The Orange County Tribune March 1, 2023

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MIDWEEK EDITION

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Volume 3, Number 18 n orangecountytribune.com n Wednesday, March 1, 2023 n orangecountytribune@gmail.com

n GARDEN GROVE CITY COUNCIL

It is Official; Kim is City’s 8th Manager

By Jim Tortolano Orange County Tribune

On the same night that it bid goodbye to its longtime city manager Scott Stiles, the Garden Grove City Council officially installed Lisa Kim as the new top appointed official in the City of Youth and Ambition.

The council voted 7-0 in favor of an employment agreement with Kim with an annual salary of $292,074. The deal is for three years with two automatic two-year renewals.

“I’m very excited,” said Kim, who has served as assistant city manager and community and economic development director.

“I’m going to roll up my sleeves and tackle any problem no matter how small or how large.”

The appointment of Kim, a Korean American, to the city manager post is historic because she’s believed to be the first Asian American to ever rise to that position in Orange County.

She came to Garden Continued on page 2

THE FINAL FAREWELL to Scott Stiles at Tuesday’s meeting of the Garden Grove City Council as he receives a commendation for his service to the city from Mayor Steve Jones (Orange County Tribune photos).

Inside The Tribune

“Cocaine Bear” provides no high

n STANTON CITY COUNCIL

Park lease extended for another 5 years Until the City of Stanton was able to convert a large elementary school campus into the large Central Park on Western Avenue, the only green space in town bigger than the proverbial postage stamp was Stanton Park.

On Tuesday night the city council voted 5-0 to extend its lease deal with Southern California Edison for use of the green-

belt with the landmark towers that carry the wires that provide electricity to the city.

The linear park, located west of Beach Boulevard (south of Katella Avenue) has, over the years hosted car shows, musical concerts and seasonal festivals such as the Easter Egg hunt for kids.

Under the terms of the Continued on page 2

ARTS & LIVING PAGE 5

Argos top our baseball High 5

SPORTS PAGE 8

Farewell tour winds up for Mr. Scott Stiles “Farewell tours” usually mark the conclusion of a sports figure’s career, but for Scott Stiles, the goodbyes he made at a recent community gathering and on Tuesday at the Garden Grove City Council were steps toward another stage in his career as he moves to become the city manager of Palm Springs.

Stiles thanked the city council for its support for “a wonderful relationship” and praised it as being an example for other county cities.

He congratulated new City Manager Lisa Kim. “It’s an awesome job,” he said. “Lots of challenges.

“I’ve got a daughter at Chapman, so you might just see me wandering around.”

I know you’re going to do very well.”

Stiles went on to praise the community. “Garden Grove is not the richest community in Orange County. It doesn’t feel entitled,” he said. “But if you show you care about the community, they will embrace you.”

There were compliments and thanks to family members, whose lives were Continued on page 6

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

2 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2023/ORANGE COUNTY TRIBUNE

Scott Stiles’ farewell Continued from page 1

sometimes interrupted by the press of city business on him, and praise for city staff members.

Lisa Kim is new city mgr.

In winding up his farewell remarks, he offered this teaser.

“I’ll be watching you from just over the San Jacinto Mountains,” and added, “I’ve one daughter at Chapman [University], so you just might see me wandering around.”

Continued from page 1

Grove from Orange, where she was involved in the revival of that city’s downtown, as well as the conversion of The Block shopping center into The Outlets in Orange power center and outlet mall.

In Garden Grove as community and economic development dierctor, she oversaw an array of operations from code enforcement to planning to the more visible task of bringing new businesses to Garden Grove such as the Pavilion West shopping center on Chapman Avenue anchored by a Sprouts Farmers’ Market and the Steelcraft urban outdoor eatery in the Civic Center area.

Stanton Park lease Continued from page 1

lease – which will go into effect on July 1 – the city will pay $1,342.75 annually for a total of $6,713.74. The lease will run through June 30, 2028.

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.

The Orange County Tribune Every Wednesday & Saturday

ORANGE COUNTY TRIBUNE/WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2023 3

News&Views

School safety officer held for molesting THE 15-MINUTE city (or neighborhood) was influenced by cities such as Paris, in which a range of amenities tend to be within walking distance (David Mapletoft/Wikipedia)

Forget about leaving home; you can’t leave neighborhood!

Some people will believe anything.

I’m sorry that’s not a quote from a famous person, but it seems so self-evident that there’s no need to give it more weight by tying it to Plato or Emerson or Bill Murray.

Tales that seem overthe-top ridiculous nevertheless take hold despite defying all rational thought, which kind of explains why some folks believe it.

Alex Jones is the most notorious purveyor of dangerous nonsense with his claim that the Sandy Hook massacre was a

Retorts

Jim Tortolano staged event with “crisis actor” children pretending to be dead.

But there are other beliefs that have taken hold among millions, which include:

• The coronavirus was a “plandemic” created by dark forces to get you to take drugs which contained tiny electronics allowing tracking and/ mind control of those inoculated; • That Barack Obama was born in Kenya, or Indonesia; • That the United States is a corporation in which all Americans are legally slaves; • That John Kennedy was killed by the FBI, Cuba, Lyndon Johnson, the Mafia, the Defense Department, Big Oil,

Chili cookoff will close some streets in West GG

Make way for spicy food and eye-catching automobiles. On Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Vanguard Avenue, between Winton Street and St. Mark Street, will close for the Chili Cook-Off and Car Show Continued on page 6 community event. Motorists should plan accordingly to avoid delays.

The Chili Cook-Off and Car Show will be held at Eastgate an unknown suspect in Park, at 12001 St. Mark Street, a white sport utility ve- from 12-4 p.m. hicle. Several shots were The event is hosted by Kathy fired at the victim’s car, Ladd in sponsorship of the Pacifica High School one of them hitting the NJROTC program.Residents in the area should expect an increase of pedestrian traffic during event hours. vehicle.

The victim was not in- The GGPD Traffic Unit will be onsite during closure times to direct traffic and suggest alternate routes.

Continued on page 4

Shots fired at car in Westminster Several gunshots were around 4:40 a.m. in the fired from a moving car 13200 block of Jasperat another vehicle before son Way (west of Beach dawn on Friday in West- Boulevard, between Garminster. den Grove Boulevard and According to Sgt. Ed- Trask Avenue). die Esqueda of the WPD, A motorist was drivthe incident took place ing when confronted by

A Santa Ana man employed as a school safety officer was arrested Friday on child molestation charges.

According to the SAPD, David Escobar, 45, was arrested at Saddleback High School in Santa Ana where he worked. He was booked into Orange County Jail in Santa Ana on multiple molestation charges and bail was set at $1 million.

DAVID ESCOBAR A woman reported to po(SAPD photo) lice that the suspect had molested her “on several Santa Ana’s parks and occasions” when she was recreation department 4 years old and he was 20. from July 1996 through During their investigation, September 2011. Neither detectives identified a sec- victim had been enrolled ond victim who reported in Escobar’s after-school being molested by Esco- program. bar. She was a teenager at Detectives believe there the time. could be more victims In addition to working as and are asking anyone a safety officer for the San- with information about ta Ana Unified School Dis- possible similar incidents trict, he had also worked to contact Detective J. Garas an after-school program cia at (714) 245-8732 or at coordinator for the City of jgarcia@santa-ana.org.

4 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2023/ORANGE COUNTY TRIBUNE

NewsUpdate Also in the News … A Congressman has apologized for mistating his college degree.

Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tennessee) had said his degree was in international relations when it was actually in liberal studies …

Sports: Busy night on ice and on hardwood

SUPREME COURT majority skeptical on debt issue

Debt forgiveness in doubt

The student loan debt forgiveness program initiated by President Joe Biden may not survive the scrutiny of the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Associated Press is reporting that members of the conservative majority on the high court appeared to be skeptical of the Biden administration’s power to cancel hundreds of billions of dollars of federal student loan debt on the basis of the coronavirus crisis.

To date, implementation of the forgiveness program has been stopped by conservative judges in lower courts, although loan payments have been on hold since the start of the pandemic.

Money to Ukraine raises issues in Congress How much financial aid has been sent to Ukraine in its efforts to defeat Russian invaders, and how much more will be spent?

Those issues were raised in Washington D.C. by both Democrats and Republicans in Congress on Tuesday, according to The New York Times.

Also raised were the issues of lost and possibly diverted weapons and fraud.

Congress has approved $45 billion in military and other help for Ukraine leading to some concern that the aid might run out sooner than expected.

There’s a lot of professional sports to keep track of tonight in the Southern California. The Los Angeles Lakers – playing without the injured LeBron James – lost 121-109 tp the Memphis and the Los Angeles Clippers lost 108-101 to the the Minnesota Timberwolves in NBA play.

In NHL action, the Los Angeles Kings beat the Winnipeg Jets 6-5 in a shootout. .

Weather: Showers, wind, rain and then sun

The forecast for Wednesday for the West Orange County area calls for morning showers and wind up to 21 miles an hour. The expected daytime high is 55 with an overnight low of 37. Sunny skies will return on Thursday and Friday with daytime highs of 60 and 62, along with lows of 41 and 43.

Partly cloudy and mostly cloudy weather will move in over the weekend.

Shots fired at Westminster car Continued from page 3

jured and left the area without further incident before calling police. Officers responding to the scene found casings.

Anyone with more information or surveillance video, or may have witnessed the incident is asked to call Detective Malcolm Pierson at (714) 548-3759.

ORANGE COUNTY TRIBUNE/WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2023 5

Arts&Living

No High At All in ‘CocaineBear’ It’s 100% junk; do not feed this unlucky animal

By Mark Kennedy AP Entertainment Writer

Yes, there’s a giant bear and, yes, it does a ton of coke. And, yes, just as you probably suspected, the movie blows.

We have officially sunk very low with “Cocaine Bear,” way past other films where the title alone describes the only thing that happens, like “Snakes on a Plane,” “We Bought a Zoo” or “Sharknado.”

Aping other genres of filmmaking, this one never finds its own voice or a way to integrate the ultra-violence with the dark comedy. It’s like a parody of a parody that director Elizabeth Banks has turned limp and pointless. If you think it’s hysterical to see a bear do a bump off a severed leg stump, by all means, the movie theater is this way.

But where does it all go from here? Just match an apex predator with a Schedule II drug and fall deeper into a movie future with “Oxycodone Osprey” or “Codeine Crocodile”?

The best thing to say is that, even at an efficient 95 minutes, “Cocaine Bear” just snorts along.

When a drug runner in a plane in 1985 drops an outstanding amount of cocaine on Blood Mountain in Georgia, a 500-pound black bear ingests a brick of it and naturally wants more (At this point, we must call it Pablo Escobear, right?).

Unfortunately, there are different groups of people who happen to be in the woods at the same time – a pair of European backpackers, a teen and her friends skipping school for a hike, a trio of thugs, a pair of park ranger types, the drug runner’s associates and a cop on the hunt.

The movie stars Keri Russell,

“COCAINE BEAR” is based – loosely – on the story of a big bag of cocaine that falls from an airplane and acquires an ursine junkie. (Universal Pictures).

Movie Review Isiah Whitlock Jr., Margo Martindale, Kristofer Hivju, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Alden Ehrenreich and the late Ray Liotta. All deserve hazard pay. This is not a career high.

Eagle-eyed viewers will note that the presence of Russell and Martindale plus a cameo from Matthew Rhys combines three members of the Cold War-era spy TV series “The Americans.”

That’s an indication of the kind of meta humor here.

There’s a reference to Pines Mall, which is a little nod to “Back to the Future,” but who really cares? “Jane,” the opening song, is an homage to “Wet Hot American Summer,” which Banks co-starred in and had the same Jefferson Starship opening

tune. Looking for Easter eggs takes your mind of the meandering script.

Banks and screenwriter Jimmy Warden have created a mashup of Quentin Tarantino bloodfests, Sam Raimi’s scare tactics and the Coen brothers’ absurdity. The bear will sneak up behind its victims, race silently, leap in slo-mo, luxuriate under a dust cloud of coke, behead enemies, climb trees and walk on its hind legs, snarling. If only it snorted enough coke to stay up all night and write a better plot.

The filmmakers are also clearly trying their hand at satire, but ham-fistedly. Set during the Reagan-era “Just Say No” period, “Cocaine Bear” hopes to remark on the demonization of drugs and it also seems to have something to say about how humans misunderstand the balance of nature. Nei-

Awful: 0000 ther work.

If you want to use a bear to talk about larger things, look no further than 1997’s dark “The Edge,” with a screenplay by David Mamet exploring masculinity and intellectualism, or even 1988’s light “The Bear,” about the nobleness of creatures – it even has a bear cub eating hallucination-inducing mushrooms.

“Cocaine Bear” is like a dull butter knife against those two.

Remarkably, no real bears were used this time. Weta FX, the New Zealand-based special effects company founded by Peter Jackson, supplied the massive flakedup and all-digital ursine, complete with a mangled ear and scars on its snout. The soundtrack is pure Continued on page 6

6 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2023/ORANGE COUNTY TRIBUNE

There’s no high with ‘Cocaine Bear’ Continued from page 5

‘80s – Scandal’s “The Warrior,” Berlin’s “No More Words” and Depeche Mode’s very appropriate “Just Can’t Get Enough.”

And in another bit of trickery, “Cocaine Bear” was shot largely in rural Ireland, which the creators

say closely resembles the Georgia mountain wilderness. Actually, that reminds us of what else bears famously do in the woods. These filmmakers left us a pile of it.

“Cocaine Bear,” a Universal Pictures release that hits theaters

Friday, is rated R for “bloody violence and gore, drug content and language throughout.” Running time: 95 minutes. MPAA definition of R: Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

Retorts: Trapped in your 15 minutes Continued from page 3

Russia and – just possibly – Jackie.

Now we are seeing a new level of paranoia about the idea of the “15-Minute Neighborhood.”

Originated by some wellmeaning urban planners, the 15-Minute idea is to rethink zoning so that you could find most of your needs: groceries,

medical and dental services, a restaurant, gas station, Starbucks – wait, there already is a Starbucks on almost every corner – nearby.

If you could do all the stuff close by, the theory goes, you could walk or ride your bike to those places and not drive a polluting car and/or make traffic a nightmare.

Sounds innocent enough, if

perhaps impractical. But conspiracy theorists have hopped into the saddle and rode this idea off the ledge of sanity.

In Europe, there have been widespread protests and even violent clashes with police based on the notion that the 15-Minute Neighborhood is just another word for ghetto, or suburban concentration camp.

You wouldn’t be allowed outside your Neighborhood without permission, and armed guards would patrol the perimeter checking passes. Fines and even prison could follow.

That, of course, is not anywhere near the truth, but the idea is spreading because …. see first line of this article.

Jim Tortolano has been writing Retorts since he was bitten by a vampire and became immortal, proven by all the tired old jokes he tells. For more on the “15 Minute Neighborhood” or “City,” go to: https:// www.codastory.com/newsletters/oxford-15-minute-cityconspiracy/ or https://www. bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2023-02-27/no-15-minutecities-aren-t-a-threat-to-civilliberties .

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ORANGE COUNTY TRIBUNE/WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2023 7

More views, details on baseball’s new rules

By Noah Trister AP Baseball Writer

SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) – As one of the game’s top prospects, Grayson Rodriguez will probably make his debut for the Baltimore Orioles pretty soon, and then the 23-year-old righthander can begin adjusting to the big leagues.

In one respect, he has a critical head start: Rodriguez has plenty of experience with the pitch clock that was tested in the minors and will now be used in the majors.

“I was a big fan of it,” he said.

“Obviously, it speeds up the game. As a pitcher, it’s kind of what you want. Big league hitters take a long time to get to the plate. That drives me crazy, so this pitch clock kind of expediting the process, I like it a lot.”

Not everyone is as sanguine about the new timers – and whether you’re a pitcher, a catcher, a hitter or a baserun-

ner, there’s no hiding from this rule change. Of all of baseball’s tweaks under Commissioner Rob Manfred, the pitch clock might be the one that affects the most players.

The clocks will be positioned behind the plate and beyond the outfield, where pitchers and hitters can easily see them.

They’ll count down from 30 seconds between batters. Between pitches, it will be 15 seconds with nobody on and 20 if there’s a baserunner.

The pitcher must start his delivery before the clock expires. After a pitch, the clock starts again when the pitcher has the ball back, the catcher and batter are in the circle around home plate, and play is otherwise ready to resume.

So efficient communication between the pitcher and catcher is important, because the clock is ticking. The batter has a responsibility, too. He needs to be in

the box and alert to the pitcher with at least eight seconds on the clock. Batters can call time once per plate appearance, stopping the countdown.

“You kind of have to shorten your routine up to the plate, while I guess cleaning out the box or talking to the umpire or the catcher,’’ said Atlanta outfielder Michael Harris II, last year’s National League Rookie of the Year.

“I kind of went through it in Double-A, so I kind of know how that works and how it can speed up the game, but I guess it takes some getting used to.”

The goal is indeed to speed up play, specifically by limiting the parts of the game fans find particularly tedious.

According to Major League Baseball, the pitch timer reduced nine-inning games by a whopping 25 minutes last year.

Baseball, softball well underway for high schools Continued from page 8

tion on March 21.

Pacifica is off to a good start and will probably challenge powerhouse Cypress in the Empire League. EL action starts on March 28 with the M’s hosting Valencia. Pacifica and Cypress won’t meet until the final two games of the league schedule on April 25 and 27.

In the four-team Sunset Wave loop, Huntington Beach – despite its creaky opening record – will be a favorite. The Chargers start league play against city rival Marina on March 24.

Orange High (2-2) of the Orange Coast League begins OCL action on March 7 at Calvary Chapel of Santa Ana. In the Orange League, Magnolia (3-2) and Western (0-2) meet in the league opener on March 17 at the Pioneer diamond.

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

Note to readers: Records cited above are through games of Monday, Feb. 27. For Tuesday results, see box, page 8. We will debut our High Five for softball on Saturday.

8 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2023/ORANGE COUNTY TRIBUNE

TheSportsPage

Argos Top 1st High 5 of ‘23 Baseball Year GGL play opens on Friday, if the weather allows The 2023 local high school baseball season is now well underway and some teams have emerged as front runners as league play approaches.

In our West Orange County coverage area of Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Stanton and Westminster, the team with the best record is Garden Grove High with a 5-1 mark.

The Argonauts started the season by dining out on former Garden Grove League rivals La Quinta, Los Amigos and Bolsa Grande, winning all five games. Their streak came to an end with a 6-4 loss to Estancia High of Costa Mesa.

Joining the red-andwhite in this season’s first High Five for prep baseball are Pacifica (41), Huntington Beach (1-

GARDEN GROVE High School baseball team is off to a 5-1 start and will play a strong Westminster High team on March 21 to open Golden West League play (GGUSD photo).

3), Westminster (4-1) and Ocean View (4-1).

League play is a ways off for most teams, but the Garden Grove League will begin play – weather permitting – on Friday with Bolsa Grande at Santiago, Los Amigos at Rancho Alamitos and La Quinta at Loara.

The Golden West League looks to have a strong race for the pennant with three of our High Five teams being from the GWL. They’ll start league acContinued on page 7

Prep Sports Scores Tuesday, Feb. 28 (baseball) Ocean View 2, Sonora 0 Tuesday, Feb. 28 (softball) La Quinta 13, Western 1 Tuesday, Feb. 28 (CIF SoCal girls’ basketball) Marina 47, Lompoc 39 Tuesday. Feb. 28 (CIF SoCal girls’ soccer) Division III: Marina 2, Centennial/Bakersfield 0 Division V: La Quinta 5, Larchmont Charter 1 Division V: Claremont 3, Magnolia 1

n PRO SPORTS WRAPUP

Lakers and Clippers fall, but the Kings rally way into first Tuesday night was a busy night for area professional sports teams, but a happy night for only one of three.

The Los Angeles Lakers, playing without the injured LeBron James, lost 121-109 to the Grizzlies in Memphis.

Anthony Davis led the team with 29 points and Lonnie Walker added 21 for LAL, whose record fell to 29-33, still one game out of a playoff spot.

James’ foot injury, suffered in the Lakers’ previous game, will likely keep him sidelined for two weeks or more.

Back home, the Los Angeles Clippers fell 108-101 to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Paul George led his team with 25 points, followed

Red-hot Ducks will host Caps Anaheim Ducks won their third-straight game on Monday, defeating the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2 at Honda Center.

The Ducks got goals from Isac Lundestrom, Jakob Silfverberg. Max Jones and Troy Terry in the win, which lifted the team’s record to 20-24-7, worth 47 points.

The Ducks play next today when they host the Washington Capitols.

by Kawhi Leonard’s 23.

New Clipper Russell Westbrook with 17 points and 10 assists.

With the loss the Clips are 33-30 and remain in

third place in the NBA Pacific Division.

The lone winner was the Los Angeles Kings, who bested the Winnipeg Jets 6-5 in a shootout on the road. The Kings, now 34-20-8 (76 points), got the game-winner in the shootout from Adrian Kempe.

It took three rallies from being down two goals to send the game into overtime.

With the win, the Kings are tied for first place in NHL Pacific with the Vegas Golden Knights.

Coming up: On Wednesday, the Lakers will be in Oklahome City, and the Anaheim Ducks will host the Washington Capitols.

On Thursday the Clippers will travel to play Golden State and the Kings will host Montreal.