Is Trump support waning in O.C.? 50 turn out for weekend protest, down from 2,000 in 2017
Good morning. It’s Wednesday, April 5. We are Carol Cormaci and Vince Nguyen bringing you this week’s TimesOC newsletter. Together we’ve aggregated the latest local news and events for you.
Arguably the biggest news story of the week was former President Donald Trump’s arraignment yesterday in a Manhattan courtroom, during which he pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsification of business records stemming from the alleged cover up of hush money payments made to keep his 2016 presidential campaign alive.
He is the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges in our nation’s history.
When he knew Manhattan Dist. Atty. Alvin Bragg was closing in on filing charges against him, Trump turned to his MAGA supporters and exhorted them to rally around him in protest of the prosecution.
On March 18, in a post to his social media app Truth Social, the former president claimed his arrest was pending and urged his followers to support him.
His post that day ended with this: “THE FAR & AWAY LEADING REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE AND FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WILL BE ARRESTED ON TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK. PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!”
The polarizing Trump has famously met with success in convincing those who believe in him to do his bidding by staging protests. The most notorious of those events, of course, turned into the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
But there were others, and the Daily Pilot staff recalled the March 2017 MAGA rally and parade at Bolsa Chica State Beach, which drew 2,000 marching protesters who were met by about 30 counterprotesters. Violence broke out that day when a masked anti-Trump protester doused the marchers with pepper spray.
According to a Daily Pilot report by our colleague Ben Brazil, who was at the scene that day six years ago, Travis Guenther, whose wife was also pepper-sprayed, said he was among those who chased the masked man. He hit him with a flag that read “Trump, Make America Great Again.”
“I hit him five times with the flag over his head,” said Guenther, who yelled at the man as the man was detained by law enforcement officials.
That event and subsequent clashes in Surf City were in the minds of the newspaper’s staff when it was learned that a protest in support of Trump and his legal battle was planned for this past Saturday at the Huntington Beach pier. Our Daily Pilot public safety reporter, Eric Licas, showed up with notepad and camera in hand to document it for posterity.
But the expected MAGA crowd was significantly smaller than anticipated, according to Licas’ report. This time, instead of a more impressive crowd of 2,000 individuals standing in support of Trump, about 50 people showed up for the most recent rally, held after criminal charges were officially filed against him March 30 by a grand jury in Manhattan.
Some bore signs, flags or crosses as they chanted “stand up for Trump” and other slogans, occasionally garnering honks and thumbs up from passing motorists.
Though the protest was mainly peaceful, the rally was briefly interrupted when a fight broke out and one supporter, vocal Orange County conservative Nick Tauraus, was struck in the head with a skateboard and taken to the hospital. A 33-year-old San Bernardino man was arrested following the fight in suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon that was not a firearm. One demonstrator who said he witnessed the attack on fellow demonstrators told the Los Angeles Times that the attack was unprovoked.
Is it possible support for Trump is waning in O.C.? The 2024 election cycle will tell the tale.
MORE NEWS
— The pool at Corona del Mar High School could be closed for up to six months or more, according to a news report from our Daily Pilot colleague Matt Szabo, and school insiders, along with parents and other local residents, are not satisfied with the answers they’ve received so far about why there should be such a lengthy closure. A pump malfunction is to blame, and until the right parts can be procured and installed, games and practices will have to happen elsewhere. The school shares usage of the pool with the city of Newport Beach, and it is also used heavily by lap swimmers. In the meantime, the Newport-Mesa Unified School District has been in contact with Estancia and Newport Harbor high schools about temporary pool usage, as well as Orange Coast College and UC Irvine.
— A townhome complex has been unanimously approved by the Huntington Beach Planning Commission and will be located next to Golden West College. As proposed, the Brandywine Homes development will be three stories tall and include 129 townhomes on a 5.62-acre lot. Of the 129 units, 13 would be designated as moderate income housing. Amenities will include a 6,500-square-foot public park available to the general public but maintained by the HOA. Existing businesses in the center currently at the site, a shopping center set to be demolished, include Stumpy’s Hatchet House, 7 Leaves Cafe and the Off the Wall entertainment center.
— Another federal lawsuit has been filed against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over a proposed confined aquatic disposal site in Newport Beach. The site, to be located in Newport Harbor, is intended to contain dredged material from the federal channels that is deemed unsafe for ocean release. OC Coastkeeper, which filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court, argues the project is in violation of the Endangered Species Act, the National Environmental Policy Act and the Administrative Procedure Act. U.S. Army Corp of Engineers is already facing a lawsuit filed Feb. 28 by Friends of Newport Harbor, accusing the agency of Freedom of Information Act violations.
— A Costa Mesa Republican and Iranian American, who spearheaded support for the rights of Iranians being oppressed by the government across Orange County, has entered the race for California’s 73rd Assembly district. Hengameh “Henny” Abraham, a co-owner of a local holistic health and nutrition business and a support staff member for a Costa Mesa charter school site that supports parents who homeschool, could face off against incumbent Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Irvine). Her announcement positions her as the only 2024 Republican candidate in a newly formed district that includes Costa Mesa, Irvine and Tustin.
— In an effort to reduce downtown traffic congestion and parking demand, Laguna Beach will reopen the Canyon, Coastal and Summer Breeze trolley services as part of its summer parking management plan. The free summer trolley services will return with the exception of the Beach trolley, a pilot program introduced last year to provide riderships for residents looking to hit the beaches without the burden of driving and parking.
— The project at the Tennis and Pickleball Club in Newport Beach has gone back and forth between the city and the Planning Commission with much attention from the city’s fervent pickleball community. Final approvals for amendments to proposed developments for the decade-old project received unanimous approval from commissioners at a recent Planning Commission meeting. As of March, redevelopment plans ask for four tennis courts to be maintained, 14 additional pickleball courts, hotel expansion and three single-family condo units. The revised plan will return to the City Council on May 23 and, if approved, eventually to the state Coastal Commission for a local coastal program amendment.
— The Laguna Beach Unified School District board of education held a study session for its updated 10-year facilities master plan, with proposed projects including improvements to athletic facilities and district administrative offices. An aquatics center is among the list of projects, which would bring a new Olympic-sized pool (50 meters) and a 25-meter pool to Laguna Beach High. Other plans shown at the meeting provided for district and high school administrators to share office space on campus, along with a proposed parking structure and tennis courts in place of the district offices.
— Newport Beach City officials were at the private school Carden Hall on Friday to deliver a proclamation declaring March 31, 2023, as Carden Hall Day, and honor founder Jane Jones as part of the school’s 60th anniversary celebration. Founded in 1963, the campus currently serves 461 students from prekindergarten through eighth grade and will be graduating its 58th class in June.
PUBLIC SAFETY AND COURTS
— Sixteen cameras have been installed in Costa Mesa to help police search for vehicles connected to suspected crimes 24 hours a day. The cameras photograph the license plates of passing cars and automatically alert law enforcement whenever one potentially tied to a crime is spotted as it travels through the city. Work to install 31 cameras began in February, and crews plan to have all of them set up by May. Police Chief Ron Lawrence calls the plate-reading tools a “huge asset” to helping law enforcement solve serious crimes.
— The Laguna Beach Police Department recently shared the city’s 2022 crime statistics with the City Council, citing drugs and alcohol as involved in a large percentage of arrests within the city. According to Police Chief Jeff Calvert, the department responded to 41,000 calls for services last year, with average response times bettering national goals. Laguna Beach police made 1,165 arrests in 2022, down from 1,306 the previous year. Calvert attributed the dip in arrests to a staffing shortage and the decriminalization of drug offenses.
— Overriding city staff recommendations, the Newport Beach City Council decided to reject a declaration of a local state of emergency in the city amid ongoing winter storms. A local state of emergency allows jurisdictions to more directly access state and federal financial assistance, but council members said they felt findings to do so were insufficient. The item was agendized in part because of the county’s decision to declare a local emergency earlier this month after storm damage in Seal Beach, Newport Beach and Laguna Beach.
— A man who fled from police in Seal Beach before getting into a multivehicle crash in Long Beach that left one person dead Tuesday was wanted by federal authorities. Chaz Lamar Long, 39, of Antioch, allegedly took off after officers stopped the silver 2006 Lexus he was driving for a traffic violation near Pacific Coast Highway and Marina Drive, according to Seal Beach police. Sara Shorteno, 74, of Toronto, was riding in one of the other eight vehicles involved in the crash and died at the scene, police said. Long was on parole following his release from a federal prison in Phoenix on Nov. 12, 2021. Officials did not immediately provide details about the case he was wanted for.
— The Costa Mesa Police Department has partnered with Project 529 to help locate stolen or missing bikes and return them to their owners. Residents can register their bicycles for free online or through the “529 Garage” app, issue stolen bike alerts and search a database of recovered bikes already being viewed by police in Newport Beach, Huntington Beach and Irvine. The program replaces an old ordinance abolished last month that required all bicycles be registered through the police department and levied punishments for those in possession of unregistered bikes.
— Your eyes don’t deceive you. The picture above is the same one you saw in last week’s newsletter, but now there’s a different story involving Christopher Eduard, 53, who already stood accused of exposing himself to a 9-year-old girl and sexually assaulting her at an Irvine public library. He has been arrested again on suspicion of groping an 11-year-old girl inside a Target store in Irvine, according to the Irvine Police Department. Eduard was out on bail when he was arrested in his Los Angeles home on suspicion of sexual battery of an 11-year-old. Police believe Eduard could be responsible for other incidents and urge anyone with information to contact Irvine Police Det. Nate Ridlon at nridlon@cityofirvine.org.
— A driver was killed in a two-vehicle crash involving a big rig and a sedan on the 22 Freeway in Garden Grove, authorities said Saturday. The crash on the westbound freeway at Valley View Street occurred about 11:55 p.m. Friday, the California Highway Patrol reported. A representative from the coroner’s office was called to the location at 12:29 a.m., the CHP said.
— A 49-year-old former security manager for a Newport Beach bar was sentenced Monday to 18 months in federal prison for possessing and dealing other drugs. Sean Robert McLaughlin was convicted of a count of distribution of cocaine and four counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA and hydrocodone. McLaughlin was previously acquitted Oct. 26 of distributing fentanyl that killed a man seven years ago at a bar he worked at in Newport Beach known as American Junkie.
— A former Orange County pharmacist was sentenced Monday to 15 years in prison for her role in a healthcare fraud scheme that bilked the U.S. military’s healthcare plan out of more than $11 million. The scheme involved the filling of more than 1,000 bogus prescriptions for compounded medications at the expense of the Tricare healthcare plan. Sandy Mai Trang Nguyen, 43, of Irvine, was a pharmacist at the now-shuttered Irvine Wellness Pharmacy. She was also ordered to pay $11,098,755 in restitution.
BUSINESS
— Activision Blizzard, the video game giant that has an office in Irvine, was accused Monday by the Department of Justice of limiting competition among esports players in its professional “Overwatch” and “Call of Duty” leagues. “The Justice Department’s complaint said that the independently owned teams that competed in the two Activision leagues agreed to a ‘competitive balance tax’ that ‘effectively operated as a salary cap,’” according to the Los Angeles Times report. “This, the complaint said, violated the Sherman Antitrust Act by limiting competition in the league and suppressing players’ pay.” Microsoft is set to acquire Activision Blizzard for $69 billion.
— Saying it was inspired by the March Madness season, BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse yesterday issued a news release announcing plans to unveil a refurbished basketball court in Santa Ana — the home of the first BJ’s location. “Presented in partnership with nonprofit Project Backboard and the Santa Ana Parks & Recreation team, BJ’s is giving back to its community by revitalizing Portola Park’s public basketball court featuring a vibrant, large-scale original mural for all to enjoy,” according to the release.
— City of Hope Orange County is getting closer to doubling down on cancer care in Irvine. A six-story cancer hospital — touted as the county’s only specialty cancer hospital exclusively focused on treating and curing cancer — is slated to open in 2025 and will be connected to the Lennar Foundation Cancer Center that opened last August. City of Hope is investing more than $1.5 billion into the campus as a whole.
— Fountain Valley-based Hyundai Motor America reported this week its total March sales of 75,404 units, a 27% increase compared with March 2022 and, according to a news release, the best March in Hyundai history. This was the fifth consecutive month with a total monthly sales record. March retail sales were led by the Venue, Elantra HEV, Santa Fe HEV, Tucson HEV, Santa Cruz and Kona N. Hyundai eco-friendly vehicle models.
— More than 20 local and nationally established brands will join outdoor retail and dining destination River Street Marketplace set to open in San Juan Capistrano this fall. The 60,000-square-foot marketplace will open in an area that is already home to Orange County favorites like Heritage Barbecue, Mayfield Restaurant, Bloom Restaurant + Bar and brunch spot Breezy Restaurant & Lounge.
LIFE & LEISURE
— A new set of trails has opened at Saddleback Wilderness, offering 3.3 miles of new hiking, biking and equestrian pathways at OC Parks’ Irvine Ranch Open Space with 360-degree views of the mountains and ocean. The space was once the site of America’s first off-road motorsports park, known as Saddleback Park, which closed in 1984. The five new routes range from easy to moderate in difficulty, with picnic tables, portable toilets and parking for horse trailers now open to the public. Currently, Saddleback Wilderness is only accessible through scheduled self-guided and docent-led public programs, with advance reservation. For a full list of activities and programs and to preregister, visit letsgooutside.org.
— “The Best of California with Pat Pattison” is an on-air road trip through the Golden State that airs Sundays at 6:30 p.m. on the NTD network. Since 2021, Seal Beach resident Pat Pattison, who grew up in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa in the ’50s and ’60s, has been producing segments for the weekly, 30-minute show appearing in 40 markets. Viewers can also see him on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. The TV show is part of what Pattison calls his “second act” career — a passion he began pursuing after 30 years in marketing and advertising in the television industry and as vice president of Creative Services at Disneyland. Trivia fans might be interested to know Pattison was the marketing genius behind the Jack in the Box restaurant antenna balls.
— Surf City Nights held its spring grand opening in Huntington Beach last Tuesday, with about 80 vendors, up from 50 at the end of last year, including about 15 participating for the first time. The community street fair and farmer’s market is now able to fully utilize each of the first three blocks of Main Street after the City Council voted to reopen the second block of the street to traffic. The event runs Tuesdays from 5 to 9 p.m.
SPORTS
— Newport Harbor senior goalkeeper Anna Reed, headed to USC, leads the 2022-23 Daily Pilot Girls’ Water Polo Dream Team selections as the Player of the Year. The four-year varsity starter helped the Sailors win the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions for the first time in program history this year. The 5-foot-7 goalkeeper also helped Newport Harbor win both the CIF Southern Section Open Division and CIF State SoCal Regional Division I titles as a junior. Reed capped her senior campaign earning first-team All-Surf League and first-team All-CIF honors.
— Josh Beaty has been announced as the new Fountain Valley boys’ basketball coach. Beaty, who most recently coached at Buena Park High, has 11 years of head coaching experience and also led Crean Lutheran to its first CIF title in 2017-18. “It’s an honor to be selected as the next head basketball coach at Fountain Valley High School and join the Baron Family,” Beaty said in a statement. “I’ve heard so much about how wonderful the people in the community are, and I’m so excited to meet the players and their families and build relationships with them.”
— The Paul Troxel trophy is back on the west side in Costa Mesa. Estancia junior Andrew Mits threw a shutout against Costa Mesa on Friday as the Eagles won the Battle for the Bell rivalry for the first time since 2019. Earlier in the week, the Eagles edged the Mustangs with a 10-5 victory. The win kept Estancia in first place in the Orange Coast League standings. The Eagles are looking to capture their first Orange Coast League title since 2019.
— The Huntington Beach High baseball team captured the prestigious National High School Invitational tournament Saturday. The Oilers topped Orange County rival JSerra 8-1 in the title game in Cary, N.C. It’s the second time the program has won the NHSI after previously winning the title in 2016. Oilers right-handed pitcher Tyler Bellerose earned Tournament MVP honors. The sophomore pitched into the seventh inning of the championship game and also pitched three scoreless innings in relief earlier in the tournament. Huntington Beach seniors Dean Carpentier and Ralphy Velazquez also earned all-tournament team honors for the Oilers (12-6), who have now won 10 straight games at the time of writing this newsletter.
— Meanwhile, the Michelle Carew Classic was underway in Anaheim as the Marina and Huntington Beach softball teams finished with impressive showings in the local tournament at Peralta Canyon Park. Both teams registered signature wins to reach the tournament semifinals. The Oilers recorded wins over Canyon View and Norco, the top team in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 polls entering the weekend, before falling to eventual tournament champions Los Alamitos. The Vikings, the top-ranked team in Division 2, grabbed extra-inning wins over Esperanza and Murrieta Mesa, the No. 6- and No. 3-ranked teams in the Division 1 poll, respectively, before getting knocked out by Mountain View St. Francis.
— Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon was suspended and fined an undisclosed amount by Major League Baseball on Monday following an incident with a fan after the team’s season opener. A social media video shows Rendon grabbing the shirt of a fan and cursing at him as the team walked back to the clubhouse after the Angels’ 2-1 loss at Oakland Coliseum. Rendon started serving his four-game suspension Monday against the Seattle Mariners. It’s the second time in two seasons that Rendon has been suspended.
CALENDAR THIS
— Newport Beach’s Eastbluff community will celebrate the opening of its Butterfly Garden, the newest addition to Blue Heron Park, at a garden party on Earth Day, Saturday, April 22, from noon to 2 p.m. Designed and planted by the nonprofit Pollinator Protection Fund, the garden will feature flowering California native plants such as buckwheat, lilac verbena, sun drops and seaside daisies planted amid grasses and milkweed. The community is invited to attend the Garden Party to celebrate the project and learn more about the importance of pollinators. Lunch will be donated by Champagnes Kitchen, with crafts and games for the children. Bring a blanket or chair to enjoy the day. There is no cost to attend but reservations are requested at info@eastbluff.net. Blue Heron Park is located at 2615 Basswood St., Newport Beach.
KEEP IN TOUCH
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We appreciate your help in making this the best newsletter it can be. Please send news tips, your memory of life in O.C. (photos welcome!) or comments to carol.cormaci@latimes.com or vincent.nguyen@latimes.com.
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