Jeremy T. Ringfield's Blog, page 107

Horoscopes June 10, 2025: Kate Upton, put your beliefs into practice

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Kate Upton, 33; Leelee Sobieski, 42; Shane West, 47; DJ Qualls, 47.

Happy Birthday: Your emotions, imagination and desire to create something magical will help you expand your purpose and lifelong goals. Put your beliefs into practice, talk the talk and walk the walk; the results will help you fine-tune your journey and pay attention to what’s meaningful. Set your path, and refuse to let anyone mislead you or take over. Study, document and implement a healthy, happy lifestyle. Your numbers are 4, 17, 26, 31, 38, 44, 49.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Keep situations, thoughts and feelings in perspective. Wait for things to unravel before you act. Pay attention to your responsibilities, and stick to a budget regardless of what someone else suggests. Put your time and effort into taking care of business and advancement. An offer will lack substance. 5 stars

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Contain your emotions and actions to avoid controversy. Take care of financial and medical issues by paying attention to detail and researching your options thoroughly. Don’t let a last-minute change to your plans unsettle you. Carry on, and you’ll discover skills you didn’t realize you had. Your charm will help you gain favors. 3 stars

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Use your gifts to build wealth, position and reputation among your peers. Be aware of who is on your team and who is there to observe and interfere. The less chaos, the simpler the plan and the more efficient the outcome. A change of space, direction and associates will change your perspective and vision. 3 stars

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Honesty and integrity will prevent trouble. Listen, elaborate and align yourself with people who share your values. An unexpected change will disrupt your plans or cost you if you are too abrupt. A little charm and persuasion will encourage better results. Size down rather than elaborate mentally or financially. Expect delays while traveling. 3 stars

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): What you put out into the world, you will get back. Offer your skills, time and energy to help a meaningful cause. Focus on what’s important to you, and refrain from letting what others do create a barrier that sends your efforts in a futile direction. Know what you want to achieve and make it so. 5 stars

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Refuse to let life’s little dramas dominate your energy and cause you to lose sight of what’s important to you. Recognize and fix whatever runs amok quickly; you’ll maintain your flow and reach your goal. Events, interactions and travel will lead to interesting encounters and connections. Romance, research and reunions are favored. 2 stars

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Promising too much will backfire. Make suggestions, ask for help and do your part, and you’ll make inroads and allies. Share thoughts, feelings and plans with someone you feel aligned with, and you’ll find out where you stand and how best to proceed. Only offer what’s tangible. Exaggeration and empty promises will be damaging. 4 stars

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Put your energy into educating yourself in areas that will enhance your earning, investing and financial maintenance. A business partnership works best if you saddle up with someone with potential in areas you lack. Allowing one another to do their part without interference will lead to victory. Personal growth is in the stars. 3 stars

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Let go of the past. Pay attention to domestic matters and personal relationships. Emphasize and structure your time and effort on what’s essential to you and your survival. Look for opportunities, research what’s entailed, change your routine and how you handle responsibilities, and raise your income and status to meet your demands. 3 stars

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Communication will require specifics to avoid trouble. Misleading information is apparent. Be clear, deal directly with the source and listen, digest and formulate your response carefully before you engage in talks. Your goal is to maintain integrity without prematurely divulging incriminating information or circumstances. Proceed with caution, precision and detail. 3 stars

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Anxiety will sprout and cost you if you act hastily. Discipline and hard work will pay off. Life is simple when you consider what’s happening around you and confirm your findings before responding. Take a deep breath and a backseat while the show unfolds; you’ll find it easier to control the outcome. 4 stars

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Situations will escalate if you are aggressive or unpredictable. Be open to suggestions and patient with those who don’t share your beliefs. Refuse to let emotional interference cloud your vision or prompt you to engage in banter that can hurt you personally or publicly. Make home improvements, budgeting and saving your goals. 2 stars

Birthday Baby: You are energetic, hands-on and impulsive. You are dedicated and stubborn.

1 star: Avoid conflicts; work behind the scenes.
2 stars: You can accomplish, but don’t rely on others.
3 stars: Focus and you’ll reach your goals.
4 stars: Aim high; start new projects.
5 stars: Nothing can stop you; go for gold.

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Judge orders US refugee office to reconsider some children’s cases

By REBECCA BOONE

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge said Monday that the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement must reconsider the cases of some migrant children who have been stuck in government custody since the Trump administration changed the identification requirements for would-be family sponsors.

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The opinion from U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich in Washington, D.C., found that the Trump administration’s more stringent regulations caused undue delays for the children and the parents and adult siblings who were hoping to bring the kids into their homes.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“The ruling sends a clear and necessary message: the government cannot trap children in detention simply because their families lack specific documents or legal status,” said Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, a legal advocacy firm representing some of the migrant children. “The court’s decision is not only a step toward reuniting families — it pushes back against a broader effort to erode long-standing legal protections for children.”

Under the Trump rules, migrant children have stayed in shelters for an average of 217 days before being released to family members, according to data from the Health and Human Services Department’s Office of Refugee Resettlement. During the Biden administration, migrant children spent an average of 35 days in shelters before being released to sponsors.

The Trump administration says adult sponsors who took in migrant children were not always properly vetted, placing some of the children at risk of abuse or exploitation. The new regulations include DNA testing and income verification. They also prohibit sponsor applicants from using foreign passports and documents from other countries to prove identity.

Friedrich said there’s a compelling reason for the rule changes — an ORR report in 2023 found multiple instances of fraud, including 10 occasions where children were released to sponsors with falsified documents.

Still, the judge wrote, there wasn’t any advance notice given of the changes, and many of the children in government custody arrived in the United States with the expectation that they had family members and friends who could sponsor them. If they had been aware of the changes, they might not have entered the U.S., the judge wrote.

One child who had already been released to live with his sister for two years under the old requirements was taken back into custody after driving without a license. Now, under the new rules, he is stuck in government custody without a potential sponsor, the judge noted.

It’s likely that the Office of Refugee Resettlement “acted arbitrarily and capriciously by not providing adequate justification for its new sponsor documentation requirements,” Friedrich wrote. He said the agency wasn’t obligated to approve any particular sponsor or to release any individual child, but it cannot create a new blanket policy without explaining how it weighed the disrupted interests of the families and children against other valid concerns.

President Donald Trump pushes ahead with his maximalist immigration campaign in face of LA protests

By SEUNG MIN KIM

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump made no secret of his willingness to exert a maximalist approach to enforcing immigration laws and keeping order as he campaigned to return to the White House. The fulfillment of that pledge is now on full display in Los Angeles.

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The president has put hundreds of National Guard troops on the streets to quell protests over his administration’s immigration raids, a deployment that state and city officials say has only inflamed tensions. Trump called up the California National Guard over the objections of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom — the first time in 60 years a president has done so — and is deploying active-duty troops to support the guard.

By overriding Newsom, Trump is already going beyond what he did to respond to Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, when he warned he could send troops to contain demonstrations that turned violent if governors in the states did not act to do so themselves. Trump said in September of that year that he “can’t call in the National Guard unless we’re requested by a governor” and that “we have to go by the laws.”

But now, the past and current president is moving swiftly, with little internal restraint to test the bounds of his executive authority in order to deliver on his promise of mass deportations. What remains to be seen is whether Americans will stand by him once it’s operationalized nationwide, as Trump looks to secure billions from Congress to dramatically expand the country’s detention and deportation operations.

For now, Trump is betting that they will.

“If we didn’t do the job, that place would be burning down,” Trump told reporters Monday, speaking about California. “I feel we had no choice. … I don’t want to see what happened so many times in this country.”

‘A crisis of Trump’s own making’

The protests began to unfold Friday as federal authorities arrested immigrants in several locations throughout the sprawling city, including in the fashion district of Los Angeles and at a Home Depot. The anger over the administration’s actions quickly spread, with protests in Chicago and Boston as demonstrations in the southern California city also continued Monday.

But Trump and other administration officials remained unbowed, capitalizing on the images of burning cars, graffiti and Mexican flags — which, while not dominant, started to become the defining images of the unrest — to bolster their law-and-order cause.

Leaders in the country’s most populous state were similarly defiant.

California officials moved Monday to sue the Trump administration, with the state’s attorney general, Rob Bonta, arguing that the deployment of troops “trampled” on the state’s sovereignty and pushing for a restraining order. The initial deployment of 300 National Guard troops was expected to quickly expand to the full 2,000 that were authorized by Trump.

The state’s senior Democratic senator, Alex Padilla, said in an interview that “this is absolutely a crisis of Trump’s own making.”

“There are a lot of people who are passionate about speaking up for fundamental rights and respecting due process, but the deployment of National Guard only serves to escalate tensions and the situation,” Padilla told The Associated Press. “It’s exactly what Donald Trump wanted to do.”

Padilla slammed the deployment as “counterproductive” and said the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department was not advised ahead of the federalization of the National Guard. His office has also pushed the Pentagon for a justification on the deployment, and “as far as we’re told, the Department of Defense isn’t sure what the mission is here,” Padilla added.

Candidate Trump previewed immigration strategy during campaign

Much of this was predictable.

During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump pledged to conduct the largest domestic deportation operation in American history to expel millions of immigrants in the country without legal status. He often praised President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s military-style immigration raids, and the candidate and his advisers suggested they would have broad power to deploy troops domestically to enact Trump’s far-reaching immigration and public safety goals.

Trump’s speedy deployment in California of troops against those whom the president has alluded to as “insurrectionists” on social media is a sharp contrast to his decision to issue no order or formal request for National Guard troops during the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, despite his repeated and false assertions that he had made such an offer.

Trump is now surrounded by officials who have no interest in constraining his power. In 2020, Trump’s then-Pentagon chief publicly rebuked Trump’s threat to send in troops using the Insurrection Act, an 1807 law that empowers the president to use the military within the U.S. and against American citizens.

Current Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signaled support on his personal X account for deploying troops to California, writing, “The National Guard, and Marines if need be, stand with ICE,” referring to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

The Defense Department said Monday it is deploying about 700 active-duty Marines to Los Angeles to support National Guard troops already on the ground to respond to the protests.

White House responds to an ‘incompetent’ governor

Protesters over the weekend blocked off a major freeway and burned self-driving cars as police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and flash-bang grenades in clashes that encompassed several downtown blocks in Los Angeles and led to several dozen arrests. Much of the city saw no violence.

But the protests prompted Trump to issue the directive Saturday mobilizing the California National Guard over Newsom’s objections. The president and his top immigration aides accused the governor of mismanaging the protests, with border czar Tom Homan asserting in a Fox News interview Monday that Newsom stoked anti-ICE sentiments and waited two days to declare unlawful assembly in the city.

Trump told Newsom in a phone call Friday evening to get the situation in Los Angeles under control, a White House official said. It was only when the administration felt Newsom was not restoring order in the city — and after Trump watched the situation escalate for 24 hours and White House officials saw imagery of federal law enforcement officers with lacerations and other injuries — that the president moved to deploy the Guard, according to the official, who was granted anonymity to discuss private deliberations.

“He’s an incompetent governor,” Trump said Monday. “Look at the job he’s doing in California. He’s destroying one of our great states.”

Local law enforcement officials said Los Angeles police responded as quickly as they could once the protests erupted, and Newsom repeatedly asserted that state and city authorities had the situation under control.

“Los Angeles is no stranger to demonstrations and protests and rallies and marches,” Padilla said. “Local law enforcement knows how to handle this and has a rapport with the community and community leaders to be able to allow for that.”

The aggressive moves prompted blowback from some of Trump’s erstwhile allies. Ileana Garcia, a Florida state senator who in 2016 founded the group Latinas for Trump and was hired to direct Latino outreach, called the recent escalation “unacceptable and inhumane.”

“I understand the importance of deporting criminal aliens, but what we are witnessing are arbitrary measures to hunt down people who are complying with their immigration hearings — in many cases, with credible fear of persecution claims — all driven by a Miller-like desire to satisfy a self-fabricated deportation goal,” said Garcia, referring to Stephen Miller, a White House deputy chief of staff and key architect of Trump’s immigration crackdown.

The tactics could be just a preview to what more could come from the Trump administration and the Republican-controlled Congress. GOP lawmakers are working to pass a massive tax-and-border package that includes billions to hire thousands of new officers for Border Patrol and for ICE. The goal, under the Trump-backed plan, is to remove 1 million immigrants without status annually and house 100,000 people in immigration detention centers.

Associated Press writers Adriana Gomez Licon in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Tara Copp and Lolita C. Baldor in Washington contributed to this report.

Pentagon draws up rules on possible use of force by Marines deployed to LA protests

By TARA COPP and LOLITA C. BALDOR

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon was scrambling Monday to establish rules to guide U.S. Marines who could be faced with the rare and difficult prospect of using force against citizens on American soil, now that the Trump administration is deploying active duty troops to the immigration raid protests in Los Angeles.

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U.S. Northern Command said it is sending 700 Marines into the Los Angeles area to protect federal property and personnel, including federal immigration agents. The 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines are coming from Twentynine Palms, California, and will augment about 2,100 National Guard soldiers in LA responding to the protests.

The forces have been trained in deescalation, crowd control and standing rules for the use of force, Northern Command said.

But the use of the active duty forces still raises difficult questions.

The Marines are highly trained in combat and crisis response, with time in conflict zones like Syria and Afghanistan. But that is starkly different from the role they will face now: They could potentially be hit by protesters carrying gas canisters and have to quickly decide how to respond or face decisions about protecting an immigration enforcement agent from crowds.

According to a U.S. official, troops will be armed with their normal service weapons but will not be carrying tear gas. They also will have protective equipment such as helmets, shields and gas masks.

When troops are overseas, how they can respond to threats is outlined by the rules of engagement. At home, they are guided by standing rules for the use of force, which have to be set and agreed to by Northern Command, and then each Marine should receive a card explaining what they can and cannot do, another U.S. official said.

For example, warning shots would be prohibited, according to use-of-force draft documents viewed by The Associated Press. Marines are directed to deescalate a situation whenever possible but also are authorized to act in self-defense, the documents say.

The AP reviewed documents and interviewed nine U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet public, about the guidance being determined for the Marines.

The Pentagon also is working on a memo with clarifying language for the Marines that will lay out the steps they can take to protect federal personnel and property. Those guidelines also will include specifics on the possibility that they could temporarily detain civilians if troops are under assault or to prevent harm, the first U.S. official said.

Those measures could involve detaining civilians until they can be turned over to law enforcement.

Having the Marines deploy to protect federal buildings allows them to be used without invoking the Insurrection Act, one U.S. official said.

Union workers rally for David Huerta, the president of Service Employees International Union California, who was arrested during a Los Angeles protest, on Monday, June 9, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

The Insurrection Act allows the president to direct federal troops to conduct law enforcement functions in national emergencies. But the use of that act is extremely rare. Officials said that has not yet been done in this case and that it’s not clear it will be done.

President George H.W. Bush used the Insurrection Act to respond to riots in Los Angeles in 1992 after the acquittal of white police officers who were videotaped beating Black motorist Rodney King.

If their role expands if the violence escalates, it is not clear under what legal authority they would be able to engage, said Elizabeth Goitein, a senior director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law.

“If in fact those Marines are laying hands on civilians, doing searches, then you have pretty powerful legal concerns,” Goitein said. “No statutory authority Trump has invoked so far permits this.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth tweeted late Saturday that he was considering deploying the Marines to respond to the unrest after getting advice earlier in the day from Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to one of the U.S. officials.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth salutes during a ceremony at the US cemetery to commemorate the 81st anniversary of the D-Day landings, Friday, June 6, 2025 in Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)

Still, the tweet, which was posted to Hegseth’s personal X account and not to his official government account, caught many inside the Pentagon by surprise. As late as Monday, the military’s highest offices were still considering the potential ramifications.

But the Marine Corps were asking broader questions, too: Do they send more senior, experienced personnel so as not to put newer, less experienced troops at risk of potentially making a judgment call on whether to use force against a civilian?

What’s lawful under a domestic deployment — where troops may end up in a policing role — is governed by the Fourth Amendment in the U.S. Constitution, which forbids seizure of persons, including temporarily restraining them, unless it could be considered reasonable under the circumstances.

Troops under federal authorities are in general prohibited from conducting law enforcement on U.S. soil under the Posse Comitatus Act.

Clipboard: Monterey’s Huang to coach Lakers Summer League team

South Bay Lakers assistant coach and Monterey High graduate Perry Huang will be one of the assistant coaches this summer for the Los Angeles Lakers Summer League team.

The Lakers Summer League will be made up of draft choices, free agents and players from the team’s G-League squad.

Huang, who played basketball at Monterey High and Fresno Pacific, and spent a season coaching at Monterey Peninsula College, gave up his role as a WNBA assistant coach in Seattle last year to take the Lakers G-League assistant coaching job.

During his eight-year professional coaching career, Huang has served as an assistant coach for the Suns and Pelicans G-League teams, while being a part of two WNBA title teams in Seattle.

The Lakers Summer League team will be at the Chase Center in San Francisco for games on July 5, 6 and 8.

Segura helps Oregon State

Eric Segura showed out on one of college baseball’s biggest stages, hurling three shutout innings of relief against USC last week to help Oregon State reach the NCAA Super Regionals this past weekend.

The former Soledad High hurler was dominant for the Beavers, striking out five, while allowing one hit on 56 pitches.

Segura, who is tied for the team lead in wins this spring at 8-2, has made 16 appearances for the 43-13 Beavers, including five starts.

Hitting 95 mph on the radar gun against USC, the 6-foot-2 right-hander has 74 strikeouts in 54.1 innings, sporting a 4.45 earned run average.

The Herald’s Baseball Player of the Year in 2022 at Soledad, Segura is 14-3 over two seasons at Oregon State, with 146 strikeouts in 123 innings.

Salinas’ Amaral enters transfer portal

Coming off a season in which she led the University of Notre Dame in hitting, homers and runs batted in, Addison Amaral has entered the NCAA softball transfer portal.

Amaral is listed as the top middle infielder in the transfer portal, where more than 30 colleges are chasing her services.

The Herald’s 2023 Female Athlete of the Year, Amaral led the Fighting Irish in eight different offensive categories last spring, while starting every game at shortstop.

A two-time all-Atlantic Coast Conference second team selection, Amaral has a career .352 batting average at Notre Dame.

Named to the ACC all-Freshman team in 2024, Amaral has hit 19 homers and driven in 96 runs in two seasons for the Fighting Irish, with 26 doubles and 60 runs scored.

Having played second base her freshman season, the former Notre Dame of Salinas multi-sport athlete finished with a .958 fielding percentage at shortstop last spring.

Amaral earned all-county honors in volleyball and softball at Notre Dame in Salinas, helping the Spirits to a CCS Division I softball title in 2023.

Aldrete playing Double A for A’s

Infielder Carter Aldrete has played in 33 games this season for the Sacramento Athletes’ Double A team in Midland, Texas.

Aldrete, who played on an Independent team not affiliated with a Major League team last year, has hit two homers and driven in 15 runs for Midland, sporting a .270 on-base percentage

Last year, the former Monterey High and Arizona State slugger tore up pitching for Cleburne of the American Association, hitting .341 with 21 homers and a .412 on-base percentage.

A minor league all-star in 2024 for Cleburne and in 2022 for the Giants Class A team, Aldrete spent the spring with the A’s parent club.

In five-plus minor league seasons between three levels, Aldrete has hit 60 homers and driven in 284 runs.

Drafted in the 15th round in 2019 by the San Francisco Giants out of Arizona State, Aldrete’s uncle is current A’s bench coach Mike Aldrete.

Johnson-Toney Football Camp

The Boys and Girls Club of Monterey County will showcase the 13th annual Johnson-Toney free football camp.

The camp for boys and girls ages 9-14 will be staged June 24-27 at the Cal State Monterey Bay soccer fields, with boys and girls ages 15-17 slated for July 22-25 at Rabobank Stadium in Salinas.

Ron Johnson and Anthony Toney, who both played for the Philadelphia Eagles, have been a part of the camp since its inception when it was called the Herm Edwards Football Camp.

The camp is non-contact, mirroring the NFL Play 60 Character Camp. Coaches will teach basic football skills, as well as gratitude, self-control, loyalty, honor, truthfulness and integrity.

The youth camp is limited to 300 participants, with the high school portion limited to 100 kids. The deadline to register is June 23. Register on-line at bgcmpc.org

Coaches needed

Carmel is looking for a varsity girls volleyball coach, a varsity boys and girls cross country coach, a JV flag football coach and a JV boys water polo coach. Go to http://carmelunfied.org

Marina is looking for varsity, JV and freshman head coaches this coming fall for girls’ volleyball. Go to edjoin.org

Officials needed

Peninsula Sports Incorporate is looking for high school and middle school officials for all sports this season. Varsity officials are paid $100 a game.

There is an immediate need for officials in the fall for football, flag football, water polo, field hockey and volleyball. Training is provided. Call Tom Emery at (831) 241-1101.

DC prepares for Trump’s military parade with 18 miles of fencing and 175 magnetometers

BY ASHRAF KHALIL

WASHINGTON (AP) — As the nation’s capital cleans up from the culmination of World Pride this past weekend, focus now shifts to a very different massive event — Saturday’s military parade to honor the 250th birthday of the Army and the 79th birthday of President Donald Trump.

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“We’re preparing for an enormous turnout,” said Matt McCool of the Secret Service’s Washington Field office, who said more than 18 miles of “anti-scale fencing” would be erected and “multiple drones” would be in the air. The entire District of Columbia is normally a no-fly zone for drones.

Army officials have estimated around 200,000 attendees for the evening military parade, and McCool said he was prepared for “hundreds of thousands” of people.

“We have a ton of magnetometers,” he said. “If a million people show up, then we’re going to have some lines.”

A total of 175 magnetometers would be used at security checkpoints controlling access to the daytime birthday festival and the nighttime parade. Metropolitan Police Department chief Pamela Smith predicted “major impacts to traffic” and advised attendees to arrive early and consider forgoing cars for the Metro.

“This is a significant event with a large footprint,” she said. “We’re relying on the public to be an extra set of ears and eyes for us.”

The military parade has been designated a National Special Security Event — similar to a presidential inauguration or state funeral. That status is reserved for events that draw large crowds and potential mass protests. It calls for an enhanced degree of high-level coordination among D.C. officials, the FBI, Capitol Police and Washington’s National Guard contingent — with the Secret Service taking the lead.

The Army birthday celebration had already been planned for months. But earlier this spring, Trump announced his intention to transform the event — which coincides with his 79th birthday — into a massive military parade complete with 60-ton M1 Abrams battle tanks and Paladin self-propelled howitzers rolling through the city streets.

Multiple counter-protests of varying sizes are planned for Saturday, with the largest being a mass march to the White House dubbed the No Kings rally. Officials say they are also on alert for signs that the immigration-related clashes between law enforcement and protesters currently roiling Los Angeles would spread.

“We’re paying attention, obviously, to what is happening there. We’ll be ready,” McCool said. “We have a robust plan for civil disobedience.”

Agent Phillip Bates of the FBI’s Washington Field office, which is tasked with counterterrorism and crisis management, said there were “no credible threats” to the event at the moment.

Lindsey Appiah, the deputy mayor for public safety, told The Associated Press last week that the city had longstanding plans for the Army birthday celebration. But those plans “got a lot bigger on short notice” when Trump got involved.

Still, Appiah said the city has grown “very flexible, very nimble” at rolling with these sort of changes.

For more details, including road closures and security restrictions, go to: www.nsse.dc.gov.

Man cited for setting off illegal fireworks in Marina

MARINA – On Friday night, Marina police responded to multiple reports of loud, “bomb-like” fireworks being set off near 346 Reservation Road.

According to the Marina Police Department, officers arrived around 9 p.m. and located a home where the residents were hosting a large celebration. While speaking with a resident, officers observed an adult male igniting another dangerous firework near a group of eucalyptus trees.

Police say the unnamed man complied when ordered to stop and was issued a misdemeanor citation for possessing and discharging illegal fireworks. The citation falls under California Health and Safety Code section 12671, which prohibits the use of dangerous fireworks within city limits.

The department issued a reminder that only “safe and sane” fireworks are allowed in the City of Marina. Violations involving more dangerous explosives can lead to felony charges.

“Such fireworks can cause serious injuries, fires and property damage,” the department stated on social media. “Please respect the community and celebrate safely—otherwise, you could end up in jail instead of enjoying your celebration.”

“Safe and sane” fireworks are only allowed in certain cities including Seaside, Soledad, Marina, Gonzales, Watsonville, Gilroy, King City, Greenfield and Salinas.

The sale of these safer fireworks will start at the end of the month and last until a couple of days after the Fourth of July. Until then, the use of fireworks is prohibited across the county and much of the state of California.

Carmel Unified unveils new five-year plan

The Carmel Unified School District Board of Education approved the district’s first strategic plan in a decade that will guide the district’s vision through 2030.

The board voted unanimously at its June 4 meeting to adopt a community-driven plan that has been designed over months and will serve as the district’s long-term vision. The “CUSD Forward” plan will now be developed and implemented once school returns in the fall.

“The strategic plan is the product of conversations held with the community and sets a clear direction for the district for the next five years,” said Superintendent Sharon Ofek in a prepared statement. “The plan is meaningful to the CUSD community and reflects the shared belief that every student, with a supportive and enriching learning environment, has the opportunity to thrive.

“For the first time in many years, the district has a unified direction developed with meaningful input from the community and the district,” said Ofek.

In response to the Board’s expressed desire for a long-term district vision, Ofek and the District Executive Cabinet planned a Strategic Vision and Input session. The Board approved the proposed process on Sept. 11 and the session was held in February of this year.

Around 50 students, parents, staff and community partners participated in a two-day planning and visioning session, according to a news release. During the planning session, the community reflected on the district’s strengths and areas for improvement as well as coming up with a lsit of the district’s core values.

The group decided the district should prioritize five core values in the coming years: compassion, connection, integrity, excellence and resilience. The plan is also centered around four key focus areas: student achievement and instruction, safety and wellness, engaged families and community partners and optimized resources.

The objectives focus on creating a unified, data-driven approach to education across all grade levels, according to the plan. This includes using assessment tools to monitor student progress and tailor instruction through targeted interventions, establishing a consistent literacy instruction framework, offering personalized counseling to help students explore interests and plan for their futures and ensuring instructional alignment across grade levels to meet graduation requirements.

The plan also reflects a need for improved social-emotional and mental health support that will be implemented through a district-wide support system. Wellness support offerings for staff will also be prioritized. Streamlining communication and engagement with community partners will be vital to the plan’s implementation, as well as optimizing resources including the Facilities Master Plan to “ensure effective use of facilities,” reads the plan.

The core of the CUSD Forward plan is “cultivating individual excellence through the power of every connection,” said the news release.

A writing team made up of representatives from various levels within the district put together a draft strategic plan following the community feedback. The draft was presented to the Board in early March then taken back for additional feedback and changes.

Following the Board’s final approval, the district will begin to develop action plans, success indicators and implementation timelines for each of the plan’s objectives. There will be regular updates on the plan’s progress provided to the Board and the community throughout its five-year implementation.

49ers relish Navy SEALs’ visit, workout as they seek new bond this offseason

SANTA CLARA – Half of the 49ers’ roster is new. The team needed this offseason program to achieve more than getting guys in shape and back on the field. They needed to form a reliable bond between the seasoned veterans and the hot-shot newcomers.

And they needed Navy SEALs to help.

The 49ers spent a recent week submerged, so to speak, in SEALs training to transform them back into an elite, special operations force in the NFL – by air and land, but probably not the sea, all due respect to the Navy’s historic unit.

Activities aside, what the 49ers really tapped into was the benefit of communication, from hearing awe-inspiring stories from the SEALs to discovering heartfelt nuggets about their teammates’ backgrounds.

This 49ers regime, led by coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch, has brought in SEALs training in the past. In 2018 that duo was doing sit-ups alongside players, and Jimmy Garoppolo was hollering “Oorah!” while lugging a log with teammates. A decade ago, 49ers alumni got to work alongside retired SEALs.

Brock Purdy, like most current 49ers, had not been through that SEALs experience, and he relished it more than any other aspect of the offseason program, which wraps up with mandatory minicamp Tuesday and Wednesday.

“Hearing their stories and what it’s like, being on a SEALs team unit and how that translates to us being a football team and doing stuff that’s not ordinary, it was pretty special for me and eye-opening for sure,” Purdy said.

Tight end George Kittle, last year’s recipient of the NFL and USAA’s Salute to Service Award, obviously embraced the SEALs’ stories and team-building exercises.

“They talk about what the Navy SEALs standard is, how they uphold that, how they built that and how they wrote it,” Kittle said. “You learn a lot of cool stuff from them.”

Kittle found it “absolutely crazy” to hear stories such as SEALs cramming into “little clear fishing boats that were supposed to hold like 200 pounds, (they) had five guys packed in them, fully packed and are going up a river in the middle of a day, and (they) somehow came back from that.”

Shanahan estimated this was the third time in his nine years that the 49ers have signaled for the SEALs to “just come in and give some classroom work. We do an activity, a kind of paintball-type thing, it wasn’t paintballs though. It’s just Navy SEALs stuff.”

Purdy marveled at the presentations and absorbed how meaningful it is to uphold a standard and culture among peers.

“The events and things that we did with each other were pretty cool,” Purdy said, “and the conversations that we’ve all had because we’re with guys that are on defense, talking about what it means to be a Niner and like what it takes. So, I think that was a pretty special moment.”

Adversity awaits every NFL season, every week, every day. And every 49ers player will take a different path – via a different background – to make the season-opening roster in three months.

Thus, one resounding benefit of SEALs Week was to hear teammates share their experiences, from a subdued superstar like Christian McCaffrey to a free agent defensive back.

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“Me and Fred talk a lot, but it’s really good for the other guys on the team to have their voices heard,” Kittle said. “You want leadership to come from everybody. That’s one of the things the SEALs facilitate.”

Everybody showed up during the 49ers’ voluntary phase of the offseason program, which started on April 22. The 11-man draft class joined in last month, showing Shanahan that “we’ve got some workers. I know we’ve got guys who really love football.”

The 49ers’ bond will continue to grow through locker room hijinks, weight-lifting sessions, meeting-room instructions and unexpected twists in a challenging upcoming season.

“It’s going to be a special thing and a unique thing to be able to get guys that are new coming in and we’ve got to roll together,” Purdy added. “We got to go through some things together.”

Horoscopes June 8, 2025: Maria Menounos, eliminate what’s been holding you back

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Maria Menounos, 47; Mark Feuerstein, 54; Julianna Margulies, 59; Keenen Ivory Wayans, 67.

Happy Birthday: An energetic approach to home and self-improvement will help you build the lifestyle that suits your needs. Eliminate what’s been holding you back, and replace it with a brand-new attitude and plans that rely on the newest and best options. Progress is your goal; an open mind, intelligence and wheeling and dealing will help you advance to the top. Enjoy the ride. Your numbers are 2, 17, 23, 25, 31, 38, 42.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Stand up and be heard, but first, be sure your thoughts are valid and accurate. Passing along false information will leave you in a precarious position. Only change what’s within budget and necessary. Discipline and aligning yourself with the right people go part and parcel with your success. Focus on legitimacy, not acceptability. 3 stars

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Let situations play out before making a move. Acting in haste will backfire, leaving you to clean up the mess. Sit back, isolate and rethink your next move. Time is on your side, so relax and digest what you hear and see, even if someone pesters you to act. Concentrate on physical and emotional strength. 3 stars

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Get your information from the source and put your energy into making your plans tangible. Talking is beneficial, but following through will have a massive impact on your reputation and prospects. Align yourself with stellar people known for honesty and integrity, and pursue your dreams. Choose peace and intelligence over discord and chaos. 3 stars

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Participate in something that brings you joy. Reconnecting with old friends or signing up for a course or adventure that is spiritually awakening or helps you achieve your goals will have a positive impact on your life and the choices you make. Physical improvements are favored if you avoid overspending. 5 stars

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Protect your health, position and reputation. Refuse to let anyone speak on your behalf. Tell it like it is, speak from the heart and verify the information and the motives behind each decision. Transparency will save you from undesirable feedback. Discipline and innovative ideas will lead to positive results. 2 stars

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Be observant, show interest, listen attentively and pick who and what you side with. Learn from your mistakes, and distance yourself from bullies and chaotic and divisive situations. Bond with those who share your concerns, and offer unifying alternatives. Participation will lead to exciting relationships. Romance is in the stars. 4 stars

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Get moving, participate and make your voice heard, and your actions can influence positive change. Be the pioneer, the innovative force that motivates others to join in making healthy lifestyle choices and changes in your community. Travel, educational pursuits and communication will help you gain momentum and a leadership position. 3 stars

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Emotions will fluctuate, and passion will surface. Channel your energy into love and romance, not discord and jealousy. Avoid shared expenses, joint ventures and overreacting to situations that involve money, emotions and health issues. Harness any change you want to make, and control the outcome. Patience is necessary to maintain your status quo. 3 stars

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Go through the proper channels, get approvals and apply for rebates before starting home improvements. Make your space homey and inviting, and enjoy the comfort. The creativity and hard work you put into decluttering and making your chores and life flow better will ease stress and encourage hosting events and sharing your space. 3 stars

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Ask questions, verify answers and implement the changes you want to enforce to your routine and the contributions you wish to make. Establish yourself and your beliefs before you commit to donating or volunteering for an organization to guarantee your objective is a good fit for whoever you decide to accommodate. 4 stars

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Do what makes you most comfortable. Rearrange your furniture, make room for a project you want to start or clear a space for family fun. Shift your attention to saving money and selling off what you no longer need or use. Make efficiency a priority, and find affordable ways to lower your overhead. 2 stars

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Focus on the changes you want to make. The less you share, the easier it will be to achieve your goal. Allowing others to intervene will lead to discord and expenses you want to avoid. Be true to yourself, do what makes you happy and do your best to save money. 5 stars

Birthday Baby: You are outgoing, influential and impatient. You are expressive and alert.

1 star: Avoid conflicts; work behind the scenes.
2 stars: You can accomplish, but don’t rely on others.
3 stars: Focus and you’ll reach your goals.
4 stars: Aim high; start new projects.
5 stars: Nothing can stop you; go for gold.

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