The Orange County Tribune Feb. 8, 2023

Weather Forecast

MIDWEEK EDITION

76 / 48

Wednesday: 76/48 sunny Thursday: 83/51 sunny Friday: 78/50 partly cloudy1

HHHH

Volume 3, Number 11 n orangecountytribune.com n Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023 n orangecountytribune@gmail.com

n WESTMINSTER CITY COUNCIL

A NICE STRETCH OF THE LEGS

n HUNTINGTON BEACH CITY COUNCIL

Revoking a pair of censures?

A pair of efforts to undue two resolutions adopted during the angriest stage of internal political battles in the Westminster City Council are on the agenda for Wednesday’s meeting.

The council will consider adoption of resolutions to rescind censures of thenVice Mayor Chi Charlie Nguyen (December 2021) and then-Mayor Tri Ta (January 2022).

Grounds for the censures covered a variety of allegations, but especially accusations about controversial political statements. The censures were approved on 3-2 votes with Ta and Nguyen voting against.

Surf City Marathon (that’s 26 miles and 385 yards) runners pour Now, with a different ma- across the finish line on Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Continued on page 2

Beach on Sunday. (City of Huntington Beach photo).

Two killed, one injured in a wrong-way crash Two persons were killed and another injured in a four-car crash Monday afternoon in Westminster.

According to Commander Kevin MacCormick of the WPD, the incident took place after 12:50 p.m, in the 14500 block of Westminster Boulevard, near Hazard Avenue.

Witnesses told police that an “older type minivan” was speeding north in

the southbound lanes of Beach when it collided with three other vehicles.

The driver of the minivan was pronounced dead at the scene. He was an elderly Westminster resident, about 80 to 85 years old.

The passenger in that vehicle was taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange where she later sucContinued on page 2

Inside The Trib

“Rainbow” Flag Won’t Be Displayed

By Jim Tortolano/Orange County Tribune

After hours of public comment and some emotional words on the dais, the Huntington Beach City Council voted 4-3 Tuesday night to approve a new flag policy that will remove the rainbow LGBTQ “pride” flag from display on city property.

Voting in favor of the measure, which will direct the city manager and city attorney to specify the display of flags, were Mayor Tony Strickland, Mayor Pro Tem Gracey Van Der Mark and Councilmembers Pat Burns and Casey McKeon. Opposed were Councilmembers Rhonda Bolton, Dan Kalmick and Natalie Moser.

Recently, the rainbow flag was flown during the “Pride” month of June.

As proposed by Burns, the new policy would Continued on page 2

ANOTHER HARBOR BLAZE

Wonder Woman will be returning

ARTS & LIVING 5

Where’s Ohtani in ‘24?

THE SPORTS PAGE 8

Firefighters from the Orange County Fire Authority battled a blaze in the area of Trask Avenue and Harbor Boulevard in Garden Grove at an abandoned building early Tuesday morning. A homeless person was injured and treated by firefighter paramedics (OCFA photo).

For breaking news and sports all week long, go to www.orangecountytribune.com

2 WEDNESDAY, FEB. 8, 2023/ORANGE COUNTY TRIBUNE

“Pride” flag won’t fly Continued from page 1

limit flag displays at city facilities to the national American flag, POW/MIA, state, city, county and the six U.S. military branch flags.

“It’s not about getting rid of the ‘pride’ flag,” said Burns, insisting that under the Stars and Stripes, “we are all equal” and the city “shouldn’t fly flags that divide” people.

But the council minority and most of the people who spoke under public comments on the subject felt that the flag policy change was intended to remove that flag.

“What message does it send?” asked Moser. “A petty and unsavory message.”

Speakers during public comments argued that the flag demonstrated Huntington Beach’s acceptance of sexual minorities and would help refute the image of intolerance that some see in Surf City.

Some spoke in favor of the change, arguing that the “pride” flag was showing favor to a special group and without a specific list of approved banners it might be possible to display flags of a wide variety of objectionable causes.

Also on Tuesday night, the council:

Westminster council Continued from page 1

jority, the censures are back before the council.

Also on the agenda for Wednesday is an increase in police staffing levels by adding two officers to serve as homeless liaisons at a total cost of $332,430 for the fiscal year of 2022-2023.

Additionally, it’s proposed to form an ad hoc committee of two members of the council who would focus on homeless issues.

The council will meet in closed session at 5:30 p.m. and in open session at 7 p.m. at 8200 Westminster Blvd.

Two are killed in wrong-way crash Continued from page 1

cumbed from her injuries.

She also a Westminster resident, about 70 to 75 years old.

The driver of one of the other vehicles involved was taken to UCIMC with a leg injury.

WPD is investigating the cause of the accident.

Anyone who may have witnessed the accident is asked to call Sgt. Anil Adam of WPD Traffic Division at (714) 548-3770.

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 : orangecountytribune@gmail. com.

Website: www.orangecountytribune. com.

Phone: (714) 458-1860.

Established Aug. 6, 2016. All opinions expressed 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 Garden Grove Downtown Business Association and Garden Grove Chamber of Commerce.

• approved on a 7-0 vote a plan to reduce business-related crime by hiring two more police officers, approve overtime for more patrols and buy five “public safety cameras”; • rejected on a 4-3 vote a

proposal by Moser to reinstate remote citizen participation at public meetings; • adopted on a 4-3 vote an ordinance prohibiting the use of anonymous complaints in code enforcement.

ORANGE COUNTY TRIBUNE/WEDNESDAY, FEB. 8, 2023 3

News&Views

A triple-life sentence for a triple killer THE 2023 TET PARADE on Bolsa Avenue (City of Westminster photo).

The parade returns

Grace under pressure.

That’s a nice thing to have.

I refer in this particular case to the 2023 Tet Parade in Westminster last week.

This has been an annual event observing the lunar new year, but there’s been a series of stumbles associated with it. A while back there was a controversy over whether gay rights groups could march in the parade and – if so –where?

A few years ago two rival groups held separate

Retorts

Jim Tortolano parades, one in Garden Grove and another in Westminster.

This year, no non-profit

group stepped up to continue the event, and so – at the last minute, with just a few weeks to spare and plan – the Westminster City Council assigned the task to city staff to pull a rabbit or cat out of a hat and stage the parade on the city’s dime.

(In China, this lunar new year is the “Year of the Rabbit.” For Vietnamese, it’s the “Year of the Cat.”) Some folks expressed concern that the taxpayContinued on page 4

SANTA ANA (AP) – An Orange County man who killed his girlfriend and her two young sons and left their bodies to rot on a balcony while he partied was sentenced Friday to three consecutive life terms in prison, prosecutors said.

Shazer Fernando Limas, 42, of Orange, was sentenced in Orange County.

Limas stabbed 31-yearold Arlet Hernandez Contreras 48 times at his home in April 2012 following an argument a day or two earlier, the Orange County district attorney’s office said in a statement.

Prosecutors said he then killed her sons, 16-month-old Fernando Hernandez Limas and 2-month-old Emanuel Hernandez Limas.

Limas, who also had another girlfriend, “let the bodies of Conteras and boys rot in a balcony clos-

et for 10 days while he continued to go to dance clubs, rented limos, and even had friends over to his apartment,” the statement.

After bleaching blood stains from his carpet, Limas loaded Contreras’s body into a large chest and drove it in a rented U-Haul to an industrial area in neighboring Los Angeles County, where her body was found dumped in a gutter, prosecutors said.

After getting rid of that body, Limas is believed to have driven another 100 miles to dispose of the bodies of the children, which were never found, prosecutors said.

The victims were “discarded like trash,” District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in the statement.

A few days later, Limas Continued on page 4

Throng honors HBPD Ofc. Vella

A large crowd showed up on Saturday for the unveiling ceremony of a memorial highway sign honoring Officer Nicholas Vella of the Huntington Beach Police Department.

He died in a helicopter crash in February 2022 when his aircraft crashed into the water off Newport Beach.

The unveiling of the sign was at Huntington City Beach at the south Beach Boulevard entrance to Pacific Coast Highway. Speakers at the event included State Sen. Janet Nguyen and Huntington Beach Mayor Tony Strickland.

The sign will mark the stretch of Beach Boulevard from PCH to Talbert Avenue as Officer Nicholas Vella Memorial Highway.

A LARGE CROWD at dedication of tribute to Officer Nicholas Vella

4 WEDNESDAY, FEB. 8, 2023 /ORANGE COUNTY TRIBUNE

NewsUpdate the toll is expected to rise as rescue work continues.

However, according to The New York Times, workers laboring to save those buried under rubble have saved 8,000 people.

Also in the news … Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands are promising to give Ukraine 100 or more refurbished Leopard 1 tanks with a new Russian offensive looming this spring.

LeBron is top scorer PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN

Biden: “Let’s finish the job”

President Joe Biden called for bipartisan cooperation to “finish the job” of fixing the economy and protecting democracy at his State of the Union address Tuesday night.

“To my Republican friends” he said, “if we could work together in the last Congress, there’s no reason we can’t work together and find consensus on important things in this Congress as well.”

However, he was heckled by some Republicans who blamed

him for problems with fentanyl use, shouting “The border! The border!” and “It’s your fault,” according to The New York Times.

Biden’s speech lasted 73 minutes and also touched on a ban on assault rifles and protecting Social Security and Medicare.

Quake death toll at 7,700

The number of deaths counted in the aftermath of the major earthquake that ravaged Turkey and Syria has reached 7,700 and

Los Angeles Lakers’ star LeBron James scored 38 points against the Oklahoma City Thunder Wednesday night and became the NBA all-time leading scorer with a career total of 38,388 points, surpassing the previous leader, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

However, it wasn’t enough for a victory as the Lakers lost 133130.

Weather: Enjoy the sun

Residents of West Orange County area have a couple of days to enjoy sunny weather.

The forecast for Wednesday is for a daytime high of 76 and an overnight low of 48. Thursday’s daytime high rises to 83 and an overnight low of 50.

Praise for the Tet Parade Continued from page 3

ers should fit the bill for the parade.

But for me, the remarkable thing is how quickly and professionally City Manager Christine Cordon and city staff put this thing together, an event that has been widely praised.

It was a near-miracle. Maybe the next near-miracle we can hope for is that the famously divided city council of Westminster can set aside its differences and begin to work toward bringing the community together after years of strife

Triple-life Continued from page 3

broke his lease on his apartment.

“Management from the apartment contacted the Orange Police Department after workers reported a suspicious smell, blood spatter on walls and pools of blood under the bleached carpet,” the DA’s statement said.

Limas was arrested following a high-speed chase on two freeways. He was convicted in December of three counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances.

ORANGE COUNTY TRIBUNE/WEDNESDAY, FEB. 8, 2023 5

Arts&Living

GAL GADOT will star in yet another “Wonder Woman” motion picture (Universal Studios)

A new direction for DC’s heroes Can Gunn pull together a new comic universe?

By Jake Coyle AP Film Writer

NEW YORK (AP) – New DC Studios bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran debuted their plans for a revamped and newly unified DC Universe of films and television series, including a new Superman film in 2025, a Wonder Woman prequel and a Batman movie that won’t star Robert Pattinson.

In all, Gunn and Safran laid out plans for five new films and five new series in a presentation Tuesday that they said would constitute much of the

first chapter – themed as “Gods and Monsters” – in an ambitious eight- to 10-year plan to reshape the DCU. After years of fitful success and some much-maligned duds, Gunn and Safran are making their bid for some cohesion and fresh creativity in Warner Bros.’ comic book empire.

After a several inherited projects debut in the next two years – including “The Flash,” with Ezra Miller, which Gunn said “resets the entire DC Universe” – their slate will launch with “Superman: Legacy” on July 11, 2025.

Gunn is writing that film, which is described as about Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing. No casting has yet been announced, though Henry Cavill has departed the role despite a recent cameo in 2022’s “Black

Adam” – a sequel to which also isn’t part of Gunn and Safran’s plans despite Dwayne Johnson’s impassioned lobbying.

Who’s in and who’s out at DC has been the subject of much conjecture since October, when Gunn and Safran were named co-chairmen and co-chief executive officers of DC Studios.

Among those making the cut: Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller, the Swamp Thing and a Batman and Robin film.

First, Robert Pattinson’s Batman will return in Matt Reeves’ “The Batman Part II,” opening Oct. 3, 2025. That film, though will lie outside the DCU and – like Todd Phillips 2024 “Joker” sequel – be labeled “DC Elsewhere” to signify that it stands outside the central, overlapping DC universe. Another Caped Crusader film, though, is coming at an unknown date: “The

Brave and the Bold,” a Batman and Robin tale inspired by Grant Morrison’s comic series.

Also coming is “Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow,” based on Tom King’s comics, and a big-screen standalone for the Swamp Thing. The all-women island birthplace of Wonder Woman will also be the setting of a drama series titled “Paradise Lost.”

Some series will mix animated and live-action interpretations of DC characters. The animated “Creature Commandos,” the first season of which was written by Gunn, features Davis’ Waller and a black ops team, while the live-action “Waller” will star Davis and be written

by Christal Henry (“Watchman”) and Jeremy Carver (“Supernatural”). The planned series Continued on page 6

6 WEDNESDAY, FEB. 8, 2023/ORANGE COUNTY TRIBUNE

James Gunn’s vision of DC’s new movies Continued from page 5

“Lanterns” will feature multiple Green Lanterns.

Gunn first came to DC after directing Marvel’s well-regarded “Guardians of the Galaxy” films. When the Walt Disney Co. temporarily dropped Gunn, he jumped to DC and made the supervillain film “The Suicide Squad,” a kind of blockbuster do-over that followed David Ayer’s much-maligned “Suicide Squad.”

He and the veteran producer Safran came aboard with several upcoming DC films already on their way to theaters, including “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” (out March 17), “The Flash”

(out June 16) and “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’’ (Dec. 25).

In a taped video message post on social media, Gunn pledged that the new DC Universe will be characterized by filmmaker freedom and distinctive narratives.

“I knew that this was a oncein-a-lifetime opportunity that’s very different,” Gunn said. “One of the things that’s very important for me in all of these movies and TV series is that the director’s vision and the vision of the writers and all of the creators is unique and something special. Storytelling is always king.

That’s all that matters to us.”

Flag football’s big moment Continued from page 8

a 21-15 lead into the final flag game.

The Pro Bowl changed its format this season, eliminating the traditional game and replacing it with three flag games played on a 50-yard field and a series of skills competitions.

Each of the first two flag games was worth six points and each skills event was three. The total points were accumulated to form the score entering the final flag game.

“I thought it was awesome,” San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey said.

“Guys had fun. It got intense there at the end.”

Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams noticed the NFC took the game more seriously than expected, such as sending Cowboys safety KaVontae Turpin at the quarterback.

“Hopefully, next year the NFC will actually play some man and not sit back in Cover-2 the whole time and blitz one of the fastest men in the league,” Adams said. “Interesting technique by them, but it was still a good time.”

BROTHERS COMPETE Brothers Eli and Peyton Manning each have two Super Bowl rings, but Eli has this Pro Bowl victory over his older sibling.

“I am the greatest coach of the Mannings,” Eli said tonguein-cheek on the NFL’s Twitter account. “I am so much better at coaching than Peyton, it’s unbelievable.”

He wasn’t the only brother to earn bragging rights. Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs intercepted a pass off a trick play from Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs.

PLAYGROUND BALL Cousins said he hopes youngsters watching the Pro Bowl will want to participate in flag football and help that version of the sport grow.

The change to a flag game took some getting used to, but Cousins said that also made it more fun.

For a free subscription via e-mail, please send us a request to: orangecountytribune@ gmail.com.

ORANGE COUNTY TRIBUNE/WEDNESDAY, FEB. 8, 2023 7

Where will Shohei Ohtani be for the 2024 season?

Continued from page 8

the proper work in when he needs it. He’s the least of my concerns.”

Ohtani’s future beyond 2023 might be the most of Minasian’s concerns, although the GM isn’t giving much insight into the Angels’ hopes of retaining the player who won the 2021 AL

MVP award and finished second in last season’s vote after going 15-9 with a 2.33 ERA while also batting .273 with with 34 homers and 95 RBIs. Ohtani will make $30 million this season under his final year of team control. Angels fans are clamoring for their team to sign Ohtani to a long-term deal at any price, while fans from Boston to San Diego are salivating at the prospect of adding the majors’ greatest two-way player.

Minasian deftly avoided any definitive statements about the Angels’ chances of keeping Ohtani beyond this summer.

“Obviously, we love Shohei Ohtani,” Minasian said. “This whole organization would like nothing more than to see him here for a long, long time. ... We love the player. We love what he’s about. He’s somebody that we can envision here for a long, long time.”

Speculation about the Angels’ chances of signing Ohtani has fluctuated wildly since they completed their seventh consecutive losing season and eighth consecutive non-playoff season _ both the worst droughts in the majors.

At 28 as he heads into his sixth big league season, Ohtani has made it clear wants to play for a winner, and the Angels have not been winners since the middle of the previous decade.

But aside from the usual optimism of a fresh season with new signings and the possibility of improved roster health, Orange County fans still have hope because of Ohtani’s loyalty and the Angels’ willingness to allow him to train and to play in any way he chooses.

“There’s a respect level here, obviously,” Minasian said. “He chose to play here, and I think that was one of the reasons he

chose to play here. We’ve been able to agree on two deals over the last two years, which is not easy to do. There’s a respect and trust level there that I don’t think will change. I think the relationship is outstanding.”

Angels owner Arte Moreno explored a sale of the season throughout the winter before deciding last month that he will keep the team. Moreno’s departure likely would have brought in a wealthy new owner capable of making a splash by paying top dollar to Ohtani amid a new commitment to winning, but Moreno is also capable of handing out lavish contracts – even if most of his biggest deals have gone wrong.

Minasian obviously couldn’t speculate on whether Moreno’s retention of the team improved or hurt its chances of keeping Ohtani.

“He’s already invested in this club throughout his whole ownership,” Minasian said. “We’ve been top-10 in payroll for a long time. I don’t see that changing.

Knowing (Moreno) and knowing how much he wants to win, I wouldn’t put anything out of the realm of possibility.”

Minasian said first baseman Jared Walsh and pitchers Griffin Canning and Chris Rodriguez will be ready to go for an essentially normal spring training after missing much of 2022 due to injuries. The GM also confirmed the Angels are still looking for bullpen additions, and they haven’t decided on the identity of their sixth starter in the rotation around Ohtani.

Reach thousands for pennies.

Advertise in The Orange County Tribune, online and e-paper for one low price.

Call Jim at (714) 458-1860

8 WEDNESDAY, FEB. 8, 2023/ORANGE COUNTY TRIBUNE

TheSportsPage

Playoffs Start For Winter Prep Sports Basketball, soccer and more

IS THIS THE last season for two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani in a Los Angeles Angels uniform? Speculation is rife (Angels photo).

Where will Shohei be for the 2024 season?

By Greg Beacham AP Sports Writer

ANAHEIM (AP) – Although Shohei Ohtani’s long-term future with the Los Angeles Angels is decidedly uncertain as he heads into the final season under contract, the two-way superstar’s plans for the spring are all set.

Ohtani will make one

start on the Cactus League mound this month for the Angels before he heads to Japan on March 1 for the World Baseball Classic, Halos general manager Perry Minasian said Saturday.

Whatever Ohtani wants to do in the tournament is entirely up him and the Japanese team, since the Angels will stick to their long-standing policy of

allowing him to do whatever he feels is best for his growth on his unique career path.

“I am not worried about Shohei Ohtani,” Minasian said. “He’s been in Arizona for a while now.

He’s preparing for the season. He’s doing everything he needs to do to be ready to go when the bell rings. He’ll get Continued on page 7

Flag football’s big spotlight turn LAS VEGAS (AP) — For Kirk Cousins, it wasn’t quite the NFL-record 33-point comeback against the Indianapolis Colts to win the NFC North.

However, Cousins was the quarterback for the third and final flag football game at the Pro Bowl on Sunday for a reason.

NFC coach Eli Manning wanted Cousins in that spot to decide the overall winner, and the Minnesota Vikings QB responded by throwing three touchdowns passes to rally the NFC to a 35-33 victory over the AFC in the Pro Bowl Games and end that conference’s

five-game losing streak.

Cousins completed 15 of 19 passes for 150 yards in the NFL’s reformatted all-star contest, which gave the NFC the victory.

“It’s hard to wait around that long to play, but I appreciate Eli letting me be the third guy and fun to go in there and be the closer,” Cousins said.

Based on the earlier flag games and skills competitions, the AFC took Continued on page 6

Eight local boys’ high Playoff Scores school basketball teams have qualified for the basketball CIF-SS playoffs begin- Girls’ Division 5A (wild card) ning this week.

• Orange 53, Silver Valley First round games will be 23 on Wednesday, Feb. 8 and soccer second round on Friday, Boys’ Division 5 (wild card) Feb. 10. Game times are • Pacifica 1, Buena Park 0 7 p.m.

Division 1: Villa Park Girls’ water polo Division 3 (17-10) at Edison (19-9).

• Irvine 13, Garden Grove 3 Division 2AA: Marina Division 4 (16-12) at Tesoro (24-4).

• Roosevelt 13, La Quinta 5 Division 3AA: West Tor- Division 5 15, Western 3 rance (13-15) at Orange- •• Rosary St. Joseph 14, Pacifica 4 wood (21-6).

• South Pasadena 19, Division 3A: Cerritos (13- Westminster 2 15) at Ocean View (16- • Upland 14, Rancho 12); Mission Viejo (15- Alamitos 8 13) is at Western (14-13).

Division 4AA: Troy (19- ta (13-15) at CAMS (136); Anaheim Discovery 9) at Santiago (16-10).

Division 5AA: La Quin- (7-7) at Loara (16-12.

Girls’ CIF-SS basketball play will be starting on Thursday The CIF-SS girls’ basketball pairings have been released and 11 local teams made it to the postseason tournament.

For most divisions, the games will start on Thursday, Feb. 9, with the second round on Saturday, Feb. 11.

Wild card games were played on Tuesday, Feb. 7 (see box).

Game times are at 7 p.m.

Division 1: Woodbridge (16-10) at Orangewood (21-7).

Division 3A: Buena (108) at Santiago (18-7).

Division 4AA: Beverly Hills (16-13) at Edison

(15-13); Westminster (912) at Montclair (18-8).

Division 5AA: Ocean View (19-9) at Pacifica Christian/Santa Monica (11-11); Loara (6-14) at Immaculate Heart (1012); Pacifica (15-14) at Cate (8-6); Don Lugo (11-15) at Marina (1414); Nordhoff at Magnolia (15-10).

Division 5A: La Quinta (13-14) at Nogales (158).

Division 5A Wild Card: Silver Valley (7-12) at Orange (14-7). The winner will play Mesorobian (8-4).