The Orange County Tribune April 27, 2022

Non-partisan News Opinion Arts & Living Sports

Covering Garden Grove Huntington Beach Stanton Westminster

Printed in Garden Grove, California n orangecountytribune.com n Wednesday, April 27, 2022 n orangecountytribune@gmail.com

La Quinta High rated 58th in state

New COVID Cases Rising in Orange Co.

A SIGN OF SUMMER TO COME

La Quinta High School in Westminster is among the top 100 public high schools in California, according to new rankings published today (Tuesday)

by U.S. News & World Report.

The school, part of the Garden Grove Unified School District, scored 58th in California and 439th among the 18,000 schools in the U.S rated. Evaluations were

But deaths continue to decline Two categories of statistics on the coronavirus in Orange County showed improvement in the latest report on Tuesday, and two showed the reverse.

According to the county health care agency, Tuesday’s report – which covered four days – had 1,067 new cases for a daily average of 266.75. That compares to Friday’s count of 655 (which covered three days) with an average of 218.33.

Deaths went from a total of 24 (average of eight) in the previous report to seven (average

Continued on page 2

n STANTON CITY COUNCIL

Smoother roads are on the way

By Regan Cisar Orange County Tribune

A new citywide street resurfacing project will bring improvements to several major streets in Stanton, following the approval of a $2,023,062 construction contract by the Stanton City Council Tuesday evening.

The project is expected to begin construction in lateMay and last about three months, with funding from sales tax (Measure M Fund), gas tax, and Road Maintenance and Continued on page 2

Continued on page 2

THE JACARANDA TREE BLOOMS And foretells the coming of the wamer weather. This line of trees is in Garden Grove Park (OC Tribune photo).

State report says no to Poseidon HUNTINGTON BEACH (AP) — A report issued Monday urges a California coastal panel to deny a proposal to build a $1.4 billion desalination plant that would draw on the ocean to expand water sources in Southern California.

Staff for the California Coastal Commission recommended the panel reject Poseidon Water ‘s

proposal to build the 50 million gallon-a-day facility Huntington Beach. The project is up for discussion before the panel on May 12.

“This project raises significant and complex coastal protection policy issues,” staff wrote in the report, “including conformity with policies that require protection of marine life, Continued on page 4

PROPOSED POSEIDON DESALINATION PLANT.

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

2 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27, 2022/ORANGE COUNTY TRIBUNE

Coronavirus on rise Continued from page 1

of 1.75).

Hospitalizations rose to 66 from 64, but the use of intensive care units for treatment of COVID-19 decline from 14 to 13.

To date, the OC has had 441,923 cases, of which 539,841 are considered recovered. The death total is at 6,997.

Nationally, new coronavirus cases are up 53 percent and deaths down by 32 percent, according to The New York Times over a 14-day period.

In California, Los Angeles Times reports that new cases are up 218 percent and deaths have risen 67 percent over a similar time period.

LQHS is 58th in Calif.

Continued from page 1

based on college readiness, graduation rate, performance of underserved populations and other factors.

Here are how public high schools in The Tribune’s coverage area of the cities of Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Stanton and Westminster fared in the rankings.

• La Quinta: 58th 439th (GGUSD) • Pacifica: 185, 1,251 (GGUSD) • Garden Grove: 195, 1,344 (GGUSD) • Bolsa Grande: 214, 1,507 (GGUSD) • Huntington Beach: 216, 1,515 (Huntington Beach Union High School District) • Westminster: 245, 1,749 (HBUHSD) • Edison: 294, 2,051 (HBUHSD) • Santiago: 305, 2,133 (GGUSD) • Marina: 334, 2,315 (HBUHSD) • Rancho Alamitos: 438, 2,887

JIm Tortolano Editor and Publisher Marilyn Lewis Tortolano General Manager The Orange County Tribune is published on Wednesdays. Address is 9402 Luders Ave., Garden Grove, 92844.

E-mail is orangecountytribune@gmail. com.

Our website is 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 and the Online News Association.

(GGUSD) • Los Amigos: 591, 3,960 (GGUSD) • Ocean View: 772, 5,402 (HBUHSD) • Western: 879, 6,523 (Anaheim Union High School District) • Orange: 1,018, 8,155 (Orange Unified School District) • Magnolia: 1,056, 8,649.(Amaheim Union High School District)

Stanton streets Continued from page 1

Rehabilitation funds. Street closures are unlikely, since this type of construction involves paving one lane at a time, according to Public Works Director Joe Ames.

The following streets are expected to be repaved: • Katella Avenue: Segments just west of Magnolia Avenue • Garden Grove Boulevard: Beach Boulevard to Fern Street • Chapman Avenue: westerly city limit to easterly city limit • Dale Avenue: Northerly city limit to Cerritos Avenue • Dale Avenue: Katella Avenue to southerly city limit • Lampson Avenue: Beach Boulevard to easterly city limit • Magnolia Avenue: city limit south of Syracuse to the city limit north of Katella • Orangewood Avenue: Western Avenue to cul-de-sac • Cerritos Avenue: Magnolia Avenue to easterly city limit • Western Avenue: North city limit to Cerritos Avenue.

The best in local news The Orange County TRIBUNE

ORANGE COUNTY TRIBUNE/WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27, 2022 3

News&Views

Was Willowick a bad bet all along?

GOODBYE TO THEIR HOMELAND Vietnamese refugees on board a U.S. aircraft carrier in 1975

“Black April”observance is planned for Saturday The City of Westminster will host its annual Black April event on Saturday, April 30, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at Sid Goldstein Freedom Park, 14199 All American Way. Members of the public are welcomed to attend, and the event will include remarks from elected officials, a moment of silence, and the presentation of a memorial wreath.

April 30 is annually known as Black

April, or “Tháng Tı Ğen,” and is a day to lament and reflect upon the fall of Saigon and of South Vietnam, which took place April 30, 1975. As many as 250,000 South Vietnamese soldiers and nearly 60,000 American soldiers died during the Vietnam War. For more details about the event, visit www.westminster-ca.gov or call the Community Services Department at (714) 895-2860.

n GARDEN GROVE CITY COUNCIL

New playground equipment nears A contract for the installation of new playground equipment at Garden Grove Park that could be ready to use as early as August was approved on a 7-0 vote Tuesday night by the Garden Grove City Council.

The council voted in favor of awarding a contract worth $263,988 to Western State Builders for the job, despite objections by another

bidder, R.E Schultz Construction.

According to a staff report, pre-construction work would begin on or around May 16 with construction anticipated to be finished by July 31.

Western State will now be installing playground equipment previously ordered from Innovative Playground Company.

This will be the latest step in fulfilling the 2019 Parks and Facilities

Master Plan.

The park is located at 9301 Westminster Ave. Also on the agenda are: • a “Community Spotlight” celebrating David Skelton and Susan Lerma as Garden Grove Chamber of Commerce 2022 Man and Woman of the Year; • a proclamation celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Garden Grove Host Lions Club.

The transformation of the Willowick Golf Course from an affordable set of links into a huge moneymaker was always a little like drawing to an inside straight in poker.

Possible, but not easy to do.

According to published reports, once-grandiose plans to repurpose those 101.5 acres into a glittering development that might be worth billions have hit a speed bump the size of Mt. Shasta.

After hearing from Santa Ana (where the golf course is located) that the new city council majority wanted to use the land for open space, the City of Garden Grove (which owns the land) threw in its hand.

“It is evident than an agreement for the disposition of the property acceptable to the City of Garden Grove will not be possible,” wrote Assistant City Manager Lisa Kim (who is also community development director) to the interested parties.

This latest act in the drama of Willowick shows how difficult it is to have two cities agree on much of anything. Proposals have risen and proposals have fallen. Changes in the political breeze and in state law have knocked the wind out of a new life for Willowick more than once.

Back in the 1980s, the Buena Clinton area – located close to Willowick, but in Garden Grove – was branded “the worst slum in Orange County.” A lowrent apartment community at the end of the city with many poor Hispanic families garnered national attention when the Los Angeles Times focused on it.

One proposal that emerged was a land swap. Santa Ana would de-annex Willowick to Garden Grove and get Buena Clinton in return. Why would SA want a “slum”? Leadership there felt it had more experience and influence in rehabbing low-income areas and could attract copious state and federal assistance to do so.

The deal never went through, but it would have changed – or at least simplified – the fate of that land. The next door opened in 2019 with the impending end of the golf course lease on Willowick and a chance to take one of the few remaining large open spaces in Central Orange County and turn it into something grander.

Grand ideas, indeed. Ideas ranging from a sports Continued on page 4

4 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27, 2022/ORANGE COUNTY TRIBUNE

Staff report slams Poseidon plant Continued from page 1

water quality, environmentally sensitive habitat areas, and policies meant to avoid or minimize hazards associated with sea level rise, floods, tsunamis, and geologic hazards.”

The staff also wrote that the proposal raises “significant issues” about potential impacts on environmental justice communities. It also lacks, however, details about who would ultimately buy Poseidon’s water and at what cost, the report states.

Poseidon Water said it believed the commission staff erred in its recommendation.

“No water infrastructure project in the state of California has ever undergone this level of study and scrutiny,” the company said in a statement. “If this recommendation stands, it will effectively be the death knell for desalination in California.”

The proposal has been touted by some in California’s Orange County as an alternative to a long-running drought and a way to expand water sources as the region grows. But environmental groups have long opposed the plan over concerns marine life will be sucked into the plant and argue that critical infrastructure shouldn’t be built in a lowlying coastal areas as the region contends with sea level rise.

They also say the water would be too expensive.

The proposal comes as California faces prolonged drought, worsened by climate change, with its nearly 40 million residents heeding repeated calls in recent years to conserve water.

It also comes amid rising concern about sea level rise, with a federal report recently forecasting that seas lapping against the U.S. shore could be 10 to 12 inches (0.25 to 0.3 meters) higher by 2050.

Huntington Beach, which is known as “Surf City USA” and relies on its waves and scenic shoreline for tourism dollars, approved a proposal more than a decade ago to build the plant near a coastal power facility.

The plant would draw on the sea water and convert it so it could be used to replenish the local groundwater system, a key source of drinking water for many of Orange County’s 3.2 million residents.

But the state coastal panel in 2013 recommended a series of changes to the project to protect marine life. Additional studies were completed and Poseidon updated its proposals for structures used to draw in ocean water.

Poseidon Water has been running a similar desalination plant in nearby Carlsbad, in San Diego County, since 2015.

Susan Jordan, executive director of the California Coastal Protection Network and member of the Stop Poseidon coalition, praised the recommendation Monday to deny the proposal.

In a statement, Jordan said it’s time for Poseidon Water “to recognize the deep and irrevocable flaws with this project, cut its losses and publicly recognize this project and this site are not good for Huntington Beach or California – it’s time to shut it down for good.”

Retorts: Willowick’s upset Continued from page 1

stadium, a new mixed-use downtown, a technology campus and a mix of those led to visions of dollar signs in many eyes.

But other forces emerged. Some residents – and their supporters – rallied for low-income housing, citing the skyrocketing price of apartments. Others wanted a park. Neither of those were bad ideas, just tough sells.

Garden Grove wanted a project that would bring in a boatload of money to city coffers, along with a potentially beneficial relationship with Santa Ana going forward. The idea was to lease the land to a developer and reap rewards for years and years, rather than just sell it.

Opposition to commercial development centered – in part – on the prospect of “gentrification.” Worries about rising housing costs overwhelmed any advantage of the jobs created by such projects.

So, now we’re back to Square One, again. But not forever, and maybe not for long. A hundred acres of essentially vacant land in the middle of an increasingly crowded county is too tempting. It’s provoked a lot of dreaming and may well again.

Jim Tortolano’s “Retorts” column alternates with “Usually Reliable Sources.”

ORANGE COUNTY TRIBUNE/WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27, 2022 5

Arts&Living

AN INNOVATION BORNE OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC Golden West College in Huntington Beach took a new approach to reaching theater audiences

Cinematic staging of classic “Oedipus”

By Thom deMartino Orange County Tribune In the fall of 2021, while most of Orange County’s theater community were reeling from on-again, off-again safety regulations, Golden West College Theater director Tom Amen came up with an innovative compromise for his new adaptation of Sophocles’ “Oedipus Rex”: stage a full production of the classic study of a man’s hubris and fatalistic folly, only film and tightly edit it for viewers to watch on their devices, in their homes, or wherever was the most comfortable for them.

At long last, “Golden West College’s Oedipus Rex” is now online, free for public viewing on YouTube, at https://youtu.be/ dIvuwKauqK4 .

Only 91 minutes long, with a stylized look and structure and interpreted by a seasoned cast of

Stage Review top-tier thespians, the venerated ancient Greek play comes to dark and mesmerizing life for viewers.

Ominous times have fallen upon the city of Thebes, as a mysterious plague decimates the populace: livestock wasting away, crops razed... the desperate citizens are certain their city is cursed.

Even their celebrated king and vanquisher of the monstrous Sphinx, the wise and beneficent Oedipus (Patrick Peterson) has no solution, appealing to the citizens of Thebes to help him solve this new and terrible riddle.

After consulting the Oracle of Delphi, the king’s brother-inlaw and trusted adviser Creon (Scott Keister) returns to tell him that the gods have indeed unleashed their wrath upon the

city for the unsolved murder of Oedipus’ predecessor, King Laius. The priest of Thebes (Matt Koutroulis) interjects that Laius and his entourage were slain years before, the guilty parties never found, and the sole survivor of the carnage retired to the country.

Determined to follow all the threads of the mystery to their conclusion (think “C.S.I.:

Great: HHHH Thebes”) Oedipus vows before the gods that the murderers will be found, punished, driven from the city, and any who aid them will suffer the consequences as well. After sending for the lone survivor to bear witness, the Continued on page 6

“Dreamcoat” continues at the Gem Theatre in Garden Grove “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” continues at the Gem Theater in Garden Grove through May 15.

Performances are Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.

Also, there will be shows on Sundays at 2 p.m., except for April 30 and May 7 at 2 and 8 p.m.

General admission is $50, seniors (60 and over) and kids 12 and under admission is $35. Saturday and Sunday matinees for seniors (65 and over) are $40.

The Gem is located at 12852 Main St. (west of Euclid Street).

Call (714) 741-9550, ext. 221.

6 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27, 2022/ORANGE COUNTY TRIBUNE

GWC’s “Oedipus” is now on all your screens Continued from page 5

king is visited shortly thereafter by the blind prophet Tiresias (the ever-adroit Scott Keister again, playing dual roles in yet another GWC production) ... yet the old man remains evasive to his queries, insisting it would be best for all if Oedipus just let things lie.

The usually magnanimous king is enraged by Tiresias’s sidestepping of his questions, the prophet insisting the monarch let him leave, quit travelling down this path to learn this heinous truth... but when the seer reluctantly reveals the dark secret, the king refuses to believe, choosing instead to

see naught but conspiracies and intrigues against him.

Facts, witnesses, ghastly prophecies -- the threads are slowly coming together, but can the embattled sovereign permit himself to see the awful totality of it all? Because ultimately, the justice of the gods will not be mocked... nor their judgement evaded.

While viewers can follow the link herein to YouTube to see this striking version of “Oedipus Rex”, the film is also easily available to view from the GWC Theater Department webpage at https://www.gwctheater.com/ oedipus-rex-2021-22/ : viewers can click to watch the film in its entirety, or peruse the page to read a summary and check out some cast photos.

(The film is also in the process of being more diligently captioned to be compliant with the Americans With Disabilities

Act, to help ensure access to the broadest possible audience.)

The bleak, poetic irony of “Oedipus Rex” is that none of the characters are at their hearts truly corrupt: they’re just terribly flawed mortals.

Carrie Vinikow’s moving Queen Jocasta is fiercely determined to do all in her power to protect her husband -- but her calm facade begins splintering upon glimpsing the dark truth.

Scott Keister in the dual roles of Creon and Tiresias skillfully provides both voice of reason to the increasingly unravelling king, as well as the world-weary soothsayer with no patience for fools heedless to his warnings.

Peterson’s bold, exceptional performance as the titular Oedipus is the foundation of the show, the audience bearing witness to his initially empathetic and beloved leader, a respected figure increasingly unable to bear the weight of the dreadful truth creeping inevitably closer; whose grip on reality becomes increasingly untethered the closer he gets to the harrowing revelations.

With Tim Mueller’s elegant art deco-styled set design, Amanda Martin’s stylish costumes and intriguingly surreal geometric mask designs (note Oedipus’ own crown itself is a mask to hide his true face) and the incandescent performances by the players and chorus – not to mention ease of access, from anywhere – “Golden West College – Oedipus Rex” is a masterful one for the ages.

“Oedipus Rex”, Patrick Peterson, Carrie Vinikow and Scotty Keister star in this filmed version of the Golden West College theater production.

It is free to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/ dIvuwKauqK4 or through the Golden West College Theater page at https://www.gwctheater. com/oedipus-rex-2021-22/ .

ORANGE COUNTY TRIBUNE/WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27, 2022 7

High school races go down to wire Continued from page 8

PHS (23-4 overall) will host Valencia (4-17) and JFK (16-10) will visit Crean Lutheran (0-16).

Surf League play on Tuesday saw Huntington Beach defeat Edison 9-0 finish its regular season as league champs (9-0, 21-7 overall).

Here are Tuesday results for area prep baseball and softball Baseball Empire League • Pacifica 4, Valencia 0 Garden Grove League

• Loara 12, La Quinta 3 • Santiago 4, Bolsa Grande 3 Golden West League • Katella 3, Garden Grove 0 • Segerstrom 9, Ocean View 6 Orange League • Century 5, Western 0 Orange Coast League • Orange 5, Calvary Chapel/ Santa Ana 3.

Softball Surf League • Huntington Beach 9, Edison 1 • Los Alamitos 11, Marina 0 San Joaquin League • Capistrano Valley Christian 12, Orangewood Academy Empire League • Pacifica 2, Cypress 0.

Ryan G. we won’t forget ya Continued from page 8

“This was more than I could ever have imagined,” he said. “I couldn’t ask for more. It really hit me in the heart to see that many people show up tonight.”

It was a bittersweet moment for Ducks’ fans who saw their team go down to its 19th loss in 22 games. They started the season ice cold, losing seven of 10 games before turning it around with eight straight wins in late October and November.

February was a cruel month with two wins and five losses. March was worse with a 2-12 performance that included an 11-game losing streak.

The Ducks (now 31-36-14) are finishing out the season with two road games, visiting the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday and the Dallas Stars on Friday. They defeated the Sharks 5-2 on Tuesday

Volleyball playoffs are up Continued from page 8

• Division 6: Garden Grove is 10th.

• Division 7: Los Amigos is first.

Softball • Division 1: Pacifica is fifth, Huntington Beach is seventh.

• Division 6: Garden Grove is fourth.

Boys’ tennis • Division 2: Marina is fourth.

• Division 3: Edison is sixth.

• Division 4: La Quinta is sixth.

• Division 5: Westminster is seventh, Western is unranked but received some votes.

Girls’ lacrosse • Divisions 1 and 2: Edison is eighth.

Of course, these are not the

only rankings around. In baseball, the Orange County Register’s Top 25 includes Huntington Beach in fourth, Pacifica in 10th, and Ocean View in 13th.

The softball top 25 has Huntington Beach in fourth, Pacifica in fifth and Marina in 13th.

The Los Angeles Times ranks the top 25 in baseball and top 20in softball for its circulation area. Huntington Beach is ninth and Pacifica 18th in baseball. In softball, Pacifica is fourth and Huntington Beach is ninth.

“Prep Sport Spotlight” is posted on Tuesdays during the high school athletic year.

Considering placing advertising in The Orange County Tribune (print and website)?

Reach thousands for pennies.

Call Jim at (714) 458-1860 for details.

8 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27, 2022/ORANGE COUNTY TRIBUNE

TheSportsPage

Volleyball now taking the center stage for area high schools High school baseball and softball races are rounding the turn into the final week of league play, but boys’ volleyball teams are headed into the CIF-SS playoffs starting this week.

No teams from The Tribune’s coverage area are seeded in the top four of their divisions, but three are ranked in their top tens. Huntington Beach is fifth in Division 1, Edison is fifth in Division 5, and Bolsa Grande is eighth in Division 4.

Here’s how local teams did in league races: • Empire League: Pacifica (5-5 in league play, 7-9 overall).

• Garden Grove League: La Quinta (9-1, 16-3) and Bolsa Grande (9-1, 17-2) tied for the league title. The rest of the league finished in this order: Loara, Santiago, Rancho Alamitos and Los Amigos.

• Golden West League: Garden Grove (9-0, 23-7) won the league tile. Westminster (3-4, 4-10) was fourth and Ocean View (0-9, 2-15) sixth.

• Orange Coast League: Orange (3-7, 5-17) finished fourth.

• Surf League: Newport Beach (6-0, 22-5) won the league title.

Huntington Beach (3-3, 19-10)

Prep Sport Spotlight is second.

• Wave League: Edison (4-2, 14-11) finished second and Marina (1-5, 8-12) third.

The wild card round on Tuesday saw Western lose 3-1 to Bell Gardens.

Polls are winding up

It won’t be long before the polls and rankings of spring high school sports give way to the real determination of which teams are really the best. With playoffs starting this week and next, here are the last gatherings of opinion about Orange County teams.

Reflected here are high schools serving the communities of Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Stanton and Westminster.

Baseball • Division 1: Huntington Beach is sixth.

• Division 2: Pacifica is unranked but received some votes.

• Division 4: Santiago is unranked but received some votes.

Continued on page 7

A CAREER WORTH CELEBRATING Ryan Getzlaf, a Ducks icon, is hanging up his skates

Ryan G, We Won’t Soon Forget Ye It’s been a dismal season for the Anaheim Ducks. With two more games to play in the 2021-22 season, they’re mired seventh in the eight-team NHL Pacific Division with a 30-36-14 record.

But there was still reason to celebrate on Sunday as the Ducks bade farewell to Ryan Getzlaf. He finished a 17-year career with the Orange County team, and added to lifelong stats with an assist.

The Ducks lost 6-3, but there were smiles, applause and more for the 36-year center, who was the face of the franchise for a decade as well as being the team’s franchise leader in points, assists, playoff scoring and games played. He’s also been team captain for the last 12 seasons.

He was cheered all game long by a standing room only crowd at Honda Center, and honored with expensive gifts before the puck dropped.

SportsWeek

Continued on page 7

Some league races are coming down to the wire Some area high school baseball and softball races are coming right down to the wire.

After Segerstrom defeated Ocean View 9-6 in a key Golden West League baseball game, the Jaguars (9-0 in league and 1511-1 overall) clinched no worse than a tie for the title.

But if the Seahawks (8-1,

13-8) can defeat Segerstrom on Thursday, that’ll tie up the crown with co-champions.

In the Garden Grove League baseball chase, Los Amigos (103, 21-3) has a half-game lead over Santiago (10-4, 12-10). A win by the Lobos on Thursday makes the orange-and-black the titlists.

Pacifica (6-3, 18-8), a very good team in the very tough Empire League, kept hope alive with wins over Cypress and Valencia.

Three teams are scrambling for the top. Cypress (7-2) has a game lead over Tustin (6-3) and Pacifica.

The big game is Thursday with Tustin visiting Cypress.

In softball action, after Kennedy’s upset 9-2 win over Pacifica last Thursday and the Mariners’ 2-0 victory over Cypress on Tuesday, the Empire League race is knotted up with both the Fighting Irish and M’s at 8-1 going into the final game on Thursday.

Continued on page 7