The backward-facing skunk with his tail up in the air is one of the first critters young kids race toward when they clamor aboard the new Jessie’s Critter Carousel in Pixar Pier at Disney California Adventure.

“Turning the skunk around, just knowing how skunks operate, that’s probably the dangerous end first,” said Pixar’s Steve Mason, who worked on the new attraction. “It just felt that would be a real blast if somebody’s got to ride a skunk backwards.”

Jessie’s Critter Carousel officially debuts Friday, April 5, in the new Pixar Pier land at Disney California Adventure. The new attraction has been in “soft opening” test-and-adjust mode for about a week.

The re-themed merry-go-round replaces the former King Triton’s Carousel between the Toy Story Midway Mania shoot-em-up dark ride and the entrance for the rethemed Incredicoaster in the rechristened Pixar Pier. The reskinned carousel is part of the second phase of an extensive Pixar makeover of the former Paradise Pier boardwalk area at the Anaheim theme park.

The fresh-yet-vintage look of Jessie’s Critter Carousel was inspired by Fisher Price toy carousels and spinning tin toys. The carousel is designed to look like an oversized child’s toy with a big red knob on top, just like the one you would push down to make a toy top spin. The red spiral steel roof trimmed with white lights adds to the spinning look of the design.

“When we initially started working on it, we knew that we wanted everything to have those super vivid primary colors,” said Walt Disney Imagineering creative director Debbie Gonzalez. “A lot of carousels tend to be very pastel or even metallic gold. We wanted ours to have a very toy-like shiny feel to it.”

The new attraction is set in the world of the 1950s-era “Woody’s Roundup” cartoon, the show-within-a-show in “Toy Story 2” starring Sheriff Woody and Jessie the yodeling cowgirl. The ride’s conceit is that the carousel is a toy owned by one of the kids in the “Toy Story” world and theme park visitors have been shrunk down to the size of a toy.

The backstory of Jessie’s Critter Carousel tells the tale of the feisty and exuberant cowgirl riding out with her critter pals to save the imperiled Prospector in a Wild West-inspired adventure. A 120-foot-long mural that serves as the backdrop to the attraction tells the whole story from beginning to end.

“It’s early one morning and the critters run into town to get Jessie to help,” said Mason, who designed the mural. “They rush past the sheriff and he’s like, ‘Go save the day, Jessie.’ They run with Jessie to go save the Prospector who has gotten trapped up on this rock over this rushing river.”

The carousel has eight different ride-on critters with saddles that are repeated on the ride in several color combinations. There are turtles, snakes, buzzards, armadillos, bunnies, deer, raccoons and skunks. A family of owls lives in two fallen tree bench seats for those who don’t want to go up and down on the carousel.

The wacky critters have a maniacal look in their bulging eyes, as if they’ve been out in the desert heat too long.

“They’re super cute, but they’re a little crazy too,” said Mason, Pixar Animation Studios associate creative director for theme parks. “That’s what makes them a lot of fun.”

The ride and mural expand on the humorous cast of critters in the “Woody’s Roundup” children’s television show, originally designed by Pixar artist Bud Luckey.

“That’s the charm of Bud’s original art,” Mason said. “It really captured that funny line between cute but a little maniacal. It fits with Jessie’s really exuberant character, too. You buy that they’re real pals. That they share this bond.”

The ride-on critters are painted a mix of vibrant primary colors. There are blue snakes, pink armadillos, purple raccoons, red buzzards and green turtles. The two skunks — one blue and the other purple — have proved to be the most popular critters, according to ride operators. Young riders eye their favorites before they ever board the carousel.

“I’ve seen all the girls running towards pink bunny,” Gonzalez said. “The boys have been running for either the snake or the skunk. It’s so funny.”

The 14-foot-tall hand-painted mural tells the attraction’s backstory from right to left as riders spin counterclockwise on the carousel. The right side of the mural starts with a howling coyote on a moonlit night. The left side of the mural ends with the Prospector and his gold nugget-laden donkey stuck atop a butte after a suspension bridge collapses.

In between, Woody can be seen in front of the swinging door of his sheriff’s office on the dusty streets of a Wild West town. Further along, a lasso-twirling Jessie rides astride her horse Bullseye amid a critter stampede racing toward the precipice of a steep cliff. A vulture perched on a prickly cactus anxiously eyes the imperiled Prospector and his donkey.

“I figured you’re going to see this a lot,” Mason said of the mural. “You’re going to go around a lot of times and I want to give the guests so much to look at that they can not take it all in in one or two passes, maybe even one entire ride. They’ll need to come back and do it again.”

The ride features six musical tracks, including the original “Woody’s Roundup” theme song. Four additional songs from the show-within-a-show — “Jessie, The Yodeling Cowgirl,” “Prospector Pete,” “The Ballad of Bullseye” and “Hey Howdy Hey” — were updated for the attraction. A new song, “Jessie Saves the Day,” tells the story of the attraction as depicted in the mural.

Jessie’s Critter Carousel is chock full of Easter eggs for hardcore fans.

There’s a Hidden Mickey in the mural amid the orange spots of a purple gila monster near the ride exit.

The mural pays homage twice to the dynamite-chewing Big Thunder Mountain billy goat. The TNT goat from the Disneyland roller coaster helps form a storytelling infinity loop on the spinning carousel. The goat shows up at the beginning and end of the mural as the instigator of the explosion that destroyed the bridge and stranded the Prospector.

The ride’s biggest Easter egg will be right under the noses of every rider who enters Jessie’s Critter Carousel. The entrance marquee features an 11-foot-tall Jessie lassoing a cactus festooned with a red flower.

In early concept art for “Toy Story 2,” Jessie’s role was played by a character named Señorita Cactus, an anthropomorphic potted plant sporting a red flower.

“We took that piece of concept art and actually made that our marquee,” Gonzalez said. “So Jessie is roping what was supposed to be her original character, Señorita Cactus.”

Early concept ideas for the re-themed carousel didn’t involve Jessie and the critters.

One of the creative team’s favorite ideas was a carousel seat in the shape of a TNT stick of dynamite.

“It was the funniest thing,” Gonzalez said. “But then when it actually came down to the physical ride mechanics, we realized it was no longer looking like the funniest stick of dynamite.”

In one instance, real-world considerations like rider safety trumped a plan to have theme park visitors sit on cacti.

Another Blue Sky plan called for riders to sit on the Toy Story characters, but it was hard to get them in scale with each other.

“We went through all the characters of Toy Story,” Gonzalez said. “The second someone said the critters, all of a sudden it was sold. There was no going back.”

The creative team considered including Jessie’s horse, Bullseye, among the critters but eventually jettisoned the idea.

“The scale of Bullseye would have been off to the critters,” Mason said. “It would have elevated one of them to a higher status. If you had one Bullseye, it might cause some fights.”

Critters that didn’t make the cut on the carousel — like a porcupine, roadrunner and flying squirrel -— ended up in the stampede scene in the mural.

“Sometimes it was a sad moment when we had to say goodbye to the ones that were favorites but just didn’t work on a carousel,” Gonzalez said.

The second phase of the Pixar Pier makeover continues later this year with the addition of Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind, a re-skinning of the former Flik’s Flyers attraction. The spinning ride was part of the now defunct A Bug’s Land, which was demolished to make room for a new super hero land in 2020 with Marvel themed attractions.

The Fairview Developmental Center, with its 125-acre Costa Mesa campus sitting nearly empty, has repeatedly been suggested as a place to house homeless people.

Now, two of Orange County’s state legislators are pushing bills that could determine the center’s future, at least in the short term, and both ideas could involve the homeless.

The developmental center opened in 1959 on Harbor Boulevard as a state-owned residential facility for people with developmental or intellectual disabilities, but its population – 2,700 residents at its peak – has dwindled to about 80 people. In 2015, then-Gov. Jerry Brown ordered it closed by 2021.

A proposal from Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva would use a portion of the center to house and care for up to 200 homeless people with the most serious mental health needs who can’t be placed in a typical emergency shelter. The temporary mental health program would open this summer and operate until the center closes or until the end of 2021.

More than 200 homeless people died in Orange County last year, including Quirk-Silva’s brother. While not all of them had a physical or mental illness, she said it still leaves her “shocked and devastated and horrified.”

“I just feel like Orange County is too great of a county to allow this to happen on our streets,” she said. “We have a state facility that has thousands of rooms.”

Using Fairview to house mentally ill homeless would be a short-term solution until permanent facilities can be built, and county mental health funds could pay for it, Quirk-Silva said.

Meanwhile, Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris, whose district includes Costa Mesa, drafted a bill that doesn’t dictate Fairview’s future, but would require the state to hold a hearing and take public input before it could sell the property as surplus. Currently, no such public involvement is required.

People in the surrounding community deserve to know what will happen to the center and to be involved in the process, Petrie-Norris said.

In the long term, she said, given the property’s size it could host a variety of complementary developments, such as a college campus, a mental health center, affordable housing for students and seniors, and housing with long-term support and services for the formerly homeless. Petrie-Norris said she may put that plan forward in a separate bill later.

Because of licensing requirements, earthquake safety issues and other regulations, Petrie-Norris said she’s skeptical that Quirk-Silva’s plan could be put in place quickly enough.

“There are programs that are already up and running that we can amplify and build up their capacity,” such as publicly funded emergency shelters run by the nonprofit-Mercy House and an agreement with College Hospital to provide mental health crisis care, Petrie-Norris said.

Both ideas for Fairview could prove divisive.

U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter is one of the leading voices for using some part of Fairview to temporarily house and provide services to homeless people whose mental illness poses the most danger to themselves and others.

For more than a year, while presiding over homeless lawsuits, the judge has repeatedly questioned why the mostly dormant but well-equipped Fairview grounds can’t be used as a stopgap to address one of the more pressing needs in the county’s ongoing homelessness crisis.

Again, during a hearing on Tuesday, Carter expressed his exasperation and called for local officials to contact Gov. Gavin Newsom on the spot. “I don’t want to wait for the California Assembly on this.”

But Costa Mesa city leaders and residents are likely to oppose housing homeless at Fairview, as they did when a former Orange County supervisor suggested it in 2018.

In a recent interview, Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Foley said she supports helping the community’s mentally ill homeless residents, but she doesn’t think the developmental center is the best place to do it. Foley does like the idea of giving the public an opportunity to give input on the facility’s future.

While their ideas for the future of the Fairview Developmental Center diverge, the assemblywomen agree that the need to address homelessness and mental health in Orange County is urgent.

“Every day that we don’t do something is a day that we have the potential to lose another person on the streets of Orange County,” Quirk-Silva said.

Both bills have been sent to assembly committees for discussion.

Staff writer Theresa Walker contributed to this report.

The summer Meg Linton turned 7, her family finally settled in Corona del Mar’s Eastbluff after years of moving around. One thing, though: Little Meg was behind the reading curve after changing schools so much. That changed when she found a friendly librarian and started to explore the treasures among the book stacks at the Newport Beach Public Library.

So you could say that today Linton is back home. After a 20-year career in nonprofits and as an art curator – most recently as the director of galleries and exhibitions at Otis College of Art and Design’s Ben Maltz Gallery in Los Angeles – Linton has taken the reigns as the new CEO of the Newport Beach Public Library Foundation.

“I spent quite a bit of time trying to leave the OC,” she admits with a laugh. “But it feels so good to be back. There are so many exciting things that are happening that weren’t around when I was a kid. It’s exciting. The diversity that is happening – I love walking around Balboa Island and it’s so great to hear so many different languages being spoken.”

She came on board in February and is charged with steering the nonprofit in its efforts to engage the community with innovative literary, cultural and intellectual offerings – challenges for which, she says, her career has left her well-equipped. “Through my career in contemporary art and as a director of these nonprofits, those experiences have really prepared me for working in the public realm,” says Linton, who also notes her broad interest in cultural arts and politics.

But given NBPL’s vibrant offerings from the Witte Lecture Series that brings in famous authors, to kids’ programs and the “Medicine in Our Backyard” educational forum – Linton sees her new job as building on success: “It’s keeping all the things that are working and helping them work better,” she says. “Libraries are incredible gathering spaces. It is even more important today, where it offers free and accessible, vetted information.”

When she’s not at work you might catch her at the beach walking with red heeler mix, Rita Mae (named after author and feminist Rita Mae Brown), or maybe noodling on her own idea for a book. “I have had this idea burning for a while …,” she admits. “It’s coming slowly but surely.”

MY NEIGHBORHOOD: I’m living in Eastside Costa Mesa. While I grew up in Eastbluff and love that side of the bay, the walkability of 17th Street is gold. Being an avid pedestrian, I enjoy being steps away from all my necessary amenities – multiple supermarkets, an array of eateries, Sidecar Doughnuts, yoga, and, of course, the Mariner’s Branch Library. Oh! and my new find, the Eastside Mini-Mart. It’s a drive-through market, but I walk there with Rita Mae. She always gets a free Milk Bone.

MY SANCTUARY: Whenever I’m stressed, I head right to Balboa for a vigorous walk around the big and little islands. From the time my family moved here in the mid-’70s the island has always been my happy place. It’s a terrific combo of ocean, idiosyncratic architecture, and friendly people. The salt air is rejuvenating.

WHERE I’D LIKE TO MEET FOR LUNCH: We are lucky to live where there are so many tasty options. For the quick fix, the NB Central Library’s Bistro Express café has excellent offerings. For a longer chat, I head to Cucina Enoteca in Fashion Island – those fried squash blossoms are irresistible. I’m still waiting to get into Roger’s Gardens Farmhouse.

RED OR WHITE? If those are the only two choices, then red. If there are options, then a nice Irish Whiskey does the trick. Hi-Time Wine Cellars in Costa Mesa always has a fabulous selection plus they have a delicious candy section with my favorite chocolate rocks.

SKIING OR SURFING: Water over ice every time! You’ll find me out on my stand-up paddleboard tooling around the Back Bay on warm weekend mornings.

WORST ADVICE: When I was in my 20s someone advised me to “stop traveling and get a ‘real’ job.” The key? Do both!

THE BOOK THAT CHANGED MY LIFE: While working at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, I read “Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things” by Michael Braungart and William McDonough. It proposes designers and manufacturers look at the entire life cycle of a product while creating it so the raw materials aren’t downcycled into waste, but actually remain viable for future use. They proposed eliminating waste altogether while preserving commerce and refueling the natural environment.

ON MY NIGHTSTAND: Two large stacks of books. Currently I’m reading “The Library Book” by Susan Orlean, who spoke at the Foundation’s Library Live event back in March. Next in my queue are “The Hare with Amber Eyes: The Hidden Inheritance” by Edmund de Waal, “Calligraphy of the Witch” by Alicia Gaspar de Alba, and “The Island of Sea Women” by Lisa See.

PET PEEVE: Words are important to me and I believe in the power of language to change thought. When someone says “we gotta ‘man’ the shop,” I involuntarily grit my teeth. So, let’s “staff” the shop, table, booth or whatever it may be. It’s all about People Power.

IF I HAD A MAGIC WAND I WOULD: Make teleporting possible, provide healthcare for all, clean up the oceans and continents, optimize weather patterns so agriculture thrives and food is abundant world-wide.

THE THING I HOPE I NEVER FORGET: When I was a kid my father would reminiscence about his days attending a one-room schoolhouse in the Midwest. One day he told me about a note pinned to the bulletin board near his desk. It read, “If they draw a circle and shut you out, draw a bigger circle and pull them in.”

NO ONE KNOWS THAT I… am a crafter. My mother was an award-winning quilter. When she unexpectedly gave it up, I started as a way to coax her back into it. She’s stubborn and wouldn’t budge and now I’ve discovered a new passion. She’s taught me so much.

Former Vice President and potential 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden has had a rough week — he’s taken body blows over his handling of the Anita Hill hearings, supporting the 1994 crime bill and opposing school busing — but most of his lumps can be chalked up to the fact that sometimes he just rubs people the wrong way.

Literally.

As of now, four different women have accused Biden of touching them inappropriately.  The allegations range from being grabbed and kissed on the back of the head without consent, to Biden placing his hand on the thigh of a sexual assault survivor and then hugging her for “just a little bit too long.”

Biden promptly released a statement saying that he’s not the candidate of “Grope and Change.”

“Not once — never — did I believe I acted inappropriately…If it is suggested I did so, I will listen respectfully,” Biden wrote.

Current polling suggests that Biden is the clear frontrunner in the 2020 Democratic primary.  A Morning Consult poll released on April 2nd showed Biden leading the pack of potential candidates with 33 percent, followed by Bernie Sanders at 25 percent, and Kamala Harris and Beto O’Rourke tied at 8 percent.

I can already imagine the inauguration. Instead of “Raise your right hand and place your left hand on the Bible,” President Biden’s swearing-in would begin, “Now keep your hands where I can see them.”

However, polls are only a snapshot in time and everything can change in an instant.  Democratic primary voters have a long time to decide if they really want Biden to become America’s “hands-on” president.

We should also keep in mind that anything could happen — including the possibility that Biden doesn’t even jump in the race.

If that were to happen, there would be a mad scramble for Biden’s donors and supporters among the remaining Democratic candidates.

As far as I can tell, under those circumstances there are three likely places for his supporters to go.

The most likely scenario is that Biden voters land with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

This wouldn’t be because Bernie and Biden fill the same ideological place — they don’t.  Bernie could be the beneficiary simply because he’s the second most well known candidate in the race.

If people like Biden because he’s the “name brand” candidate, Bernie could be the Pepsi to Biden’s Coke.

Recent polling suggests this is likely.

The February Morning Consult poll among registered voters found that Sanders was the second choice for 27 percent of Biden’s supporters. Another 15 percent said they would back Sen. Kamala Harris, D-California, while 9 percent said they supported Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts.

A second possibility is that Biden’s support gets spread around the field.

Biden supporters are coming from a number of places; some embrace him because he’s perceived to be a political moderate, others like the fact that he’s the most well-known candidate in the race, and there is also nostalgia for his role in the Obama administration.

The motivation Biden voters had for supporting him will likely determine where they go in a Biden-less primary.

The third scenario is that Biden supporters gravitate to whoever becomes the non-Bernie establishment frontrunner.

Let’s face it, if Democrats go searching for a candidate with no history of groping women, that’s got to be good news for Pete Buttigieg and Kamala Harris.

Regardless of what happens, a presidential contest without Joe Biden would benefit one politician more than anyone else — President Donald Trump. I guess we’ll see if Democrats decide to give him a hand.

John Phillips can be heard weekdays at 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. on “The Morning Drive with John Phillips and Jillian Barberie” on KABC/AM 790.

The Constitution’s very specific list of inviolable human rights sets the United States apart from almost every other nation on Earth.

Unfortunately, California’s Democratic politicians tend to ignore the Constitution’s Bill of Rights in their zealous efforts to impose “progressive” dogma on their constituents.

Periodically, therefore, federal judges must remind them that Californians are also American citizens who must have their constitutional rights, even unpopular or politically incorrect ones, respected.

It happened twice last year.

First, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a California law requiring clinics offering non-abortion alternative services to pregnant women to post notices telling them about the availability of abortions.

“By compelling petitioners to speak a particular message, it alters the content of (their) speech” and thus violates a previously enunciated judicial principle, the majority opinion declared.

Just days later, the Supreme Court did it again, ruling 5-4 that laws in California and other states requiring non-members to pay union dues, a practice known as “agency shop,” violate “the free speech rights of nonmembers by compelling them to subsidize private speech on matters of substantial public concern.”

Last week, federal Judge Roger Benitez invalidated a California law (Penal Code Section 32310) that makes it illegal to sell or even possess firearms magazines holding more than 10 rounds, the latter provision added by a 2016 ballot measure sponsored by Gov. Gavin Newsom when he was lieutenant governor. The law, Benitez declared, violates the Constitution’s right to “keep and bear arms.”

“California’s law prohibiting acquisition and possession of magazines able to hold any more than 10 rounds places a severe restriction on the core right of self-defense of the home such that it amounts to a destruction of the right and is unconstitutional under any level of scrutiny,” Benitez wrote in his 86-page decision.

The judge sliced and diced every argument that Attorney General Xavier Becerra offered to defend the prohibition, declaring that Becerra offered no credible evidence that the law would make Californians safer.

“Where are the actual police investigation reports?” he asked. “The attorney general, California’s top law enforcement officer, has not submitted a single official police report of a shooting. Instead, the attorney general relies on news articles and interest group surveys. Federal constitutional rights are being subjected to litigation by inference about whether a pistol or a rifle in a news story might have had an ammunition magazine that held more than 10 rounds.”

Becerra will probably try to overturn Benitez’s ruling on appeal, and the case may eventually wind up in the U.S. Supreme Court, but Benitez repeatedly cited the court’s previous gun rights rulings as a basis for his decision, implying that the state has little chance of succeeding.

So, having seen their abridgments of constitutional rights slapped down, will California’s politicians become more judicious?

They should, but Becerra himself ventured very close recently to violating the right to a free press by demanding that UC-Berkeley’s Investigative Reporting Program return or destroy records of police misconduct that it obtained via a Public Records Act request.

That smacks of the “prior restraint” case that the New York Times won in 1971 regarding publication of a secret military history of the Vietnam War known as the “Pentagon Papers.”

Becerra should know better than to threaten journalists, but then as the firearms ammunition case showed, he’s somewhat tone deaf on constitutional rights.

CALmatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters. For more stories by Dan Walters, go to calmatters.org/commentary

NO MORE HORSING AROUND: SPECTRUM TERRACE RISES

Motorists driving along the San Diego Freeway (405) near Laguna Canyon Road have been surprised to see steel framework rising on the west side of the freeway, open land that was periodically the site of a huge white tent housing the horse show called Cavalia Odysseo. But the passing motorists were no more surprised than were the residents of Irvine’s residential Village of Quail Hill.

The under-construction development in Quail Hill was approved by the city of Irvine in September 2000 and is the Irvine Company’s Spectrum Terrace, a 73-acre office park planned for nine four-story office buildings totaling 1.1 million square feet set among surface parking secluded by a planned 4,300 trees.

Included in the under-construction first phase are four buildings from 105,000 to 120,000 square feet scheduled for completion in July. Leasing is underway with occupants typed as “high-wage businesses.” The architecturally significant glass-enclosed office buildings were designed by famed architect Pei Cobb Freed, New York, with LPA Architects, Irvine, as local consultants. Access to Spectrum Terrace is by three entries from Laguna Canyon Road.

CITY COMES TO COUNTY

Orange County cancer patients who have been traveling 50 miles or more each way to receive their treatments from the City of Hope in Duarte are rejoicing that the comprehensive cancer center will open a facility in Newport Beach this year.

City of Hope (which started in Duarte in 1914 as a Jewish-sponsored facility for tuberculosis treatment) has purchased a two-story, 12,500-square-foot medical office building in Newport Center for $14 million and is converting the building to its specialized needs.

The Newport Center building is the City of Hope’s first step into Orange County and will be followed by a major campus in Irvine’s Great Park Neighborhoods planned for opening in 2022 after an investment of $250 million to $350 million.

City of Hope says it has more than 3,500 Orange County patients and boasts it is one of only 49 cancer centers termed “comprehensive care” by the U. S. National Institutes of Health.

In Orange County, the UC Irvine cancer center is also designated a comprehensive care facility, and Hoag Memorial Hospital, Newport Beach – which identifies itself as the largest cancer program in Orange County – is affiliated with USC’s Norris Cancer Center, another comprehensive care center.

FAMILIES GET SUPPORT IN FULLERTON

The big turnout of 1,000 homebuilders and suppliers who attended the Orange County Building Industry’s Outlook 2019 dinner at the Irvine Marriott portends good news for that industry: The feeling is that the annual Outlook dinner has a large turnout when homebuilding is doing especially well.

As Doug Bauer, CEO of Tri-Pointe Group, told the audience, “The demand for homes is greater than the supply, so we are all in a very good industry.” Main speaker John Burns of John Burns Real Estate Consulting, Irvine, forecasted a small reduction in home sales this year. He pegged 2019 to post a 3.3 percent reduction in new home sales and only a 1 percent reduction in sales of existing homes. He hailed a higher limit on FHA mortgages, up from $679,000 to $720,000.

His advice for homebuilders: Buy already-zoned long-term land; consider renting; and the market for the newly designed three-story homes with elevators is especially good. He hailed the local job market, which currently provides one and one-half jobs for every Orange County household.

His prediction: More resale homes will come on the market in the coming years as retirees age and begin to pass away.

HOMEBUILDERS IN HEAVEN

Amid all the conversation throughout Southern California about “transit oriented development” (TOD), in which relatively dense housing is provided near transportation centers to cut down on car use, Related California, Irvine, has opened a TOD in downtown Fullerton.

Called Citrea, the project is a 54-unit, five-story apartment complex for low-income families on downtown Fullerton’s East Santa Fe Avenue near the Fullerton train station and near a regional bus transportation hub. Citrea is also near schools, a community center, a public park and the Fullerton Public Library.

Residents will have on-site access to social services provided by LifeSteps, including adult education courses. The 1-acre site was the location of the former Pacific Citrus Products, a bottling plant for such beverages as Hawaiian Punch.

HERO HAIR PRODUCT

Celebrity hairstylist David Babaii created n:p beautiful Miracle Serum ($45) to work for everyone, whether you have fine locks like Uma Thurman, or a mane that’s thick like Sandra Bullock’s. Both are Babaii clients, as are Angelina Jolie, Kate Hudson, Gwyneth Paltrow and Scarlett Johansson. The quick-absorbing plant-based potion, made with ingredients that include moringa oil, raw lotus root and royal jelly, can be used on wet hair or dry, with a few drops added whenever your tresses need a little extra shine or taming. :: npbeautiful.com/products/miracle-serum

ARMISTICE FOR ARM FLAB?

We’re not ready to toss out our free weights just yet. But we’re hopeful that, as an adjunct to the countless triceps extensions we do every week, Elina Organics’ Upper Arm Firming Elixir ($66) will help banish batwings. Rich in active phyto-ingredients, the formula contains white truffle extract to stimulate cell turnover, yarrow to boost the elasticity of blood vessels, coffee berries to bring more blood supply to the skin, ginkgo biloba to increase microcirculation and antioxidant-rich chaga mushrooms. Fermented vegetables take the place of artificial preservatives. At the very least, the product smells great and is a light, lovely moisturizer. :: elinaorganicsskincare.com

MASKED BALL

Of late, our favorite ritual when we spend a night in a hotel is to order room service, slip off our clothes and into the plush bathrobe that’s waiting in the closet with neatly folded arms, and apply one of the new cream masks from When, a South Korea-based beauty company. Each 1-ounce jar is TSA-friendly and small enough to slip into a sock. The Rose Coconut Gentle Exfoliating Scrub Mask ($16) gently whisks away impurities and dead skin cells. Creamy Mud Pore Clarifying and Minimizing Mask ($14) deep cleans clogged pores with Amazonian White Clay and refreshes dull skin with peppermint oil (the cooling, perk-you-up scent is also a great antidote for jet lag). Berry Dual Gel and Cream Sleeping Mask ($21) contains a blend of plant stem cells and extracts to nourish and revive your skin while you snooze between those high thread count sheets. :: whenbeautyus.com

FAST SKIN FIX

Dermatologist Ava Shamban won’t name her famous clients, but at least one took the stage at this year’s Oscars looking stunning and absolutely ageless. She might well have benefited from Shamban’s belief in “pre-juvenation,” that starting preventative treatments, such as laser and injectables before you’re showing visible signs of wrinkles and sagging, “will change the way you age.” Now when you’re in L.A., you can pop into Skin Five by Ava M.D., her new outpost in Westfield Century City, for a signature treatment: Refresher (exfoliating enzyme mask); Infuser (micro-dermabrasion); Spotless (laser for acne or hyperpigmentation); Uplifter (radio-frequency-powered microneedling) or Lineless (Botox or Dysport injections). A “Big Picture” package of the first four treatments is $1,249; Botox is $19 per unit; Dysport, $6 per unit. :: skinfive.com

Anaheim Union High School District Superintendent Michael Matsuda wrote a letter of recommendation to the Duarte Unified School District on behalf of a Kennedy High School principal who police said failed to report sexual misconduct allegations to law enforcement or Child Protective Services as mandated by California law.

A Kennedy water polo coach began allegedly sexually abusing two female players and continued abusing a third after Kennedy’s principal, Russell Earnest, and at least four other Kennedy employees became aware but failed to report the earlier allegations of sexual abuse.

Earnest told a detective that he was aware of allegations against the coach more than a year before the coach’s arrest for multiple sex offenses but did not investigate those allegations, according to a police report.

Matsuda’s letter recommending Duarte hire Earnest is among documents obtained by the Southern California News Group that include Earnest’s job application with the Duarte USD.

One of the questions on the Duarte USD application that Earnest filled out on April 20, 2017 was “Have you ever been dismissed or asked to resign from any position?” Earnest checked the “Yes” box.

The next question on the application was “If you answered ‘Yes,’ please explain below.”

“I have voluntarily accepted a reassignment which I will be able to explain when give (SIC) the appropriate opportunity during the selection process,” Earnest wrote.

Multiple Anaheim UHSD employees and Earnest did not respond to questions from the SCNG about circumstances surrounding Earnest’s departure from the school district.

“It doesn’t matter whether Earnest resigned or was fired the (Matsuda) letter sends a resounding ‘hire this guy’ to Duarte,” said Morgan Stewart, an attorney for former Kennedy players suing the district.

Earnest was hired as associate principal at Duarte High School on June 15, 2017 with a salary of $122,895. He continues to be employed in that position at the school.

Joshua Owens, an assistant water polo and swim coach at Kennedy, pleaded guilty last August to one count each of oral copulation with a victim younger than 16, and sexual penetration of a victim younger than 16 and six misdemeanor counts of child annoyance. He was sentenced to six months in jail.

A confidential Buena Park Police Department police report and emails, letters and reports by Kennedy coaches, teachers and administrators obtained by the SCNG show that even when confronted with accounts of Owens’ sexual misconduct with female athletes, some as young as 14, Earnest and other Kennedy employees repeatedly failed to report Owens to law enforcement or CPS. Some of the abuse took allegedly took place in the Kennedy faculty parking lot during school hours.

Owens was initially cleared by a 2015 investigation by a Kennedy athletic director that was completed in less than 24 hours after a Kennedy teacher received emails from the former student raising allegations of sexual abuse against Owens and accusing school employees of ignoring similar allegations a year earlier. Earnest was sent a one-page letter detailing the investigation by Kennedy athletic director Dave Jankowski. The alleged victim was not interviewed by school officials during the investigation and the allegations were not forwarded to law enforcement or CPS, according to police records.

Kennedy employees “never reported (Owens) to authorities despite numerous mandated reporters having the information,” according to police documents. A Kennedy assistant coach reported a new set of allegations to Child Protective Services in November 2016, two years after school employees were first made aware of allegations against Owens. That report led to Owens’ arrest.

Earnest, Kennedy water polo head coach Eric Pierce, Jankowski, Dean Wang, another athletic director, and teacher Ian Sabala, according to a detective who investigated Owens “are all mandated reporters, and yes, (in a) legal sense and the moral sense, they all did have that obligation to report.”

Todd Franssen, then a Buena Park detective, said he was so concerned about Kennedy officials’ failure to report allegations against Owens to authorities that he discussed with the Orange County District Attorney’s office whether Earnest should be charged with the crime of failure to mandatory report.

“It was a discussion that came up,” Franssen, now an investigator for the Orange County DA’s office, said in recent deposition related to a civil suit filed against the Anaheim Union High School District by former Kennedy players.

Earnest has not responded to repeated requests for comment. Matsuda did not respond to a request comment. Anaheim UHSD spokesperson Patricia Karlak has not responded to multiple requests for comment. An attorney for the Anaheim UHSD said he advised district employees not to comment on the Owens matter because of pending litigation.

Duarte USD superintendent Gordon Amerson referred questions to a district spokesperson. The spokesperson said it was district policy not to comment on pending litigation. Duarte High School principal Luis Haro also did not respond to questions from the SCNG. It’s unclear whether Duarte officials followed up in interviews to learn more about Earnest’s yes response to “Have you ever been dismissed or asked to resign from any position?”

Matsuda’s letter of recommendation of Earnest to Duarte, “is first and foremost indicative of the Anaheim High School District and how they accepted these things,” Stewart said.

The Anaheim UHSD, Stewart continued, “had clear evidence of the behavior of Earnest and they accepted it. (The recommendation letter) says not only is it acceptable not to report (sex abuse allegations) it says we’re going to endorse and accept a failed culture at our schools that doesn’t protect its students and protects teachers that did not do their job and did not report (abuse). (The letter) says you didn’t do your job, that’s OK, just go get hired by another district.”

Owens wasn’t the only water polo coach at Kennedy accused of sexual abuse. Bahram Hojreh, also a water polo coach at Kennedy, was arrested last April and charged with nearly two-dozen felony and misdemeanor charges, including lewd acts upon a child, sexual penetration of a minor with a foreign object, child annoyance and sexual battery.

Prosecutors allege that between September 2014 to January 2018; Hojreh touched players’ breasts and genitals, digitally penetrated victims, and coerced girls to touch his genitals while working as a water polo coach at the International Water Polo Club in Los Alamitos. The acts took place during one-on-one coaching sessions between Hojreh and the players, four of whom were 15 years old or younger at the time.

Hojreh, who has denied any wrongdoing, was hired as the girls varsity head coach at Kennedy in August 2017. He was placed on administrative leave by the Anaheim UHSD on Jan. 3, 2018 after district officials became aware of police investigation of Hojreh. He was eventually fired by the district.

On Dec. 13, 2015 Sabala forwarded to Earnest, Jankowski and Wang emails from a former Kennedy student still in touch with players on the school’s girls water polo team. Owens, the former student alleged, was “trying to get at one of the freshman players.”

The former student said she was reluctant to speak up, especially to Eric Pierce, the water polo head coach, and Dean Wang, one of the school’s athletic directors.

“Because this isn’t the first time this assistant coach has tried to date a player on the team,” the former student wrote. “Last year he actually dated one of the players and when it was brought to the attention of the head coach it was quickly swept under the rug.”

The following day, Dec. 14, Jankowski in a letter to Earnest reported the “results of my investigation of the alleged incident communicated to the athletic department via email by former Kennedy student.”

Jankowski said he spoke with Owens. Owens told him that during the previous school year he had taken a Kennedy sophomore through a drive-thru at a local fast food restaurant in his car, according to the letter. The girl’s father was concerned that Owens had taken the girl on a date.

“Coach Owens cleared up the misunderstanding but after meeting with water polo head coach Eric Pierce, agreed the contact was inappropriate and would no longer put himself in a position where he would be alone with a student,” Jankowski wrote Earnest.

Owens, Jankowski wrote, also “suggested the perception he is ‘trying to get at one of the freshman players’” was because he had recently dated the older sister of two then Kennedy team members.

“I reiterated the need for Coach Owens to establish clear boundries (SIC) between himself and the players so as to eliminate perceptions like these as much as possible,” Jankowski wrote. “He assured me he has tried to be very careful about this aspect of coaching the team.”

Jankowski did not interview the alleged victim or the former student who emailed Sabala. Earnest admitted in a recent court filing that he did not interview the alleged victim.

While Earnest twice denied in a recent court filing that he was made aware that Owens was dating Kennedy students, Franssen said in his deposition that Earnest acknowledged “to having documentation…involving some prior allegations that have come forward.”

Franssen said Earnest gave him a copy of the December 2015 email from the former Kennedy student during a November 2016 interview with the detective.

“Yeah, the way I remember it was he referenced an email,” Franssen said in the deposition. “He had printed it out and kind of slowly slit it across the table and gave me that information which was later scanned and included in the police report.”

Franssen was asked by an attorney what Earnest said when he gave him the email?

“I don’t remember what his exact words were, but like I said, it was something to the effect of, basically, here, we have that,” Franssen answered.

“In my opinion on reading body language and how he gave it to me, I kind of formed the opinion, just on reading him, is that he seemed kind of defeated when he handed this to (me)…that he will likely get in trouble for having this information and giving it to me.”

Later Franssen wrote in a confidential police report about the meeting.

“Earnest told me that he was aware of allegations that Owens had dated (a Kennedy player) during a prior school year as well as Owens ‘trying to get at one of the freshman players,’” Franssen said.

“Earnest did not personally investigate the allegations and relied on his staff to do any sort of investigation. This information was never reported to authorities despite numerous mandated reporters having the information.”

A “few weeks” after the November 2016 interview with Earnest, Franssen said in his deposition that he was told by Kennedy High School teachers Earnest had been fired.

Franssen was invited by Anaheim UHSD administrators to attend two meetings on November 29, 2016 with Kennedy water polo and swim team members and their families, according to a police report. Franssen said in his deposition that he spoke to Matsuda at the second meeting about the school’s handling of the Owens case.

“There was some inference there to some sort of liability and — on behalf of the school and school district,” Franssen recalled in his deposition.

On March 24, 2017, four months after Owens was arrested, Matsuda wrote a “letter of recommendation on behalf of Russ Earnest” to Duarte USD officials.

“I have worked closely with Mr. Earnest in his capacity as principal at Kennedy High School,” Matsuda wrote.

“Mr. Earnest also has personal qualities and characteristics that create great working relationships at AUSHD and foster important connections with staff, students, parents, and the greater Anaheim community,” Matsuda also wrote.

Stewart said “I’m not sure what’s going on with Matsuda.

“You’ve got a superintendent endorsing a guy who failed to make a report (about sex abuse allegations),” Stewart continued, “while you have all these employees who failed to report throughout the district.”

Former Anaheim UHSD superintendent Elizabeth Novack and assistant superintendent Denise Selbe also sent letters of recommendation on Earnest’s behalf to Duarte officials.

Novack and Selbe did not respond to requests for comment. It is unclear whether Novack or Selbe were aware of Earnest’s failure to report or the circumstances of his leaving Kennedy.

Novack wrote that Earnest’s “unwavering commitment to move the schoolhouse forward in the best interest of students through exercising best practices is unparalleled.”

“I trusted him explicitly and respected his work, integrity, and ethics,” Novack wrote.

Selbe wrote that she knew Earnest professionally for 17 years.

“Some of the initial qualities I recognized in Mr. Earnest when we began working together were his integrity, humility and work ethic,” she wrote.

Earnest “always maintains the needs of students first.”

“Perhaps the greatest compliment I can give to Mr. Earnest is that I would love for my child to attend a school where he is the principal,” Selbe continued. “I would know that the decisions being made were in the best interest of students and that he was providing an environment where teachers would be supported so they could provide the best environment for the students.”

UCLA strapped the pads back on for practice Thursday for the eighth spring practice of the year.

Links to wrap up Thursday’s coverage

• How Martell Irby and Kazmeir Allen relied on each other to get through their freshman struggles
• Video interviews
• Chip Kelly
• Martell Irby
• Kazmeir Allen

Injury notes

New: Michael Ezeike was in a yellow jersey Thursday after appearing to suffer an injury Tuesday. He was still wearing pads, but was limited to mostly individual conditioning.

Still in yellow and not on the field: Mohamed Khalil, Dymond Lee, Ethan Fernea

Still in yellow, limited to noncontact drills on the field: Josh Woods, William Nimmo, Kenny Churchwell

Michael Alves still appeared somewhat limited. He didn’t participate in any team periods Tuesday and took just one or two drives Thursday. He continued to punch at his right hip during down periods in practice.

Personnel notes

I missed this on Tuesday, but UCLA added freshman linebacker John Ward for spring quarter. Thursday was his second practice. He didn’t participate fully, mostly observing and going through individual drills in shorts and a jersey.

Incoming freshman John Ward (54) joined the team this week. Not in pads yet, still learning the ropes. pic.twitter.com/YLngZf0EPz

— Thuc Nhi Nguyen (@thucnhi21) April 4, 2019

Keisean Lucier-South will miss the rest of spring practice to “concentrate on academics,” Chip Kelly said. The outside linebacker is expected back by the beginning of summer, Kelly added.

Notes and observations from practice

Tight ends seemed to be the biggest winners of Thursday’s session. Devin Asiasi had the most notable plays, catching a 25-yard pass from Austin Burton in the second team period and a touchdown pass from Dorian Thompson-Robinson in the final team period. On the touchdown, Asiasi made the catch between two defenders, high-pointing the ball and bringing it down for a completion. It was also an impressive throw from Thompson-Robinson to get it through traffic.

Redshirt freshman David Priebe caught a long touchdown pass in the first 7-on-7, burning the rookie Ward in the process. Jordan Wilson and Matt Lynch also represented the tight end group well with impressive catches.

For the most part, Thursday’s practice appeared to be focused on some of the shorter passing routes in 7-on-7 and team periods. Not a lot of shots downfield, so the quarterbacks appeared more consistent than in previous days with some of the easier throws.

Steven Mason had some impressive moments, but worked mostly against walk-ons. Mason, a long 6-foot-8 defensive end, had a slow start to spring practice, but is starting to show up with the No. 2 defense. He won nearly all of his one-on-one reps, including two dominant turns against Zach Cochrun. He also earned a sack in the final team period.

Atonio Mafi likely owes Boss Tagaloa Panda Express as the senior center won both one-on-one reps against the sophomore nose guard.

Osa Odighizuwa had a sack and a tackle for loss on back-to-back plays in the first team period, which was mostly dominated by the defense.

Chase Griffin had some struggles operating the offense. The freshman took too long to call the play in a formation period and got pushed out of the rep, prompting a quick debrief with quarterbacks coach Dana Bible. On his one drive of the first team period, he oversaw a broken play that was blown dead early, a bad quarterback-center exchange and a run play. He didn’t attempt any passes in the period.

Walk-on outside linebackers Jayce Smalley and Shea Pitts both had some big plays. Pitts, a 5-foot-10 former defensive back who has been working with the depth-deprived outside linebackers this spring, broke through with a tackle-for-loss in the first team period and a third-down sack in the second. Smalley tipped a pass at the line of scrimmage in the second team period.

J.J. Molson has only had one opportunity to kick in a full 11-on-11 environment this spring, but made a 55-yard field goal and a 56-yarder Thursday while kicking by himself on an open field. His current career long is 50 and both kicks Thursday were good by at least a yard or two.

Datona Jackson, Otito Ogbonnia and Atonio Mafi work with the sled. pic.twitter.com/CcpanYbZC5

— Thuc Nhi Nguyen (@thucnhi21) April 4, 2019

EL SEGUNDO — Blake Lizotte recently absorbed a painful defeat when his St. Cloud State University hockey team was eliminated in the first round of the NCAA Tournament for the second season in a row after entering as the top seed.

He admits it hurts.

“Still pretty fresh in my mind,” he said. “My heart’s always going to ache for that season and that game and it probably never will stop. It was obviously a super disappointing ending.”

He’ll get over it, though, because he is on the brink of realizing his dream of playing in the NHL.

Signed this week by the Kings to a three-year entry-level contract, Lizotte figures to make his debut either Friday in Anaheim or Saturday in the season finale against Vegas at Staples Center.

A 5-foot-9, 175-pound left-shot forward, Lizotte can’t wait.

“Yeah, obviously, I’ve been thinking about that for 20 years now,” said Lizotte, 21. “Since I was about 2 years old I was out at my back pond in the back of my house in Minnesota scoring the game-winner (in the) Stanley Cup Finals in the NHL and dreaming about that debut.”

Lizotte said he would first play the national anthem in his living room.

“I would stand there and just dream about it, so I’m definitely looking forward to it, for sure,” he said.

Lizotte practiced with the team for the first time with the team on Thursday morning, and he acknowledged it was a special moment.

“It was cool,” he said. “I was playing on a line today with Jeff Carter and guys like (Kyle) Clifford and other guys I’ve watched for the last 10 years of my life.

“It was definitely a little dream come true. Kind of star-struck out there a little bit at first. But I started to settle down and felt good at the end, so it was a good day.”

Lizotte played two seasons at St. Cloud. He had 27 points (eight goals, 19 assists) in 39 games in 2017-18 and was plus-16. He had 42 points (14 goals and 28 assists) in 37 games in the just-concluded campaign, during which he was plus-28.

He was asked after practice to describe himself as a player.

“Competitive,” he said. “I battle hard. My compete level is what kind of defines me, and quickness in the corners. I play really well on my edges. It’s my best asset, I think, is playing on edges and not being scared to play against anyone.

“I’m a smaller guy in stature, obviously, but I think I use that to my advantage, the way I play on my edges. That’s the way it’s been at each level and, obviously, it’s a big jump at the NHL level from NCAA, but I’m excited for the challenge and look forward to it.”

Kings interim coach Willie Desjardins smiled when asked what he took from his first look at Lizotte.

“Yeah, he was good,” Desjardins said. “He’s quick. He’s got lots of quickness, good skill.”

Lizotte, of Lindstrom, Minn., said friends and family will be on hand.

SCOUTING THE DUCKS

The Kings (30-41-9, 69 points) have won all three games against the Ducks (34-37-10, 78 points) this season by scores of 4-1, 3-2 and 4-3 (shootout). Like the Kings, the Ducks will not be in the playoffs.

The Ducks are led offensively by forward Ryan Getzlaf, who has 14 goals and 34 assists in 66 games. He recently returned from an upper-body injury to score a goal in Wednesday’s 3-1 victory over Calgary.

Forward Anze Kopitar leads the Kings with 58 points (21 goals, 37 assists), having played in all 79 games to date.

The Kings and Ducks are the two lowest-scoring teams in the league. The Kings average 2.40 goals per game, the Ducks 2.36.

Sprouts Farmers Market will expand its footprint with 13 new stores this year including three in Southern California, the fast-growing organic grocer announced Thursday.

That will boost the company’s total to 340 stores in 22 states. The new local supermarkets, which average 30,000 square feet, will be in West Covina, West Hollywood and Lake Forest. Each will employ about 140 workers, so they will collectively bring about 420 jobs to the region.

Other locations will be opening this year in Arizona, Florida, Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia. Sprouts currently operates 118 stores in California.

Lots of local stores

Sprouts is no stranger to Southern California. Existing stores can be found in Pasadena, Whittier, Burbank, Torrance, Claremont, Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside, Huntington Beach, Thousand Oaks, Valencia and Orange, among other locations.

“California is an important state for Sprouts,” company spokesman Diego Romero said. “We’re continuing to expand across the state in new and existing communities. Whenever we open a new store we’ll have hundreds of people lined up at the doors.”

Sprouts touts itself as a grocery chain that “appeals to everyday shoppers interested in fresh, natural and organic products at affordable prices.” Its stores offer fresh produce, meat and seafood from The Butcher Shop and Fish Market and freshly prepared entrees and sides at the Market Corner Deli. The stores also sell bulk foods, dairy and bakery items and a variety of vitamins and supplements.

Many of the products are organic and gluten-free.

Well positioned

“Sprouts is very well positioned,” said Burt Flickinger III, managing director for the retail consulting firm Strategic Resource Group. “They’ve been able to consistently grow in both Southern California and across the country while many traditional supermarket chains are struggling or contracting.”

Flickinger attributes the company’s success to low prices and a strong management team. Jim Nielsen, Sprouts’ interim co-CEO, president and chief operating officer, is “a tremendous leader,” he said, and other members of the team have 25 to 35 years experience in the industry.

“When we did pricing surveys for the exact same product, Sprouts was 10 to 15 percent lower than Whole Foods,” he said. “That could save a family of five in Southern California $700 to $800 a year. And close to 50 percent of their business is in produce — that’s the fastest growing segment in retail.”

Whole Foods, which also sells fresh, organic foods, hasn’t fared as well.

“They have not had strong cost-control discipline,” Flickinger said. “They were struggling even before Amazon bought them.”

Grand opening dates for the new Sprouts markets in Southern California will be announced later this year. Exact store locations are listed below:

• West Covina – Citrus Street and Workman Avenue
• West Hollywood – 8550 Santa Monica Blvd.
• Lake Forest – 24332 Rockfield Blvd.

New enhancements

The West Covina store will be one of three locations to feature the company’s newest operational and design enhancements. The upgraded Market Corner Deli will include a detached, rectangular island to optimize customer service, with made-to-order sandwiches, a salad bar, prepared foods, sushi made in-store and fresh juice.

Sprouts didn’t reveal how much its workers are paid but figures from Indeed.com show Sprouts cashiers average $11.20 an hour. Deli managers average $15.84, customer service representatives average $12.07 and order pickers are paid $13.52 an hour.

Information about employment opportunities with Sprouts can be found at about.sprouts.com/careers/.

“Last year we created 3,500 jobs and we promoted 28 percent of our store team members,” Romero said.

Ugandan security forces are searching for a U.S. citizen and a local driver who were abducted in a wildlife park and their kidnappers demanded a ransom, authorities said Wednesday, April 2.

Multiple media outlets have identified the American as Kimberly Sue Endicott of Costa Mesa.

The missing people were taken in an ambush by four gunmen on Tuesday in Queen Elizabeth National Park, a protected area near the porous border with Congo, according to Ugandan police and a government spokesman.

The kidnappers held up a group of foreign tourists at gunpoint, grabbed two of them and disappeared into the bush. Later the kidnappers, using the phone of one of their victims, demanded a ransom of $500,000, said a statement issued by police.

“We strongly believe this ransom is the reason behind the kidnap,” the statement said. “Their vehicle was left parked and the kidnappers went away with the key.”

The kidnapped American is a 35-year-old woman, police said.

The four other tourists were “left abandoned and unharmed” and later were taken to safety after reporting the incident to authorities, according to a separate statement from the Uganda Media Centre.

A rescue party of police, military and game rangers has been sent to find the abducted people, that statement said.

Kidnappings in Uganda’s protected areas are rare. Queen Elizabeth National Park, in southwest Uganda, is a popular safari destination in this East African country.

We use Uber to go places, Slack to chat with co-workers and Pinterest to save our favorite ideas. Why not own a piece of these companies that increasingly dominate our daily lives?

That’s the question for many regular investors as a parade of well-known technology companies are expected to make their stocks available to everyone for purchase this year, not just big pension funds and wealthy people. Lyft was at the head of the line when it had its initial public offering of stock, or IPO, on Friday.

It’s tempting to buy stocks of companies whose products or services we see or use so often. But “investing in what you know” doesn’t mean buying Uber because you request a ride every other day. It means knowing whether Uber will get enough customers at high-enough prices to become profitable, and at what level.

“Don’t jump in with both feet just because you use the product,” said Kathleen Smith, principal at Renaissance Capital, which researches IPOs. “You’re not going to know the value.”

Lyft gave investors a lesson in how quickly a company’s market value can change. The ride-hailing company’s stock surged more than 20% from its IPO price on Friday. But by the first hour of Lyft’s second day of trading, the stock had fallen below the IPO price of $72.

A stumble after a first-day pop perhaps should not have been a surprise, given the track record for IPOs. Here are some considerations if you want to join the IPO rush, which may include such companies as Uber and video-conferencing service Zoom.

DO IPOs PERFORM WELL?

Yes and no.

The first day of trading for an IPO is often a great one, when enthusiasm is surging. IPOs have returned an average of 17.9% in their first day of trading, according to data from 1980 to 2016 compiled by Jay Ritter, an IPO specialist at the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business. That would count as great year for an S&P 500 index fund.

But IPOs go on to return an average of 21.9% in the three years following their IPO, lagging the market.

Some IPOs tend to do better over the long term, notably those that bring in more revenue. Since 1980, companies with $1 billion or more in revenue (in 2015 dollars) have returned an average of 42.7% in the three years following the IPO. That’s better than the market.

Smaller companies, meanwhile, have historically had better first-day gains than their bigger IPO rivals but go on to return an average 20.2% over three years. That’s well below the market.

WHAT ABOUT THIS CROP OF IPOs?

While Lyft, Uber and other upcoming IPOs are big names, many of them lose money. It’s a growing trend. Last year, about eight of every 10 companies going public were unprofitable, according to Ritter. That’s the highest percentage since 2000, the height of the dot-com bubble.

To be sure, companies going public today tend to be much more seasoned. Since 2008, the median age for an IPO company has been at least 10 years. That’s roughly double the age of the typical company going public in 1999 or 2000, at 5 or 6.

With greater age often comes higher revenue. Last year, the typical tech IPO made 10 times more in sales than the median in 2000, even after adjusting for inflation, according to Ritter.

“IPOs are risky, but given the track record of tech over the last 10 years since the recession, they’ve been the shining stars, they’ve been where the growth is,” said Karyn Cavanaugh, senior markets strategist at Voya Investment Management.

One of the biggest trends in investing over the last decade is the move toward index funds. Picking stocks on one’s own — or trusting a fund manager to do it — can be risky and expensive. Instead, investors are flocking to index funds that own baskets of many stocks, such as all those in the S&P 500 index, and generally come with low fees.

Orange County softball standings through Wednesday, April 3.

LAGUNA BEACH — Whether it was from the beach, along rock outcroppings, underwater, or on top of a wave, photographers captured the beauty and vibrancy of this seaside town’s coastline.

This year, 60 professional and amateur photographers entered the 8th Annual Bluebelt Photo contest. Put on by the Laguna Bluebelt Coalition, the contest raises awareness of the 7.2 miles of Laguna coastline that are Orange County’s only Marine Protected Area, and a “no fish” zone.

“It’s not just a contest of pretty pictures,” said Jinger Wallace, who helped organize the competition. “It’s about awareness and education. We have to protect areas to restore the marine habitat and marine life along our coast.”

Photographers submitted images of marine life, coves, people in waves and examples of the ocean’s power. Judges Tom Lamb, Pat Sparkuhl and Mitch Ridder looked for excellence in the medium and how entries portrayed a unique perspective of the Bluebelt that told a compelling story.

First place in the amateur category went to Gregg Howe, of Laguna Beach, for his underwater shot of a striped shore crab that he found in tidepools near Main Beach.

Brian Crawford, who grew up in Laguna Beach and now lives in Okinawa, Japan, took first place in the professional category for a photo of a wave crashing at Victoria Beach.

“Down at Victoria Beach one day last summer I snapped this photo of my wife in the pool,” Crawford said. “Needless to say, she wasn’t too happy that this huge wave knocked her around a bit but it’s all for the art of it.”

“He has an ability to visualize and capture a moment where his subject and ability aligns,” said his father, Brent Crawford, of Laguna Beach. “He’s always been into art.”

In all, 11 photographers received awards, including three honorable mentions in the amateur category and two in the professional category. In addition to Howe and Crawford, the other winning photographers are Brandon Roth, Josh Tanaka, Stephen Wetz, Brian Huffer, Bryan Greenberg, Cliff Wassmann, Michael Couffer, Gary Mills and Hugh Foster.

“As Laguna Beach becomes an ever-increasing popular destination, the concern for the fragility of the ocean environments around us is more significant than ever before,” said Sparkuhl, in a statement. “This year’s contest illustrates that both amateur and professional photographers alike can successfully inspire us through their sensitive examinations of the beauty and vulnerability of this precious resource.”

Decades of over-fishing diminished much of California’s marine life and prompted a massive effort in the late 1990s to establish a statewide network of Marine Protected Areas.

Laguna’s rocky coastline and secluded coves convinced scientists and the California Department of Fish & Wildlife to create the Laguna Beach Marine Protected Area – the largest in Southern California and the only citywide reserve in the state.

Photos of the area show how Laguna’s MPA can help to restore and protect regional fisheries, while offering a sanctuary and nursery for present and future sea life, said Wallace.

First-place photos are on display through April 15 at The Ranch, 31106 Coast Highway, in Laguna Beach.

ANAHEIM Canyon’s youth movement in softball accelerated into another gear Thursday at the Michelle Carew Classic.

Behind the pitching of impressive freshman of Kylee Magee and just enough offense, the Comanches edged reigning champion Cathedral Catholic of San Diego 2-1 to capture its pool at Peralta Park and advance to Friday’s quarterfinals for the first time since 2015.

Canyon, ranked 12th in Orange County, started two freshmen, four sophomores and three juniors.

“It feels good,” the Arizona State-committed Magee said of the victory. “This year, we’re doing great. I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people.”

The hard-throwing Magee didn’t surrender a hit until the fourth inning, racked up seven strikeouts and also helped produce one of Comanches’ two runs in the fifth against the fifth-seeded Dons.

Cathedral Catholic sent national player of the year Megan Faraimo to UCLA last year but were formidable. Canyon scored twice in the fourth to take a 2-0 lead.

Sophomore catcher Giovanna Salcido singled to center to bring in junior first baseman Jenna Pappas from third with the first run. Pappas led off the inning with an infield single and reached third on a stolen base and error.

Sophomore Madison Sanchez followed Pappas with a bunt single that sparked Canyon to load the bases with no outs.

Cathedral Catholic pitcher Laurali Patane induced grounders back to the circle for force outs at the plate to retire the next two batters but Magee helped make it 2-0 with hard grounder between shortstop and second base. Canyon narrowly beat Cathedral Catholic’s diving attempt at second base for the force and scored a run before having a runner thrown out at the plate.

Patane, a junior, led off the the fifth with a double and scored on a two-out infield single by Jenna Mello.

But Magee, a top pitcher with the Corona Angels, retired the final six batters to help put away the Dons, including one a nice catch by junior left fielder Rachel Bennett.

If the seedings hold, Canyon could face top-ranked Los Alamitos in the quarterfinals Friday at 1:15 at Peralta Park.

SANTA ANITA LEADERS

Through Thursday

JOCKEYS / WINS

Joel Rosario / 52

Flavien Prat / 47

Rafael Bejarano / 25

Geovanni Franco / 25

Tiago Pereira / 25

TRAINERS / WINS

Doug O’Neill / 29

Richard Baltas / 22

John Sadler / 22

Peter Miller / 21

Two tied / 15

WEEKEND STAKES SCHEDULE (SANTA ANITA)

Saturday

• $1 million Grade I Santa Anita Derby, 3-year-olds, 1-1/8 miles

• $600,000 Grade I Santa Anita Handicap, 4-year-olds and up, 1-1/4 miles

• $400,000 Grade I Santa Anita Oaks, 3-year-old fillies, 1-1/16 miles

• $200,000 Grade II Royal Heroine Stakes, fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up, 1 mile (turf)

• $150,000 Grade III Providencia Stakes, 3-year-old fillies, 1-1/8 miles (turf)

• $200,000 Echo Eddie Stakes, 3-year-olds, 6-1/2 furlongs

• $200,000 Evening Jewel Stakes, 3-year-old fillies bred in California, 6-1/2 furlongs

Sunday

• $100,000 Grade III Las Flores Stakes, fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up, 6 furlongs

DOWN THE STRETCH

• Two of California’s best hopes for the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs on May 3 will square off in Saturday’s $400,000 Grade I Santa Anita Oaks. Bellafina and Chasing Yesterday will meet for the first time in the 1-1/16-mile event for 3-year-old fillies that drew a short field of five. Bellafina, owned by Kaleem Shah and trained by Simon Callaghan, will be aiming for her third Grade I victory in the eighth start of her career. The Bob Baffert-trained Chasing Yesterday won the Grade I Starlet at Los Alamitos on Dec. 8. Drayden Van Dyke will be replaced by Mike Smith in the saddle. Smith guided Chasing Yesterday to her maiden victory on July 28 at Del Mar.

• Baffert is optimistic that Roadster’s breathing problems are behind him and that he’ll give a strong effort in Saturday’s Santa Anita Derby. “He looks healthy,” Baffert said. “The breathing issue has not been a problem. The way he ran the other day (his first race since throat surgery) was just a phenomenal race and Mike Smith was really happy about it, but he still has to do it (cover 1-1/8 miles). Like everybody else, they have to break, they have to get it done. You can dream all you want, but I really think he’s going to be very competitive.”

• Vekoma heads a full field of 14 in Saturday’s $1 million Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland. Vekoma, the 9-5 morning-line favorite, finished third in the Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park. He’ll have a new rider Saturday in Javier Castellano. Meanwhile, Tacitus will try to make it three victories in four tries when he runs in the $750,000 Grade II Wood Memorial at Aqueduct. Trained by Bill Mott, Tacitus is a son of Tapit and goes into the Wood off a victory in last month’s Tampa Bay Derby. Outshine, second behind Tacitus in the Tampa Bay Derby, also will run in the Wood.

— Art Wilson

Los Angeles police are poring over “voluminous” video footage from Dodger Stadium following an attack that left a fan on life support, but have so far been unable to identify any suspects, detectives said Thursday.

Captain Billy Hayes of the Los Angeles Police Department said investigators were searching through hours of security camera video shot mostly inside the stadium, tracking fans who were headed to the area of the parking lot where the attack occurred.

The problem, Hayes said, has been picking out anyone from that crowd who matched the description of the man who struck 47-year-old Rafael Reyna of Eastvale as he was walking back to his car after the game between the Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks.

According to the only witness to the attack who has come forward so far, the suspect was described as being in his 20s, with a clean-shaven face, wearing a grey sweatshirt, blue jeans and a blue Dodgers cap.

Hayes said the man was described as standing 5-foot-8 and weighing 150 pounds.

A woman with the suspect was described as standing 5-foot-4, with a thin build, wearing a white Dodgers jersey.

“What you have is two people who are fairly nondescript,” Hayes said Thursday at LAPD’s downtown headquarters. “As you can imagine going to a Dodgers game, 90 percent of the people are in Dodgers wear, baseball caps or jersey.”

Complicating the investigation is the fact that there is no security camera footage from the parking lot itself where the attack occurred, Hayes said.

The incident began as an argument between Reyna and the suspect in Lot 3 of the stadium, after the lengthy game ended between 12:30 a.m. and 1 a.m. on March 28.

At some point as they exchanged words, the suspect punched Reyna once in the head, causing him to fall backwards onto his buttocks. As he fell, Reyna hit his head on the pavement, suffering significant head trauma, Hayes said. A witness nearby called for medical aid, and Reyna was taken to USC/LA County Medical Center in East L.A.

It’s still not clear exactly what the men were arguing about, and Hayes said he would not elaborate.

“I believe I know the cause of that altercation,” he said. “However, I’m not willing to discuss it at this point. I’d like to get independent accounts of what transpired there rather than tainting anybody who comes forward.”

He said Reyna and the suspect did not know each other prior to the argument.

Hayes said investigators had also ruled out potential suspects who were seen leaving in a white SUV from the area of the attack. He said detectives, through the same video surveillance, tracked down the vehicle and interviewed the owners, but it was clear they were not involved.

To continue the investigation, he said detectives need help from the public.

“We cannot express enough that we believe there are additional witnesses out there, individuals who are aware of the identities of this young man and this woman,” Hayes said. “We encourage them to come forward.”

The captain said he learned Reyna regained consciousness this week, recovering to the point where he could be taken off life-support, although he remained in critical condition.

Carl Douglas, an attorney for Reyna’s family, also said earlier this week that the man’s condition had improved somewhat.

Douglas did not return a request for comment Thursday.

David Lira, another attorney for Reyna, said the case was “eerily” similar to the attack on Bryan Stow, a San Francisco Giants fan left with brain damage after a brutal 2011 beating by two men from Rialto in the same area of the Dodgers parking lot.

Lira was among the attorneys who secured a multi-million dollar payout for Stow from the Dodgers after that attack.

On Tuesday, Lira said the Dodgers parking lot still has inadequate lighting and security.

He called on the team to “put in a security plan and system that protects its fans.”

In a statement Tuesday, the Dodgers called the attack “unfortunate” and said the team was committed to ensuring the safety of its fans, but refused to comment further about security measures in the parking lot.

LAPD Commander Ruby Flores said additional security measures were put in place at Dodger Stadium following the attack on Stow, including a “state-of-the-art” command center that gives officers and stadium security a “360 view of the stadium, inside and outside.”

Flores, who is a commander at LAPD’s Central Bureau, which covers Chavez Ravine, said she was confident Dodger Stadium is “one of the safest in the country.” She said fights reported inside the stadium, some captured on videos shared and viewed widely on social media, are atypical.

She said with millions of people visiting the stadium over the last two years there were “no incidents.”

“This is an isolated incident,” Flores said. “Very unfortunate, but isolated.”

It was an era that changed the look and feel of the surf culture.

Black, boring wetsuits made way for fluorescent neon. Boardshorts got colorful polka dots. Surfboards, instead of plain white, became vibrant and eye-catching in the waves.

It was along a small stretch of Newport Beach, dubbed “Echo Beach,” where outrageous – sometimes outlandish – styles made waves around the world.

An event on Thursday night, April 4, at Hobie Surf Shop in Dana Point brought together a small crowd for a showing of the surf film “Echo Beach,” highlighting how West Newport and surf brand Quiksilver changed surf culture during the ’80s.

“That was a really fun time in all of our lives and something we’ll never get back again,” said Quiksilver co-founder Bob McKnight, who opened the night talking about that time period.

Echo Beach

Newport Beach was a hub for surfing decades ago, mostly north of the pier at a popular longboarding spot called “Blackies.”

But when the rock jetties were put in at West Newport during the ’60s in an attempt to stop erosion, suddenly the stretch of beach near 54th Street became a new surfing mecca.

It was in 1969, 50 years ago, that a small surf brand created by Alan Green popped up in Australia. McKnight and friend Jeff Hakman asked Green if they could have the U.S. license for the company, a deal solidified by a dare.

“(Hakman) puts this paper doily in his mouth, chews it up and swallows it,” McKnight said in the film.

The duo shortly after were sent one snap, a strop of Velcro and a Quiksilver label.

“Here’s your starter kit, good luck boys,” the accompanying note from Green said.

The co-founders of U.S.-based Quiksilver were in the perfect place to build their start-up brand in the ’70s, first in a small Newport Beach home and later in a small manufacturing area off 17th street.

The brand was still small – with only three employees – when the stretch of Echo Beach started to become popular, McKnight said.

There were a group of cutting-edge surfers who yearned to be different, to stand out — hoping to make a name for themselves by scoring magazine covers.

And the brightly colored Quiksilver designs, which had made their way from Australia, helped land them spreads, and then notoriety, in the surf world.

“We launched a range of prints called Echo Beach – all the boys in Newport adopted them, painted their boards to match,” McKnight said. “We were ground zero as a spawning zone and that helped them go after it in a really big way.”

Thieves turned team riders

The film, released in 2009, brought back memories for a tight-knit group, many of whom showed up at the Hobie Surf Shop.

Laughs were shared over the shenanigans from the good ol’ days — such as how Danny Kwock and Preston Murray stole a box of boardshorts from the factory, only to realize the shorts in the box they grabbed were about 10 sizes too large.

Once McKnight caught wind of who the petty thieves were, he made them come to the shop to work off their debt by sweeping floors and doing other menial tasks.

Then, he sponsored them as team riders. And with their crazy hair, wild styles and partying ways, they helped put Quiksilver on the map.

“It went from black and dark and boring to loud, outrageous,” McKnight said. “I think it all changed in the ’80s and it all came from Newport Beach, So Cal and then the rest of the world.”

But not everyone dug the bold personalities coming out of Newport Beach and the attention they garnered.

“A lot of people outside of Newport hated it. It was totally different, totally unexpected, really outrageous,” McKnight said. “For me, I think it changed the course of the surf industry. It was a little boring in the shops — now everyone can do color, they can be more punk rock, they can have an attitude.”

Now that the surf industry is worth billions, Thursday night was a chance to reflect on a time capsule moment in the industry’s growth.

“We’re all still friends, we still hang out a bit,” McKnight said. “We all have such great memories of that era.”

ANAHEIM — Kyle Clifford is a fourth-line forward, but he might be the Kings’ Most Valuable Player in this disappointing season that will end Saturday when the Kings host playoff-bound Vegas at Staples Center.

No, he doesn’t lead the team in scoring, but he did have a career-high in goals (11) and points (20) going into Friday’s game against the Ducks. He was also a team-best plus-4 on a team with mostly minus players.

Clifford works as hard, if not harder, than anyone on the team in practice. He and backup goalie Jack Campbell, anyway. Clifford never slacks off in a game, even when his team is losing handily. He’s also a solid fighter who leads the team in fighting majors this season.

By most measures, he is having his best season under very trying circumstances, with the Kings missing the playoffs for the third time in five seasons.

Clifford was asked about his campaign. Not one to boast, he tried to put things into proper perspective.

“I think I’m just making more plays out there,” said Clifford, in his ninth season; his previous highs in goals and points were seven and 15, respectively. “With Darryl (Sutter), we had a structure and we played that way and it worked. It was successful. Last year, with Johnny (Stevens) coming in, there was a lot more freedom to make plays and I think I’ve taken advantage of that.

“With the (league-wide style of play) changing, too, you need four lines that can roll and play and your third and fourth lines have gotta give you good minutes. They’ve gotta contribute offensively, defensively; they’ve gotta be sound.”

Sutter was relieved of his coaching duties after the 2016-17 season, with Stevens being promoted to head man for ’17-’18. But Stevens was fired 13 games into this season and replaced by Willie Desjardins on an interim basis.

Desjardins sounds like he’s one of Clifford’s biggest supporters.

“I’ve always liked him,” Desjardins said of Clifford, who gets occasional duty on the third line. “He’s been maybe considered more of a just hard-energy guy. This year I think he’s shown he can score. And he’s made some good plays, too. It’s not just his goals.

“And you’ve gotta give him a lot of credit. It’s an easy situation to get discouraged. Hisminutes weren’t great minutes, but every day he came to play. It didn’t matter what he was getting, he showed up.”

Desjardins said the idea that he is getting inquiries about Clifford at this point in time sayssomething.

“It’s nice at this time of year that you guys are asking about him and saying things,” he said. “It just kind of shows what kind of year he’s had.”

Clifford, 28, will become an unrestricted free agent after the 2019-20 season. Has his stock risen?

“I don’t know if I could really put an answer to that,” he said. “I just come in every day and try to be the best version I can of myself and push myself.”

CHANGING GAME

Much has been made in recent years about how the game has changed, especially in regard to how fast teams play these days. Part of that change has included fewer fights.

“I know when I first came into the league, I think I had like 15 to 20 fights,” Clifford said. “I mean, this year I think I’ve had five or six.”

Clifford’s first season was 2010-11, when he was involved in 19 fights. He has six this season.

For more perspective, three players lead the league with seven fights this season. In 2010-11, the Ducks’ George Parros led with 27. With 19, Clifford was fourth.

KOPITAR TO BE HONORED

Team captain Anze Kopitar will be honored before Saturday’s game for having played in his 1,000th career regular-season game – all with the Kings – in Monday’s loss to Calgary at Staples Center.

Kopitar, at 1,001 before Friday, is fourth on the franchise’s all-time list.

— KINGS VS. VEGAS —

When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.

Where: Staples Center

Records: Vegas 43-31-7 (93 points), Kings 30-41-9 (69 points, before Friday)

TV: Fox Sports West

Radio: Kings Audio Network (iHeartRadio)