Your car might not need a smog test, but the state still wants money

Q. What’s up with the smog abatement fee on my registration? Is this another way the Department of Motor Vehicles makes money, when your vehicle doesn’t need a smog check?   – Brent Deshotels, Anaheim A. Not the DMV, Brent, but the state. Yes, the DMV is a state agency. However, it is the California…

Dennis Schröder on Lakers extension talks: ‘I want to be a Laker for a long time’

Dennis Schröder is not one to hold back what he’s thinking. He once offered the blunt assessment of Dwight Howard, his former teammate, that the center only tried hard against his former team. He raised a few eyebrows when he first was traded to the Lakers and said he expected a starting role: “I did…

Coronavirus tracker: California reported 3,500 new cases, 276 new deaths on March 18

According to the end-of-day totals from California public health websites for Thursday, March 18, there were 3,500 new cases of the coronavirus statewide, bringing the total number of cases there have been to 3,610,445. The 14-day average of new cases daily, 3,361, is down 92% from the Jan. 1 high of 42,268. There were 276…

California reverses decision, OKs sideline cheerleading

Three days after banning cheerleaders on the sidelines of newly begun spring high school football, California officials reversed their decision Friday, March 19. “Today, (California Department of Public Health) will clarify that sideline cheer is an allowable sport under the state’s youth and adult recreational sports guidelines,” a department spokesperson wrote in an email Friday.…

NCAA Tournament: UCLA rides wave of confidence into BYU matchup

It required three team buses and a 90-minute drive for UCLA to return to its hotel after its First Four win over Michigan State on Thursday night. Or Friday morning, really, as the Bruins didn’t disembark until after 3 a.m. in Indianapolis. These are good reminders of the quirks of the 2021 NCAA Tournament. Not…

Tustin overwhelms Crean Lutheran early, rolls to league victory

TUSTIN — The Tustin offense kicked into high gear early in the team’s Empire League football opener against Crean Lutheran on Thursday night at Tustin High School. The Tillers scored touchdowns on their first four possessions on their way to a 42-14 victory. Junior quarterback Riley Kelly, who was sidelined in the second quarter off…

Tustin overwhelms Crean Lutheran early, rolls to league victory

TUSTIN — The Tustin offense kicked into high gear early in the team’s Empire League football opener against Crean Lutheran on Thursday night at Tustin High School. The Tillers scored touchdowns on their first four possessions on their way to a 42-14 victory. Junior quarterback Riley Kelly, who was sidelined in the second quarter off…

Biden, Harris offering solace to grieving Asian Americans

By JONATHAN LEMIRE, JEFF AMY and ZEKE MILLER ATLANTA (AP) — President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris offered solace to Asian Americans and a reeling nation on Friday as they visited Atlanta just days after a white gunman killed eight people, most of them Asian American women. The visit, during a nationwide spike…

Everything you need to know about the effort to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom

By Maeve Reston | CNN The organizers of the effort to recall California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom turned in their final batches of signature petitions to the registrars of the Golden State’s 58 counties on Wednesday. Now they wait as county and state officials determine whether they have collected the 1,495,709 valid signatures they need…

California cancels sideline cheerleading, citing coronavirus concerns

The roar of the crowds is muted this spring, as high school sports continue their return to Southern California. There are a handful of spectators in the stands, sometimes in assigned seating, always 6 feet apart. But under new state guidance, there are no cheerleaders on the sidelines at many games. “Football players are allowed…

The political arrogance and unintended consequences of ‘hero pay’

It’s good to be king. What could be more gratifying and delightful than roaming across the landscape, pointing at people who are working for somebody else and declaring, “I decree that you deserve a raise! And you shall have it!” Anyone could be elected Homecoming King with that kind of power. Sadly or happily, Americans…

Your car might not need a smog test, but the state still wants money

Q. What’s up with the smog abatement fee on my registration? Is this another way the Department of Motor Vehicles makes money, when your vehicle doesn’t need a smog check?   – Brent Deshotels, Anaheim A. Not the DMV, Brent, but the state. Yes, the DMV is a state agency. However, it is the California…

Tustin overwhelms Crean Lutheran early, rolls to league victory

TUSTIN — The Tustin offense kicked into high gear early in the team’s Empire League football opener against Crean Lutheran on Thursday night at Tustin High School. The Tillers scored touchdowns on their first four possessions on their way to a 42-14 victory. Junior quarterback Riley Kelly, who was sidelined in the second quarter off…

Everything you need to know about the effort to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom

By Maeve Reston | CNN The organizers of the effort to recall California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom turned in their final batches of signature petitions to the registrars of the Golden State’s 58 counties on Wednesday. Now they wait as county and state officials determine whether they have collected the 1,495,709 valid signatures they need…

California cancels sideline cheerleading, citing coronavirus concerns

The roar of the crowds is muted this spring, as high school sports continue their return to Southern California. There are a handful of spectators in the stands, sometimes in assigned seating, always 6 feet apart. But under new state guidance, there are no cheerleaders on the sidelines at many games. “Football players are allowed…

The political arrogance and unintended consequences of ‘hero pay’

It’s good to be king. What could be more gratifying and delightful than roaming across the landscape, pointing at people who are working for somebody else and declaring, “I decree that you deserve a raise! And you shall have it!” Anyone could be elected Homecoming King with that kind of power. Sadly or happily, Americans…

One year of coronavirus: A month-by-month timeline

When the world shut down a year ago at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, few could have imagined how long the crisis would last or how steep of a toll it would take. Through cycles of closures and reopenings, as surges rose and fell, from Southern California to Washington, D.C., amid uncertainty, anger and…

LeBron James, Lakers outduel LaMelo Ball, Hornets

Lakers forward LeBron James scores past Charlotte Hornets center Cody Zeller, right, during the first half of Thursday’s game at Staples Center. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball, left, scores past Los Angeles Lakers forward Markieff Morris during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, March 18, 2021, in Los…

Edison continues torrid scoring pace in rout of Newport Harbor

HUNTINGTON BEACH — Braeden Boyles threw for 241 yards and three touchdowns to lead a quick-strike offensive onslaught as Edison cruised to a 47-14 victory over Newport Harbor on Thursday night at Huntington Beach High. The Chargers (2-0) put up 34 points in the first half and scored early and often to overwhelm the Sailors…

Whicker: Beat-up UCLA rallies to beat Michigan State in night of validation

Mick Cronin had not seen John Wooden’s statue yet, the one that sits outside Purdue’s Mackey Arena, just in front of the Pyramid of Success. UCLA hadn’t reached West Lafayette, Indiana until 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday night for practice, and the Bruins were herded through the halls without a chance to wander. Nowadays, Wooden’s image…