Good morning. It's Wednesday, Sept. 29. I'm Carol Cormaci, bringing you today's TimesOC newsletter with the latest roundup of news and events.
On what was otherwise a perfect Saturday afternoon at the Huntington Beach shore — near where the day's competitors had given it their all in the U.S. Open of Surfing — a 43-year-old man named Ronnie Andrew Garcia was shot dead by police officers.
The officers had been called to the scene at around 3:15 on reports of a suspicious man who had a gun. When they arrived, Garcia, according to a police statement, did not comply with officer demands and so lost his life after being shot multiple times on the crowded beach near Sandy's Beach Shack.
Police and paramedics attempted to perform CPR on Garcia, who was transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
It was a disturbing scene to witness for those who heard several gunshots (one person said they sounded like firecrackers going off) and looked to see officers with their guns drawn standing around Garcia, who was on his back on the sand.
While the Orange County Sheriff's Department oversees the investigation into the incident, the city of Huntington Beach has sprung into action to offer mental health services to any bystanders affected by seeing someone gunned down or, for that matter, anyone troubled by the events of Saturday afternoon.
This is a real test of the city's recently minted partnership with Be Well OC, which offers mental health services via a mobile crisis response team in a $1.5-million pilot program. Support sessions are planned, the city said, and more details will be made available this week. To contact Be Well OC for assistance, call Tony Delgado at (949) 300-0175.
Police surround Ronnie Andrew Garcia on Saturday afternoon at Huntington City Beach. (Courtesy of Ana Leticia)
MORE NEWS
— A former Orange County sheriff's deputy stole credit cards from a dead woman's Yorba Linda home and used them to make purchases, prosecutors said Friday. According to the Associated Press, Steve Hortz was previously indicted on several felonies in connection with breaking into the home of a dead man to steal more than $27,000 in guns and other items in July 2020. He has pleaded not guilty, and that case is ongoing. The Orange County district attorney's office announced Hortz's second case Friday. His arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 26.
— The city of Anaheim on Monday was ordered by a judge to perform a more thorough search of public records requested by a citizens' group, the People's Homeless Task Force, seeking to invalidate the Angel Stadium land sale, according to reporting by Bill Shaikin. The group sued the city in March 2020, alleging the sale of Angel Stadium and its parking lots to a company controlled by Angels owner Arte Moreno should be voided because the city failed to comply with state public transparency laws. The city says it made all decisions about the sale legally and publicly, Shaikin reports.
— An advocacy group hoping to stop the deconstruction of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station saw their lawsuit tossed out of court by an L.A. County Superior Court judge earlier this month. Judge Mitchell Beckloff ruled the California Coastal Commission had acted properly three years ago when it granted permission to Southern California Edison to begin the dismantling process of the nuclear power plant located south of San Clemente.
— Orange Coast College on Friday held an official public opening for its new $22-million Professional Mariner Training Center in Newport Beach. The facility includes classroom and laboratory space, a radar training
room, conference room and student lounge.
SPORTS
— When this year's U.S. Open of Surfing came to a close Sunday two victors emerged. Oceanside's Caitlin Simmers, just 15, captured the women's division while Griffin Colapinto of San Clemente was the men's winner in the competition held at Huntington Beach. They each claimed a $20,000 prize.
— The U.S. Open may have been limited to human athletes, but taking place alongside it was the annual Surf City Surf Dog competition. L.A. Times staff photographer Irfan Khan visited Huntington Beach over the weekend to capture the canine action, and you've got to see it, especially if you could use a smile right about now.
Derby, a 9-year-old goldendoodle, and Kentucky Gallahue, 41, wait for a good wave to launch during annual Surf City Surf Dog competition held at dog beach on Saturday in Huntington Beach. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
— The boys' cross-country course record fell Saturday morning at the Dana Hills Invitational when Carlsbad Sage Creek's Bryce Gilmore ran it in 14 minutes 13 seconds. The record had belonged to Pasadena's Jesus Gutierrez since 1983, when he posted a time of 14:16.
— Noting Angels pitcher Shohei Otani's visible frustration Sunday in a 5-1 loss to the Seattle Mariners,
Times sports columnist Dylan Hernández writes it's clear Ohtani thinks it's time for his team to improve if they want to keep him around for the long haul. During a postgame interview, according to Hernández, when Ohtani was asked if he wanted to remain with the Angels, he replied, "I like the fans. I like the atmosphere in the organization. But my feelings to wanting to win are stronger."
— High school football fans without tickets to Friday night's game between Santa Ana Mater Dei and St. John Bosco are out of luck, as the remaining 2,500 general admission seats were put online at 9 a.m. Monday and sold out in four minutes, according to sports columnist Eric Sondheimer. The game will be played in St. John Bosco's stadium in Bellflower.
Mater Dei quarterback Elijah Brown scampers for extra yardage while St John Bosco defenders Benny Lockhart (14) and Kyngstonn Villiamu-Asa (27) give chase at Santa Ana Stadium in April. The teams meet up again Friday night in a sold-out game. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
LIFE & LEISURE
— UC Irvine's new School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, established in August 2020, welcomed its first class of pharmacy students in a traditional white coat ceremony held Friday in the Irvine Barclay Theater.
UC Irvine's Ivann Agapito, right, is the first student to have his white coat put on by Jan D. Hirsch, associate dean of student affairs, left, during the White Coat Ceremony for the inaugural class of 2025 PharmD students on Friday at the Irvine Barclay Theater. (Kevin Chang / Staff Photographer)
— The Balboa Island ArtWalk returned Sunday after a pandemic-forced hiatus, and 80 artists showed their creations to about 2,500 visitors at the juried event held along Balboa's South Bayfront.
— Taking place not too far from the ArtWalk this weekend was the 59th annual Newport Beach sandcastle contest at Corona del Mar State Beach. Amateur and professional sand sculptors carefully shaped and crafted their own works of art encompassing scenes from India's Taj Mahal to the ancient Mayan city of Chichén-Itzá in keeping with the contest's theme, "Explore the World." The competition was organized by the Commodores Club of the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce and was sponsored this year by First Republic Bank and City of Hope Orange County.
A crowd lines the path in front of the Newport Beach 59th annual sandcastle contest entries at Corona del Mar State Beach on Sunday. This year's theme "Explore the World" showed many tiny castles from around the world. (Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
— The United States Air Force Thunderbirds have been added to the lineup for this weekend's Pacific Airshow in Huntington Beach, event organizers announced Tuesday. The Thunderbirds will join the U.S. Navy Blue Angels and the Canadian Forces Snowbirds at the Airshow, marking just the second time in history that the three North American jet teams will perform together at the same show.
— The Muckenthaler Motor Car Festival, the longest running car show in north Orange County, returns as an in-person event on Sunday at the Muckenthaler Cultural Center in Fullerton.
OPINION
— Our beaches are running out of sand, and it's going to take a multipronged approach if we want to be enjoying seaside picnics spread out on beach blankets much longer, warns L.A. Times commentary contributor Brett Sanders, a professor who leads the UCI Flood Lab and the Metropolitan Beaches Project.
The beach at San Clemente has thinned so much that waves crashed over the train tracks earlier this month. This photo was taken by a passenger when a southbound Metrolink train was stopped in San Clemente by ocean waves washing over the tracks due to erosion on Sept. 15. (Tony Prince)
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