The Orange County Tribune Nov. 30, 2022

Wednesday: 64/49 sun, showers

Thursday: 62/52 evening showers Friday: 62/52 cloudy

LOVE ME TENDER ... BAR NONE

Plan for Mall Goes For Final Approvals

By Amir Ghani Orange County Tribune

Another, perhaps final step toward the beginning of redeveloping the de clining Westminster Mall may be taken at Wednes day’s meeting of the West minster City Council. A public hearing will be held to consider a general plan amendment, a spe cific plan and an environ mental impact report for a re-make of the enclosed shopping center at Bolsa Avenue and Goldenwest Street, adjacent to the San Diego (405) Freeway. Generally, the proposals are to convert the center

from a Seventies-style enclosed mall into a more open-air mixed-use proj ect incorporating com mercial and residential uses along with retail op erations.

The planning commission at its most recent meeting recommended approval with some suggested changes, including the number of residential units and in the square footage of non-residential uses.

Westminster Mall opened in 1974 and was for years the largest enclosed shopping mall in Orange County.

The meetings is at 7 p.m. at 8200 Westminster Blvd.

Pedestrian killed in a GG intersection

A pedestrian is dead af ter being struck by a car Monday evening in Gar den Grove.

According to Sgt. Nick Jensen of the GGPD, the incident took place in the area of Chapman Avenue and Medina Drive around 6:50 p.m.

Arriving officers found the pedestrian lying in the roadway. Orange County Fire Authority paramed

ics responded and tried life-saving measures but were unable to revive the patient.

Motor officers from the Neighborhood Traffic Unit responded to the scene to investigate.

It was determined that the pedestrian was walking in the middle of the intersec tion on Chapman when he was struck by a vehicle

Still “different” after all these (17) years

By Jim Tortolano Orange County Tribune

Most people have an idea of a wedding as an event that features a place of worship, a person of the cloth presiding and a regal exit in a shiny car trailing a “Just Married” sign on the back.

But Don McGregor and

Clarice Drake are not the kind of people to just do what everyone does.

When these long-time Garden Grove residents tied the knot last week, they did it at the Azteca Mexican Restaurant on Main Street and they did it in an offbeat-style.

The ceremony was held before a standing-room

only crowd of friends and family at the eatery, famous for being a virtual shrine to Elvis Presley. Performing the wedding was J.J. Jauregui, former owner of the Azteca, cour tesy of a divinity degree

The counting is almost all over

Two races for local of fice, close for nearly three weeks, appear to be head ing to a conclusion.

At the close of business on Tuesday, the race for the third seat being con tested for the Ocean View School District Board of Trustees has Morgan

Westmoreland ahead by a slim margin of 84 votes over John Briscoe.

According to the Or ange County Registrar of Voters, Westmoreland has polled 12,745 votes (19.55 percent) to Bris coe’s 12,661 (19.42 per cent) votes.

The registrar’s office re ports that just 4,690 bal lots remain to be counted countywide and in the closing days of process ing, totals in each race are only changing by a hand ful of votes.

Westmoreland’s margin

“REV.” J.J. JAUREGUI PRESIDES OVER THE WEDDING of Clarice Drake and Don McGregor at Azteca Restaurant (Tribune photos)

n

A totally different kind of a wedding

acquired on the internet. With a statue of The King look ing on they were declared man and wife, a landmark on a ro mantic journey that began 17 years before.

“This is the place where Clarice and I met 17 years ago, on this date. That’s why we’re getting married here,” said McGregor. “That night we met I was sitting alone at the bar. She walked in –she had just broken up with her boyfriend. We started talking.”

Then he made his move. Ar ranging to meet her on the fol lowing Sunday, he wrote on a bar napkin, “On this Sunday, my life will change.” They did get together at 4 p.m. and “we’ve been together ever since.”

Love at first sight did not lead directly to the altar. What took him so long – 17 years – to pro pose? “I ran out of reasons not to,” he said. ‘Finally, I said to myself, what am I waiting for”?

There were other obstacles along the road to the chapel, er, restau rant. A week before the wedding, he was in a motor accident in which he sustained injuries to his ribs and collarbone. And yet he got strapped and taped up and got to the altar on time.

Clarice didn’t find the venue and ceremony anything but fun. “I loved it,” she said. “This is just the way we had it planned. We’re a different kind of people. This is what our friends expect ed of us.”

She had high praise for the hosts, Jennifer Stewart and Larry Vance, operators of the Azteca. “They went above and beyond

for us to make it perfect.”

And what better way to con clude an offbeat wedding than with an offbeat form of trans portation. “Then we rode away on a scooter,” she said, referring to the repaired vehicle that Don was riding when injured earlier.

Vote results nearly done

Continued from page 1

has increased steadily, from 70 votes on on 22 and 57 on the day before.

In the Westminster City Council election for District 1, Amy Phan West has polled 3,188 votes (50.18 percent) to John Gentile’s 3,165 votes (49.82 percent), a difference of 23 votes. But that’s up from 10 on Nov. 22, the same as the day before.

Regarding Measure O, which would impose a tax on the sale of cannabis in Huntington Beach and clear the way for the estab lishment of such businesses in Surf City, “yes” votes has a large lead with 42,754 (54.67 per cent). “No” votes are at 35,443 (45.33 percent).

Only a simple majority is re quired for passage. Due to incor rect information provided to The Tribune, we had reported that 55 percent approval – plus one vote – was necessary.

Pedestrian death in GG intersection

Continued from page 1

traveling westbound on Chap man from Medina, and that the driver did not see the pedestrian.

Editor and Publisher

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 ex pressed 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.

The Orange County Coroner will conduct an autopsy to deter mine the cause of death. Alcohol or drugs are not believed to be a factor in the collision, pending results from the Orange County Crime Lab. The investigation into the collision is ongoing.

Reminder: No OC Tribune issue this Saturday, Dec. 3. Next Saturday issue will be on Dec. 10

JIm Tortolano

Marilyn

“It was like we had Main Street all to ourselves.” Sigh. “It was perfect.”

No OC Trib issue this Saturday, Dec. 3. The next one will be on Dec. 10.

ELETRIC VEHICLES GET A BOOST

SCE and City of Huntington Beach hook up on a plan to pro vide more charging stations for electric cars (Shutterstock).

Electric cars will get boost at Civic Center, elsewhere

By Huw Pickering Orange County Tribune

By the end of 2023, Huntington Beach residents will be able to drive their Teslas, Bolts and Pri us cars to the Civic Center and charge up their motors instead of wandering around town looking for a place to plug in.

On Tuesday night the city coun cil voted 6-0 in favor of a part nership with Southern Califor nia Edison to install 24 charging

stations for the public’s use in the Civic Center at Main Street and Yorktown Avenue, across from Huntington Beach High School.

If the 10-year agreement is a success, residents who own elec tric vehicles could apply for a rebate to have charging stations installed in their homes.

The agreement approved by the city council calls for the installa tion of the stations in the lot to be completed within one year.

GGPD to make extra effort vs. “driving under influence”

Millions of people will be trav eling to visit friends and family over the holidays. The Garden Grove Police Department en courages everyone to celebrate safely and have a holiday game plan that includes a designated sober driver.

During the pre-Christmas and New Year’s holiday season, Nov. 28 - Dec. 13, the Garden Grove Police Department will have additional officers on pa trol looking for drivers suspect

ed of driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.

“We want everyone to enjoy the holidays and be safe,” said Garden Grove Police Chief Tom Daré. “If you plan to go out and celebrate, make sure you plan ahead and find a safe, sober ride home because driving impaired should never be an option.”

Drunk driving is a problem on our nation’s roads every day, but it’s more prevalent during the holidays.

Suspect is sought in murder try in City of Stanton

The public’s assistance is sought in locating a suspect wanted in connection with an attempted murder that took place in Stan ton on Nov. 17.

According to the Orange Coun ty Sheriff’s Department – which provides police services for Stanton – the suspect sought is identified as Chad Richard son, 32. He’s described as be ing a Black male, about 5-feet, 10-inches tall, 187 lbs. with brown eyes and a shaved head.

The incident took place at about 1 p.m. at the Riviera Motel on Beach Boulevard in Stanton, a location Richardson was known to frequent.

Anyone with information about the suspect’s whereabouts is

asked to contact the OCSD dis patch at (949) 770-6011 or Or ange County Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIP-OCCS (847-6227).

A man was detained after fire hits two Stanton homes

One person was detained after a fire broke out in Stanton last Thursday. The blaze was in the 10900 block of Endry Street (near Katella Avenue and Beach Boulevard).

Arriving Orange County Fire Authority firefighters found a “well-involved” house fire that was extending to an adjacent home. A second alarm was re

quested, summoning help from other units.

The family was evacuated from the home. One person from the adjacent home was evaluated by firefighter paramedics for inju ries, but declined transport to a hospital.

One person was detained, and the cause of the fire is under in vestigation.

CHAD RICHARDSON Suspect in Stanton attempted murder (OCSD photo)

n HUNTINGTON BEACH CITY COUNCIL

FIRE SCENE on Endry Street in Stanton (OCFA photo)

Oath Keeper leader convicted of conspiracy

The founder and leader of the extreme right-wing Oath Keep ers group Stewart Rhodes was convicted on Tuesday of sedi tious conspiracy for his role in a plot to prevent the certification of the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to the offices of

NewsUpdate

president and vice president. His conviction in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol carries with it a potential sentence of 20 years in federal prison. He was acquitted of two other conspiracy charges, ac cording to the Associated Press. Rhodes did not enter the capitol building, but prosecutors presented evidence that he had planned for an “insurrection” that might result in “civil war.”

Same-sex marriage bill moves through Senate

On a bi-partisan vote, the U.S. Senate on Tuesday approved legislation to require federal rec ognition of same-sex marriages. According to The New York Times, the tally was 61-36, sending the bill to the House of Representatives where Demo crats still hold a majority. From there the bill would go

to President Joe Biden for his signature, which he has already promised to do.

Also in the news … Georgia voters have set a new record for early voting in the Dec. 6 U.S. Senate race between Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republi can challenger Herschel Walker. Over 300,000 voters cast ballots on Monday, breaking the former one-day record of 233,000. A heavy turnout may favor the Democrat.

Sports: USA beats Iran, advances in World Cup

Christian Pulisic’s first half goal was all the U.S. men’s national soccer team needed to defeat Iran 1-0 on Tuesday and ad vance to the “knockout round” of 16 teams in the World Cup. With the win, the America has a 1-0-2 (one win, two ties) record,

good for second place in Group B. The top two in each group advance. Next up will be Neth erlands on Saturday.

Weather: Showers, clouds

The West Orange County area will get a little touch of winter weather this week with continu ing cool temperatures, a lot of clouds and some rain.

According to the National Weather Service, there will be sun early on Wednesday with a good chance of showers in the evening. The predicted high is 64 with a low of 49. Thursday should have showers in the afternoon and evening with a daytime high of 62.

CHRISTIAN PULISIC

Arts&Living

“Devotion” a salute to wingmen

But the film doesn’t focus enough on the story’s true hero

By Mark Kennedy AP Entertainment Writer

There must be something about actor Glen Powell that cast ing directors associate with the heavens.

He’s played astronaut John Glenn in “Hidden Figures,” voiced a NASA official in the animated film `”Apollo 10 1?2” and has two roles this year as a hotshot Navy aviator.

Here he is in “Devotion”’ kicking off the movie with an entrance that’s pure cocksure, smirking golden boy, a replay of his earlier role as Jake “Hang man” Seresin in “Top Gun: Maverick.:

But this time the year is 1950, and Powell’s swaggering Lt. Tom Hudner is not the hero. The real star of “Devotion: is Ensign Jesse Brown, the first African American to complete Navy flight training. He’s played su perbly and deeply by Jonathan Majors. So why is Powell so front and center?

The film is perhaps not what you were expecting. It is not an action thrill ride, a “Top Gun” set in Korea. There is no “High way to the Danger Zone.” It is, rather, a quiet portrait of an air man over the course of a year, and, to be honest, it’s really not so much about him as about the notion of allyship.

Based on the book by the same name by Adam Makos, “De votion” is assuredly directed by J.D. Dillard, who skillfully mixes shots in tight quarters with excellent aerial combat sequences. The script by Jake Crane and Jonathan A. H. Stew art is a slow-burning affair that will have audiences tugging at the leash.

It’s not a typical biopic with lots of flashbacks. In fact, there are none. We meet a gruff Brown after he has endured all manner of racism –hazed, bul lied and forced to repeat Navy tests multiple times. His com

Movie Review

manding officer refused to pin his lapel wings at graduation. Such experiences he reveals in off-hand comments.

He has written every slur and demeaning putdown he has been told and repeats them in a mirror for motivation.

Once Brown returns nightly to his wife and baby daughter, the grimness dissolves. In the domestic sphere, he is a dotting father and loving husband. The bond he shares with wife, Daisy (better than wonderful Christina Jackson), is the rock hard earth that allows him to soar. “Play nice,” his wife tells him.

The rest of the cast includes a nifty but small part for Joe Jo nas, showing lots of charismatic promise, and Thomas Sadoski as the aviator’s commanding of

ficer. He plays it like a cool as sistant professor at night school who is likely to turn his seat backward during a lecture to “rap with the kids.”

A tentative friendship blooms between Brown and Hudner, who sees in the Black airman a striving pilot and an admirable man. Both long for combat, hav ing learned to fly in the years af ter World War II just as the Ko rean conflict is heating up. They both learn to wrestle with the Vought F4U-4 Corsair, a tem permental fighter aircraft.

Hudner’s fondness for Brown has a condescending flavor, though he wouldn’t admit it. The white pilot is always ready to jump to his Black friend’s defense, be it a stare-down with intolerant U.S. soldiers or fussy French waiters. He’s the first to throw a punch, even when Brown wasn’t looking for

Fair: HHH

violence.”I can fight my own fights. Been doing it for a long time,” Brown tells his wingman. And that’s when the film gets interesting (although things get a little surreal when their carrier docks in Cannes and the aviators somehow meet up with Eliza beth Taylor.) This lesson of how to be an ally for diversity comes into sharper focus as the film progresses. It is Hudner who needs to evolve his thinking. It is why Hudner is so prominent in a film about a Black pioneer. When a group of Black sailors – who have come out on deck to cheer Brown land his plane on the carrier – approach him with a Rolex gift to say how proud he makes them, one says: “We see you.” But Hudner also needs to

JONATHON MAJOR AND GLEN POWELL STAR IN “DEVOTION”

Based on the true story of the first African American naval aviator (Searchlight films)

“Devotion” is a story of wartime friendship

see him. Not through white sav ior lenses but as a man. “It was never your job to save Jesse,” Brown’s wife tells him.

But, ultimately, this is a weird way to honor a man who would posthumously receive the Dis tinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal and the Purple Heart.

In many ways, framing his he roics beside a white wingman undermines the singularity of Brown. Even the film’s poster –with both actors’ pictures equal ly large – gives a false equiva lency. This hero didn’t need any help.

“Devotion,” a Sony Pictures re leased in theaters last Wednes day, is rated PG-13 for “strong language, some war action/vio lence and smoking.” Running time: 139 minutes.

Fortune favored the Bolts against Cardinals

Continued from page 8

“We just believed in each other,” Herbert said. “That’s one of those plays that we’ve repped a ton over the last cou ple of years. We feel comfort able with the guys out there. Gerald ran a great route, made a great catch.”

Herbert completed 35 of 47 passes for 274 yards and three touchdowns for the Chargers (6-5), who snapped a two-game skid while staying in the thick of the AFC playoff race. Ari zona (4-8) has lost four of five, leaving it with almost no shot at making the NFC playoff field.

Herbert now has led 10 fourthquarter comebacks in his three seasons. But with opportunities to win the past two weeks in similar situations, the Chargers fell short.

“That’s what it’s like when you’re a quarterback in the NFL,” Staley said. “You’re not going to make every 2-minute drive, but the thing he has going for him is that our entire orga nization believes he’s going to make it. He brought us back, game ball for him.

“Big-time performance. We couldn’t have won without him.”

The Chargers have trailed by 10 or more points at some point in the first half in each of their last four victories. They were down 14-0 against Cleveland and 10-0 against Denver, Atlan ta and Arizona.

The Cardinals took a 24-17 lead early in the fourth quarter when Kyler Murray threw a short pass to James Conner for a 6-yard touchdown. The veteran run ning back had 25 carries for 120 yards, his first 100-yard rushing game in two seasons with the

Cardinals.

Murray threw for 191 yards, two touchdowns and an in terception and ran for a score after missing the previous two games with a hamstring injury.

Arizona got some big defen sive stops in the fourth quarter but the offense couldn’t run out the clock. The Cardinals got the ball back with 2:19 left, but went three-and-out in just 31 seconds.

DeAndre Carter had a 20-yard punt return, and a 5-yard pen alty set up the Chargers deep in Cardinals territory for the win ning drive.

“We had our chances,’’ Car dinals coach Kliff Kingsbury said. “I think both teams played well enough to win. They made the plays at the end, unfortu nately we didn’t. Our offense got it back twice – went threeand-out – can’t do that against a good team.’’

Arizona took a 17-14 lead into halftime when Murray ran for a 5-yard touchdown just before the break, capping a 14-play, 75-yard drive.

Panthers, Monarchs fall

Continued from page 8

tion’s second ranked-team, de feated top-seeded Mater Dei 24-22 in the CIF-SS Division 1 championship game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

The Monarchs (12-1) scored first on a 28-yard pass from Eli jah Brown to Marcus Harris, but that was matched by a Braves score which sent the game into halftime deadlocked at 7-all.

In the second half, SJB took its first lead on a 21-yard scor ing pass from Pierce Clarkson to Matayo Uiagalelei to make the score 14-7 after the PAT. Mater Dei answered with a 76-yard scoring strike from Brown to Marcus Brown, but missed the kick to trail 14-13.

don Davison, but the two-point conversion try failed.

The ensuing onside kick also failed and Bosco got the ball back and started a drive that advanced to the Monarch 25, running out the clock to seal the win.

It was coach Bruce Rollinson’s final game as the Mater Dei head coach, and the loss snapped a 29-game winning streak by the Monarchs. Since they did not win a division title, they won’t advance to the regional (and potentially state) contest, but Mater Dei and its fans can have the consolation of being ranked second in the United States by MaxPreps.com .

Our e-paper comes out on Wednesdays, and Saturdays. For a free subscription via e-mail, please send us a request to: orangecountytribune@gmail.

The Braves extended their lead to 24-13 with a touchdown and a field goal but the Monarchs responded with a field goal of their own.

With three minutes to play, MDHS closed to within two on a 1-yard scoring plunge by Jor

Prep hoops

Continued from page 8

lished schedules. The Garden Grove League also opens on Jan. 11, while the Sunset loop commences play on Wednesday, Jan. 4.

TheSportsPage

Locals Open Slow in Prep Basketball

9 of 32 area squads have winning marks

High school football sea son is over – except for a few lucky teams that will advance to regional play offs – and attention now turns to boys’ and girls’ basketball.

This is the time for nonleague games and tourna ments. Usually this part of the season is to underline fundamentals, try differ ent lineup combinations and integrate newcomers into the varsity systems.

Boldness paid off for the Bolts vs. Arizona

By David Brandt AP Sports Writer

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP)

– Los Angeles Chargers coach Brandon Staley knew he was going for the winning 2-point con version a few minutes be fore it actually happened, so when the moment ar rived, there was no hesi tation and no looking at his playbook.

The result was even bet ter than he imagined.

“Smooth like chocolate milk,” Staley said with a grin.

Justin Herbert threw a

1-yard touchdown pass to Austin Ekeler with 15 seconds left, then hit Ger ald Everett for the deci sive conversion to give the Los Angeles Chargers a 25-24 win over the Ari zona Cardinals on Sun day.

Ekeler barely got into the end zone for the TD that moved the Chargers within one, capping a seven-play, 38-yard drive that lasted 1:33. The ball hit the pylon as he dived toward the corner.

That set up Staley’s bold if predetermined call. Herbert hit Everett for a

This Week in Area Football

• USC Trojans (11-1) on Friday hosting Utah 9-3) for Pac-12 title.

• Los Angeles Rams (3-8) on Sunday host the Seattle Seahawks (6-5).

• Los Angeles Char gers (6-5) on Sunday at Las Vegas Raiders (4-7).

clean catch despite plen ty of traffic near the goal line.

Coming out of the week end, most teams in our West Orange County coverage area are off to mostly slow starts. Of the 16 schools that serve our area, only three boys’ teams have posted win ning records through Monday’s games.

They are Orange (4-1), Orangewood Academy (5-2) and Marina (3-2).

At the other end of the spectrum two boys’ team are winless. Bolsa Grande is 0-3 and Garden Grove is 0-7. In the latter case, the Argonauts won the CIF-SS Division 4AA title last year, but much of that team, as well as coach Brian Girard, are gone.

Andrew Scimeca is the new coach, and it’s very likely that the Argos will improve over their rough start.

On the girls’ side, six lo cal teams have winning records. They are Ocean View (6-1), Santiago (31), Marina (3-1), Western (2-1) and two 2-0 teams, Orange and Orangewood Academy.

Winless are Loara (0-3), Los Amigos (0-5) and Western (0-2).

Most area leagues will start the “real season” in early January. The Golden West League tips off on Friday, Jan. 6, while the Sunset League will com mence on Wednesday, Jan. 11, according to pub

Orange, Mater Dei fell in CIF-SS football finals

Orange High’s quest for a CIF-SS Division 6 foot ball title fell short in the championship game Fri day night at Fred Kelly Stadium.

The Panthers led San Ja cinto High 15-13 at half time, but were shut out after intermission and lost 42-15.

That loss snapped a ninegame winning streak for the Orange Coast League champions, who finished the season 11-3. The Ti gers finished with a 12-2 record.

In another game of in terest to Orange County, St. John Bosco, the na

NUMBER THREE WAS NUMBER ONE

This spectacular catch by Derwin James, Jr. was in the Chargers’ 25-24 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. The Bolts face the Las Vegas Raiders this coming Sunday (Chargers photo by Mike Nowak)