December 12, 2019

LO C A L

N EWS

December 12-18, 2019 YO U

C A N

INSIDE: 2019 Holiday Happenings & Gift Guide

U S E

SPECIAL SECTION VOLUME 14, ISSUE 50

2019 Winter Sports Preview Triton Teams Return in Top Form with Championship Aspirations S P O R T S / PAG E 2 6 After a pinnacle season for the San Clemente boys soccer team last season, the Tritons are still set up for another strong run with a talented and cohesive group. Photo: Zach Cavanagh

Marks Lands Spot on U.S. Olympic Surf Team EYE ON SC/PAGE 3

Ordinance to Shut Down Pico Camp Passes EYE ON SC/PAGE 3

sanclementetimes.com

Placement of Ballot Drop-Boxes Considered EYE ON SC/PAGE 7

SC EYE ON SC San Clemente

LOCAL NEWS & IN-DEPTH REPORTING

What’s Up With...

average wave score of 4.17, according to the WSL—SR

City Releases Draft of Hospital RFP

Five things San Clemente should know this week Council Passes Ordinance to Shut Down Pico Encampment THE LATEST: City councilors convened for a special meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 10, when they passed an urgency ordinance that will allow the city to shut down its outdoor homeless encampment on Avenida Pico.

In a 4-0 vote, with Councilmember Chris Hamm absent, the council adopted the ordinance, repealing the series of previous measures that had been enacted this spring to create the city-sanctioned shelter on a one-year provisional basis.

“We had an immediate, urgent situation to address that was harming the public safety of the homeless who were at North Beach and also the public as well,” said Mayor Pro Tem Laura Ferguson. “So it was a good remedy, and we’ve learned a lot from it, and it’s time to close it. With all good actions, they run their course, and it’s time for Plan B.” Tuesday night’s vote also amended the city’s anti-camping ordinance to allow tents used for public camping to be erected only between the hours of 5 p.m. and 10 a.m.— a provision that had been imposed on the homeless individuals who had stayed at the Pico encampment.

Additionally, the council also approved a supplemental budget appropriation of $70,000 that will go to the city’s account earmarked for low- to moderate-income housing.

The move to rescind the prior ordinances came a week after Mayor Dan Bane had announced the city’s intention to close the camp. The decision to do so, he explained, was in large part because it had seen a precipitous drop in campers and, therefore, no longer financially feasible to operate.

At the time of Bane’s declaration during the council’s Dec. 3 meeting, there were about five people camping at the lot. The mayor had largely credited the decrease in campers to the efforts of the county, city and local homeless advocacy organizations, and stated that the city was working to get the remaining individuals relocated into housing by the end of this week.

The reversal of the camp is expected to save the city $30,000 in monthly fees that had been regularly spent to maintain the lot and provide security and portable San Clemente Times December 12-18, 2019

Caroline Marks grinds off the bottom and into first place at the Boost Mobile Pro in Australia this past April. Photo: Courtesy of Dunbar/WSL

toilet services. That monthly bill, the city notes, will be offset by its costs to offer hotel vouchers, as well as transportation, placement and relocation to armories in the North County for the homeless.

“I just want to say it’s very positive to see so many people get the assistance they need with the help of many, including city staff here, the city, the county, sheriff’s deputies, Mercy House, (Family Assistance Ministries), all those social service network providers and churches,” Ferguson said Tuesday. “It’s been positive.

We’ve had some very positive success stories from this. If we had to do it over again, I would do it over again.”

The city has placed a $10,000 cap on the expenses for transportation and relocation services, it noted in a report to the council. Plans are still in the works, the city added, to locate an alternative site for a transitional camp for the homeless.

The city opened its outdoor shelter service this past May as a temporary solution to relocate the homeless who had begun to form a tent city at the North Beach area. The Pico encampment housed more than 70 homeless individuals at one point during its operation.

Since September, when the city imposed its rule limiting access to the encampment to only those who had ties to San Clemente, the number of campers had sharply decreased. By October, the population declined to roughly a dozen. Late last month, the city reported having six campers there.

WHAT’S NEXT: Bane previously stated that the city plans to officially close the camp on Thursday, Dec. 12.—Shawn Raymundo

Caroline Marks Lands Spot on U.S. Olympic Surfing Team THE LATEST: Seventeen-year-old surfer and San Clemente resident Caroline Marks has earned a spot on the first U.S. Olympic Surfing Team, which will compete in the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo next July.

Marks and Hawaiian surfer Carissa Moore will make up the two-person women’s team in the sport’s Olympic debut, joining San Clemente’s Kolohe Andino, who has clinched one of two spots on the U.S. men’s team.

Moore and Marks qualified for the Olympics by finishing the season ranked 1-2 in the women’s World Surf League’s Championships Tour. Moore advanced to the semifinals of the season-ending Maui Pro event last weekend to protect her spot and win her fourth world title; Marks advanced to the quarterfinals in Maui to clinch her spot.

Marks, who was born in Florida but moved with her family to San Clemente five years ago, became the youngest surfer at age 15 to qualify for the WSL women’s Championships Tour in 2017.

“She honed her explosive attack in Melbourne Beach, Florida, while trying hard to keep up with her mildly abusive older brothers,” the WSL said of the young athlete. “They pushed her to surf harder, faster, stronger, and as tough as it was at times, she credits them for her grittiness, determination and the diversity of her repertoire.”

Marks had an average heat score this season of 12.57 out of 26 heat wins and an

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THE LATEST: Ahead of the upcoming council meeting next week, the city on Friday, Dec. 6, released a draft of its request for proposals (RFP) that seeks to acquire interest from medical service providers that may want to reopen a hospital in San Clemente.

According to the draft of the RFP, the city is asking a “very limited number” of prospective professional service contractors to submit proposals on potentially setting up a “possible affiliation or partnership arrangement” with the city to reopen the hospital on Camino De Los Mares.

The city notes that it “does not have a firm, preconceived organizational structure or legal structure in mind” and has discussed possible options such as an “outright purchase, sale & leaseback, operating lease and joint ventures.”

“The City seeks a meaningful and substantive relationship including shared investment of capital and resources by both partners with equitable sharing of both the partnership’s risks and rewards,” according to the draft RFP. In the draft, the city further explains that there are existing improvements that need to be made to the 6.63-acre parcel.

“Since the hospital has ceased operation, if reopened, it would have to be renovated or completely rebuilt up to current state regulations and market standards,” the draft states before listing a series of estimated renovation and replacement costs.

According to the city, cosmetic upgrades to the existing facility could have a price tag of about $39.8 million. To renovate the existing facility, it could cost about $62.81 million, while completely constructing a new facility is anticipated to cost about $163 million.

Since 2006, the city notes, both the state and the U.S. have seen declining inpatient utilization—admissions per 1,000 people.

That same trend is likely to still occur as a result of “increased penetration of value-based care models and value-based payment,” according to the city.

The city’s draft RFP goes on to state that inpatient surgeries at the hospital also saw a decline since 2006, when the hospital averaged 1.7 inpatient surgeries per day. By 2015, the average had dropped to less than one a day.

“There is evidence that suggests hospitals that perform lower surgical volumes are at risk of poor quality outcomes; therefore, the Hospital’s viability would be challenged, as it would be at-risk for quality performance and staff competencies,” the RFP states.

Assuming the hospital’s admissions (Cont. on page 5) sanclementetimes.com

EYE ON SC (Cont. from page 3) remained the same as 2015, the hospital would have to provide 16 to 22 beds in order for it to remain a viable inpatient facility, according to the city.

Furthermore, the city said, the hospital wouldn’t qualify to receive cost-based reimbursements for Medicare services, because it doesn’t meet the critical access hospital (CAH) distance requirements.

That CAH requirement mandates that the nearest hospital facility be at least 35 miles away; however, there are three other hospitals that are within a 35-mile radius of San Clemente’s vacant hospital, according to the city.

The city has been without a hospital since May 2016, when MemorialCare closed down its Saddleback Memorial Medical Center. The operator wanted to turn the facility into an urgent care location. However, residents and the city council at that time rejected such a notion, advocating instead for an emergency room and hospital facilities.

An action taken by the city that same year to zone the parcel for emergency services prompted a litigation battle between the city and MemorialCare. The medical provider sued the city over claims that the city’s “spot zoning” was unfair and made it difficult financially to support the hospital.

MemorialCare had previously cited a lack of patients and could not provide the services required. It had also sought $42.5 million in retribution, the estimated value of the property, the San Clemente Times previously reported.

The two parties reached a settlement agreement this past June. Since then, the city has intended to reopen the hospital, providing inpatient acute care, as well as surgical, out-patient clinical and emergency room services.

WHAT’S NEXT: In the RFP, the city notes that it intends to initiate the process for prospective contractors to begin submitting proposals after Jan. 8, 2020 and sets a due date of Jan. 24 at 5 p.m.

Assistant City Manager Erik Sund said he will present the draft of the RFP to the city council during its next regular meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 17.—SR

Council Amends Proposal to Restructure Committees THE LATEST: City councilors last week deliberated a proposed ordinance meant to restructure San Clemente’s committees and commissions, making revisions to the draft of the measure that could come back to the council for final approval later this month.

One of the major revisions made to the proposal came at the outset of the council’s discussion on Dec. 3, when Mayor Dan Bane agreed to withdraw his idea of having members on the Planning CommisSan Clemente Times December 12-18, 2019

sion and Investment Advisory Committee be appointed by councilors in a one-to-one selection—a sticking point among many of the committees’ current members.

Conducting a straw poll, Bane asked his fellow councilmembers on the dais whether they wanted to forgo his one-to-one appointment idea or keep the existing process, wherein the council body approves the committee membership at-large.

The majority of the council, excluding absent Councilmember Chris Hamm, voted to keep the at-large appointment process as is.

“I realize that change is hard, and sometimes it’s a good thing and sometimes it’s just a bad thing, so I can acknowledge when maybe it wasn’t the right direction to go, so we’ll reassess,” Bane said, noting that the impetus behind the suggestion was based on seeing other cities use a similar process effectively.

“It wasn’t a nefarious ‘we wanted to fire a planning commissioner if they didn’t do exactly what we wanted,’ ” he added. “It was really more of a situation where we thought we could vet out people with technical expertise, because frankly, planning commissioners should have a technical background.”

Some of the commissioners had initially signed up to speak during the public hearing portion and voice their opposition to the one-to-one proposal, but since that idea was nixed, many of them limited their remarks or opted not to formally address the council at all.

The proposed ordinance stems from the council’s review of the structure and composition of the standing committees back in June. The city has noted that the reorganization would improve the efficiency of city staff while expected to save $5,530 annually.

In general, the ordinance proposes to modify the number of members sitting on the various commissions, amend the frequency in which they meet and limit the duration of those meetings.

For instance, some of the meetings would occur only once every two months, while the Planning Commission would continue to meet twice a month and the Investment Advisory Committee would meet quarterly.

If passed, the ordinance also proposes to establish a Public Safety Committee that would include experts in public safety such as retired chiefs, officers and lifeguards who would be tasked with reviewing “performance measures and make recommendations.”

The initial draft of the ordinance had the new committee as a seven-member body.

However, after the council’s discussion, it was reduced to six members, with one of those spots reserved for a representative of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department to serve as an ex officio member.

With the exception of the Planning Commission, most of the groups would be reduced from seven members to five, ac-

cording to the city’s report on the proposed ordinance. It was initially proposed that the Investment Advisory Committee would grow from five to seven members, but the council also dropped that idea at its last meeting.

The council also amended the ordinance to set the duration of the committee and commission meetings to three hours instead of only two, as previously proposed. During a joint meeting among the council, committees and commissions in late October, it was suggested that the time limit be extended to three hours because two would be too short.

Citing that suggestion at council’s Dec. 3 meeting, Bane noted that he wasn’t sure if he agreed with the remark, as the idea was to be respectful of the city staff’s time. However, Bane said he was willing to extend the duration to three hours, and the rest of the council agreed.

WHAT’S NEXT: All members would continue to serve two-year staggered terms, according to the city. Should the council pass the ordinance, it would go into effect on July 1, 2020, with all the current members’ terms ending on June 30, 2020.

The city has noted that when the councilors make their appointments to all of the newly organized committees, if the ordinance passes, they’ll be able to determine the members who will serve for one year and those who will serve for two, allowing for staggered terms.

The council will meet for its regular meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 17, when it could potentially vote on the ordinance.—SR

Miramar Theatre, Bowling Alley Sold THE LATEST: San Clemente’s historic Miramar Theatre and Bowling Center were officially sold this month, allowing the new owner, a restaurateur from San Diego, to reopen the site as an event center and food court.

Former San Clemente Mayor Wayne Eggleston made the announcement of the sale at the city council’s Dec. 3 meeting, explaining that escrow had recently closed for the blighted property, which had been shuttered to the public since 1992.

“One historic era is now closing and a new one is opening with an adoptive reuse of a treasured historic local structure,” Eggleston said. “Stay tuned as further details will be forthcoming regarding the new owners and their plans for this iconic building. . . . Merry Christmas.”

According to Eggleston, the property was sold to James Markham, an entrepreneur from Carlsbad who launched the Pieology pizza chains in Southern California.

Markham had not responded to San Clemente Times’ requests for comment when this issue went to press.

The theatre and accompanying bowling alley were previously owned by Marc Spiz-

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zirri, a partner with El Camino Real Estate Holdings, LLC. Retail Insite, a firm that represents property owners of retailers and shopping centers including the Miramar Theatre, said the property sold for $7.9 million to the Phoenix-based real estate company Fortuitous Partners.

Calls to both Retail Insite and Fortuitous Partners had not been returned before this issue went to press.

The Miramar was first opened in 1938 as the San Clemente Theatre. The Bowling Center was later opened next to the theatre in 1946, according to Eggleston. By 1960, when multiplexes rose in popularity, the theatre closed, but it was reopened in 1970 after being refurbished.

“In the 1980s, live performances kept it alive until 1992, when it closed,” Eggleston said. “New owners came and went with development plans to tear it down, but the community rose up in protest.”

The refurbishment of the two properties had been mired in legal battles since 2013, when a custody battle over ownership ensued between Spizzirri and brothers Barry and Craig Baptiste.

Barry Baptiste had claimed he obtained ownership of the Miramar through a lawsuit and bankruptcy proceeding with Spizzirri, SC Times previously reported.

Spizzirri had argued that Barry Baptiste was never granted ownership of the theater or the bowling alley.

In January 2018, Craig Baptiste and Mach-1 Auto Group, which Barry owns, filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging many of the same issues over ownership that were subject to Barry’s 2013 complaint in county court.

A federal judge dismissed Craig Baptiste’s case in April 2018, allowing Spizzirri to maintain ownership.

Though the property had sat idle in that time, Eggleston and Jim Holloway, the city’s former community development director, led a push to get development entitlements for the complex’s rehabilitation project.

Working with other stakeholders including the property owner’s architect, San Clemente Planning Commission and city council, the entitlements for the 61-acre property were approved in 2017 by both the city and the California Coastal Commission, Eggleston noted.

WHAT’S NEXT: The entitlements allow for the owners of the property to rehabilitate and repurpose the historic Miramar as a performance and event center while the Bowling Center gets reused as space for a food court. The complex is also set to include a new basement under the Bowling Center and an outdoor courtyard for eating, according to the city.

Those entitlements from the city are scheduled to expire in June; however, Jonathan Lightfoot, the city’s associate planner, explained the new owner can request an extension. —SR sanclementetimes.com

EYE ON SC

City Considering Placement of Drop-Box Locations for Election Ballots

head like this,” Commissioner Jason Talley said.

The commissioners wanted to know what sort of commitment the city would be making with the county in terms of the length of the license agreements to mount the boxes.

Senior Planner Stephanie Roxas told them that while the current drafts of the license agreements were for five years, they could recommend to reduce the length to a more desirable amount of time.

Backed by his fellow members, Commission Chair Jim Ruehlin said he would be in favor of such a recommendation.

Ruehlin asked Goulding if 60 days was a feasible time frame while proffering that a one- to two-year contract would likely be more sufficient.

Goulding noted that the license agreements should be able to stand for a least one full election cycle, explaining that the county would like to be able to collect data from the same locations during both the Primary and General Elections.

BY SHAWN RAYMUNDO, SAN CLEMENTE TIMES

C

hanges are coming in the way voters in San Clemente and the rest of the county cast their ballots starting with the 2020 Primary Election in March.

The County of Orange next spring will move away from the traditional precinct polling sites and begin to utilize vote centers, giving voters the choice to either submit their ballots via mail or deliver them in person to various locations around the county prior to the day of elections.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors in February approved the implementation of the new vote-center model, which is allowed under the California Voter’s Choice Act (VCA) that former Gov. Jerry Brown enacted in 2016.

“In 2018, almost 70% of the registered voters in Orange County voted by mail,” David Goulding, a representative of the Orange County Registrar of Voters, told the Planning Commission on Dec. 4. “They sent in a ballot or they dropped off a ballot at a polling place. Most people aren’t voting in person, so there’s a need to have a place to drop off their ballots, because that’s what they choose to do.”

According to the OC Registrar of Voters, more than 1.1 million vote-by-mail ballots were issued to the county’s voters, making up nearly 70% of the total registered voters in Orange County.

Ahead of the state’s Primary Elections on March 3, voters in the county will receive vote-by-mail ballots. They’ll then have three options to cast their votes: return the completed ballot to the county registrar’s office via mail; drop the ballot into a drop-box location; or deliver it in person to a vote center, similar to precincts.

Voters can personally take their ballots to any one of the vote centers and metal drop boxes within the county, regardless of the city in which they reside.

VOTE CENTERS

According to a city report to the Planning Commission, there are to be a minimum of 32 vote centers opened throughout the county 11 days before the election. Another 161 vote centers will open around the county four days prior to the election.

So far, the Fireside Room at the San Clemente Community Center has been designated as an 11-day vote center, with the Aquatics Center Friends Room selected as one of the four-day vote centers. The county, the city notes, is looking to establish three more four-day vote centers in San Clemente.

None of those additional sites has been set as of yet, but the office of the Registrar said it is currently working with the city to determine those additional sites and find the ones that will best serve voters. In terms of having a specific date to firm up those locations, the office said its goal is to have them chosen by the end of this month.

DROP BOXES

The VCA also requires there to be one drop-box location for every 15,000 registered voters. With about 40,000 registered voters in San Clemente, the city must have three drop boxes set up.

The city notes that the metal drop boxes located throughout the county will be available for voters to submit their balSan Clemente Times December 12-18, 2019

Photo: Courtesy of the Orange County Registrar of Voters

lots starting 29 days ahead of the election and will be open 24 hours a day during voting periods.

The location of those drop boxes must meet certain VCA requirements, including proximity to public transportation hubs, parking availability and accessibility to voters with disabilities, to name a few.

According to the Registrar’s office, the drop-off boxes will be locked outside of an election period and unlocked during the 29 days leading up to the election, making it available 24 hours a day for ballot submissions.

There won’t be security personnel stationed at each drop box, the office noted, but said the boxes will include a phone number for voters to call to report any vandalism or other issues that might occur.

Pursuant to license agreements with the cities and participating retailers and shopping centers, the county will install the boxes at the various sites, incurring responsibility for associated costs, maintenance and upkeep. The boxes themselves are about 50” in height and 65” wide.

In San Clemente, the county had proposed four possible locations for the drop boxes, leaving it to the city’s planning commissioners and councilmembers to decide which three sites will be used.

The four proposed locations: San Clemente City Hall at 910 Calle Negocio; San Gorgonio Community Park at 2916 Via San Gorgonio; the Municipal Golf Course at 150 East Avenida Magdalena; and Forster Ranch Community Park at 3207 Camino Vera Cruz.

TIME MANAGEMENT

Planning commissioners met on Dec. 4 to discuss the proposed sites and narrow them down to the three locations that they could recommend to the city council for final approval. In the end, the commissioners nixed the San Gorgonio and Forster Ranch parks from consideration and added the Jim Johnson Memorial Sports Park to the list.

Before agreeing on the recommended list for the council, the commissioners first sought to address an aspect of permanence regarding the site locations.

“I think they’re all OK temporarily,” Commission Vice Chair Michael Blackwell said. “I would like to see this come back; I would like to see the frequency of usage and have more time to review more permanent locations.”

With the clock winding down until California’s Primary Election in early March, the county is looking to have the drop boxes installed by the end of January, so the local voters can have the full 29-day window to cast their votes.

In order to get those mounted in time, the city is scheduled to present the recommendations to the council at its next regular meeting on Dec. 17. But feeling the pressure of needing to get the locations confirmed, some of the commissioners were concerned with the finality of it all.

“I don’t like having to make a decision with the gun to our Page 7

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

In its report to the planning commissioners ahead of the meeting, the city noted that city hall, San Gorgonio and the municipal golf course were the preferred locations for the drop boxes, because they “would provide convenient and accessible locations equally dispersed throughout San Clemente.”

However, many on the commission disagreed with having a drop box at San Gorgonio, believing it to be too isolated and not a highly trafficked area. Commissioners Zhen Wu, Don Brown and Talley had suggested throughout the meeting to drop it from the list.

While the commissioners were supportive of the golf course, ultimately voting in favor of recommending it to the council as a location, there was an initial concern with its placement at the facility, as it was too visible from the right of way.

After a majority of the commission voted in favor of placing the first drop box at the golf course, Talley made a motion to recommend that the second box be put at the Jim Johnson Memorial Sports Park, because it’s a central location in the city.

“If you’re really looking for centralized use and you’re actually wanting to encourage people to utilize these . . . I think that’s a good location,” Talley had said earlier in the discussion.

“I’m sure that city staff can figure out how to make that work.”

Prior to the motion, Ruehlin had expressed concern with proposing new locations because staff hadn’t had a chance to vet all of them yet. He later asked Roxas whether the city would have enough time to make a report on the Jim Johnson location before the council’s Dec. 17 meeting.

“Yes, there would be enough time to take a look and walk the site as long as we have county staff available also to do an assessment,” Roxas said.

The commissioners voted, 4-2, to include the Jim Johnson park on the list, with both Ruehlin and Brown dissenting, as they remained concerned over the timing and lack of research for the site.

As for the city hall site, Roxas explained to the commissioners that city staff had concerns with installing the drop box in front of the building, because it would be “visually dominating.” Instead, she asked that it be placed behind the building and allow the city to post signage around the facility directing voters to its location.

Talley, however, proposed that the drop box remain in the front of the building so it could serve as a reminder to city staff that they’re in the service of the people of San Clemente.

“I kind of like the fact that every day, city employees walk by something that reminds them they serve the people,” he said, adding that “it’s a symbol . . . it’s something that we should be proud of and be reminded every day about.”

The council voted unanimously in favor of including city hall on the list of recommended sites for the council, leaving the proposed placement of the drop box in the front of the building.

City staff will present the Planning Commission’s recommendations to the city council during its next regular meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 17 at 6 p.m. SC sanclementetimes.com

EYE ON SC

NEWS BITES

Community Meetings

COMPILED BY STAFF

City Considers Fast Tracking Project to Replace Beach Trail Boardwalk Following a landslide along the San Clemente Beach Trail last month, part of the boardwalk portion will remain closed for some time as the city considers whether to fast-track an existing plan to replace the entire bridge structure.

Assistant City Manager Erik Sund explained that the city knows it has to replace the damaged portion of the boardwalk after its structural integrity was weakened because of a landslide that occurred on Nov. 16.

Currently, the city is already slated to replace the entire bridge, but not until the 2020-2021 fiscal year. However, after the latest development, Sund said, the city is looking at possibly moving the capital improvement project up by a year.

Rather than waiting till the following fiscal year, “maybe bringing that forward into this fiscal year and replace the bridge in its entirety,” Sund said. “But it’ll be many months before we get to that point, and we’re working with bridge folks to better understand it.”

If the city decides on recommending that the project be moved up, it will need to go through city council approval first.

Sund also noted that the city is currently in the due-diligence phase with the pricing of the project.

Because the boardwalk is made out of metal and therefore susceptible to corrosion from the sea salt, the city, he added, is looking at alternative materials that wouldn’t require as much maintenance.

Clint Eastwood Screens New Film to Marines at Camp Pendleton Filmmaker Clint Eastwood met with U.S. Marines, sailors and base residents at Camp Pendleton on Saturday, Dec. 7, giving them an advanced screening of his new movie Richard Jewell at the base’s theater.

The actor and director is no stranger to the local Marine base, as he has previously visited there, including when he filmed Heartbreak Ridge in 1986, according to local news reports.

“The place has changed so much because the base has gotten huge,” Eastwood said in a video interview that base officials shared with the media. Eastwood also said, “It was nice then, and it’s nice now.”

Eastwood’s latest film, Richard Jewell, is based on the real-life drama of a security guard who was falsely accused of planting a bomb at the 1996 Summer Olympics in San Clemente Times December 12-18, 2019

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12

SAN CLEMENTE ROTARY 5:30-7:30 p.m. The San Clemente Rotary Club meets on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month. Wedgewood, San Clemente Municipal Golf Course, 150 E. Avenida Magdalena, San Clemente. sanclementerotary.org.

COASTAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE 6:30-9:30 p.m. The San Clemente Coastal Advisory Committee will conduct its regularly scheduled meeting. 100 Avenida Presidio, San Clemente. 949.361.8200. san-clemente.org.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 17 (Left to right) Our Lady of Fatima Academy students Sydney Loftus, Ally Loftus, Hazel Just, Etta Just, Lexi Provence and Lily Trapp participate in the Little Villagers afterschool program, making stuffed animals to give to at-risk youth. Photo: Courtesy of Little Villagers

Atlanta. Paul Walter Hauser plays the titular character Richard Jewell. His costars include Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell, Jon Hamm and Kathy Bates, who plays Jewell’s mother, Bobi Jewell.

The film will be released in theaters on Dec. 13.

Orange County Kids Make Stuffed Animals for Toy Drive Children from Our Lady of Fatima Academy in San Clemente were some of the many elementary school kids throughout Orange County who helped make stuffed animals to give to at-risk youth.

On Monday, Dec. 9, children aged 4 to 12 participated in the project as part of the Little Villagers’ afterschool program to make more than 40 stuffed animals that will be included in a toy drive through the Illumination Foundation.

Participating schools included Our Lady of Fatima Academy, as well as Renascence International School in Costa Mesa, St. Bonaventure School in Huntington Beach and St. Junipero Serra School in Rancho Santa Margarita.

“The kids were so excited to make these stuffed animals for children in need. It warms the heart to see kids giving to kids, and it is a beautiful way to celebrate the holiday season,” Little Villagers co-founder Kristine Darroch said in a press release.

The kids stuffed each plush toy with cotton fiberfill and a gold star, with a special

wish for the child receiving the stuffed animal. Each animal comes with a birth certificate with their name, birthdate and place of birth, and an outfit provided by Texas-based Animaland.

“We thank Little Villagers for helping our at-risk youth served by Illumination Foundation. The spirit of giving demonstrated by Little Villagers kids illuminates the way for youth in need,” Amanda Stinson Delgado, volunteer coordinator at Illumination Foundation, said in the release.

Each stuffed animal was placed in a gift bag decorated by the kids in the program, then delivered to Illumination Foundation on December 9.

California DMV in Santa Ana to Host REAL ID Service on Saturday To encourage residents in Orange and Los Angeles counties to obtain a REAL ID, the California DMV will open its Sana Ana Field Office for a one-day Saturday service this weekend.

As part of the new federal requirement beginning Oct. 1, 2020, residents looking to board flights within the U.S. and access secure federal facilities and military bases must be able to show a valid passport or other federally approved document, including a REAL ID driver license or identification card.

The DMV’s Santa Ana Field Office is located at 1330 East First Street. The oneday-only REAL ID service on Saturday, Dec. 14, will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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SUNRISE ROTARY 7:15-8:30 a.m. San Clemente Sunrise Rotary meets every Tuesday at Talega Golf Club Signature Grille. 990 Avenida Talega. scsunriserotary.com.

BECAUSE I LOVE YOU (BILY) 6:30-8:30 p.m. Meets every Tuesday.

Because I Love You (BILY) is free and can help parents navigate through whatever parenting challenges they may be facing (e.g., failure to launch, drug abuse, disrespect). San Clemente Presbyterian Church. 119 Avenida De La Estrella. bilysc.org.

CITY COUNCIL 6 p.m. The San Clemente City Council will conduct its regularly scheduled meeting. 100 Avenida Presidio, San Clemente. 949.361.8200. san-clemente.org.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18

PLANNING COMMISSION 6-10 p.m. The city’s Planning Commission conducts its regularly scheduled meeting. 100 Avenida Presidio, San Clemente. 949.361.8200. san-clemente.org.

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Tell us about awards, events, happenings, accomplishments and more. We’ll put your submissions into “News Bites.” Send your information to sraymundo@picketfencemedia.com.

Submissions are due by 10 a.m. the Monday of the week you’d like published. sanclementetimes.com

SC SOAPBOX San Clemente

VIEWS, OPINIONS AND INSIGHTS

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EDITORIAL

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Bystanders who had turned out at San Clemente’s North Beach on Friday, May 24, to witness the relocation of homeless campers applaud a city maintenance truck hauling belongings to a city-designated camping site. Photo: Fred Swegles

Letters to The Editor TREATMENT OF THOSE LESS FORTUNATE SANDRA WEAVER, San Clemente

OPERATIONS Finance Director > Mike Reed General Manager > Alyssa Garrett Accounting & Distribution Manager > Tricia Zines SPECIAL THANKS Robert Miller CONTRIBUTORS Megan Bianco and Jake Howard

Associate Publisher > Lauralyn Loynes San Clemente Times, Vol. 14, Issue 50. The SC Times (sanclementetimes.com ) is published weekly by Picket Fence Media, publishers of the Dana Point Times (danapointtimes. com) and The Capistrano Dispatch (thecapistranodispatch. com). Copyright: No articles, illustrations, photographs or other editorial matter or advertisements herein may be reproduced without written permission of the publisher. The publisher assumes no responsibility for return of unsolicited manuscripts, art, photos or negatives. Copyright 2019. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.

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San Clemente Times December 12-18, 2019

I am continually appalled and dismayed at the people here in San Clemente who simply won’t give up on harassing and demeaning their less fortunate brothers and sisters, whom they refer to as “the homeless” but think of them as “those people,” vagrants, panhandlers and much worse.

They have moved them from North Beach to a homeless “park” with more rules and regulations than a religious boarding school. Now, to make sure they don’t camp out at the train stations again, they enacted an ordinance designating those areas “ticket-required areas.”

No ticket, move on. Riders say they are held “hostage” because they have to walk from the train to their car and be confronted by whatever awaits you there? These pompous, holier-than-thou folks don’t even consider “those people” human beings.

There are signs now at 7-Eleven stores telling people not to offer food or assistance to people gathering there. Why don’t they tell it like it is and post a sign: Please do not feed the birds. And there’s more!

Now they are telling our less fortunate brothers and sisters they cannot have a foursided tent. Why? Because law enforcement can’t see what’s going on inside. So, that

means all of us who are fortunate to have a four-sided domicile must leave one door open at all times so that law enforcement can see what is going on inside? Fair is fair.

Oh, and, yes, those large tents take up considerable space at parks and can be an “eyesore” in green spaces. I have seen the many mansions here in San Clemente that our “fortunate” call home. They take up quite a bit of green space, too.

We have just enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday, and most of us “fortunate” spent it with family and friends and lots and lots of delicious food and drink. Our city does offer those in need (an opportunity) to enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner one day that week, and a local pizza establishment issues an open invitation to enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner with them.

Now the city is being sued once again for not doing enough to provide shelters to those in need.

Will those “fortunate” here in our city ever open their hearts and minds to recognize those in need as their brothers and sisters and lend a hand?

It remains to be seen.

DISREGARD SCHOOL BOND CHEERLEADER NORM PETERSEN, San Clemente

George Dutra’s latest cheerleader column now touts the upcoming school bond with the “matching funds” argument.

Perhaps we should consider why we have to keep taxing ourselves to pay for that which we have already contributed to?

Every time we vote for a bond, we are essentially freeing up that same dollar for the Democrats to spend elsewhere. Please

Page 9

don’t fall for the deception.

I am happy to pay my taxes and contribute to a vibrant city, school system and state. I just don’t like to pay twice for it.

Neither should you.

Vote “no” on all bond issues, stop voting for Democrats, and recall Gavin Newsom.

CELL TOWERS NEAR HOMES IN SAN CLEMENTE JEFF PERKIN, San Clemente

We are witnessing the breakdown of our illusion of “progress” in every aspect of human life. We can pretend that corporate behemoths, which stand to profit the most, have our best interest at heart, or we can wise up and take our health and well-being into our own hands.

Recently, a Sprint small-cell tower was removed from a school in Ripon, California, where multiple children got cancer.

The World Health Organization categorized wireless radiation as a possible human carcinogen in 2011, and yet, those of us who are concerned for our family’s safety are accused of fear mongering simply because we don’t want a tower on a light pole outside of our homes?

Ask yourself honestly, do you want or need one?

This technology may be “non-ionizing” (doesn’t heat), but scientists and doctors have shown in thousands of peer-reviewed studies that there are other damaging biological effects seen well below levels deemed “safe” by the outdated, 1996 federal safety standards.

Small cells in our neighborhoods will (Cont. on page 10) sanclementetimes.com

SOAPBOX (Cont. from page 9) mean 24/7, close-proximity radiation, allowing our bodies no time to truly recover and repair when we need to the most— asleep in our beds.

If the citizens of San Clemente don’t act now, we may eventually have cell towers on every light pole within 100 feet of homes and possibly closer.

When will it be enough? Not only will this be an aesthetic, property-value, and digital-privacy nightmare for our beach town, but it will also create a blanket of radiation unlike anything our bodies have ever experienced, whether or not we choose to use a cell phone.

In areas of Europe, the fledgling 5G rollout has already translated to headaches, nosebleeds, insomnia, brain fog, and birds literally falling from the sky. Google it.

Are wireless advancements worth our children getting cancer? There are safer wired alternatives. Don’t take my word for it, and definitely don’t only listen to biased industry “experts.”

Listen to doctors and scientists. Please join us at the Planning Commission meeting on Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. We need as many critically thinking, involved people as we can get.

Thank you for caring.

KUDOS TO THE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB SALLY REINHOLDT, San Clemente

Terry Hughes and his dedicated staff at the Boys and Girls Club did an amazing job hosting a Pickleball Tournament fundraiser on Saturday, Dec 7.

In spite of the rain, at least 60 local citizens, beginner to advanced skill level and young to old, participated in this very organized and lively event.

Tournaments of this quality don’t happen without a lot of planning and hard work. So, thank you!

SOUTH COUNTY TRAFFIC RELIEF EFFORT LESLIE A. BOULLON, San Clemente

Last week, I attended the South County Traffic Relief meeting ostensibly held to solicit public input. I am in favor of the no-build alternative, as the majority of the alternatives put forth by the community during the Get Moving forums held several years ago (and later printed up in big, glossy, colorful handouts) have been disregarded.

When I asked one of the Transportation Corridor Agencies’ “technical experts” why they were left out, he said he had never heard of them. Another “technical expert” said they weren’t part of the TCA’s purview.

And when I questioned a TCA representative working the room, she waved her hands dismissively in the air and replied, “The public had all kinds of crazy ideas.”

So much for the value of input from community stakeholders.

I have zero confidence in the TCA to act in any manner that is not self-serving San Clemente Times December 12-18, 2019

and does not advance its predetermined zealot-like mission. Witness its partnership with Rancho Mission Viejo to build Los Patrones Parkway to Cow Camp Road, where it is now poised and ready to pounce on us.

The California Department of Transportation and Orange County Transportation Authority need to take back the reins from the TCA and focus on improving mobility on arterial streets. The continual widening and building of more freeways/toll roads is a 20thcentury solution to a 21st-century problem.

As we all know, the Army Corps of Engineers is now engaged in decommissioning dams it spent the last century building.

Looking at it another way, it’s the business of staying in business.

I conclude on a cautionary note. For 60 years, through grassroots activism, residents of South Pasadena successfully defended their city against completion of the 710 corridor. We have equal drive and passion to prevail against any entity that threatens our homes, our businesses, our open spaces, our city.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY

Have something you’d like to say? Email your letter to sraymundo@picketfencemedia.com no later than 8 a.m. on Monday morning.

San Clemente Times reserves the right to edit reader-submitted letters for length and is not responsible for the claims made or information written by the writers. Limit your letters to 350 words or less. Please send with your valid email, phone number and address for verification by staff. Your address and phone number will not be published.

Join SC Times for Beachside Chat, Friday, Dec. 13 at 8 a.m., Dorothy Visser Senior Center

Beachside Chat is a spirited, town hall forum on community issues, hosted by SC Times editor Shawn Raymundo every Friday. The chat will be held at Dorothy Visser Senior Center, 117 Avenida Victoria. All are welcome.

CLARIFICATION: A Letter to the Editor submission published on page 11 of the San Clemente Times’ Dec. 5 edition makes a couple of claims against San Clemente resident Jim Bieber, a private citizen. Mr. Bieber disputes those remarks, stating that he has never been a paid consultant for the Transportation Corridor Agencies, nor has he engaged in “hateful woman bashing” by criticizing public officials.

As per its policy related to Letters to the Editor, the SC Times should have reached out to Mr. Bieber to offer him an opportunity to respond to those claims prior to running the letter in the paper. We apologize for the oversight.

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SC GETTING OUT San Clemente

YOUR SEVEN-DAY EVENT PLANNER

The List

At the Movies: ‘Dark Waters’ Might Be Dark Horse This Season

What’s going on in and around town this week COMPILED BY STAFF

HAVE AN EVENT? Submit it to San Clemente Times by going to sanclementetimes.com, and clicking “Submit an Event” under the “Getting Out” tab.

Thursday | 12 HOLIDAY SWEAT, SIP AND SHOP This is a free event at the San Clemente Gym that’s open to the community. It includes an all-day workout pass, holiday party and pop-up shop featuring the gym’s Wellness Center, a local artist and jewelry designer. There will also be a raffle for giveaways, mini-massages and more. 123 South El Camino Real, San Clemente.

Contact Jules Jones at San Clemente Gym at 949.361.1007. @thesanclementegym. sanclementegym.com.

DESIGNS BY NATURE 7-9:30 p.m. Designs by Nature is ushering in its 27th year in San Clemente by holding an artist reception and trunk show at its gallery. It will have two artists that evening.

The first will be Marjorie Woodbridge, a resident of San Clemente and a member of the South Orange County Gem & Mineral Society, who has been creating her malas for some time. The second is stone art photographer Kirk Kegel, a longtime resident of San Clemente and member of SOCGEMS. 400 South El Camino Real, San Clemente.

949.498.8358. designsbynature.com/blog.

SAN CLEMENTE HIGH DRAMA PRESENTS: ‘12 ANGRY JURORS’ 7 p.m. 12 Angry Jurors is the gripping examination of 12 jurors as they deliberate after hearing the arguments in a seemingly open-and-shut case. As prejudices are tested and evidence weighed, the entire jury is forced to look past the show of the courtroom to unearth the shocking truth.

Faced with playing the hangmen, these dozen jurors must first face themselves.

SCHS students bring this suspenseful drama based on the hit movie 12 Angry Men to life. The show runs from Dec. 12-14 in the Little Theater. Get tickets at schsdrama.com. San Clemente High, 700 Avenida Pico, San Clemente. 949.492.4165.

Friday | 13 SANTA’S PHOTO EXPRESS Noon-6 p.m. Bring the kids and your camera San Clemente Times December 12-18, 2019

EDITOR’S PICK Photo: File

Photo: Mary Cybulsk / Focus Features

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 15: PRE-HANUKKAH MENORAH LIGHTING 4 p.m. Join the Chabad of San Clemente as it kindles its 10-foot menorah on the Historic San Clemente Pier. Local dignitaries as well as the fire and police chiefs will be in attendance for the event, which will also include hot latkes, sufganiyah doughnuts, music, Starbucks coffee and an opportunity to build a LEGO dreidel. No admission required. San Clemente Pier. 949.489.0723. tzippy@jewishsc.com. jewishsc.com.

BY MEGAN BIANCO, SAN CLEMENTE TIMES

for a complimentary photo with Santa Claus in Center Court at Outlets at San Clemente.

Capture the magic of the season on select weekends in December, before the big night! Outlets at San Clemente, 101 West Avenida Vista Hermosa, San Clemente.

949.535.2323. outletsatsanclemente.com.

Saturday | 14 CASA KIDS: GINGERBREAD HOUSE MAKING 10-11 a.m. Bring your children to Casa Romantica for the traditional holiday craft of building gingerbread houses. With available space limited, reservations are required. This event is appropriate for children ages 6 and up. A parent or guardian must be present for the duration of the class. Please register only your participating child. Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens, 415 Avenida Granada, San Clemente. 949.498.2139. casaromantica.org.

Sunday | 15 SANTA PAWS 10 a.m.-2 p.m. The Pet Project Foundation invites the community to bring their furry friends for a photo with Santa Paws at the Outlets at San Clemente—home of the World’s Tallest Tree by the Sea. A $15 donation for printed photos. Proceeds will benefit the Pet Project Foundation and the San Clemente/Dana Point Animal Shelter. Outlets at San Clemente, 101 West

Avenida Vista Hermosa, San Clemente.

949.595.8899. petprojectfoundation.org.

Monday | 16 CASA CINEMA: ‘IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE’ 6-7:30 p.m. An angel is sent from heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed. Enjoy this classic holiday film at Casa Romantica’s historical venue. Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens, 415 Avenida Granada, San Clemente. 949.498.2139. casaromantica.org.

Wednesday | 18 LIVE MUSIC AT IVA LEE’S 7 p.m. Join Iva Lee’s for live music every Wednesday through Sunday. For the ultimate live music experience, be sure to reserve a lounge table on Fridays and Saturdays.

Check their website for the latest scheduled performances. 555 N. El Camino Real, San Clemente. 949.361.2855. ivalees.com.

OPEN MIC NIGHT AT KNUCKLEHEADS 9-11:30 p.m. Performers of all skill levels are welcome. If you are a musician, do stand-up comedy or spoken word, this is the place to be on Wednesday nights. So come down, grab a drink and go for it.

Knuckleheads Sports Bar, 1717 North El Camino Real, San Clemente. 949.492.2410. knuckleheadsmusic.com.

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F

ilm director Todd Haynes’ Dark Waters is one of those movies you go in expecting to upset you, though hoping it has a satisfying outcome in the end. Unfortunately, this isn’t entirely the case. Based on the shockingly real allegations from the past 60 years, the film centers on Ohio attorney Robert Bilott (Mark Ruffalo) after he gets an unexpected visit at work from local West Virginia farmer Wilbur Tennant (Bill Camp) in 1998.

Wilbur strongly believes, and has possible proof, that the country’s biggest chemical company, DuPont, is willfully dumping a fatal, manmade chemical into the public water, one that is also used in coating cookware and appliances. Bilott then makes it his mission for the next 20 years to fight and stop DuPont, seeking justice for the 3,500 West Virginia plaintiffs who have contracted cancer or birth defects as a result of the Teflon® chemical called PFOA. Unlike a lot of “true story” movies that have a definite conclusion, the story of Bilott vs. DuPont is actually still ongoing. Putting this depressing element aside for a moment, Dark Waters as a film is rather good. Ruffalo’s casting and performance are fitting and carry the film all the way through.

Anne Hathaway appears as basically the “concerned wife” cliché, but she does it very well—and enough for me to think she could deserve some awardsnomination hype. Haynes effectively sets a dramatic tone and atmosphere, but it doesn’t come across as preachy or over-the-top in their narrative. There are a couple of moments of comic relief that don’t particularly land, but beyond that, Dark Waters might be the dark horse of this movie season. SC sanclementetimes.com

HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS THURSDAY, DEC. 12

FRIDAY, DEC. 13

‘The Nutcracker’ at Casa Romantica

Dana Point Symphony Orchestra 3rd Annual Holiday Concert

7-8 p.m. Sit just steps away from the stage at Casa Romantica’s annual production of The Nutcracker. Staged for the intimate Main Salon performance venue, Orange County Ballet Theater delivers a 90-minute version of the beloved holiday ballet—perfect for families. Admission is $40 per person.

Casa Romantica, 415 Avenida Granada, San Clemente. 949.498.2139. casaromantica.org.

7:30 p.m. The Dana Point Symphony marks its return for a ninth season with its third holiday concert program.

The symphony will perform Hallelujah Chorus, Lord Nelson Mass and other holiday favorites. Purchase your tickets at danapointsymphony.com. St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church, 33866 Calle La Primavera, Dana Point. 949.542.6282.

(Continued)

HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS A Christmas Tog ether Tour

7 p.m. The San Clemente Community Center hosts the 9th annual “A Christmas Together” tour. A tour that promotes the group over the individual, celebrates Jesus’ birthday through story and song, and seeks to help Christian artists care for the needs of their families during the holidays. San Clemente Community Center, 100 North Calle Seville, San Clemente.

949.361.8264. achristmastogether.com for tickets and more information.

SATURDAY, DEC. 14 G ing erb read House-Ma king

10-11 a.m. Bring your children to Casa Romantica for the traditional holiday craft of building gingerbread houses.

Limited spaces available; reservations are required. This event is appropriate for children ages 6 and up. A parent or guardian must be present for the duration of the class. Please register only your participating child. Tickets are $12 per person. Casa Romantica, 415 Avenida Granada, San Clemente. 949.498.2139. casaromantica.com.

Me et the G rinch

11 a.m.-1 p.m. The mean one will be at ZOOMARS Petting Zoo as part of the zoo’s Christmas Wonderland activities.

Head out to the zoo to see the Grinch engage in escapades and ring in the holiday season. ZOOMARS Petting Zoo, 31791 Los Rios Street, San Juan Capistrano.

949.831.6550. zoomars.com.

Adaptive Fre edom Fo undation Santa Paddle

10 a.m.-noon Spend the day creating life changing experiences for both individuals with disabilities and their family and friends through use of a WASUP (Wheelchair Adapted Stand-Up Paddle) boards.

The WASUP board secures a wheelchair onto a paddle board and provides the opportunity to get out on the water. Hot cocoa, snacks and Santa hats will be provided. Holiday gear is encouraged.

Check in will be at 10 a.m. and paddling out together is at 10:30. Hosted by the Adaptive Freedom Foundation. Baby Beach, 34445 Ensenada Place, Dana Point. 714).465.6001. eventbrite.com for tickets and more information.

Pancake B reakfa st wi th Santa

11 a.m.-1 p.m. Sit on Santa’s lap, eat

(Cont.)

some breakfast and take a picture at The Jailhouse Cafe in San Clemente. The first 20 children will get a gift. $5 for prepaid tickets by Dec. 13, $7 at the door. Tickets include pancakes and hot chocolate and can be bought at the cafe. The Jailhouse Café, 111 W. Avenida Palizada, San Clemente. 949.212.9448. breakfastsanclemente.com.

Holiday Nature Craft ing at the Reserv e

9-11 a.m. Enjoy a cool, winter morning creating treasured keepsakes and personalized gifts made from natural and recycled materials. Take a walk around the area to look for natural treasures for winter plant bundles. Participants must be registered or on the wait list by 4 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 13. The Reserve at Rancho Mission Viejo Headquarters. 28811 Ortega Highway, San Juan Capistrano. 949.489.9778. rmvreserve.org.

SUNDAY, DEC. 15 ‘Y appy How l-i day’!

11 a.m.-2 p.m. This festive gathering of canines and their companions provides furry friends with the opportunity to be photographed with the “big dog” himself, Santa Paws. Guests are asked to bring unopened canned or dry dog food, treats, or dog toys to support animals in need.

The event is complimentary, with food and beverages available for purchase; proceeds benefit Canine Companions for Independence. The Dana Lawn at The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel, One Ritz Carlton Drive, Dana Point. 949.240.2000. ritzcarlton.com

V isit W ith Santa

10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Kris Kringle and Mrs. Claus will be at the ZOOMARS Petting Zoo Mini Christmas Tree Farm to hear what kids want for Christmas. St. Nick will visit with the animals. ZOOMARS Petting Zoo, 31791 Los Rios Street, San Juan Capistrano. 949.831.6550. zoomars.com.

G ing erb read House and Holiday Cookie Decorating

2-4 p.m. Gather with the family to decorate your very own large-scale gingerbread house and holiday cookies, with tips and tricks provided by an expert pastry team at The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel.

Complimentary hot cocoa served and other beverages available for purchase. $185 per gingerbread house. One Ritz Carlton Drive, Dana Point. 949.240.2000. ritzcarlton.com.

(Continued)

HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS Me rry Mo narch Celeb ration

3-5 p.m. Celebrate the season and support Capistrano Unified School District students at Monarch Beach Resort. There will be student musical performances, hot cocoa and cookies, visits with Santa Claus and a holiday tree lighting. One hundred percent of ticket sales will benefit music program in the district. Tickets may be purchased at the door for cash only. One Monarch Beach Resort , Dana Point.

949.234.3900. Visit bit.ly/MerryMonarch2019 to purchase tickets in advance.

THURSDAY, DEC. 19 Christmas B ird Count at the Ranch

8-11 a.m. Join experienced birders for the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count.

Bring binoculars and a field guide if you have them, though there will be plenty to borrow. Ages 10 and up. Participants must be registered or on the wait list by 4 p.m. on Wednesday, December 18. The Richard and Donna O’Neill Conservancy, 28811 Ortega Highway, San Juan Capistrano. 949.489.9778. rmvreserve.org.

(Cont.)

TUESDAY, DEC. 31-JAN. 1 New Y ear’s at San Ju an Hills G olf Club

8 p.m.-1 a.m. Ring in the New Year at San Juan Hills Golf Club, with a DJ and a special guest band. The event will feature tapas, appetizer stations and a champagne toast. Guests can take home a souvenir from the New Year’s-themed photo experience. Tickets are $120 per person. 32120 San Juan Creek Road, San Juan Capistrano. 949.493.1167. sanjuanhillsgolf.com.

B arnoa W ine B ar New Y ear’s E v e B ash!

7-11:59 p.m. Barnoa Wine Bar’s biggest party of the year includes amazing wine, awesome food, and great music, featuring Millertime Boogie Band. Admission is $125—RSVP ASAP as this event fills up early every year. Barnoa Wine Bar, 831 Via Suerte, #106, San Clemente.

949.388.4378. barnoawinebar.com.

SC SC LIVING San Clemente

PROFILES OF OUR COMMUNITY

GUEST OPINION: Get Fit San Clemente

by Gina Cousineau and Samantha Blankenburg

Bringing the Family Back Around the Kitchen Table

I

t is clearly agreed upon across the world, both scientifically and anecdotally, that the Mediterranean diet is among the most healthful food patterns.

While one might assume it is simply the wholesome food components that promote longevity in this region, it really is the complete lifestyle driving both health and happiness. This is where we can’t deny how conviviality fits into our fast-paced, hectic lives or, dare I say, lack thereof.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition for “conviviality” is relating to, occupied with, or fond of feasting, drinking, and good company.

When was the last time you took joy in planning and preparing a meal for your family? And when it came time to eat that meal, did you and your people sit down together, distractions silenced, to enjoy that meal and the fellowship that naturally occurs when doing so?

In my world of integrative and functional nutrition and medicine, the fear mongering from both practitioners and social media influencers alike is rampant. The deliberate use of scare tactics with GET FIT SAN a doomsday mentality CLEMENTE

By Gina Cousineau regarding toxic expo& Samantha sures, use of questionBlankenburg able (non-scientific) methods to eliminate them from our bodies, and the overuse of tests, supplements and procedures to prevent/fix these issues make my blood boil.

Add in the fact that the cost for these pills, potions, fads, and such are often prohibitive to the general public. No better is traditional medicine and its topdown approach of prescribing medications to cover the symptoms of the very diseases that are killing us.

These traditional health care professionals went into medicine with the goal of helping, and doing no harm, but limitations with the system are preventing the care you deserve.

All of that being said, food is life, and food should be the first line of defense against all that potentially ails us, but too many people live to eat instead of eating to live.

The experience of enjoying your food—conviviality—is potentially the San Clemente Times December 12-18, 2019

missing antidote to the obesity epidemic, which can be due to time constraints, lack of nutritional knowledge and the inability to plan, prepare and cook meals.

A FEW TIPS TO INITIATE CONVIVIALITY INTO YOUR HOLIDAY PARTY: Whether you have a formal sit-down meal or serve buffet-style, consider taking a moment with the group to say a prayer or thought in thanksgiving for having the ability to spend time together.

While it is not always possible to have everyone sit at the same table, do provide seating areas where groups can congregate to share their food and conversation.

Consider asking everyone to stack their phones face down—after they take pictures of their plates, of course—so that no one is tempted to use them during the meal.

While holidays bring much joy, there is also concern for relationships that have gone awry and what those interactions might look like. This does not mean that you have to avoid those encounters entirely. There are many ways to inspire dialogue in small increments.

Choose to sit with family or friends you don’t see on a regular basis during the meal. This time can be short-lived if you choose, so if things are uncomfortable, you can easily excuse yourself to get seconds or clear your plate from the table. Bring a plate of appetizers or desserts to share with an individual or small group, and lead the conversation with something positive happening in your life, then genuinely inquiring into theirs.

In all cases, instilling a little conviviality into this holiday season might just revive lost relationships and build new ones, all while role-modeling healthy behaviors for those you love.

Gina Cousineau, a culinary nutritionist, is the co-owner of the San Clementebased Mama G’s Lifestyle with Samantha Blankenburg, offering in-person and virtual nutrition, fitness and lifestyle consulting. Follow her on Instagram @mamagslifestyle and Facebook at mamagskitchen. SC

Contributor: OC Public Libraries

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Photographed is an eastward view of San Clemente’s business and downtown district on Avenida Del Mar in 1941.

Every week, the San Clemente Times will showcase a historical photo from around the city. If you have a photo you would like to submit for consideration, send the photo, your name for credit as well as the date and location of the photo to editorial@sanclementetimes.com.

Adoptable Pet of the Week: Ted SAN CLEMENTE TIMES

T

hree-month-old Ted is looking for a place he can finally call his own. A shy little kitten, Ted will need some reassurance from his new family in the beginning and would best settle in a quiet home environment.

If you would like to know more about Ted, please call the San Clemente/Dana Point Animal Shelter at 949.492.1617 or visit him at 221 Avenida Fabricante, San Clemente. SC

Ted. Photo: Courtesy of San Clemente/Dana Point Animal Shelter

Sudoku

BY MYLES MELLOR Last week’s solution:

PLEASE NOTE: In an effort to provide our readers with a wide variety of opinions from our community, the SC Times provides Guest Opinion opportunities in which selected columnists’ opinions are shared. The opinions expressed in these columns are entirely those of the columnist alone and do not reflect those of the SC Times or Picket Fence Media. If you would like to respond to this column, please email us at editorial@sanclementetimes.com

Each Sudoku puzzle consists of a 9x9 grid that has been subdivided into nine smaller grids of 3x3 squares. To solve the puzzle, each row, column and box must contain each of the numbers 1 to 9. Puzzles come in three grades: easy, medium and difficult. Level: Medium

Page 21

See the solution in next week’s issue.

sanclementetimes.com

SC LIVING CoastLines by Fred Swegles

1960s Vagabond Surfed Her Way Around the World

G

enerations of young wave riders have known San Clemente’s Mary Lou Drummy as a surfing icon and director of the Western Surfing Association, America’s longest-standing amateur surfing organization.

What most don’t know is that 50 years ago, moviegoers nationwide were watching her surf her way around the world.

Known then as Mary Lou McGinnis, she was a South Bay surfer co-starring with pro longboarders Bob Purvey of Malibu and Claude Codgen of Cocoa Beach, Fla., in a lively, fast-paced surfing documentary titled Follow Me. This year is the film’s golden anniversary.

McGinnis was a competitive surfer who appeared in magazines, advertisements, movie stunt work and at national surf championships.

Follow Me, released in 1969, was Hollywood’s answer to surf cinematographer Bruce Brown’s 1966 movie classic The Endless Summer. Brown took surfers Robert August and Mike Hynson around the world searching for the perfect wave, seemingly finding it at an obscure spot in South Africa.

Adventures and Misadventures McGinnis, Codgen and Purvey didn’t find anything close to a perfect wave during their three-month intercontinental quest filled with adventures and misadventures, both real and scripted.

They had lots of fun in their quest, tackling any surf they could find in Portugal, Morocco, Ceylon, India, Hong Kong and Japan.

Robert E. Petersen, the surf magazine publisher, conceived the project in 1967 and produced it. Surfing Magazine is listed as “special consultant.”

Unfortunately, the waves—and weather—didn’t always cooperate.

“They took us to all the worst places,” Drummy said recently, while watching the movie again on DVD. “They weren’t going to wait until next year to reschedule anything.”

The three adventurers, cast as surfing ambassadors called the “Surf Corps,” ended up riding stormy waves in frigid water at their first destination, Portugal.

They froze, wearing only sleeveless spring suits. And they didn’t use leashes then.

Most of the surf they encountered globally was windblown slop. But their surfing talents were showcased admirably in it. In better surf in Hawaii, the last stop in the movie, Codgen switches from a traditional COASTLINES longboard to a shorter, newly introduced

By Fred Swegles seven-foot-long “vee-bottom” that instantly ratcheted up his moves, offering a hint into surfing’s impending shortboard revolution.

The movie is a fun, exuberant, wide-eyed romp around the world by three thoroughly likable vagabonds, experiencing a cultural epoch that no longer exists.

A Worthy Film Crew The cinematography is stylish and first-rate. Filming it were a young, pre-IMAX Greg McGillivray and Jim Freeman, who are legends in surf culture and in the IMAX documentary genre, joined by Mike Margulies, who went on to a long list of TV and movie credits ranging from The Waltons to Police Academy.

Writing the script was Stanley Ralph Ross, a writer, creative guru and actor whose TV credits range from Batman and All in the Family to Wonder Woman and The Incredible Hulk.

The surf film’s soundtrack is built around a catchy theme song, “Thru Spray Colored Glasses,” co-written by Bread’s David Gates and cinema veteran Stu Phillips, who over the years provided tracks for TV and movies from The Monkees to Battlestar Gallactica.

San Clemente Times December 12-18, 2019

Mary Lou Drummy revisits a scene from the 1969 surf movie Follow Me, in which she, Claude Codgen and Bob Purvey are pictured at a surf spot in India they called The Seven Pagodas. Photo: Fred Swegles; cinematography by Greg MacGillivray, Jim Freeman and Mike Margulies

Vocals are by Dino, Desi and Billy. Instrumentals crafted by Phillips reflect the flavor of each country visited, while weaving in bits of melody from “Spray Colored Glasses.”

Slapstick Moments Comic scenes include McGinnis getting uncomfortably close to a snake charmer in Ceylon, the surf crew being outwitted by merchants in a Casablanca marketplace and surfboard-laden rickshaw races in Ceylon. While clearly contrived, these scenes are slap-happy entertainment, reminiscent of Bruce Brown’s comedy scenes in The Endless Summer.

The opening scene of Follow Me shows the surfers jogging across the tarmac to board a TWA jetliner at a stark, primitive-looking Los Angeles International Airport. For today’s viewers, it’s an oh-my-gosh moment.

In a selfie-worthy moment, the three adventurers are each perched atop an elephant, being ferried across a river in Ceylon. Each elephant’s trunk cradles a surfboard.

When the trio arrives in India, Purvey, the story’s narrator, proclaims, “It’s really something that, with 4,000 miles of coastline, no one had ever surfed here before.”

There’s a Moroccan surf spot, aptly named The Camel Farm for the locals, encountered there. There are exuberant interactions with locals, such as McGinnis washing clothes by hand at a roadside with Portuguese ladies and the trio passing out Surf Corps stickers in Morocco.

You wonder if that train in India still has a Surf Corps sticker plastered onto its side.

Wave Pool Innovators?

In Japan, the surfers visit what was then a new worldwide Page 23

phenomenon, Tokyo Summerland, an intensely crowded indoor wave pool that could pump out one tiny mushburger after another.

“Of all the things we’d done, that was the wildest,” Purvey says.

Could these have been the first, or among the first, surfers to ride an artificial wave?

“A far cry from Kelly Slater’s,” Drummy remarked.

Tokyo Summerland was for bathers only, yet cleared the pool of paying customers to let the visiting surf celebrities put on a demo and try teaching a few locals to ride a wave.

The park still exists, more crowded than ever. Search YouTube for videos of Tokyo Summerland.

Circling the World Could it be that Mary Lou Drummy was the sport’s first female to surf her way around the world? There can be no certainty, but it seems a pretty good bet.

Women’s surf history documentarian Sheri Crummer recalls that in the 1960s, women would fly to major competitions from different parts of the world, “but I don’t know of anyone who literally went around the world.”

Follow Me is available online on DVD. The soundtrack is available on iTunes. The movie’s trailer can be found on YouTube. Head to the online version of this story for a link to the trailer.

Fred Swegles is a longtime San Clemente resident with nearly five decades of reporting experience in the city. Fred can be reached at fswegles@picketfencemedia.com. SC PLEASE NOTE: In an effort to provide our readers with a wide variety of opinions from our community, the SC Times provides Guest Opinion opportunities in which selected columnists’ opinions are shared. The opinions expressed in these columns are entirely those of the columnist alone and do not reflect those of the SC Times or Picket Fence Media. If you would like to respond to this column, please email us at editorial@sanclementetimes.com

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PUBLIC NOTICES PUBLIC NOTICE ORDINANCE NOS. 1685, 1686, 1687 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City Council of the City of San Clemente, at its meeting of December 3, 2019, adopted the following ordinances: 1. Ordinance No. 1685 entitled AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN CLEMENTE, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING SUBSECTION 17.28.190.A, SECTION 17.72.020, SUBSECTION 17.72.030.C.3, AND SUBSECTION 17.72.060.E OF TITLE 17 OF THE SAN CLEMENTE MUNICIPAL CODE TO CLARIFY STANDARDS REGULATING NONCONFORMING MOBILEHOME AND MOBILEHOME PARK USES. 2. Ordinance No. 1686 entitled AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN CLEMENTE ADDING CHAPTER 12.40, TRAIN STATIONS, TO THE SAN CLEMENTE MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO TICKET-REQUIRED AREAS OF THE CITY’S TRANSIT FACILITIES. 3. Ordinance No. 1687 entitled AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN CLEMENTE ADDING SECTION 12.28.030 TO THE SAN CLEMENTE MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO TENTS IN CITY PARKS.

TO ADVERTISE: 949.388.7700, EXT. 100 • LEGALS@PICKETFENCEMEDIA.COM

INGS STANDARD CODE, THE 2019 CALIFORNIA ADMINISTRATIVE CODE, THE 2019 CALIFORNIA ENERGY CODE, THE 2019 CALIFORNIA HISTORICAL BUILDING CODE, THE 2019 CALIFORNIA EXISTING BUILDING CODE, AND THE 2019 CALIFORNIA REFERENCED STANDARDS CODE, TOGETHER WITH CERTAIN ADDITIONS, AMENDMENTS AND DELETIONS. A full copy of the aforementioned Ordinance is available for review in the City Clerk’s Department, located at 910 Calle Negocio, San Clemente, California (949) 361-8301.

NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that the abovereferenced Ordinance was introduced at the City Council meeting of November 5, 2019 and was adopted at the City Council meeting of December 3, 2019 by the following vote: AYES:

FERGUSON, JAMES, WARD, MAYOR BANE

NOES:

NONE

ABSENT: HAMM

Ordinance No. 1688 entitled AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN CLEMENTE, CALIFORNIA, TO ADOPT, WITH AMENDMENTS, THE 2018 INTERNATIONAL PROPERTY MAINTENANCE CODE AND RELOCATE THE ADOPTED 1997 UNIFORM CODE FOR THE ABATEMENT OF DANGEROUS BUILDINGS TO A NEW CHAPTER 8.78, PROPERTY MAINTENANCE, OF THE SAN CLEMENTE MUNICIPAL CODE.

NONE

ABSENT: HAMM JOANNE BAADE City Clerk and Ex-Officio Clerk of the Council PUBLIC NOTICE ORDINANCE NO. 1683 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City Council of the City of San Clemente, at its meeting of December 3, 2019, adopted the following ordinance: Ordinance No. 1683 entitled AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN CLEMENTE, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING TITLE 15 CHAPTERS 15.08, 15.12, 15.16, 15.20, 15.22, 15.23 AND TITLE 8 CHAPTER 8.16 OF THE SAN CLEMENTE MUNICIPAL CODE AND ADDING TO TITLE 15 CHAPTERS 15.05, 15.11, 15.14, 15.17, AND 15.18, ADOPTING BY REFERENCE THE 2019 CALIFORNIA BUILDING STANDARDS CODE (CALIFORNIA CODE OF REGULATIONS, TITLE 24), CONSISTING IN PART OF THE 2019 ADMINISTRATIVE CODE, THE 2019 CALIFORNIA BUILDING CODE, THE 2019 CALIFORNIA RESIDENTIAL CODE, THE 2019 CALIFORNIA ELECTRICAL CODE, THE 2019 CALIFORNIA MECHANICAL CODE, THE 2019 CALIFORNIA PLUMBING CODE, THE 2019 CALIFORNIA FIRE CODE, THE 2019 CALIFORNIA GREEN BUILDSan Clemente Times December 12-18, 2019

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT A PUBLIC HEARING WILL BE HELD BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN CLEMENTE, CALIFORNIA, RELATIVE TO THE FOLLOWING: NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on Tuesday, December 17, 2019, at 6:00 p.m., or as soon thereafter as the matter may be heard, the City Council of the City of San Clemente will hold a public hearing in the City Council Chambers located at 100 Avenida Presidio, San Clemente, California 92672, for consideration of the following item: City of San Clemente Annual Mitigation Fee Act Report Fiscal Year 2018-2019 and the FiveYear Mitigation Fee Act Report for Fiscal Years 2014-2015 through 2018-2019 pursuant to Government Code Section §66006. Section 66006 provides that if a fee is imposed as a condition of development, the city shall deposit those fees in a separate capital facilities account. For each account created, the city shall, within 180 days after the end of the fiscal year, make certain information available to the public. The city council must then review the information that has been made available to the public at the next regularly scheduled public meeting that occurs not less than 15 days after the information is made available.

ORDINANCE NO. 1688

NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that the abovereferenced Ordinances were introduced at the City Council meeting of November 19, 2019 and were adopted at the City Council meeting of December 3, 2019 by the following vote:

NOES:

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

PUBLIC NOTICE

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City Council of the City of San Clemente, at its meeting of December 3, 2019, introduced the following ordinance:

FERGUSON, JAMES, WARD, MAYOR BANE

PUBLIC NOTICE

JOANNE BAADE City Clerk and Ex-Officio Clerk of the Council

A full copy of the aforementioned Ordinances are available for review in the City Clerk’s Department, located at 910 Calle Negocio, San Clemente, California (949) 361-8301.

AYES:

This business is conducted by a CA corporation.

SOLIDARITY/s/KEVIN MO WONG, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER This statement was filed with the Orange County Clerk-Recorder on 12/03/2019 Published: San Clemente Times DEC 12, 19, 26, 2019, JAN 2, 2020

A full copy of the aforementioned Ordinance is available for review in the City Clerk’s Office, located at 910 Calle Negocio, San Clemente, California (949) 361-8301.

NOTICE IS HEREBY FURTHER GIVEN that the City Council of the City of San Clemente will consider adopting the aforementioned Ordinance at its meeting of December 17, 2019 at 6:00 p.m., which will be held in the Council Chambers, located at 100 Avenida Presidio, San Clemente, California.

The Annual and Five-Year Report will be made available to the public on November 27, 2019.

Notice for this matter has been mailed, at least 15 days prior to the December 17th meeting, to all interested parties who had filed a written request for mailed notice pursuant to the applicable Government Code Section.

All interested persons are invited to attend this hearing and be heard at the time and place specified above regarding the matter under consideration. All supporting documents are available for review during normal business hours in the Office of the City Clerk at 910 Calle Negocio, San Clemente, California 92673. Additional information regarding the draft report is available on the City’s website at www.san-clemente.org. The purpose of this notice is to inform the public of the pub-

lic hearing and that the report has been completed and is available for public review. If you have questions, please contact Michael Johnston, Management Analyst, at (949) 361-8254.

All written comments concerning the proposed agreement should be directed to the City Clerk at 910 Calle Negocio, San Clemente, California 92673, in advance of or at the public hearing for inclusion in the record of the public hearing.

To allow staff adequate time to confirm software compatibility, individuals wishing to utilize electronic visual aids to supplement their oral presentations at the meeting, must submit the electronic files to the City Clerk by no later than 12:00 p.m. on the day of the meeting. Only compatible electronic formats will be permitted to be used on City audio/ visual computer equipment. Staff makes no guarantee that such material will be compatible, but will use its best efforts to accommodate the request.

If you challenge any of the foregoing actions in court, you may be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised at the public hearing for final action described in this notice or in written correspondence delivered to the City Council at, or prior to, the public hearing.

JOANNE BAADE City Clerk and Ex-Officio Clerk of the Council

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JOANNE BAADE City Clerk and Ex-Officio Clerk of the Council PUBLIC NOTICE STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 20196561102 The following person(s) has (have) abandoned the use of the fictitious business name: SOLID T 8332 COMMONWEALTH AVE. BUENA PARK, CA 90621 The Fictitious Business Name referred to above was filed in Orange County on : 06/20/2017 FILE NO.20176479424 Full Name of Registrant(s): SOLIDARITY 410 LEMON ST FULLERTON CA 92832 Page 24

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SPORTS & OUTDOORS SC San Clemente

STORIES, SCORES, SCHEDULES AND MORE

2019 San Clemente Winter Sports Preview

BY ZACH CAVANAGH, SAN CLEMENTE TIMES

A

s we count down the days to the holidays, the winter sports season is well underway across the CIFSouthern Section.

In our annual preview, we highlight all of the winter sports programs at San Clemente High School from the court, to the field, to the pool and to the mat, as the Tritons enter the tournament season while looking ahead to league play on the other side of the new year.

For in-game updates, news and more for all of

The San Clemente boys basketball team is off to a strong start with a commitment to defense and rebounding and role players stepping up early. Photo: Zach Cavanagh

the San Clemente High School sports programs, follow us on Twitter @SouthOCSports

BOYS BASKETBALL

The San Clemente boys basketball team has gotten off to a strong start to open the 2019-20 season.

The Tritons are 6-3 (as of press time on Wednesday, Dec. 11), which is already halfway to their win total from last season.

“Really happy with where we are right now,” San Clemente coach Marc Popovich said. “The biggest thing has been our defensive effort. We’ve done a good job of guarding people, and our effort to be better on the glass has really improved.”

San Clemente alternated big margins of victory with tighter games over a five-game win streak that has the Tritons on a better pace than some early projections. Popovich called their 73-69 win over Newport Harbor in the Godinez Grizzly Tournament the best win so far for San Clemente.

“I think we’ve gotten a couple wins people thought we wouldn’t get,” Popovich said. “As far as where we’re at, we’re about where we thought we would be. We’re getting better every week.

This group has been committed to the growth.”

Senior Max Rumph and junior Jack Carroll have been the key contributors to the Tritons’ start. Popovich said that the rest of the team has stepped up and played their roles.

“There’s a lot of first-year varsity players that just don’t have that experience,” Popovich said. “This part of the year is super key for a kid like Cameron Kooper, who’s been really good as the starting point guard. He just needs experience and reps.”

San Clemente Times December 12-18, 2019

San Clemente is currently competing in the Gary Raya SoCal Elite Tournament this week at Portola and Northwood High Schools in Irvine. The Tritons round out the tournament season in the North-South Challenge against Corona del Mar on Dec. 20 at Tesoro and in a tournament in Utah after Christmas.

Then comes the daunting but familiar task of the South Coast League.

“One through five, we’re the deepest league in the county, outside of the Trinity,” Popovich said. “Any team can beat anybody.

You have two teams in Capistrano Valley and

Mission (Viejo) that are top 10 in the county, but I don’t think anybody else in our league thinks those two are unbeatable. Not afraid to play against each other at all.”

San Clemente opens league play at home against Aliso Niguel on Jan. 8 and plays at Capistrano Valley on Jan. 10. The Tritons will also host Dana Hills in a Coast View Conference crossover rivalry game on Jan. 22.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

The San Clemente girls basketball team is set up for success, and that’s bearing

After a pinnacle season for the San Clemente boys soccer team last season, the Tritons are still set up for another strong run with a talented and cohesive group. Photo: Zach Cavanagh Page 26

out in the early results.

The Tritons are a perfect 7-0 with a strong returning nucleus and an exciting new addition.

The headlining returner is senior Ella Gardiner, who averaged a double-double last season with 16.8 points and 12.3 rebounds and blew past 1,000 points in her Triton career. Gardiner nabbed her 1,000th rebound earlier this season to secure her place as one of the best San Clemente basketball players of all time.

Sophomore Jolie Johnson also has been an important player early on for San Clemente after making an impact as a freshman.

Junior Jessie Blaine joins the Tritons as a transfer from Virginia. As part of a military family, Blaine has moved frequently, with San Clemente being her third high school in three years. Blaine is committed to Auburn for softball and helped Team USA win softball gold at the U17 Pan American Games this past summer. Blaine has been one of the Tritons’ top scorers along with Gardiner this season.

Ranked No. 3 in CIF-SS Division 2A, the Tritons feel on track to try and go beyond what they accomplished last season.

San Clemente finished second in the South Coast League last season with only two losses, both to champion Aliso Niguel, and the Tritons fell in the first round of the playoffs.

San Clemente is currently in the Artesia Lady Pioneers Winter Classic and will take part in the SoCal Holiday Prep Classic after Christmas.

The Tritons open league play at home against Dana Hills on Jan. 7. San Clemente hosts Aliso Niguel on Jan. 14 and plays at Aliso Niguel on Feb. 3.

BOYS SOCCER

The San Clemente boys soccer team reached the pinnacle last season.

For the first time in program history, the Tritons captured the South Coast League title, CIF-SS championship and CIF Southern California Regional title all in the same season.

With San Clemente losing its top four goal-scorers, leading defender and both goalkeepers from that team, it would be seemingly unfair to compare the 2019-20 Tritons to the 2018-19 version.

Yet, here they are, No. 1 in the first CIFSS Division 1 poll to open the season and already playing strong.

San Clemente is 2-0-0 with a 3-1 win over San Marcos and an 8-0 thrashing of Dana Hills.

“As we’ve played a couple games, the young talent needs to mature and strengthen up a little bit,” San Clemente coach Mike Pronier said, “but they’re all pretty good players. I don’t know if we have Tristan Webers (2018 Gatorade State Player of the Year) and Blake Bowens (2019 Gatorade State Player of the Year) (Cont. on page 28) sanclementetimes.com

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Page 27

SPORTS & OUTDOOR

Despite graduation losses, the San Clemente girls water polo team is deep, experienced, talented and ready for another run at the top of the CIF-SS. Photo: Zach Cavanagh

(Cont. from page 26) running around, but there’s some good players out here.”

San Clemente isn’t operating at full power yet, either. Because of club team commitments, top returners Daniel Tuscano, a Westmont commit, and Micah Usui have not played yet, nor has Asa Gibson, a UC San Diego commit who has come back into the program.

Senior Blake Lipofsky leads San Clemente through two games with three goals.

Nolan Grush, Nelson Tabarez and Sam Perez have scored two goals.

Pronier said he wasn’t initially sure about his defensive group, but after a strong summer, the team is playing cohesively on the back end early on.

As they were last season, the Tritons have another pair of seniors in net with Carter Fann and Connor Stoll.

This weekend, San Clemente hosts its annual tournament, the Lotto Sport Western Showcase, which is once again packed with talent. The Tritons open on Thursday, Dec. 12, against Kapolei of Hawaii, which finished third in the Hawaii state championships last season.

San Clemente opens league play at Capistrano Valley on Jan. 6 and hosts San Juan Hills on Jan. 15.

nus Lauren Leslie, who stepped down after three seasons after being selected to play for the first-ever US Soccer Women’s National Beach Soccer Team.

Under Leslie, the Tritons finished second in the South Coast League three times and made the CIF-SS playoffs each season. Spaccini will be tasked with coaching up San Clemente to try and break through Aliso Niguel’s recent dominance in the league.

Early on, the Tritons are 1-0-1, with a 2-0 win over Capistrano Valley and a scoreless draw against Edison. San Clemente opened the Mater Dei Tournament against Foothill on Wednesday, Dec. 11, but results were not available at press time.

Senior Piper Biolos scored both San Clemente goals against Capistrano Valley, with one assist by senior Jewel Craft.

Freshman goalkeeper Rylie McLeish has been in net for both shutout performances.

San Clemente has nine seniors on its deep roster.

The Tritons open South Coast League play against Aliso Niguel on Jan. 7 and continue at San Juan Hills on Jan. 9.

Among San Clemente, Aliso Niguel and San Juan Hills, the South Coast League should be a tight competition.

GIRLS SOCCER

GIRLS WATER POLO

The San Clemente girls soccer team has a new leader at the helm.

Marco Spaccini takes over as head coach of the Tritons after a year and a half as an assistant coach for the varsity squad.

Spaccini succeeds San Clemente alumSan Clemente Times December 12-18, 2019

Last season, the San Clemente girls water polo team dominated the South Coast League for its third straight title and advanced to the CIF-SS Division 2 Final, its first since 2015.

While the Tritons did take big gradu-

ation losses with two of their top three scorers and starting goalie moving on, San Clemente is still set with a deep roster to try and equal or surpass last season’s accomplishments.

“We have a group of seniors and juniors that have played together for a long time,” San Clemente coach Logan Powell said. “Six of them have played here since 12-and-unders, and all of them contribute in different ways” Senior Grace Pelkey is the top returner with 53 goals last season, and junior Alex Higginson will be the other top threat with 31 goals last season.

San Clemente is 2-1 on the season and hasn’t shied away from top competition.

The Tritons are out early to prove their place in the rankings and secure a spot in Division 1. The top eight teams in the combined Division 1 and 2 poll will play in the Division 1 playoffs with a guaranteed three games to determine placing from first through eighth.

“We’re going to try and win as many games as possible, right?” Powell said.

“So, the more games we win, the more chance that we’re in D1. In some respects, it’s great for the program and great for the girls to go to the finals in D2, and it can kind of be downplayed, but even eighth in Division 1 is a huge accomplishment.”

San Clemente, ranked No. 9 in the poll, opened against No. 1 Laguna Beach, a 15-6 loss, but responded with two wins over No. 20 Schurr, 11-7, and No. 8 Mater Dei, 13-12 in overtime.

The Tritons next play at No. 7 Newport

Page 28

Harbor on Dec. 12 and will have plenty of tournament games between then and scheduled nonleague games at home against No. 2 Foothill on Jan. 6 and No. 17 Huntington Beach on Jan. 8.

San Clemente opens the one round of South Coast League play at Aliso Niguel on Jan. 16 and closes at rival Dana Hills on Jan. 30, with the league tournament to follow.

WRESTLING

The San Clemente wrestling team went undefeated through the Sea View League last season and advanced to the semifinals of the CIF-SS Division 4 dual meet championships on the back of a strong group of seniors.

The strong tradition of Triton wrestling looks to continue despite those graduation losses.

San Clemente is ranked No. 8 in the CIF-SS Division 5 dual meet poll, and the Tritons have had good early tournament showings.

San Clemente won the team title at the Costa Mesa Classic on Nov. 23 with strong across-the-board results. While the Tritons didn’t make any of the final matches, they got three third-place finishes: by Ryder Mortensen at 145 pounds,

by Chris Merkleat at 171 pounds and by Robert Maley at 195 pounds. The Tritons also racked up points with five fifth-place finishes and a seventh-place finish.

San Clemente hosts its annual tournament on Jan. 18 as a lead-up to the Coast View Conference Championships on Jan. 25 at Aliso Niguel. SC sanclementetimes.com

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Let’s Do This, ‘Brother’!

Local surfer Andino in the hunt for the 2019 WSL World Title

BY JAKE HOWARD, SAN CLEMENTE TIMES

K

olohe Andino will need the best result of his life at the Billabong Pipeline Masters if he is to win the 2019 WSL World Title.

There are currently five contenders for the title, and depending on what happens, Andino—who’s affectionately known around town simply as “Brother”—needs to either finish first or second at the Pipeline in Oahu to accomplish the lifelong goal.

Though Andino was the first American surfer to secure his spot on the 2020 U.S. Olympic team, he is still driven by world title aspirations. Growing up watching champs including Kelly Slater, Andy Irons and Mick Fanning, Andino has worked long and hard to arrive at this level.

“I’d say, for me, a world title is a lot more important than a gold medal,” Andino recently told surf publication Stab Magazine.

“It would be rad to win one for my country, but a world title means you’re the best surfer around the world in all conditions all year.”

The son of former U.S. Champion Dino Andino, the junior Andino shows the fruit does not fall far from the tree.

“He’s better than I could have ever dreamt of being,” the senior Andino explained when his son joined the tour in 2012. “But I always tell him, it doesn’t matter how good you are on a surfboard, it’s what kind of person are you.”

Andino’s lived by that advice, growing into an outstanding role model for up-andcoming surfers in San Clemente. His 2019

Kolohe Andino with his eyes on surfing’s ultimate prize, the 2019 WSL World Title. Photo: WSL / Cestari

campaign has been the most successful of his career, defined by disciplined consistency. He started the season off with a runner-up finish at the Quiksilver Pro on the Gold Coast of Australia. He picked up another second-place finish at the Margaret River Pro in Western Australia.

Semifinal appearances in Brazil and South Africa kept him in the mix, and by the time the tour got to Tahiti in August, he was ranked No. 1 in the world. He made the quarters in two European events and is currently ranked No. 5 in the world.

Interestingly, most roads to the title lead through San Clemente. Three of the five title contenders have addresses in town: Andino, Jordy Smith and Filipe Toledo. Another contender, current world No. 1, Italo Ferreira, also has strong ties to the area, designing his boards with local shaper Timmy Patterson

and spending an abundant amount of time in the area testing equipment and training.

“Italo’s put the work in, and look where he’s at. It seems like he surfs a lot,” said Andino. “I would like to think we live in a world where people who work the hardest succeed the most. It seems like it makes sense.”

All of those surfers could also appear in the Olympics in 2020, as well. As noted, Andino’s already locked in, as is Smith.

The two spots for the Brazilian team won’t be decided until the end of the season, based on their current WSL ratings.

As this story goes to press, there’s a sizable swell on tap for Pipeline, and it’s probable that a portion of the Pipe Masters will have run. A series of large northwest swells are stacking up for Hawaii, and Thursday, Dec. 12, could be especially menacing with Surfline.com calling for

potential 18- to 25-foot “maxing” pipe.

This is one of the closest world title races in years, and it’s going to wrap up in heavy surf, just the way it should. The waiting period does not end until Dec. 20, but they may not need that long based on what the Pacific’s doing.

The swell is so big that the WSL is also looking at running their big-wave contest, the Jaws Big Wave Championships, on Thursday, as well. Forecast models are putting the surf in the epic category.

“Surf size is expected to be in the 35-45’ range on the face through the morning hours, with the bigger sets to 50’ (20-25’ Hawaiian on sets),” reads a WSL Instagram post.

It’s going to be a big week of surfing in Hawaii, and an even bigger week in San Clemente if Andino can win the world title.

Let’s do this, Brother! SC

SURF FORECAST

GROM OF THE WEEK:

KEEGAN BENGELSDORF

BY JAKE HOWARD, SAN CLEMENTE TIMES

A

$2,000 payday is a good one any day of the week. Just ask Keegan Bengelsdorf. The 17-year-old just made that for busting one air at the Surfing Santa contest at Salt Creek. The contest, which took place on Nov. 23-24, is an annual charity event that benefits Surfers Healing, a group that helps autistic kids around the country enjoy the healing and therapeutic powers of surfing.

Living in San Clemente, Bengelsdorf is a junior at San Juan Hills High and a distinSan Clemente Times December 12-18, 2019

guished member of the school’s surf team.

Obviously, he is well-accomplished when it comes to above-the-lip surfing. You can usually find him ripping apart peaks at Church, where the goofy-footer revels in the uncrowded, against-the-grain lefts.

“The challenge to always improve and the opportunity to get out and try something new is huge,” Bengelsdorf said about what inspires him to surf. “Try to get better every day. Plus, being in the ocean every day is so peaceful.”

As far as where he’d like surfing to taking him, he’s not short on lofty aspirations.

“In the next 10 years, I hope surfing leads me around the world and eventually to a world title,” Bengelsdorf explained.

Taking things one air at a time, he may be there sooner than he thinks. SC

Water Temperature: 61-63 Degrees F Water Visibility and Conditions: 8-12’ Thursday: Mix of SSW/S swell and WNW swell, for waves in the waist-shoulder high zone, (3-4’ faces). Light offshore breeze in the morning, turns to light WNW winds for the afternoon.

Outlook: More WNW swell moves in as SSW/S swell eases on Friday and Saturday, with surf running shoulder high to a foot+ overhead, (4-6’+ faces). Waves ease to waist-head high, (3-5’ faces) on Sunday. Westerly winds pick up Saturday afternoon through Sunday. New WNW swell scheduled for next week. For the latest details be sure to visit Surfline.com.

Keegan Bengelsdorf.

Photo: Courtesy of Bengelsdorf Family

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