PVP-PANORAMA No. 281 • 02/19/22

PANORAMA Palos Verdes Peninsula

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No. 281 • February 19, 2022

GIRLS OPEN SPRING SPORTS Transitions

• Girls’ softball has officially opened the spring sports season with an Opening Day parade and competitive games.

The Palos Verdes Youth Basketball League will hold final championship games this weekend while all four Little Leagues prepare for their Opening Day next week.

Check out the next edition of Panorama on March 5 as we continue to cover all the good stuff on the Hill.

Girls Softball Opens Spring Sports . . . The 10U Wildcats take part in Opening Day ceremonies at Cornerstone School.

Soccer Season Never Ends On The Hill . . . The school soccer season is over but AYSO Spring Select begins next week.

Basketball

Marauders vs. Sea Kings See Page 7

PVYBL

Championship Weekend See Pages 15-16

Basketball

King Of The Court See Pages 7

Finals . . . The Palos Verdes Youth Basketball League is in the middle of playoff action.

Service

Local Eagle Scouts See Page 2

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February 19, 2022

Local Scouts Join Ranks Of Eagle Scouts Merit

• Local community service and projects lead local Scouts to Eagle Scout rank Boy Scout Troop 276 will award the rank of Eagle Scouts to Paolo Romaan Locano, Lochlan Bailey and Evan Song at Eagle Court of Honor on Saturday at Fred Hesse Jr. Community Park in Rancho Palos Verdes.

Romaan earned 25 merit badges, Lochlan received 30 merit badges, and Evan earned 26 merit badges through the Boy Scout activities since they joined Troop 276.

Romaan’s Eagle Project was done at Paolo Romaan Locano

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February 19, 2022

Lady Panthers Take Third Straight Bay League Title

Varsity Girls

• The Peninsula High girls’ varsity basketball team won its third Bay League championship, but they want more.

Palos Verdes Peninsula

PANORAMA On Staff Keila Bara Beau Demerjian Sammy Funk Joaquin Lugo Timothy Niemann Publisher/Editor: Tom Combs Copy Editors: Sue Demerjian, Winton Combs Cartoonist: Jack Dickason

By Keila Bara

PENINSULAPANORAMA.com

For the third year in a row, the girls’ varsity basketball team at Peninsula High School earned the title Bay League champion, having won the title in 2020 and 2021 as well.

In past seasons, unaffected by the coronavirus pandemic, the Bay League consisted of six high schools — Palos Verdes, Redondo Union, Mira Costa, Culver City, Santa Monica and Peninsula - playing each other twice.

At the end of the set of games, the team with the most wins is the Bay League champion.

This season, however, circumstances were a bit different due to COVID-19, which caused the season to be cut short. Each team only played each other once, and after those games were played, teams were ranked on a

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Next Edition March 5 Advertising Information Tom Combs

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Lucas Demerjian

Bay League Champions Again . . . The Peninsula High School girls’ Photo Courtesy Panthers

varsity basketball team celebrates another team victory. scale from one to six. Once the rankings were established, all the teams played a round-robin tournament, and since Peninsula won the most games, they were Bay League champions for the 2022 season.

“It was a season of uncertainty

and adaptation, which made our win even more rewarding knowing what we had to overcome to get here,” said Panthers senior Katelyn White. “It was disappointing not to play that final game, but being Bay League

Please continue on Page 6 . . .

Students Ride The Highs And Lows Of COVID Waves

COVID Report

• Hope for COVID surf to settle down for spring and summer season.

By Timothy Niemann As COVID-19 nears its two-year mark of being declared a pandemic, society has gotten used to its rises and falls. Throughout the pandemic, cases have at times risen rapidly and, sooner rather than later, fallen seemingly even faster.

Omicron ravaged through the United States and the rest of the world over the past two months, and people yet again are in the now familiar feeling of expecting a large spike.

The Omicron variant brought with

it the largest number of cases in the world thus far in the pandemic, yet cases fell rapidly through the end of January and the beginning of February.

Due to this fall in cases, states, counties, and municipalities around the country have begun to roll back COVID mandates and precautions. More than 10 states, including California, have rolled back mask mandates; many other states never had mask mandates in the first place.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s mandate requiring masks indoors expired at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday. Los Angeles County, however, has decided to stray from the state’s guidance, only choosing to lift the mask mandate that was formerly in place for “outdoor mega-events.”

This means that masks will still be re-

quired indoors in Los Angeles County.

This is California’s second exodus from mask mandates. Governor Newsom previously ended the mask mandate in June of 2021, but he chose to reinstate that statewide mandate in December of that year. Los Angeles County has maintained stricter protocols than Newsom throughout most of the pandemic; the county has gone just a little more than one month without mask mandates since masks were first required in early April of 2020.

Confusion regarding these mandates is aplenty. People continue to be confused as to which level of health department gets the final say in the mandates. In this case, Los Angeles County overpowers the state of California.

Please continue on Page 8 . . .

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PV Soccer Stays Ahead Of PEN Varsity Boys • The Palos Verdes and Peninsula High school boys’ soccer teams finished the Bay League season with a match at Peninsula High.

Final Goals . . . Sea Kings junior Jack Flanagan scored a goal during Palos Verdes 3-2 win over Peninsula to end the season.

High School Soccer Season Over . . . PV defender Skylor Sun keeps the ball on the Peninsula side of the field during season-ending action at Peninsula High.

Winning Finish . . . Senior captain Conor Steinbach leads the Sea Kings on the field.

Wear Your Sunscreen . . . Visiting teams at both Peninsula and Palos Verdes High school football/soccer/lacrosse fields face bright, relentless sunshine throughout their games.

PV And PEN Spring Sports Seasons Underway High School

• The spring sports season will be packed with action this year.

Peninsula and Palos Verdes High School spring sports teams have begun spring competition here in mid-February.

Peninsula High baseball has already picked up a 4-2 win over Narbonne while Palos Verdes High baseball has wins over Los Alamitos and South High Schools.

Photos by Carly Funk

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February 19, 2022

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PEN Basketball Wins Bay League . . . Continued from Page 4

Winning Bay League, especially in my senior year, is a nice cherry on top to commemorate all our hard work,” Galdones said.

The girls varsity basketball team’s success in this year’s Bay League can be attributed in part to their rigorous training schedule. During the official basketball season, which typically spans from November to February, they practice six days a week—Monday through Saturday—for two hours each

champions is an honor and a title wellearned through this team’s hard work.”

The winning game was between Peninsula, which held the third seed in the rankings, and Mira Costa, which held the second seed. The final score was 55-54, making for an incredibly close match and a thrilling win. Though this was the game that sealed the title for the Peninsula, it was not supposed to be their last game — there was a

“It is such an exciting season to finish my four years on, even with all the bumps in the road we had because of COVID-19.”

— Kellie Au game scheduled against Culver City, which beat number-one ranked Redondo Union and was scheduled to advance to the next game on Feb. 4.

However, Culver City had to forfeit because of too many players contracting COVID-19, which made for an unorthodox and sudden win for Peninsula.

The team found out they won Bay League via a message from their coach, Natalie Kelly, hours before the game was scheduled to begin.

“I would say this year’s win was definitely less exciting and eventful than the previous years’ wins,” Peninsula senior Jami Galdones said. “There was a lot of anticipation for [the game against Culver City], and I know a lot of people would have come out to support us, but at the end of the day we did win Bay League, so there is not much for me to be upset about.

“Being a three-time Bay League champion feels very rewarding, as our team put in a lot of hard work and dedication each day during practice.

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day. Additionally, they continue to train during the off-season.

Pre-season begins at the beginning of the school year and typically consists of various forms of conditioning such as weights and cardio.

With their third consecutive Bay League Champion title under their belt, the team is competing in the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section (CIF-SS) playoffs. They beat West High School, 44-32, Feb. 16 and advance to the quarter finals to play Viewpoint School on Friday, Feb. 19.

“It is such an exciting season to finish my four years on. Even with all the bumps in the road we had because of COVID-19,” PEN senior Kellie Au said.

“I love playing with these girls, and though going through playoffs is always nerve-wracking, it is all about leaving everything on the floor. Continuing on to CIF quarter finals gives me flashbacks to our sophomore year run, and I can only hope to go even further this year.”

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February 19, 2022

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Middle School Sports Finish Winter Season Winter Sports

• Miraleste, Ridgecrest and Palos Verdes Intermediate School finished the South Bay League’s basketball and soccer winter season last week.

The Ridgecrest girls’ basketball team defeated both Miraleste and PVIS while the PVIS boys’ basketball team defeated both Ridgecrest and Miraleste.

Jump For Rebounds . . . PVIS 8th grader Dabe Nwude grabs a rebound during PVIS win against Miraleste in South Bay League action.

RIS, PVIS End Season 1-1 . . .

Forward Kate Ryan leads the PVIS offense against RIS at Highridge Park Tuesday.

Nope . . .

Tiffany Huang goes up to block a shot for PVIS during South Bay League action against Miraleste last week at Palos Verdes Intermediate School.

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February 19, 2022

Community Projects Add To Merits For Eagle Scouts . . . Continued from Page 2

Paolo Romaan Locano

Lochlan Bailey

Moffett Elementary School in Lennox. With the help of fellow Scouts and adults, the project took over 130 hours to complete.

Lochlan constructed a hexagonal bench in front of the firstgrade classrooms at Montemalaga Elementary in Palos Verdes Estates. He also weeded and filled in a muddy patch located near the classrooms with pebbles.

Evan’s Eagle project benefited the Army and Navy Academy in Carlsbad. Six surfboard racks were built with the help of fellow Scouts, friends, and family members. The completed racks were transported to Carlsbad and placed around campus for the cadets to use.

— email reports Evan Song

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Hope For Final COVID Wave

. . . Continued from Page 4 Palos Verdes Peninsula schools were miraculously able to make it through the Omicron surge without shutting their doors to in-person learning. Now that winter is nearing its end, hopes have emerged that schools will not have to worry about going virtual and, hoping that COVID never reaches these levels again. Also,

the past few months have shown that many schools can remain open even when COVID cases reach historic levels.

Society will once again try to return to a pre-pandemic normal in the wake of Omicron. Certain mandates are being lifted slowly but surely, and hopes remain that COVID will soon be a worry of the past.

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Softball Parade Opens Spring

Softball

• The Palos Verdes Peninsula Girls’ Softball League began its spring season last week with Opening Day ceremonies and games at Cornerstone School.

Opening Day began early at Highridge Park where Peninsula families gathered to decorate their team floats and prepare for the Parade of Teams.

Escorted by police cars and sheriff deputies, the team floats made their way down Highridge Road, across Hawthorne and down to Cornerstone School for Opening Day ceremonies and games.

Softball Celebration . . . Peninsula streets were lined with softball supporters and fans for the Parade of Teams.

Make Way For A Parade . . .

Softball floats were escorted by police cars and sheriff deputies from Highridge Park to Cornerstone School.

Royalty On The Hill . . . The 8U Sea Queens take note of their many admirers during the parade route.

Let The Games Begin . . . The Palos Verdes Peninsula Girls’ Softball League begins its 49th spring season.

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February 19, 2022

12U Back In Black . . .

10U Phoenix Rising . . .

10U Purple Haze . . .

12U Bombin Bulldogs . . .

8U Gumballs . . .

8U Peacocks . . .

10U Goblins . . .

10U Blackout . . .

12U Dream Killers . . .

10U Wildcats . . .

8U Sea Queens . . .

10U Thunderbolts . . .

12U Smurfs . . .

8U The Ladybugs . . .

8U Yellow Jackets . . .

Peninsula Softball Teams

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8U Bandits . . .

February 19, 2022

6U Purple Panthers . . .

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6U Pink Flamingos . . .

6U Snow Leopards . . .

8U Black Widows . . .

6U Red Dragons . . .

6U Peacocks . . .

8U Blue Bok Bocks . . .

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6U Narwhals . . .

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Softball Alumni Back On The Field. . . PVPGSL and Palos Verdes High alumni Steffi Best return to Cornerstone School to thrown out the first pitch to PVPGSL and Peninsula High alumni catcher Katie Rusek during Opening Day ceremonies.

How Traditions Begin . . . Nothing better than everyone singing the National Anthem after the taped music breaks.

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See The Ball . . . 10U Blackout got a big win over the Thunderbolts to begin the season.

Looks Like A Home Run . . . The Yellowjackets get a big hit in 8U action at Cornerstone School.

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Season Underway . . . 10U Purple Haze and the Wildcats battle in the first game of the season.

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More On The Way . . . The 10U Thunderbolts will face the Green Goblins today at Cornerstone School.

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PVYBL Hits Championship Weekend

PVYBL

• The Palos Verdes Youth Basketball League will hold final championship games this weekend at Peninsula High and the Miraleste gym.

Black Death and Black Magic will face each other in the boys’ upper division final today while the Penguins and Cobras will play in the girls’ upper division Sunday.

The Incredible Hulks will face Green Gladiators and will attempt to finish the season undefeated.

The Bruins are playing to finish the season undefeated and will be facing Blue Fire in the Blue Division final. The Purple Aces have dominated the Purple Division and will try for a win over Purple Reign to finish the season undefeated.

Let’s End This . . . The Penguins will

look to finish the season strong in the Dahlia Division championship game.

Youth Basketball Action . . . The Purple Cobras downed the Purple Tigers, 34-14, in Purple Division action at Peninsula High

Ready For Finals . . . The Black

Editorial and Advertising deadline is 6 p.m. Monday the week of publication. PVP-Panorama is published every two weeks.

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Pearls defeated the Cobras, 28-19, in the Dahlia Division play at Peninsula High.

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Click Photo Galleries Basketball Set For Final Period . . . Upper division teams will finish the 2022 PVYBL season with championship games while the lower divisions will have a full slate of final games at local school playgrounds this weekend.

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Ready To Face The Penguins . . . The Cobras and Black Pearls battled throughout the season to see which team will be in the Dahlia Division finals.

Purple People Eaters . . . The Purple Tigers took down the Purple Cobras in the first round of Purple Divsion playoff action at Peninsula High.

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Purple Shades . . . The Purple State Warriors and Purple People Eaters battle in the Purple Division at Peninsula High.

Down To The Finals . . . The Cobras broke through the Black Pearls to reach the Dahlia Division final against the first place Penguins.

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