The Orange County Tribune Oct. 1, 2022

Observing 150 years of WSD history, progress

By Jim Tortolano Orange County Tribune

There is a pleasant irony in knowing that a school system that once famous ly practiced segregation based on race is now re nowned for its inclusive ness.

The Westminster School District, its place in his tory as the defendant in a legal battle that would contribute to the end of “separate but equal” edu cation, observed its 150th anniversary in ceremonies on Thursday, acknowledg ing its past while celebrat ing its present.

Sylvia Mendez, whose parents went to court on her behalf in 1946 to chal lenge the policy of the WSD – along with three other Orange County dis tricts – of sending people of her ethnicity to “the Mexican school.”

The case ended up as a triumph for equality as the California Supreme Court struck down the separation based on race. Its ruling in “Mendez vs. Westminster” was a prec edent that led to the land mark 1954 case in which the U.S. Supreme Court banned racial segregation across the nation.

Star of the afternoon was Continued on page 2

Saturday: 77/63 drizzle, sun Sunday: 78/64 fog, then sun

Monday: 81/64 P/C, sun Tuesday: 83/68 sunny

$4 Million Voted For Navigation Center Project

City partnering with F. Valley, Garden Grove

By Amir Ghani Orange County Tribune

Four million dollars to help purchase and oper ate a “navigation center” to address the homeless population was approved unanimously by the West minster City Council Wednesday night.

for the next 10 years. The general fund would be reimbursed from ARPA funds.

The new navigation cen ter would assist the home less located in and around Westminster, Garden Grove, and Fountain Val ley. The building itself is an industrial warehouse and is located in Garden Grove.

Mostly good COVID news for county

The number of new coronavirus cases in Orange County declined compared to last week, as did deaths.

According to the county health agen cy, as of Thursday the weekly count of new cases was 1,598, down from 1,824 last week.

Deaths declined from 27 to 18, reported the OCHCA.

However, hospital izations due to COV ID-19 increased from Continued on page 2

This money would come from the city’s general fund reserves account and help to support the center

This means Garden Grove will act as the lead agency for the center and will be responsible for maintenance and any pos sible upgrades that may be needed.

Continued on page 2

But no decision on how to spend ARPA funds

By Amir Ghani

Orange County Tribune

More time is being taken by the Westminster City Council to review and re vise a budget created by the city staff that recom mended the council use funds allocated by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 during the city council meeting on Wednesday night.

ARPA, as it’s known, is

a federal law providing financial relief for state and local governments to offset the economic im pact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

After a March 9, 2022 study session reviewing different programs that may be eligible for fund ing allocation was com pleted, city staff found that the main services that need the most funding are

Continued on page 2

LIVING HISTORY AT SCHOOL DISTRICT’s 150th ANNIVERSARY

Sylvia Mendez (left) and Janice Munemitsu at the Westminster School District’s 150th anniversary event on Thursday (Orange County Tribune photos by Jim Tortolano).

No agreement on how to spend ARPA money

Continued from page 1

public safety and security, com munity improvements, commu nity assistance, homelessness, and affordable housing develop ment.

Now, with almost six months gone by, the city council feels that Westminster has more im portant issues to put its budget toward. Some of these issues, like cybersecurity and police

Navigation project cash

Continued from page 1

“This [navigation center] is that stepping stone for us to be able to help so that they can move on to something more. Either their own housing or a new shelter,” said Christine Cordon, city manager.

The building has the capacity to hold 85 beds and serve up to 100 individuals that may be in need.

Westminster is allotted 20 beds for the 150 homeless individuals living in the city. The beds are also only available for adults.

In addition to these sleeping spaces, other amenities avail able would include a laundry room, a kitchen, a dining area, and additional resources regard ing mental health, substance abuse, and educational services.

Orange County has commit ted $11.3 million to the project, which leaves Westminster’s share at around $7.1 million.

The $11.3 million will be bro ken up into an initial contribu tion of $5.3 million with a recur ring contribution of $625,000 for the next ten years. Annually,

the operating cost is estimated to be around $495,000.

Councilmember Kimberly Ho was wary about the amount of money being spent, making sure that after the 10-year period, the property would still belong to all cities that invested.

As outlined in the proposal, the navigation center is committed to community communication and will keep in touch with its neighbors on a regular basis. This ensures the community will remain educated and aware of the center.

Now that the proposal has been approved, the city will begin to allocate funds and move to draft a final, more comprehensive memorandum of understanding between all cities involved in the project. This memorandum of understanding would then be presented to the city council in the near future.

“Hopefully once this center is up and running, [homeless] people won’t choose to congre gate around Westminster,” said Councilmember Tai Do.

WSD celebrates first 150 years

Continued from page 1

On Thursday, Mendez was full of glowing words about the WSD. “I’m so proud of the Westminster School District. I go around the country tell ing people about the trilingual education we have here,” not ing that most public school sys tems don’t even have bilingual classes.

language double immersion pro grams pioneered by the WSD.

“The district has accomplished so much over these many, many years,” said Cynthia Paik, su perintendent.

computer systems, were so nec essary to fix that the City Coun cil decided to budget over $2 million on Wednesday towards their overhaul. No date has been set for the review of the edited budget.

Jake Ngo, the public works di rector and city engineer recom mended an upgrade to air con ditioning units in city buildings and said that the city is behind on OSHA regulations, which re quire HEPA filters and a higher rate of airflow.

This would cost the city $1.3 million.

“If our [A/C] units go out, we’d have to wait five to six months

for a new one. If anything hap pened to the new cooling center too, it wouldn’t serve its pur pose,” said Ngo.

“Let’s spend some time and go over this again. If we need another study session, I’m com fortable with that,” said Coun cilmember Chi Charlie Nguyen.

Coronavirus

Continued from page 1

She was referring to the Span ish language and Vietnamese 124 to 147 and the count of those being treated for the coro navirus in intensive care units ticked up from 21 to 22.

To focus the immersion pro grams, students from those programs danced and sang tra ditional music from their cul tures to the appreciation of the audience, which included local dignitaries, parents and district staff.

The event also featured a flag salute by the Westminster Police Honor Guard, other guest speak ers including Janice Munemit su.– whose family owned the land the Mendez family farmed – and Westminster Mayor Tri Ta.

JIm Tortolano Editor and Publisher Marilyn Lewis Tortolano General Manager

The Orange County Tribune is published on Wednesdays and Saturdays with some exceptions. Address is 9402 Luders Ave., Garden Grove, 92844.

E-mail is orangecountytribune@gmail. com.

Our website is www.orangecountytri bune.com.

Phone: (714) 458-1860.

Established Aug. 6, 2016. All opinions ex pressed in The Tribune, unless otherwise stated, are those of the individual writer or artist and not necessarily those of The Tribune.

A member of The Associated Press , the Online News Association and the Garden Grove Chamber of Commerce.

News&Views

GGPD Slows Down Illegal Street Races

823 citations issued, 39 arrests made

Moving fast to combat illegal street racing and “takeovers,” the Garden Grove Police De partment in September deployed extra resources and netted a truck full of citations, arrests and impounded vehicles. This, and other efforts, have re sulted in a 79 percent decrease in fatal vehicle accidents in Gar den Grove from 2021, according

to Sgt. Royce Wimmer of the GGPD.

Officers issued 823 citations, including 273 for excessive/ loud exhaust. Twenty-eight vehicles were impounded or stored.

Thirty-nine arrests were made, including nine for intoxicated driving and five for street rac ing.

Murder charge vs. woman who rammed car into man

THANKS FOR THE SMOKE ALARMS

A home in Westminster early Wednesday caused an estimated $250,000 in damage, but no one was injured (OCFA photo).

House fire does $250k in damage in Westminster

A middle-of-the-night fire did an estimated $250,000 in dam age to a home in Westminster on Wednesday.

Stanton will consider wire

In response to a suggestion by Mayor David Shawer, the Stan ton City Council decided Tues day night to direct city staff to research and prepare a report on the idea of installing “defensive wire” along flood control chan nels in the city.

The vote was 5-0.

Stanton has several such chan nels within city limits, which help prevent overflow in cases

According to the Orange County Fire Authority, the blaze was reported at 3:10 a.m. at a two-story home in the 15000 block of Balboa Street, between McFadden and Bolsa Avenues.

Fifty-five firefighters from the OCFA, Fountain Valley and Huntington Beach fire depart ments were able to contain the fire to the garage, but the rest of the home still sustained “signif icant smoke and heat damage.”

The blaze displaced seven adults, two children and one cat. The occupants were alerted by working smoke alarms, which are credited in saving the lives of the occupants.

The cause is under investiga tion. Damage to the structure is estimated at $150,000 and $100,000 to contents.

SANTA ANA (AP) – A Cali fornia woman has been charged with killing a man by ramming her car into him after accusing him of trying to run over a cat in the street, authorities said Wednesday.

Hannah Star Esser, 20, was charged with murder in the death of Victor Anthony Luis, 43, and detained on $1 million bail, the Orange County prosecutor’s of fice said in a statement.

Esser was driving in the com munity of Cypress on Sunday night when she confronted Luis and accused him of trying to run over a cat, authorities said.

She and Luis both got out of their vehicles and got into an argument that Esser recorded, authorities said.

Esser then returned to her car, turned around, drove toward Luis and hit him, authorities said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

“This action showed a com plete disregard for human life,” District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in the statement.

Luis, a father of five daughters, was expecting his first grand child this fall. He was killed in front of his apartment building

and ``died in his only brother’s arms,’’ said a statement issued on behalf of his family Wednes day.

“This senseless act of violence has robbed the world of a bright light who will never be forgot ten,” the statement said, adding that a GoFundMe campaign has been established by his sister to pay for his funeral.

Esser was arrested Sunday and had an initial court appearance Tuesday, court records show.

on page 4

Free e-paper!

If you’re interested in getting a free subscription to the e-paper version of The Orange County Tribune, just send us an e-mail at: orangecountytribune@ gmail.com and we’ll get it started right away.

The e-paper is published Wednesdays and Satur days (with some excep tions).

Woman charged with murder

Continued from page 3

She is scheduled to be arraigned Oct. 13. An email message was sent to defense attorney Michael Morrison seeking comment. Kimberly Edds, a spokesper

son for the district attorney’s of fice, said it was not immediately clear whether a cat was actually involved. The crime is still be ing investigated, she said.

Wire on flood channels?

Continued from page 3

of heavy rain, but can also pose nuisances such as collecting trash, attracting homeless and serving as a path for animals

such as coyotes and raccoons to enter residential neighborhoods. Additionally, channels full with rain water can pose a drowning threat.

New look Ducks are a youth movement

Continued from page 6

see. That’s the hardest thing.” The Ducks will begin this new era without center Ryan Get zlaf after the retirement of their longtime captain and a veteran of the franchise’s only Stanley Cup championship team.

Getzlaf’s departure was only the biggest part of a major fran

chise overhaul in 2022. Long time regulars Hampus Lind holm, Rickard Rakell and Josh Manson were all shipped out at last year’s trade deadline, and Verbeek spent the offseason adding veterans, including for wards Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano and defensemen John Klingberg and Dmitry Kulikov. “He was an excellent captain, and he was a massive influence on everything our players did,’’ coach Dallas Eakins said of Get zlaf. “I have full comfort, I have no questions, about our leader ship in that room. We have guys

who have been around who are just excellent human beings who think about their teammates. The last thing on my list of wor ries right now is leadership.’’

CAPTAIN TRYOUTS

Verbeek said the Ducks won’t name their next captain right away, instead waiting to see who steps up to take Getzlaf’s ``C.’’ Veteran defenseman Cam Fowl er is the most obvious choice, but one of the young stars could step into the role. “We’re going to let the room sort itself out, let leaders emerge,” Verbeek said.

MCTAVISH RISING

McTavish is among the most talked-about young players in hockey after his MVP perfor mance for Canada at the World Junior Championships in Au gust. The 19-year-old seems likely to get a chance to stick with the Ducks after excelling in the OHL last season, and the playmaking two-way center could immediately take a major role down the middle, perhaps even with Zegras on his wing.

EAKINS WATCH

The Ducks spent last season in transition after the early firing of general manager Bob Mur ray and the midseason hiring of Verbeek. The new GM decided Eakins would get another shot at cracking Anaheim’s problems this season, even though the coach has never had a winning

record in his five seasons as an NHL head coach with the Oilers and Ducks.

REINFORCED DEFENSE

The Ducks’ depth problems on the back end were obvious last season, so they signed Kling berg to a one-year, $7 million deal and acquired Kulikov in a trade with Minnesota to join Fowler, Drysdale and Kevin Shattenkirk.

Klingberg was generally con sidered the top defenseman on the free-agent market, but he chose Anaheim after failing to land a long-term deal elsewhere at acceptable terms. The Swede appears to be happy with the chance to help the Ducks while playing his way into position for a longer contract – or to join a contender down the stretch if the Ducks falter.

“I see a really good mix, and a good battle to get the ice time,” Klingberg said. “That’s what you want.”

IN NET

John Gibson is still with the Ducks after a down season by his lofty standards in goal, and Anthony Stolarz again will be his backup despite posting supe rior numbers.

Anaheim also has a clear NHL prospect in Lukas Dostal down at its AHL affiliate in San Di ego, so Gibson’s future will be popular topic of discussion if the Ducks aren’t winning – or even if they are.

League favorites emerging

Continued from page 6

the Chargers had the issue set tled by half-time with a 42-0 lead. Parker Awad passed for three touchdowns and 300 yards for the green-and-gold. He also ran for a TD.

Carter Hogue had 79 yards rushing and one score.

On Thursday, Rancho Alami tos burnished its credentials as a favorite for the Garden Grove League title with a 17-7 win over Los Amigos in the GGL opener for both teams.

The Vaqueros (now 6-0 over

all) who have won the last four Grove League crowns, offered a balanced attack with Chris Hur ley passing for 176 yards and a score while Angel Diaz rushed for 105 yards and a TD.

For the Lobos (4-2), Maysen Navarro threw a scoring pass to Erubey Ramirez.

In other area football action, Loara defeated La Quinta 27-17 in GGL play. The Saxons are 3-3 and the Aztecs are 1-5.

In non-league play, Garden Grove (5-1) beat Godinez Fun damental (1-5) by 55-0.

The Sports Page

Favorites Emerge In Openers

Edison and Rancho look like leaders

Prep Football

Thursday

Loara 27, La Quinta 21

New look Ducks debut soon

By Greg Beacham AP Sports Writer

ANAHEIM (AP) – Some of the most exciting young players in hockey are wearing the Anaheim Ducks’ sweater this win ter.

Their fans are hoping they’ll also be wearing it closer to the summer while ending the Ducks’ four-year playoff drought.

Trevor Zegras, Troy Ter ry, Jamie Drysdale, Isac Lundestrom, Mason Mc Tavish and Olen Zellwe

ger comprise an enviable young core of talent, and the Ducks intend to build their future on it.

They still need all their young stars to take a step forward as they attempt to end the longest postsea son absence in franchise history.

Zegras and Drysdale made a splash as rook ies last season, but it didn’t translate into team success while Anaheim finished seventh in the Pacific Division. But the Ducks are no ordinary

non-playoff team with that elite base of young stars in the making, and general manager Pat Ver beek expects the group to grow.

“We hope they take their game to another level,” Verbeek said. “We’re go ing to need them to take it to another level. The hardest thing coming into your second year is teams start to know who you are. It’s not easier, it’s harder and I think they understand that. We’ll

Continued on page 5

The initial week of league play doesn’t nec essarily crown a champi on, but it often points the way toward the games which likely decide the issue.

On Friday, Edison (6-0) overpowered Huntington Beach 42-8 and set up the Oct. 13 game against Los Alamitos (4-2) as the contest which will see the Sunset League race settled.

Bolsa Grande (4-2) pulled off what might be considered a 14-8 upset of Santiago (4-2) Friday night, which results in an unexpected key Garden Grove League game next week against Rancho Alamitos (6-0) at Bolsa Stadium.

Marina (1-5) and Paci

Angels, Dodgers continue strong finishes

Although it’s a bit too late to change much about how the season went, each of the South ern California big league baseball teams are finish ing the 2022 regular sea son with a flourish.

The Los Angeles Angels defeated the Texas Rang ers 4-1 on Friday, mark ing their fifth win in a row and 10th victory in

Baseball

14 games. The win so lidifies their grip on third place in the American League West.

The Los Angeles Dodg ers hammered the Colora do Rockies 10-1, adding to their franchise record of victories – it’s now at 109-48 – as the Blue

Crew looks forward to the start of the MLB playoffs. In the Angels’ (71-86) win, the team got 11 hits and two home runs. Joe Adell hit his eighth home run of the season, and Luis Rengifo his 17th.

Reid Detmers (7-6) worked six strong in nings, yielding four hits and one earned run. He struck out nine and

walked one. As for the Dodgers, the game was well in hand by the fourth inning when they scored eight runs. The big hit there was a three-run homer by Cody Bellinger. It was his 18th home run of the season.

Clayton Kershaw (11-3) went six innings, yield ing five his and no runs.

Rancho Alamitos 17, Los Amigos 7 Garden Grove 55, Godinez 0

Friday

Edison 42, Hunt. Beach 8 Pacifica 31, Valencia 21 Bolsa Grande 14, Sant. 8 Western 61, Century 0 Marina 35, Ocean View 0 Westminster 13, Katella 8

fica (3-3) shook off rough starts with strong wins on Friday. The Vikings blanked Ocean View (16) by 35-0 and Pacifica (2-4) bested Valencia (15) by 31-21 to offer some hope of stronger league runs.

The Mariners will face a tough Empire League ob stacle next Friday against Cypress (6-0).

In the HB-Edison game,

Continued on page 5

Current as of Friday night * Indicates division title

RYAN GETZLAF retired after 17 seasons with the Ducks. Who will fill his skates in the “new look” team assembled for this season? (Flickr).