Mission Viejo High’s offense is Luke Fahey’s now — and it might be one that’s hard to stop if Saturday was a sneak peak of what’s to come.
A drive into Mission Viejo’s first pool game of the 30th edition of its seven-on-seven passing tournament, the senior quarterback wasn’t satisfied. Mission Viejo failed to score against Oceanside, a drop causing Fahey, wearing a relaxed-fit shirt and shorts, to yell toward his team.
“Offense, over here,” Fahey called out to his teammates as he hustled off to the sidelines.
The next five drives ended in the same way, the budding college football prospect — holding offers from Ohio State, Stanford and Indiana — dotting passes to his younger wide receivers on the regular, a trend that would continue throughout Saturday on Mission Viejo’s way to a 35-23 tournament final victory over Mater Dei.
Fahey is ready to take the next step. He split reps with Drai Trudeau two seasons in a row, and learned how to become a leader sitting behind Kadin Semonza as a freshman. Mission Viejo coach Chad Johnson said playcalling was up to Fahey, who picked up on his successes and helped his teammates through their mistakes.
“It’s his turn to take over,” Johnson said. “He’s the leader of our team. Every single break we have is led by him. He’s another coach on the field.”
Fahey pulled over a freshman teammate to the side midway through a game Saturday, helping explain to him the intricacies of routes so that he’d better understand what to do in a game. With standout wide receiver Vance Spafford unavailable, Johnson said, it was Fahey’s turn to teach.
After passing for 17 touchdowns and 1,638 yards as a junior, Fahey could be set for a big senior year for the Diablos.
“When we come out here, we want to be the best,” Fahey said. “We want to do everything right, 100%, no matter what it is, no matter who we play.”
Saturday, Fahey and Mission Viejo were the best — but he was not the only quarterback to showcase his skill in seven-on-seven action.
Mater Dei, with Dash Beierly out of the picture, primarily split the series between JSerra senior transfer Ryan Hopkins and junior Furian Inferrera (Beierly’s backup in 2024).
Hopkins, more of a prototypical pocket passer, seemed to have a strong connection with star tight end Mark Bowman — a passing display between the duo that was featured early in Mater Dei’s contests. Mater Dei coach Raul Lara said that Hopkins, a Wisconsin commit, and Inferrera, a Minnesota commit, are battling for the starting position.
“The two kids that are battling out for the first spot at quarterback, I just love their competitiveness,” Lara said. “They’re both buddies. It’s neat to see.”
Crean Lutheran quarterback Lucas Wong.
(Benjamin Royer / Los Angeles Times)
Among younger quarterbacks, Crean Lutheran freshman Lucas Wong emerged poised and controlled in the pocket — enjoying a standout moment Saturday when he tossed a 30-plus yard touchdown pass on the last play of regulation to defeat Huntington Beach 21-19 in one of its five games.
“We saw a lot of confidence in him,” Crean Lutheran coach Rick Curtis said, adding that expected starting quarterback Caden Jones was out for the tournament. “We said, ‘Hey, let’s put his feet for the fire, and we’ll see what he can do.’ He’s doing a great job today.”
Huntington Beach quarterback Brady Edmunds, listed at 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds despite being two years from fulfilling his current Ohio State commitment, was far and away the most physically imposing quarterback in the tournament.
Edmunds’ touch on his passes was hit or miss Saturday — Huntington Beach scoring the third-fewest points in pool play — but his power behind every throw kept the Oilers in every contest.
La Habra quarterback DJ Mitchell.
(Benjamin Royer / Los Angeles Times)
One of the sneakier standout back-and-forth games ended in a tie — thanks to La Habra junior DJ Mitchell and Oaks Christian sophomore Treyvone Towns Jr. matching each other blow for blow.
Mitchell ended the dueling programs’ pool-play game with a touchdown pass and two-point conversion as the time limit expired to secure a split.
“We practice it every day,” Mitchell said. “Two-minute drill — I know how to execute, make my reads and just hit it. Hit a touchdown.”
Both Mitchell and Towns appear primed for breakout years as they grow into their respective frames.
Etc.
Corona Centennial primarily used Dominick Catalano as its quarterback in Mission Viejo. Catalano backed up Husan Longstreet — now at USC — last year. …
Corona Centennial quarterback Dominick Catalano at the Mission Viejo passing tournament on Saturday.
(Benjamin Royer / Los Angeles Times)
San Juan Hills senior quarterback Timmy Herr, one of a couple southpaws at Mission Viejo, was accurate and controlled, much like he was last year for the Stallions and coach Rob Frith. Mater Dei third-string quarterback Trevor Scott is a left-hander standing 6–foot-4, whose skill set showed rawness as well as potential. Lara said the seven-on-seven tournament was a perfect place for Scott to get his feet wet against Southern Section competition. …
San Clemente won the St. John Bosco passing tournament, defeating the hosts in the final. … Junior quarterback Deshawn Laporte led Burbank to the title at the Simi Valley tournament, defeating the hosts in the final and taking down Sierra Canyon and Chaminade along the way.
Tens of thousands of people gathered at the Budapest Pride march despite a law passed earlier this year banning Pride events. Photo by Zoltan Balogh Hungary Out/EPA
June 28 (UPI) — Saturday’s Budapest Pride march is expected to have drawn record attendance and participation in opposition to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s anti-LGBTQ policies.
The parade is being held in the Hungarian capital amid threats of legal consequences by Orban and the Hungarian government, including a ban on gatherings that promote homosexuality, the BBC reported.
Hungary’s child protection law restricts such gatherings, but Pride march organizers are being joined by Hungarians and politicians from other European nations to support those who identify as LGBTQ.
“This weekend, all eyes are on Budapest,” European equality commissioner Hadja Lahbib told media in Budapest on Friday.
“This is bigger than one Pride celebration, one Pride march,” Lahbib said. “It is about the right to be who you are, to love who you want, whether it is in Budapest, in Brussels or anywhere else.”
March organizers expected between 35,000 to 40,000 people to participate in the march, but the BBC reported said organizers estimated as many as 200,000 people showed up.
Orban and Hungary’s Fidesz party earlier this year enacted the nation’s child protection law and have said it applies to the Pride march and similar events.
The law also bans the display of LGBTQ promotional materials, which might include the rainbow flag.
Orban has said there won’t be a violent police crackdown on the event, but organizers and participants might be subject to legal prosecution afterward. Facial recognition technology could identify participants, each of whom could be fined up to $500.
“The police could break up such events because they have the authority to do so,” Orban told state-run radio on Friday.
“Hungary is a civilized society [and] a civic society,” Orban continued. “There will be legal consequences, but it cannot reach the level of physical abuse.”
Event participants waved Pride flags and signs mocking Orban, including at least one depicting the prime minister in drag.
Pupils at Platt Primary school in Maidstone learn about sun protection
Children as young as five are being taught how to check UV levels and apply sunscreen, as part of a new pilot aimed at reducing future skin cancer cases.
The initiative, currently being trialled in primary schools across Kent, is planned to be introduced into Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) lessons nationwide from 2026.
Melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer, is linked to UV exposure – and experts say sunburn in childhood significantly increases the risk later in life.
In 2021, around 18,300 people were diagnosed with melanoma in the UK, according to Cancer Research. That figure is projected to rise to 21,300 by 2026, the charity says.
Michelle Baker, from the charity Melanoma Fund, which is behind the education project, said changing children’s habits early is key.
“People think melanoma is an older person’s disease,” she says, “but it’s often seeded in childhood.”
She says the project aims to “grow skin cancer out of the next generation”.
Giving children a sense of control and responsibility for their sun protection is central to this. “We’re saying this is your superpower,” she adds.
At Platt Primary school in Maidstone, pupils are learning to read UV indexes, apply sunscreen properly, and understand when they need protection.
Headteacher Emma Smith said the pupils have been “really receptive”.
“If we educate them early, they’re more likely to keep that knowledge as they get older – especially when social media starts to influence their choices.”
No ‘safe tan’
The childhood sun safety drive comes as Cancer Research UK says the rise in melanoma cases among adults is a particular cause for concern.
A recent study from the charity found that cancer deaths cost the UK economy £10.3bn a year, more than any other health condition – underlining the importance of preventative measures.
Consultant dermatologist Dr Katie Lacy says that educating children about how to look after their skin is key to reducing melanoma rates.
Research shows that nine out of 10 cases are caused by UV exposure from the sun and sunbeds.
Getting sunburnt regularly increases the chances of skin cancer. Dr Lacy stresses there is no such thing as a “safe tan”, explaining that tanning is a response to skin damage.
“I wish I’d known”: Melanoma survivor’s warning after diagnosis at 29
“Most melanomas don’t come from existing moles – so if you notice something new, get it checked,” she adds.
She also highlights the growing role of AI in screening suspicious moles within the NHS – which could help streamline referrals to specialist services.
The ABCDE checklist can help identify if a mole is abnormal:
A – asymmetrical (does the mole have an uneven shape?)
B – border (are the edges blurry or jagged?)
C – colour (is it an uneven colour with different shades and tones?)
D – diameter (is the mole bigger than your other ones?)
E – evolving (is it changing, such as starting to itch, bleed or become crusty?)
Source: Cancer Research UK
For Kara Leece, diagnosed with melanoma at 29, the message is personal.
“If I’d had that education at primary school, I think I could’ve prevented it,” she told BBC News.
“Now I have a scar that reminds me of what I’ve been through. When children ask about it, I tell them my story – because I don’t want this to happen to anyone else.”
Tips for keeping kids sun safe
Try to keep children in the shade between 11am and 3pm, when the sun is at its strongest
Kit them out with wide-brimmed hats, sunglasses and clothing to cover their skin.
Sunscreen is also very important – apply it regularly and generously, and make sure it’s at least SPF 30 and four or five stars
French Polynesia is an overseas collectivity of France and its only overseas country. It consists of over 100 islands and atolls in the South Pacific Ocean with Tahiti being the most populated.
The first European to visit the islands was Ferdinand Magellan in 1521. Over the centuries, the Dutch, British and Spanish all visited the area.
French Catholic missionaries arrived on Tahiti in 1834 and were promptly expelled in 1836. This led to Tahiti and Tahuata being declared a French protectorate in 1842, to allow Catholic missionaries to work undisturbed.
Even though French Polynesia achieved self-rule in September 1984, the date of this holiday commemorates the annexation of the Kingdom of Tahiti and the turnover of native sovereignty by King Pōmare V to France on this day in 1880.
“How the f— does this baby know if she loves her father?” asked River Gallo one day at Walmart, back in 2010, when they saw an infant sucking on a pacifier emblazoned with the words “I love my daddy.”
“That started the ball rolling about my own issues with my father and with this compulsory love that we have with our families, specifically with our parents, specifically in this instance with my father, her father, our fathers, and with masculinity in general,” says a radiant Gallo during a recent video interview.
The spontaneous moment of introspection planted the seed for what became a 10-minute performance piece while studying acting at NYU — then their USC thesis-turned-short film “Ponyboi,” released in 2017, which Gallo wrote, starred in, and co-directed with Sadé Clacken Joseph. That project ultimately evolved into “Ponyboi” the feature, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2024, became the first film produced under Fox Entertainment Studios’ indie label, Tideline, and was released June 27 in theaters across the United States.
A consummate multihyphenate, Gallo again wrote the screenplay, served as producer and stars as the titular character: an intersex, Latine sex worker in New Jersey who is desperate to escape their pimp (played by Dylan O’Brien) and the world of crime and violence that surrounds them.
Flashbacks to Ponyboi’s childhood, made difficult due to the medical procedures forced on them and the temperament of their classically macho Latino father, fill in the viewer on the protagonist’s past. Meanwhile, dreamy sequences with a handsome, cowboy hat-wearing stranger named Bruce (Murray Bartlett), an idealized embodiment of a positive masculinity, construct a rich world both visually and thematically in Ponyboi’s present.
“[At] face value, ‘Ponyboi’ can seem like, ‘Oh, it’s just a person-on-the-run kind of movie,’ but upon a closer look, it’s about someone finding freedom in the acceptance of their past and the possibility that, through transcending their own beliefs about themselves, perhaps their future could be a little brighter,” Gallo explains.
Gallo is the child of Salvadoran immigrants who escaped their country’s civil war in 1980 and lived undocumented in the U.S. Gallo grew up in New Jersey and showed interest in acting from an early age. It was a strict teacher’s unexpected encouragement, after Gallo appeared in a musical during their sophomore year of high school, that convinced them to pursue a life in art.
“My biology teacher, Mrs. Lagatol, came to see my musical, and the next day I was waiting for her to say something to me, and she didn’t say anything,” Gallo recalls. “Then she gave me back a test, and on the test was a little Post-it that said: ‘If you had been the only one on stage, it would’ve been worth the price of admission. Bravo.’”
Gallo still keeps that Post-it note framed.
Though their parents were supportive, Gallo admits feeling frustration in recent years that their family has not fully understood the magnitude of what they’ve accomplished as a marginalized person in entertainment: an intersex individual and a first-generation Latine.
“Not to toot my own horn, but for a graduate of any film program, getting your first feature to Sundance is the biggest deal in the world,” says Gallo. “There hasn’t been a person like me to do what I’m doing. There’s no precedent or pioneer in my specific identities.”
This desire for a more informed validation is even stronger in relation to their father.
“I don’t think my dad has seen any of my films. My mom has; she was at the premiere at Sundance, which was really beautiful, and so was my sister,” Gallo says. “But I wouldn’t be surprised if my dad never sees my movies. That’s hard, but he’s supportive in other ways.”
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River Gallo – “Ponyboi” (Gregory Alders)
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River Gallo – “Ponyboi” (Gregory Alders)
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River Gallo – “Ponyboi” (Gregory Alders)
Halfway through our conversation, Gallo realizes they are wearing a Bruce Springsteen T-shirt. That’s no coincidence, since “The Boss,” a fellow New Jerseyan, influenced multiple aspects of “Ponyboi.” As they wrote the screenplay for the short version, Gallo was also reading Springsteen’s autobiography, “Born to Run,” and that seeped into their work.
“I remember taking a trip to the Jersey Shore that summer and then looking up at the Stone Pony, the venue where [Springsteen] had his first big performance, and just being like, ‘Stone pony, stone pony, pony, pony, pony boy, ponyboi. That’s a good name.’ And then that was just what I decided to name the character”
For Gallo, the emblematic American singer-songwriter represents “the idea of being working class,” which Gallo thinks “transcends political ideology.” As a child of immigrants, Springsteen’s work speaks to Gallo profoundly.
“My dad, who is more dark-skinned than me, was an electrician, and he was a union guy who experienced all this racism in New York unions,” Gallo says. “There’s so much of what I see in Bruce Springsteen in my father and also just in how Bruce Springsteen describes his relationship with his dad, who was also a man who couldn’t express his emotions.”
For the feature, Gallo enlisted Esteban Arango, a Colombian-born, L.A.-based filmmaker whose debut feature, “Blast Beat,” premiered at Sundance in 2020.
But while Gallo believes Arango understood the nuances of the narrative, it admittedly pained them to relinquish the director’s chair. But it was a necessary sacrifice in order to focus on the performance and move the project along.
“It was difficult because I went to school for directing,” Gallo explains. “But I just don’t think the movie would’ve happened on this timeline if I had wanted to direct it. It would’ve taken much longer, and we needed the film at this moment in time.”
Arango brought his own “abrasive” edge to the narrative. “I felt the story needed more darkness,” the director explains via Zoom from his home in Los Angeles. “The hypermasculine world of New Jersey is constantly trying to oppress and reject Ponyboi, because they have a much softer, feminine energy they want to project.”
The contrast between the tenderness of Ponyboi’s interiority and the harshness of their reality is what Arango focused on.
Though Arango hesitated to take on the film, given that he is not queer, his personal history as an immigrant functioned as an entry point into this tale of shifting, complex identities. Still, throughout the entire process, Arango was clear that, first and foremost, “Ponyboi” was a story centering intersex people — and all those who don’t fit into the rigid gender binary.
“Their plight should be our plight, because they are at the forefront of what it means to be free,” he says. “When somebody attacks them or doesn’t understand why they present themselves as they are, it’s really an attack on all of us, and it’s a reflection of our misunderstanding of ourselves.”
“The intersex narrative in [trans legislation] is invisible and not spoken about enough… These are also anti-intersex bills.”
Back in 2023, Gallo was one of three subjects in Julie Cohen’s incisive documentary “Every Body,” about the intersex experience, including the ways the medical industry performs unnecessary procedures in order to “normalize” intersex people.
Gallo confesses that for a long time they thought being intersex was something they would never feel comfortable talking about — something they even would take “to the grave,” as they put it.
“There’s no other way that I can explain the fact that now I’ve made so much work reflecting on my identity other than it being an act of God,” Gallo says. “Because I just had the feeling that the world needed it now, and also that I needed it now. I’m glad that ‘Ponyboi’ taught me about the agency that I have over my art and myself and my life.”
Anti-trans legislation, Gallo explains, includes loopholes enabling doctors to “normalize” intersex bodies and continue the medically unnecessary, and at times nonconsensual surgeries on intersex youth. “The intersex narrative in [trans legislation] is invisible and not spoken about enough,” they say. “These are also anti-intersex bills.”
To fully understand Gallo as a person and an artist, one should watch both “Every Body” and “Ponyboi.” The doc shows the bones of what made Gallo who they are without symbols, just the raw facts of how their intersex identity shaped them. “Ponyboi,” on the other hand, exposes their interior life with the poetry that the cinematic medium allows for.
However, what happens with “Ponyboi” now isn’t as important to Gallo as the fact that the movie exists as a testament of their totality as a creative force.
“Love my movie, hate my movie, I don’t care, because my movie healed something deep inside of me that I was waiting a lifetime to be healed from,” Gallo states fervently. “Intersex people are still invisible in this culture, but I can at least say that I don’t feel invisible to myself anymore. And it was all worth it for that.”
Citing a recent arrest by immigration agents that bloodied a man in the unincorporated area of Valinda, Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis said she wants the county to explore a legal counterattack against what she described as the federal government’s “unconstitutional immigration enforcement practices.”
In a statement Saturday, Solis said that she plans to co-sponsor a motion at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting asking the county’s attorney to explore “all legal remedies available to the County to protect the civil rights of our residents and prevent federal law enforcement personnel from engaging in any unconstitutional or unlawful immigration enforcement.”
Such conduct, the motion says, includes the “unlawfully stopping, questioning or detaining individuals without reasonable suspicion, or arresting individuals without probable cause or a valid warrant.”
“As these immigration raids continue to terrorize our communities, I’m deeply disturbed by the forceful detainment of a man in unincorporated Valinda. This incident raises serious concerns about the conduct and legality of these actions, and demonstrates a violation of constitutional rights and due process,” Solis, whose district stretches from Eagle Rock to Pomona, said in a statement.
The Trump administration’s ongoing crackdown on undocumented immigrants, the motion says, has sown widespread fear throughout the region and emptied out normally bustling public spaces, with people “avoiding going to work or visiting grocery stores and restaurants, skipping medical appointments.”
This has had a “tremendous negative impact” on not only the county’s economy, but also its “ability to provide for the health and welfare of our residents,” according to the motion.
The L.A. City Council introduced a similar motion earlier this month seeking to prohibit federal agents from carrying out unconstitutional stops, searches or arrests of city residents.
Federal officials have said their agents are defending themselves against increasingly hostile crowds, which in some cases are interfering with arrests.
Top officials, such as Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, have argued that the government’s raids are targeting “criminals that have been out on our street far too long.” A recent Times analysis suggested that the majority of those who were arrested in early June were not convicted criminals, however.
For weeks, social media has been flooded with videos of federal agents, their faces often shrouded by masks, violently arresting bystanders who are filming their actions, dragging a taco stand vendor by her arm and tossing smoke bombs into a crowd of angry onlookers. One widely circulated clip showed a military-style vehicle accompanying federal law enforcement officers during an apparent raid at a home in Compton earlier this month — part of what critics have called an alarming escalation in tactics.
Footage reviewed by The Times shows a person in the turret of the vehicle pointing what appears to be a less-lethal projectile launcher downward, but it’s unclear whether any shots were fired.
In her statement, Solis cited another federal operation that was at the center of a viral video.
That footage, shot by a bystander and obtained by ABC 7, shows federal agents in tactical vests and masks smashing the windows of a large white pickup truck before apparently pulling out a man from inside.
Several agents are later seen kneeling on top of the man who is bleeding from an apparent head wound, even as a crowd of onlookers demand that the man be released. In one clip, an agent is shown pushing the man’s face into the pavement.
Protestors throw flares at riot police after a student-led anti-government demonstration in Belgrade, Serbia, on Saturday evening. Photo by Andrej Cukic/EPA
June 28 (UPI) — Serbian police clashed with some protesters who marched in Belgrade on Saturday, while demanding an early election to replace President Aleksander Vucic and seat a new government.
The protest was scheduled from 6 p.m. to 9 local time but lasted about an hour longer, and some protesters threw flares at riot police, who were carrying shields and batons and at times used tear gas on protesters.
“There were clashes between police and protesters in Serbia’s capital of Belgrade on Saturday night as police tried to ensure security for a pro-government encampment near the national parliament,” the Balkan Insight news outlet reported on X.
Student organizers billed the event as the “See you on Vidovdan” protest, which drew tens of thousands of participants. Vidodvan is a Serbian national and religious holiday.
Before the protest got underway, Vucic on Saturday said he anticipated some violence, the Sarajevo Times reported.
“It is impossible for someone to invest huge money against a country without at least trying something,” Vucic said.
The Serbian president said a “lot of evil has been done to Serbia” by anti-government protests, which he called a “mistake.”
“Serbia is very strong. This is not a handful of oats that every crow is a pretty to,” Vucic said.
“We will do our best to be restrained,” he added. “The state will be preserved and defended, and the bullies will be brought to justice.”
Vucic said government and police officials anticipated violence occurring around the same time the protest was scheduled to end and were ready to handle it.
The protest organizers previously demanded early elections by Saturday.
Rowe is one of three players in England’s U21 Euros squad to play their club football abroad, along with Toulouse defender Charlie Cresswell and Genoa’s Brooke Norton Cuffy. Jobe Bellingham, now at Dortmund, was also named in the squad initially.
There are plenty of other recent success stories of young English players moving away from the UK, too, such as Angel Gomes at Lille and Conor Gallagher at Atletico Madrid.
But the move away for Rowe hasn’t been straightforward.
He started just six league games last season, with 22 more appearances coming from the bench.
“It’s been difficult for me personally, the whole season has been difficult,” said Rowe. “The change coming from Norwich, where I was a key player in the team and then coming here was a big challenge with the expectation to perform.
“I have embraced it, and it’s been difficult. I have been left out of the starting XI a lot of times, and it has obviously affected me a bit, I think everyone could see that. I carried on going, though, and that’s the main thing.
“Even though I was down some days, I had to look at the bigger picture, which is that collectively as a team we have a goal, and I have got to do as much as I can.”
A ‘rundown’ UK town that locals say has ‘gone downhill’ has been granted planning permission for two major upgrades in what has been described as a ‘huge milestone’
The town has a rather grim reputation, but that could soon change(Image: Huddersfield Examiner)
A tiny ‘rundown’ town that has grappled with its reputation for years is slated for a major transformation to the tune of £22.5 million.
Conveniently located between Leeds and Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, Dewsbury boasts a rich historical heritage – visible with its impressive Victorian-era architecture and parish church. While some may consider the region charming and under-appreciated – locals say Dewsbury has rapidly gone downhill.
Branded a ‘ghost town‘ due to its failing high-street and struggling market, residents have even gone as far as warning Brits not to visit. “We have lost all of our independent shops – there are no small independents anymore,” Richard Burns, who has been trading on the town’s market for more than 60 years, told Yorkshire Live.
“If you look at this side of town (by the market), it is basically all takeaways. There’s nothing to draw people into Dewsbury. If you come on a day when the market isn’t open, there’s no one walking around the town.
There’s been a huge advancement in the town’s regeneration plans(Image: Kirklees together)
Talks of regenerating the town have been in the air since 2018, casting doubt on whether they’ll ever come to fruition. However, last week (Tuesday, June 17) Kirklees Council announced planning permission had been granted for two key projects within the Dewsbury Blueprint – a 10-year plan that aims to bolster the attractiveness and accessibility of the town.
This consists of creating a new town park, which will be the largest green space within the centre – and is set to feature a dedicated outdoor area for children to ‘safely play and socialise’. “The approved plans include lots of open green spaces, seating and a substantial, partially enclosed play area, which will benefit from lots of interesting features for children of all ages to engage with and enjoy,” Kirklees Council said.
The new town park will add some much-needed greenery to Dewsbury(Image: Kirklees together)
“The plans also allow for potential water features, which could provide both a relaxing element for those enjoying the park and an interactive feature for the play area. There will also be an opportunity to include more art, with involvement from the local community.”
Dewsbury Market will also get a huge upgrade, with new demountable stalls that will allow for both an outdoor market area and a ‘flexible space to support events’. The indoor market will also be kitted out for a ‘variety’ of different markets and events, while maintaining the building’s ‘beautiful historic structure and character’.
The town’s famous market will also get upgraded(Image: Kirklees together)
“Now accepted, the plans for Dewsbury Market will create a more varied, day-to-night offering in Dewsbury town centre,” Kirklees Council added. “We aim to continue and improve the traditional market offering, whilst at the same time creating more areas for eating, drinking, socialising and events, giving people as many reasons as possible to visit Dewsbury.”
Councillor Graham Turner, Cabinet Member for Finance & Regeneration, hailed the announcement – stating it is an ‘incredibly exciting time’ for the town. “Once we unveiled our updated plans for Dewsbury Market, the adjoining park was very much the missing piece,” he added.
The council says the upgrades will be a ‘huge milestone’ for the town(Image: Kirklees together)
“These are both aspects of the town we know local people greatly care about, and they have a huge part to play in Dewsbury’s future. This approved planning application marries these two key elements within our Dewsbury Blueprint, and shows how different this part of town is going to look within the next few years – not even taking into account the amount of work we’re doing elsewhere in the town centre.”
Keith Ramsay, Chair of the Dewsbury Neighbourhood Board, also welcomed the planning permission approval, describing it as a ‘huge milestone’ for both Debwsbury Market and the new town park. “These are plans that will truly see Dewsbury town centre brought back to life, supporting the soon-to-reopen arcade and other town centre businesses, and cementing all we’re doing to future-proof Dewsbury’s heritage as a traditional market town – whilst creating a town centre that can thrive for future generations,” he said.
Speaking to the Mirror, Councillor Graham Turner, Cabinet Member for Finance & Regeneration confirmed the estimated costs for both the revamped market and town park is around £22.5 million. “That figure is made up of money from the government’s Towns Fund, which is aimed at regenerating town centres up and down the country, and our own capital funding,” he added.
When asked when the works will commence, Cllr Turner stated: “We’re currently working closely with traders to discuss next steps. We’ll soon be moving forward with procuring a contractor to complete the work, after which we’ll be able to provide a further, more detailed update which includes both costs and timelines.”
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Three batters into his third start of the year on Saturday, Shohei Ohtani showed some brief frustration.
With one out in the first inning — on a day he was trying to pitch into the second for the first time this year — Ohtani gave up a line drive single to Kansas City Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. Then, he walked Maikel Garcia on five pitches in the next at-bat, pulling four straight throws low and to the glove side to put two aboard.
As Ohtani received the ball back from catcher Dalton Rushing, he wore a stoic look, seemingly displeased with his lack of execution.
But he climbed back atop the mound, stared down the plate as Vinnie Pasquantino dug in, and absolutely bullied the Royals first baseman with three straight pitches.
A 99.2-mph fastball on the inside corner for strike one.
A 100.2-mph fastball on the inside black for strike two.
And then, a blistering 101.7-mph fastball — the hardest-thrown pitch of Ohtani’s MLB career — that Pasquantino took a helpless hack at, grounding into a tailor-made, inning-ending double-play.
Just like that, Ohtani was locked back in.
Though the Dodgers lost 9-5 to the Royals on Saturday, Ohtani turned in his best pitching performance yet. After escaping the first-inning jam, he retired the side in the second. Over 27 pitches, he threw 20 strikes and got three swings-and-misses, including on a 100-mph fastball and late-biting slider to strike out Jac Caglianone in the second.
Even over another small sample size, with Ohtani’s workload still limited as he works his way back from a second Tommy John surgery, the right-hander flashed the dominant potential of his stuff, both lighting up the radar gun and unleashing a flurry of unhittable off-speed offerings in his most complete performance yet since resuming his two-way role.
Things did not go well for the Dodgers (52-32) after Ohtani left the mound. Bulk man Ben Casparius gave up six runs in four innings, and now has a 7.82 ERA in his three outings piggybacking with Ohtani over the last three weeks.
He didn’t get much help from his defense, either. In the third inning, Teoscar Hernández failed to get to a flare down the right-field line with two outs, extending the inning ahead of a two-run double from Garcia in the next at-bat. Andy Pages also booted a ball in center field during a four-run rally from the Royals (39-44) in the fifth, an inning that was punctuated by a three-run, two-out homer from Pasquantino to center.
The Dodgers’ offense, meanwhile, never figured out crafty right-hander Seth Lugo, stranding all nine hitters who reached base against him (four hits and five walks) while striking out eight times.
Even though Freddie Freeman broke out of an extended slump with three hits, including a solo homer in the seventh inning, and two walks, the Dodgers never truly threatened to chip away at the lead until a four-run rally in the ninth, squandering a five-game winning streak to set up a series rubber match on Sunday.
All of that, however, paled in comparison to the impressiveness of Ohtani’s outing on the mound.
In his four innings so far this year, the 30-year-old has given up just one run and three hits. His fastball has routinely eclipsed 100 mph while his array of breaking stuff has kept opponents off balance.
The Dodgers are still being careful with Ohtani’s buildup, uncertain of when — or if — he will be fully stretched out for normal-length starts. But for now, the few innings he has contributed have been encouraging, quickly erasing any doubts about how his arm would respond from the second reconstructive elbow surgery of his career.
Pitching injury updates
It’ll be a little while longer before the Dodgers get more pitching reinforcements from triple-A Oklahoma City.
On Friday night, Tyler Glasnow gave up five runs on seven hits in his second rehab outing, but more consequentially managed only 2 ⅓ innings, well short of the four-inning goal the Dodgers had targeted for his start. Because of that, Roberts said Glasnow will likely need at least two more rehab starts before returning to the majors. He has been out since April because of a shoulder problem.
Emmet Sheehan’s next start will come in triple A, Roberts said, even after the right-hander pitched six perfect innings with 13 strikeouts earlier this week. Sheehan returned from Tommy John surgery earlier this month with a solid four-inning start for the Dodgers, but was optioned ahead of this road trip to continue building up in Oklahoma City. Sheehan will be a candidate to return to the majors after his next outing, perhaps near the end of the Dodgers’ upcoming homestand.
Back in Los Angeles, Blake Snell (shoulder) and Blake Treinen (forearm) continued their progression of bullpen sessions on Saturday, and are getting closer to throwing live sessions against hitters. Roki Sasaki (shoulder) has also continued to play catch and, according to Roberts, is finally “feeling really good” almost two months into his IL stint.
June 28 (UPI) — The latest version of the Senate’s federal budget reconciliation bill would limit the availability of student loans for future borrowers by revising federal student loan programs and regulations.
The budget bill that already has passed the House of Representatives and the Senate version would place a maximum amount on how much people could borrow through the federal Parent PLUS and graduate student loans to help them pay for their college educations.
The House-approved version would limit undergraduate borrowing to $50,000, while the Senate version would limit that amount to $65,000.
Graduate students would see limits of $100,000 for most master’s programs, while the borrowing limit for professional degrees would be $150,000 in the House version and $200,000 in the Senate bill.
Supporters of the proposed limits say they could save taxpayers more than $300 billion and make it harder for college and university administrators to raise tuition costs and fees.
Opponents say it would make it harder for disadvantaged students to attend college.
“It’s abundantly clear that the budget reconciliation package would reduce access to higher education and healthcare and jeopardize [the University of California’s] ability to carry out its public service mission,” Chris Harrington, U.C. associate vice president for Federal Governmental Relations, said on Monday in a letter to the state’s House delegation in May.
The House-approved bill would eliminate Pell Grants for part-time students, subsidized loans for undergrads and Graduate PLUS loans for graduate and professional students, according to the University of California.
It also would limit eligibility for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid benefits for low-income students.
The Senate’s version of the proposed fiscal year 2026 budget reconciliation bill numbers 940 pages and might be voted on as soon as Saturday night.
Protesters denounced the Amazon billionaire’s multimillion-dollar wedding in Venice as the city deals with environmental concerns.
Hundreds of protesters marched through Venice to say “no” to Amazon founder and billionaire Jeff Bezos’s wedding on its third day of a multimillion-dollar celebration.
The world’s fourth-richest man, Bezos, and his bride, Lauren Sanchez Bezos, got married in a private ceremony on Friday with about 200 celebrity guests on the secluded island of San Giorgio.
But before the final party on Saturday evening as part of a three-day wedding event, protesters filled Venice’s central streets and held banners that read “Kisses Yes, Bezos No” and “No Bezos, no War”.
Another poster read: “The planet is burning, but don’t worry, here’s the list of the 27 dresses of Lauren Sanchez.”
For the past few days, residents have protested across the city over what they have said is anger as Venice suffers from over-tourism, high housing costs and the constant threat of climate-induced flooding.
Activists stage a protest on the Rialto Bridge in Venice, Italy [Luca Bruno/AP]
Martina Vergnano, one of the demonstrators, said they were here to “continue ruining the plans of these rich people, who accumulate money by exploiting many other people … while the conditions of this city remain precarious”.
According to the Venetian Environmental Research Association, Bezos donated 1 million euros ($1.17m) each to three environmental research organisations working to preserve Venice.
Flavio Cogo, a resident who also joined Saturday’s protest, said they want a “free Venice, which is finally dedicated to its citizens”.
“Those donations are just a misery and only aimed at clearing Bezos’ conscience,” Cogo said.
Venetian businesses and political leaders welcomed the wedding, despite the protests, and hailed it as a significant economic boost.
Mayor Luigi Brugnaro said those protesting were “in contradiction with the history of Venice, which is a history of relations, contacts and business”.
“Bezos embodies the Venetian mentality. He is more Venetian than the protesters,” said the centre-right mayor, adding that he hoped Bezos would return to the city to do business.
Demonstrators take part in a protest against Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, on the third day of Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez Bezos’s wedding festivities, in Venice, Italy [Manuel Silvestri/Reuters]
The second anniversary of the L.A. Times Plants newsletter is upon us. It started with roughly 3,000 readers back in July 2023 and now has more than 12,000 subscribers, strong evidence that Southern Californians care deeply about plants, gardening and our region’s changing landscapes.
Many thanks for your continued interest and support!
Per usual, this issue includes a list of plant-related events and activities below, but first I’d like to revisit a story from the first Plants newsletter with the happy news that while the wheels of progress often move slowly (or sometimes even backward) progress can happen, if the players just hang on.
A crow takes a drink from the small creek that runs through the Westwood Greenway between Overland Avenue and Westwood Boulevard in Los Angeles, along the Exposition rail line.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
Two years ago, this newsletter’s inaugural story was about the “lovely but puzzling” Paul Koretz Westwood Greenway, an oasis of fragrant native plants and a burbling stream along a wide, curvy trail between Overland Avenue and Westwood Boulevard next to the Metro E line.
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“The project was a triumph for the Rancho Park community members who lobbied hard against early plans to build a 170-space parking lot on the site to serve Metro riders,” I wrote in 2023. “They envisioned an inviting green space for the neighborhood and an eco-friendly showcase for turning unused nuggets of city land into lush native plant habitats for birds, pollinators and other local critters.”
That vision was realized when the project was completed in October 2020, except for one thing: The public couldn’t get in.
The greenway wasn’t meant to be a park, the builders said. It was designed to capture water running through neighborhood gutters and clean out the nasties it collects along the way, such as road dirt and dog urine, before it reaches the ocean. The cleaning is done by exposing the water to sunlight and filtering it through native plants like cattails before it returns to storm drains and, eventually, the Santa Monica Bay.
But advocates in the community support group Westwood Greenway Inc. noted that the space was also supposed to be a demonstration garden of sorts, to encourage similar projects around L.A. Members of the nonprofit group had a key to let them enter the space for volunteer weeding parties or monthly tours, but otherwise the site was kept behind glass (or, in this case, an ugly chain-link fence) much to the frustration of longtime advocate Jonathan Weiss, president of Westwood Greenway Inc., and Annette Mercer, the board’s chair.
Orange spires of apricot mallow frame the work of Alexis Wieland, a former board member for Westwood Greenway Inc. as he pulls weeds near the Metro E train line in June 2023.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
“The point was to educate the public,” Weiss said, “but how do we do that if it’s behind a damn fence?”
But two years later, I’m happy to report that the wheels kept moving, albeit “very, very, very slowly,” Mercer said. When Phase 2 of the project is completed this summer, the public will finally have daily access to the greenway via gates that automatically unlock at 8 a.m. and lock up again at 6 p.m.
Phase 2 was supposed to be completed on June 30 Weiss said, but a week before, he was notified that the finish date had been pushed to Aug. 1. The delay is disappointing, he said, “but this is just a hiccup. After five years, I’m extremely excited it will be open to the public. It’s finally coming, so I’m not going to sweat an extra month.”
The L.A. Sanitation project includes installing taller fences at the east and west edges of the greenway, building an ADA ramp from the Metro stop near Overland Avenue to the greenway trail, and repairing the decomposed granite (DG) path that was damaged by trucks coming into the area, said Leo Daube, communications director for Los Angeles City Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky, whose Council District 5 oversees the area.
And that’s not the only good news. Westwood Greenway Inc. and the Nature Nexus Institute, a nonprofit focused on nature education, got a $100,842 grant from the Measure W-funded Safe Clean Water Program in May. The grant will help pay for a Nature Nexus Institute-trained employee to develop an education program about the greenway’s purpose and history and bring in visitors for tours, Weiss said. The grant will also pay for a small trailer at the west end of the greenway so the employee has a place to work, and a porta-potty at the site (although right now it’s not certain anyone besides the employee will be able to use the toilet. The community group has asked the city council to install public modular restrooms for the visiting public).
Bright purple blooms of native Cleveland sage highlight spiky copper-colored clumps of deergrass and bright green coyote brush inside the Paul Koretz Westwood Greenway, which will be open to the public later this summer.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
There are still concerns, Weiss said. The greenway has two sections that run north and south of the Metro E Line and bike trail. The weeds have returned with vigor since construction began on the north side because volunteers can’t get in until the work is completed, Mercer said. And the area to the south, where stormwater runs through more native plant filters before returning to the drains, will remain fenced off to visitors even after Phase 2 is complete.
But the grant is getting them much closer to their goals. Weiss hopes the council will allow them to install signs along the bike trail to help passersby understand they’re not just looking at pretty flowers behind that chain-link fence but California native plants that can save water and create habitats for threatened pollinators and wildlife.
His disappointment about the delay suddenly vanishes as he lays out the possibilities. “What an opportunity to educate people!” he exclaimed, his enthusiasm still evident — and inspiring — despite his many years of lobbying and waiting. And that, folks, — that sometimes annoyed, sometimes frustrated but always unrelenting passion — may be the secret sauce to getting things done.
Speaking of slow-but-sweet success stories: Here’s another about rhubarb, a tangy garden staple that grows like a weed in colder climes but is rarely seen in SoCal gardens because it prefers freezing winters. Thanks to the tenacity of the West L.A Chapter of the California Rare Fruit Growers, varieties nurtured in Australia are growing with gusto around L.A. and available for you to buy for planting through the chapter’s annual Rhubarb Rodeo.
This rhubarb variety, named Success, has deep red stalks — the only edible part of the plant — and a sweeter flavor than most. Just avoid the leaves, which are high in toxic oxalic acid.
(Ronni Kern)
It all started in 2020 when chapter President Ronni Kern, a Rhode Island native now living in Santa Monica, got a hankering for the rhubarb she loved as a child. She learned the great plant breeder Luther Burbank successfully developed varieties from New Zealand to grow in Southern California in the late 1800s, but those strains disappeared after Burbank died in 1926. After a long search, she discovered tasty, heat-resistant varieties developed by Australian farmers Colin and Tina Clayton of French Harvest and bought several types of their rhubarb seeds for chapter members to grow.
The results were spectacular, she said, so successful that in 2022 the chapter began selling rhubarb plants as a fundraiser. They are offering four varieties this year — including Success (the tastiest and deepest red of all, according to Kern) and Tina’s Noble, hands down the easiest to grow, she said. Prices are $10 for plants in 5-inch pots or $20 or $25 for gallon pots, but no mail order; you must drive to Culver City or Santa Monica to pick them up.
This rhubarb variety, named Tina’s Noble, has paler stalks than Success, but it has good flavor and grows well. Just be sure to only eat the stalks since the leaves are high in toxic oxalic acid.
(Ronni Kern)
Rhubarb is a vegetable that grows in tall reddish stalks topped by big broad leaves. The plant is so rare in Southern California that people sometimes confuse it with chard, “but you must never eat rhubarb leaves,” Kern said, because they contain high levels of toxic oxalic acid. Just snap off the leaves and eat the reddish celery-shaped stalks, which add a nice, tart bite to sweet desserts or can even be roasted.
You can buy rhubarb at local farmers markets, Kern said, from people who grow the plants as annuals, but she believes their flavor and pale color are far inferior to the plants she and other chapter members are growing from the Aussie seed. A last note about growing rhubarb in SoCal: the plants don’t require lots of water — Kern just uses drip irrigation twice a week — but they do prefer cooler temps. So the hotter your area, she said, the more shade the plants will require, whether from a tree or 90% shade cloth strung up on supports.
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Jeanette Marantos gives you a roundup of upcoming plant-related activities and events in Southern California, along with our latest plant stories.
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Upcoming events
Through July 15 Applications for Conejo Valley Audubon Society Lawns to Habitat & Ashes to Habitat Grants; successful applicants will receive $250 worth of bird-friendly native plants (roughly 40 to 50 plants at wholesale prices) for their new residential landscapes. Applicants must live in Agoura Hills, unincorporated Agoura, Oak Park, Simi Valley, Moorpark, Westlake Village, Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park or Camarillo and certify they have no outdoor cats with access to the property. Ashes to Habitat applicants must also show proof that the project property was within a neighborhood affected by fires from 2018 to present, but successful applicants will also receive a higher financial grant and extended time for ordering and planting. Full details available online. wp.conejovalleyaudubon.org
Through August 6 Apply for free Xerces Society Southern California Residential Habitat Kits, for residential properties, schoolyards, community gardens and urban gardens in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Santa Barbara, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura counties. The kits include 22 plants from 10 different species, sufficient to cover about 150 to 200 square feet, designed to support threatened insects such as monarch butterflies and native bumblebees. The kits must be picked up Dec. 9-13 in (no deliveries or special orders) and planted within the month after pickup. Recipients will be required to email photographic evidence of the kit being planted and pledge not to use pesticides. xerces.org
July 5 & 6 Introduction to Wild Buckwheats (Eriogonum) of California, a two-day class starting in a classroom at 9 a.m. until noon at the California Botanic Garden in Claremont on July 5. The next day, participants will meet at Big Bear Lake from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. to observe the many varieties of buckwheat in the wild. Participants must provide their own transportation. Register online, $125 ($110 for members of California Botanic Garden). calbg.org
July 5, 12 South Bay Parkland Conservancy El Segundo Blue butterfly walks at 10:30 a.m or 12:30 p.m., both days near Miramar Park in Redondo Beach. The free guided walks will be led by conservancy board members Ann Dakley, Esplanade Bluff Restoration Project biologist, and Mary Simun. Registration is required. southbayparks.org
July 5 Wizarding World of Plants Family Hike Night and Adult Night Hike, 5:30-7 p.m. for the family hike night and 7:30 to 9 p.m. for the adult night hike at the Los Angeles County Arboretum in Arcadia. Learn the secrets behind wands, wishing trees and other plant folklore and myths. Tickets are $20 ($15 for members) for the family hike night and $25 ($20 members) for the adult night hike. arboretum.org
July 6, 20, Aug. 1, 10, 17 Twilight Estate Tours at the Huntington, a 90-minute docent-led walking tour of the gardens explaining how Henry E. and Arabella Huntington turned their San Marino Ranch into the famous gardens, library and museums. Tours are offered at 5 and 5:30 p.m. each day. Advance registration required. Tickets are $49 adults, $39 children 4-11. huntington.org
July 8, 15 & 22 Three-part California Native Garden Design taught by Phil Davis, principal designer of Green House landscape design, 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. each day at the Theodore Payne Foundation in Sun Valley. Learn how to evaluate your existing garden, convert existing irrigation systems and consider different design approaches for a garden of California native plants. The foundation’s online course Right Plant, Right Place ($39.19 or $28.52 for members) is a prerequisite and should be taken in tandem with the design course. Register online for the design course, $348.65 ($295.29 for members) or $412.67 for couples working on one project ($359.32 for members). eventbrite.com
July 10-11, Aug. 14-15, Sept. 25-26 and Oct. 23-24 Southern California Garden Club 27th Gardening School, a series of four ten-hour courses offered by National Garden Clubs since 1958. “Courses are designed to stimulate interest in all phases of landscape design and to develop greater appreciation, pride and knowledge about residential, public and historic gardens.” Each 10-hour course is $85 ($70 for members), or $300 ($240 for members) for all four. The classes will run from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. each day at the Sepulveda Center in Encino. Register online. socalgardenclub.org
July 12 BioBlitz at California State University, Northridge, G.A.R.D.E.N. to learn about creating habitat for pollinators from 9 to 11 a.m. on the half-acre campus site managed by the Institute for Sustainability. The free event will be led by two Xerces Society endangered-species conservation biologists, monarch overwintering specialist Sara Cuadra-Vargas and pollinator habitat specialist Giovanni Di Franco who helped develop the society’s habitat kit program. The event is free but registration is required. xerces.org
Efficient Watering for Fruit Trees and Vegetable Gardens, a free workshop by the Chino Basin Water Conservation District, 9 a.m. to noon at the Waterwise Community Center in Montclair. Scott Kleinrock, the district’s conservation programs manager, will demonstrate two approaches to irrigating fruit trees and how to build and run drip irrigation systems for vegetable gardens. Registration online. cbwcd.org
Santa Rita Hills Lavender Farm’s 2nd Lavender Festival from noon to 5 p.m. in Lompoc. The event includes an artisan’s market, pony rides for children, classes in making lavender wreaths and distilling lavender oil, lavender-flavored food and drink and, of course, blooming fields of lavender. Tickets are $12 if purchased in advance or $20 at the gate. santaritahillslavender.com
Irrigation Basics for Native Plants, a walk-and-talk class led by Erik Blank, horticulture educator at the Theodore Payne Foundation from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the foundation nursery in Sun Valley. Learn about a variety of irrigation methods for native gardens during the dry months. Register online, $39.19 ($28.52 members) eventbrite.com
California Native Plant Cyanotype Printing, a class photographing native plants using one of the earliest photographic printing methods taught by multimedia artist and naturalist Hannah Perez, from noon to 2 p.m. at the Theodore Payne Foundation in Sun Valley. All materials provided. Register online, $60.54 ($49.87 members). eventbrite.com
Reptiles of Theodore Payne: A walk-and-talk course with Diego Blanco, a research assistant at the Occidential College Lab of Ornithology and reptile fan, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Theodore Payne Foundation in Sun Valley. Learn about the various lizards and snakes of Southern California’s mountains and chaparrals. Participants are encouraged to wear closed-toe shoes, long pants and sun protection, and bring binoculars for easier viewing from a distance. Register online, $39.19 ($28.52 members). eventbrite.com
Bind Your Own Nature Sketch Book, noon to 4 p.m. at California Botanic Garden in Claremont. Create a handmade sketchbook with natural papers and “nature-themed embellishments” in a class taught by mixed-media artist Christina Frausto of Rotten Apple Studio. All materials provided. Register online, $70 ($60 members). calbg.org
July 16 Propagatng California Native Plants from Seed with Ella Andersson, chief botanical technician for the Theodore Payne Foundation in Sun Valley, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Each student will take home the seeds they have sown from 10 species of native seeds. All materials provided. Register online, $92.55 ($81.88 members). eventbrite.com
July 18-19 11th Plumeria Festival at the Los Angeles County Arboretum in Arcadia from 4 to 8 p.m. on July 18 and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on July 19. The festival includes talks by experts and more than 20 vendors selling plumeria, staghorn ferns, epiphyllums, hibiscus, succulents and other plants, as well as garden art and supplies. arboretum.org
Planning and Caring for a Southern California Rain Garden, 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. at California Botanic Garden in Claremont. The garden’s senior horticulturist, Jennifer Chebahtah, explains the importance of creating rain gardens in urban and residential areas, along with tips for how to make them. Register online, $38 ($28 members). calbg.org
Guided Family Nature Walk at White Point Nature Preserve in San Pedro at 10:30 a.m. with naturalists from the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy to discover the wildlife, plants and beautiful ocean views in the coastal sage scrub habitat. Meet in front of the Nature Center. The walk is free. Reservations are not required. pvplc.org
July 26 Intro to Waterwise Home Landscape Renovation and Turf Replacement Rebates, a free workshop by the Chino Basin Water Conservation District, 9 a.m. to noon at the Waterwise Community Center in Montclair. Jacob Jones, the district’s conservation and sprinkler evaluation specialist, will discuss the benefits and basics of turf-removal rebate projects and converting to a low-water landscape. Register online. cbwcd.org
Where have all the gardeners gone? Immigration raids are worrying Southern California’s undocumented gardeners, the workers so prevalent in suburban neighborhoods that the sound of weed whackers and leaf blowers can feel like ambient noise. “People are afraid,” one gardener said, “but they still have to work.”
The second, final and most complicated stage of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing starts this month. The project won’t be completed before the end of 2026, but already the first non-insect wildlife has been spotted on the structure that currently leads to nowhere — a Western fence lizard that somehow climbed 75 feet up to the top.
This year’s jacaranda bloom in L.A. was short a few trees following the January wildfires, but experts say many burned trees will recover. Just give them water and time, arborists say.
Are these community gardens or playgrounds for the rich? Santa Monica officials are set to approve 200% price hikes on community garden plots, with the largest plots going for $600 a year.
Who: Paris Saint-Germain vs Inter Miami What: FIFA Club World Cup round of 16 Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, United States When: Sunday, June 30 at 12pm (16:00 GMT)
How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 9am local (13:00 GMT) in advance of our live text commentary stream.
FIFA’s Club World Cup serves up a treat in the round of 16 as Lionel Messi leads Inter Miami against his former club, Paris Saint-Germain.
The Argentinian international forward joined the French giants, and now first-time European champions, from the club he represented since childhood, Barcelona.
PSG’s coveted European success was not forthcoming, and Messi headed for new pastures with his 2023 move to Major League Soccer.
Now, Messi faces a PSG side shorn of many of the Galacticos recruited to seal European glory, but full of youthful exuberance and riding the crest of their Champions League wave.
Al Jazeera Sport takes a closer look at the match.
Why does Messi’s Miami vs PSG carry such weight?
When PSG meet Inter Miami, it will mark a rare reunion of European football greats, all layered with old loyalties, recent regrets and the chance for Lionel Messi to settle a score.
Sunday’s game features a compelling contrast of eras – a PSG side powered by youth and energy fresh off their maiden Champions League title, and an Inter Miami team built around ageing-but-iconic former Barcelona stars.
On the PSG touchline, Luis Enrique comes face to face with four players he once led at Barcelona: Messi, Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets.
They are all now reunited under Miami coach Javier Mascherano, another figure from Luis Enrique’s treble-winning era at Camp Nou.
“Luis Enrique is a phenomenon,” Alba said this week. “I’m excited to see him and will give him a hug, but when the ref blows the opening whistle, we’ll try to beat him.”
Suarez, now 38, reflected on his former manager’s impact: “I already had a competitive DNA, but he injected even more into me,” he said.
Lionel Messi during training before the match against PSG [Hannah Mckay/Reuters]
Do the Barcelona contingent have history with PSG?
In another layer of intrigue, Miami’s contingent of former Barcelona players were all part of 2017’s “Remontada” against PSG.
That was PSG’s darkest night, when Barca thrashed them 6-1 in Spain after losing 4-0 in Paris in their last-16 Champions League tie.
That was when Miami’s veterans were at their peak.
Now, they rely on memory and rhythm, while PSG’s core has been reshaped by a rising generation: Bradley Barcola, Desire Doue and Vitinha have helped inject fresh energy into Luis Enrique’s system, culminating in a Champions League triumph just weeks ago.
How did PSG fare in the group stage?
The Parisian side arrive in Atlanta after a 1–0 loss to Brazil’s Botafogo in the group stage, which raised questions about fatigue following a long European season.
Though PSG remain heavy favourites on paper, that defeat showed cracks in a squad that has played more high-stakes matches than most of their rivals.
PSG took their group with wins in their opening games against Atletico Madrid and Seattle Sounders.
How did Inter Miami fare in the group stage?
Inter Miami finished second in their group behind Palmeiras with one win and two draws to their name.
“It will be an honour for me facing a great coach, one of the greatest I’ve had in my career,” said Mascherano of Luis Enrique.
Now in his first major club coaching role, Mascherano brings an emotional edge and tactical sharpness to a Miami side that, while physically limited by age, can still threaten, especially with Messi in form.
The Argentina great endured a turbulent two-year stint at PSG after leaving Barcelona in 2021. Though he won domestic silverware, Messi never found peace in Paris and, after his World Cup win in 2022, some fans turned on him.
“I didn’t enjoy myself at PSG,” Messi told reporters earlier this year. “It was a tough period.”
Mascherano believes that memory still drives him.
“When something’s stuck in his mind, Messi gives a little extra,” he said this week.
Messi is pictured with PSG teammates including Neymar, Marquinhos, Marco Verratti, Kylian Mbappe, Achraf Hakimi and Sergio Ramos after winning the 2023 Ligue 1 title in France [Benoit Tessier/Reuters]
What went so wrong for Messi at PSG?
PSG had made it to the Champions League final and then semifinals in the two seasons prior to Messi’s arrival, so he looked like the final piece in the jigsaw.
Instead, they went backwards with him in the side, going out of Europe’s elite club competition in the last 16 two years running.
Having to fit in Messi, with his estimated annual salary of 30 million euros ($35.2 million) after tax, as well as Neymar and Mbappe, may have increased the star appeal, but it weakened them as a team.
Towards the end, the Barcelona legend was even being jeered by some sections of the PSG support who felt Messi’s commitment to the cause was not what it should have been.
Messi was a PSG player when he inspired Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar in late 2022, but there were only flashes of his genius at club level in France.
His statistics stand up to any scrutiny, with 32 goals and 35 assists in 75 appearances, and he did win two Ligue 1 titles while helping increase PSG’s value as a brand.
Miami coach Javier Mascherano, meanwhile, believes the unhappy memory of his time in Paris could spur Messi on.
“It’s clear that for us it’s better if he plays angry, because he’s one of those players who, when he has something on his mind, gives an extra effort,” Mascherano told ESPN.
How did PSG fare last season?
PSG’s stunning 5-0 demolition of Inter Milan in Munich at the end of last month, which allowed them to win the UEFA Champions League for the first time, completed an incredible treble-winning season for the Qatar-backed side under the coaching of Luis Enrique.
How did Inter Miami fare last season?
Miami finished as the club with the most points in Major League Soccer’s (MLS) regular season, handing them a place at the Club World Cup instead of LA Galaxy, who won the MLS Cup, which is regarded as the highest prize in the MLS.
FIFA announced Miami’s addition to the Club World Cup in October after they broke MLS’s regular-season points record with a 6-2 win over New England Revolution to reach 74 points, one better than the previous record set by New England in 2021.
PSG team news
Ousmane Dembele has just resumed training after overcoming a hamstring injury, but may not even be fit enough for the bench.
Goncalo Ramos and Bradley Barcola are vying to start with Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in. Youngster Senny Mayulu was selected for the match against Seattle in Dembele’s role.
Inter Miami team news
Jordi Alba has returned from injury and will challenge youngster Noah Allen for the left-back position.
Drake Callender, Gonzalo Lujan and Yannick Bright are all still sidelined. Veteran goalkeeper Oscar Ustari will continue to deputise for the former.
June 28 (UPI) — President Donald Trump cited potential Canadian taxes on U.S. tech companies as his reason for ending trade talks with Canada on Friday.
The tech taxes on Amazon, Google, Meta and other U.S. tech firms are due on Monday, and Trump said it is a deal-breaker.
“We have just been informed that Canada … has just announced that they are putting a Digital Services Tax on our American technology companies,” Trump said in a Truth Social post on Friday.
He called the tax a “direct and blatant attack on our country” and accused Canada of “copying the European Union, which has done the same thing.”
“We are hereby terminating all discussions on trade with Canada, effective immediately,” Trump said.
His administration in the coming week will notify Canadian officials of the tariff that it will have to pay to do business in the United States, Trump added.
Trump last week attended the G7 economic trade summit hosted by Canada and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and sought common ground on trade talks, The Washington Post reported.
Officials at U.S. tech firms oppose the Canadian tax, the amount of which is based on the revenues generated by Canadians’ use of e-commerce sites, social media and the sales of data.
All tech companies that generate more than $14.59 million from such services would be subject to the new 3% Digital Services Tax.
The tax is retroactive to 2022 and could cost U.S.-based tech firms up to $3 billion, NBC News reported.
Upon learning of Trump halting trade talks, Canadian officials on Friday limited U.S. steel imports and placed a 50% surcharge on steel imports that surpass the quota.
Canadian Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said the surcharge will help to protect Canadian steel against what he called “unjust U.S. tariffs.”
He said the Canadian government is prepared to take additional actions, if necessary.
From negotiating with Iran to bombing its nuclear facilities and then brokering a ceasefire, Trump’s erratic pivots appear to be driven more by optics than coherent diplomacy. Mainstream Western news outlets, however, are making the job easier – painting Iran as an existential threat while downplaying Israel’s illegal actions.
Contributors:
Roxane Farmanfarmaian – Senior fellow, European Leadership Network Seamus Malekafzali – Journalist Mohsen Milani – Author, Iran’s Rise and Rivalry with the US Samira Mohyeddin – Journalist, On the Line Media
On our radar
Few atrocities compare to the massacres Israel is perpetrating, repeatedly, against starving refugees in Gaza – yet they are receiving minimal attention in mainstream media. Nic Muirhead reports on the latest developments at the aid distribution sites that have turned into death traps.
Assal Rad: “It’s really important to get headlines right”
Over the past 20 months, historian Assal Rad has been correcting misleading mainstream news headlines on Israel’s genocide in Gaza. She talks us through the unmistakable parallels she has noticed with the coverage of Israel’s 12-day war with Iran.
Featuring: Assal Rad – Non-resident fellow, Arab Center Washington DC
Duo Bob Vylan started chants of ‘Free Palestine’ and ‘death to the IDF’ while on Glastonbury’s West Holts stage on Saturday afternoon before Kneecap performed
