Should Chapman University do an internal investigation on Trump adviser Eastman?
Good morning. It’s Wednesday, July 13. I’m Carol Cormaci, bringing you today’s TimesOC newsletter with the latest roundup of news and events.
I don’t know about you, but I’m finding the congressional hearings held by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection to be nearly spellbinding. Yesterday the seventh public hearing centered on people in former President Trump’s orbit and groups like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers the committee contends planned and orchestrated the violence at the Capitol. The committee demonstrated how the infamous presidential tweet of Dec. 19, 2020 — “Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!” — was a rallying cry heard clearly by his supporters on the far right.
It was another day of fascinating testimony, and I look forward to the next hearing the way my cat anticipates the satisfying sound of crunchies being dropped into her dish. That is to say, most impatiently.
Of course, not everyone shares my interest in seeing all the intricacies of the insurrection exposed. One Orange County institution is grappling with its own tenuous nexus to Trump and the historic events that transpired that day. Officials at Chapman University continue to hear its name invoked whenever media describe Trump adviser John Eastman, himself caught up in the investigation, as a former law professor there.
My colleague Teresa Watanabe recently interviewed some of the Chapman faculty members for her story, “How John Eastman’s role in Jan. 6 still haunts the California university where he taught.”
“The campus shockwaves continue as the actions of the former Chapman law professor stand as an unresolved case study that has strained one college’s tolerance for free speech on campus — challenging faculty members to examine the tenets of academic freedom to teach, research and write about controversial topics,” Watanbe writes.
Tom Zoellner, a Chapman professor of English, is one of several faculty members calling for an internal investigation as to whether or not there are ties to Eastman’s work at Chapman and his involvements on behalf of Trump’s extreme efforts to stay in office after losing the 2020 election to Joe Biden.
“This was a milestone event in the history of Chapman University and we haven’t yet come to terms with it or even found the right language to talk about it,” Zoellner told Watanabe, adding that Eastman “used the banner of our institution to give credibility” to his work with Trump to challenge the electoral results. “Academic freedom is a sacrosanct value, but our students and faculty also have a right to a full explanation of what
went so wrong.”
One might get the impression from Watanabe’s reporting that university officials just want the whole Eastman episode behind them and are not looking to take a deep dive into his work there.
“The university is not offering any reflections, however,” Watanabe writes. “Asked to discuss academic freedom and any lingering impact the scholar had on Chapman, a university vice president sent this statement: ‘John Eastman retired in January 2021 and is no longer associated with the university.’”
MORE NEWS
— The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has tapped researchers at UC Irvine and the University of Houston to develop a means of monitoring local beaches and dunes by satellite. UCI officials announced earlier this month researchers have received a $675,000 grant from NASA that will be divided between both universities. Approximately $350,000 will go to the Irvine campus for what is expected to be a three-year project to support the study.
— High tides this week are expected to peak today in Newport Beach at about 7.2 feet, according to meteorologists at the National Weather Service in San Diego, and drop to 6.6 feet by Friday. At the end of last week city officials placed sand bags in strategic areas throughout the peninsula and Balboa Island, particularly near the Balboa Fun Zone and on the south end of Balboa Island, where bigger waves and wakes were expected.
— The manhunt continued Tuesday for the person believed to have carried out a series of robberies and shootings at 7-Eleven stores in three Southland counties, leaving at least two people dead. Police responded to the first shooting early Monday morning at a 7-Eleven in Riverside, which left a customer seriously injured. Less than two hours later, one person was killed in a shooting at a 7-Eleven in Santa Ana. Authorities believe the suspect in Santa Ana is the same person who hit 7-Elevens in La Habra and Brea hours later, the Associated Press reported.
— Irvine-headquartered Rivian Automotive Inc. is planning hundreds of layoffs to trim its workforce in areas where the electric-vehicle maker has grown too quickly, according to people familiar with the matter. The company currently has about 14,000 employees and might see a 5% reduction in nonmanufacturing roles, a news article prepared by Bloomberg states.
— A former Marine, 29-year-old Evan Baltierra of Trabuco Canyon, pleaded guilty Monday to a federal stalking charge after he ran a lengthy harassment campaign against a professional gamer from Canada, according to authorities. Baltierra faces up to five years in prison, according to the U.S. attorney’s office for the Central District of California.
— A Nissan Altima traveling south at high speed on North Glassell Street in Orange at about 2:45 a.m. Saturday failed to negotiate a curve at North Orange Olive Road and crashed, Orange police said. Three people were killed and four others injured when the Altima rolled over and burst into flames.
LIFE & LEISURE
— Huntington Beach residents Jason and Lynne Stout have been designing and building specialty birdhouses, including mid-century stunners, lifeguard towers and miniature, made-to-order replicas of beach cabins, barns and family homes for an appreciative local crowd. My colleague Sara Cardine interviewed the couple and one of their satisfied customers — a real estate pro who buys the avian manses to gift to clients.
— The Parentis Foundation, a Laguna Hills nonprofit, is gearing up to hold a pickleball tournament in Newport Beach this Saturday with a goal to raise at least $40,000. The foundation’s inaugural tournament will take place at the Tennis and Pickleball Club at Newport Beach. Executive Director Janice Frechette-Artinger said she still hopes to fill in at least 12 to 15 more teams. The funding raised through the tournament’s entry fees, sponsorships, a raffle and donations will be put toward the foundation’s intergenerational literacy program, where older adults help tutor students at risk of not reading at their grade levels.
SPORTS
— Laguna Beach High School’s girls’ water polo routed Mater Dei, 16-1, to open the Newport Summer Invite on Friday hosted by Newport Harbor High. Laguna Beach has a new coach, alumna Claire Sonne, who has taken over for longtime coach Ethan Damato.
— Entering Monday of this week, the Angels had established the worst record in baseball at 11-31 since May 25. They were seven games back in the American League wild-card race and 19 games out of first place in the AL West. L.A. Times reporter Sarah Valenzuela spoke to some experts on the possible wisdom of Angels officials trading Shohei Ohtani before Major League Baseball’s Aug. 2 trade deadline.
— Even as tensions have risen between the National Hockey League and Russia, the Anaheim Ducks are among the teams that took a chance during the first round of the NHL 2022 draft to pick a Russian-born player. The
Ducks picked defenseman Pavel Mintyukov, 18, “with the belief that they will be able to avoid potential travel problems because he has spent the past two seasons in North America and he doesn’t intend to return to Russia,” writes columnist Helene Elliott, who covers hockey for The Times.
CALENDAR THIS
— Organizers of the Orange County Fair are inviting visitors to “Feel the Sunshine” when the festivities begin this Friday and run through Aug. 14 on Wednesdays through Sundays. The fairgrounds in Costa Mesa were a scene of activity Friday, as merchants, concessionaires and assembly crews prepped the site for the event. To keep crowds manageable and improve guests’ experience, tickets must be purchased in advance here.
KEEP IN TOUCH
If you have a memory or story about Orange County, I would love to read it (please keep your submission to 100 words or less).
I’d appreciate your help in making this the best newsletter it can be. Please send your memory of life in O.C., news tips or comments to carol.cormaci@latimes.com.
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