Concours at the Quail, Pebble Beach Golf Links, and Black Horse Golf Course cull A-list automobiles.

The updated Dunstane House is the perfect home base for the 70th Annual Edinburgh Festival.

With state-of-the art gardens visible from every angle, this English mansion is a countryside classic.

Parmigiani’s second offering in the Toric collection adds a 2nd time zone and retrograde date function.

There are plenty of problems with the kind of one-party government California now has, with every statewide office in the hands of Democrats, who also hold two-thirds majorities in both houses of the Legislature.

It’s easier to pass taxes this way and budget discipline can be hard to find, to name just two. But the one-party dominance also allows for addressing some rank injustices after they’ve spent years as festering societal wounds.

Cash bail is one of those. Get arrested, whether you’re guilty of a crime or not, and there’s a good chance you’ll have to put up thousands of dollars in cash, real estate or other valuables to avoid spending many months in jail. One springtime report from the non-profit Human Rights Watch found that 459,847 persons were jailed in California for felony offenses between 2011 and 2015 — but never found guilty of any crime. They accounted for just under one-third of all arrests during that time and it cost California counties an average of $114 per day to keep them in custody, a total of more than $1 billion.

While a large majority of arrests were for good cause, hundreds of thousands were detained for days, weeks or months without good reason.

The average bail set in those cases approximated $50,000, with variances by county and by the type of crime involved. For many persons unable to come up with such a sum, bail bond agents are an answer. The agents often put up 10 percent of the bail amount for an accused person, and are responsible for the rest if the suspect jumps bail or does not turn up for scheduled court dates.

The accused (or friends and relatives) must pay that 10 percent, or $5,000 when bail is set at the typical $50,000. That money is not returned.

“With a lot of low income families, $500 can be a lot to come up with — so $5,000?” San Francisco City and County Treasurer Jose Cisneros told a reporter. “Particularly $5,000 they are never going to see again.” That’s why many prisoners don’t make bail and languish for months before trial.

This, in turn, can cause them to lose jobs and see their children put into foster case, often for months or years after their eventual release.

So bail can be a punishment just for being poor. That reality got little attention in Sacramento until this year, but now Democratic state Sen. Robert Herzberg of Los Angeles (a former state Assembly speaker) and Assemblyman Rob Bonta of Alameda, another Democrat, want to rectify the frequent injustices.

A Bonta reform measure died in the Assembly in June, but Hertzberg’s virtually identical bill to ease bail passed the Senate. Now making its way through various Assembly committees, it’s an attempt to ensure no one now jailed and awaiting trial is held merely because of finances.

Counties would have to set up an evaluation system to make sure no one gets an “own-recognition” release if there’s any threat to the community or any flight risk. There’s an apparent consensus that prior criminal records will have to be considered. But no cost figure is yet attached to the new bureaucracy that would result.

Said the normally ultra-liberal San Diego Democratic Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, “I don’t see how this works without spending a lot of money.”

So, like the single-payer health insurance bill that passed the Senate earlier this year only to die in the Assembly for lack of financial details, this equally humanitarian effort at equalizing bail treatment for all suspects leaves a lot of questions unanswered.

No one now questions the essential inequality of today’s bail setup, where the wealthy usually walk free while most poor suspects stay in jail. But no one also doubts the assertion of the Golden State Bail Agents Association that reform would see “the mass release of defendants.”

For sure, any fix for this flawed system will see plenty of would-be defendants freed. The trick will be to make sure as many of the newly freed as possible are among the one-third of all arrestees who will never be convicted of anything. Sadly, no one right now knows how to make those judgments.

Thomas D. Elias is a writer in Southern California.

At a time of tremendous frustration, one of the most daunting and unwelcome challenges facing the Trump administration is the war in Afghanistan.

President Obama won an election he could have lost as a direct result of campaigning on what appeared to be victory in that conflict, with Osama bin Laden dead and troop levels on track to draw down. As it happened, the Taliban and al-Qaida had different ideas. The war worsened again and Obama handed it off to the new administration.

With no clear way to exit the conflict or win, Trump’s divided team must settle on a mix of tactics that can create new possibilities without taking on unsupportable costs or risks.

It’s not yet apparent that the White House has figured out how to do this.

On one side of the policymaking process, Trump’s generals, Defense Secretary James Mattis and National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, are conducting a review of the situation that is expected, but not certain, to result in a recommendation of deploying several thousand more troops to Afghanistan.

On the other, Trump’s adviser Stephen Bannon has, so far unsuccessfully, pushed the generals to consider a strategic shift away from direct military escalation and toward the use of contracted security — a creative but potentially troublesome option, since it would rely on paid firepower furnished by at least some professionals who are not American citizens.

For now, it’s anyone’s guess as to how Trump will respond.

But whatever the review’s final recommendation, and whatever influence on the president Bannon and his anti-nation-building constituency may have, U.S. warfighting policy in Afghanistan will have to shake things up in a carefully considered way.

The old Bush-era approach of “clear, hold and build” may have earned hard-won gains late in the game in Iraq, but the Afghan battle space, adjacent to both Iran and Pakistan, probably makes it too hard to simply port over that method at an attractive cost and with sufficiently demonstrable results.

On the other hand, flowing in a very large number of troops would strain the confidence of the American people, Republicans included, well beyond a prudent point.

Yet turning to privately contracted security forces, which might give the United States a real shot at extricating itself from the “endless” war, would also dismay too many Americans, who share just too little experience running that kind of playbook, and whose vision of “mercenary” forces does not comport with the expectations of honor and patriotism that are still extended by U.S. citizens to their armed forces.

With no one approach showing enough promise, and no moon-shot options waiting to be discovered, the Trump administration does not have much choice beyond testing out combinations of personnel and tactics.

Awkward or kludgy as that may promise to feel, there’s also something oddly American about it, reminiscent of the improvisational approach to crisis forced onto the Houston team that rescued the astronauts of the Apollo 13 mission.

Obviously, few Americans will be in any mood to romanticize what amounts to a trial-and-error approach in Afghanistan today. But many may well recognize in the necessity of that approach the need for a newly sober and focused commitment to finding our way out of the mess once and for all.

UCLA football is on a major recruiting roll in Orange County.

Sure, USC landed JT Daniels but in just the past two days, the Bruins have received verbal commitments from three standout seniors-to-be: Mission Viejo All-County cornerback Olaijah Griffin (6-0, 170), rising Mater Dei wide receiver CJ Parks (5-11, 175) and talented JSerra defensive end Abdul-Malik McClain (6-4, 230). Griffin and Parks committed on Sunday while McClain pledged on Monday.

Earlier in July, UCLA landed a commitment from talented St. John Bosco wide receiver Devon Cooley, a former county star at Buena Park.

“Everyone committed is awesome,” Cooley said in a direct message via Twitter on Monday. “They all look hungry to be successful and will push me to be a better player and person.”

Here’s a brief look at the Bruins’ recent commits with comments from Cooley:

Olaijah Griffin, Mission Viejo: The Diablos have sent several players recently to USC but the Bruins land a highly-athletic shutdown corner. The Bruins are building tons of depth in their secondary and won’t be disappointed by Griffin. In addition to his cover skills, he’s an aggressive player who tackles well. He has starred on special teams and also played receiver.

“I love that Olaijah committed because going against him and the other commits everyday in practice? Iron sharpens iron,” Cooley said.

CJ Parks, Mater Dei: Some around the Monarchs’ program consider Parks the 1A to touted ace receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. Parks plays with a similar bulldog mentality that many associate with St. Brown. With St. Brown injured during the Battle at the Beach passing tournament in July, Parks and his gold cleats shined by making athletic leaping catches and aggressively taking on all comers.

“CJ Parks is a beast,” Cooley said. “Hopefully, we play side by side after we face each other this season.”

St. John Bosco quarterback Re-al Mitchell was trying to recruit Parks to join him at Iowa State.

Abdul-Malik McClain, JSerra: McClain transferred into Santa Margarita before last season and quietly played well. He produced outstanding video against powerhouse St. John Bosco and Ohio State signee Wyatt Davis. He’s a tall, athletic defensive end who runs well enough to play outside linebacker.

“There is no doubt that everyone committed can ball at the next level,” Cooley said. McClain’s younger brother, Munir McClain, is a fast and sure-handed junior-to-be receiver that the Bruins would certainly love to land.

In another recruiting twist late Monday night, the UCLA-committed Cooley was offered by Utah.

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

Re: “Mistreatment of Sessions reveals a lot about Trump” [Opinion, July 18]: I have to disagree with Charles Krauthammer when he says President Trump’s tweets show him to be transparent.

I’d say Trump’s tweets are not honest communications with the American public, but rather designed to create an atmosphere of constant conflict and confusion. They keep The Donald’s “You’re fired” base entertained and cheering him on. But they conceal, rather than reveal, his true agenda.

Trump’s penchant for secrecy and lies about governing is putting our government and nation at great risk. Trump daily assaults the First Amendment. Who has whispered in his ear when he promotes policy that has had no input from the executive branch or the Pentagon, and no open airing or public debate? Within reason, it is OK for a real estate mogul to manage in secrecy. The people’s business, however, must be conducted in the light of day. Open and transparent government is the backbone of a democracy.

The “leaks” that Trump so fervently opposes are generally not matters of national security, but rather matters the people have a right to know. How is this president conducting business? Does he have conflicts of interest? Who is he meeting with, and what kinds of deals is he making? With whom did he have dinner? Are his decisions in the public interest — or in the interests of Trump and his family? His right to privacy as president is limited.

The office of the president and the executive branch should not be patterned on the Mafia, where members swear loyalty to the don. It’s sounding like that’s how Trump envisions it to be. His admiration of Putin hints strongly at his mindset about how leaders are supposed to operate. This man is dangerous. Only a daily fight to keep the spotlight on him will save us. Sen. John McCain just set a good example for us. Citizens and politicians must stand up and do what’s right, not what’s political.

— Judith A. Lewis, Huntington Beach

Trump has got swamp mud on his face

Re: “GOP fears political fallout after ‘epic fail’ on repeal” [News, July 30]: Looks like instead of draining the swamp, President Trump got bit by the mosquitoes and has mud on his face. It’s time to try something different — but please don’t follow Putin’s motto: If you can’t beat them, collude with them.

— Yi H. Doo, Irvine

The major political parties have been going through some soul-searching since the surprise election of Donald Trump — even Trump’s own Republican Party.

Last week, as Democratic leaders rolled out a repackaged economic agenda, we invited readers to send us their opinions about what the Democratic Party stands for.

Our new Question of the Week is: What does the Republican Party stand for?

Have Trump’s policies as president redefined what it means to be a Republican? Do Trump’s positions mesh or clash with the traditional positions of the Grand Old Party? Is he good or bad for the party in the long run?

With polls showing the Republican Party even more unpopular than the Democratic Party right now, must Republicans do something different as they prepare to defend majorities in Congress and most statehouses in the 2018 elections?

What does — or should — the Republican Party represent in California, where it is outnumbered in state offices? Do you agree with critics who say Assembly Minority Leader Chad Mayes, R-Rancho Mirage, failed to take a principled stand against Gov. Jerry Brown’s cap-and-trade environmental legislation?

If you’re a Republican, what do you want your party to stand for? Has the party changed since you joined?

If you’re a Democrat, what do think Republicans really stand for?

What would persuade you to vote Republican if you don’t already?

Have you switched parties, or gone from a party to “independent” or vice-versa?

What does the GOP-led Congress’ attempt — and, so far, inability — to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (i.e., Obamacare) say about the party?

Have the changes in the political scene since the start of the 2016 presidential election redefined the roles of parties?

What sets the Republican Party apart from the Democratic Party?

Email your thoughts to letters@ocregister.com. Please include your full name and city or community of residence. Provide a daytime phone number. Or, if you prefer, share your views in the comments section that accompanies this article online.

We’ll publish as many responses as possible.

Juicy Couture, one of the original California contemporary lifestyle brands, might be going on 22 years old, but it’s striving to stay on the cutting edge of youthful fashion with the appointment of celebrity stylist Jamie Mizrahi as creative director.
Mizrahi, who styles celebrities such as Katy Perry, Nicole Richie, Riley Keough, Sasha Lane and Suki Waterhouse, first came on board last year as a consultant for the company, now owned by Authentic Brands Group.

Sketches of Juicy Couture’s Spring 2018 Collection 
Courtesy image

“You pay stylists and celebrities to work with a brand, so why not go straight to the source?” said Nick Woodhouse, president and chief marketing officer of Authentic Brands Group. “Not only does Jamie have a great social following, her clients do too, and with a generation that’s so influenced by celebrity, she sees it all and lives that Juicy lifestyle.” He added, “Juicy has a unique place in the cultural zeitgeist of fashion that few brands have permission to own. It was always a bold and daring brand and we can continue to be disruptive by taking on a more outward lens with Jamie and layer her own sensibility on top of our DNA.”
Said Mizrahi, “I am not trying

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