Phoenix Suns, to 39.4% shooting, one of their worst marks of the season.
The Thunder, one of the league’s top-scoring teams, were held to 43 points at halftime (on a season-low 30.6% shooting) and 72 at the end of the third quarter, with the Lakers leading by 17 going into the fourth.
“We did a good job of keeping bodies in front of bodies,” James said. “We know they’re one of the best one-on-one teams in the league and they live in the paint. But they’ve also been shooting the ball extremely well from the outside as well. So just tried to keep bodies on bodies and then if we get them to miss, we clean glass and we didn’t give them many second-chance points and that was key.”
Russell hit three consecutive 3-pointers in a 66-second early in the fourth with increasing theatrics, giving the Lakers a 103-79 lead, a margin that was too large for the Thunder to overcome.
“Obviously we know that D-Lo can get going,” James said. “He can make three or four 3s in a row and break the game open and he did that again once again [Monday]. The uncanny ability, that once he sees the ball go through the hoop, he can run off three or four of them, get the crowd into it, get us hyped and we’re able to take the momentum from there.”
Russell got a standing ovation from the Crypto.com Arena crowd and his bench when the third 3-pointer (off an assist from James) in the sequence left him sprawled on his back from uncalled defensive contact and the Lakers with a 103-79 lead with 9:06 left.
“I was gonna shoot it before I passed it,” said Russell, who had dished to James before James whipped the ball back to him. “I heard him, I didn’t know what he was saying. I thought he was about to attack Chet [Holmgren] or whatnot. And then when I heard him say, shoot, like go ahead, go ahead. I didn’t even know I made the shot. Just threw it up there. Lucky shot.”
“My teammates find me when I’m hot. It makes it easier when I can stretch the floor like that. That’s what shooting does. It’s a pleasure.”
Both teams took their main rotation players out late in the fourth, with the Lakers leading 116-93. In his first game since scoring his record 40,000th career point in the loss to Denver, James was able to sit out the final six minutes. Davis was able to sit out the entire fourth quarter.
“Obviously, they’re coming off a tough back-to-back,” Reaves said. “But any time you can beat a team confidently going into the fourth of that caliber, it speaks to what you did offensively and defensively. … Anytime you beat a team like that that’s been playing really good basketball, it feels good and it gives you some momentum going forward.”
Recently signed two-way player Harry Giles III made his Lakers debut in the fourth, playing four minutes.
Gilgeous-Alexander saw his streak of eight consecutive 30-point games come to an end for the Thunder, who lost for only the second time in nine games. Holmgren and Lu Dort added 15 points apiece. Oklahoma City big man Jaylin Williams missed his second straight game with a sprained left knee.
D’Angelo Russell: “My teammates find me when I’m hot. I think for me, it makes it easier when I can stretch the floor like that.” pic.twitter.com/6zkXJWSpHN
LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) — A suspect has been arrested in Sunday’s fatal stabbing at a restaurant in Long Beach, police announced Monday night.
The stabbing was reported around 1 a.m. Sunday at Dave’s Hot Chicken on 2nd Street and Covina Avenue. Officers found a 20-year-old Long Beach man with a stab wound to his upper body at the scene and he later was pronounced dead at the hospital. His name has not been released pending identification by the coroner’s office.
Details about what led up to the stabbing were unclear, but authorities say the preliminary investigation suggests there was a physical altercation between the victim and suspect. During that altercation, the suspect stabbed the victim and ran from the scene.
Detectives interviewed witnesses and obtained surveillance video in the area which led them to identify Brandon Nguyen, 29, of Huntington Beach as the suspect. They found and arrested him at Los Angeles International Airport on Monday. He was booked for murder and was being held without bail. A search warrant was also served on his home.
The video in the player above is from our initial report on the stabbing.
The case will be submitted to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for consideration of filing charges later this week.
“We will not tolerate acts of violence in our community and we will commit all available resources to ensuring that those responsible for crimes like this are held accountable,” said Long Beach Police Chief Wally Hebeish. “Within a matter of minutes, our officers were there to render medical aid and secure the scene. In addition, Homicide detectives responded to the scene and worked around the clock with our Special Investigations Division to identify, locate, and safely apprehend the person believed responsible for this crime.”
A Tesla Cybertruck crashed into the sign marking the entrance to the fabled Beverly Hills Hotel on Sunday night, prompting Elon Musk to post about the incident on X, formerly Twitter.
The massive, stainless steel behemoth bonked into the sign around 11:45 p.m. Sunday after it was involved in a collision with another vehicle, according to the Beverly Hills Police Department.
“Cyberbeast is faster than a Porsche 911, but looks like a truck, so perhaps the valet wasn’t expecting so much acceleration,” Tesla founder Musk joked on X, the social media site he owns.
Musk was responding to a claim that went viral, suggesting that a Beverly Hills Hotel valet crashed the truck, which later turned out to be a joke by an X user.
The Beverly Hills Police Department did not have information Monday afternoon about injuries or damage resulting from the accident.
Video posted online showed the truck sustained significant damage to its front left wheel. The truck also damaged the poles holding up the sign as well as the pink sidewalk wall in front of it, according to images from the scene.
“There was not an employee or member of our valet team involved in the accident,” said Brittany Williams, the director of communications for the Dorchester Collection, which operates the hotel.
Protestors rally in front of City Hall for mixed flow on Olive Ave. Photo by Ashley Erikson.
On Tuesday night, a rally was held outside of City Hall as protestors gathered with signs and microphones, encouraging Burbank City Council Members to keep the “Mixed Flow” decision that was made in 2022 regarding the Metro Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Project down Olive Ave.
Metro’s BRT will run from North Hollywood to Pasadena and crosses into Burbank along Olive Ave. from Glenoaks to Buena Vista St. Originally Metro wanted the Olive Ave. lanes turned into curb-running lanes which would remove the parking lanes along Olive and turn them into bus only lanes. The City agreed that this would hurt Burbank businesses and turned that option down.
The next option Metro proposed was side-running lanes which would turn two traffic lanes, one in each direction, into bus only lanes. A rally was held in 2022 protesting this option because it would create more traffic along other streets, especially by the schools. The side-running lanes would handle six buses an hour compared to the 1,200 vehicles that travel those lanes per hour, and only save one minute of travel time by bus between Buena Vista Ave. and Lake St.
Protestors rally in front of City Hall for mixed flow on Olive Ave. Photo by Ashley Erikson.
On April 12th, 2022, the Burbank City Council voted unanimously to support mixed flow lanes for the BRT Project, so that the lanes could be used for both buses and regular traffic. The Council members at that time were Mayor Jess Talamantes, Vice Mayor Konstantine Anthony, Nick Schultz, Bob Frutos, and Sharon Springer.
What seemed to be a closed door, is now open again as the current Council is re-considering the side-running lanes for the project. On March 26, 2024, the Burbank City Council will discuss the removal of two lanes on Olive, igniting an uproar among citizens and business owners. “In December of 2023, during a transportation commission meeting, I heard the staff mention that they were preparing a cooperation agreement to present to the city council in early 2024,” said Vision Burbank President David Donahue. “This prompted me to ask several questions, leading one of the commissioners to request putting the matter on a future agenda, which was done.”
Vision Burbank President, David Donahue, in front of City Hall for mixed flow on Olive Ave. Photo by Ashley Erikson.
On February 27, 2024 protestors lined along Olive Ave. in front of City Hall with brightly colored posters that read “Don’t Throw Olive Under the Bus,” and “Council! Don’t Change Olive. Don’t Change Your Vote.” Passing cars honked to show support and one protestor took to the microphone, rallying everyone to chant, “It’s Mixed Flow or No Go!”
Donahue, organized the rally and gathered volunteers to make the signs for the protest, encouraging everyone in attendance to fill out a comment card and speak at the City Council meeting that night. “The proposed shift from Mixed Flow to side and curb running by the City Council presents a dire threat to Burbank’s well-being,” said Donahue. “From exacerbating traffic congestion to negatively impacting local businesses and hospitals due to decreased accessibility, the ramifications are extensive. Furthermore, the removal of countless parking spots and the lack of a comprehensive environmental impact study raise serious concerns about the long-term effects on our community’s quality of life and environment.”
Citizens stand to show support of mixed flow lanes on Olive Ave. Photo by Ashley Erikson.
Vision Burbank Board Member Paul Herman took to the microphone to share some words. “Olive Ave. is the heart of Burbank. You’re basically going to put a stake in that heart, a knife through Burbank, and it’s going to be awful, and it’s going to lead to terrible consequences. The businesses don’t want it, and the residents don’t want it,” said Herman. “The members of the City Council represent each and every one of you. They do not represent the County, they don’t represent Metro, they represent us. So we need to go talk to them and tell them how we feel,” said Herman, as he encouraged protestors to go inside City Hall and voice their opinions.
During the public comment period of the Tuesday meeting, Donahue addressed the Council and asked for everyone in the room to stand if they were in support of mixed flow lanes for the BRT Project. Majority of the room stood in unison with a few people still sitting and putting up a thumbs down to show opposition. Donahue is organizing another rally for the March 26th Council meeting at 5:15 PM in front of City Hall, and is encouraging concerned citizens to email Council members and ask them to not change their vote.
Protestors rally in front of City Hall for mixed flow on Olive Ave. Photo by Ashley Erikson.Protestors rally in front of City Hall for mixed flow on Olive Ave. Photo by Ashley Erikson.Protestors rally in front of City Hall for mixed flow on Olive Ave. Photo by Ashley Erikson.Protestors rally in front of City Hall for mixed flow on Olive Ave. Photo by Ashley Erikson.Protestors rally in front of City Hall for mixed flow on Olive Ave. Photo by Ashley Erikson.Citizens stand in unison at the City Council meeting to show support for mixed flow lanes. Photo by Ashley Erikson.Protestors rally in front of City Hall for mixed flow on Olive Ave. Photo by Ashley Erikson.Protestors rally in front of City Hall for mixed flow on Olive Ave. Photo by Ashley Erikson.Protestors rally in front of City Hall for mixed flow on Olive Ave. Photo by Ashley Erikson.
Orange County authorities are looking for a man broke into a barbershop and stole a bolted-down ATM by using his pickup truck Monday.
Officers with the Orange Police Department received a call about the incident at around 3.44 a.m. at Golden Touch Barbershop on Tustin Avenue.
When officers arrived at the scene, they discovered that the burglar left behind a trail of damage with smashed windows, shattered glass and others.
“It was a white Ram that broke into the shop,” Ulizez Suarez, the barbershop owner, described what he saw on the surveillance videos. “They wrapped a rope around the ATM machine. They successfully yanked it out. It was bolted to the ground.”
Security camera video footage shows the man, wearing a black and orange-colored hoodie and black face mask, tried several times to detach the ATM machine from inside the store.
Suarez suspected that the burglar specifically targeted his business.
“I actually contacted the ATM company, and they told me there’s a similar situation going with a similar truck, a white truck.”
Suarez estimated the cost of the damage to be more than $10,000, including $5,000 in cash that was inside the ATM.
The barbershop was set to temporarily close as workers try to “patch up” the damaged business.
“We’re going to have to cancel our appointments to get everything straightened out and make sure there’s no broken glass or debris on the chair,” Suarez added.
The local business is offering a $1,000 reward for anyone who can help catch the burglar.
Police said the plates belonging to the white truck came back as stolen.
Southern California has slammed the brakes on falling home sales.
After 25 straight months of declining year-over-year sales, home sales rose 7 percent in January to 10,581 deals, the Orange County Register reported, citing figures from CoreLogic.
The volume of January sales still ranked as the third-lowest in records dating back 36 years.
Home prices, meanwhile, continued to climb during a severe shortage of homes on the market, CoreLogic reported.
The median price of a Southern California home was $705,000 in January, up by more than 5 percent from the year before.
Despite the gain, January’s median was down from the previous nine months. The month is typically the slowest of the year, reflecting deals signed during the holiday season when buyers and sellers generally take a break.
January’s median was $45,000 below the all-time high of $750,000 reached in April 2022, right before climbing mortgage rates combined with high prices to slow buyer demand.
Both prices and sales were up year-over-year in all six Southern California counties.
Orange County had the biggest gain in both prices and sales, with the median up 12 percent to nearly $1.07 million. Sales increased 13 percent year-over-year.
Los Angeles County had the smallest price gain percentage-wise, with the median rising 4.6 percent to $800,000.
The Inland Empire continued to have the best housing bargains, with a median price of $475,000 in San Bernardino County and $550,000 in Riverside County. But their annual price growth was 5.6 percent in San Bernardino County and 2.1 percent in Riverside County.
A lack of homes for sale continued to prop up prices, according to the Register.
The Southland averaged fewer than 39,000 homes for sale in November and December, when most of January’s transactions went under contract, according to Redfin.
The region had 37,594 active listings in January, down 8 percent from the previous year and 39 percent below the average for the previous 11 years. All six Southern California counties saw declines in real estate listings.
High mortgage rates continued to dampen both sales and listings.
Interest rates for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.4 percent in November and 6.8 percent in December, according to Freddie Mac.
The typical monthly payment for a Southern California home was nearly $3,800 in December, not counting taxes, insurance and the HOA, or homeowner association fees. In addition to dampening demand, higher rates discouraged homeowners from giving up their low mortgage rates by selling their house.
When radio stations started eliminating overnight personalities, the excuse given was that it didn’t matter all that much. There are fewer listeners and the ratings don’t really cover the time between midnight and 6 a.m.
Basically, they were saying no one would notice or care. That’s false, of course, but it gave the station owners a way to cut costs while not blatantly stating the opinion that personalities (and on-air presentation) are obsolete.
Now they can’t hide what’s happening. Last month, Meruelo Media eliminated the midday jocks at its four Los Angeles stations, letting go of PJ Butta at KDAY (93.5 FM), Bryhana Monegain at Power 106 FM, Carolina “Caro” Marquez at KLLI (93.9 FM), and Marci Wiser at KLOS (95.5 FM).
The midday position generally runs from about 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The cuts are a reflection of the downward spiral in which the radio industry finds itself, which isn’t helped as companies use personalities in multiple markets throwing the “radio is local” adage out the window. It’s kind of like the 1980s when satellite-delivered formats were becoming all the rage among some stations; to paraphrase what former Herald-Examiner (and later Daily News) radio reporter Ray Richmond said at the time, the move has many advantages: it’s cheap, it costs less, and it’s less expensive.
“And did I mention it’s cheap?” he used to write.
Good for the stations doing it? Nope. Just another nail.
In my opinion, what should be done is simple: get rid of most upper management, get on-air content up to par, empower the local programmer to do what is necessary to compete, and hire a ton of advertising salespeople to help spread the word of your station to local businesses that need a way to find new customers.
Red and Blue
Michael Stark is a former Republican turned Democrat. His college friend Keith Curry is a former Democrat turned Republican. Together they created a new podcast originally (and as planned just temporarily) called “Solutions 2023,” now known as “Red vs. Blue.”
Described as “politics without stress, drama and incivility,” the show attempts to find at least common ground on issues that currently divide the country. Stark, with whom I previously did a podcast covering this column, explains that it harkens back to the earlier days of talk radio, when both sides of an issue were allowed to be discussed.
“I don’t want to be antagonistic,” Stark says. “Too many shows don’t allow different voices to be heard. This may come off as tame compared with some shows, but we truly want to discuss things in a way that allows all viewpoints … and hopefully come up with some real solutions.”
You can find the Red vs. Blue (shouldn’t it be Red and Blue???) Podcast on Apple Podcasts and others; just search “Red vs. Blue podcast.”
New HD Radio
It may seem that HD Radio is struggling (because … it is) but in looking at some radios recently I happened to run across a new model from Sangean.
Sangean is a company that makes some superb radios, from portables to home tuners … regular analog, HD, and even internet radios are available. The newest model is the HDR-19 which receives HD digital streams sent out with a station’s regular analog signal and acts as a Bluetooth speaker as well so you can stream music from your phone.
It’s one of the larger table radios they make. It includes a clock with two gentle-wake alarms, a nicer-than-most HD radio display, and a beautiful natural cherry wood cabinet with rounded corners. It is also among the most expensive radios that Sangean makes, coming in at $300.
I have not heard it, nor have I even seen it in person, but in pictures it has a truly premium (for today) look to the cabinet and front panel. The grill is even real cloth. The display is simple, yet a nice departure from most old HD radio display designs.
Sangean offers more HD radio models than any other company, with the HDR-14 and HDR-16 portables, HDR-15 clock radio, HDR-18 table radio, and HDT-20 component tuner. They were also among the first to offer component tuners in the days of the HDT-1 and HDT-1X, both of which offered superb reception of both analog and digital broadcasts. I am told that the new models are even better.
Interestingly, the new release comes at a time when the importance of radios is somewhat diminished. The advent of smart speakers that can play stations from across the world — I often listen to KHJ out of American Samoa — has made traditional radios less popular.
But the simplicity of a regular radio cannot be overstated. And unlike the internet, radio waves will continue to work even in the event of an emergency that could knock out the cell towers. Every home should have at least one portable radio with fresh batteries.
Richard Wagoner is a San Pedro freelance columnist covering radio in Southern California. Email rwagoner@socalradiowaves.com
The receiving dock at the Northern Lights carbon capture and storage project, controlled by Equinor ASA, Shell Plc and TotalEnergies SE, at Blomoyna, Norway, on Friday, Jan. 19, 2024.
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Norway’s government wants to show the world it is possible to safely inject and store carbon waste under the seabed, saying the North Sea could soon become a “central storage camp” for polluting industries across Europe.
Offshore carbon capture and storage (CCS) refers to a range of technologies that seek to capture carbon from high-emitting activities, transport it to a storage site and lock it away indefinitely under the seabed.
The oil and gas industry has long touted CCS as an effective tool in the fight against climate change and polluting industries are increasingly looking to offshore carbon storage as a way to reduce planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.
Critics, however, have warned about the long-term risks associated with permanently storing carbon beneath the seabed, while campaigners argue the technology represents “a new threat to the world’s oceans and a dangerous distraction from real progress on climate change.”
Norway’s Energy Minister Terje Aasland was bullish on the prospects of his country’s so-called Longship project, which he says will create a full, large-scale CCS value chain.
“I think it will prove to the world that this technology is important and available,” Aasland said via videoconference, referring to Longship’s CCS facility in the small coastal town of Brevik.
“I think the North Sea, where we can store CO2 permanently and safely, may be a central storage camp for several industries and countries and Europe,” he added.
Storage tanks at the Northern Lights carbon capture and storage project, controlled by Equinor ASA, Shell Plc and TotalEnergies SE, at Blomoyna, Norway, on Friday, Jan. 19, 2024.
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Norway has a long history of carbon management. For nearly 30 years, it has captured and reinjected carbon from gas production into seabed formations on the Norwegian continental shelf.
It’s Sleipner and Snøhvit carbon management projects have been in operation since 1996 and 2008, respectively, and are often held up as proof of the technology’s viability. These facilities separate carbon from their respective produced gas, then compress and pipe the carbon and reinject it underground.
“We can see the increased interest in carbon capture storage as a solution and those who are skeptical to that kind of solution can come to Norway and see how we have done in at Sleipner and Snøhvit,” Norway’s Aasland said. “It’s several thousand meters under the seabed, it’s safe, it’s permanent and it’s a good way to tackle the climate emissions.”
Both Sleipner and Snøhvit projects incurred some teething problems, however, including interruptions during carbon injection.
Citing these issues in a research note last year, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, a U.S.-based think tank, said that rather than serving as entirely successful models to be emulated and expanded, the problems “call into question the long-term technical and financial viability of the concept of reliable underground carbon storage.”
Norway plans to develop the $2.6 billion Longship project in two phases. The first is designed to have an estimated storage capacity of 1.5 million metric tons of carbon annually over an operating period of 25 years — and carbon injections could start as early as next year. A possible second phase is predicted to have a capacity of 5 million tons of carbon.
Campaigners say that even with the planned second phase increasing the amount of carbon stored under the seabed by a substantial margin, “it remains a drop in the proverbial bucket.” Indeed, it is estimated that the carbon injected would amount to less than one-tenth of 1% of Europe’s carbon emissions from fossil fuels in 2021.
The government says Longship’s construction is “progressing well,” although Aasland conceded the project has been expensive.
“Every time we are bringing new technologies to the table and want to introduce it to the market, it is having high costs. So, this is the first of its kind, the next one will be cheaper and easier. We have learned a lot from the project and the development,” Aasland said.
“I think this will be quite a good project and we can show the world that it is possible to do it,” he added.
Workers at an entrance to the CO2 pipeline access tunnel at the Northern Lights carbon capture and storage project, controlled by Equinor ASA, Shell Plc and TotalEnergies SE, at Blomoyna, Norway, on Friday, Jan. 19, 2024.
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A key component of Longship is the Northern Lights joint venture, a partnership between Norway’s state-backed oil and gas giant Equinor, Britain’s Shell and France’s TotalEnergies. The Northern Lights collaboration will manage the transport and storage part of Longship.
Børre Jacobsen, managing director for the Northern Lights Joint Venture, said it had received “overwhelming” interest in the project.
“There’s a long history of trying to get CCS going in one way or another in Norway and I think this culminated a few years ago in an attempt to learn from past successes — and not-so-big successes — to try and see how we can actually get CCS going,” Jacobsen told CNBC via videoconference.
Jacobsen said the North Sea was a typical example of a “huge basin” where there is a lot of storage potential, noting that offshore CCS has an advantage because no people live there.
A pier walkway at the Northern Lights carbon capture and storage project, controlled by Equinor ASA, Shell Plc and TotalEnergies SE, at Blomoyna, Norway, on Friday, Jan. 19, 2024.
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“There is definitely a public acceptance risk to storing CO2 onshore. The technical solutions are very solid so any risk of leakage from these reservoirs is very small and can be managed but I think public perception is making it challenging to do this onshore,” Jacobsen said.
“And I think that is going to be the case to be honest which is why we are developing offshore storage,” he continued.
“Given the amount of CO2 that’s out there, I think it is very important that we recognize all potential storage. It shouldn’t actually matter, I think, where we store it. If the companies and the state that controls the area are OK with CO2 being stored on their continental shelves … it shouldn’t matter so much.”
A report published late last year by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), a Washington-based non-profit, found that offshore CCS is currently being pursued on an unprecedented scale.
As of mid-2023, companies and governments around the world had announced plans to construct more than 50 new offshore CCS projects, according to CIEL.
If built and operated as proposed, these projects would represent a 200-fold increase in the amount of carbon injected under the seafloor each year.
Nikki Reisch, director of the climate and energy program at CIEL, struck a somewhat cynical tone on the Norway proposition.
“Norway’s interpretation of the concept of a circular economy seems to say ‘we can both produce your problem, with fossil fuels, and solve it for you, with CCS,’” Reisch said.
“If you look closely under the hood at those projects, they’ve faced serious technical problems with the CO2 behaving in unanticipated ways. While they may not have had any reported leaks yet, there’s nothing to ensure that unpredictable behavior of the CO2 in a different location might not result in a rupture of the caprock or other release of the injected CO2.”
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KABC) — Two teenagers were stabbed, one of them fatally, during a party in Riverside early Sunday morning.
Officers responded to a complaint of a loud party in the 3400 block of Gay Way around 12:20 a.m., according to the Riverside Police Department.
When they arrived at the scene, where the party was already in the process of shutting down, they found two teen boys suffering from stab wounds. One of them died at the scene and another was taken to the hospital with a non-life threatening stab wound.
Less than half an hour later, police learned of a third teenager who had also been taken to the hospital with an unspecified injury. Authorities determined that the teen was possibly involved in the stabbing and was detained.
Police don’t believe anybody else was involved. All of them were described as being of high school age.
Additional details about what led up to the stabbing were not available.
