Good morning. It's Wednesday, Dec. 29. I'm Carol Cormaci, bringing you today's TimesOC newsletter with the latest roundup of news and events.
Alzheimer's disease, which causes progressive mental deterioration, is on the rise as the population ages. My colleague Ben Brazil studied a recent report created by the California Department of Public Health and learned some sobering statistics: By 2040, the number of Orange County residents 55 and older with Alzheimer's will increase by 122%, and people 65 and older with the disease will increase by 136%.
The growing number of Alzheimer's patients in the county over the next 18 years will have its ramifications, Brazil reports, including a loss to the workforce and financial impacts to families touched by the disease.
Also of concern are the Latino, Black and Asian American populations of Orange County, as they may lack access to needed medical care, the report indicated.
Larissa Haiker, family services manager at the Alzheimer's Assn.'s Orange County chapter, told Brazil these communities have less opportunity to get diagnosed due to a lack of access, so they are less supported as they live with the disease.
"Then we've lost all this time," Haiker said. "If they had a diagnosis earlier, access to care earlier, the family could have been planning ahead for the future, trying to figure out how they are going to pay for care and coordinating legal and financial documents."
Haiker, whose association runs a 24-hour hotline at (800) 272-3900 for people who are seeking information about the disease, hopes those in leadership roles at county and city levels will make brain health awareness a priority.
If that's to happen, action needs to be taken soon. Orange County Health Care Agency spokesman Ed Mertz said there are no Alzheimer's programs currently planned.
You can find Brazil's complete story here.
Cases of Alzheimer's disease are expected to more than double in Orange County by 2040. (File Photo)
MORE NEWS
— A series of rainstorms battered coastal Orange County over the holiday weekend, bringing the rain total to an estimated 2.7 inches this month, with another inch or two expected between today and Thursday's incoming showers.
—Two men were hospitalized following a shooting involving Huntington Beach police that occurred Monday afternoon, according to authorities. A Huntington Beach Police Department spokesperson said officers responded to reports of a shooting at 12:20 p.m. in the Sunset Beach area. When officers arrived in the area of South Pacific Avenue and 3rd Street, they located an armed male from Norwalk suspected of shooting a bicyclist. At that point an officer-involved shooting occurred. The suspect was reported Tuesday to be in critical condition while his alleged victim was in stable condition.
— A small business jet carrying four passengers took off from John Wayne Airport on Monday night but never made it to its destination. Instead, it crashed in the unincorporated San Diego neighborhood of El Cajon, just a few miles from Gillespie Field Airport. Investigators reported Tuesday that while no one on the ground was injured, no surviving passengers in the Learjet 35A had been found in the wreckage.
— DCOR, a small company based in Oxnard, was identified as the source of an oil sheen spotted last week off Bolsa Chica State Beach, California Department of Fish and Wildlife's Office of Spill Prevention and Response tweeted Saturday.
SPORTS
— Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani, who redefined modern baseball with his two-way play in 2021, has been named the Associated Press' male athlete of the year, writes Greg Beacham with the AP. Mike Trout, Ohtani's three-time AL MVP teammate, called Ohtani's season "nothing short of electric."
Illustration for Dylan Hernandez column on Shohei Ohtani as a manga baseball star. (Alycea Tinoyan / For The Times)
— The Chargers lost two consecutive games, including at Houston on Sunday, and so have fallen out of position to make the NFL playoffs, reports our colleague Jeff Miller, and there's more bad news for fans of the Costa Mesa-headquartered team: Six more players had to be added Monday to the Chargers' COVID-19 reserve list.
— A steady rain fell Thursday night as the Newport Harbor High girls' water polo team hosted Back Bay rival Corona del Mar for the Surf League opener. Senior Morgan Netherton scored five goals as Newport Harbor routed CdM 15-6 in the first Battle for the Bay match. This week both teams are co-hosting the Bill Barnett Holiday Cup tournament.
Newport Harbor girls' water polo team celebrates after beating Corona del Mar during the Battle of the Bay on Dec. 23. (Scott Smeltzer / Staff Photographer)
LIFE & LEISURE
— Newport Beach donated thousands of presents to military families across Orange County and the country to thank them for their service during this holiday season. Uniformed officers drove up to Newport Beach City Hall late Thursday morning in decorated military vehicles to collect the donations for distribution.
Members of local branches of the military load a truck with hundreds of toys donated by city of Newport Beach toward "Operation Christmas" staged at the Newport Beach City Hall on Thursday. (Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
— B.W. Cook writes in his society column for the Daily Pilot about this year's Candlelight Concert in support of Segerstrom Center for the Arts, which returned in a grand way following a pandemic-caused pause in 2020. It was the center's 47th fundraising holiday gala and featured Andrea Bocelli in concert prior to dancing and dining.
— Planning a New Year's Eve gathering at home in the O.C.? One great way to get the party started Friday night is to offer some tasty appetizers. "Small bites for all-night grazing are the name of the game," writes Julie Giuffrida, Test Kitchen coordinator for the L.A. Times, who offers six recipes for your consideration, ranging from deviled eggs dressed up with caviar to grilled Asian beef short ribs.
A winter memory: Life among the orange groves when frost was in the forecast
Joe B. Lawrence, a member of Tustin High School's class of 1956, shares with us a memory of his formative years in Orange County:
"I grew up in Tustin, amid orange trees and fields. At 14 I started working in the groves. When the temperature dropped, the oranges were at risk, so we attempted to solve the problem by using dangerous oil-fired smudge pots.
"The stench from the burning oil made the air unhealthy and smeared residue on inside walls throughout the area. Repainting interiors required chemically stripping the scum before paint would adhere. 'Air machines' replaced the pots when we learned that moving the air kept the oranges from freezing.
"Ah, the memories ..."
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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