TimesOC: Hoag Health Network employees honored for frontline coronavirus work by O.C. Soccer Club
Good morning and welcome to the TimesOC newsletter.
It’s Wednesday, April 21. I’m Carol Cormaci, bringing you the latest roundup of Orange County news and events.
It appeared as of late yesterday afternoon — deadline for this report — that news of the Minneapolis jury’s findings in the trial of ex-cop Derek Chauvin in the May 25, 2020 death of George Floyd was being absorbed relatively quietly in Orange County.
We did learn that at least one local leader of a grassroots Black Lives Manner organization planned to head north to Los Angeles after work last night to join a march there, but there were no visible signs of either unrest or jubilant celebration near the Huntington Beach Pier within the first few hours of the jury’s announcement: Chauvin was pronounced guilty of manslaughter, second-degree murder and third-degree murder. The news reverberated around the country, to be sure, but any echoes in O.C. were not immediately noticed.
***
One of the positive stories coming directly out of our county this week was an effort by the Orange County Soccer Club to make a kind gesture to healthcare workers who have been on the front lines of fighting the coronavirus pandemic.
The professional soccer team, which plays its home games at Championship Soccer Stadium in Irvine has partnered for the past seven years with Hoag Health Network. According to my colleague, reporter Andrew Turner, team officials thought there could be no better time than now to do what they could to celebrate the work of the Hoag healthcare workers and the sacrifices they’d made over the course of the past year.
So, the stadium was opened up to Hoag employees to participate in a promotional video on Saturday and then again on Tuesday for the unveiling of the soccer team’s new jerseys and to take some turns kicking the ball around with the pro players.
The team’s home opener is set for May 22. For each of the new jerseys sold, the club will give two tickets to a Hoag healthcare worker. Check out our story for details on how to purchase one.
NEWS
— A dramatic rescue from a sinking boat in Newport Harbor took place Sunday afternoon. All 14 passengers who had been aboard the 41-foot Carver were saved thanks to the efforts of the Harbor Patrol, Newport Beach lifeguards and good Samaritan vessels, officials said.
— City officials in Huntington Beach celebrated the diversity of its population with a community picnic held Sunday in Central Park. “I thought it was a beautiful event and it really showed the true heart of Huntington Beach,” the mayor said afterward.
— Costa Mesa police were seeking tips from the public this week after shots were fired in the Triangle Square parking structure on Harbor Boulevard in the wee hours of Sunday.
— After allegedly attacking an elderly Korean American couple in Grijalva Park in Orange, 25-year-old Michael Vivona has been arrested. Police believe the same person is responsible for the racist rant against Sakura Kokumai, a karate champion slated to represent the United States in the 2021 Olympic Games.
— What was the Intercollegiate Rowing and Sailing Base and the Professional Mariner Training Center on West Coast Highway will now be collectively called the Orange Coast College Waterfront Campus, after having recently received the approval of the Coast Community College District Board of Trustees.
SPORTS
— Longtime Angels employee Tim Mead, 62, announced Friday he is stepping down as president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
— After the prep football season was cut short by COVID, Mater Dei High School outside linebacker Raesjon Davis chose to finish his senior year. Davis, featured in this video by journalist Jessica Q. Chen, will attend USC on a football scholarship.
— Marina High School earned a 41-7 football victory over host Segerstrom Friday night to repeat as champion of the Big 4 League, and in the process, end the season on a win.
LIFE & LEISURE
— “Made in America: Trailblazing Artists and Their Stories” will be the theme for the 2021 Pageant of the Masters, when the time-honored Laguna Beach Festival of the Arts returns this summer. Tickets go on sale to the general public beginning May 3.
— Aluminum flashing has become the medium of choice for Balboa artist Mary Chabre, who said it was a happy accident that led her to create hanging sculptures from it.
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.