Good morning. It's Friday, Dec. 31, New Year's Eve. I'm Carol Cormaci, bringing you today's TimesOC newsletter with the latest roundup of news and events.
You've likely heard it all week, shouted from newspapers headlines, TV anchors, radio show hosts and elsewhere: Don't go to a crowded hot spot to celebrate New Year's Eve tonight. Instead, opt for either staying home or getting together with a small group of friends, in order to slow the incredible spread of the Omicron variant of the nasty coronavirus that has kept us all semi-paralyzed for all too long now.
I don't want to belabor this issue, but it's my last chance this calendar year to join the chorus and remind you to keep yourself and those you love protected from becoming a pandemic statistic. The nation, as I write this, has recorded 820,355 deaths to COVID-19, according to the CDC COVID Data Tracker. Orange County alone has already lost 5,890 people to the disease.
Yesterday afternoon Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong, Orange County's deputy health officer, said in a news conference that new infections and hospitalizations have increased significantly since last week and could get worse as people travel, attend get-togethers and prepare to return to school in January, according to a report by my colleague Sara Cardine.
It's so dispiriting to be reliving yet another tamped down holiday season, but even as people have been warned for weeks about the Omicron variant, they've still taken risks. The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in Orange County have spiked, from 217 last week to 420 yesterday.
"We know many people are eager to celebrate. But the risk of catching and spreading COVID is extremely high during this time. We want to encourage everyone to limit or avoid gatherings if at all possible," Chinsio-Kwong said.
Orange County health officials ask residents to celebrate New Year's Eve quietly this year rather than attending a crowded venue. (Farah Sosa)
MORE NEWS
— Nearly three months after an undersea pipeline spilled thousands of gallons of crude oil into the waters off Huntington Beach, authorities have announced that coastal cleanup efforts are now complete.
— After the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of the biannual Point in Time count earlier this year, Orange County officials are looking for volunteers interested in helping compile a comprehensive
census of the county's homeless population in 2022. The count is set to begin Jan. 24. For more information and to sign up as a volunteer, visit: everyonecountsoc.org/volunteer.
— Like Los Angeles International Airport and others across the country, John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana was inundated with travelers over the holiday weekend and faced much of the same troubles with flight delays and cancellations as its larger counterparts.
— Motorists hoping to visit or leave Newport Beach's Balboa Island will have to take the long way around next month as the Balboa Island Ferry will temporarily close to vehicles. The closure is related to a public works project involving underground utilities. Beginning Jan. 3, pedestrians and bicyclists can use the ferry, but cars will be banned until Jan. 28, officials say.
The Ferris Wheel at the Balboa Fun Zone circulates in the background as one of the red and white ferry boats shuttles cars and pedestrians between Balboa Peninsula and Balboa Island. Motorists will be banned from the ferry from Jan. 3 to Jan. 28 while a public works project is underway. (Don Kelsen / Los Angeles Times)
— A host of new state laws are going into effect tomorrow that all Californians need to know about. The Times' John Myers, Melody Gutierrez, Taryn Luna and Phil Willon took a look at 43 of the most noteworthy of those and offer a very helpful explainer of them here.
SPORTS
— In their first game since Dec. 17, the Anaheim Ducks fell to the Vancouver Canucks just 26 seconds into overtime play at Honda Center on Wednesday night. With the Canucks' win, their new coach, Bruce Boudreau, who coached the Ducks for five seasons, became the third coach in NHL history to start 7-0 with a new team.
Anaheim Ducks' Sam Carrick, left, moves the puck past Vancouver Canucks' Quinn Hughes during the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday. (Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)
— Christina Mauser, a 1999 graduate of Edison High School in Huntington Beach and a beloved basketball coach in the Mamba Sports Academy, was among the victims in the helicopter crash that took nine lives — including those of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna — in Calabasas in January of 2020. This week, Mauser's alma mater introduced a girls' basketball tournament in her name. "She was special," Matt Mauser said of his late wife. "She was one of the best to ever go through there, and she worked with one of the greatest. She was definitely special to me and our family, so we're just happy that she's remembered."
A banner hangs on the snack bar at the inaugural Christina Mauser Memorial Tournament at Edison High School on Monday. (Scott Smeltzer / Staff Photographer)
LIFE & LEISURE
— A longtime Newport Beach couple who both had distinguished careers in the field of education first met as camp counselors in Idyllwild in the summer of 1951 and married in December of that same year. On Thursday, the family celebrated as Serene and Sid Stokes marked their 70th wedding anniversary. The secret to a long marriage, they say, is to be each other's cheerleader.
Serene and Sid Stokes, both 92, smile for a portrait at their home in Newport Beach. Couple celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary on Thursday. (Kevin Chang / Staff Photographer)
— With the most recent storm system now just a fresh memory, you might be looking to spend some time in the great outdoors. Our colleague Sarah Mosqueda has come up with a list of O.C. trails that are ripe for exploring. One of her suggestions is a guided hike that takes place tomorrow afternoon — yes, on New Year's Day — in Upper Newport Bay. And tomorrow night there's a Star Party at Caspers Wilderness Park in San Juan Capistrano. Good times!
Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve located in Newport Beach. (Courtesy of OC Parks)
Let 2021 come to a close and 2022 arrive to bring you good health and brighter days. Happy New Year from your faithful TimesOC newsletter editors!
If you have a memory or story about Orange County, we would love to read it (please keep your submission to 100 words or less).
We want your help in making this the best newsletter it can be. Send your memory of life in O.C., news tips or comments to carol.cormaci@latimes.com or benjamin.brazil@latimes.com.
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