Uber is driving deeper into healthcare by offering to take patients in every U.S. market where it operates to their next medical appointment.
The ride-hailing service said Thursday its Uber Health business will handle rides set up by doctor’s offices or other healthcare providers and then bill that business, not the patient, for the service. The company said rides can be set up within a few hours or days in advance. Patients won’t need access to a smartphone to use the service.
Uber began testing the service last summer. More than 100 health care providers have signed up including hospitals, clinics and physical therapy centers.
Company leaders said they are expanding because there’s a need.
“There are a lot of people out there who are not going to the doctor simply because they can’t physically make it there,” said Uber Health executive Jay Holley.
He added that the service also represents a business opportunity for Uber by connecting the company with a lot of first-time users.
Uber will bill care providers who sign up for the service monthly based on their usage. Holley said some may pass the cost on to their customers, but most of the providers it has worked with so far pay for the rides out of their operating budget.
Uber rival Lyft offers a similar service called Concierge, which allows healthcare providers to set up rides for patients to get to appointments. The providers pay for the rides. Lyft also has patient transport partnerships with larger healthcare providers.
Health insurers and others have long recognized the need to help some patients, especially those with low incomes, make their medical appointments.
Molina Healthcare Inc. has offered a transportation benefit to its customers for more than 25 years and says that more than 3 million people are eligible. Molina specializes in administering the state- and federally funded Medicaid programs for poor people and the disabled.
ATLANTA — Pro-gun Georgia lawmakers scored a political victory Thursday over Delta Air Lines, making good on Republican threats to deny the company a hefty tax break after it cut ties with the National Rifle Association in the wake of the deadly shooting at a Florida high school.
The state House and Senate within hours of each other passed a sweeping tax bill that Republicans had amended to strip out a sales tax exemption on jet fuel. Atlanta-based Delta would have been the prime beneficiary of the tax break, which would have been worth an estimated $38 million.
The political battle at the Georgia Capitol was the latest in a renewed debate over gun control and school safety after the Feb. 14 shooting. GOP Gov. Nathan Deal criticized the Delta controversy as an “unbecoming squabble” but said he would sign the broader tax measure in whatever form it passed.
The Senate’s presiding officer is Republican Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, who vowed Monday to stop any tax break that would benefit Delta — sparking a showdown at the state Capitol between gun-rights supporters and one of Georgia’s largest private employers.
The Delta provision barely came up in either legislative chamber during debate on the underlying tax bill, designed in part to reimburse Georgia taxpayers for $5.2 billion in extra state revenues expected in the next five years because of the recent federal tax changes approved by Congress.
A day after Deal blamed election-year posturing for Delta debate, Cagle took a softer tone in celebrating victory Thursday.
“Obviously the political environment does sometimes get a little testy, but in the end, it’s all about the product,” said Cagle, who is running this year to succeed the term-limited governor. “And the product we have today is something that all of us can be very proud of.”
Even as Deal sought Wednesday to minimize potential damage to Georgia’s business-friendly reputation, the GOP-dominated Senate Rules Committee chopped from the broader tax bill a provision to lift the state sales tax on jet fuel.
Rank-and-file Republicans in the Senate stood by Cagle’s threat to squash the jet fuel perk, which he announced Monday with a tweet that said: “Corporations cannot attack conservatives and expect us not to fight back.”
The chamber took up the full tax bill Thursday with a 34-15 vote to prohibit amendments, blocking any efforts to restore the Delta tax break. No Republicans opposed the parliamentary move.
The tax bill had previously passed the state House before the Delta-NRA controversy erupted, with the jet fuel exemption intact. But the House quickly approved the Senate’s version Thursday with a 135-24 vote.
“It’s been strenuous,” said GOP Sen. Michael Williams of Cumming, another candidate for governor. “We’ve been attacked by the media, we’ve been attacked by the left. Big corporate has gone after us. And we’ve stayed strong. We’ve even stayed strong against our own governor.”
Among Democrats voting against the tax bill was Sen. Nikema Williams of Atlanta, who applauded companies that have taken swift actions on guns after the Florida shootings. She said Delta’s decision to end its NRA discounts swayed her to support the jet fuel tax break.
“The small steps that Delta and Dick’s Sporting Goods are taking, to take a stand and say enough is enough, is what we all need to be doing as adults,” the Democratic lawmaker said. “We’re the leaders of this state and we need to be coming together for solutions, not bullying corporations who are trying to do the right thing.”
Dick’s Sporting Goods had previously announced it would no longer sell assault-style weapons like the one used in the Florida shooting.
Deal, serving his last year in office, said he plans to sign the broader tax bill, even if it’s without the airline tax break he had pushed for. Deal said he will pursue exempting jet fuel from sales taxes separately.
That could be a tough sell with GOP leaders in the legislature. Though he refrained Thursday from further fiery rhetoric on Delta, Cagle showed no softening of his opposition to the jet fuel exemption.
“I think everyone knows my position on this issue, so I don’t see any wiggle room, no,” Cagle told reporters.
Delta’s decision to stop offering NRA members discounted fares was announced in the wake of the deadly Valentine’s Day shooting at a Florida high school. The airline employs 33,000 workers in Georgia. Its busy Atlanta hub has made Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport the busiest in the world.
Deal has said the broader tax bill “represents one of the single largest income tax reforms in the history of our state.” It would cut the top income tax rate for individuals and businesses from 6 to 5.75 percent in 2019, with the option for legislators to further cut it to 5.5 percent in 2020. It also doubles the standard deduction for all filers.
It lived through the advent of Netflix, Redbox and bootleg sites where films are free.
Though it took more than a year, it even reopened after a 2005 fire gutted the store.
After renting films in Anaheim for 25 years, Movie Town is finally closing.
Movie Town video store in Anaheim is closing March 10 after 25 years because they can no longer afford their lease. Wednesday, February 28, 2018. (Photo by Sam Gangwer, Contributing Photographer)
A customer looks through movies still on the shelves and available to buy at Movie Town video store in Anaheim. The store is closing March 10 after 25 years because they can no longer afford their lease. Wednesday, February 28, 2018. (Photo by Sam Gangwer, Contributing Photographer)
Longtime customers Esther Walzer and Manuel Rocha search for videos to buy at Movie Town video store in Anaheim. The store is closing March 10 after 25 years because they can no longer afford their lease. Wednesday, February 28, 2018. (Photo by Sam Gangwer, Contributing Photographer)
Daniel Rappelhofer, assistant general manager of Movie Town video store in Anaheim is closing the business March 10 after 25 years because they can no longer afford their lease. Wednesday, February 28, 2018. (Photo by Sam Gangwer, Contributing Photographer)
Manuel Rocha, longtime customer at Movie Town video store in Anaheim looks through a stack of videos to buy. The store is closing March 10 after 25 years because they can no longer afford their lease. in Anaheim on Wednesday, February 28, 2018. (Photo by Sam Gangwer, Contributing Photographer)
Some of the videos still available to buy at Movie Town video store in Anaheim. The store is closing March 10 after 25 years because they can no longer afford their lease. in Anaheim on Wednesday, February 28, 2018. (Photo by Sam Gangwer, Contributing Photographer)
When faced with a rent increase that would have necessitated a raise in prices for customers, Assistant General Manager Daniel Rappelhofer said, “The owner just decided that it’s better to go out on top than to go down failing.”
Movie Town will vacate its Brookhurst Street storefront by March 10.
Longtime customer Esther Walzer, 83, said Wednesday she’s “very sad to see it go.”
When Rappelhofer, 43, took a job tending the video store’s VHS collection he said, he “thought I’d do it till I found something else.” That was 22 years – almost half his life – ago.
Movie Town is now lined with empty shelves, and all the remaining inventory is for sale. The aisles are decorated with worn-looking cardboard cutouts advertising “Pirates of the Carribean,” “The Hulk,” and a display for “300” with Gerard Butler’s head held up with packing tape.
Rappelhofer isn’t sure what he’ll do next, but said he loved his job – joking with the customers, watching most of the movies in the store and hearing excuses for why people returned their movie late.
“The craziest one happened to be the truth,” he said. “The guy was bit by a brown recluse. His movie came back a month and a half late.”
After the man showed him the scarring on his leg from the spider bite, Rappelhofer waived the late fees.
Rappelhofer said he’s planning to put a post on sites such as Yelp to thank customers and let them know the store is closing, but “I haven’t done it yet, only because it’s like writing a eulogy.”
Known as Mr. J, Coach J, or JJ, longtime former Corona del Mar High athletic director, coach and teacher Jerry Jelnick made a triumphant return to the campus during the CdM Baseball Alumni game and barbecue Feb. 24, as the program unveiled its renovated field and newly dedicated Hall of Fame Walk.
Jelnick, an assistant coach on the Sea Kings’ 1981 CIF Southern Section 2-A championship baseball team, retired last year after 38 years as a teacher/coach, the last 34 at CdM.
“(Retirement is) going well,” Jelnick said. “I am enjoying my morning swims and the long walks I can take with my dog. I have also been able to reconnect with good friends and do some travel that I wasn’t able to do for years because of coaching and teaching.”
Coach J, Jerry Jelnick, retired last year after 38 years as a teacher/coach, the last 34 at Corona del Mar High.(Photo courtesy of Jerry Jelnick)
The affable Jelnick admits that he misses the kids and his former colleagues at CdM, along with the “wonderful experiences” he enjoyed as a P.E. teacher and coach. Jelnick also served as athletic director for 15 years, football coach for 22 and baseball coach for 11.
On a day the Sea Kings honored the late Aaron Harper, their former coach, with the first stadium seat, there were three players — Larry Lagano, Rob Murar and Mario Ybarra — and one coach, Jelnick, who attended the alumni game to represent the ’81 squad, which won the first of three CIF titles achieved by the school. New to the facility, each member and coach of the CIF championship squads are listed on the CdM Baseball Hall of Fame Walk.
“Jeff Pries was our leader, a multi-sport athlete who came out late in ’81 because of a CIF championship in basketball,” Jelnick said. “Jeff was 20-0 as a pitcher in his high school career, the CIF Player of the Year in baseball. When he wasn’t pitching, he was playing shortstop: a great person off the field and a great competitor on the field.
“Ken Santoro was also a player of note. He was our No. 2 pitcher, but he would have been No. 1 on any other team anywhere. We had a great 1-2 combination on the mound that year. Ken was just an all-around great team player.”
Santoro was the surprise starting pitcher in the CIF 2-A championship game against Santa Fe Springs. Former CdM head coach Tom Trager gave the ball to Santoro instead of Pries, who was drafted by Toronto out of high school, pitched at UCLA and was drafted in the first round by the New York Yankees in 1984, before an arm injury in the minors cut his career short.
“What I recall most about the 1981 team was the players’ mental toughness,” Jelnick said. “Seven of our starters were multi-sport athletes who were accustomed to the demands of travel, to close contests, and to comebacks. The five starters who joined us after football season included Brent Melbon, Gordon Moss and Chris White. Clay Tucker, a starter on the 1981 team, went on to play college football at Orange Coast College under his dad, Dick Tucker. Bob Shollin also went on to play college football under defensive back coach Pete Carroll at University of the Pacific.”
Jelnick said the ’81 team had a “never give-up attitude,” and defeated future seven-year major league pitcher Todd Burns of Santa Fe Springs in the CIF 2-A title game at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.
“Not too bad for a team that came to the field with none of the advantages so common today – private coaching, club and travel ball, (and) professional strength training,” said Jelnick, who added that it was an honor to coach with Trager. “There is a quote: ‘If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go as a team.’ The 1981 team went far for a reason.”
GLENDALE, Ariz. – It might take 40 years but baseball’s Midsummer Classic could be heading back to Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers have not hosted an All-Star Game since 1980 but Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten confirmed the team has been aggressively working to bring the event back to Los Angeles.
“We want it for the fans,” Kasten said. “We obviously are very interested as we have been since the day we got here. We’ve had a lot of conversations. I think the conversations have been good. I think we’re making progress on putting everything in place to get the game.
“I don’t want to say what year yet but we are working on getting the very first one we can.”
That would be 2020, the 40th anniversary of the last All-Star Game hosted by the Dodgers. This year’s game will be played at Nationals Park and the 2019 game has been awarded to the Cleveland Indians. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred told reporters at last week’s Cactus League Media Day that he expects to announce hosts for the 2020, 2021 and 2022 All-Star Games “in the near future.” MLB has traditionally tried to alternate National League and American League cities.
The Los Angeles City Council agreed to a motion Wednesday that authorizes a contract between the Dodgers and the city to use city resources associated with the event. The Dodgers will pay the city $100,000 if Dodger Stadium is selected to host the game in 2020.
According to councilman Gil Cedillo, MLB officials will be in Los Angeles to evaluate Dodger Stadium as a potential All-Star host. Since 1980, the satellite events around the game itself have grown tremendously, requiring more facilities and resources.
The city council motion cites $89.4 million in economic impact from hosting the All-Star Game. The NBA All-Star Game was just played in Los Angeles last month. The Angels have hosted the game three times – two times since it was last played at Dodger Stadium (1989 and 2010).
GLENDALE GRUNGE
A handful of players who were out sick on Wednesday were back in camp Thursday – Josh Fields, Kenta Maeda, Yasiel Puig and Donovan Solano among them. But Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said there were still more than a dozen players who missed a second day of workouts due to the flu-like symptoms that hit more than 25 players and staff members. Chase Utley, Corey Seager, Cody Bellinger, Kike’ Hernandez, Austin Barnes and Hyun-Jin Ryu were among the group still out. Ross Stripling was scheduled to start Thursday’s Cactus League game but was sent home sick.
Fields said his symptoms – chills, body ache – were not as severe as some of his teammates. Everyone was checked for the flu, he said, but the results were negative.
“Hopefully, it’s just a one-day thing,” Fields said.
For most players, a few days absence won’t be a big issue. But Roberts acknowledged it is “a minor setback” for starting pitchers like Ryu (who was scratched from his first scheduled start of the spring Wednesday) and Maeda (who missed a between-starts bullpen session).
“It is a setback when you’re looking at a starting pitcher getting built up,” Roberts said. “It’s so specific to starting pitchers. But I’m sure we still have time to recoup that time.”
CLOSING TIME
Kenley Jansen was in camp both Wednesday and Thursday but said he had a mild version of the illness sidelining many of his teammates. Jansen said he was still feeling a little fatigued after not sleeping well.
Nonetheless, he threw 25 pitches in a live batting practice session to minor-leaguers Starling Heredia, Johan Mieses and Cody Thomas Thursday. It was just Jansen’s second time throwing to hitters this spring and he is not scheduled to pitch in a Cactus League game until March 9. That might be one of only two games he appears in this spring as the Dodgers ease him into the season after heavy workloads each of the past two postseasons.
Jansen wasn’t sharp in the first simulated inning Thursday and said he has some work to do with pitching coach Rick Honeycutt “to get my arm to catch up to my lower body.”
“Every year I have that,” Jansen said. “I’m not even worrying about that anymore or stressing about it. It’s just a process I have to go through. Being a big guy, you just have to make sure everything get back to where it used to be.”
Daniel Rappelhofer has worked for 22 years at Anaheim’s Movie Time, which is closing by March 10 because of a rent increase. He offered a few suggestions for movies to watch – and to avoid.
Cheesy movie: “Monster in the Closet” (1986)
IMDb plot summary: After several people and a dog are found dead in their closets, a mild-mannered reporter, a college professor, her son and a befuddled professor band together to uncover the mystery.
Rappelhofer’s take: “The victim always just got yanked into the closet. Clothes would end up flying out. It was just the most absurd thing and we couldn’t stop watching it.”
Heather Donahue turns the camera on herself during her confession scene from the horror film “The Blair Witch Project.” (AP Photo/Artisan Entertainment)
Biggest let-down: “The Blair Witch Project” (1999)
IMDb plot summary: Three film students vanish after traveling into a Maryland forest to film a documentary on the local Blair Witch legend, leaving only their footage behind.
Rappelhofer’s take: “When ‘Blair Witch Project’ came out, I got sucked into it” and didn’t realize it was fiction, he said. When he found out, “It was still a great movie, but I was really annoyed.”
“High School Musical” tells the story of two high school students – Troy (Zac Efron), a popular basketball player and Gabriella (Vanessa Anne Hudgens), a shy, brainy newcomer – who share a secret passion for singing.<br />(DISNEY CHANNEL/FRED HAYES)
Surprisingly popular: “High School Musical” (2006)
IMDb plot summary: Troy and Gabriella – two teens who are worlds apart – meet at a karaoke contest and discover their mutual love for music.
Rappelhofer’s take: “When somebody would come up with a movie like ‘High School musical,’ we’d be like, ‘Did you know you grabbed this by accident?’”
Not a fan: “Only God Forgives” 2013
IMDB plot summary: Julian, a drug-smuggler thriving in Bangkok’s criminal underworld, sees his life get even more complicated when his mother compels him to find and kill whoever is responsible for his brother’s recent death.
Rappelhofer’s take: “There’s one movie I actually beg customers not to rent when they bring it up. You can’t tell what is going on.”
Bruce Willis in ‘Die Hard.” (Peter Sorel, 20th Century Fox)
Desert island choice: “Die Hard” (1988)
IMDB plot summary: John McClane, officer of the NYPD, tries to save his wife, Holly Gennaro, and several others that were taken hostage by German terrorist Hans Gruber during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles.
Rappelhofer’s take: “People don’t know it’s a Christmas movie. (When) other people are watching Rudolph (or) Frosty, I’m watching ‘Die Hard.’”
The Joshua Tree couple accused of raising their three children in a wood-and-scrap-material box for the last four years on a trash-strewn piece of land is scheduled to be in Morongo Superior Court on Friday, March 2, San Bernardino County sheriff’s booking records indicated.
A Joshua Tree couple were arrested after San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies found their three children had been living in a box for 4 years at the 7000 block of Sunfair Road in Joshua Tree.<br />(Coutesy of Google maps)
Mona Kirk, 51, and Daniel Panico, 73, were arrested on suspicion of cruelty to a child on Wednesday, Feb. 28.
As of 11:15 a.m. Friday, felony child-abuse charges had only been filed against Kirk.
A search of court records showed nothing filed against Panico, but he was still listed as an inmate in the the Morongo Jail in the sheriff’s booking log.
The children, ages 11, 13 and 14, reportedly lived in the large, rectangular box — approximately 20 feet long, 4 feet high and 10 feet wide — for about four years.
It wasn’t clear where the family had been staying prior to that, said Cindy Bachman, spokeswoman for the Sheriff’s Department. She added that she believed the family had lived locally.
Investigators said the children did not have adequate food.
Wednesday afternoon, a deputy was patrolling the rural area in the 7000 block of Sun Fair Road in Joshua Tree Wednesday when he spotted a travel-trailer on a property that appeared to be abandoned. He then saw the box and decided to investigate, officials said, finding the family.
Three children were found living inside a box on a property in the 7000 block of Sun Fair Road in Joshua Tree. Their parents, Mona Kirk, 51, and Daniel Panico, 73, were taken into custody by San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies Wednesday. (Courtesy photo)
The children were not registered at any local public school, officials said. Investigators were checking to see if the kids were registered with a home-school system. No study materials were initially found.
Authorities said the children were not locked in or held captive. Kirk would sleep in the box with the children while Panico slept in the travel-trailer.
Several large holes and mounds of trash and human feces were found on the property, and about 30 to 40 cats roamed inside the trailer, the sheriff’s statement says.
Children and Family Service responded to the scene and took custody of the children.
Detectives asked that anyone with information call sheriff’s deputies at 760-366-4175. To remain anonymous, contact WeTip at 888-78-CRIME (27463) or go online at www.wetip.com.
Marcus Samuelsson’s fried chicken is hands-down one of the most irresistible I’ve tasted. The celebrity chef/TV personality-restaurateur uses boneless-skinless thighs, the part of the bird prized for its deep richness. He cooks the chicken twice, insuring that each piece is perfectly done.
First, he simmers the chicken in a flavor-packed coconut milk mixture for 10 to 12 minutes. Once cooled, each piece is blanketed with a cornstarch-panko breadcrumb combo and quickly deep fried. It ends up crunchy outside and moist inside with a just-right spiciness. He likes to serve it over a bed of cooked greens.
Samuelsson’s Fried Chicken
Yield: 6 servings
INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons peanut oil, plus 4 cups for frying, divided use
Cook’s notes: I prefer a little less spiciness and substitute either one jalapeno or one Serrano chili for the two Scotch bonnet chilies. Use caution when working with fresh chilies; wash hands and work surface thoroughly upon completion and do NOT touch face or eyes.
PROCEDURE
1. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a large deep skillet on medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Working in batches to avoid overcrowding, add chicken and brown on both sides. Remove chicken. Add garlic, chilies and curry paste to pan; cook until golden and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add coconut milk, lime juice, and 1 cup water; return chicken to pan. Bring to simmer and cook, uncovered, until chicken is cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
2. Combine cornstarch and panko in shallow dish. Place egg whites in separate dish. Dip chicken in eggs white, then roll it in panko mixture. Coat well.
3. Heat 4 cups oil to 350 degrees in a large deep pan. Cautiously add chicken pieces and fry until golden brown on both sides, 4 to 5 minutes total cooking time. Transfer to paper towels to drain excess oil. Season with salt.
Source: “New American Table” by Marcus Samuelsson (Wiley, $40)
When five people in different cities independently decide to stop hitting themselves in the head with hammers, it’s not collusion.
There are reasons why useful free agents like Mike Moustakas, Jake Arrieta, Melky Cabrera, Lance Lynn, Koji Uehara, Jonathan Lucroy and others aren’t playing baseball as February becomes March.
For one thing, nobody really needs seven weeks of spring training. For another, not as many major league teams are trying to win.
But the main reason might be Carl Crawford.
The Dodgers paid him $21.8 million to sit at home in Houston last year. He wasn’t physically capable of playing anymore, but he was still under contract. Fortunately, with direct deposit, he didn’t have to run to the bank.
The Dodgers also paid Alex Guerrero $7.5 million not to play. You remember,Guerrero, the second baseman of the future.
But then the Yankees paid Alex Rodriguez $21 million, the Red Sox paid Allen Craig $11 million, the Angels gave Josh Hamilton $26 million, and the Phillies enriched Ryan Howard by $10 million.
In a particularly inspired example of double-dipping, Prince Fielder made $18 million from Texas, $6 million from Detroit.
Baseball’s luxury-tax threshold is $197 million and there is real pain involved when you surpass it, Difficult enough to fill all the holes with quality when you’re concentrating on paying players who actually play.
Besides, some teams are still wielding the hammer.
The Cubs signed Yu Darvish for six years, $126 million. It might work, it might not, but it’s not bad for a guy who was 10-12 with a 3.86 ERA in 2017 and only got through two commercial breaks in Game 7 of the World Series.
The Padres lavished $144 million on Eric Hosmer, for eight years. At least they’re “only” paying $13 million a year for the final three years of the contract, which will take Hosmer through age 36.
The Brewers presented Lorenzo Cain with $80 million for five years. He is 31.
So is Wade Davis, who signed a startling three-year, $52 million contract to become the Rockies’ closer.
Young players are the coin of the realm. Of the top 25 ranked hitters in OPS last year, thirteen were 27 or younger. Only one, Nelson Cruz of Seattle, was over 35.
Everyone in baseball noticed that the Dodgers, with their fanciful payroll, won all those postseason games with a lineup that usually had five players making at or near the minimum salary.
Meanwhile, more clubs are kissing off the 2018 season, and 2019 too. By stripping their rosters, they shrink the market.
This, as veteran outfielder Brandon Moss has pointed out, is partially the fault of the MLB Players Association. They resisted all suggestions of a salary cap, which the other three major sports have. In doing so, they gave away the opportunity for a salary floor, or a minimum team payroll.
So Derek Jeter, in his first opportunity to run a major league club, ordered a teardown of the Marlins. In Tampa Bay they wonder if the last departing Ray will turn out the lights at Tropicana Field and, if so, could anyone tell?
Detroit began dismantling its roster last season, donating Justin Verlander and a championship to Houston in exchange for minor leaguers. The Tigers still have Miguel Cabrera, whose big legs are showing the weight of 35 birthdays. Cabrera hit 16 homers with 60 RBIs last year. Jordan Zimmermann was 8-13 with a 6.08 ERA. Detroit owes Zimmermann $74 million for the next three seasons. It owes Cabrera $184 million for the next six.
And the Pirates, having laboriously built a ballpark and a club that turned Pittsburgh into a baseball town for at least six months a year, threw all that in the shredder when they traded Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole.
Some clubs look at Houston in 2017 and the Cubs in 2016. They think a stopover at Rock Bottom is inevitable if you want a championship, kind of like changing planes in Atlanta. That’s a misread of both situations.
Houston kept Altuve and ex-Cy Young Award winner Dallas Kuechel. The Cubs drafted Kris Bryant after Houston used its first-overall pick elsewhere, and Theo Epstein traded Ryan Dempster for Matt Hendricks, Andrew Casher for Anthony Rizzo, and Scott Feldman and Steve Clevenger for Arrieta. Get low-cost ingredients like that, and you don’t have to add much water.
Arrieta, Moustakas, Lynn and the others will be chewing sunflower seeds in big-league dugouts when real play begins. It is hoped that none of them will ever be paid not to play. That’s not collusion. That’s management.
SAN ANTONIO – With their number of healthy and available players dwindling, the Lakers on Friday signed former UCLA star Travis Wear to a 10-day contract.
Wear, 27, has spent the last two years with the South Bay Lakers in the G-League after starting each of those seasons in training camp with the Lakers.
A 6-foot-10 forward who attended Mater Dei before going to UCLA, Wear has averaged 16.7 points and 8.3 rebounds with South Bay this season. He recently played for the USA men’s team in the first round of FIBA World Cup qualifying.
Wear and his twin brother, David, started their college careers at North Carolina in 2009, but transferred to UCLA, where they starred from 2011-14.
The Lakers (27-34) are coming off a 131-113 win over the Heat in Miami on Thursday night. They have won four games in a row, but are without rookie Josh Hart, who started 10 straight games before suffering a broken bone in his left hand during practice in Miami on Wednesday.
Hart was scheduled to undergo surgery on Friday morning in L.A.
In the win over the Heat, Brandon Ingram left in the fourth quarter due to a strained left hip flexor and is listed as questionable for Saturday against the Spurs.
It’s a run of bad luck for a team that waived veteran Corey Brewer earlier this week. Brewer went on to join the Oklahoma City Thunder.
A 24-year-old man charged with the slaying of a woman whose body was found Wednesday, Feb.28, at Talbert Regional Park in Costa Mesa is suspected of beating her to death with a tree branch, according to court records.
Daniel Correa, a transient who previously lived in Santa Ana, faces one count of murder with a sentencing enhancement for use of a deadly weapon. He is slated to be arraigned March 16 in Orange County Superior Court.
Costa Mesa police have said Correa phoned them and claimed that he had found the body at the park.
When officers arrived they discovered Ashley Boulay, a 29-year-old transient from Massachusetts, dead in some brush from blunt force trauma, according to police.
Love the nostalgia of “The Endless Summer” movie? If enough people feel the same way, “The Endless Summer” license plate could make its way to the highway.
The Surfing Heritage & Culture Center announced this week that it is applying to the state to create the special-interest license plate, an announcement made to a packed crowd with the launch of an exhibit at the San Clemente museum called “Bruce Brown: A Life Well Lived.”
There’s just one hurdle: 7,500 people have to apply within one year before it gains approval.
Given the popularity of the film, which is one of the most celebrated surf movies to reach a mainstream audience, interest could come from around the country.
Bruce Brown films Huntington Beach surfer Robert August during the making of the film “Endless Summer.” (Photo courtesy of Bruce Brown Films.)
Bruce Brown personally narrated “The Endless Summer” at the Chaminade High School Auditorium on June 30,1964, about a week after film’s premier at the Hollywood Encore Theater. (Photo courtesy of R. Paul Allen)
Filmmaker Bruce Brown, director of “The Endless Summer,” was on hand for The Endless Summer book release in Huntington Beach on Saturday, April 29, 2017. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Filmmaker Bruce Brown during the making of his film “The Endless Summer” on display at the launch event for The Endless Summer book in Huntington Beach on Saturday, April 29, 2017. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Orange County Register/SCNG)
“The Endless Summer” was created by Brown, who grew up in Long Beach, started his film career in the sleepy surf town of Dana Point, but lived out his later years in Santa Barbara. He died at age 80 of natural causes on Dec. 10, 2017.
When the film was released in the ’60s, theaters away from coastal communities were hesitant to show it. But when people started lining up in the snow in remote Kansas towns, there was no denying the film had struck a cord with the masses.
“The Endless Summer” featured two surfers following the sun. Brown tapped Huntington Beach’s Robert August, who had plans to go to college to become a dentist, as one of the cast, the other was Mike Hynson.
As the movie evolved into a worldwide phenomenon, it became clear it was about more than surf; it represented a sense of freedom, with viewers whisked away to a foreign land.
The license plate honoring “The Endless Summer” would show the movie’s well-recognized poster.
SHACC opened a pre-registration website to gauge interest and gather names for registration when the time comes. A pre-sale will start after the Coastal Conservancy files a letter of intent with the Department of Motor Vehicles and the proposed license plate is approved by the DMV and the California Highway Patrol.
If approved, a portion of the proceeds from the license plate will be donated to SHACC.
Friendly Market, 910 W. Myrtle St., Santa Ana; rodent infestation; closed Feb. 28.
Pollo Ranchero, 1227 W. First St., Santa Ana; rodent infestation; closed Feb. 28, reopened Feb. 28.
Cali Itali, 15554 Producer Lane, Huntington Beach; no violation information provided; closed Feb. 27.
Big Chopsticks, 4953 Lincoln Ave., Cypress; cockroach infestation; closed Feb. 26, reopened Feb. 28.
This list is published online every Friday with closures from the previous seven days and is not usually updated. See the OC Health Care Agency’s database for an updated list of closures and reopenings.
Department store chain J.C. Penney says it has cut more than 300 jobs and reported disappointing sales at established stores for the quarter that includes the holiday season. It also delivered a muted outlook, and its shares fell 6 percent.
The news Friday overshadowed strong profits as investors worried about Penney’s ability to remake itself in a changing retail market — especially after the good economy contributed to stronger results at chains such as Macy’s and Kohl’s.
J.C. Penney eliminated 130 positions across all departments at its Plano, Texas, headquarters, and said restructuring regional, district and store support teams to eliminate bureaucracy led to 230 job cuts. It estimated the cuts will save it $20 million to $25 million a year. It also made changes to its executive team.
The company, like many department stores, is trying to cut costs and make the chain better able to reach shoppers jumping back and forth between online and the stores. Department stores, which are heavily dependent on clothing sales, are seeing more competition there as Amazon.com expands further into fashion and off-price chains like T.J. Maxx add more stores.
CEO Marvin Ellison told analysts Friday that the company has earmarked 300 mall locations where it will aggressively beef up appliances, mattresses, furniture, and workwear like overalls. That should help increase market share gains as struggling mall competitors like Sears close.
Revenue at J.C. Penney stores open at least a year rose 2.6 percent, a tad below expectations for a 2.7 percent increase, according to FactSet. In contrast, Kohl’s enjoyed a 6 percent increase in sales at established stores, its largest such gain since 2001. Nordstrom saw a 2.6 percent increase in those sales, and Macy’s broke out of an almost three-year sales slump to post a sales gain of 1.4 percent at existing stores for the holiday period.
J.C. Penney is trying to operate as a more “modern company” — and, in many cases, it’s playing catch-up. The company has had extra challenges in restoring sales after a disastrous attempt to reinvent the company. It has since brought back major appliances like dishwashers and has expanded its in-store Sephora beauty shops.
It’s acknowledged that it was behind in chasing the active and casual clothing trend. So it’s expanding its selections of brands like Nike and Adidas. That should help perk up its clothing sales, which have been weak. It’s also continuing to rebrand its salon shops.
J.C. Penney is making some inroads in its e-commerce business. It increased its online product assortment by 50 percent last year and plans to add an additional 600,000 items online this year. Last year, the company’s e-commerce business accounted for 18 percent of total sales and it grew 20 percent from the prior year.
The company “is taking necessary steps to effectuate its turnaround and is seeing some traction with its various initiatives, but we remain cautious given a challenged department store environment and risks involved in a retail turnaround,” wrote Randal Konik, an analyst at Jefferies, in a note Friday.
J.C. Penney said fourth-quarter earnings rose to $254 million, or 81 cents per share, from $192 million, or 61 cents per share, a year earlier. Per-share earnings adjusted for one-time gains and costs were 57 cents, which is 12 cents better than Wall Street had expected, according to Zacks Investment Research. Revenue of $4.03 billion was in line with expectations.
The company now expects full-year earnings of 5 cents to 25 cents per share, with same-store sales flat to up 2 percent. Analysts had expected earnings per share of 20 cents and comparable sales growth of 0.7 percent, according to FactSet.
Its shares fell 25 cents to $3.67 in Friday trading.
ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel is slated to host the Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in what promises to be a politically heavy evening. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
We kind of know what to expect from the 90th Annual Academy Awards; after all, they’ve done this thing 89 times before.
However, a number of new and different aspects should also emerge at this edition of the movie industry’s self-love celebration. So much Hollywood-related stuff has gone down in the past 12 months, the only surprise this time would be if host Jimmy Kimmel, presenters and Oscar-winners don’t address what’s on everyone’s minds at the Dolby Theatre Sunday night.
Therefore, we’ve come up with a list of five topics that ought to get some attention at the ceremony, if all the time isn’t taken up thanking agents, parents and favorite pets.
#TIMESUP
That won’t refer to the length of acceptance speeches this year. The national, even worldwide outcry against sexual harassment and misconduct, which exploded in the movie business last fall and still roils it, will be in everyone’s thoughts and words. The attendant fed-upness with the lack of equity and opportunity for women in films should also be an issue, whether or not Greta Gerwig’s “Lady Bird” wins any statuettes.
To avoid insensitivity and mortification on the show, accused harasser and last year’s Best Actor winner Casey Affleck has been asked not to fill the traditional
role of presenting this year’s Best Actress winner with her Oscar. James Franco, a likely Best Actor nominee before his Golden Globes win for “The Disaster Artist” triggered several misconduct accusations, subsequently failed to make the academy’s nomination cut. And these will be the first Oscars in decades without Harvey Weinstein, which comes with the extra benefit of the disgraced producer not manipulating voters into giving awards to his mediocre movies.
Though many will likely applaud such steps, what the academy will do if things come out about any of Sunday’s winners, or if clamor increases around previous winners with troubling sexual pasts, remains a mystery.
#OSCARSNOTSOWHITE ANYMORE?
Well, at least they’ve gotten past the issue of all-Caucasian acting nominees that triggered so much criticism for a few years. Or have they? While the actors’ winners circle will probably look like a NATO summit again, this may not be much of a concern for African-Americans this year. After all, “Moonlight” won the big prize last time around, “Get Out” is up for Best Picture and its producer-writer-director Jordan Peele is a rare nominee for all three of those top Oscars. And Daniel Kaluuya, Denzel Washington, Mary J. Blige and Octavia Spencer are all nominated for acting awards, if unlikely to win any.
Sally Hawkins, left, and Octavia Spencer are seen in “The Shape of Water,” which is a heavy favorite going into Sunday’s Oscar ceremony. (Fox Searchlight Pictures via AP)
OTHER PERSPECTIVES, THOUGH NOT SO INCLUSIVE
“The Shape of Water” director/writer/producer Guillermo del Toro is a heavy favorite to win Best Director, but his success doesn’t give U.S. Latino’s a lot of hope. (Photo by Kerry Hayes/Twentieth Century Fox)
Ask U.S. Latinos in show business how they feel about Guillermo del Toro probably winning Best Director for his gorgeous monster fable “The Shape of Water,” and they’ll more than likely say yeah, great movie, but why weren’t any Hispanic actors in it (or in other great Mexican directors’ recent Oscar-winners). The Awards come on the heels of another outcry over the whitewashing of Asian characters from other media in movie adaptations, this time regarding the just-released sci fi thriller “Annihilation.”
There will be some Muslim representation. We have a Foreign Language Film nominee, “The Insult,” from Lebanon. The Syrian producer of the harrowing documentary “Last Men in Aleppo,” Kareem Abeed, finally got a visa to attend the ceremony a few days ago after the U.S. consulate in Istanbul had blocked him for the longest time. And “The Big Sick” co-writer Kumail Nanjiani is at least one recognizable American Muslim name nominated for a major award.
These Oscars are probably still too white, though.
BALLISTIC OVER TRUMP
Of course, like last year, outrage regarding Donald Trump being president could erupt at any time. This year, though, that could be tied to the tragic, yet again hot-button issue of mass shootings and what to do about them. Since the president seems to be either for against weapon restrictions depending on the time of day, this could complicate the mostly pro-gun control academy crowd’s feelings about him on the big night. But then, Hollywood’s already got to deal with the confusing fact that the film industry is built to some degree on its glorification of gunplay.
IT CAN’T HAPPEN AGAIN. WE HOPE.
Important as the political stuff is, perhaps the main thing a lot of people associated with Oscar will be concerned about is avoiding a snafu like the one that ended last year’s show. The academy was embarrassed like never before when “La La Land” was erroneously announced the Best Picture winner, and a producer of that film who discovered the mistake had to ask the folks from “Moonlight” to come onstage. You can bet AMPAS – and PricewaterhouseCoopers, the accounting firm whose employees were blamed for the big screw-up – have put rigorous new fail-safe systems in place that are 100 times more dependable than Hawaii’s early warning system.
Now, if they can just prevent Harvey Weinstein from trying to sneak in disguised as an extra from the “Planet of the Apes” movie, things should be golden.
Fred Berger, foreground center, and the cast of “La La Land” mistakenly accept the award for Best Picture at the Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2017, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The actual winner of Best Picture was “Moonlight.” (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
Homebuying in Lake Forest, including Foothill Ranch, in the fourth quarter could not keep pace with countywide sales activity.
Using CoreLogic data, we compared sales patterns for all residences in the October-to-December period vs. a year earlier. Sales in Lake Forest and Foothill Ranch fell as 375 residences were purchased in the latest period vs. 395 a year earlier. That’s a loss of 5.1 percent vs. a decline of 1.3 percent countywide.
Neighborhood trends in Foothill Ranch for the 2017’s last three months from CoreLogic’s report:
Foothill Ranch ZIP code 92610 — 40 homes sold vs. 61 a year earlier. That’s a sales loss of -34.4 percent. Median selling price of $714,500 vs. $630,071 last year, a gain of 13.4 percent. That median ranked No. 39 highest out of 83 Orange County ZIPs.
Lake Forest ZIP 92630 — 335 homes sold vs. 334 a year earlier. That’s a sales gain of 0.3 percent. Median of $742,000 vs. $680,110 last year, a gain of 9.1 percent. That median ranked No. 33 highest out of 83.
From 2017’s fourth quarter, eight countywide trends to ponder:
1. At the neighborhood level, prices were up in 66 of 83 Orange County ZIP codes compared to the previous year.
2. Sales rose in 38 of 83 Orange County ZIPs.
3. Builder sales were 1,544 — up 4.2 percent from a year earlier. Median selling price was $869,000 — up 0.2 percent from a year earlier.
4. In the cheapest third of the county’s market — the 27 least expensive ZIPs, median of $622,500 and below — 2,540 homes sold. That’s down 0.9 percent compared to a year earlier.
5. In the 27 priciest ZIPs — median of $789,050 and higher — 3,236 homes sold. That’s down 0.2 percent.
6. In the 11 Orange County ZIPs with medians above $1 million, sales totaled 720 homes, down 1.9 percent in a year. There were 10 seven-figure ZIPs a year earlier.
7. In the county’s 16 beach-close ZIPs, 1,484 homes sold in the latest period, down 0.6 percent vs. a year earlier.
8. As for relative bargains, there were six ZIPs with medians under $500,000 with total sales of 440 homes. A year earlier, 14 ZIPs had medians under $500,000 with 1,039 sales, or a drop of 58 percent in a year.
LAGUNA NIGUEL – Firefighters put out a second-alarm fire in a two-story duplex early Saturday, March 3.
Firefighters dispatched at 12:38 a.m. to the 30000 block of Via Reata reported seeing flames through the roof of the two-story structure, said Capt. Stephen Horner of the Orange County Fire Authority.
The blaze was upgraded to a second-alarm fire 17 minutes later and firefighters had the fire out at 1:02 a.m., Horner said.
No injuries were reported and a cause of the fire was under investigation, he said.
Laguna Niguel Structure Fire, Second Alarm with units from OCFA and Laguna Beach Fire on-scene battling a Fire in a fourplex dwelling unit on the 30000 block of Via Reata. No reported injuries. pic.twitter.com/uy1uSNQiuF
Garden pleasures are not confined to spectacular floral displays.
The sight of a preying mantis, for instance, is just plain riveting. What a magnificent creature to behold! It is so much larger than any other garden insect and, with its well-defined triangular head, has this ET (extra-terrestrial) aspect to it, as though it descended from another galaxy.
You cannot cease to wonder in amazement at this special visitor.
And yet, not content to simply gaze at this unorthodox insect, you will probably begin taking meticulous mental notes of the circumstances that have brought this beneficial predatory orthopod — a relative of grasshoppers, katydids, and crickets — into your garden.
First of all, there is the plant itself in which your preying mantis resides. (An aside: some people mistakenly call this insect praying mantis since it holds its front legs together in a manner that suggests prayer.)
More likely than not, this plant has lots of interior growth within which the insect finds shelter. There are probably plenty of other insects around as well.
Mantises require live insects for food but their diet is diverse, consisting of flies, crickets, moths, caterpillars, cockroaches, and any of the so-called true bugs.
Numbered among the hundreds of types of true bugs, you will find the “big five” of garden pests. The big five all do damage the same way, by sucking sap from leaves, stems and fruit. These five pests are scale, white fly, aphid, thrips and mealybug, the first letter of each conveniently found in SWATM, a handy acronym by which to remember them.
You can order preying mantid egg sacs from a wide selection of Internet vendors, including planetnatural.com, which earns mostly five-star reviews. After placing the eggs sacs in your plants, refrain from chemical spraying which will invariably decimate your newly hatched mantids.
Millipedes have two pairs of jointed legs on most body segments. (Photo by Joshua Siskin)
Moving on to another intriguing garden guest, I recently saw, or should more accurately say uncovered, a millipede. Millipedes and centipedes do not have the hard cuticles you find on insects and thus they reside under moist logs or garden debris to protect themselves from drying out.
Millipedes and centipedes are not insects but instead come from an earlier animal group that goes back to the time of the dinosaurs.
The fossil record reveals millipedes that were more than six feet long once upon a time, while today’s millipedes seldom exceed one foot in length, and are typically less than a third that size.
While millipedes are nearly always vegetarian and are content to eat rotting plant material, centipedes are carnivorous and may administer a painful bite to humans, although it is seldom, except in the case of small children, dangerous.
Incidentally, while millipede means a thousand legs, no millipedes today have near that many legs, while centipedes (meaning a hundred legs) may have between 30 to over 300 legs.
How do you tell them apart? Millipedes have two pairs of legs per body segment, while centipedes have one pair per segment. Centipedes, in line with their predatory nature, also move much faster than millipedes.
Question: I have a very small 3 year-old-lemon tree that doesn’t want to grow. Just a month ago it produced only one very juicy lemon. But it keeps losing its flowers. Please help me understand how to solve the problem.
Also, I bought some gypsum to improve the soil around the tree and wanted to know how to apply it. — Nancy Haki, West Los Angeles
A Well, if you had 50 flowers on your lemon tree and only one turned into a fruit you are doing just fine, above average in fact.
Even when you are giving your lemon tree — or any citrus tree for that matter — everything it could possibly need in terms of good soil, steady moisture supply, fertilization, and mulch from trunk to drip line, 98 percent of its flowers will fall off before they are pollinated and can produce a fruit.
In commercial orchards, when just 2 percent of blossoms turn into fruit, it is considered a highly successful yield.
Flowers fall from trees prior to pollination and fruit set for one principle reason: a weak abscission layer between flower and stem.
The abscission layer is a layer of cells that grows between the base of a flower and the stem to which it is attached. If this layer of cells is weak, the flower will fall off before or soon after pollination.
For example, a spring freeze will damage the cells in the abscission layer and result in flower drop. Inadequate fertilization will also cause flower drop since the tree “knows” that it is deficient in minerals so why even “try” to grow fruit that will not reach maturity for lack of mineral sustenance?
Lack of water at bloom time will similarly weaken the abscission layer but too much water can be damaging too.
As if citrus does not have enough problems hanging on to its flowers, there is also a problem, on occasion, of hanging on to its fruit.
“June drop” refers to premature fruit drop, beginning in May and extending through June, and is not exclusive to citrus, but includes nearly every fruit-bearing tree.
In deciduous fruit trees — peaches, plums, apricots — the cause may simply be insufficient resources to ripen so many fruit. With citrus, the cause is more often elevated temperatures and low humidity.
When such conditions are recognized, more water than usual should be applied to your trees. While June drop in deciduous trees refers to dropping of diminutive fruit, June drop in citrus can cause fruit as large as golf balls to fall prematurely.
Although lemon trees are generally consistent bearers, and may have some fruit on the tree at almost any time, certain mandarin (tangerine) cultivars, as well as orange and grapefruit trees, are subject to alternate bearing.
Alternate bearing refers to trees that fruit heavily one year and lightly or not at all the next. Many deciduous fruit and nut trees are subject to this phenomenon, from plums to pistachios.
While the phenomenon is rather mysterious, there is speculation that, with some trees, the resources required to bring a large crop to maturity depletes those resources to the point that the following year’s crop is sparse to non-existent.
Ms. Haki also asked about the proper way to apply gypsum. Gypsum or calcium sulfate is a powdery white mineral and a dust mask should be worn when handling it. It needs to be worked into the ground for best effect.
If your soil is hard, you will literally feel the soil soften in your hands as gypsum is mixed in with it.
Gypsum also lowers soil pH, as sulfuric acid is released when gypsum makes contact with water, which is highly desirable in Southern California since our soil pH is usually on the alkaline side.
Nearly all plants, including many California natives, prefer a slightly acid soil pH. Some veteran gardeners dust gypsum around their plants every three months and then work it gently into the soil.
For more information about area plants and gardens, go to Joshua Siskin’s website at www.thesmartergardener.com. Send questions and photos to Joshua@perfectplants.com.
Tip of the week
Grace Hampton, an assiduous gardener in Burbank, noting my mention of Amaranthus in a previous column, drew my attention to an Amaranthus caudatus cultivar known as ‘Tower Red’ whose inflorescences resemble thick, woolly crimson cattails.
I highly recommend this and other Amaranthus cultivars since they are stunning plants whose seeds germinate reliably in place.
Let your Amaranthus flowers go to seed and you will have a fresh crop of them year after year.
SAN CLEMENTE – Attorney Christina Prejean announced on Friday, March 2 that she is dropping out of the race to succeed retiring Republican Rep. Darrell Issa in the 49th Congressional District, citing the large number of her fellow Democrats seeking the seat.
“In the military, we say `One team, One fight,’ and our focus is always on the mission,” Prejean tweeted. “As a proud Democrat and progressive, we are on the same team, and our mission is to flip the 49th.
“That’s why, with such a crowded field of candidates in this race, I’ve decided that the best way to accomplish this mission is for me to step out of the race, to better ensure our chances of flipping the 49th.”
With five Democrats having announced their candidacies and the possibility of more appearing on the June primary ballot, party leaders have expressed fears they would so split the vote that two Republicans would top the field and no Democrat would appear on the November ballot under the state’s top two primary system.
The coastal district stretches from Dana Point in Orange County to La Jolla in San Diego County.
