Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Kenta Maeda throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner walks in the dugout during the third inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Curtis Granderson is congratulated as he enters the dugout after his solo home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Kenta Maeda wipes his forehead during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Curtis Granderson is congratulated as he enters the dugout after his solo home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Curtis Granderson looks skyward as he enters the dugout after his solo home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
Detroit Tigers’ Justin Upton follows through on his two-run home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
Detroit Tigers’ Justin Upton, right, is greeted by Miguel Cabrera after hitting a two-run home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
Detroit Tigers’ Justin Upton is greeted by Dixon Machado after they both scored on Upton’s two-run home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
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DETROIT – Kenta Maeda took a perfect game into the sixth inning before unraveling as the Dodgers lost to the Detroit Tigers 6-1 Sunday afternoon.
Maeda retired the first 15 batters he faced in order before giving up three consecutive hits (including a two-run double by No. 9 hitter Dixon Machado). Three batters later, he gave up a two-run home run to Justin Upton.
As good as Maeda was for five innings, Tigers starter Justin Verlander was right there with him.
Verlander retired the first 13 Dodgers he faced before walking Yasiel Puig with one out in the fifth inning to end the dueling perfect games.
An inning later, Curtis Granderson golfed a 2-and-2 slider from his former teammate off the right-field foul pole for his first hit as a Dodger and the first run of the game. In his three at-bats against Verlander, Granderson made him throw 20 pitches, striking out twice and hitting the home run.
That was all the Dodgers could do against Verlander who allowed one more hit in eight innings.
Amid constant speculation that he will be traded before the deadline for post-season eligibility – with the Houston Astros or Chicago Cubs the most likely destinations – Verlander has posted a 2.36 ERA and 0.98 WHIP while holding opposing batters to a .189 average over his past nine starts. Tigers fans unsure if any start might be his last for the team gave him a brief standing ovation when he left the mound after the eighth inning.
The Tigers tacked on two runs in the eighth inning when center fielder Kike’ Hernandez shied away from Miguel Cabrera’s drive near the warning track in right center as Puig closed in. The ball fell between the two Dodgers outfielders for a two-run double.
For the Dodgers, the loss snapped a six-game winning streak. It was their sixth winning streak of at least six games this season.
FREETOWN, Sierra Leone – Churches across Sierra Leone held special services Sunday in memory of those killed in mudslides and flooding earlier this week, as hospital officials announced the toll had risen to nearly 500 bodies collected.
Volunteers bury coffins during a mass funeral for victims of heavy flooding and mudslides in Regent at a cemetery in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. The government has begun burying the hundreds of people killed earlier this week in mudslides in Sierra Leone’s capital, and it warned Thursday of new danger from a large crack that has opened on a mountainside where residents were told to evacuate. (AP Photo/Manika Kamara)
In this Aug.15, 2017 file photo, volunteers search for bodies from the scene of heavy flooding and mudslides in Regent, just outside of Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown. Survivors picking through the debris of Sierra Leone’s deadly mudslides are facing the reality that most, if not all, of the estimated 600 people missing are dead. (AP Photo/ Manika Kamara, File)
In this Aug. 15, 2017 file photo, volunteers stand at the scene of heavy flooding and mudslides in Regent, just outside of Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown. Churches across Sierra Leone held special services Sunday, Aug. 20 in memory of the more than 450 people who were killed in mudslides and flooding earlier this week. (AP Photo/Kabba Kargbo, file)
In this Aug. 17, 2017 file photo, volunteers handle a coffin during a mass funeral for victims of heavy flooding and mudslides in Regent at a cemetery in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Churches across Sierra Leone held special services Sunday, Aug. 20 in memory of the more than 450 people who were killed in mudslides and flooding earlier this week. (AP Photo/Manika Kamara, file)
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More than 600 people remain missing and rescue officials have warned that the chances of finding survivors are decreasing each day. The death toll earlier stood at 450.
The Inter-Religious Council called for the services to be held Sunday in honor of the deceased, as special prayers and recitals were offered in mosques Friday and Sunday.
The preacher at Buxton Memorial Methodist Church in Freetown, the capital, offered a sermon that looked at mankind’s contribution to the disaster, as a gospel band rendered the song “Papa God Sorry for Salone (Sierra Leone).”
Large-scale-burials have taken place all this week amid rainy weather that threatened further mudslides.
The government of the impoverished West African nation in recent days has warned residents to evacuate a mountainside where a large crack has opened. Thousands of people live in areas at risk and the main focus is making sure they leave before further disaster, authorities have told local media.
Aid groups are providing clean water as a health crisis looms.
“Water sources have been contaminated” and that officials “fear for an outbreak of waterborne diseases,” said Saidu Kanu, country director for World Hope International.
Foreign aid from the rest of the world is being sent to Freetown, said authorities.
There are innumerable perks to living in California, but modestly priced housing is certainly not one of them. It’s undeniable that housing in the Golden State is expensive, and that we have a significant housing shortage. It’s a housing affordability and supply crisis, which severely impacts quality of life and will require some creative policy approaches and political will. But, whatever the public policy, the core of it should be more housing — swiftly, efficiently and sustainably. Let’s hope elected officials in Sacramento take up that mantra.
California’s Legislative Analyst’s Office has been warning us about the crisis for a while now. In fact, the LAO’s 2015 report on California had five very telling takeaways that should be the basis for new legislation: 1) “Home prices and rents [are] higher than just about anywhere else.” 2) “Building less housing than people demand drives high housing costs.” 3) “High housings costs [are] problematic for households and the state’s economy.” 4) We should utilize a “targeted role of affordable housing programs.” And 5) We need “more private housing construction in coastal urban areas.”
The LAO report is spot on. And the housing landscape in Southern California supports its analysis.
For example, Orange County needs “50,000 to 62,000 housing units today just to meet the demand of the people living here now,” according to an Orange County Business Council study. And housing costs are so high that “prices for both rental and homeownership have impacted the employment landscape, as many workers are being forced into neighboring counties to find more affordable housing options, increasing their commute and complicating their work-life balance.”
Similarly, in the Inland Empire, “housing supply has lagged,” according to John Husing, chief economist for the Inland Empire Economic Partnership. And, as Southern California News Group reporter Jeff Collins wrote, “Fewer than half of Inland Empire households can afford a median-priced house in their area.”
In L.A., the story is the same. Los Angeles County “needs an additional 551,807 more affordable units to meet the needs of the lowest-income renters,” as reported by Dennis Romero at the LA Weekly. And housing costs are impacting the decisions of employers. Romero also reported that “Matt Schwartz, CEO of the California Housing Partnership Corporation, says the high cost of housing in markets like Los Angeles and the Bay Area is starting to weigh on employers.” He used the example of Toyota moving from the South Bay to Plano, Texas, because of housing affordability for workers.
These challenges are impacting low-income households, but not exclusively. Chris Thornberg of Beacon Economics has called housing affordability in California a crisis for the middle class.
The solution seems straightforward: Build more housing. But the problem is hefty political resistance to any development.
Part of the challenge is an alliance of strange bedfellows. The first faction is made up of those motivated by environmentalism, who want no new development because they believe any development is bad for the environment. Their allies, in this particular pursuit, are NIMBYs — an acronym for “not in my backyard” — those who want their communities to remain quiet, less congested and free from all of the hullabaloo they perceive new housing (and more people) will bring.
And this alliance is particularly effective. We’ve seen their successes time and time again. They use lawsuits to delay permits and construction, they run ballot initiatives to stop development, and they pack public hearings full of opposition voices. It’s no wonder politicians are afraid of policies that allow for more housing.
Even still, there is some momentum for advocates of housing, both in terms of organizing in favor of housing and in the potential for environmentally sustainable development.
One of the best housing projects I’ve seen in recent years is Newhall Ranch, or, as it was dubbed, “NetZero Newhall.” It’s a large, environmentally sustainable housing development in the Santa Clarita Valley that offsets its environmental impacts. The innovative approach to sustainability helped to quell some political concerns and build momentum for the project.
Also, technology companies, well aware of the costs of housing for their employees, are now entering the political fray, advocating for housing by funding an organization led by Brian Hanlon. “With financial backing from Silicon Valley tech executives, Hanlon is starting a new political and housing advocacy venture in Sacramento called California YIMBY — or ‘yes in my backyard,’ a riff on the ‘not-in-my-backyard’ phrase that characterizes neighborhood opposition to development projects,” according to the Sacramento Bee.
“We want more housing, and all types of housing. So we advocate for everything from transitional homeless shelters … to tall, luxury condos and everything in between,” Hanlon told the Bee. “We are in a dire housing shortage, and we’re not going to get ourselves out of that shortage if we nitpick every project to death.”
And politicians in Sacramento seem poised to act. In the coming days, the state Legislature will unveil plans, and hopefully host a robust debate about what can be done to make housing in the state more affordable and address housing shortfalls. For example, some in Sacramento, including state Treasurer John Chiang, are calling for a multibillion-dollar state housing bond for affordable housing.
We will see the specifics of the bond proposal soon enough. In the meantime, the Legislature should keep in mind that throwing money at the problem alone will not solve it. Lawmakers should use the LAO analysis as a guide, and craft a policy that spurs all development, encourages sustainability, reduces the potential for lawsuits and long-term delays, and utilizes focused, affordable housing plans.
The only way we will overcome the Golden State’s housing shortage and affordability crisis is by building more — and we can do that efficiently and sustainably.
Brian Calle is opinion editor for the Southern California News Group.
Edison quarterback Griffin O’Connor moved closer to his dream of playing college football by committing to a college over the summer. The decision also nudged him further along a recruiting speedway that features a newly-designed and much-debated twist.
Starting this December, for the first time high school seniors such as O’Connor will have the option to sign a national letter of intent with a college just days before Christmas. The date falls about seven weeks before the traditional and celebrated signing period in early February.
It is a major curve, and one O’Connor isn’t quite sure he wants to take on. With his senior season just under way, more pressing maneuvers occupy his thoughts.
COMING SUNDAY, AUG. 27
“After I committed, I’m focusing more on just the season at hand,” said the quarterback, who helped guide the Chargers to the CIF-Southern Section Division 3 title last December.
“Once the season ends, then I’ll make a decision if I want to sign on the earlier date or the later one.”
Edison quarterback Griffin O’Connor celebrates a touchdown during the Battle at the Beach tournament on Saturday, July 8, 2017. (Photo by Matt Masin, Orange County Register, SCNG)
Other top Southern California recruits are signaling they will opt for the early off-ramp. St. John Bosco quarterback Re-al Mitchell and Mater Dei offensive lineman Tommy Brown said they plan to sign in December with their respective selections: Iowa State and Alabama.
The recruits won’t travel these highways alone. Their high school teams and the ultra-competitive college coaching staffs will be right there too, also challenged by the new rule.
In the end, all roads hope to lead to a signing day.
“It’s actually going to be quite interesting,” said Brandon Huffman, national director of college football recruiting for Scout.com. “It’s going to have its strengths, its weaknesses … but recruiting is always evolving. This going to be one of those, let’s see how it goes.”
MORE TRANSPARENCY MIGHT HELP
Mitchell is built for speed.
The senior blazes on the field as the Braves’ dual-threat quarterback and on the track as a sprinter. He also worked hard over the summer so he can graduate after the fall semester.
His accelerated graduation and passion for Iowa State make him eager to sign his letter of intent on Dec. 20, the start of the new early signing period, which will last 72 hours.
“It’s really good for high school football and college football being able to see who is really committed in the first place and who really wants to be a part of that signing class,” said Mitchell, who last season helped the Braves capture CIF State Open Division and CIF-SS Division 1 titles.
“From there, other kids can see where kids signed early and kind of decide where they want to end up.”
St. John Bosco quarterback Re-Al Mitchell. Bellflower, Monday, July 17, 2017. ( Photo by Stephen Carr / Press-Telegram / SCNG )
The NCAA expressed a similar sentiment in its April announcement of the December signing period. The governing body said it hoped to make “the recruiting environment more transparent” with changes that complement the regular signing period, which will arrive Feb. 7, 2018.
Brown, Mater Dei’s 6-foot-7, 315-pound senior left tackle, knows recruiting treks aren’t always clear. His older brother, Dillon, a pitcher in baseball, committed to Nebraska, but the Cornhuskers reportedly rescinded the offer. Dillon landed at Cal State Fullerton, but the saga left Brown vigilant about the recruiting process.
“I do have that (story) in the back of my head just because it did happen before to the family,” Brown said, “so it will help knowing that (signing day) comes early but I’m not too worried.
“Talking with (Alabama offensive line) Coach (Brent) Key and Coach (Nick) Saban, I feel they’re as committed to me as I’m committed to them. … And then once I sign, I can start getting in the other recruits’ ears like, ‘February, you can sign (with) Alabama.’ ”
Mater Dei offensive lineman Tommy Brown is the highest-ranked offensive lineman in the county and has recently committed to Alabama in Anaheim, on Wednesday, July 26, 2017. (Photo by Nick Agro, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The early signing period also opens new lanes for college coaches. UCLA hopes to sign all of its class of 2019 commitments – including glitzy addition Olaijah Griffin of Mission Viejo — in December.
“It gives everyone an opportunity to kind of close that book and move on to the next chapter of recruiting, which is a good thing,” said Matt Bernstein, the Bruins’ director of player of personnel.
“The NCAA did a study and a lot of recruits are worn out by the time of the recruiting process. … (And we) have the opportunity now to say (for example), ‘OK, Jaelan Phillips is locked in. We don’t have to worry about anything because he signed.’ We can go ahead and move on to the next big guys on our list.”
Wide receiver/defensive back Mike Washington of Monrovia said the stress for him comes from multiple schools competing hard for a commitment. The uncommitted senior said Hawaii showed him heavy interest before Boise State and Tulane created a three-wide duel for the lead.
“I don’t know what I want to do now. You don’t want to upset anybody,” he said. “(The early signing period) definitely lifts the burden off your shoulder. … It’s a lot of pressure.”
CAUTION FLAGS ARISE
The early signing period has some high school and college coaches pumping the brakes.
One concern involves official visits. This season’s crop of seniors will again balance taking recruiting trips with their team’s schedule and school calendar. But for those aiming to sign Dec. 20, the window for the official trips, which are paid by the universities, will be smaller.
“It’s going to be really hard, especially for teams that have an extended season and do well, to be able to get five official trips in (during) that fall,” said Centennial of Corona coach Matt Logan, who guided the Huskies to the CIF State Open Division finals in 2012-2015.
“I know a lot do unofficial visits but … some kids don’t have the ability to take unofficial visits like a lot of kids do. It’s worth a shot but I don’t know.”
Centennial of Corona coach Matt Logan. (TERRY PIERSON,THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE/SCNG)
Some of Logan’s concern could be eased in this spring. The NCAA also adopted rules to allow official visits by juniors starting April 1 through late June. The governing body said the change – like the early signing period — was made to help student-athletes in recruiting.
“That will be when you’ll actually start seeing some changes,” said Greg Biggins, a national recruiting analyst for Scout.com. “If you host a kid, you need to be prepared to take that kid’s commitment. A lot of schools aren’t ready to do that, that early.”
Stanford coach David Shaw sees other potential slick areas on the recruiting track.
He believes recruits who are 16 or 17 years old and their families benefit from having as much time as possible to make a college decision. While Shaw has been a rock of consistency at Stanford since 2011, he wonders what impact the departure of coaches will have on recruits.
“No one can tell me that some of these guys are still not going to change their minds between December and February and when they change their minds, guess what? We’re going to let them out of those letters of intent,” Shaw said at the Pac-12 Conference media days.
“My little crystal ball here is you’re going to recruit and sign an offensive lineman … Well, his O-line coach may get a coordinator job someplace else. Maybe become a head coach someplace else. And (you) may talk about changing the offense with a new coordinator, new line coach.
“Well, (the recruit) may not want to play in that new system. So now, you’ve created a problem in December that we wouldn’t have had in February.”
Bernstein waved his own caution flag. Coaches will be stressed by hosting official visits in the spring, making the almost year-round recruiting progress even more grueling.
No path will be perfectly smooth for recruits and coaches. And while there might be apprehension, Bernstein cautions the college-side should remember one thing.
“The coaches have done this to themselves and guys like me have done this to ourselves,” he said. “I call it an arms race to nowhere because everyone is just building up their recruiting arsenal.
“More and more personnel is being dedicated to recruiting. More and more to graphic designers and videos and marketing and contacting. Always being on Twitter and Facebook and Instagram, making sure your brand is good and making sure you’re in constant correspondence with these guys. … We amped up the game.”
The rules and recruits are trying to keep up.
COMING SUNDAY AUG. 27 Look for the SoCal Prep Legends high school football preview magazine in Aug. 27 edition of the Register and other Southern California News Group newspapers.
It would be an understatement to describe President Trump’s comments this past week in the aftermath of racist rallies and ensuing violence in Charlottesville as tone deaf.
His initial response gave enough reason to shudder but on Thursday, in an all-too-familiar barrage of tweets, he sadly accented his already troubling response to a volatile situation by lamenting the loss of “beautiful statues and monuments.”
He was referring to effigies of Confederate leaders, which further fanned the flames of racial divisions.
Discussion about racial tensions in the United States always requires significant deference, nuance and finesse — things often missing from President Trump’s speeches and Twitter storms. But there is a rightful expectation that the president of the United States thoughtfully engage in words aimed at quelling tensions and uniting an already divided country. He failed, and deserves the continuing political fallout.
When a rally brings together white supremacists, the KKK and Nazis, the job of the president on that day is to forcefully condemn the rally and the message of hate it breeds. In that moment, a president’s job is to remind the American people that our diversity as a nation is one of our greatest strengths, that we are created equal, and that we should fight hatred with tolerance and love.
We could dissect every aspect of President Trump’s reaction to Charlottesville, but what most have rightly criticized him for is his use of the phrase “both sides,” referring to who is to blame for the violence.
Some have defended his remarks, arguing that violence was perpetrated by counterprotesters, particularly Antifa, a radical leftist group with socialist and communist underpinnings that combats fascism and the radical right.
But the reason counterprotesters were there in the first place was because of some of the vile message being promoted by rally participants.
That’s not to condone any violence or Antifa, which has perpetuated numerous vile acts. Like the white supremacists, Antifa is a cancer infecting our country. Even still, in the aftermath of Charlottesville, the only side that mattered was the side that initiated the conflict, the one that hosted the rally, and that reopened deep racial wounds in our country.
The so-called other sides didn’t matter because they did not host a rally that reminded the nation of some of our darkest days — and the greatest stain on our country’s history.
President Trump has a bully pulpit (and a bully Twitter account) to raise any issue, at any time, making it global news. After Charlottesville, it should have been singularly focused on racism. He could have addressed his other concerns at another time.
His errors in judgment this week have diminished his administration. This time is different from other Trump administration controversies, as evidenced by the criticism the president has received from fellow Republicans and business leaders, people who aren’t necessarily prone to reject everything he says or does, people who, in fact, support his agenda, or key parts of it.
This is weakening him, and his administration’s chances of doing important things, and it’s a problem he created unnecessarily.
