The Orange County Tribune June 10, 2023

Hike

Sales Tax

services at current levels, especially from inflation and other economic fluctuations,” according to a staff report.

Korean Festival sponsors plan for G. Grove Park in October

The return of the Korean Festival to Garden Grove tops the agenda of the city council on Tuesday night.

The Korean Festival Committee of Orange County is requesting permission to host the Arirang Festival at Garden Grove Park on Oct. 12-15 of this year.

Originally, the festival was held in the Kore-

atown area along Garden Grove Boulevard between Brookhurst and Magnolia Street. It was once held in the nearby Brookhurst Triangle area and in most years featured a parade. Since then the event moved to Buena Park where there is a growing

OC corona stats in decline

The latest figures on coronavirus in Orange County show a downward trend both in confirmed new cases and deaths.

According to the county health care agency, new cases this week – through June 7 – are at 419. That’s down from 437 the week before.

New deaths for the week are reported as eight, down from 11 in the previous week.

Total cases in Orange County to date are at 722,502 and deaths at 8,914, a revision from a previous tally.

Korean-American population. It first returned in 2022.

If approved, the festival hours would be 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily and attendance is estimated at 2,000 people per hour on average. One hundred vendors with 150 tents are anticipated.

All costs – including security – will be borne by the association.

Also on the agenda for Tuesday night is a request from the Honoring Our Fallen organization for street closures in West Garden Grove for an Independence Day parade of an estimated 150 golf carts at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 1. Direct costs to the city would be reimbursed by the organization.

Should Westminster raise its sales tax by another half-cent?

At Wednesday’s meeting of the city council, one agenda item calls for consideration of placing a measure on the ballot asking voters to increase the tax by a half-cent to 9.25 from its current 8.75 percent.

Voters in November 2022 approved the one cent increase and collections started on April 1, 2023. That tax hike “brought in $16 million in revenue, but was never enough to fund increased service levels or even continue

Keeping the rate as it is would mean the city would have to dip into reserves for the proposed 2023-2024 budget and be completely out of reserves by fiscal year 2027-28, the report notes. After that deep cuts in city services would be on the horizon. If approved by voters, the increase would bring in an estimated $8 million annually to city coffers. The costs associated with placing a measure on the ballot – if consolidated with a general election –would be in the range of $134,000 to $260,000 or $578,000 to $695,000 in a stand-alone election.

n STANTON CITY COUNCIL

Money matters are very much on the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting of the Stanton City Council.

The council will consider adoption of the city’s budget for 2023-24, which includes employee benefits and salary rates

for all employees.

Also, the council will consider the shifting of money among accounts.

The city’s American Rescue Plan fund balance is $6,479,454. The

n GARDEN GROVE CITY COUNCIL

Korean Festival at GG Park?

Continued from page 1

Also on the agenda is an update on the Civic Center Revitalization Project, which would include a new 87,000-square foot

police facility.

The city council will meet at 6:30 p.m. in the Community Meeting Center, 11300 Stanford Ave.

Westminster sales tax hike?

Continued from page 1

Measure Y was approved overwhelmingly by voters last fall but the city council majority only agreed to place it on the ballot just before the deadline, citing objections to raising taxes. Also on the agenda is the sec-

Stanton council

Continued from page 1

recommendation from city staff is to relocate that amount from Stanton’s law enforcement contract services budget to the ARPA fund, and then reallocate $1,662,608 of the ARPA budget to the general fund, and then have an assigned general fund balance of $4,817,346 “to provide future funding for projects as approved by the city council.”

The council will meet in a special closed session at 5:30 p.m., followed by a regular session at 6:30 p.m. in City Hall, 7800 Katella Ave, Stanton.

Patronize these final local advertisers

ond reading and adoption of an ordinance that exempts minors –mainly Girl Scouts selling cookies – from needing a sidewalk vendor permit.

The council will meet in closed session at 4 p.m. followed by the open session at 6 p.m.

The Orange County Tribune Each Wednesday & Saturday Best

local coverage

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.

Wouldnt it be nice if ... well, if people did ...

Continuing our popular music trend, how about advice from the Beach Boys, as in “Wouldn’t It Be Nice?”

Wouldn’t it be nice if …

• People walking their dogs in the park kept their pooches on leashes?

PUTTING BROOKHURST IN ITS PLACE

Retorts

• Supermarkets showed more respect for the customers by making usable shopping carts available and more than one checkout stand open?

• Motorists used their turn signals?

Jim Tortolano

• Newly-remodeled school buildings had some splash of color and not look like big blocks of modeling clay straight from the box?

• Folks could make more of an effort to get out of their ethnic silos and make friends across cultural lines? You know, diversity without division?

• The members of the deeplydivided Huntington Beach and Westminster city councils could sit down for a beer – preferably many beers – and find common ground, if only in the bon homie that comes from a buzz?

• Beer wasn’t for sale at gas station “mini-marts”?

• More people parked their cars in their garages and stopped complaining about the lack of “on-street” parking?

• The re-construction of the San Diego (405) Freeway were to be finished before we all grow too old to drive anymore?

• Ground-breakings, press conferences, live theatrical performances, special announcements and grand openings would start at the announced time.

Jim Tortolano is always on time, except when he isn’t.

GROUND-BREAKING was held Tuesday for Phase II of the Brookhurst Place project. Tossing the dirt are Garden Grove city councilmembers, City Manager Lisa Kim and developer Ronnie Lam. The project is at Brookhurst Street and Garden Grove Boulevard. Phase II will consist of up to 462 apartment homes (60 of which are “affordable housing”), 58 for-sale condominiums, 200,000 square feet of commercial and retail space, a 100-key hotel, an urban trail and a public park. When finished it will be the largest mixed-use development in Garden Grove (Orange County Tribune photo).

Strawberry Festival contest winners noted

Over the Memorial Day weekend, the Garden Grove Strawberry Festival Association held five contests which included Tiny Tot King and Queen, Design-A-Float, Berry, Berry Beautiful Baby, Redhead Round-up and Brick Build. The winners are listed below:

Tiny Tot King and Queen

- Tiny Tot King - River

- Tiny Tot Queen - Catherine H.

Design A Float:

- 5-8 years old - Emi

- 9-11 years old - Chance N.

Berry, Berry Beautiful Baby

- 3 months - 1 year -- Oliv A.

- 1-3 years old - Luca H.

Redhead Round-up:

- Baby Up to 1 year old: Hailey S.

- Toddler 1-4 years old: Haelyn B.

- Cutest 5-12 years old: Scarlett C.

- Teen 13-19 years old: Talitha B.

- 20-30 years old: Jacob P.

- Classy 30 & Over: Erin A.

- Redhead with Most Freckles: Croz T.

- Strawberry Blond: Mia

Brick Build:

- 5-11 years old

- Most Creative: Susan T.

- Best Representation of Theme: Valente 12-17 years old:

- Most Creative & Best Representation of Theme: Aaron T. 18 & up :

- Most Creative: Stacy F.

- Best Representation of Theme: Paul F.

Felony Charges Against Trump Now Up to 37

Indictments won’t disqualify

The Justice Department’s indictment of former president Donald Trump has now reached 37 felony counts.

According to the Associated Press, the allegations against Trump include improperly storing “sensitive documents” on national security including showing off a Defense Department “plan of attack.”

The prosecution is also alleging that Trump refused to return the documents that were stored at his estate in Florida and

let visitors see some of them.

“Our laws that protect national defense information are critical to the safety and security of the United States and they must be enforced,” said Jack Smith, a Justice Department special counsel.

The indictment, or a conviction would not disqualify Trump from continuing his campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, according to The New York Times, but it would be unusual.

Ukraine counter-offensive underway?

“Fierce fighting” is reported as Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive against Russian invaders appears to have begun.

CNN is reporting that there are conflicting claims made about which

Great Thoughts

side – if either of them – has gained any advantage.

The two areas that appear to be contested are around the eastern city of Bakhmut and – in the south – the city of Kherson. That’s a key spot on

the road to the land bridge to Crimea, seized illegally by Russia in 2014. Both sides seems to hampered by the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam, which led to widespread flooding which restricts the movement of men

and troops. Some observers suggest this early action are just probes to try to find the enemy’s weak spot, or to deceive the other commander about your true intentions.

Winds could push smoke off

The wildfires that are raging across Canada have doused the American Atlantic coast with thick smoke are considered to be mostly still “out of control” but prevailing winds are expected to blow much of the smoke away from the East Coast by the weekend.

CBS News reports that the Canadian Interangency Forest Fire Centre is listing 232 fires as “out of control” and 112 “under control.” Another 82 are described as “being held.”

“Held” means a fire is not under control, but it’s not expanding.

Rain may be on its way

Continuing drought and the recent warmer-thanusual temperatures are blamed for the crisis.

An estimated 75 million American are experiencing “dansgerous” conditions which could affect those suffering from asthma and other respiratory ailments.

There’s a possibility of rain for our West Orange County area this weekend. Saturday is predicted to have morning clouds and afternoon sun with a daytime high of 71 and an overnight low of 61. But Sunday should be cloudy all day with a 24 % chance of rain and a high of 68 (61). Monday will be cooler at 65 (58) and a 23% chance of rain.

The outlook is better for Tuesday with a forecast of mostly sunny skies and a high of 70 (59) on Wednesday.

CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS found in a bathroom in Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago estate in Florida (Justice Department photo).

“I envy paranoids; they actually feel people are paying attention to them.”

– Susan Sontag

A Rockin’ ‘All Shook Up’ at Gem Stage Review

‘Twelfth Night’ meets Elvis in fun merging of eras

By Thom deMartino Orange County Tribune

You don’t have to be fans of “The King” to fall in love with this one.

Now playing at the Garden Grove’s renowned Gem Theater is something special: a Shakespearian comedy told through the music of “The King” himself, Elvis Presley. “All Shook Up” introduces the viewers to the 1950’s Midwest, and the colorful young roustabout that upends the traditions of one sleepy little burg.

Fresh out of jail, the handsome biker Chad (Hayden Magnum) rolls into town, in desperate need of a mechanic: and when Natalie (Giovanna Martinez), a talented local mechanic sets eyes on him, she is instantly smitten. Which wouldn’t be so bad, if

her best friend Dennis (Matthew Rangel) wasn’t already in love with her, and struggling to find a way to express it.

When the affable Chad takes Dennis under his wing as his sidekick, the awkward young man thinks this could be the way to reinvigorate his image and finally find the courage to open up to Natalie.

But theirs isn’t the only complication for the lovelorn in this town: in the local honky tonk owned by the amiable and winsome Sylvia (Emily Guerrero), Natalie’s widowed father Jim Haller (Wyatt Buckle), can’t see that the proprietor and his good friend actually has eyes for him.

And while the domineering and no-nonsense Mayor Matilda Hyde may have the burly, mysteriously silent Sheriff Earl (Timothy Klega) enforcing her “Mamie Eisenhower Decency Act,” forbidding loud music and making out, it doesn’t stop Syl-

via’s daughter Lorraine (Cassidy Love), a waitress at her mom’s honky tonk from finding herself mesmerized by the uptight mayor’s handsome son Dean (Aaron Gibbs).

Rounding things out in this connect-the-dots of relationships is Miss Sandra (Mary Desmond), the beautiful museum owner looking for some kind of distraction from the boredom of the town – yet somehow unfazed when the handsome drifter finds himself enamored of her and comes calling.

In a repressed little township, desperate to remain quiet, pure and “moral”, can the strengths of love and of music prevail?

“All Shook Up” is a really, really special something, even for those who may not be die-hard fans of Elvis Presley’s music. Audience members will find themselves unable to resist humming or even singing along with some of the tunes, the performances of which by the ensemble are magnificent.

Magnum has become an un-

Great: HHHH

questionably luminous presence at the Gem with his portrayals in other shows, and the talented vocalist really gets to play the part of the rockabilly charmer: and it’s not only his singing, but his impeccable comic timing and delivery that really drives home what a performer he is.

This is, of course, par for the course at the Gem – several alumni of other productions appear herein, and as always, regular patrons can chart the honing of talents by regulars such as the singular Mr. Rangel, whose vocal skills are still deeper and richer than in previous shows, and the amazing Ms. Martinez and her remarkable power and range, both vocally and dramatically.

The chemistry between Love’s Lorraine and Gibbs Dean is palpable, accentuated by their stunning performances both together and apart; Klega’s portrayal of

HAYDEN MAGNUM stars as Chad in “All Shook Up” at the Gem Theatre in Garden Grove (Photo by Ron Lyon)

‘All Shook Up’ rocks the Gem Theatre

Sheriff Earl is an absolute treasure, from a sturdy fixture of the One More Productions ensemble; there’s a welcome return to the Gem by Gentry with her showing as the prim, upright Mayor Hyde; excellent songand-dance numbers by always reliably skilled extended ensem-

ble; and the newest additions to OMP, Desmond and Buckle, give outstanding performances in their first outings on the Gem stage, and surely not to be the last.

An amazing, energetic and all-around fun show for all ages “All Shook Up” is a masterpiece of a jukebox musical:

“Don’t Be Cruel”, treat yourself to this fantastic production.

“All Shook Up.” Hayden Magnum, Giovanna Martinez and Matthew Rangel star in this Elvis-inspired take on a Shakespearian “comedy of errors” love stories. Playing through July 9 at The Gem Theater.

Arrest made in high school bomb threats

SANTA ANA (AP) – A California man was arrested for allegedly threatening staff and students after a high school football championship game last year, authorities said.

Eugene Thomas Jenkins, 29, was arrested last weekend in the Bay Area city of San Rafael - more than 400 miles (644 kilometers) north of the school tar-

geted by the threats, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.

Jenkins was arrested for investigation of a bomb threat and death threats by phone and letters against staff and students at Laguna Hills High School, said Orange County Sheriff’s Sgt. Mike Woodruff. The school’s graduation ceremony was also

threatened last week, which prompted additional security measures, authorities said.

The threats began after the Laguna Hills High School football team beat Bellarmine Prep of San Jose in December 2022 to become state champions. Jenkins was a Bellarmine fan, and some of the 14 alleged victims targeted included members of the Laguna Hills football team, Woodruff said.

“He has done this via telephone calls, via the mail,” Woodruff said. “He has done it from a distance kind of in an anonymous perspective thinking he would not get caught.”

Denver Nuggets and Stan Kroenke’s golden touch

Continued from page 8

These days, the Nuggets are estimated by Forbes to be worth $1.93 billion.

“One thing I know about Stan is that when he sets his mind to doing something, and when he thinks he’s right, he’s going to fight for that,” said Wellington Webb, who was Denver’s mayor in 1999 and helped broker the deal that closed a year later between Kroenke and the Nuggets.

Though Kroenke married into money – he wed Walmart heiress Ann Walton in 1974, a few years after meeting her during a ski trip to Aspen –he had al-

ready honed his business chops.

His first deal: Taking a $1,500 loan at 6% interest from his dad so he could buy part of a clothing shop with his friend.

Not long after, he got into the real estate business, building shopping centers with a developer who was tight with Walmart founder Sam Walton.

Real estate and sports are, these days, almost intertwined - a reality Kroenke grasped quickly.

“I always thought I’d enjoy (owning a sports franchise) because the professional sports business is part business and part sports,” Kroenke told the Columbia (Missouri) Daily Tribune in 2022, “and I love both of them.”

Kroenke’s representatives did not return messages left by The Associated Press seeking an interview.

His first major jump into sports was his partnership with Rams owner Georgia Frontiere. In the mid-1990s, Frontiere was chafing at the inability of Los Angeles to build a new stadium, She was looking for partners to bankroll a move to St. Louis.

Kroenke bought in, and when Frontiere died in 2008, he exercised his right to purchase a majority stake in the team.

The sad irony is that it was Kroenke, the Missouri native, who moved the Rams out of St. Louis and back to LA where they are the main tenant in his $5.1 billion stadium. His connection with Denver - much different.

“One of my dreams was to be involved in a professional basketball team,” Kroenke told The Denver Post, shortly after closing the deal for the Nuggets. “This is a dream I’ve had for a long time.”

There is, in fact, a strong argument that the basketball trophy might be the most meaningful for a family that has amassed three Stanley Cup trophies with the Avalanche, a Super Bowl trophy with the Rams and is still looking for glory with Arsenal, the Premier League soccer team it has had a controlling interest in since 2011.

Kroeke’s son, Josh, was a standout basketball player in high school and played at University of Missouri. He now runs the Nuggets.

“I thought that you could bring a championship to Denver,” Josh said in a recent interview on team-owned Altitude Sports Radio. “Trying to do something that’s never been done before, it’s not always easy, and it’s usually met with a lot of resistance. ... We’re mostly excited for the city to get to experience this. But the job’s not done.”

The Nuggets were parked squarely in NBA purgatory when the team went on the

block in 1999, having not sniffed relevancy since their mid-80s heydey, when the teams were highlighted by coach Doug Moe’s uptempo offense. Their situation off the court wasn’t much better. In the late ‘80s, then-owner Sidney Shlenker had toyed with the idea of moving the team to Memphis.

His sale to a media conglomerate that was never truly hot on owning sports teams did nothing to tamp the idea that the Nuggets were a team that might be available to move. And teams were moving; Between 2001-08, Memphis (from Vancouver), Oklahoma City (from Seattle) and New Orleans (from Charlotte) all adopted existing franchises in a flurry of NBA reshuffling.

When Denver went on the block, the highest bidder, billionaire businessman Donald Sturm, came in with a $460 million offer, but balked at the idea that he couldn’t move the team. In stepped Kroenke, who had no problem with the arrangement.

Sports Retorts: Be true to your tribe

Continued from page 8

Forget six teams; we are divided enough to create a whole network of franchises based on the like-minded. And to duplicate the importance of the closing part of an election campaign, change the game from four quarters to three periods and have the “break” after the second.

And taking a tip from TV game shows with bonus play and lightning rounds, let’s make scores in the third period worth double, making dramatic and emotional comebacks more possible, if not common.

I’m not saying this is going to eclipse regular football, but, honestly, who wouldn’t want to watch a game between the Jersey Made Men and D.C. Feds?

Angels win

Continued from page 8

it for slamming his own two-run shot. He batted 3-for-4 on the night with a single, a double and the homer for two RBIs and a run scored.

The win was the Angels’ fifth in a row and raised their record to 35-30. They’re closing in on the Houston Astros, losers of four straight but still in second place in the American League West, 2.5 games ahead of the Halos.

Dodgers lose

Continued from page 8 phia’s sixth win in a row while the Blue Crew has lost four of its last six games.

With the loss, the Dodgers are 36-28 and in second in the National League West, behind the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Trailing 4-1 in the seventh, the Dodgers got back-to-back home runs by Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman to tie the game up.

STAN KROENKE

What is your football tribe and just why?

In my last column, I made some suggestions about how to modernize and enliven professional sports, and saved the best idea – and probably – the strangest for last.

I’m not going to suggest that the NFL is in any trouble; my idea is that there’s room for another fall football league that takes a whole ‘nother approach to creating a fan base.

Sports Retorts

Jim

Tortolano

Think for a moment about the Las Vegas Raiders. They have cultivated such a rough-andtumble bad boy image that their frequent moves – Oakland

to L.A., back to Oakland, then off to Sin city – hasn’t dimmed their popularity. Locality became secondary to attitude. If you wanted to project an image as a tough-guy vato, you wore the cap with the crossed swords and the eyepatch.

Considering the inescapable fact that the Big Money in sports is on TV revenue rather than Cracker Jacks, and add in the relatively successful “bubble” experiments during the pandemic, the next step is … the Affinity Football League.

Six teams oriented not toward a home city – although they could have a favorite stadium – but a slice of society with a common ethnic, political, entertainment interest. Social scientists are currently hot on the theme of the “tribes” of America.

Imagine a game between the Silicon Valley Techies and the Alabama Good ‘ol Boys? Better yet, a struggle between the Midwest Working Men and the Northeast Donkeys.

Denver Nuggets and the Kroenke Touch

By Eddie Pells AP National Writer

DENVER (AP) – Some might say Stan Kroenke and his family would be pulling off the impossible by bringing a longawaited NBA title to Denver. Less discussed – at least these days – was their willingness, in 1999, to dive into a messy acquisition process for a largely irrelevant franchise that had been considered a relocation prospect as the 21st century approached.

All of the talk of them relocating no longer exists.

Now, the conversation is about how the Nuggets were able to reach their first NBA Finals thanks to the stubborn patience displayed by the Kroenkes, who have taken an unorthodox route toward assembling an unorthodox win-

Nuggets over Heat in Game 4

Aaron Gordon scored 27 points as the Denver Nuggets beat the Miami Heat 108-95 Friday night in Miami to take a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals.

Game Five is Monday in Denver.

ner. Denver leads the Miami Heat two games to one going into Thursday’s Game Four (see sidebar).

Kroenke’s deal to purchase the Nuggets, along with the Colorado Avalanche and their home arena for $450 million, included a clause that tethered the NBA franchise to Denver for the ensuing 25 years.

Shohei shows up M’s as the Halos win 5th

By Pete Zarustica Orange County Tribune

Shohei Ohtani continued to write his legend with strong performances as pitcher and hitter in the Los Angeles Angels’ 5-4 win over the Seattle Mariners in Anaheim on Friday.

Ohtani pitched five innings, giving up three hits, three earned runs and struck out six batters. He gave up a two-run homer in the first inning, but made up for

Continued on page 7

Walkoff loss extends slide of Dodgers

By David Arthur Orange County Tribune

The Los Angeles Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies are moving in opposite directions. On Friday night, Kyle Schwarber hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth to give the Phils a 5-4 win. It was Philadel-

Continued on page 7

NIKOLA JOVIC is only part of the reason for the Denver Nuggets’ success this season (WIkipedia photo).