A portion of the southbound 5 freeway about one mile from Crown Valley Parkway in Mission Viejo was closed after a 2,500-gallon tanker truck carrying propane rolled over.
About 1:30 p.m., tow trucks were hoisting up the truck from a few feet down in a grassy creek bed. The freeway had to be shut down briefly as firefighters worked to get the truck back up after an 8:30 a.m. crash, said Capt. Larry Kurtz of the Orange County Fire Authority.
The driver was taken to a hospital as a trauma patient, but his injuries were not life-threatening. It’s unclear what prompted the truck to roll over.
HazMat crews were on scene because of some leakage from the tank. They used a freeze wrap to quell the leak, Kurtz said. A towel or fabric wrap is soaked and then wrapped around the leaking valve or pipe. The wet cloth freezes due to the propane liquid’s low temperature halting the active flow.
There was no major spill, and the leak was contained to the grassy area on the side of the road, Kurtz said.
Orange County’s independent voters heavily favor a Democrat Congress member in the county’s four Republican-held congressional districts, underlining the GOP’s vulnerability in these longtime strongholds, according to a poll released Friday.
While the survey was done by a Democratic pollster, non-partisan political data expert Paul Mitchell said the methodology, questions and results showed no signs of bias. Mitchell’s company, Political Data Inc., is the state’s leading provider of voter information and electoral analysis to both Democrats and Republicans.
Of independent and third-party voters in the county’s four GOP congressional districts, 46 percent favor a Democratic candidate in next year’s election and 21 percent prefer a Republican.
Overall, voters in those districts prefer a Republican, 44 percent to 41 percent. But unaffiliated voters’ strong preference for a Democrat could spell trouble, especially since all four districts voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton last year and two key policies of President Donald Trump are viewed unfavorably by voters there.
“It would be really distressing for me, if I was a Republican, to see strong support only in the Republican base — that it didn’t spill into the moderates,” said Jonathan Brown of Claremont-based Sextant Strategies & Research, which conducted the survey. He said the company was not paid for the poll. Rather, it chose to so the survey so it could analyze the difference between phone and internet results, with both methods being used.
The poll provides fresh insight into the vulnerabilities of the Republican incumbents, who have already been identified by numerous experts as being susceptible to strong challengers next year.
The four are among 23 targeted nationwide by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which has already paid for two Orange County-based organizers and has announced plans to move its Western regional office from Washington, D.C., to Irvine.
Additionally, the Cook Political Report recently changed three of the districts from “likely Republican” to “leans Republican” for next year’s races. Those changes were for Reps. Mimi Walters, R-Laguna Beach; Dana Rohrabacher, R-Costa Mesa; and Ed Royce, R-Fullerton. The bid of Rep. Darrell Issa, a Vista Republican whose district straddles the Orange-San Diego county line, had previously been declared a “toss up” after winning by just 0.6 percentage points last year.
The 10 Democratic challengers to emerge in the four districts so far have all worked to link the GOP incumbents to Trump, whose positions on healthcare and the environment are not popular. In the Republican districts, 47 percent opposed the GOP healthcare bill and 45 percent favored it. When the question was modified to add that it was “strongly supported by President Trump,” 50 percent opposed it and 38 percent supported it.
All four Orange County Republicans voted for the healthcare bill, which now awaits Senate deliberation.
When it comes to the environment, 51 percent of those in GOP districts disapproved of Trump’s positions and 37 percent approved, according to the poll.
Surfside resident Shawn Steel, former chairman of the California Republican Party, was dismissive of the poll, pointing out that most pollsters got last year’s presidential election wrong and that a poll by a Democrat was particularly suspect. But when asked about Paul Mitchell, who said the polls was unbiased, Steel called him “the guru.” And Steel readily acknowledged the fight Republican Congress members will have next year.
“In terms of Orange County, it’s a battleground. No doubt about it,” Steel said. “Any Republican who wants to win is going to have to work hard.”
The lack of Republican support from independent voters is significant because those voters typically split the same way as partisan voters and the four contested districts all have more Republicans than Democrats. The polls also found that those on both sides are more engaged than usual with what’s going on in Washington, but particularly Democrats.
“The increase in activism is real,” Brown said. “Whether that leads to increased turnout remains to be seen.”
The poll consisted of 400 phone interviews with a margin of error of 4.9 percent and 333 internet surveys with a margin of error of 3.55 percent. When adjusted for demographics — internet users are more likely to be young and Democratic than those with landlines — the results from both phone and internet participants was similar, Brown said.
The survey also broke down results by congressional districts. However, those sample sizes were much smaller, did not include portions of the district outside the county and so were subject to larger margins of error.
Gap Inc has progressed in the first quarter, despite what one analyst refers to as “firing on just one cylinder”, as the US speciality clothing retailer’s Old Navy brand helped boost sales performance.
The city of Mission Viejo will honor those who lost their lives while serving the nation in a Memorial Day Observance at the Civic Center, 200 Civic Center. The event takes place 8:30 a.m. to noon, Monday, May 29.
The program includes local dignitaries, members of the Headquarters Battalion, 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton and a musical tribute by Dawn Wright, the voice of the Anaheim Ducks.
The keynote speaker will be Marine Corps Colonel Andrew Bergen, who will discuss the importance of remembering the people who died while serving with the country’s armed forces. He’ll be joined by guest speaker Frans Vandenbroek, a Vietnam veteran, Purple Heart recipient and local resident.
Tribute banners will also be on display from mid-May through the end of the month. The event is free to attend and coffee and light refreshments will be served after the ceremony.
IF YOU GO
What: Memorial Day Observance
When: 8:30 a.m.-noon, Monday, May 29
Where: Mission Viejo Civic Center, 200 Civic Center
Perhaps the best way to describe The Preserve Golf Club is that it fits.
And that’s no small task. The 20-acre course is an easy physical fit for the 200-acre Santa Lucia Preserve in Carmel, but it’s the ambience, flow and environmental reverence that are most fitting here. That’s because the member-owned community is a living, breathing testament to sustainability when like minds come together.
The Santa Lucia Preserve has undergone only a few transformations in a history that dates to the 1800s, and many of the historic buildings reflect a lifestyle common to the wealthy of the 1920s. In addition, the vast landscape recalls the idyllic life of California lore that was seen on large Mexican ranches where cattle and horses roamed hillsides and a family atmosphere was evident.
Even though there remains a neighborly feel, the 300 home lots on 31 square miles are spread out and tucked back enough to be, for the most part, unseen from the winding roads or golf course, which has the feel of 18 scenes on the set of an old Western.
“Although a course that is spread out doesn’t lend itself to ease of maintenance, it couldn’t feel more private, which makes one truly feel the serenity of this place,” said golf course superintendent Tim Taagen. “If the course was more constricted … the natural balance wouldn’t have been achieved.”
In typical Tom Fazio fashion, the course architect did a masterful job making the layout blend with the setting. Tee boxes are wide and deep; fairways are accessible, angled and go up and down; and the greens are quick and tricky, with undulations the norm.
“His ability to blend a course such as The Preserve into the natural surrounding is what sets him apart from other designers,” Taagen said about Fazio. “Members are extremely happy with the original design and particularly the minor tweaks during reconstruction last year.”
Those tweaks included converting fairways to Santa Ana Bermuda grass to handle cool and warm temperatures, in addition to rebuilding the bunkers. The changes also were done because of dry conditions at the time.
“During the drought it became very important to look at water savings to protect the course from future droughts,” Taagen said. “The USGA has done an in-depth article on keeping golf courses viable through drought, and we were a major area of focus for this study.”
Because of the special nature of The Preserve Golf Club, focusing on his job is jokingly tough for Taagen, who has been working at courses for 40 years, the previous 32 in Colorado.
“My son nailed it when he asked if I worked at ‘Jurassic Park’. This place is wild and … blends so well with nature that it feels like it has been here forever,” Taagen said. “When I look around at all the beauty I have to pinch myself and wonder how I was able to be lucky enough to have been chosen to be the steward of this course.”
His reasons for coming, however, were simple: a respect for the course designer and love at first sight when seeing the property.
“Having built and maintained a Tom Fazio course earlier in my career I was well aware of his abilities; he is by far the best architect I have ever worked with,” Taagen said. “I could have stayed in the Rocky Mountains for the remainder of my career, but being part of something that can make golf sustainable was intriguing. Nothing compared to what I felt when I came through the gates for the first time. This place is truly special and nowhere on earth will you find anything quite like it.”
FYI
The Santa Lucia Preserve is the only private community to have just 300 home sites within 20,000 acres of a permanently and privately protected natural habitat. Besides golf, here are other amenities:
Dining: Locally sourced ingredients are the staple of morning and afternoon meals at the Clubhouse. The Ranch Club Hacienda, a couple miles away, is a gathering place for friends and family, with continental breakfast and dinner served five nights a week and an a la carte menu on weekends.
Accommodations: The Hacienda has nine guest rooms, each decorated to reflect the casual elegance of the 1920s sporting estate era, and the Gray’s Ranch House, with seven guest rooms and a courtyard, are available to members and their guests.
Recreation: Activities include an equestrian center; 100 miles of trails for hiking, biking and riding; 42 miles of roads for cycling; a fitness center and children’s activity center; and Moore’s Lake, which has a boathouse, dock and sandy beach.
Membership: Preserve Ranch Club membership is available with the purchase of a home or home site and/or a Preserve G
The seventh hole at The Preserve Golf Club shows how each hole is a layout in itself. One of 300 houses on the massive property shows how open spaces are always in play.
olf Club membership (full equity). The Preserve Golf Club membership is limited to 300 golf members, with a limited number of non-equity golf memberships available as well.
“More Senior Moments,” a comedy, is the story of Rose, who catches her husband with another woman in the nursing home and “decides to go on a quest for the sexual adventure she has been denying her self for the past 60 years.”
It’s a sequel to “Senior Moments,” an award-winning play by Don Fried. Camino Real Playhouse in San Juan Capistrano will include two vignettes from the original production.
IF YOU GO
What: “More Senior Moments”
When: Friday, May 26 through Sunday, June 11. There will be 10 shows ,including three Sunday matinees.
Where: Camino Real Playhouse, 31776 El Camino Real, San Juan Capistrano
Tickets: $20
Reservations: caminorealplayhouse.org, or call 949-489-8082
For resort, the Just Cavalli creative team portrayed young women living a rock ‘n’ roll romance. The house’s signature codes — baroque details, wild animal patterns, floral motifs — were all incorporated in an eye-catching wardrobe that definitely targeted girls who want to have fun. There were some day options, such as a two-tone cape evoking marine-like atmospheres, as well as sweatshirts with embroideries and micro studs. But frisky, evening attire was at the core of the lineup. Skin-tight vinyl pants were matched with a silk bomber, chiffon minidresses were trimmed with lace and featured lace-up details, while micro metallic embellishments punctuated the leather jackets. A military appeal emerged in the rounded buttons decorating high-waist denim pants and a white brocade suit featuring short pants. Once again, the brand’s creative team managed to deliver a coherent collection rooted in the Just Cavalli heritage yet appealing for the new generation of party lovers.
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Flagpole’s resort 2018 collection made a case that signature swimsuits in an updated colorway, paired with stunning visuals, make for a fresh collection. From designers Jaime Barker and Megan Balch, the line features figure-flattering swimwear with pristine tailoring. For their new collection, the seasoned designers created an array of swimwear and beach ready-to-wear in a fall-inspired palette of muted and soft maroons and blues. Shot at La Muralla Roja in Alicante, Spain, the location perfectly embodied the spirit and palette of the collection. The new hues were introduced to their signature color-blocked design on both classic and new styles. Standout shapes include a backless one-piece, underwire one-piece and a cropped rash-guard with inside shelf bra. The girls also brought back the front tie style and applied it to a strapless one-piece. Rtw that successfully translates from beach to street includes chic maroon, side-slit palazzo pants; quick-dry trouser boardshorts, and an array of cover-up-esque skirts and knit tops.
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READY FOR TAKEOFF: Historic Russian watch label Raketa is gearing up for international domination. The brand, which stems from Russia’s oldest factory, the Petrodvorets Watch Factory in St. Petersburg, is banking on a renewed appetite for Russian labels and has opened what chairman and head of design Jacques von Polier describes as “our first corner beyond the Iron Curtain.”
On Thursday, the label celebrated its introduction at high-end watch store Freret-Roy, just off the Rue de la Paix and around the corner from Place Vendôme, with a cocktail party.
Polier took over the company in 2010, employing Swiss engineers alongside the local production team. He has spent the past few years rebuilding and repositioning the brand in line with his belief that there is a place for Russian labels on the global luxury market.
“Russia has a great international culture, but doesn’t have many brands,” he explained. “After the fall of the Iron Curtain, Russian people dreamed of the West, but I’ve always believed that was temporary. We can become for Russia what Louis Vuitton is for France.”
The brand has forged links with celebrities — Russian model and philanthropist Natalia Vodianova, Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica and Bolshoi Theatre dancers Anna Tikhomirova and Artem
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TOWN HOUSE PARTY: Jo Malone London opened the doors to its Marylebone town house on Thursday night, to celebrate its new editorial platform “Talk of the Town House” and all things British.
Despite the ongoing rain showers in the British capital, the brand pulled out all the stops to keep guests’ spirits up, filling its elegant 18th-century Marylebone town house with elaborate flower arrangements, gigantic Instagram-friendly paper planes, waiters in newsboy caps and a tequila bar.
The party’s set-up did the trick as guests, which included the likes of Emilia Wickstead, Courtney Love, Alice Temperley, Chelsea Leyland and Natasha Zinko, let their hair down moving between the dance floor and the tequila bar.
“That’s the ethos of Jo Malone, it’s very English but it’s also very chic. You can let your hair down in the evening but at the same time be an elegant lady during the daytime. We are all those things, aren’t we?” said model and brand ambassador Karen Elson, who was cohosting the party with longtime friend Poppy Delevingne.
Delevingne and Elson also star in the campaign that marks the launch of the brand’s new platform, which includes a digital site and a newspaper. Both said they wanted to embrace the opportunity
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