White supremacist tags deface but don’t defeat Costa Mesa peace-building project
Good morning. It’s Wednesday, Nov. 2. I’m Carol Cormaci, bringing you today’s TimesOC newsletter with the latest roundup of news and events.
Two years ago, artist Alicia Rojas picked up a palette and brush to create a mural on a residential garden wall at the corner of Baker Street and Killybrooke Lane in Costa Mesa. The idea for the artwork sprang from Camilo Romero, co-founder of ReGeneración Colombia, a peace-building initiative designed to heal intergenerational trauma through storytelling.
Romero and Rojas intended to bring the neighborhood together to honor famous Latinas in Orange County history and in Romero’s own family, including his mother, who lives at the site.
Before long, the 74-foot mural boasted portraits of 11 strong Latinas, poderosas, honored for their legacies. Included among the subjects were freedom fighter Dolores Huerta and Frances Muñoz, who became California’s first Latina trial court judge in 1978, and who passed away recently.
The portraits themselves were moved to a park in Santa Ana. The rest of the mural remained on the Costa Mesa garden wall, and the white rectangles where the faces of the poderosas had once been depicted are now filled with poems, in Spanish, about each of the honored women.
On Monday, in an act that police are investigating as a hate crime, a white man was seen spray-painting over the mural with white supremacist tags and symbols.
The suspect, an unidentified white man, painted “White Power” several times along the length of the wall along with “PEN1” and “737” — two references to Public Enemy Number 1, a California-based white supremacist gang identified by the Anti-Defamation League, according to this story about the crime written by my colleague Sara Cardine.
“It’s pretty disgusting, and it was done in broad daylight,” said Rojas, who came to the mural Tuesday morning to start painting over the slurs. “Honestly, I couldn’t sleep [last night]. I can’t stand the words ‘white power’ on this — those words don’t belong here.”
Rojas is attempting to raise funds to paint new scenes over the vandalism, which she sees as a double transgression against immigrants and women.
“It’s an offense to all of us women and women who are Latina,” Rojas told Cardine. “This mural has a theme of Mother Nature, so I’m covering up the words with more nature.”
The reporter says Romero has some hope the vandalism may serve as “an inflection point” for the community and possibly even for the vandal.
“The real message is we’re caring for each other, and with that same open heart we can also help this man,” he said. “The mural is meant to be about reconciliation and coming together in spite of our differences — that includes him.”
Police are on the trail of the vandal. His image was helpfully captured by neighbors on camera and video.
MORE NEWS
— Rapidly spreading viral infections have pushed pediatric hospitalizations and daily emergency room visits to record levels in Orange County, prompting officials to declare a health emergency. County health officials warned over the weekend that elevated spread of respiratory illnesses, specifically RSV, was severely affecting capacity in the region’s pediatric hospitals. Here’s an article on how to recognize and treat symptoms of RSV.
— Costa Mesa fire officials are investigating a house fire that broke out early Friday at the intersection of Del Mar and Elden avenues, killing several pets on the property and causing one occupant to be transported to a burn center.
— Roughly $3.9 million has been earmarked for new police cars and equipment for the Newport Beach Police Department following recent approvals from the City Council. The bulk of the costs, $3.4 million, will be spent over a 10-year period for the purchase and implementation of body cameras, in-car video systems, tasers and related police equipment. The rest will go toward purchasing new vehicles.
— You’re no doubt well aware we’re in the final stretch of the General Election. There are a host of stories to be told about contentious Orange County races. Here are just a few that L.A. Times and Daily Pilot reporters pulled together in recent days that may be of interest to you:
• In Huntington Beach, City Atty. Michael Gates is engaged in a battle to keep his job. His challenger, as longtime newsletter readers might remember, is a former assistant city attorney, Scott Field, 66, who, with a former deputy city attorney, filed an age discrimination suit against Gates and the city in 2019. That suit was settled in $2.5 million. Gates is a Republican and told the L.A. Times for a story published over the weekend that he sees himself being targeted for his political affiliation.
• The 47th Congressional District race, pitting Democrat Katie Porter against Republican Scott Baugh is among the critical midterm contests drawing attention. “After four years of besting CEOs in viral congressional hearing exchanges and building a fundraising juggernaut, Porter has become what was once unimaginable: a national Democratic star from Orange County, the onetime conservative bastion,” reports The Times. “At stake is not only [Porter’s] political trajectory or the balance of power in the House of Representatives. The contest in the 47th Congressional District has also become a symbolic battle for Orange County’s ideological identity.”
• If you live in O.C. and keep your eye on the news, you’ve likely seen the attack ads on TV and hit piece mailers that Republican Rep. Michelle Steel’s campaign to represent the 45th District (centered by Little Saigon) has launched against her challenger, Democrat Jay Chen, a naval reserve officer. The goal has been to portray him as a communist sympathizer. “Fallout from Steel’s campaign materials is putting her on the defensive with some Asian American Pacific Islander groups,” reports the L.A. Times. “On Saturday, demonstrators from various Asian American Pacific Islander organizations stood along Beach Boulevard outside Steel’s campaign office in Buena Park to protest the congresswoman’s advertisements and what they called ‘McCarthyist tactics’ being used in the race. Protesters held signs that read ‘stop Asian hate’ and ‘red-baiting is race-baiting’ as they called for Steel to apologize.” The full story can be found here.
LIFE & LEISURE
— Two campuses in the Huntington Beach Union High School District, Ocean View and Marina highs, have established a clever fundraiser for their respective ASB programs: Incoming seniors, for a fee, can customize a parking space for their vehicles. Interested students submit a mocked-up proposal, have it approved by school staff, and then largely adhere to the original drawing when recreating it in the parking lot. Mackenzie King, a senior at Ocean View, told reporter Andrew Turner that with so many activities having been canceled since the pandemic, she was happy to be given the opportunity to do something creative. “Painting senior spots was a new activity for seniors, so essentially, we were making history. Pulling in to my spot every morning makes me feel at home here at Ocean View.”
— Rum Social, a restaurant that opened in Laguna Beach earlier this year, was recently nominated for a Restaurant Global Award in the International Hotel and Property Awards 2022. Ken Ussenko, of of Kenneth Ussenko Designs, is a partner at the new restaurant, a joint venture with veteran restaurateur John Fisher. “Every year I submit one or two projects that we design,” said Ussenko. “Rum Social was nominated in the area of California Restaurants. That was exciting for us, after putting so much time and thought into it.”
— My colleague Eric Licas on Friday interviewed Irvine resident and breast cancer patient Joyce Yada when she visited City of Hope’s Lennar Foundation Cancer Center to publicly thank her surgeon Jennifer Tseng for removing tumors found recently. Yada hopes to publicize the importance for Asian Americans to screen regularly for breast cancer, as that segment of the population is seeing a growing number of people diagnosed with the disease. In 1999, more than 122 out of every 100,000 Asian American women screened were diagnosed with breast cancer, according to the CDC. That figure grew to over 143 per 100,000 by 2018.
SPORTS
— I wasn’t aware that 170 universities across the nation field teams for esports — video games as competitive sport, until I read this feature story by L.A. Times writer David Wharton, who reports that UC Irvine is an esports “powerhouse.” Irvine has a coaching staff and uniformed squads playing in leagues based on three popular games: “Overwatch 2,” “League of Legends” and “Valorant.” The Anteaters play their matches at a dedicated esports arena, a large space filled with row upon row of computer stations. The stakes are considerable for students trying to make the team: Each starter receives a $6,000 scholarship, and reserves get half that much. Additional thousands can be won at tournaments during a season that stretches from fall into spring.
— A seven-game losing streak came to an end Sunday night when Trevor Zegras scored his second goal of the game at 2:15 of overtime, and the Anaheim Ducks beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3.
— The Huntington Beach field hockey team defeated Newport Harbor 2-0 in the championship match on Saturday at La Verne Bonita High, capping a dominant campaign that saw the Oilers surrender just two goals throughout the entire season.
CALENDAR THIS
— Field of Valor: The Community Foundation of Orange presents the eighth annual Orange Field of Valor, starting Saturday, Nov. 5 and running through Nov. 12. Handy Park will be transformed into a sea of American flags, to recognize local members of the armed forces. The park is located at 2143 East Oakmont Ave., Orange. Admission is free. Funds raised in support of local military families come from $35 flag sponsorships. If you’re interested in sponsoring a flag, visit this site.
— California Wine Festival: The Paséa Hotel & Spa in Huntington Beach, Saturday, Nov. 12. Sun, wine, food and music. Hours are 1 to 4 p.m. Tickets are on sale now. For more details, including ticket information, go here.
KEEP IN TOUCH
If you have a memory or story about Orange County, I would love to read and share it in this space. Please try to keep your submission to 100 words or less and include your name and current city of residence.
I’d appreciate your help in making this the best newsletter it can be. Please send news tips, your memory of life in O.C., or comments to carol.cormaci@latimes.com.
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