“Once,” the 2011 musical, is a collection of raw songs sung by restrained people.

The songs are musically interesting, and 3–D Theatricals gives them gorgeous atmospherics in the show’s run at Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts through Oct. 27.

But that’s pretty much it for “Once.”

Irish playwright Enda Walsh penned this musical’s book based on the 2007 film by writer-director John Carney, which revolves around songs by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová.

The story centers on a young Irishman and the young Czech woman who effects change in his life when none seemed possible.

He, never named in the story so known only as Guy (Tom Frank), busks part-time and repairs vacuum cleaners in his father’s (Scott Waara) Dublin shop. Guy is brokenhearted over a young woman (Leota Rhodes) who left him and moved to New York.

Into Guy’s life happens Girl (Aurora Florence). Recently arrived in Ireland, she doesn’t speak flawless English, but she certainly straight-talks. As the audience soon notes, these characters and the others in and around their lives reveal more of themselves singing in soliloquy than in direct conversations with one another.

Death, fear of death, mordant vacuum cleaners, beloved guitars being boxed up and put away — these are the symbols throughout. It’s not a peppy musical, but nor is it gloomy. The tunes are boundingly Irish and densely Slavic.

To enhance the pub vibe, audience members can purchase beverages onstage before the show and, if anyone knows the Irish or Czech songs being performed, can sing along. It’s tempting. The onstage musicians, each of whom plays a character in the story, are founts of joyous energy.

The theater has been reconfigured, including hydraulic lifting of the floor and moving of walls, to accommodate this in-the-round presentation.

Additionally, the stage revolves, and Kari Hayter masterfully directs the production so that we don’t always notice the revolving but we always sense we’re getting different points of view, visually and narratively. Indeed, sometimes feel we’re seeing a close-up, as in a film.

However, the sound is echoey. This could be luscious for a classical concert here. But too many lyrics get lost among the echoes, and lyrics are where we find out what the characters are thinking and feeling, because thoughts and feelings are difficult for this batch to express.

In addition, Frank adopts a folk-singing delivery rather than a musical-theater one.

Troubles start with the first song, “Leave,” so that instead of “Let go my hand,” we may hear “Let go my hen.” Very much on the plus side, Frank sounds in tone and dynamics like early Cat Stevens.

We learn that Guy only needed loving encouragement, which he gets from Girl. She gets not much in return. She lives with her mother (Cynthia Marty) and little daughter (the adorable Quinn Copeland), but a husband looms in Girl’s homeland.

Guy finds the wherewithal to sing his songs and heal his heart. Girl, alas, may or may not actually move on with her life. However, she gets a piano out of the story, and considering Florence’s talents at the keys, this must suffice for Girl and for the audience.

Dany Margolies is a Los Angeles-based writer.

‘Once’

Rating: 3 stars

When: Through Oct. 27: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays

Where: Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 12700 Center Court Dr., Cerritos (ample free parking adjacent to the theater)

Tickets: $25-$90

Length: 2 hours and 20 minutes, including intermission

Suitability: Teens and adults

Information: 714-589-2770, 3dtshows.org

Perhaps no contemporary artist has captured the spirit of the mid-century modern design movement better than Josh Agle, known as Shag.

Since the early 1990s, Agle has painted plasma screen size vibrant tableaux of nattily attired men mingling with sleekly-coiffed women in mid-century architectural wonders. The brightly colored paintings and prints are reproduced across media including prints, books, housewares and assorted merchandise that both celebrate and satirize the mid-century era.

“I always wanted to comment on the culture and I also wanted to tell stories,” says Agle, who lives in Lemon Heights, an unincorporated area nestled between the cities of Orange and Tustin. “Even though visually (the paintings) are inspired by the ’50s and ’60s, I want to add a darker humor or an irony to the paintings that is more contemporary.”

The artist is something of a cult figure in the mid-century-minded Palm Springs art scene and his profile has risen in step with Modernism Week, a biannual event which takes over the city with its house tours, talks and parties. Agle will be holding court Saturday, Oct. 19 at an opening in his gallery boutique The Shag Store as part of Modernism Week Fall Preview, which runs Thursday, Oct. 17 through Sunday, Oct. 20.

The world inside Shag’s art is populated with denizens of pop culture: The Beatles play a small house party and Andy Warhol looks slightly bemused as he hangs back at his famed studio The Factory, watching (and filming) as the scene unfolds. Agle occasionally pops up in his own paintings, and much like the Warhol figure, he stays in the background.

Agle’s Shag brand is nothing if not meta, but he was in the game long before social media made culture mash-ups disposable artifacts. The nom-de-plume Shag is itself a mash-up of the last two letters of Agle’s first name and the first two of his last name.

The Shag line of art and products, which range from socks to clocks, are sold both in his Palm Springs and West Hollywood stores, and hold appeal across demographics. “Children like his (Agle’s) work because it reminds them of cartoons, adults reminisce about a fun, maybe happier time, and many older adults are reminded of the illustrations that were once predominant in magazine advertising of the ’50s and ’60s in publications like Look magazine,” Agle’s business partner Jay Nailor, owner of The Shag Store, wrote in an email.

The Shag brand in some ways came tailor made for the Instagram era: The Shag Stores regularly host opening parties, where guests don Hawaiian shirts and Day-Glo dresses, or as was the case at a recent opening, a mini Kiss army showed up to emulate the band featured in a new series of prints.

“The events at the Shag Stores are meant to resemble the parties in my paintings,” Agle said.

Agle has also caught the eye of well-heeled art buyers (his “Leisure Principle” sold for $60,000 in 2018 according to Nailor) and brands that wade in the same pool of kitsch and nostalgia such as JetBlue and Disney have commissioned the artist. Agle won’t work with companies that aren’t a strategic and philosophical fit for the Shag brand. “If (Agle) isn’t excited about the idea, we’ll simply pass on the project,” Nailor wrote.

Since 2003, Agle has created paintings for Disney Parks and Resorts, which have been repurposed as prints, coasters, glassware, and clothing including tiki-laden Mickey Mouse ears, which debuted this summer at Disney World. In 2017, Agle gave the Shag spin to the famous cantina scene from Star Wars, showing his affinity for the spaces the Disney characters move in.

“When Disneyland approached me, I wasn’t interested in painting Mickey Mouse,” he says. “I wanted to make the theme park itself a character.”

On Aug. 7, Disneyland released a series of products based on his painting “31 Ghosts” to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Haunted Mansion, just as he created pieces in honor of the park’s 55th anniversary in 2010.

Agle’s career has dovetailed nicely with the mid-century modern craze, which took off in the early 2000s due to the style that “Mad Men” reintroduced with a vengeance. Agle, a Sierra Madre native, says that for some, his paintings gave them an entryway into the era, while others use them to complement the look they’d already adopted.

“I was lucky I was painting right around the same time people became interested in mid-century design,” he says. “I know people got into my art because of mid-century design and I know it worked the other way as well.”

Agle found that just as his fans’ aesthetics morphed due to his paintings, his own lifestyle was shaped by the Shag universe he’s created.

“Early on my paintings were aspirational,” says the artist, who considers Palm Springs his second home.  “I was painting places I wanted to be and the kind of people I wanted to hang out with. (Now I’m) able to run around in those circles. In Palm Springs in one evening I might see two or three things that would inspire me to make a piece of art.”

Shag’s retro style was arrived at somewhat accidentally, an outgrowth of his affinity for the mid-century furniture that he picked up on the cheap in the 1980s, combined with the tiki culture he absorbed as a child in Hawaii. The artist’s early works were featured at Billy Shire’s seminal La Luz de Jesus gallery in the 1990s, a showcase for the underground movement known as lowbrow.

But these days Agle shares more of an affinity with other artists-turned-brands such as Jonathan Adler, who redesigned The Parker Palm Springs Hotel, another favorite haunt of the Palm Springs crowd. The two sometimes co-host receptions (Adler’s Melrose Avenue store is down the street from Shag’s). But unlike Adler, who markets housewares at Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdales, Agle won’t sell his original products anywhere but The Shag Store.

Just as he controls the action in his paintings, Agle wants to keep the reins on the Shag brand.

Shag

What: The artist will host a reception and cocktail party at The Shag Store in Palm Springs to celebrate the release of his latest print “The Odd Bird”

When: 7-10 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19

Where: 745 N. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs

Admission: Free

Also: Shag will celebrate the fourth anniversary of The Shag Store in West Hollywood on Nov. 9. He’ll be exhibiting prints and original works at La Fiambrera Gallery in Madrid beginning Oct. 25 and releasing new art and products for DesignerCon in Anaheim, Nov. 22-24.

Aliso Niguel has hired Brad Johnson to coach its four-time defending South Coast League champion girls basketball team.

Johnson, who replaces Lindsey Sundin, coached the boys junior varsity at El Toro last season and also served as a varsity assistant.

“In May, the opportunity came at Aliso Niguel and I knew right away it was the fit I wanted and a tremendous opportunity,” he said.

Before El Toro, Johnson coached boys junior varsity and assisted the boys varsity at Big Bear High for seven years. He also coached the girls basketball team in 2016-17, compiling a 20-4 record.

Sundin resigned in April after five seasons. Last season, Aliso Niguel finished 23-5 and reached the second round of the CIF-SS Division 1 playoffs, losing to top-seeded Serra.

In 2018, Aliso Niguel advanced to the semifinals in CIF-SS Division 2-AA and the CIF State SoCal Regionals.

Sundin, a former San Clemente standout, now works in the athletics business office at UC Davis.

Please send girls basketball news to Dan Albano at dalbano@scng.com or @ocvarsityguy on Twitter

Diane Cuniff’s dog spoke to her seven years ago, and she listened. Every time she’d drive down Pacific Coast Highway with Ajay, a fun-loving yellow lab, he would howl at the ocean.

He wanted to go for a swim.

Years later, Ajay’s aquatic interest proved prophetic for Cuniff.

After a series of twists and turns — 9/11, the dot-com bust — Cuniff’s life changed course. She left her job in high-tech sales because it was no longer stable and took a shot at flipping homes.

At one point, her purchase of a duplex in Corona del Mar became stalled in a six-month escrow. As Cuniff waited for the sale to be finalized, her mind kept cranking.

Ajay needed day care, and Cuniff couldn’t find a facility in Newport Beach, Irvine or Costa Mesa. So, just for fun, she decided to write a doggie day care business plan.

“I knew someone was going to make money doing this,” she said. “I just didn’t know it would be me.”

Fast-forward 16 years and Cuniff, now 65, is owner of The Bone Adventure, a dog care business with 80 employees and two locations: Bone Home, the smaller of the two, and Bone Backyard, with its piece de’ resistance — a $200,000 state-of-the art outdoor, heated, saltwater swimming pool built exclusively for dogs.

It’s the only one if its kind in Orange County, Cuniff said, “and would pass any inspection for humans.”

Ajay, who died five years ago at 15, would be proud.

The pool, at 2700 Bristol St., opened last year and has a client list of 200 and growing. The area surrounding the pool is heated to keep the dogs warm in the winter and landscaped with artificial grass for dogs that need a bathroom break.

The pool features a 40-foot-long diving dock, a shallow wading area, and every toy a dog could want, including inflatable rafts.

From glass-enclosed bleachers, visitors can watch the show — which is usually a mood-brightening comedy of carefree dogs pulling toys out of bins, frolicking in the water, and chasing balls and one another.

It’s most amusing when a dog refuses to leave the pool area after a session is over, hiding or jumping back into the water like a child not wanting the fun to end.

“You can’t come here and not be happy when you leave,” said client Janet Comer, who brings her two dogs, Cali, a 5-year-old black lab, and Rascal, an 11-year-old rescue dog, at least once a week. Rascal is part Staffordshire terrier, part Doberman, part cocker spaniel, part shepherd, and part wolf.

“We had his DNA checked,” Comer said.

Rascal has weak back legs and arthritis, and Comer said swimming has helped him a lot. “After Rascal swims he can jump on a chair,” she said.

Every day, several packs of about a dozen dogs bound through a door from the day care center into the pool area like ecstatic toddlers on a playdate. They are grouped daily by personality and temperament for 30-minute swimming sessions.

Most are day care dogs with their owners paying $10 extra for the pool perk. Outside visitors pay $25. Dogs have to be up to date on their shots and evaluated before they are accepted. Weaker swimmers need to wear life vests. The center has 23 webcams, with two in the pool area, so owners can watch the action.

There’s an endless supply of personalities and breeds. And Bone Adventure staff seem to know them all.

There are the Bullies who steal toys from other dogs (they shall remain nameless); the Gentle Giants and Happy-Go-Luckies — such as Andy, Charlie and Bear — who don’t want any trouble; the Screamers, including Gracie and Moose, who bark just to hear themselves talk; the Shallow Waders like Bennie Boy and Piper, who cautiously dip their paws; the Piranhas, such as Bo, Sadie and Enzo, who stop at nothing to chase a toy; and the Rowdies — including Vespa, Biggie, Nash and Asher — who enjoy life with gusto.

And there are the Dock Divers, like Lou Bug, Banksy, Sydney and Fletcher, who show off their athletic prowess as they take a running leap off the dock in pursuit of a toy. Banksy currently holds the long-distance title of 27 feet.

On a recent day, one excited visitor had an accident in the pool, causing it to close for an hour while staff sanitized the water.  It’s a fairly rare occurrence, but Cuniff said it’s a drain on revenue because staff has to reschedule and cancel clients.

She maintains her sense of humor, however: She plans to make T-shirts saying, “It’s all fun and games until someone poops in the pool.”

The media keep telling us: There’s no difference between male and female brains.

I don’t believe it. Many of you must be skeptical, too. Seventeen million people watched my old ABC show on sex differences, almost as many as watched “Game of Thrones.”

Nonetheless, people now fill auditoriums to hear neuroscientist Gina Rippon talk about her new book that claims “New Neuroscience Explodes the Myths of the Male and Female Minds.”

Rippon says it’s important to tell people that sex isn’t an important indicator in how brains work so we don’t fall prey to stereotypes. “You don’t want an idea that this (difference) is something that’s natural,” she says in my new video.

“It’s not natural,” I ask, “that in school, more boys want to play football and more girls want to do ballet? I want to run and bang into people.”

“Actually, girls might want to run and bang into people, but because there’s an image that girls don’t do that, they’re stopped from doing that,” she replies.

But in my reporting, I’ve covered research that shows innate differences.

In one experiment, students were blindfolded and then walked through tunnels running underneath a college campus. When the women were asked the direction of a college building, they weren’t so sure. One said: “How would I know? I’m blindfolded!”

Men, however, tend to have better spatial awareness and retained a sense of which direction they’d moved.

On the other hand, women have a better memory for detail.

In one test, students were told to wait in a cluttered room and later asked what was in that room.

Women often gave long answers like, “There were envelopes, university envelopes, a thing of Clearasil, a Bazooka Joe comic…”

Men were more likely to say, “I don’t know … some stuff.”

Of course, maybe they’d been molded by our sexist society — conditioned to do what’s expected of men and women.

But I reminded Rippon that even tests on infants find differences. Baby boys look longer at objects, such as tractor parts. Infant girls stare at faces.

“A third of the girls actually seem to respond more to the tractor parts,” said Rippon.

When I pointed out that meant two-thirds of the girls did not, Rippon said that the experiment should be redone “with a bigger set of newborns.”

Maybe. But scientists shouldn’t keep redoing experiments until they get results they like.

Some female scientists acknowledge that men’s and women’s brains are different.

“You can tell, looking at brains, whether they belong to a male or a female 80% of the time,” says evolutionary psychologist Diana Fleischman.

Also: “Cultures around the world show very similar differences between men and women. Men are more likely to seek status; women are more likely to take care of children. Women are more likely to stay in the home; men are more likely to do dangerous, aggressive things like go to war.”

I suggest that perhaps the sexes are alike and all cultures have imposed similar biases.

“Look at nonhuman animals, monkeys: They don’t have culture, yet there’s still very large differences between males and females,” she responds.

Among scientists, that’s common opinion. The Journal of Neuroscience Research says 70 studies found differences. Boys, for example, are more likely to be autistic, to be colorblind and to have speech problems.

But her media coverage suggests she’s discovered that male and female brains are the same.

“It’s an incredibly alluring message,” says Fleishman with a laugh. “It’s really sad that it’s not right!”

Of course, science shouldn’t seek an alluring message. It should just be about the truth.

But the truth doesn’t stop politicians from demanding absolute equality in all things — even if men and women have different interests.

“Saying that men and women have different aptitudes isn’t sexism. It’s a statement about the true nature of the world,” says Fleischman. “If we keep saying that those differences … are because of sexism, nobody’s going to end up happy with what they’re doing, and we’re going to keep making laws to remedy what’s actually the result of freedom.”

John Stossel is author of “No They Can’t! Why Government Fails — But Individuals Succeed.”

Conventional lawns are the norm, even in areas that aren’t particularly suited for them — like here in Southern California.

They’re expensive, high-maintenance and not the most environmentally friendly landscaping option. It’s estimated by the EPA that Americans spend around 70 hours mowing lawns annually, and pour nine billion gallons of water on their lawns and outdoor landscaping each day. More than half of residential water use in California goes to keeping turf alive, and many of us rely on fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides to keep those lawns green and weed-free.

It makes a lot of sense to consider alternatives to a traditional lawn. Non-grass alternatives save time and money, reduce contact with harmful chemicals, and limit environmental impact. Replacing or reducing the size of your lawn is (ironically) one of the greenest things you can do as a homeowner, and using rock and stone is one of your best options — especially if you’re looking to save time on upkeep. You can easily replace existing grass or organic mulch with stone mulch in a wide variety of colors, shapes, and sizes. Stone mulch reduces erosion and can prevent organic mulch and soil in your flowerbeds from washing away.

Once you determine where you want to incorporate stone mulch, lay landscape fabric down in those areas. In most cases, you’ll be able to lay it down right on top of existing groundcover. If you’re putting stone mulch over existing turf, cut the grass as short as possible and lay the fabric right over it — once topped with stone, this will effectively kill the grass beneath it. The fabric will keep most weeds down, though tenacious ones will occasionally pop through.

Lay the fabric over the area to be covered, pulling it tight and securing it with landscape clips (which look like oversized staples). You want a reasonably tight fit against the existing ground cover, and it’s a good idea to overlap individual pieces of fabric to ensure there are no spaces left for green growth to squeeze through. Once that’s done, you can begin laying stone mulch overtop it.

Laying stone mulch is simple — just dump it over the area to be covered and use a rake to distribute and flatten it out. Stone mulch may have a tendency to collect debris, but can easily be kept clean with a rake or a leaf blower (provided you’re using stones heavy enough to not be blown away). Bear in mind that some stone mulches contain limestone and shouldn’t be used around plants that prefer acidic soil.

Stone mulch comes in many different colors and sizes, and you can buy several varieties and alternate or mix them together for visual appeal. If you’re laying down stone mulch as a walkway or want to extend or expand a driveway, choose angular stones over round ones, as in time they’ll pack together to create a firm surface, whereas round stones will remain loose.

You have a lot of options here, like pea gravel, river rock, or crushed granite, which are the most popular and common choices. Pea gravel has a smooth texture and a lot of natural color variation and is an affordable and attractive choice for anything from driveways to planting beds. River rock also varies quite a bit in color and comes in a variety of sizes, and can be used in planting beds, for edging, or can be placed around larger flagstones, bricks, or other pavers used for a walkway.

Crushed granite is typically various shades of gray, but is also available in earth tones and muted reds. It’s economical, making it a great choice for covering larger areas. A relatively novel type of “stone” mulch is made out of recycled glass, which is first cleaned, broken down, and then tumbled to remove sharp edges. It’s available in a variety of colors and sizes and can make a stunning addition to your yard, especially in bright colors when used along a walkway.

For stone walkways, brick, flagstone, sandstone, and concrete pavers are good choices, and will only require occasional sweeping to keep clean. You can mix or match colors, shapes, and materials for aesthetic effect, or use different kinds of pavers to delineate distinct areas. Be sure to choose a surface with enough texture so it won’t be slick when wet, especially if the walkway is near a pool or water feature. You’ll also want to avoid very dark colors, as these can become too hot for bare feet in the summer.

To lay a stone walkway, determine the area the path will cover, put down around two inches of sand, then set stones approximately six to eight inches apart. Use a level on each stone for proper orientation. With the level held parallel to any nearby structure, you’ll want the bubble to be right in the middle, indicating the stone is on an even grade. Holding the level perpendicular to the structure, you want the bubble to be a little on the high side toward the structure, which indicates just enough tilt to allow water to flow off and away from any buildings.

Once the stones are placed, lay a weed barrier on top, carefully cutting holes around the edges of each stone. Cover the weed barrier with more sand or small pebbles, which should be deep enough to cover the barrier but still slightly lower than the surface of the stepping stones. You may want to install edging to keep the pebbles in place over time, and there are a wide variety of options here, from minimalist black strip edging in plastic or metal to brick pavers or cobblestones for a more rustic look.

If you must have a patch of natural grass, choose drought-resistant strains like buffalo grass, switchgrass, or zoysia (and consider a push mower over a gasoline-powered version). Stone landscaping allows for a lot of choice and creativity and enables you to have an inviting, visually appealing yard with little or no natural grass.

Several large metal woks sit atop of burners at Morongo Casino Resort & Spa’s new restaurant, Mozen, ready to be vessels for stir-fries, a soups, soups and noodle dishes. The woks are not from any nearby culinary store, but have actually been sourced from Hong Kong for Chef Kuei Lai and his team to use.

“We’ve really gone out of our way to make sure the food coming out of the kitchen is as authentic as possible,” said Craig Gilbert, managing partner of Drive This! Entertainment, the company that will operate the restaurant.

Mozen, which is expected to be fully operational by early next week, will be the third new eatery — after Good Times Cafe and Pink Coffee — the Cabazon resort has opened this year as part of a larger expansion and renovation project. It will offer a wide range of Asian cuisine from China, Vietnam, Korea and Japan. It will open in the space formerly occupied by now shuttered restaurant Cafe Serrano.

The restaurant is divided into two sections: fast casual and full service.

The former faces the casino floor and opened last week. Guests order at the counter from a menu that includes banh mi, pot stickers, pastries, boba drinks and teas and pick up their food for dining on-site or to go. There’s also a bar area where guests can order specialty drinks.

On the other side of some black and gold-painted partitions is a full service dining room expected to open next week. There, guests will be able to order wok-fired dishes, noodles, soups, seafood and more. There’s also space for private events and parties partitioned from the main dining room.

The fast casual side will be open from 11 a.m.-11 p.m. and the main dining room will open from 5-11 p.m. There will likely be some sort of extended hours on weekends, Gilbert said.

The food 

Gilbert said despite the restaurant’s opulent look — which includes large, glowing lanterns, dark woods and elegant wall treatments — Mozen is meant to be casual, not fine dining.

“We want to be inclusionary and not exclusionary by any means,” he said. “It’s a beautiful room and we understand that, but we want everyone to feel welcome here.”

Some of the items that will be served in the restaurant’s dining room include noodles such as seafood udon, chicken lo mein and Hong Kong-style combination beef chow fun; sushi platters (with combo rolls or sashimi); salads such as beef bulgogi salad or mango teriyaki chicken salad; and seafood dishes such as jumbo shrimp with cashew nuts.

On a tentative menu, entree prices ranged between $10 and $42, though there were a couple items in the $50 range.

Mozen Executive Chef Kuei Hua Lai was brought in to helm the restaurant after working as a chef in both Taiwan and Hong Kong. He’ll provide his expertise in crafting some of the wok fired regional Chinese dishes.

The design 

A row of glowing lanterns is one of the first things that greet guests as they make their way through the front side of the restaurant. Also highly visible is a large screen behind the bar area showing images of Asian countrysides and cities.

In the main dining room, guests will see patterned dividers, murals and color coordinated blue and orange place settings with chopsticks engraved with the restaurant’s name. The restaurant was designed by Kenneth Ussenko, the same designer behind Morongo’s 26th-floor Drum Room, Good Times Cafe and Pink Coffee. 

Ussenko said the look of the restaurant was meant to evoke design elements from multiple Asian countries.

“Throughout the spaces there’s little influences from everywhere,” Ussenko said. “Like the big prints, it’s almost like Japanese tapestry and the lanterns here, there’s a place in Vietnam called Hoi An where there are all these hundreds of stores of lantern makers and so this is my interpretation with this whole row of lanterns that welcome you at this restaurant.”

Ussenko also devised the concepts for multiple murals in the restaurant. One, in mostly pink and orange hues, shows a peacock in some wildflowers. Another, in the private dining area, shows several blue-colored koi fish frozen in place.

“He created the art piece to be koi fish in a frozen pond and somebody kind of wipes their hand over the frozen ice to reveal the fish beneath the surface,” Gilbert said.

Ussenko said he wanted to combine a lot of design elements and patterns to create the illusion of movement and to contrast with the designs at Pink Coffee and Good Times Cafe, which he said are much more controlled.

“This one I wanted the walls to shake, everything to move,” Ussenko said.

LOS ANGELES — Ride-hailing service Uber will debut a text-to-911 feature on its phone app Thursday in Los Angeles County, Minnesota and Indiana, allowing riders and drivers to quickly and discreetly contact law enforcement in the event of an emergency.

Uber added an emergency 911 call button in the app last year. The update will expand the feature to include texting for help.

But the feature won’t work in two Los Angeles County cities.

According to Uber, text-to-911 is supported in jurisdictions across Los Angeles County with the exception of Bell and Bell Gardens.

“In an emergency, every second counts,” Sachin Kansal, Uber’s head of safety products, said in a statement. “This new addition to the app will allow Uber users to reach out to 911 in situations where they may not be able to make a phone call.”

According to Uber, when a user pushes the text-to-911 button, the app will automatically formulate the start of the text message, stating that the user is in an Uber vehicle and providing a current location, destination and description of the vehicle. The user can then add a description of the emergency.

The service is being implemented on a pilot basis in Los Angeles County, Minnesota and Indiana, but Uber officials said they plan to expand it other jurisdictions that support text-to-911 technology.

Q: I keep hearing that you shouldn’t move firewood. Why?

A: Cut wood can harbor pests or disease (or both) that can spread to susceptible trees, often with disastrous results. Invasive insect species such as the emerald ash borer or the Asian longhorned beetle have destroyed tens of millions of trees in the United States and Canada. Native, non-local pests such as the shot-hole borer, gold-spotted oak borer, bark beetles, and pathogens that cause sudden oak death and pitch canker can also be spread by moving cut wood.

Wood that is specifically cut for firewood as well as tree waste from pruning and trimming can both transmit diseases and pests.

Trees and wood that appear healthy can still harbor pests. Healthy wood can also become infested after it’s been cut and left out.

Wood should not be moved more than 50 miles from where it was cut. Seasoned wood that has been allowed to dry for two or more years is less risky to move, but not completely safe. Heat treatment to 160 degrees F for 75 minutes will eliminate all pathogens. Do not treat with any pesticides because burning can release toxic fumes.

For more information, go to the California Firewood Task Force website firewood.ca.gov/outreach.html or dontmovefirewood.org.

Q: Is it true that rodent poison is affecting wildlife, particularly predators like owls, bobcats, coyotes, and mountain lions?

A: Rodent control is very important to public health since many diseases are transmitted by rats and mice. Salmonella, leptospirosis, bubonic plague and typhoid can spread rapidly through the human population if the rodent population is out of control. Rodents can also cause property damage by chewing through electrical conduit and wires, water pipes, wood and other structural materials.

When the rodent population is high, poison is the most effective method of control. There are three main classes of rodent poisons.

First generation anticoagulant rodenticides such as chlorophacinone, diphacinone, and warfarin are not as quick-acting as the second generation rodenticides, and they are thought to be less hazardous to non-target wildlife.

Second generation anticoagulant rodenticides are available only to licensed pest control operators. These poisons, though quick-acting, remain in the target animal’s liver and can adversely affect predators or scavengers that ingest them.

The third class of poison are the non-anticoagulants bromethalin and cholecalciferol.

Recently, anti-coagulant rodenticides have been found in the remains of several deceased mountain lions. These poisons have also been detected in other non-target wildlife. Researchers suspect that the anti-coagulants have been migrating up the food chain.

California lawmakers are considering a ban on all classes of rodenticides.

What can we do as individual homeowners? Prevent rodent infestation by practicing strict sanitation. Remove any food sources and take steps to rodent-proof your home. Before using poison, try snap traps or electrocution devices. Handle and dispose of all poisons according to their labels.

A family member, who grew up on a farm, related a story about how his father exterminated a very large number of rats that had taken up residence in the grain silo using several running lawn mowers. It wasn’t pretty, but it got the job done without poison.Have gardening questions? Email gardening@scng.com.

Looking for more gardening tips? Here’s how to contact the Master Gardener program in your area.

Los Angeles County

mglosangeleshelpline@ucdavis.edu; 626-586-1988; http://celosangeles.ucanr.edu/UC_Master_Gardener_Program/

Orange County

ucceocmghotline@ucanr.edu; 949-809-9760; http://mgorange.ucanr.edu/

Riverside County

anrmgriverside@ucanr.edu; 951-683-6491 ext. 231; https://ucanr.edu/sites/RiversideMG/

San Bernardino County

mgsanbern@ucanr.edu; 909-387-2182; http://mgsb.ucanr.edu/

Gray whales had a rough go last season as they made their annual migration — skinny, emaciated, even dead whales showing up along the West Coast prompting concern over the health of the species.

With the new season’s first gray whales being spotted in recent weeks off the South Bay, Long Beach and Orange County, whale researchers and enthusiasts are hopeful for a healthier season, one that would indicate the whales found enough food to forage in Alaska as they make their trek to the warm waters of Baja, Mexico.

A young gray whale was spotted last week by Harbor Breeze Cruises, which followed it from the Palos Verdes Peninsula to Long Beach. Another was seen off the PV Peninsula earlier in the month, and another around Torrance Beach.

Orange County’s first gray whale sighting was reported Tuesday, Oct. 15, first by a diver near the Newport Pier and then by a Dana Wharf boat captain.

“It was a small one,” said Dana Wharf Whale Watching captain Frank Brennan, of the 25-foot light gray whale. “But it had a lot off barnacles. … It seemed OK, it seemed a little skinny.”

And that’s what whale experts don’t want to see as the season gets underway.

A hope for healthy whales

In May, with dead gray whales dotting the coastline in alarming numbers as they migrated from Mexico to Alaska, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared an Unusual Mortality Event. It was the first time the species was given the designation in nearly two decades and allowed for “a scientific investigation into the cause.”

Researchers studied gray whale food sources, looking at photo documentation of where they are feeding and monitoring changes in migration patterns.

As of the latest NOAA tally, reported Sept. 30, gray whale deaths in 2019 along the United States West Coast totaled 121, with 34 off California. Alaska reported 47, Washington, 34, and Oregon, 6.

There also were 10 deaths reported in Canada and 81 in Mexico.

“Historically, when we look at stranding records of gray whales, we’ve seen multiple years of increased strandings around events like this, so we are anticipating higher numbers of gray whale strandings this year,” according to Justin Viezbicke, California Stranding Network Coordinator for the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Necropsies, animal autopsies, were conducted on some of the whales, with preliminary findings showing evidence of emaciation, according to the NOAA. But “these findings are not consistent across all of the whales examined, so more research is needed,” the NOAA said

“As part of the UME investigation process, NOAA is assembling an independent team of scientists to coordinate with the Working Group on Marine Mammal Unusual Mortality Events to review the data collected, sample stranded whales, and determine the next steps for the investigation,” according to the most recent update by NOAA.

Gray whale expert Alisa Schulman-Janiger observed last season’s whale migration from the cliffs of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, as she conducted the Gray Whale Census & Behavior Project from the Point Vicente Interpretive Center. She said she knew from the start that something was amiss, as she watched skinny whales pass by.

As the census gears up to launch again, Dec. 1, Schulman-Janiger said she hopes she and other volunteers see healthier whales come down the coastline.

“I’m hoping we don’t have skinny whales. Last year we had a huge number of whales that were super skinny. The whales were a bit late, which isn’t a concern, but they were skinny. I want them to be in good condition,” she said. “If late, they could just be feeding longer. I’d like to see some healthy calves as well, hopefully they’ll conceive this year and we will have a boom next year. We could have a one-year anomaly, or it could be a multi-year mortality rate.”

Harbor Breeze boat captain Erik Combs said the whale he saw Oct. 12 in the South Bay and Long Beach looked skinny and had killer whale teeth marks on the dorsal knuckle and fluke tips.

“This whale was a survivor,” he noted. “But still very skinny.”

Early season surprise

As they early whales show up, they are generating excitement among ocean-enthusiasts who are getting a close look.

Divers Mike Couffer and Jim McKeeman were caught by surprise near the Newport Beach Pier, Tuesday, Oct. 15. They were conducting an underwater study of the sea bass nursery, when suddenly a gray whale appeared in front of them, Couffer said.

“It wasn’t more than 10 feet away,” he said, noting they were in just 22 feet of water. “It just appeared, then disappeared. It’s pretty impressive when this great big gray wall appears in front of you, followed by this wide tail. It was a juvenile, but still it’s an impressive animal.”

Brennan, of Dana Wharf Whale Watching, said he wasn’t expecting to see a gray whale, but was on alert after Couffer posted on social media about his encounter earlier that morning. Brennan believes it was the same whale spotted later in the afternoon off Dana Point.

It could be the whale never made it all the way to Alaska, and that’s why it’s showing up early.

“That’s just my guess,” he said. “Maybe it didn’t get there the whole way. Maybe it was a late one heading up there. Or maybe he — or she — left early.”

The eastern North Pacific gray whale population that migrates along the Pacific Coast was last estimated at about 27,000 animals.

Gray whales have the longest known migration of any mammal, traveling an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 miles each year between their winter calving lagoons in the warm waters of Mexico and their summer feeding grounds in the cold Arctic seas, according to Dana Wharf.

To report a dead, injured, or stranded marine mammal, contact the West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Network at 866-767-6114.

Ike Love stayed hot with four goals and Eli Liechty and Makoto Kenney added two apiece as Newport Harbor’s boys water polo team clinched at least a share of the Surf League title with a 9-8 victory against Huntington Beach at Corona del Mar on Wednesday night.

USC-committed goalie Blake Jackson recorded seven saves for Newport Harbor.

Love, The Register’s reigning player of the year, scored five goals to lead the Sailors past previously-undefeated Harvard-Westlake 11-9 in Studio City on Saturday.

Newport Harbor improved to 4-0 in the Surf League with two matches remaining.

The Sailors finished 6-0 in league last season and have clinched three straight league crowns. They have won 17 consecutive league matches, a streak that dates back to the Sunset League in 2016.

Cooper Haddad scored four goals for the Oilers (2-2 in league), who stayed close to Newport Harbor throughout. The Sailors led 5-4 at halftime and 7-6 going into the fourth period.

Also in the Surf League:

Corona del Mar 6, Laguna Beach 4: Tanner Pulice scored three goals and Tyler Harvey added two to help rally the host Sea Kings (2-2 in league). Pulice, a UCLA committed attacker, scored consecutive goals in the fourth to give Corona del Mar a 5-4 lead. Laguna Beach (0-4 in league) led 4-1 in the first half.

Surf League boys water polo scores:@NewportAquatics 9, @HBHSAQUATICS 8@CDMBoysPolo 6 @LBBoysPolo 4

Updated standings:
Newport 4-0 (Sailors clinch at least a share of title)
CdM 2-2
HB 2-2
Laguna 0-4@ocvarsity

— Dan Albano (@ocvarsityguy) October 17, 2019

Throughout his entire childhood Social Distortion vocalist-guitarist Mike Ness said he never really had a voice. But he finally found one in music, only to then have most of society let him know it wasn’t going to tolerate the loud, rebellious punk rock music he and his friends were playing at backyard parties and in abandoned warehouses.

“Everyone was telling me that I couldn’t do it, but I was like, ‘Over my dead body,’” the 57-year-old said during a recent phone interview. “I’m going to do this even if I die doing it.”

It was a rough road for many years, but four decades later Ness is still standing.

“That was really my mentality going into all of this … I’ll die trying,” he said. “To still be doing it 40 years later, it’s kind of like we got the last laugh.”

The band, which formed in Fullerton while Ness was a junior at Troy High School in 1979, has been out on the road celebrating its 40th anniversary, but reserved a special gig for its hometown. Social Distortion will headline Sounds From Behind the Orange Curtain with special guests Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, The Distillers, The Kills, Frank Turner, Eagles of Death Metal, Black Lips, Plague Vendor and more on Saturday, Oct. 26 at FivePoint Amphitheatre in Irvine.

“As the year has gone by, I’ve had time to acknowledge this anniversary and in every set we do, every show, we try to encapsulate something from every record so in a way that’s the 40 years right there,” Ness said. “So, when I’m up there playing, I’m also reflecting, but a lot has happened in 40 years. You can’t help but be in reflection mode and yeah, we wanted to acknowledge it, but you need the fans to do that. You don’t just want to party with the guys. That would be so boring. We wanted to provide something that doesn’t generally happen in Orange County and put together a combination of bands that’s like ‘Wow, I can see all these bands all in one day.’ It’s really just to make it more fun.”

Back in the early days of the band, Ness took “sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll” very literally. The band almost self-destructed before it had a chance to actually become something.

“I’m lucky that when I was in the midst of my drug addiction and alcoholism, we hadn’t had much success,” he said. “We were still pretty underground, so I didn’t have handlers. Let’s just put it this way, I wasn’t shooting dope at the St. Regis, you know? I started at the bottom and ended up lower.”

Ness’ painful childhood translated into a painful adulthood. Though the band was gaining traction, he was still roaming the streets of Santa Ana looking to score. At one point he said he was so low, drug dealers didn’t even want to mess with him.

“I hit an emotional rock bottom a little bit earlier than a lot of people,” he said. “There were the situational bottoms, like kicking it cold turkey in the county jail and having guns pointed in my face, but the emotional bottom is what got me. Pain is a great motivator and I just didn’t want to hurt anymore. That’s when I was able to really turn the band around because it’s amazing how much energy you have when you’re not out committing petty crimes and hustling all day. I developed a work ethic and took it very seriously.”

He now takes pride in the spotlight and seeing his band’s name on venue marquees all of these decades later is proof that hard work — on yourself and your craft — pays off.

“Thank God, really,” he said. “Because really, I should have just been a little paragraph in an underground fan zine, you know, ‘This talented singer-songwriter died in a motel room in Santa Ana.’ So sad, but, whatever.”

Ness said he played his first show sober in 1985 when Social Distortion opened for English punk band 999 in Los Angeles.

“I hadn’t been sober since I was 12,” Ness said. “I was scared to death, but about 30 or 45 seconds into it, I said ‘I think I can do this.’ I got paid that night and stayed with friends in Venice and I bought a pair of high-waist baggy pants, a leather jacket and got a tattoo and made it home Sunday for my meeting.”

Ness said has a lot to be grateful for. The band has done well, releasing seven albums and touring around the world and throughout North America on a constant basis. People still crank up songs such as “Mommy’s Little Monster,” “Story of My Life,” “Ball and Chain” and Social D’s rocked out version of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire.” Listening to the radio and cruising around Southern California in traffic, it’s hard to escape a Social Distortion song.

“Well, yeah it’s still a thrill, of course,” Ness said of hearing his band played on the radio while he’s out and about. “But, yeah, hearing it for those very first times was surreal. I was working at a porno shop in Fullerton the first time (KROQ DJ) Rodney (Bingenheimer) played a song of ours on a Sunday night and it was like ‘Oh, what am I doing here?’”

Though the last few albums have been slow in the works, Ness said a new record will be coming out in 2020. He was in the middle of pre-production and writing for the album, Social Distortions first since 2011’s “Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes,” when the ideas starting flying around for the 40th anniversary, so a bit of it was put on pause. However, it is on its way. He swears.

“We’re scheduled loosely to go into the studio in January,” he said. “But after this October show, we get back into pre-production and the good news is that in the last 15 years, there’s songs that didn’t get used but feel like they’ve just been written, there’s new songs and I think we came up with 23 songs right now. I have to go through those and pick the best 12 or pick the ones that work best together. The other good news is that we might shock everyone and put two records out in two years. People aren’t going to know how to act.”

Social Distortion has never really been a political band, though its songs contain a lot of social commentary, but in recent years at shows Ness has made sure to include the group’s 1996 song “Don’t Drag Me Down” in the set. The song is about ignorance and racism and those are two things Ness said Social Distortion can’t and won’t be quiet about, especially right now.

“Politically, I have to be a little more tolerant and I’m not going to tell people who to vote for or anything like that, but I urge people to get an education on what’s really happening out there,” he said. “But when it comes to racism, that’s where I have zero tolerance. I’ve been basically introducing (“Don’t Drag Me Down”) on this tour by saying that Social Distortion is an anti-racist band, our fans are anti-racist and if you’re here and you’re not, there’s the … door. We don’t have time for that and that’s what really gets me going because I am sick of Americans sitting back and being quiet while all of this stuff is going on. How can you be quiet right now?”

A lot of that has seeped into Ness’ latest works, though he’s been more thoughtful about it since political songwriting isn’t exactly in his wheelhouse.

“I’ve had issues with anger,” he said. “I was raised with anger and I was taught anger. It was how I learned to deal with things that were frustrating and it had affected my personal relationships in a bad way, but at the same time, it’s what keeps this band going and what keeps me writing. I have to be upset about what’s going on and right now I am angry and I am fearful for the future. I feel almost a certain responsibility to, in a clever way, write about it. Not in a preachy way, but in a way that’s evocative. I wan’t people to really think about it.”

Ness said he’s still working on his book. It’s a project he started putting together nearly a decade ago but has had to put on hold for tours, music writing and other personal reasons. He did, however, say he was inspired to keep working on the book by going to see “Bruce Springsteen on Broadway.” He saw the stripped-down, one-man-show inside the Walter Kerr Theatre in New York City twice. Springsteen has popped up at Social Distortion shows in the past and he’s even had Ness come out and join him on stage during some of his tour stops as well.

“It was life-changing,” Ness said of Springsteen’s show. “Not because of how good it sounded, though it was pretty epic seeing him in a small theater with just an acoustic guitar, wailing those songs. The show was more about his struggle just being a man and trying to do the right thing and battling with inner conflicts. I just left with such a new respect for him because although it takes you through the real history of his music, it really was just so honest and vulnerable and it takes a lot of courage to become that vulnerable in front of people. I have a completely different level of respect for him now.”

Social Distortion’s Sounds From Behind the Orange Curtain

With: Joan Jett, The Distillers, The Kills, Eagles of Death Metal, Frank Turner and more.

When: 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26

Where: FivePoint Amphitheatre, 14800 Chinon, Irvine

Tickets: $59.50-$178.50 at LiveNation.com

As the state’s housing shortage spreads into rural communities, farmers will have new tools to address the chronic dearth of worker housing under a law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The measure, AB 1783, streamlines construction of new worker units on surplus farmland and provides incentives for the apartments. As a safeguard, the new apartments must be managed by a nonprofit third party.

But many farm industry groups have opposed the measure, saying there are better ways to increase the housing stock — even as high prices spread to rural counties.

“The housing crisis has impacted this community incredibly hard,” said the bill’s author, Assemblymember Robert Rivas, D-Hollister. “Homelessness is becoming a significant problem.”

Worker advocates say an estimated statewide shortage of about 3.5 million houses and apartments has made the long-running challenge of finding safe and affordable homes for farmworkers even worse.

A study by a regional think tank found that of 91,000 workers employed by agricultural firms in the Salinas and Pajaro valleys in 2016, roughly nine in 10 rented housing, and many lived in severely crowded spaces, with more than two people sleeping in every bedroom, living room and dining room.

Workers have been living in “third-world country conditions” — in RVs, dilapidated mobile homes and packed apartments — during the housing shortage, Rivas said.

The law streamlines construction of new worker housing by eliminating some fees, as well as local and environmental restrictions. Land zoned for farming can be developed into worker housing as long as it meets basic environmental and safety guidelines. The projects must be inclusive and managed by a separate, nonprofit agency to eliminate potential conflicts of interest between workers and their employers.

A farmer choosing the optional housing program is eligible for financial support from the state.

Growers and agricultural industry groups, including the Western Growers Association, California Chamber of Commerce, and Family Winemakers of California, fought the proposal.

The proposal “would not help mitigate the farmworker housing crisis and in fact would make it worse,” industry groups wrote in a July letter to a senate committee chairman. They argued farmers would be reluctant to hand housing management to a third party.

Rivas said the law is an important first step to address the problem.

Newsom meanwhile vetoed a measure by Sen. Jim Beall, D-San Jose, that would have created an Affordable Housing and Sustainable Community Development program. The proposal would have provided funds for affordable housing through a partnership between the state and local governments.

Newsom said in a signing statement the bill could have cost as much as $2 billion annually and instead should be considered during budget deliberations.

The veto killed a measure that drew support from developers, local governments, labor and housing advocates, Beall said in a statement.

“The only solution to homelessness is a home, and the governor has vetoed the best chance we had to jump-start housing production efforts this year,” Beall said. “While this is a devastating blow to all of these groups and all Californians in desperate need of housing, we are eager to come back next year with a solution that will better address the housing crisis.”

Uber has doubled the number of government approvals it has received to hire foreign workers through the controversial H-1B visa this year, while laying off hundreds of skilled employees, state and federal data show.

The San Francisco ride-hailing giant revealed in a California employment-department filing this month that it is laying off nearly 400 workers at its offices in the city and in Palo Alto. The filing showed software engineers at the firm were the hardest hit, with more than 125 people cut loose.

Meanwhile, Uber this year received federal government approval for 299 new H-1B visas — work permits intended for jobs requiring specialized skills — compared with 152 in 2018 and 158 in 2017, according to data from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. It is unclear whether Uber plans to use all those visas or when new H-1B workers might be brought on. The visas typically cost thousands of dollars each to obtain.

The maneuvers raise questions about whether the Bay Area company is moving to replace U.S. workers with cheaper foreign labor as it struggles to please Wall Street months after its much-hyped IPO.

“When they’re laying off, they shouldn’t be using H-1Bs at all, or maybe sparingly at best,” said Ron Hira, a Howard University professor who studies the use of the visa by companies. “It runs totally contrary to the intent of the H-1B program.”

Uber declined to answer questions in any detail about its increasing pursuit of H-1B workers at a time of significant layoffs, but a company spokesman said, “Any implication that these restructurings were done in order to replace U.S. workers with H-1B workers is simply not true.” Uber declined to say if H-1B workers were among those laid off.

The H-1B has become a flashpoint in America’s debate over immigration. The U.S. Department of Labor specifies that the visa is intended to authorize temporary foreign labor when employers can’t otherwise obtain “needed business skills and abilities” in the U.S. workforce. Major Silicon Valley technology firms have lobbied to increase the annual 85,000 cap on new H-1B visas, arguing that they need more of them to secure the world’s top talent.

Critics have pointed to reported abuses by outsourcing firms — including replacement of U.S. workers by H-1B holders at UC San Francisco and Disney — and contend that outsourcers, along with the tech giants, use the visas to supplant U.S. workers, cut labor costs and drive down wages.

This year, Uber has submitted thousands of preliminary applications for more H-1B workers, two-thirds of them for software engineer jobs.

Uber’s Sept. 10 filing with California’s employment regulator showed that it had laid off 88 workers from its San Francisco offices in August, and this month would lay off 238 more in San Francisco and 82 in its Palo Alto offices. Of the more than 125 software engineers losing jobs, more than 60 were senior software engineers, according to the filing. This week, the company said it had laid off 350 workers but declined to specify to this news organization which job types or office locations were affected.

The layoffs in Palo Alto and San Francisco hit job types that Uber, according to the applications, is seeking to fill with foreign workers. In the first three quarters of this year, Uber filed about 1,800 preliminary applications to the Labor Department for H-1B visas for new software engineer jobs and about 1,500 for new senior software engineer jobs. The applications, filed with the U.S. Department of Labor, are a first step toward obtaining new or renewed visas,  but don’t represent the number of positions to be filled.

Immigration policy analyst David Bier of the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, didn’t see evidence of H-1B abuse by Uber in its increased visa approvals and efforts to obtain more.

“The software engineer market, it’s so saturated with H-1Bs that some of the people who are laid off are almost inevitably H-1Bs and some of the people that are being hired are inevitably H-1Bs,” Bier said. “I don’t read into it anything like this is obviously job displacement.”

But Hira questioned why many of Uber’s applications listed the same wage level for “senior” and non-senior software engineers. He also said many of the software engineer jobs could bring lower pay than the Bay Area’s prevailing wages.

Uber’s applications put nearly half the senior software engineer positions at the Labor Department’s “Level 2” wages, the same level it listed for more than half of the non-senior jobs: a minimum $109,242 for employment in Palo Alto and $121,077 in San Francisco.

But the Labor Department says that a Level 3 wage should be considered for jobs with the word “senior” in the title, Hira noted. The Labor Department’s Level 3 wage for software engineers is $132,184 in Palo Alto and $147,597 in San Francisco.

“It makes no sense that you would have a senior software engineer and a software engineer being paid at the same wage level,” Hira said.”That runs contrary to the whole point of having wage levels.”

Hira said that applying for visas using a lower-level salary classification helps companies save money. Obtaining foreign workers at Level 2 wages allows companies to pay about 20 percent less than the average wage for their job and location, Hira said.

“Mis-classification is very common,” Hira said. “That’s why the tech industry loves the (H-1B) program. They get to choose. There’s no check on who’s actually filling that position.”

But an Uber spokesperson said the company takes wage obligations seriously.

“It is our policy and practice to make these classification determinations carefully according to Department of Labor guidelines, based on the duties, knowledge, and skills that are required to perform the role,” the spokesperson said.

Bier, of the Cato Institute, said Uber’s applications show relatively high wages. “I don’t think it’s obviously out of line with what companies are paying,” he said. “They’re certainly providing good compensation — the average H-1B is well below $100,000.”

But Kevin Lynn, executive director of Progressives for Immigration Reform, which opposes large-scale use of foreign workers, said that although the U.S. needs skilled non-citizens in its workforce, the H-1B visa ties its holders too tightly to their employers. “This is ultimately what American companies strive for,” he said. “They want a quiescent workforce that is inexpensive and expendable.”

Staff writer George Avalos contributed to this report.

The Clippers came up a whopping 30 times in the 18th annual NBA.com GM Survey, posted Thursday morning on the league’s website.

In the same survey a season ago, the Clippers received mention only eight times – and didn’t figure anywhere among the top eight teams in the Western Conference.

What a difference a year makes: Forty-six percent of the league’s decision-makers think this season’s Clippers, now starring Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, are the favorites to win the NBA title, which would be the first for the organization.

Clippers coach Doc Rivers – who, according to the poll, is considered the league’s second-best motivator/manager behind only the San Antonio Spurs’ Gregg Popovich – has said he considers high expectations to be a privilege.

“Well the hope is the highest, that’s what you want,” Rivers said this week. “I don’t think we’re in this business to have a low bar; I think you want a high bar.”

The Milwaukee Bucks finished second among likely champions, with 36% of the vote, followed by the Lakers with 11%. The Golden State Warriors (who garnered 87% of the vote in 2018) and Portland Trail Blazers also got votes this time.

How it worked: GMs responded to 50 questions involving the best teams, players, coaches, fans and offseason moves and were not permitted to vote for their own team or personnel. Percentages were based on the pool of respondents to a particular question, rather than all 30 GMs, according to NBA.com.

So, what else did the survey say?

That Leonard dethroned LeBron James as the league’s best small forward, a title he’d held since 2005. This year, 62% of respondents identified Leonard as tops at the position and 24% maintained that it’s James.

James, ever so versatile, also ranked third among power forwards and point guards.

Eighty-two percent thought the Clippers made the best offseason moves, followed by the New Orleans Pelicans (11%). Also, 52% said the Clippers’ trade to acquire George from the Oklahoma City Thunder constituted the “most surprising move of the offseason.”

Fifty-two percent of respondents expect Giannis Antetokounmpo to repeat as Most Valuable Player, but that Leonard is tied with Golden State’s Stephen Curry and the Lakers’ Anthony Davis as the second-most popular preseason MVP pick (10%).

Fifty-nine percent believe Leonard is not only the best perimeter defender, but the best defensive player in the NBA (45%). George, by the way, was listed as the fourth-best defender (7%) and second best on the perimeter (21%).

It adds up, then, that the Clippers were tabbed as the best defensive team by 52% of respondents.

Sixth-seven percent said Leonard is anticipated to “make the biggest impact,” followed by the Lakers’ Anthony Davis (21%) and then George (12%).

Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell are considered the NBA’s best two bench players, with 79% and 7% of the vote, respectively. Before last season, Williams also was considered the league’s most impactful reserve, but by just 41% of the vote.

The Clippers’ George is considered the second-best shooting guard in the league (7%), a distant second to Houston’s James Harden (86%).

Thirty-one percent of the pool considered Clippers’ Doc Rivers is considered second-best manager/motivator, behind the San Antonio Spurs’ Gregg Popovich (41%).

The Lakers were picked to be the most improved team (38%), followed by the Dallas Mavericks (21%) and then the Clippers (10%) — who, remember, won 48 games and reached the postseason last season.

And like last season, the Clippers’ Patrick Beverley was included among those also receiving votes for “toughest player.”

The GM's have spoken! What surprised you the most?

Check out all the results of the GM Survey:
https://t.co/kZZcsVDHRB pic.twitter.com/9AvPLXs2HJ

— NBA TV (@NBATV) October 17, 2019

By ELENA BECATOROS and SARAH EL DEEB

CEYLANPINAR, Turkey — The Kurdish-led administration in northern Syria accused Turkey on Friday of violating a U.S.-brokered cease-fire that went into effect overnight, as fighters from both sides clashed in and around a border town that has been one of the fiercest fronts in the Turkish invasion.

The town of Ras al-Ayn was emerging as an immediate test for the five-day cease-fire agreed on by Washington and Ankara. Before the deal’s announcement, Turkish-backed forces had encircled the town and were battling fierce resistance from Kurdish fighters inside.

The Syrian Kurds raised further uncertainty over a cease-fire deal that already was vague on key points and left significant questions unanswered. The self-rule administration said some provisions of the cease-fire deal “need further discussion with the United States.”

It did not specify which provisions, but the Kurds have not publicly committed to a central term of the deal — a pullout of their fighters from the border region. A spokesman for the Kurdish-led fighters said Friday they were not withdrawing from Ras al-Ayn because Turkish forces are still besieging and shelling it.

Criticism of the cease-fire deal — which President Donald Trump called “a great day for civilization” — mounted. EU Council President Donald Tusk said it was “not a cease-fire, it is a demand for the capitulation of the Kurds” and called on Turkey to immediately halt its operation in northeast Syria. French President Emmanuel Macron called the Turkish operation “madness.”

Turkish shelling hit in and around Ras al-Ayn on Friday morning, raising columns of smoke, seen by an Associated Press journalist in Ceylanpinar on the Turkish side of the border, but none was seen after 10:30 a.m., and only sporadic gunfire was heard from inside the town.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Rojava Information Center said fighting continued into the afternoon as Turkish-backed Syrian fighters clashed with Kurdish forces in villages on the outskirts of Ras al-Ayn. The Kurdish-led force said five of its fighters were killed and a number of civilians wounded in a Turkish airstrike on one of the villages.

Other activists reported a new exodus of civilians from the villages. Gun battles and shelling continued around a hospital in the center of Ras al-Ayn, and those injured inside could not be evacuated, said Mustafa Bali, spokesman for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. The Kurdish Red Crescent said it was unable to enter the town to evacuate the wounded because of fighting.

Kurdish fighters said the fighting quieted around 4 p.m.

In its statement, the Kurdish-led administration said Turkey “has not adhered with the cease-fire until now in some areas,” particularly in Ras al-Ayn.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan denied any fighting took place Friday and said Kurdish fighters had begun withdrawing, a claim the Kurds denied.

A senior U.S. official said they were awaiting confirmation on the reported fighting. The official said it takes time for information to filter down to field units especially for forces without strong command and control. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The cease-fire agreement — reached after hours of negotiations in Turkey’s capital between Erdogan and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence — requires the Kurdish fighters to vacate a swath of territory in Syria along the Turkish border. That arrangement would largely solidify the position Turkey has gained after days of fighting. The Turks and the Kurds appear to disagree on the size of the area covered by the cease-fire. Turkey calls it a “pause” not a cease-fire.

It remains unclear if the Kurdish-led force was on board with pulling back even if a pause in fighting firmly takes hold.

Pence said the U.S. was already coordinating with it on a withdrawal. But American sway with the group has diminished after Trump turned his back on it by withdrawing U.S. soldiers from northeast Syria, opening the way for Turkey to launch its invasion 10 days ago.

The Kurdish-led force’s commander, Mazloum Abdi, said Thursday night that it would abide by the cease-fire and “do our best to make it successful.” He did not mention any withdrawal.

Asked about a withdrawal, a force spokesman, Mervan, said “so far there is nothing,” pointing to the continuing siege of Ras al-Ayn. “It seems that under this deal they want to commit more massacres,” he said. He uses a nom de guerre in accordance with the group’s regulations.

A member of the Syrian Kurdish force ruled out any pull-back from border towns, calling the U.S. deal with Turkey an “insult” and saying “no way this will work.”

“They think we will just leave our land and our people to Turks if we are asked,” he said. “They can come and take the land by force. Nobody should expect us to leave our land.”

“How does the U.S. think to enforce a deal without presence on the ground?” he added, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.

Elsewhere, no fighting was heard Friday along the stretch of the border that has been the main theater of the Turkish assault, running from Ras al-Ayn about 125 kilometers (75 miles) west to the Turkish-held town of Tal Abyad. Kurdish fighters have already been driven out of much, but not all, of that territory.

Trump framed the U.S. cease-fire deal with Turkey as “a great day for civilization,” but it aims to patch up a foreign policy crisis widely seen to be of his own making.

Turkish troops and their allied Syrian fighters launched the offensive two days after Trump suddenly announced he was withdrawing American troops from the border area. The Kurdish-led forces have since invited the Syrian government’s military, backed by Russia, to deploy there to protect them from Turkey. Syrian troops have already rolled into several key points along the border.

The Kurds were U.S. allies in the fight against the Islamic State since 2014, but Turkey considers the Kurdish fighters terrorists because of their links to outlawed Kurdish rebels fighting inside Turkey since the 1980s. Turkey has said its security depends on clearing them out of a border “safe zone.”

Turkey’s pro-government dominated media hailed the cease-fire agreement as a clear win for Erdogan. “Great Victory” read Yeni Safak’s banner headline. “Turkey got everything it wanted.” Sabah newspaper headlined: “We won both on the field and on the (negotiating) table.”

____

El Deeb reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers Suzan Fraser in Ankara and Mehmet Guzel in Ceylanpinar contributed.

The southern segment of Los Patrones Parkway opened to traffic in Rancho Mission Viejo on Thursday, Oct. 17.

The completed project extended the parkway about a mile and a half from Chiquita Canyon Drive to Cow Camp Road.

“It really begins to open up our community to the broader south county region in terms of access and mobility, so we are really excited about it,” said Mike Balsamo, senior vice president of governmental relations for Rancho Mission Viejo.

Officials completed the first phase of the project from Oso Parkway to Chiquita Canyon Drive in September 2018, and had expected to finish the entire length of construction that year. But winter rains slowed the pace, Balsamo said.

With the extension finished, the 4.5-mile, four-lane public road connects Rancho Mission Viejo residents, especially those in the Esencia neighborhoods, to Oso Parkway and the 241 toll road.

OC Public Works is spending $30 million to turn Oso Parkway into a bridge and to connect the 241 toll road directly to Los Patrones Parkway. Drivers on Los Patrones should directly connect to the 241 toll road by this spring, agency spokesman Shannon Widor said.

The entire stretch of Los Patrones Parkway cost $98 million to construct, funding happened through a partnership between Rancho Mission Viejo, the county and the Transportation Corridor Agencies.

The road will also be a link to Rancho Mission Viejo’s Planning Area 3. The area is named Rienda, which is Spanish for reins, reflecting the community’s equestrian heritage, Balsamo said. The 2,000-acre area could be developed with up to 7,000 homes and 2 million square feet of commercial space.

Rancho Mission Viejo will soon build a bridge to extend Cow Camp Road into the Rienda community. Cow Camp Road would ultimately connect to Ortega Highway, although that plan is years out, Balsamo said.

Once built out, the entire community of Rancho Mission Viejo is expected to have 14,000 homes.

Los Patrones Parkway may go through another extension. Officials have proposed extending the road to Avenida La Pata as a way to address traffic in south county, instead of extending the 241 toll road to San Clemente. Several options are being studied at the same time.

After 135 scoreless minutes and three consecutive losses, the Kings could stand to close out their five-game engagement at Staples Center on a high note against the Calgary Flames on Saturday.

Dull results have drawn sharp words from coach Todd McLellan, who has bluntly criticized his team and individual players.

Evolving elements of the Kings’ game have been overshadowed by critical mistakes. McLellan identified errors in coverage that ended up in the Kings’ net in a 3-0 defeat at the hands of the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.

“We’re not giving up much, but we’re giving up long opportunities from end to end, and it continually has hurt us since training camp,” McLellan said. “Eventually guys are going to have to get it or we’ll be chasing games forever.”

McLellan was particularly critical of the forward line of Michael Amadio, Ilya Kovalchuk and Austin Wagner. They were on the ice for both first-period goals against, scored on consecutive shifts by the trio.

“The same line two shifts in a row made the same mistake. You’d think you’d learn the first time,” McLellan said.

He elaborated: “That’s stupidity. They know exactly what they’re supposed to do.”

McLellan also took time to critique Kovalchuk and seemingly Wagner as individuals. Kovalchuk was a major free-agent signing in the summer of 2018 and Wagner was identified by some as a pleasant surprise last season.

“You may have scored 10, 12, 14, 15 goals last year. You think you’re going to (score) 25 and giving up 30? Obviously it’s not going to work that way,” McLellan said, likely referring to Wagner.

He also zeroed in on missed offensive opportunities by Kovalchuk, particularly during a lengthy but ineffective two-man advantage.

“We’ve got a guy that’s scored 400 NHL goals with a slapper from the hashmarks, he had two of them, and put it over the net. We pay him handsomely to put those in and he’s got to do that,” said McLellan, adding that those misses were compounded by three minor penalties Kovalchuk took against a dangerous power play.

The Kings (2-5-0, 4 points) now face Calgary (4-3-1, 9 points), a squad they beat in overtime Oct. 8 at the Saddledome for their first victory of the season. Kings defenseman Drew Doughty and Calgary forward Matthew Tkachuk have been downplaying their feud of late, though Doughty reminded everyone “who the better player is” before the last contest.

Fewer fighting words did not stop them for each producing three points, including Tkachuk’s late goal to force overtime and Doughty’s to win the game 50 seconds into OT.

Beyond any individual battles, the Kings feel the pressure as a group of the three-game skid, even if there may be more excitement around this year’s Kings than the wearying group they put on the ice last season.

“We might be playing a little bit better, yeah, sure,” Kings captain Anze Kopitar said. “But make no mistake, nobody likes losing in here. It’s frustrating and it shouldn’t be acceptable.”

Roster moves

The Kings on Friday recalled forward Nikolai Prokhorkin from the Ontario Reign of the AHL, Kings Vice President and General Manager Rob Blake announced in a press release. Defenseman Tobias Bjornfot and forward Carl Grundstrom were assigned to the Reign.

Prokhorkin, 26, was drafted in the fourth round by the Kings in 2012. He was signed in the offseason after playing 41 games last season with SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL, where he recorded 20 goals and 21 assists with a plus-27 rating.

Bjornfot, 18, was chosen 22nd overall in this year’s draft and was scoreless in three games. Grundstrom had appeared in one game this season with one assist.

Calgary at Kings

When: 7 p.m. Saturday

Where: Staples Center

TV/Radio: Fox Sports West/iHeartRadio

A body was found in the trunk of an abandoned car near the 91 Freeway and the 241 Toll Road in Anaheim Hills on Thursday morning.

Anaheim police responded to calls for assistance from the California Highway Patrol about an abandoned sedan in a dirt lot along Santa Ana Canyon Road, just west of Gypsum Canyon Road.

CHP officers had found an object wrapped in a tarp in the trunk that was the size and shape of a human body.

Police said no information was immediately available on the identity of the person.

Police asked that anyone with information about the case call the OC Crime Stoppers Tip Line at 855-847-6227.

Composer Rachel Fuller didn’t get her first dog until she was 26 — she’d had cats as a kid — but one led to another and another and over three or four years she and her husband Pete Townshend — yes, that Pete Townshend, guitarist-singer in the legendary rock band the Who — found themselves with a six-pack of pooches.

“It was a fabulous pack, for well over a decade we just lived with this pack of dogs,” says Fuller, who in addition to orchestral pieces and scores for film, television and theater, occasionally performs as a singer-songwriter.

“And I remember Pete had said to me in the early days, ‘You do realize, Rachel, that these dogs are all going to get old at the same time,’ and I thought, ‘Oh, you’re so morbid!’” she says. “I was living in the moment in my twenties, so I didn’t really think about it, but what happened is that I lost Spud, who was my first dog, about five years ago.”

Fuller, 46, whose new album, “Animal Requiem,” was released earlier this month, was in Los Angeles in advance of its United States’ debut at UCLA’s Royce Hall on Saturday, Oct. 26.

She says that after the loss of her beloved Spud, the rest of four-legged family members soon followed: Flash, the border collie that Townshend got around the same time Fuller brought home Spud; Harry, another golden retriever; Barney, a Bichon Frise; Wistle, the Yorkshire terrier that slept by Fuller’s head at night; and Cracker, a poodle whom Fuller describes as both Machiavellian and pure of heart.

It was, she says, a period of devastating pain, but one in which her long-held dream of writing a classical requiem found new purpose and meaning.

“I didn’t want to do a sort of bog-standard (i.e. basic) requiem, I wanted it to have a theme,” Fuller says. “Benjamin Britten had written a war requiem, which actually is a requiem for peace. A British composer called Howard Goodall had done a requiem to light called ‘Eternal Light.’

“I guess in the middle of sort of the grief of losing our dogs I thought I should do this for animals,” she says. “I should do it as a memorial to honor them because they play such a huge role in our lives, but when we experience loss (of a pet) we don’t really have any ritual or comfort. And I thought, if I can write music that moves people, hopefully, it would a source of uplift and comfort, and that was it.

“I didn’t feel like, you know, I can heal grief,” Fuller says and laughs. “So, you know, it wasn’t a grandiose thing. It’s just what I do, I write music, and so it all came together.”

Fuller had witnessed plenty of grief and mourning when at 18 when she got a job as an organist at a crematorium, playing at funerals there for the next two years.

“It was a morbid thing to do. I’m not quite sure what was happening there,” she says. “But I did do that and I could see over my years playing there how important the funeral is for mourners. It’s, of course, a place of sadness. It’s a safe place to grieve and weep. But people also get closure and they say goodbye properly and there’s a real sense of really honoring the lives and also celebrating.”

“Animal Requiem” provides music for all of those purposes, much of it based on the Latin traditions of requiem masses, but some of the songs offering hope and uplift and reminiscences, too.

“I mean I definitely do not want to traumatize them and make them really sad,” she says and laughs. “I wanted to take listeners on a sort of journey.”‘

She remembers watching during its premiere in London earlier this year as people listened, many clearly feeling the cathartic emotions she’d intended.

“I think it’s as simple as the fact that music is very healing,” Fuller says. “People have used it for millennia. I remember sitting in my room when I was 14, and my boyfriend dumped me because I’d got glandular fever, and just listening to Joni Mitchell and sort of wailing, but at the same time it was very healing.”

Even her husband, the stoic, seldom visibly emotional rock star, was moved by memories of past losses during the London performance, she says.

“He suddenly remembered being a six-, seven-year-old boy and having these three goldfish which he had called Freeman, Hardy and Willis, which was the name of a shoe store in the United Kingdom,” Fuller says. “It would be a bit like having two fish and calling them Steve Madden or something like that.

“Anyway, he got home from school one day and they were all dead, and he buried them in the garden and made little crucifixes out of wooden lollypop sticks,” she says. “And his eyes filled up with tears and he was sort of embarrassed.

“He looked around, you know, and thought, ‘I really don’t need to embarrass myself by crying about my (bleepin’) goldfish.’ And he said that everybody had tears in their eyes. So yeah, it can hopefully move even the most stoic of men about their goldfish.”

“Animal Requiem,” in addition to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Chamber Choir of London, also includes several unexpected elements, including a recording of birdsong from the cave where St. Francis of Assisi lived out his life, which Fuller recorded on her iPhone.

“I am not immune to doing what I call real pretentious artist (stuff),” Fuller says, laughing as she embarks this story. “And I thought, ‘Right, so St. Francis of Assisi was the patron saint of animals, you hear lots of stories about how he used to go preach to animals in the woods, and there’s a famous scene called Conference of the Birds where he started to preach to all these birds and they fell silent.

“I thought, ‘I must involve St. Francis in the ‘Animal Requiem,’” she says.

So she went on a solo expedition to Assisi to visit the body of the saint, the home where he was born, and the cave, sort of thinking how cool it would be to receive divine inspiration while simultaneously recognizing the ridiculousness of her miracle quest.

“I’m waiting for inspiration and I’m thinking I don’t expect anything, an angel of the Lord is not going to come down and give you notes,” Fuller says. “I went in the cave and I’m sitting there with my eyes closed, and I’m thinking, ‘Don’t expect anything,’ but in the back of my mind I’m thinking, ‘Yeah, a vision would be great’ — she laughs — ” ‘Or even a color or a puff of smoke.”

But the birdsong outside the cave grew louder and louder to the point it seemed like there must be a speaker hidden in the cave.

“And I thought, ‘Oh God, I wish that bloody noise would stop so that I can concentrate on my vision,’” Fuller says. “Then I thought, ‘Maybe this is it. This is what I’m supposed to hear.’ And that’s what you hear at the beginning of the record.”

The album ends with a different species of bird song, the Beatles’ recording of the Paul McCartney tune “Blackbird” with Fuller’s orchestral and choral elements added to the original recordings, the first time McCartney and the Beatles have allowed one of their recordings to be used in such fashion

Fuller says the idea to reach out to McCartney came about out of a desire to raise more money from the album. All of the proceeds will go to animal welfare and rescue organizations around the world, and she thought having a well-known rock star on the record might sell more copies and provide more help.

“I said to Pete, and I don’t ask for this stuff a lot — I’m not particularly nepotistic — ‘Do you think that we could write to Paul and ask if he’d let me do a version of “Blackbird” for the album?’” Fuller says. “So Pete wrote a letter about the project and what it was for, and Paul just emailed back immediately and said, ‘Yes, of course, here, have it.’ It was an amazing thing for him to do.”

“Blackbird” will be included when “Animal Requiem” is performed at Royce Hall. In addition to the Hollywood Studio Orchestra and the choral group Tonality, the program will feature Townshend on one song, actress Jane Lynch as the narrator, and opera singers Bruce Sledge and Caroline McKenzie.

Fuller and Townshend have a new pack of four dogs today — Tuppence, the Irish terrier; Elsa, a rescue mutt from the island of Antigua; Pudding, a Chihuahua-Yorkie mix; and Peanut, a miniature Yorkshire terrier — whom they hope have many good years left to live and love.

“It’s hard to articulate the bond and the relationship you have with an animal, and when they go it just hurts,” she says. “It’s very pure and innocent.

“People use the word unconditional, which can sound a bit cliche, but it’s true.”

Rachel Fuller’s ‘Animal Requiem’

When: 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26

Where: UCLA’s Royce Hall, 10745 Dickson Court, Los Angeles

How much: $39-$99

For more: Animalrequiem.com has links for tickets, to buy the album, donate to animal welfare organizations, and hear and buy the album.