The Orange County Tribune Jan. 18, 2023Covering Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Stanton and Westmins

Wednesday : 62/49 partly

SEEN FIRE AND RAIN Change comes on a 4-3

n HUNTINGTON BEACH CITY COUNCIL

Outdoor Dining Going Back To Pre-Pandemic

By Jim Tortolano Orange County Tribune

If this car fire on Stanford Avenue near the H. Louis Lake Senior Center and across from Garden Grove High on Tuesday afternoon had taken place a couple of days earlier, the rain might have put the blaze out before the nearby Orange County Fire Authority units need have been called. There were no injuries (Photo courtesy of Josh McIntosh).

“Year of the Cat” will have a big weekend

The COVID-19 pandemic put a damper on plans to celebrate the Tet lunar new year holiday in recent years but local celebrations in and for the local Vietnamese-American community are back in the West Orange County area and just a few days away in observance of “The Year of the Cat.”

Westminster, home of the storied Little Saigon district, will again host the Tet Parade with a theme of “Spring of Hope.”

This year the event is being organized by the City of Westminster instead of private organizations as has been done in the past.

The parade will again be along Bolsa Avenue on Sunday, between Magnolia and Brookhurst streets, with floats, bands and local leaders. It is scheduled to start at 10 a.m.

New to the area will be “The Flower Street on Historic Main Street,” to be held on a one-block stretch of that part of

Expanded outdoor dining and retail on Main Street and other areas of downtown Huntington Beach prompted by the coronavirus pandemic will be ended as of March 1, the city council decided on Tuesday night.

The vote was 4-3 with Mayor Tony Strickland, Mayor Pro Tem Gracey Van Der Mark and Councilmembers Pat Burns and Casey McKeon in favor. Opposed were Council-

members Rhonda Bolton, Dan Kalmick and Natalie Moser.

Under the motion approved by the council, outdoor dining that extended into the public right-of-way – streets and sidewalks – would be ended and all blocks of Main Street would reopen to vehicular traffic.

Additionally, the parking meters would be returned to their pre-COVID use. The changes would be in place until the city develops a comprehensive plan

Man arrested in fatal stabbing of girlfriend

A 22-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the stabbing death of his girlfriend in Stanton.

According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, deputies were dispatched to an apartment in the 10000 block of Bell Street, near Stanton Central Park at 11:50 p.m. on Sunday, in reference to a stabbing.

They found three victims of a stabbing attack. Two had minor injuries, but the third – identified as Serena Celeste Gallardo, 22 – suffered serious wounds. She was taken to a nearby hospital were she died.

Edgar Navarrete was arrested and booked into Orange County Jail on a murder charge. He’s be-

Huntington Beach council votes downtown changes

Continued from page 1

for downtown.

“This was never intended to be permanent,” said Van Der Mark, noting that it was in response to the closure of indoor dining during the pandemic. She said that now the downtown suffers from decreased business activity, homelessness, dirt and other problems.

“I think this is a simplistic solution,” said Kalmick arguing that some of the problems can be solved without ending the expanded outdoor dining and street closures. “We’re so close to coming up with a plan.”

In other action on Tuesday night, the council: • approved on a 7-0 vote a pro-

posal to table a report on homelessness and schedule a public hearing on the issue at the meeting of Feb. 21;

• approved on a 4-3 vote an ordinance banning the use of anonymous complaints about violations of the municipal code;

• approved on a 4-3 vote an ordinance that would raise the limits on campaign contributions from its current cap of $250 to the state limit of $4900.

The council’s actions were preceded by nearly three hours of public comments, most of which concerned the issue of outdoor dining on downtown stretches of Main Street.

The next meeting of the city council is set for Feb. 7.

A big weekend of “Tet”

from page 1

Garden Grove’s original central business district on Saturday and Sunday. Large displays of flowers, entertainment and other attractions are planned.

Fatal stabbing

Continued from page 1

ing held on bail of $1.05 million and is due in court on Wednesday. Deputies believe they have recovered the weapon used in the attack.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the OCSD at (714) 288-6740.

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Call Jim at (714) 458-1860

One block over on Euclid Street north of Garden Grove Boulevard, the SteelCraft outdoor urban eatery will hold its own Tet event with entertainment, food and drink vendors and more from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday.

The largest Tet event in Orange County this weekend is at Mile Square Regional Park in Fountain Valley from 5-10 p.m. on Friday, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday.

Next weekend, another Tet Festival will be held on Jan. 27-29 at the OC Fair and Event Center in Costa Mesa.

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, and Garden Grove Chamber of Commerce.

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JIm

Who let the dogs in?

GGPD adds a third

Three tails are better than one.

The Garden Grove Police Department has added a third therapy dog its lineup of the Paws4Students team.

Heart, a 5-year-old English Labrador, together with handler Corporal A. Zmija, will serve students in

Our Towns

West Garden Grove. They’ll join “veteran” canine emotional support dogs Nellie and Misha. All have gone through specialized training to be able to provide social-emotional support for students dealing with anxiety, de-escalation support for students experiencing heighted emotions or behavior, and other instances of trauma or tragedy when students need additional social-emotional support.

Mix it up at the Embassy Suites

The Garden Grove Chamber of Commerce will hold a mixer on Wednesday, Jan. 18 from 5:30-7 p.m. at the Embassy Suites Anaheim South, 11767 Harbor Blvd.

To RSVP, call (714) 638-7950 or send an e-mail to staff@gardengrovechamber.com .

Local students are honored

Ten local students have been named to the fall 2022 Presidents’ List at Southern New Hampshire in Manchester. To be honored, a student mist be a full-time student and have a minimum grade point average of 3.7.

They are:

• Garden Grove: Michelle Thomas, Steven Mai, Ada Romero

• Huntington Beach: Farrah Larson, Ashley Andersen, Gina LaBarber, Jade Alaniz, Noah Iida

• Westminster: Long Ta, Jasmine Alpuerto.

Success rewarded at the WSD

The Westminster Educational Leadership Association, comprised of leaders from the Westminster School District, recently honored students at all grade levels (K-8) who gave succeeded against all odds, beyond expectations or simply won the hearts of administrators and other educators.

The Every Student Succeeding award were presented on Jan. 12 to one pupil from each school.

Get ready to run … real far

The 27th Annual Surf City Marathon and Half-Marathon is scheduled for Sunday, Feb.5 along Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach.

Road closures and detours will be in place to allow for the runners to progress safely. They will include parts of PCH, Seapoint Street, Garfield Street, Edwards Street, Goldenwest Street and Central Park Drive.

For more details, go to bit.ly/3vWKVo9.

Man rescued from swift waters of storm channel

A man was rescued Sunday night from the fast-flowing waters of a storm channel in Cypress.

According to the Orange County Fire Authority, a call came into the emergency command center at 5:48 p.m. regarding a person in the channel

near Knott Avenue and Recycle Way. Several crews including two swift water crews responded.

Engine Company 84, based in Garden Grove, was the first to respond and located the man barely hanging on to the embankment with half of his body in the water.

Firefighters tied a personal floating device and threw it to the man.

While he hung on, crews cut through the fence and were able to pull him out of the channel. He was assessed by firefighter paramedics for injuries and then transported to a hospital for injures for further care.

Pedestrian is killed by car

An early morning hit-and-run took the life of a pedestrian in Westminster on Sunday.

According to Commander Kevin McCormick of the WPD, the incident took place in the 14300 block of Newland Street – between Hazard and Westminster avenues – around 2:30 a.m.

Officers were dispatched to the localation and upon arrival, they found a deceased male in the northbound lanes of the street.

He showed signs of having been struck by a motor vehicle, but the automobile had left the scene before officers arrived.

The WPD is investigating the accident and the Orange County Coroner’s Office is working to identify the pedestrian.

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

A MAN was rescued from the swift flowing waters of a storm channel in Cypress on Sunday (OCFA photo).

Ukraine and U.S. military leaders meet in Poland

In a further example of heightened cooperation between Ukrainian and U.S. military leaders, top officers for both nations have met in person. According to the Associated Press, the meeting took place between Army Gen. Mark Milley and Gen. Valerii Zaluzzhnyi at a military base in Poland.

NewsUpdate

At the same time, American military advisers are training Ukrainian troops on the operation of the Patriot anti-missile battery which could be a major factor in stemming the aerial assaults on cities by Russian drones and missiles.

Are gas prices headed on the way up?

Crude oil prices are going up, and they could lead to higher prices that motorists would pay at the pump. United Press International reports that as China’s economy reopens, that will create greater demand for petroleum, resulting in an increase at local service stations. The national average retail price of a gallon of gasoline has risen by 17 cents in a month according to AAA.

Also in the news … Controversial Representative George Santos has been named to seats on two committees despite calls for his resignation because of admitted falsehoods about his education, career and ethnic background.

Sports: It’s official: Staley will return to Chargers

Los Angeles Chargers’ head coach Brandon Staley will be back for a third year, the team announced on Tuesday. However, offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and quarterbacks coach Shane Day were fired. While the Chargers had a winning season and made the playoffs, Saturday’s stunning 3130 loss to Jacksonville prompted criticism of the team’s offense, especially after the Bolts blew a 27-0 lead.

Weather: Clouds, sun

The outlook for the West Orange County area going toward the weekend features alteration of clouds and sun. The forecast for Wednesday is for partly cloudy skies, with a daytime high of 62 and an overnight low of 43. Thursday will be similar but a bit cooler with a high of 59 and a low of 41. Sunny skies arrive on Friday and Sunday. Friday’s high should be 61 (40) and Saturday 65 (41).

Arts&Living

Don’t Go to this “House Party”

Movie Review Re-boot of an old hit doesn’t live up to its promises

By Lindsey Bahr AP Film Writer

It’s never a good idea to promise too much, either in an invitation to a house party held in a stranger’s mansion, or in a reboot of a three-decade old hit. But the new “House Party” does just that, starting out with a romantic voiceover about Los Angeles, where we’re told “a party can change your life” as we’re shown a loving montage of storefronts and people in South LA. Fair enough, but then

they take it to another level with the pitch that, “Some crazy, beautiful, weird ass (expletive) is about to go down.”

If only.

This version is especially convoluted, trying to get two broke best friends, struggling single dad Kevin (Jacob Latimor) and aspiring promoter Damon (Tosin Cole), in a position where they might be able to throw a big party at LeBron James’ house. It’s not as hard as you might think, it turns out. These guys work for a fancy cleaning company and one day end up on assignment in a very big, very nice house. I

It’s only when Damon stum-

bles into a trophy room that they realize whose grounds they’re standing on: The GOAT, as we’re reminded over and over again.

The logic puzzle continues as they scheme to plan a party, which they hope will solve Kevin’s financial woes, pay for his daughter Destiny’s education through college and put Damon’s party promoting skills on the map.

This master plan includes posing as James’ assistants, hacking into and inviting his famous friends and teammates and charging big entry fees to the normals. The figure will cover security, cleaning fees and all of their hopes and dreams.

A desk calendar with the words MEDITATION RETREAT

Poor: H

scrawled over two weeks leaves them breathing easy that James will not be returning home anytime soon.

“House Party,”written by Stephen Glover and Jamal Olori and directed by Calmatic, a Grammy winning music video director, takes quite a bit of time (around an hour) to get to the actual party.

In the build up, they try to get us to care about Kevin and Damon’s stakes and indulge in some wealth voyeurism as the two bask in the little conveniences of the uber rich, including self-fluffing couches, a bed that conforms to the body,

JACOB LATIMORE and Tosin Cole star in “House Party” (Warner Bros).

Review of “House Party” motion picture

a bidet and popcorn that drops out of the ceiling into a popcorn bowl on voice command in a plush screening room.

The only really fun part of this extended cribs riff is the LeBron hologram they find in his closet that gives compliments. “You handled the decision to go to Miami perfectly.” “Your hairline is perfect.” “You were great in ‘Trainwreck,’’... The New Yorker said you were the funniest part of the movie.”

It should be noted that Kevin

and Damon know they’re getting fired already by the time they decide to throw the party. The cleaning company execs saw them goofing around on surveillance footage but staffing shortages mean they’re still needed to finish the job and Damon knows how to turn off the cameras for a few days. Again, logic.

One of the biggest problems is that none of this ever seems like a good idea, or even something that might be fun for a moment. There is a pervasive dread to the

whole endeavor as you wait to see where the chips fall. These characters aren’t dumb teenagers and they also don’t seem that desperate for fast money. “House Party” is supposed to be a good time for someone, right? There are quite a few big-name cameos playing themselves, but the only one who really gets to have fun with it is Scott Mescudi, or Kid Cudi, playing it straight as an anti-social lurker who doesn’t like parties (“too much laughing”) and only wanted to go to give his pal LeBron a poem. He and the LeBron hologram are the big highlights of the film.

Things take an especially outlandish turn when, for reasons too silly to explain, they have to leave the party and go to another “Illuminati” party with “Eyes Wide Shut” vibes. It was probably a good on paper idea but feels like it belongs in a different comedy.

In one version of the world, “House Party” was a straight to HBO Max offering which made a certain amount of sense for this half-baked endeavor. This party isn’t worth a trip much further than living room.

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What went wrong in the second half?

it’s going to be a killer,” Chargers coach Brandon Staley said. “I’m hurting for everybody in that locker room. It’s a special group of guys, and this is the toughest way that you can lose in the playoffs and certainly with the way we started the game.

“That’s the team that I know that we’re capable of being, and in the second half, we just didn’t finish the game.”

It didn’t help that cornerback Michael Davis had left the game with a pectoral muscle injury that forced rookie Ja’Sir Taylor onto the field. Not surprisingly, the Jaguars picked on him.

It also didn’t help that star pass rusher Joey Bosa lost his cool, slammed his helmet to the ground on the field and picked up a second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty – one that allowed the Jaguars to move the ball a yard closer and attempt the late 2-point conversion instead of an extra point.

“I think he was frustrated,” Staley said. “There were a bunch of things that kind of accumulated throughout the game. And he tried to talk through it with the officials. But we can’t lose our composure like that. We need to make sure that we stay on the high side of things. And you can’t hurt the team that way.”

Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said he probably would have called for the extra point had it not been for Bosa’s penalty.

Herbert threw for 273 yards and a touchdown without an interception, but the Chargers’ offense was largely ineffective after a 62-yard TD drive that made it 24-0 midway through the second quarter. Los Angeles

finished with 320 yards of offense and 18 first downs, and it produced only three points on four second-half possessions. Staley surely will be questioned for being too conservative, both on defense and offense – he opted for a field goal on fourth-and-3 midway through the fourth quarter that Cameron Dicker missed – and for not trying to run the ball more. LA had 23 rushing attempts for 69 yards, a 2.9-yard average, while Herbert threw 43 times.

Herbert was replaying all of it in his head as he sat silently at his locker stall.

“As an offense, we need to move the ball better,” he said. “Through the air, on the ground, you just have to be able to move the chains, and we didn’t do that enough. We didn’t score in the red zone enough.

“When we put up three points in the second half as an offense, that’s on us. Not executing, not converting on third down when we needed to, some penalties. But tough, tough.”

Area prep basketball races starting get heated up

Continued from page 8

top, with Ocean View and Segerstrom tied for second at 2-1. Katella is fourth at 1-1, followed by Westminster at 0-2 and Garden Grove at 0-3.

Orange League boys: Western and Anaheim are tied for first at 3-0. Key game: Western at Anaheim on Tuesday.

Orange League girls: Anaheim and Magnolia lead the pack at 3-0, followed by Western at 1-1.

Orange Coast League boys: St. Margaret’s is tied with Calvary Chapel/Santa Ana at 6-1. Orange is tied for fifth with Estancia at 2-5.

San Joaquin League boys: Fairmont Prep at 3-0 is in the lead; Orangewood Academy (1-2) is in fourth.

San Joaquin League girls: Orangewood Academy (3-0) is in first, followed by Fairmont Prep (1-2).

Surf League boys: Edison (2-0-) has an early lead over Los Alamitos and Fountain Valley (each 1-1). Key game: Fountain Valley at Edison on Wednesday.

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Wave League boys: Corona del Mar (2-0) and Newport Harbor (2-0) at the top, followed by Laguna Beach and Huntington Beach (both 0-2 in league). Key game: CDM at Newport on Wednesday.

Wave League girls: Laguna Beach (2-0) leads, followed by Edison (3-1). They met at Edison on Tuesday night.

Note: As always, all games are subject to change of time and place without notice.

So, what went wrong in 2nd half vs. Jacksonville?

By Mark Long AP Pro Football Writer

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.

(AP) – Justin Herbert sat in silence at his locker for roughly 15 minutes, staring into the distance. He had taken off his cleats but was still wearing most of his grass-stained uniform.

It was a defining scene for a team devastated by a collapse no one could have seen coming. And it made this much clear: Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers won’t get

over this loss – the thirdlargest blown lead in postseason history – anytime soon.

The Chargers did little in the second half, allowing Trevor Lawrence to follow four interceptions with four touchdown passes and rally Jacksonville from a 27-0 deficit. They lost 31-30 on Riley Patterson’s 36-yard field goal on the final play.

“Obviously, it was a tough go for us,’’ Herbert said. “As an offense, we need to do more in the second half, and you

Eight local teams ranked in CIF-SS weekly polls

The CIF-SS polls for winter sports recognized eight local teams in Tuesday’s weekly rankings.

Boys’ basketball

• Division 4AA: Huntington Beach is 13th.

• Division 5AA: Orange is 10th, Loara is 16th.

Girls’ basketball

• Division 4AA: Edison is 11th.

• Division 5AA: Pacifica is seventh, Ocean View is eighth.

• Division 5A: Orange is seventh.

Girls’ soccer

• Divisions 1 and 2: Pacifica received some votes.

know that falls on us offensively and as a quarterback. I needed to perform better.

“I’ve got to give them more than three points in the second half and so I feel horrible for the defense for the incredible effort they put up there today. But got to be better as a team.”

Most will point to Lawrence’s heroics as the reason for the 27-point comeback. He completed 24 of his final 31 passes for 258 yards, with four touchdowns.

He connected with Evan Engram, Zay Jones, Marvin Jones and Christian Kirk, and then he scored on a 2-point conversion that left the Jaguars (108) down 30-28 and gave them a chance to win instead of tie with a field goal.

Even then, the Chargers (10-8) did nothing to slow them down.

“Anytime you’re up 27-7 at halftime and you’ve got four takeaways and you end up winning the takeaway margin (5-0),

League hoop races begin to heat up

League play is in full swing for all our area high school basketball teams and the title contenders have emerged. Here’s a quick look at the league races going into Tuesday and Wednesday games for school teams in The Orange County Tribune’s coverage area of the communities of Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Stanton and Westminster.

Empire League boys: Cypress and Crean Lutheran are each 2-0, followed by Tustin and Pacifica, each at 1-1. Key game is Crean Lutheran at Cypress Tuesday night.

Empire League girls: As in the boys’ race, Crean Lutheran and Cypress are at the top at 2-0. Pacifica is tied for fifth at 0-2 with Tustin. Key game: Cypress and Crean Lutheran Tuesday night.

Garden Grove League boys: There’s a three way tie among Santiago, La Quinta and Loara, all at 3-1. A key game on Wednesday: Los Amigos at La Quinta.

Garden Grove League girls: Santiago (4-0) has a one-game lead over La Quinta and Los Amigos (each 3-1). Also a key game: Los Amigos at La Quinta on Wednesday.

Golden West League boys: Segerstrom (3-0) is off to an early lead, followed by Ocean View and Katella (2-1), then Westminster and Godinez (1-2). In last place at 0-3 is Garden Grove, the defending league and CIF-SS champs.

Golden West League girls: Godinez (3-0) is on

Continued on page 7

Prep Hoops Scores

Tuesday, Jan. 17 (boys)

Tustin 62, Pacifica 22

Western 37, Anaheim 33

Godinez 45, Garden Grove 44

Westminster 63, Ocean View 58

Orangewood 60, San Gabriel Academy 52

Tuesday, Jan. 17 (girls)

Anaheim 79, Western 35

Magnolia 58, Santa Ana Valley 17

Godinez 54, Garden Grove 20

Monday, Jan. 16 (girls)

Orangewood 75, Xavier Prep 57

Oxford Academy 42, Magnolia 32

AUSTIN EKELER and the Chargers’ offense had a great first half vs. the Jaguars, but virtually disappeared in the second half (Chargers photo).