Jeremy T. Ringfield's Blog, page 448

Ten memorable high school sports moments

Salinas and Alvarez softball: Starring at a 2-9 Gabilan Division record, the Eagles won their final three regular season games to warrant a play-in game for a Central Coast Section playoff spot.

What transpired was a run of nine straight wins to capture the programs third consecutive CCS title and the school’s first State Regional championship.

Dani Amendola tossed four straight shutouts in the postseason, blanking East Nicolaus 1-0 in the Northern California Division III title game.

Salinas had knocked on the door in the previous two seasons in the CCS finals, before ending a 27-year title drought, avenging last year’s loss to Monterey with a 7-5 decision in the Division I championship.

Abi Jones hurled Salinas into the State Northern California Division II tournament, where it reached the semifinals before seeing its season come to a close.

Commentary: Revenge travel not flying so high these days

Andrea Felsted | (TNS) Bloomberg Opinion

Revenge travel is losing its appeal.

After three years of rushing to book trips in the wake of pandemic-era restrictions, sharply higher fares, protests against tourism, fatigue from endless hours spent in airports and incomes squeezed by inflation are all taking their toll on travelers.

Travel demand is far from falling off a cliff. But there are signs that our wanderlust is downshifting from never-ending to a more normal pattern.

For airlines and tour operators, the next few months will be crucial in filling remaining seats and hotel rooms. If demand is strong, they will be able to sell leftover capacity at higher prices. But if consumers hold off, they’ll be forced to discount, something that hasn’t happened in the past three years.

In Europe, many people who were passionate about their vacations booked in January, in order to secure their preferred destination, hotel and even room. But in recent months, some consumers, particularly more budget-constrained families, have been holding off to see how their own finances, and holiday prices, developed. TUI AG, the world’s biggest tour operator, has sold about 60% of the vacations available this summer. That’s broadly in line with last year, but it’s still a lot of sunny breaks to shift in an uncertain environment.

European travelers are also shopping around. At Thomas Cook, now reborn as an online tour operator, bookings to Spain’s Balearic and Canary Islands are flat year-over-year. This reflects cost — you can get more for your money in Turkey, mainland Spain and Egypt — where sales are up. But anti-tourism protests in the Canary and Balearic islands may also be playing a part.

European consumers are still prepared to pay as much for their package holiday – well almost. TUI’s summer pricing is up 4%, close to the 5% increase reported a year earlier. But budget airlines Ryanair Holdings Plc and EasyJet Plc show that when it comes to air fares, consumers are reaching their limit.

Michael O’Leary, chief executive officer of Ryanair, forecast that fares across its network this summer would be flat to 5% ahead, down from his previous prediction of a 5% to 10% increase, surprising given that capacity is constrained by delays to Boeing deliveries. Europe’s largest low-cost carrier has begun to cut ticket prices to fill its fleet.

There are signs that the U.S. travel recovery, now in its third year, is maturing too. For example, Marriott International Inc. said U.S. leisure revenue per available room, a key measure of hotel performance, was flat in its first quarter. Airbnb Inc. forecast that revenue would expand by 8% to 10% in the second quarter, the lowest level for three years. It’s possible this is a blip — Easter was earlier this year — and Airbnb expects a bounce in the summer months.

Indeed, the picture is complex. Some of the U.S. domestic weakness may reflect Americans traveling to Europe, emboldened by the strength of the dollar. This will likely have been boosted by one-offs, such as Taylor Swift’s concerts.

And this isn’t the only factor that makes the travel temperature so difficult to take. After wildfires in Greece last year, climate concerns are at the forefront of consumers’ minds. Yet this is spurring some unusual behaviors, such as some European customers booking long-haul flights to destinations such as Mauritius, where summer temperatures are more predictable, and, after price increases at some traditional Mediterranean resorts, the cost differential has narrowed.

As in other parts of the consumer economy, it may be that travel is polarizing, with the wealthy still splashing on trips further afield and top-notch accommodation, while those pressured by inflation and higher mortgage costs stick to a budget.

After the West’s travel boom — and potentially a return to more pedestrian levels – the industry is now looking East, to the return of Chinese visitors, particularly to Europe.

But for the coming weeks, short-term factors, such as elections in the U.K. and weather patterns – TUI said the winter season ended particularly strongly, likely boosted by cold and wet conditions – will matter most.

Being unable to spread our wings during the pandemic has reinforced our love of getting away, and we may never return to a situation where we are prepared to stay home. That doesn’t mean we won’t alter our behavior, like skipping a week away in spring or autumn, or, for example, forgoing a city break to preserve our main vacation.

There is much riding on this year’s peak summer season. Not only will it determine the level of profits at tour operators, hotels and airlines, but it will give the first glimpse of what a more settled post-pandemic travel market looks like.

——

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Andrea Felsted is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering consumer goods and the retail industry. Previously, she was a reporter for the Financial Times.

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©2024 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com/opinion. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Older men die by suicide at steep rates. Here’s how the VA is trying to change that

Emily Alpert Reyes | (TNS) Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES — It was a Friday morning and George McCune had roused himself to make the 2.4-mile trip from his Northridge home to the Veterans Affairs campus in North Hills.

The 77-year-old was greeted there that March day by the usual crew training for the Golden Age Games: There was Roger, 82, who had piled up medals in javelin, discus and shot put. Bob, who had just gotten his cochlear implant. Becky, 71, bent on defeating her “nemesis” — a guy just six days her junior — in pingpong.

McCune can be reclusive, he said. He has grappled with post-traumatic stress disorder, he said, although he was never able to get formally diagnosed. Silent meditation is more of his usual speed than socializing.

Yet McCune routinely joins his teammates in the gym and on the track. He has yet to attend the Golden Age Games, a national competition for veterans 55 and older, but trains five days a week with the Greater Los Angeles team. That Friday, he had circled the track for 46 minutes, a goal he chose for the year of his birth.

And “more than the physical stuff is the mental stuff,” he said, “of getting me to interact with people.”

This might not be what you envision as “mental health” care, let alone “suicide prevention.” But at the VA, getting older veterans such as McCune together to hit the track is part of a broader push to improve their lives — and possibly even to save them.

Older men in the United States have been at growing risk. When suicides reached a historic high for the country in 2022, the sobering numbers were being driven up by their deaths. The starkest statistics were for men past their 75th birthdays, who were dying by suicide at more than twice the rate of men younger than 25.

Mike Dawson takes a lap around a track — backward — at the VA’s North Hills facility. (Michael Blackshire/Los Angeles Times/TNS)

The problem is “not new but it is overlooked — regularly overlooked,” said Thomas Joiner, a Florida State University psychologist who studies suicide and has written about the mental health of older men.

The grim pattern has persisted for years and is totally different from that among U.S. women, for whom suicide rates rise in middle age and then fall. Across the lifespan, men are much more likely than women to die by suicide, even though depression is much more common among women.

In Los Angeles County, the medical examiner tallied more than 300 such deaths in five years among men 75 and older — more than six times the number among women of the same ages, according to a Times analysis of the county figures.

Researchers have faulted a host of forces for the steeper rate of suicide as men reach their 70s and 80s. Joiner said men tend to suffer from worsening loneliness over the course of their lives in a way that differs from women, with “friendship networks falling apart over the decades.” Women seem to be better at maintaining ties after school or work stop giving them a source of peers, he said.

That isolation both whittles down the chances that someone will recognize men are in trouble before a suicide attempt, and makes it less likely that they will be quickly rescued if they attempt to end their lives, said Dr. Yeates Conwell, professor of psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Their physical frailty as older adults also jeopardizes their chances of recovering from a suicide attempt.

Diseases and other ailments such as hearing loss can also worsen mental health as men age. And then there are the dangers of guns, which older men are more likely to own — and which make suicide attempts more deadly. In L.A. County, roughly two-thirds of suicide deaths among elderly men in recent years involved guns, far more than among older women, according to a Times analysis of county medical examiner data.

Despite the troubling pattern, “we don’t screen for suicide risk very well, and we especially don’t do it with older adults,” said Richard Frank, director of the Center on Health Policy at the Brookings Institution. Suicide risk screenings in emergency rooms are done less often with seniors, he said, with “a big drop-off after age 60.”

And for older adults, the criteria for a mental health diagnosis often miss people in need, Frank said. “They are hurting psychologically in ways that are not cleanly captured by our diagnostic approach to mental illness.”

In general, “our understanding of how to intervene is just emerging” in the last decade and a half, said Mike Hogan, a former New York state commissioner of mental health. Many suicide prevention theories revolve around “if we can protect people against the vulnerabilities that lead to it — so-called ‘upstream’ prevention.”

“That turns out to be very hard to do,” Hogan said. Suicide prevention strategies have also focused on limiting access to “lethal means,” such as installing barriers on tall structures, but Hogan said that has also been difficult when it comes to guns. Then there are targeted efforts to ask people whether they are at risk.

Arnie Ossen, 92, prepares to leave the VA’s North Hills facility after a day of pingpong. (Michael Blackshire/Los Angeles Times/TNS)

An effective approach is “basically asking people if they’re having those thoughts and — if they are — to then helping them” take steps to ensure safety, Hogan said. Yet such methods are “not yet in widespread use.”

Too often, medical providers “feel very uncomfortable asking” whether people have suicidal thoughts, said Julie Goldstein Grumet, director of the Zero Suicide Institute at the Education Development Center, which helps health systems adopt practices to prevent suicide. With older patients, physicians may think “this is just sort of a natural consequence of aging. … It doesn’t have to be. You don’t have to feel more sad as you age.”

Among the health systems that have grappled with the crisis is the Veterans Health Administration, which falls under the VA. Suicide has been an urgent issue for the health system in light of the alarming numbers among U.S. veterans, who have lost their lives to suicide at higher rates than the broader population.

Yet that isn’t the case for the oldest male veterans, according to Veterans Affairs figures. In 2021, elderly male veterans had lower rates of suicide, as calculated by the veterans system, than the figures reported by the National Center for Health Statistics for men ages 75 and older. And there was a promising downturn in their suicide rate between 2020 and 2021, especially among those who had recently used the health system.

Matthew Miller, director of the VA’s national suicide prevention program, said the agency has worked to weave risk assessment for suicide into its pain, sleep and oncology clinics, mindful that older patients may be at higher risk after getting troubling news about their health, especially if a gun is in reach. It has also done media outreach to urge older veterans to securely store firearms and medications.

The VA has also placed mental health professionals in the same facilities where veterans get day-to-day care. Roughly three-fourths of older adults who die by suicide have seen a primary care physician in the year before their death, researchers have found — a much higher percentage than had received mental health care — which has led to an increased focus on routine care as a route to thwart suicide.

At the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center, Dr. Lucinda Leung said a patient might come in complaining of sleep problems. “Most of my patients don’t say, ‘I’m depressed. Please refer me to a psychiatrist,’” she said. (Older men are less likely than older women to state that they are lonely when asked directly, even in cases when indirect questions suggest similar levels of loneliness, researchers in Britain have found.)

But careful questioning might make clear that PTSD and nightmares are keeping that patient awake, Leung said. If that happens, she can walk the person down the hall to meet Dr. Suzie S. Chen, a clinical psychologist who can assess that patient the same day.

“Many of my patients are reluctant to speak to a mental health specialist or even admit to having psychological symptoms,” Leung said. Being able to immediately connect someone to mental health care on the same site helps it become “normalized.”

Chen agreed. “We’re not scary people — and mental health treatment doesn’t have to be a scary thing.”

Then there are programs that might not look, at first glance, like mental health care. Inside her office on the Sepulveda Ambulatory Care Center campus, Paige Velasquez turned to the camera on her computer, greeted the familiar faces signing on, and guided a virtual group through a series of exercises.

Ray Emmons gets in some morning stretches. (Michael Blackshire/Los Angeles Times/TNS)

“Let’s lean to the left. You should feel a nice stretch through this whole right side of your body now,” Velasquez instructed from behind her desk. “You guys feeling that today?”

As the group took a break from the exercises, she asked, “It’s Friday — anybody have plans for the weekend?”

“Yeah — to make it to Monday,” one veteran quipped.

The virtual groups meet Monday through Friday, connecting seniors who might be unable to make it to the San Fernando Valley campus for an exercise class. Velasquez, a recreation therapist, said that beyond the physical benefits, the regular meetings can ease isolation for older veterans.

Behind the computer screen or in person, recreation is a kind of “back door therapy,” Velasquez said. People think, “I’m golfing. That’s not therapy. Horseback riding — that’s not therapy. We’re just having fun.”

“You are! But fun is therapeutic.”

Hogan said the “surprising power” of such interventions is that “if people feel like they have meaning and purpose, and they’re connected to other people, it is extraordinarily less likely that they’ll die by suicide.”

When Roger Reitan retired, he found himself asking, “What am I going to do with myself?” The Granada Hills resident had served in the Navy, then worked as an accountant for more than two decades, commuting to downtown Los Angeles. Friendships seemed to wither after his accounting career ended, he said.

“I lost track of everybody,” Reitan said.

But now, “some of my best friends are right here.” The 82-year-old said he had competed for more than two decades in the Golden Age Games, proudly rattling off the many sports he had mastered.

The Los Angeles team has been preparing for the August games, which will be held this year in Salt Lake City. Nearly two dozen of its athletes are planning to attend. Ray Emmons, 76, said in March that when he first went last year — and won a bronze medal in pingpong — he was enthralled to watch blind veterans playing bocce ball.

“I just said, ‘This is for me,’” Emmons said.

But Velasquez said that for the veterans she coaches, the Golden Age Games is not just “something to look forward to once a year. It’s every week — training, seeing your friends, and making that connection.”

“That impacts mental health tremendously,” she said. “I’ve seen it.”

Pasqual Ramirez, 77, said in March that training with the team had helped him lose weight. He stopped relying on insulin. Beyond the physical changes, joining the group “made me realize that maybe I could live longer.”

“I used to be angry at the world,” Ramirez said. “In a way I felt let down.”

There were times in his life when he didn’t admit to having served in Vietnam, after protests broke out over the war, he said. His wife tells him he still has nightmares, although he doesn’t remember them.

What helped ease that anger was “this,” he said, gesturing around an echoing gym where his teammates were playing pingpong. “The camaraderie with people that went through similar situations.”

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©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

A program funded by soda tax helps low-income residents buy fruits and vegetables

A slice of the nearly $29 million that Boulder collected during the first six and a half years of a voter-passed soda tax has provided low-income residents with extra money to buy fresh produce from local businesses.

It’s one of many ways the city has directed revenue from that unusual tax to a range of programs focused on improving health equity in the community.

Maria Fraire, one of nearly 1,500 people across 370 families now enrolled in the Fruit & Veg Boulder program, has relied on the monthly stipend to sustain her vegan diet, typically shopping at Whole Foods. She’s been part of the initiative for about a year, receiving the maximum $80 per month toward produce purchases for her family.

“My breakfast is vegetables; my lunch is vegetables,” she said in Spanish. Originally from Zacatecas, Mexico, Fraire has lived in Boulder for almost 25 years.

Off Beet Farm’s produce is displayed during the Boulder Farmers Market in Boulder on Wednesday, May 29, 2024. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)

Because of how expensive fresh produce can be, she said, “For me, (the program) helps a lot.”

Fruit & Veg Boulder is part of a broader Boulder County program that also serves Longmont residents. Enrollees must meet low-income thresholds; for a family of four, the household’s annual adjusted gross income should fall under $55,500. Residents of those cities can participate if they do not otherwise qualify for two federal food aid programs that assist low-income families and women who are pregnant or have young children.

The produce program fills a gap by helping, in part, undocumented immigrants and mixed immigration status families, or households with both U.S. citizens and people without legal status.

Program participants buy produce using paper coupons. Households made up of one or two people receive $40 per month, while those with three or more people get $80 per month.

The funding for Boulder’s part of the program comes mostly from the city’s sugar-sweetened beverage tax revenue, awarded by its Health Equity Fund, while Longmont draws on other funding sources. Boulder became one of the nation’s few cities to tax sugary drinks after its ballot measure passed with 54% of the vote in the 2016 election. Other cities with soda taxes include Seattle, Philadelphia and San Francisco.

The tax, which took effect in July 2017, collects a 2-cent excise tax per ounce from distributors of sweetened beverages, such as soda and energy drinks. The ballot measure dictated that tax revenue would go toward health promotion, wellness programs and chronic disease prevention.

The amount of soda tax revenue dedicated to the Fruit & Veg Boulder program sometimes varies, but it is receiving $298,000 in 2024 — the same as last year, said Elizabeth Crowe, deputy director of Boulder’s Housing and Human Services Department.

The program has received additional money from the city’s allocations in the federal, pandemic-era American Rescue Plan Act: $55,000 this year and $88,000 last year. The extra money was used to help reduce the program’s active waitlist, Crowe said.

“We need this access”

The overwhelming demand for the program is spurred in part by Boulder’s high cost of living. To make a living wage in Boulder County, an adult with no children would need to earn $26.36 per hour at their job, according to a living wage calculator produced by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. For a parent with two children, it’s $65.26 per hour — several times the $14.42 minimum wage in Boulder and Longmont, though the county’s minimum wage in unincorporated areas is slightly higher.

“There are many people who are struggling to get by and to make it in Boulder County,” said Amelia Hulbert, who leads Boulder County Public Health’s Healthy Eating, Active Living team.

In Boulder, Fruit & Veg program enrollees can frequent the Boulder Farmers Market and eight participating grocery stores, including King Soopers and Whole Foods Market.

Organizations that connect families with the program are seeing the impact on their community, though gaps in access still remain.

Elena Aranda is the co-director of El Centro Amistad, a nonprofit that supports the county’s Latino community. She attended an event at the Boulder Farmers Market last week, sitting in the shade as market goers ambled along 13th Street, reusable bags on their arms.

“You don’t see our community coming here,” Aranda said, “because it’s not affordable.”

But because of the Boulder program, participants with coupons in hand are starting to feel welcome in the space, Aranda said. “We need this access, especially for children,” she added.

Jorge De Santiago and Elena Aranda, co-directors of El Centro Amistad, stand for a photo during the Boulder Farmers Market in Boulder on Wednesday, May 29, 2024. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)

Still, Jorge De Santiago, El Centro Amistad co-director, said the program can serve only a “very small percentage of the families who really need the support.”

Because he doesn’t foresee demand shrinking, De Santiago would like the program to expand throughout the rest of the county.

Hulbert also wants to see the program increase the monthly allotment for participants, noting that, “with inflation, groceries are more expensive.”

Program is now 5 years old

The Fruit & Veg Boulder program kicked off in 2019, followed in 2020 by the Longmont program, which now serves more than 1,000 people across 225 families.

Besides funding its part of the program, the city of Boulder awards soda tax revenue through the Health Equity Fund to organizations working on food and water security, health and wellness education, physical fitness and more. This year, it recommended about 50 awards, totaling $3.8 million, according to a list of fund allocations.

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Among other recipients are Clinica Campesina Family Health Services, a community health center that received $175,180 for comprehensive primary care services for residents, and Community Food Share, a food bank that was awarded $116,946 to gather and distribute healthy food.

Boulder Mayor Aaron Brockett praised his city’s Fruit & Veg program as “a transformative initiative in our community.”

He also pointed to a positive impact on local businesses where participants shop.

Emmy Bender, co-owner of Off Beet Farm, sells vegetables grown on her Boulder County farm at the Boulder Farmers Market. Now in its second year in business, Bender estimates 10%-15% of last year’s sales involved some sort of low-income assistance like the Fruit & Veg Boulder program.

She described it as a “win-win for everybody.”

“Local farmers are able to sell their food and support local economies and soil health,” Bender said. “And then people are able to access our food that wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford it.”

Emmy Bender, co-owner of Off Beet Farm, sells produce during the Boulder Farmers Market in Boulder on Wednesday, May 29, 2024. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)

Horoscopes June 15, 2024: Neil Patrick Harris, stop putting everyone else first

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Neil Patrick Harris, 51; Ice Cube, 55; Courteney Cox, 60; Helen Hunt, 61.

Happy Birthday: Explore your options and try something new and exciting. You are overdue for an adventure or change to your routine that jump-starts your creativity and sends you on a journey to embark on your dreams, hopes and wishes. It’s time to participate and enjoy what life has to offer. Stop putting everyone else first. It’s time to benefit from your insight, skills and imagination. Take what’s yours and flourish. Your numbers are 4, 15, 19, 27, 32, 38, 43.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Take an interest in educational pursuits, travel and what others offer. Step into the spotlight; you’ll influence those craving the same things you are. Be sure you have your facts straight to avoid negative feedback. Being known for your honesty will build credibility. 3 stars

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Target your goal and keep the momentum flowing. Your drive and determination will turn heads, encourage support and help you move forward. Consider making a change that offers stability and peace of mind. Spending time with someone you love looks promising. Make romance a priority. 3 stars

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Take pride in your work and skirt criticism. Look for a physical outlet that you enjoy, and it will be easier to shape up and feel good about your appearance. Love is in the stars. Start projects and participate in events that bring you joy. 5 stars

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Pay attention to where the money goes. Invest in yourself and the prospects that can add to your mental, emotional and physical well-being. How you take care of yourself and manage your life will determine how others perceive you. Leave nothing to chance. 2 stars

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Don’t get angry when action is the passage to freedom. Let your passion surface and your knowledge and desire for truth lead to a better place. You can ignore what’s happening around you or do something to make life better. There is power in numbers; participate. 4 stars

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Protect your reputation, possessions and passwords. Recognize and retreat from situations that aren’t in your best interests. Go the distance, take care of responsibilities, and move on to pastimes and being with the ones you love. Don’t limit what you can do. 3 stars

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Discuss your thoughts with those willing and able to contribute something to your plans. You’ll gain the courage to adjust your lifestyle to ensure everything falls into place. Love and romance are in the stars. 3 stars

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Assess situations before moving. Some people will offer an accurate assessment of a problem or expense. Source out your options and change what’s necessary. Put your energy into rectifying an issue instead of arguing over matters that have yet to transpire. 3 stars

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): A domestic situation will require thought, ingenuity and a proactive attitude. Opportunity is available, but you must recognize and follow the guidelines to ensure success. Don’t trust someone who exaggerates. Monitor partnerships carefully for trust, truth and reliability. 4 stars

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Your emotions will falter. Listen to what’s said, but verify information before passing it along. Put your energy into changes that make you feel good about yourself and your surroundings. Shop around before you commit to a price or plan that can affect your financial status. 2 stars

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Consider your options, and you’ll recognize what’s best for you. Revisit how you handle money and possessions, and you will discover a hidden asset that helps you monitor your cash flow. Social events will offer insight and temptation. Proceed with caution. 5 stars

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Observe and search for signs of doubt, insecurity and desperation in others. Joint ventures will lack substance and won’t live up to the hype you hear. If you want change, rely on yourself to make it happen. An unexpected opportunity will illuminate what’s not possible. 3 stars

Birthday Baby: You are social, compassionate and charming. You are entertaining and informative.

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.

Visit Eugenialast.com, or join Eugenia on Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn.

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SF Giants’ rally falls short as Angels win series opener at Oracle Park

SAN FRANCISCO — Heliot Ramos hit a three-run homer in the Giants’ five-run eighth inning on Friday night to cut the deficit to two, but Carlos Estévez finished off San Francisco in the ninth for his 11th save as the Los Angeles Angels won the series opener at Oracle Park 8-6.

Giants starter Spencer Howard (0-1) was tagged for four runs in 2 1/3 innings, walking four and allowing seven hits. The Angels knocked around reliever Randy Rodriguez for four more runs.

Howard made his fourth appearance for the Giants as either a starter or featured pitcher as the team deals with several injured starters.

“I felt what the line reflects,” Howard said. “But certainly, you learn much more from the ones that don’t go your way. So I think productive outing, in a way, even though I didn’t give us a very good opportunity to win.”

Wilmer Flores had his 1,000th career hit with a single to lead off the fourth inning, later scoring the Giants’ first run.

Mickey Moniak had three hits and Tyler Anderson limited the Giants to a run in five-plus innings to lead the Angels.

Anderson (6-6), who pitched for the Giants in 2020, has held opponents to one run in five of his last six starts.

The Angels scored a run in the third, three in the third and four in the fourth. The Giants had a five-run eighth.

In the third, Taylor Ward scored from first on a bloop double to right by Kevin Pillar after Austin Slater’s throw to second was wide. Moniak, who is on a season-high six-game hit streak, then doubled in two runs to make it 4-0.

Zach Neto drilled a two-run homer to deep left-center field in the fourth. Moniak also tripled and scored in the inning to make it 8-1.

ETC.:

Giants: SS Nick Ahmed (wrist) was reinstated from the 10-day injured list. Manager Bob Melvin said he could be sharing playing time with Brett Wisely, who filled in well for Ahmed at shortstop. … The Giants optioned infielders Casey Schmitt and Marco Luciano to Triple-A Sacramento. … 1B LaMonte Wade Jr. (hamstring), who is aiming to return by next Thursday when the Giants play the Cardinals at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Ala., recently ran the bases at “70%,” according to Melvin, and may be a close call for playing in that game. … LHP Blake Snell (groin) will throw a bullpen session Saturday. Melvin is hopeful Snell will return by the end of the month.

UP NEXT

RHP Keaton Winn (3-7, 6.94 ERA) was set to start for the Giants on Saturday against LHP Patrick Sandoval (2-8, 5.23 ERA).

So long, Warriors? Klay Thompson unfollows Golden State on Instagram

Add Klay Thompson to the list of professional athletes who have unfollowed their own team.

On Friday, Thompson stopped following the Warriors on Instagram and removed many of his team-related posts, a tactic not uncommon in modern sports.

Just this spring, wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk unfollowed the 49ers on IG, taking a page out of Deebo Samuel’s playbook.

Samuel hit the unfollow tab on the 49ers’ IG account a couple of years ago.

Thompson’s move comes as the 34-year-old veteran is about to enter free agency, an uncertain time for a player who was a major piece on all four of Golden State’s NBA championships over the past decade.

The sharpshooting guard returned from two serious injuries (ACL and torn Achilles) to help the Warriors win their most recent NBA crown in 2022.

Thompson removed posts from that championship run, too.

Klay Thompson unfollowed the Warriors and removed Warriors content from 2022 championship on his IG pic.twitter.com/LddtUsEx9E

— BrickWrld (@BrickWrld_) June 14, 2024

He just finished the final season of a five-year contract that paid him $190 million and will officially become a free agent on June 30.

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Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus speculated that the Orlando Magic could give Thompson more than the Warriors would likely pay. His crystal ball suggested a three-year deal worth $81.9 million.

BLAAC to host 2nd annual race relations summit in July

The second annual Monterey County Race Relations Summit is slated for July, bringing together politicians, community leaders and department heads to talk about race and the importance of promoting diversity in workspaces and neighborhoods.

Hosted by the Black Leaders and Allies Collaborative, the summit will be at the Embassy Suites in Seaside this year, on July 12 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The day serves as a chance to have important discussions and as a networking opportunity as many of last year’s guests have businesses of their own or jobs and careers in city sectors.

“While Monterey County is one of the most racially diverse geographical areas in the United States, dramatic economic and health disparities continue to be a barrier to the ideal of a truly equitable community across racial and ethnic lines,” the press release reads.

This year’s speakers and facilitators will include Khuram Hussain, vice president for Equity and Inclusion at Middlebury College in Vermont, Paul Robinson, executive minister for the Evangelical Covenant Church, and Linda McKenzie, CEO for the Global Empathy Training Academy.

BLAAC organizers say this year’s event will also expand upon the first meeting last year, to advance discussions and implement community solutions for racial equity. In addition to presentations and guest speakers, last year’s event hosted small games and exercises amongst the guests to practice getting to know different people of different backgrounds.

BLAAC, founded by Dirrick Williams, serves as a facilitator for dialogue and cooperation amongst Black leaders, anti-racist activists and organizations that want to make a change in Monterey County.

Tickets can be purchased by going to blaac.org/events.

Captured excess water boosts Monterey Peninsula water supply

MONTEREY – Excess flow down the Carmel River during the recent winter storms provided the third best year ever for capturing and storing water into the Seaside Basin, an important part of ensuring Monterey Peninsula water needs are met.

California American Water Co. and the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District worked in tandem to capture 495 million gallons and inject that water into the Seaside Underground Basin as a type of water savings account for future dry years.

Called the Aquifer Storage and Recovery project, it captures heavy winter flows from the Carmel Valley Basin that underlies the Carmel River and pumps the water up and over the hill to the Seaside Basin where it is pumped down into the aquifers through a pair of injection wells.

Dave Stoldt, the general manager of the water district, said the captured water is enough for 8,000 homes for a year. Cal Am and the water district have now stored 3,677 acre-feet that can be used in a future dry period.

The process requires significant engineering. Through a series of pumps, Cal Am extracts the water from the Carmel Valley basin and treats it. Additional pumps then push the water over the hills that separate the Carmel Bay from the Monterey Bay. From there the water district, via specially-constructed wells, injects the water it into the Seaside Basin.

Cal Am is the extractor and the water district is the injector.

The Seaside Basin provides roughly 30% of the drinking water to the Monterey Peninsula area. The lion’s share – 65% – is provided by the Carmel Valley Groundwater Basin.

While it might sound simple, there is a lot of sophisticated engineering needed to bring the water from the Carmel Bay side and then up and over the hill to the Monterey side for storage in the Seaside Basin.

On Thursday, Stoldt complimented Cal Am on how well it managed the winter flow. Josh Stratton, Cal Am’s manager of external affairs, said The ASR process entails more than just grabbing excess river flows.

“To maximize water storage, it also means that the entire system from wells and transmission pipelines, to tanks and pressure regulating stations, as well as electrical, mechanical and instrumentation devices all are functioning 24/7 without issue,” he said.

The winter storms brought with them numerous power outages that required Cal Am to haul portable generators to different facilities to keep the water flowing. The amount of water is regulated through a permitting process by the state Regional Water Quality Control Board.

“Our teams worked around the clock to maintain and repair all of the aspects of the system,” Stratton said.

While there is litigation pending over Measure J that requires the water district to take over Cal Am’s Monterey assets, as well as disputes over water supply and demand for the next few decades, on the operational level the water district and Cal Am work well together, Stoldt said.

When the water arrives from the Carmel Valley basin, there are four dual-purpose wells designed to inject water into the Seaside Basin, as well as extract water from the basin, called production wells.

When all four wells are injecting, between 17 and 18 acre-feet of water a day are flowing into the Seaside Basin. But because of several constraints, less water – roughly 13 to 14 acre-feet – is being injected per day, Stoldt said. An acre-foot will cover a football field to a depth of 1 foot or 325,851 gallons.

Cal Am is using two of the wells to extract water, leaving only two injection wells operating, thus limiting the amount of water pumped down into the basin. Another constraint involves a large 36-inch pipe operated by Cal Am that is designed to carry water from south to north during the rainy season, and then north to south other times of the year. But that pipe is currently carrying water one way – from the peninsula to Pacific Grove.

Consequently, a smaller pipeline is being used, which constrains the amount of water that can be pushed to the injection wells.

“It’s not the end of the world, but it is limiting,” Stoldt said.

But those are all limitations that can be fixed. If it weren’t for the constraints, Stoldt said, the ASR project could inject another 300 to 400 acre feet a year during the rainy season, making an even better savings account.

Seaside approves agreement amendment for 90-inch outfall pipe in Sand City

SEASIDE – The Seaside City Council approved an amendment of a professional service agreement for the study of the 90-inch storm drain outfall pipe that backed up in January and apparently caused flooding in Sand City.

“Since this went to the council and was approved, it will go forward with the investigation,” said Nisha Patel, Seaside Public Works engineer.

The investigation will include a survey of pipes and storm drains within the system to assess the existing conditions, said Patel. The data collected will help model what options for improvements exist for the system.

“We’re just wanting to make sure we’re on top of it,” said Patel.

The council adopted the resolution authorizing the city manager to execute the amendment to the agreement with Schaaf and Wheeler Civil Engineering Consultants for additional investigation and surveying for the preparation of a study of the 90-inch storm drain outfall in Sand City for an amount not to exceed $37,182.

Seaside owns and maintains a storm drain collection system within the city limits and a 90-inch diameter outfall in Sand City, according to city of Seaside documents.

An existing 90-inch diameter storm drain pipe conveys water from approximately 2,000 acres within the city of Seaside to an outfall at Monterey Bay, according to the city’s Stormwater Master Plan Update of February 2014. The existing outfall is frequently blocked by sand. In 2005, an improvement project included the installation of a Tideflex check valve at the outfall discharge to prevent migration of sand into the outfall culvert.

In early April, the council authorized a professional services agreement with Schaaf and Wheeler to develop the preliminary design concepts for improving or replacing the city’s 90-inch outfall on West Bay Street in Sand City in the amount not to exceed $66,192. With the approved amendment, the revised total agreement amount with the civil engineering consultant will be $103,374.

The majority of Seaside’s stormwater discharges into the ocean through the 90-inch pipe on West Bay Street in Sand City which rests on sand about 155 feet from the end of the street to its outfall, a previous report from Patel said. City maintenance crews regularly need to dig out the pipe from the sand which comes through during high tide. The 90-inch outfall pipe also has an overflow structure about 110 feet from the end of the outfall pipe which allows stormwater from both Seaside and Sand City to continuously discharge out of it in most instances when the 90-inch outfall pipe is blocked.

Flooding occurred in late January, affecting Ortiz and Redwood avenues, as well as John Street in Sand City, and appeared to be caused by the clogging of the 90-inch outfall during heavy rain.

A stormwater outfall in Sand City that clogged in the early morning of Jan. 22, 2024, caused a backup of the system and flooded low-lying areas of the city. The 90-inch West Bay Street outfall is part of the stormwater drainage system maintained by the city of Seaside. (City of Sand City)

Sand City storm water drains into the 90-inch storm drain outfall on West Bay Street in Sand City. According to a staff report Patel, Schaaf and Wheeler had assumed the city of Seaside would obtain or provide the city of Sand City storm drain information. Seaside staff made a request for the existing Sand City storm drain information to city of Sand City staff. City of Sand City did not have their existing storm drain information (pipe, manhole and drainage inlet locations, size and inverts) readily available. They were also not able to provide hydrologic modeling and hydraulic calculations of their drainage system. Schaaf and Wheeler requires the Sand City storm drain information and drainage modeling/calculations to complete the 90-inch storm drain outfall study. The city offered to Sand City that Seaside perform investigation, survey and analysis of their storm drain system. City of Seaside staff requested a proposal from Schaaf and Wheeler to perform work to obtain that information.

On April 24 this year, city of Seaside staff received a proposal from Schaaf and Wheeler to perform the additional investigation, surveying and hydrologic and hydraulic modeling. City staff reviewed the proposal from Schaaf and Wheeler which is an amendment to their original professional services agreement and agreed with their scope and fee.