SOUTH BEND, Ind. — 

On Jan. 1, Pete Buttigieg’s second term ended, and the “Mayor Pete” era in South Bend was over. In the Democratic presidential candidate’s telling, he presided over a Rust Belt comeback story in Indiana’s fourth-largest city, a metaphor for what is possible elsewhere in America.

Before Buttigieg took office in 2012, downtown had been moribund for decades. Aging, abandoned homes dragged down spirits in poorer neighborhoods. Unemployment was high, wages low, evictions common. White residents were fleeing by the thousands. A Newsweek article declared South Bend, population 101,860, one of America’s “dying cities.”

For the record:

11:05 AM, Jan. 09, 2020
An earlier version of this story said Pete Buttigieg had called his demotion of South Bend’s black police chief his “first serious mistake as mayor.” Buttigieg wrote in his memoir that the mistake was his initial support of the chief.

Today, unemployment in the Greater South Bend area is less than 4%, down from nearly 10%; development has accelerated in the city’s downtown; and the population has stopped shrinking. Local business boosters recently raised street banners that said, “Thanks Mayor Pete.”

“South Bend’s trajectory has been transformed,” Buttigieg said in his farewell address to the city’s Common Council on Dec. 9.

That’s the resume that Buttigieg is promoting to make the jump from mayor to president. It’s a part of his appeal to Democrats who are anxious to win back Rust Belt voters who defected from the party in 2016.

But there’s a hitch. Among residents of color, who make up nearly half of South Bend’s population, reviews of Buttigieg’s legacy are noticeably mixed — some positive, some outright hostile.

The local criticism has taken on national importance in the Democratic primary, where he has struggled to attract voters who aren’t white. It’s a weakness that’s been offset by Buttigieg’s significant support in the two states that hold the first nominating contests, Iowa and New Hampshire, where black and Latino voters are deeply underrepresented compared with the Democratic Party overall.

“Pete isn’t ready to lead the free world, a world of huge diversity and tremendous need. He is not ready. That’s all I can say behind that,” said Common Council member Henry Davis Jr., one of Buttigieg’s most vocal critics, who unsuccessfully ran against the mayor in 2015.

But other black leaders have rallied to Buttigieg’s side, including the area’s NAACP president, Michael Patton, who has said he’s “grateful to Mayor Pete” for his work.

Life remains a struggle for many South Bend residents. Poverty is still stubbornly high, and homeless residents are a regular sight.

The Greater South Bend area “has become more segregated between White and African American/Black residents since 2010,” according to a forthcoming regional housing report prepared by South Bend and neighboring Mishawaka. (The report did not examine segregation data in South Bend alone, though the city is by far the most populous town in the metropolitan statistical area that was analyzed.)

The city also has “one of the highest foreclosure rates in the United States,” with an eviction rate that is “extremely high,” the report said. In South Bend, racial discrimination is the primary factor cited by tenants when making fair-housing complaints, bucking the national trend, where disability is the most common complaint, according to the report.

Buttigieg’s campaign defended his record, saying he devoted resources to a variety of programs to create affordable housing, fund home repairs and increase shelter capacity for homeless residents, while pointing to some forces that were beyond the city’s control.

“Indiana has pretty hostile laws toward tenants, unfortunately,” campaign spokesman Sean Savett said of the city’s foreclosure and eviction numbers.

Seymour Barker, 74, of Granger, Ind., who helps run a community development corporation, 466 Works, that receives grants from South Bend to help build new housing on the southeast side, said “the city has supported us every step of the way, and it’s all happened under the administration of Mayor Pete.”

“I can’t tell you the experience of other African Americans under him,” Barker said, “but that’s been our experience with him.”

::

After taking office, Buttigieg went to work on the city’s blight, launching an initiative to repair or demolish 1,000 abandoned or derelict homes in 1,000 days, a goal he reached ahead of schedule.

Common Council member Regina Williams-Preston, an occasional critic from the city’s black community, accused Buttigieg of moving too quickly against property owners who didn’t have the money to make repairs right away. Buttigieg acknowledged the program needed some adjustments.

But other residents happily welcomed Buttigieg’s demolition work. On a recent Thursday afternoon in December, two South Bend Bureau of Streets trucks rumbled by as James Underwood strung up Christmas lights outside a home on the 1100 block of Johnson Street, the block that saw the most houses targeted for repair or removal, according to city data.

As a result of that program, Underwood, a 60-year-old factory worker, bought a condemned home to fix up, between shifts, to give to one of his four children. He’s still trying to track down the absentee owner to finalize the sale, but he couldn’t be happier that two abandoned “eyesores” across the street had been razed.

“I would put a vote toward him because of what he did in this neighborhood and others,” Underwood said of Buttigieg. As he spoke, city workers in green vests piled out of their trucks to clear leaves from the sidewalks outside a home charred by a fire.

As Buttigieg progressed through his administration, he benefited from some fortunate timing. He arrived in office after the worst shocks of the Great Recession and then served through an uninterrupted run of national growth.

During Buttigieg’s first year, South Bend processed construction permits for commercial and residential projects valued at $69.8 million, city data showed. Within four years, in 2016, that figure had blossomed to $190 million.

Buttigieg harnessed that growth to lure new private investment. In the city’s downtown, Buttigieg invested public dollars to make the streets more walkable and to help finance some private development. Two new hotels opened, and young professionals started moving in, which boosted neighborhood merchants.

When South Bend native Peg Dalton opened her restaurant in 2001, since renamed Peggs, “there was literally not a car on the street,” she said. As she spoke to a reporter, the spaces outside her restaurant that day were all taken.

Buttigieg cultivated local business leaders to draw support for his political initiatives, according to Dalton, telling them on issues such as raising pay for city workers or changing the flow of city streets downtown: “I need your support on the ground.”

“He’s not afraid to ruffle feathers and get a job done that he thinks needs to be done,” said Dalton, 55.

One of the biggest changes to South Bend under Buttigieg’s administration was the growth of the city’s Latino population, now estimated to make up more than 15% of the city’s residents. Buttigieg pushed for an identification-card program designed so residents without ID, including immigrants, could get access to social services.

Paul Beltran, 33, a healthcare case manager who emigrated from Ecuador and a volunteer at his church, Vida Nueva Church of God, credited Buttigieg for being “accessible and present” and for the times he addressed residents in Spanish.

“It’s not 100% fluent,” Beltran said of Buttigieg’s Spanish, but “he could carry a conversation, to a point.”

Nanci Flores, a prominent local activist, said there was still work to be done to assist the city’s immigrant community. But “even when we don’t always get it right, I still see a city working to follow a compassionate and inclusive example,” Flores said.

Buttigieg’s relationship with black residents, who make up more than a quarter of the city’s population, has been much rockier.

Some black residents began distrusting Buttigieg when he demoted the black police chief less than three months after arriving in office. There were allegations that the chief had improperly recorded white officials accused of making racist comments. In his memoir, Buttigieg wrote that initially supporting the chief had been his “first serious mistake as mayor.”

During Buttigieg’s tenure, the number of black police officers also dropped by nearly half, according to the South Bend Tribune.

Tensions erupted in June after a white South Bend police officer shot and killed a black man, Eric Jack Logan. The officer, who didn’t have his body camera turned on, said Logan had threatened him with a knife. Angry black residents heckled Buttigieg at a town hall meeting. “We don’t trust you!” one woman shouted.

“It’s a mess. And we’re hurting,” Buttigieg said of the shooting in the June presidential debate.

As with many such protests around the nation, the angst went much deeper than a single shooting.

“I have been here all my life, and you have not done a damn thing about me or my son or none of these people out here,” Logan’s distraught mother, Shirley Newbill, told Buttigieg at a protest. “It’s time for you to do something.”

But Underwood, the factory worker, who is black, said he thought some of the criticism of Buttigieg was “overblown.”

“One guy can’t fix all the problems,” Underwood said. “You can’t blame one guy.”

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MUSCATINE, Iowa — 

Bernie Sanders sounded awkwardly gringo in naming the Latino politician he thanked for introducing him, and he bungled the Spanish title of his own event, dropping the “con” from “Unidos con Bernie.” Yet it only seemed to endear “Tio Bernie” to the Latino voters gathered in this Iowa town to see him.

In a state often criticized as too white to hold such political influence, Latinos are key to the coalition that Sanders is trying to assemble in his bid to win the Iowa caucuses that open the Democrats’ presidential-nominating contest on Feb. 3.

With Iowa very much up for grabs — no single Democrat has emerged as a dominant front-runner here — the state’s small but growing population of Latinos is getting unprecedented attention. Sanders is just one of the candidates investing heavily in appealing to the group, as Latinos become an increasingly influential and vocal presence throughout the state, organizing and winning local races in key communities.

For Democrats, it is an outsize effort to recruit in a demographic group that amounts to just over 6% of the state population — but is on track to be twice that within 30 years, according to the State Data Center of Iowa.

The number of Latinos has grown over the years as families decamped from Texas, California and other places, to Iowa towns that promised work in meatpacking plants and other agricultural industries. Like elsewhere, their interest in politics is on the rise given President Trump’s hostile posture toward immigrants and the strain of crushing healthcare costs on blue-collar families.

“In the last election we didn’t show up, and we were punished for that,” said Angel Ruelas, a 22-year-old Sanders supporter whose parents had moved to Muscatine from Mexico. “People are reacting to everything that is going on,” he added. “They definitely are more willing to go out to caucus and go vote.”

In party caucuses where fewer than 172,000 people voted in the last presidential cycle, the Democratic candidates figure that driving up turnout even modestly among the roughly 80,000 eligible Iowa Latinos could tip the balance. The Sanders campaign believes as few as 1,500 Latinos attended Democratic caucuses in 2016, based on its analysis of voting records.

“There is a vast pool of Latinos in Iowa who have never caucused before but are eligible,” said Ben Tulchin, a pollster for Sanders. “We can organize our way into having them play an outsize impact.” The campaign’s Iowa co-chair is Nick Salazar, the state president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, known as LULAC, a national leader in organizing and registering Latinos.

Way out in Storm Lake, a northwest Iowa town where recent waves of immigrants are powering meatpacking operations, and nearly 20 languages are spoken in local schools, former Vice President Joe Biden has enlisted a millennial Latino to mobilize the community. Camilo Haller offers his experience — he lived in humble circumstances in Colombia with his grandparents, then was adopted at the age of 7 by his cousin and her husband, who were living in the U.S. — to empathize with potential voters he meets who might feel intimidated by the arcane caucus process.

“Something as simple as the word caucus doesn’t translate,” he said. “A lot of immigrants come from Central American countries like El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, where being involved in voting that type of way, very publicly, isn’t encouraged. It’s looked down upon and sometimes even not safe.”

Haller sometimes returns to the same households again and again to reassure the voters he’s recruiting. He recalled one couple that was skeptical when he first approached in August. Haller kept at it and they started to come around. He sealed the deal when he got them a personal audience with Biden at a campaign event. “I translated for them,” he said. “After that, they signed ‘commit to caucus’ cards, and now they’re fully in.”

Several campaigns are holding caucus-training sessions, sending Latino surrogates into communities with boxes of campaign materials in Spanish. They have pushed caucus officials to establish bilingual sites and arranged to have their own interpreters for caucus-goers at other sites.

“You can tell that they are trying,” said Alyson Glynn, 33, whose immigrant grandparents opened one of the first Mexican restaurants in Muscatine.

But as she waited for Sanders to take the stage, she said all the candidates have more work to do. “They don’t always 100% understand the struggles that Latinos go through. They’ve never been through it,” Glynn said, adding: “How are they going to know unless they let us ask questions and they’re willing to talk to us? That is why I love seeing these kinds of events.”

The lack of connection is a concern echoed nationally, in an election cycle in which Democrats’ ability to increase Latinos’ traditionally low voting-participation rates could determine whether or not their party takes back the White House.

“We think they all could be doing better,” said Rosalind Gold, chief public policy officer at the National Assn. of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. The group has been disappointed that candidates have declined invitations to some major national Latino forums and neglected to respond to surveys for voting guides. And they are concerned by the lack of Latinos in campaign leadership positions.

“The candidates really need to understand how the Latino vote is going to be critical not just for the primary season but the general election,” Gold said. “When you have a race that may be as close as 2020 is going to be, you can’t leave any vote on the table. You want to not just reach but really engage Latinos, so they care passionately about getting to the polls.”

The concerns were amplified by the recent departure from the race of former Housing Secretary Julián Castro, who had been the sole Latino candidate and a strong voice for immigration reform. Castro has been a persistent critic of Iowa’s influence over the nominating process, arguing that the first state to vote should not be one so lacking in diversity.

He recently endorsed former Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. While national polls suggest she is less popular with Latinos than Sanders or Biden, Warren has been making inroads.

Her Latinx coordinator in Iowa, Stephanie Medina, is a child of Mexican immigrants. Medina is crisscrossing the state with a white board on which potential voters — and also ineligible non-citizen migrants who could influence their citizen friends and relatives to show up on caucus day — are invited to scribble down the issues they care most about.

“We are trying to build relationships with people,” Medina said. “We never stop contacting them.”

Sanders, flush with campaign contributions and endorsed by popular Latina congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, may have the most robust operation targeting Latinos in Iowa, and other states. The senator’s national strategy hinges on luring new voters into the process, and even in the whitest states, Latino communities offer potential.

The Sanders effort appears to be paying off. Sanders, a 78-year old Jewish native of Brooklyn who represents one of the whitest states in the country, Vermont, has popped up as the top choice among Latino Democrats in many polls nationally and in some key states.

His campaign learned in 2016 not to take any voters for granted — especially in Iowa. At that time it lacked the resources here to mount a Latino-targeting operation — there was no Unidos con Bernie, no Latino political celebrity on the scale of Ocasio-Cortez. Hillary Clinton defeated Sanders by a razor-thin margin.

“We didn’t have any of this in Iowa then,” said Tulchin. “We are picking up where we left off.”

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who flirted with the idea of running for president but skipped the 2020 campaign, endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination Thursday.

Garcetti will be one of Biden’s highest-profile supporters in California’s March 3 primary, but the endorsement is unlikely to have any practical effect on the highly competitive race. Dianne Feinstein, the state’s senior U.S. senator, is also supporting Biden. And Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia, who had endorsed California Sen. Kamala Harris before she dropped out of the presidential race, also announced his support for Biden on Thursday.

“We need Joe Biden to bring our nation and world together during these most divided and dangerous times,” Garcetti said. “I know that from Day One, he will heal our nation, repair our relationships abroad and get things done — and will be a true partner in solving the national homelessness crisis.”

Biden is a solid front-runner in national polls of Democratic voters but is in a tighter race for the lead in California, where polls show Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts running nearly even with the former vice president. The 416 delegates at stake in California’s Super Tuesday primary are the biggest prize of the campaign for the party nomination.

Since Garcetti was first elected mayor in 2013, he has devoted much time to building a national political network. He is a member of the Democratic National Committee and vice president of the National Conference of Democratic Mayors. The Los Angeles Times found he spent nearly one-third of his time outside California in a one-year period ending in September 2017, including trips to states with crucial presidential contests, such as Iowa and New Hampshire.

After almost two years of weighing whether to make a bid for the White House, Garcetti announced at City Hall a year ago that he would not run in 2020, saying, “This is what I am meant to do and this is where I want to be.”

Left unsaid was that the surge in homelessness on his watch would have posed a huge challenge in a presidential race. Tent encampments have sprouted citywide on freeway overpasses, in underpasses and along sidewalks, alleys, beaches and riverbanks.

Biden was in Southern California on Thursday to start a two-day visit. In the afternoon, he toured a $1.5-billion bridge replacement project in Long Beach with Garcia.

“This bridge will carry 15% of all of America’s cargo by truck up across the bridge connecting Long Beach to Los Angeles. During the Obama-Biden administration, they provided the funds for us actually to construct this bridge,” Garcia said. “And so we’re very grateful to the leadership that the vice president really was all about when it came to infrastructure. He is ready to lead our country on Day One.”

Biden later attended a fundraising reception in Irvine hosted by former California Sen. Barbara Boxer, former Ambassador James Costos and Reps. Harley Rouda of Laguna Beach and Lou Correa of Santa Ana. On Friday, Biden is scheduled to raise money at a luncheon in Hancock Park.

Garcetti, who was a California co-chair of Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign, has long-standing ties with Biden.

In 2015, Biden dined with Garcetti at Getty House, the mayor’s official residence, after the two participated in a Los Angeles climate change summit. In 2014, Biden joined Garcetti in promoting an increase in the city’s minimum wage.

“Democrats are blessed to have such an extraordinary field of candidates,” Garcetti said in a statement Thursday, “but I will never forget what Joe Biden has done for my city and our nation.”

Biden released a statement calling Garcetti “one of the best mayors in this country who has done incredibly innovative things to improve the lives” of city residents. The mayor will serve as a national co-chair of Biden’s campaign.

LAS VEGAS — 

Even before Thursday night, T-Mobile Arena had become one of Jack Campbell’s favorite places to play.

On Feb. 27, 2018, the Kings goalie made 41 saves against the Vegas Golden Knights to earn his first NHL win. On New Year’s Day last season, he returned from a nearly two-month-long injury absence to post a 46-save gem.

“It’s pretty fun to play here, to be in this city,” Campbell said. “The fans they have, the team that they have, you don’t have to try to psych yourself up.”

That was evident again Thursday. In the Kings’ 5-2 win over the Pacific-Division-leading Golden Knights, Campbell celebrated his 28th birthday with another showstopping performance.

He was gifted a 4-0 lead early, then stood on his head down the stretch, recording a season-high 44 saves inarguably the Kings’ season-best result.

“The puck would hit him and he would just be calmafter that,” coach Todd McLellan said. “Finding the garbage and staying in front of it.”

An 11th overall pick of the Dallas Stars in 2010, Campbell played like one of the league’s best goalies in his first full NHL campaign last season. The long-limbed 6-foot-2, 197-pound goalie ranked third in save percentage (.928) and fifth in goals-against average (2.30). This offseason, he signed a two-year, $3.3-million extension. In training camp, McLellan was repeatedly asked about how he’d manage an ostensibly equal tandem of goalies.

But rather than cementing his status as one of the league’s up-and-comers in net this season, Campbell has struggled to replicate last season’s stellar numbers. Entering Thursday, his save percentage had fallen more than 30 points from last year’s (.894) while his goals-against average had ballooned to 2.92. In 15 starts, he had as many games with four-or-more goals allowed as he did two or fewer.

After starting the majority of Kings games for which he was healthy for in 2018-19, he slipped back into a decidedly second-string role behind Jonathan Quick, who has almost twice as many starts as Campbell this season.

Campbell’s form, he felt, had remained sharp. “Honestly, I feel like I’ve played my game pretty much every single game this season,” he said. But instead of catching fire, he was grappling with frustration.

“I expect to help this team win games, not just be in games,” Campbell said following a 4-3 loss to the Calgary Flames last month, after which he was particularly hard on himself. “All season, I feel like we’ve been pretty resilient, not giving up. But it’s just not acceptable to give up four goals.”

Thursday’s performance was one to enjoy. In the second game of a back-to-back, the Kings cooled off after their quartet of opening-period goals — a pair of point shots from Alec Martinez and Ben Hutton, a high-slot wrister from Tyler Toffoli, and a close-range tap-in from Adrian Kempe 3.7 seconds before intermission.

In the second, they were outshot 24-3, two sneaking past Campbell within a 56-second stretch. In the third, they were on their heels again until Kempe tacked on an insurance goal in the final seconds.

But Campbell was the equalizer, making several sprawling saves and point-blank denials to end the team’s three-game skid.

“Tonight, it looks great on paper, I feel like it was one of my best performances,” Campbell said. “But I feel like there were performances I like better [in which] my numbers were way worse.”

McLellan echoed a similar statement, rejecting the idea his netminder needed aconfidence boost. Thursday, his coach said, was just one of those special games where everything came together.

“Numbers are numbers,” McLellan said. “I don’t know if he needs to turn anything around. He’s played well, and he’s just got to continue to improve.”

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Hello, my name is John Cherwa and welcome to our horse racing newsletter as we get ready for two of the next three weeks at Santa Anita being three-day weeks.

Before we get to the main event, Jon White returning to guide us to the Kentucky Derby, we’ve got a little news to break.

The California Horse Racing Board, which said it was shooting for Jan. 15 to release its much-anticipated report, is now pushing it back to the end of the month. I believe all the data has been gathered, it’s just a matter of editing it into a cohesive report. The individual looks at each of the horses may follow in a couple of weeks after the summary of the findings.

Of course, the big thing to come from it will be if there is any conclusion as to the role the racing surface played in the deaths of 30 horses at Santa Anita during the winter-spring meeting. The Los Angeles District Attorney investigation came to no conclusions on any of the causes. The hope is this report will be more insightful.

OK, on to today’s feature item.

Jon White’s Kentucky Derby Top 10

Yes, it’s that time of year and Jon White, racing historian, morning-line maker at Santa Anita and every now and then a steward, will lead you through this year’s march to the Kentucky Derby with his weekly rankings. We welcome Jon back and here is his first report. Jon, it’s your turn to enlighten us.

“The first steps on the 2020 Road to the Kentucky Derby were taken by newly turned 3-year-olds last week. The Jerome Stakes at Aqueduct on Jan. 1 and the Sham Stakes at Santa Anita on Jan. 4 both offered points toward a starting berth in the May 2 Run for the Roses.

“The Road to the Kentucky Derby is a series of races that award points to the first four finishers. It has determined preference for the 20-horse Kentucky Derby field since 2013.

“Storm the Court, trained by Peter Eurton, gets the nod for the top spot on my first Kentucky Derby Top 10 of 2020. He won the Nov. 2 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in a 45-1 shocker and has a good chance to be voted an Eclipse Award as champion 2-year-old male. Now that I have put the Court Vision colt at No. 1, it will be up to him in upcoming weeks to prove that he deserves to stay there.

“Eurton told Daily Racing Form’s Steve Andersen it is ‘unlikely’ Storm the Court will be ready to make his 2020 debut in Santa Anita’s Robert B. Lewis Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on Feb. 1. Two subsequent races at Santa Anita under consideration are the San Vicente Stakes at seven furlongs on Feb. 9 and San Felipe Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on March 7.

“Dennis’ Moment no doubt would be No. 1 on my Top 10 if he had won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, but he stumbled badly at the start and finished eighth as the 9-10 favorite. The Tiznow colt, trained by Dale Romans, is scheduled to make his first 2020 start in Gulfstream Park’s Fountain of Youth Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on Feb. 29. Prior to the Breeders’ Cup, Dennis’ Moment won a seven-furlong maiden race at Ellis Park by a little more than 19 lengths in July and Churchill Downs’ Grade III Iroquois Stakes by nearly two lengths at 1 1/16 miles in September.

“Bob Baffert, who has won the Kentucky Derby five times and the Triple Crown twice, is represented by No. 3 Thousand Words and No. 6 Authentic. Thousand Words, two for two, won the Los Alamitos Futurity on Dec. 7. The Pioneerof the Nile colt is slated to make his next start in the Feb. 1 Lewis. American Pharoah, a Pioneerof the Nile colt conditioned by Baffert, swept the Triple Crown in 2015.

“Authentic won last Saturday’s Sham Stakes at Santa Anita by nearly eight lengths with Drayden Van Dyke aboard. He’s undefeated and untested in two career starts. It should be kept in mind, though, that Authentic pretty much had it all his own way in both races. And the Into Mischief colt’s mischievous behavior during the stretch run of the Sham is a concern.

“After Authentic opened up an eight-length lead at the eighth pole, his inexperience showed when he raced greenly. In the final furlong, he ducked in sharply, then ducked out, then ducked back in. Van Dyke said he thought Authentic initially ducked in when reacting to the crowd noise. Baffert said he thought that when Authentic ducked in and nearly hit the rail, it scared him, which is why he then ducked out before ducking back in.

“Fortunately for Authentic, he was so much the best in the Sham it did not matter that he did not run a straight course in the stretch. But if he acts like that when reacting to the crowd noise from 7,145 fans at Santa Anita on the first Saturday in January, then what might he do when he has to race before a throng of well over 100,000 at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May? Baffert has talked about adding blinkers and/or earplugs to Authentic for his next race.

“In any case, it is clear that Authentic is a talented individual. And he is just one of a number of Kentucky Derby candidates who reside at the Baffert barn, which is nothing unusual.

“I considered putting the Baffert-trained Eight Rings in the Top 10. Remember him? The Empire Maker colt won the American Pharoah Stakes by six lengths at Santa Anita last September before finishing sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Eight Rings was supposed to run in the Los Alamitos Futurity, but then he skipped the race. The Feb. 9 San Vicente then was mentioned as a target, but that idea was scrapped and Baffert now says he is going to “try and make the Rebel” with Eight Rings. The 1 1/16-mile Rebel Stakes will be run on March 14 at Oaklawn Park. The constantly changing plans for Eight Rings is the main reason he is not on the Top 10.

“Baffert also trains High Velocity, who nearly made the Top 10. The Quality Road colt finished third behind Thousand Words and Anneau d’Or in the Los Al Futurity. Inasmuch as High Velocity did get a bit keyed up before that race, he might be capable of doing better next time.

“Undefeated Independence Hall acted up before the one-mile Jerome. The 1-10 favorite then broke tardily, but won anyway by four lengths against five overmatched opponents. The Constitution colt, who won Aqueduct’s Nashua Stakes by a little more than 12 lengths in November, is expected to make his next start in Tampa Bay Downs’ Sam F. Davis Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on Feb. 8. Michael Trombetta trains Independence Hall.

“Maxfield, who is two for two, appears to have a ton of ability. He won Keeneland’s Breeders’ Futurity by 5 1/2 lengths last October, then was withdrawn from the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile when all was not right. He is back in training in Florida with trainer Brendan Walsh, though Walsh said earlier this week on Steve Byk’s SiriusXM radio program that the Street Sense colt will not be pushed to make the Kentucky Derby. Maxfield underwent surgery Nov. 18 to remove a mildly displaced chip from an ankle.

“Tiz the Law is owned by Sackatoga Stable and trained by Barclay Tagg. Sackatoga and Tagg collaborated to win the 2003 Kentucky Derby with Funny Cide. Tiz the Law, a four-length winner of the Champagne Stakes at Belmont Park last October, finished a close third on a wet track when he had a troubled trip in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs on Nov. 30 in his final start at 2. He is slated to make his first start at 3 in Gulfstream’s Holy Bull Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on Feb. 1.

“Anneau d’Or, based at Golden Gate Fields with trainer Blaine Wright, narrowly lost the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and Los Al Futurity when finishing second in both races. The Medaglia d’Oro colt is likely to make his first start of 2020 in Golden Gate’s El Camino Real Derby at 1 1/8 miles on Feb. 15 or at Santa Anita in the Lewis or San Felipe.

“Omaha Beach debuted at No. 9 on my Top 10 last year following a big maiden win. Untitled is No. 9 on my first Top 10 this year following a big maiden win. After an 11-length victory at Gulfstream on Dec. 14 for trainer Ralph Nicks, the Khozan colt was sold privately and now is being trained by Mark Casse in Florida. Casse won the 2019 Preakness Stakes with War of Will.

“Chance It was an ultra-game winner of Gulfstream’s Mucho Macho Man Stakes last Saturday by a head. He has won four of six career starts. The Fountain of Youth probably is next for the Currency Swap colt, according to trainer Sophie Joseph Jr.

“Honor A.P. had been seriously considered for the No. 1 spot, but the highly regarded Honor Code colt is not even on the Top 10 now after missing the Sham due to an issue with his right foreleg. Initial X-rays taken were OK, according to trainer John Shirreffs. But Honor A.P.’s status remains up in the air. Daily Racing Form’s Brad Free reported Wednesday that Shirreffs said Honor A.P. would be undergoing further examination in the coming days.

“Here are this week’s Kentucky Derby rankings, courtesy of Xpressbet:

1. Storm the Court

2. Dennis’ Moment

3. Thousand Words

4. Maxfield

5. Tiz the Law

6. Authentic

7. Independence Hall

8. Anneau d’Or

9. Untitled

10. Chance It

Santa Anita preview

Friday’s card is eight races starting at 1 p.m. and it makes you wonder what a Thursday card would have looked like if Santa Anita had one this week. And I don’t mean that in a good way. But, the way the racing office used to be run under Rick Hammerle was that you limped through the first couple of months so you could be strong in March, April and May. So this tapered back racing schedule early on is a good thing, I think.

And, as long as I’m half up on a soapbox (I think this is the only part of today’s newsletter that I’m actually writing) let me throw this out there. Do you think it’s smart to have three different post times? Let’s see, it’s noon if there are 10 races, 12:30 p.m. if there are nine, and 1 p.m. if there are eight. And, of course, when the days were shorter it was 11:30 a.m. for 10 races.

Maybe just picking one time, I don’t know, maybe 12:30 p.m., and sticking with it unless it’s a big card would not confuse customers as much. I can see some seven-race cards on a Thursday, and does that mean 1:30 p.m.?

OK, the feature is the seventh a 6 ½ furlong allowance/optional claimer for older horses. Its purse is $59,000. The favorite at 2-1 is Royal Trump for trainer Mark Glatt and jockey Edwin Maldonado. He won last out in an allowance at Del Mar and has won four of his last six, at various levels from claiming to allowance. He’s six-of-21 lifetime.

The second facorite, at 5-2, is McKale for Bob Baffert and Drayden Van Dyke. After his maiden victory in hs first race he has never raced below the allowance level. He was fourth in his last two starts and prior got a win at Los Alamitos. He is two-of-nine lifetime. Post is around 4 p.m.

Here are the field sizes, in order: 6, 7, 5, 7, 8, 6, 6, 8 (4 also eligible).

Ciaran Thornton’s SA pick of the day

RACE SIX: No. 1 She’s A Dime (12-1)

She’s A Dime won last out and was claimed by trainer Doug O’Neill, a year ago. Abel Cedillo gets the mount Friday and they try turf for the first time. Dam has one turf winner and this trainer is 24% first off the claim. First start since last November they move the horse up in class and risk it for a claim. Could be live at a price and placed high to pay the bills of the last year. The workouts are as good as the top choices. The rail post is not ideal but we have an excellent jockey riding. This is a great price backup to the 9/5 favorite and we will likely get higher than this 12-1 morning line price.

Sunday’s result: Muralist saw big early money drive the price down to 4-5 but by post time drifted up to 7-2. The horse tracked perfectly in second and looked ready to dominate down the stretch but ran out of gas and faded to fourth.

Ciaran Thornton is the handicapper for Californiapick4.com, which offers daily full card picks, longshots of the day, best bets of the day.

Golden Gate weekend preview

Here’s our weekly look at the best racing going on at Golden Gate Fields. As with the last meeting, we’re delighted to have race caller and all-around good guy Matt Dinerman as our host for previews and other musings. So, take it away, Matt.

“Jockey Catalino Martinez had a sensational afternoon on Sunday, picking up five wins from eight mounts. The 34-year-old journeyman rider won the first four races with maidens When Jesus Walked and Boyson, claiming sprinter Hopscotchy and starter allowance winner Smokin Blackjack. Martinez completed his five-bagger in the eighth race with impressive maiden special weight winner Johnny Podres, owned and bred by Nick Alexander and conditioned by Steve Miyadi. After two weeks of racing, Martinez is second in the jockey standings with 13 wins. We also give a shoutout to William Antongeorgi III, who returned to racing last Friday after his mount stumbled on the far turn, tossing him at the 3/8ths pole one week before. (His mount was OK.) Antongeorgi III reminds us all just how tough our jockeys are.

“Live racing resumes Friday with an eight-race card, and the third race goes as Leg D (the second to last leg) of the Stronach 5 wager. It’s competitive with the morning-line favorite in the field of eight is 3-1 shot No. 7 Candy Crew. I could make a strong case for six of the eight in the maiden special weight. The morning-line favorite, No. 1 Sloane Garden, makes her career debut in the U.S. for trainer Manny Badilla after four straight in-the-money finishes to kick off her career in Britain. She posts a number of fast workouts leading up to this race.

“Saturday afternoon has nine races. The eight race is the feature: a first-level allowance for fillies and mares sprinting six furlongs. The morning line favorite, No. 7 Gotham Desire, is 4-1 in the field of 10. It’s the best betting race of the day, for sure, and any filly and mare in the race has a solid chance to win. Also in the mix is the seventh race, a maiden special weight for 3-year-old fillies featuring a pair of Tommy Town Thoroughbred first-time starters who are well regarded, and a few fillies who have shown promise.

“A trio of allowance races highlights the nine-race Sunday card. The late Pick 4 begins with what I would call the feature of the day: an allowance for older fillies and mares sprinting six furlongs. In this race, we find the return of 2018 Camilla Urso Stakes winner Mother of Dragons, who has not competed in the afternoons since 2018. The Andreas Psarras-trained filly draws the outside post and has been training well for her return. I spoke with Psarras about this filly about a month ago and he told me she was ready to race, so she should be fit enough off by now. Among the other main contenders are Bear Fan Stakes third-place finisher Ima Happy Cat and recent second- level allowance winner Coco Bee.”

Los Alamitos weekend preview

It’s time to turn things over to marketing and meda guru Orlando Gutierrez, who will tell us about the upcoming weekend at Los Alamitos. Orlando, the floor is yours.

“Local daytime thoroughbred winner Forty Six Carats will headline the featured 870-yard allowance in the fifth race on Friday night. First post is 7 p.m. Trained by Martin Jones, Forty Six Carats posted an easy three-length victory during the L.A. County Fair Meet at Los Alamitos on Sept. 18. The 4-year-old filly dueled early on and took the lead during the long stretch to win the 5 1/2 furlong race for $8,000 claimers. Forty Six Carats finished third when taking on $12,500 claimers on Dec. 12. She’ll likely be just off the pace on Friday night when she faces several speedsters.

“J.R. Ramirez, one of the most successful jockeys in quarter-horse racing history, is back riding at Los Alamitos and will pilot the quarter horse Up N Fly in the sixth race on Saturday night. The Favorite Cartel filly enters after back-to-back third-place finishes. Up N Fly makes a slight move up the claiming ranks for this race, $8,000 to $10,000.

“Ramirez, who ranks 22nd all-time in quarter-horse wins with 1,517 and 25th in earnings with more than $21.4 million, made a brief appearance in December and said that he was looking forward to spending several months riding at Los Alamitos.

“Ramirez piloted champions Higher Fire and Jess You And I to million dollar futurity wins at Los Alamitos. He guided the filly Higher Fire to wins in the Ed Burke Million Futurity and Golden State Million Futurity in 2005. He then piloted Jess You And I to victory in the 2006 Golden State Million Futurity. Ramirez has finished in the top 10 nationally in wins five times and in earnings five times as well.

“The eighth race is the feature with six quarter horses facing off at 300 yards. Miss Montielita is one of the top contenders after winning two of her last four starts. Special JB, a two-time winner in 2019, is another top contenders in this race.

“Sunday’s feature is the $16,000 Barbra B Handicap at 550 yards. The field will be headed by Martha Wells’ Yanque, who has looked unbeatable in his last two starts at 550-yards, including a 1 ½ length victory in the Paul Ford Handicap on Dec. 1. Ballast Point, winner of the second division of the Snowbound Superstar at 870 yards, will shorten and face Yanque once again. The two met at 550 yards in the Scott Lewis Handicap on Nov. 8 with Yanque winning by 1 ½ lengths. Run Raging Rhino Run, winner of this race last year, will have to be at his very best to beat the razor sharp Yanque.

“Tequila Sangria became the seventh mare to win both of the open Grade 1 stakes races for distaffers offered annually at Los Alamitos after outdueling multiple stakes winner As And Js and eight other rivals in the Grade 1, $100,000 Charger Bar Handicap here last Sunday night.

“Ridden by Jesus Rios Ayala from the post 10, Tequila Sangria took the lead shortly after the start and quickly opened up a ¾-length advantage over As And Js. Tequila Sangria lugged out while still on the lead, but still posted a half-length victory in the 400-yard race. … The AQHA Racing Champions Ceremony for the 2019 champions will take place on Jan. 15, at Heritage Place Sale Company in Oklahoma City. It will be aired at aqha.com.”

Chris Wade’s LA pick of the day

RACE SIX: No. 1 Jsgstorkerslittlesis (9-2)

She has a tendency to get into trouble, but exits a race in which she earned a career topping figure in my charts based on trouble and track variant when running third 43 nights ago. Filly got fractious prior to breaking slowly and was crossed by quicker break rivals. She still finished well and passed a pair of rivals to finish third. She fits nicely with Friday’s group and a repeat effort of her last finis should put her in contention at a nice price.

Final thought

If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter you can click here and sign up. Remember, it’s free, and all we need is your email, nothing more. Tell your friends, or even people you don’t like that much.

Any thoughts, you can reach me at [email protected] You can also feed my ego by following me on Twitter @jcherwa.

Now, the star of the show, Friday’s entries.

Santa Anita Entries for Friday, January 10.

Santa Anita, Santa Anita Park, Arcadia, California. 7th day of a 60-day meet.

FIRST RACE.

5½ Furlongs Turf. Purse: $55,000. Maiden Special Weight. Fillies and Mares. 4 year olds and up.

SECOND RACE.

6½ Furlongs. Purse: $22,000. Claiming. Fillies and Mares. 4 year olds and up. Claiming Price $16,000.

THIRD RACE.

1 Mile. Purse: $57,000. Allowance Optional Claiming. Fillies and Mares. 4 year olds and up. Claiming Price $40,000.

FOURTH RACE.

6½ Furlongs. Purse: $32,000. Maiden Claiming. 3 year olds. Claiming Price $50,000.

FIFTH RACE.

6 Furlongs. Purse: $32,000. Maiden Claiming. Fillies. 3 year olds. Claiming Price $50,000. State bred.

SIXTH RACE.

5½ Furlongs Turf. Purse: $35,000. Claiming. Fillies and Mares. 4 year olds and up. Claiming Price $32,000.

SEVENTH RACE.

6½ Furlongs. Purse: $59,000. Allowance Optional Claiming. 4 year olds and up. Claiming Price $62,500.

EIGHTH RACE.

5½ Furlongs Turf. Purse: $55,000. Maiden Special Weight. Fillies. 3 year olds. State bred.

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Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.

NFL

Sam Farmer takes a look at the backbone of the Baltimore Ravens: firefighters.

They are Baltimore County firefighters, the behind-the-scenes backbone of the Baltimore Ravens, playing an essential role for the NFL’s hottest franchise.

It’s a tradition that began in 1996, when the Cleveland Browns relocated to Baltimore and four local firefighters volunteered their services to the city’s newest team. Soon, they became essential workers, were hired part-time by the Ravens, and grew in number.

“We had to assemble an NFL team in a couple months when we became the Baltimore Ravens,” said Kevin Byrne, executive vice president of public and community relations who has been with the club since 1981. “A few firemen came to us and said, ‘We work basically around the clock for three or four days a week, and the rest of the time we have free. You must need help with something. We’ll help you with something and do whatever you want.’

“They’d bring us the mail from the offices downtown. They’d pick people up at the airport. They’d set up meeting rooms. Volunteer to clean the dirty uniforms. It just grew through the years.”

Baltimore is the only NFL franchise with an entire department of firefighters — 23 men and one woman — who handle every day-to-day task imaginable, from overseeing the shipping and receiving, transporting players to medical appointments, holding up giant panels during games to create shade over the team bench, and fishing the football out of the net after field goals.

Read the rest of this story by clicking here.

—

Two companies owned by Stan Kroenke have sued an insurance firm over the cleanup of arsenic-contaminated soil at the sprawling development the billionaire is building in Inglewood that’s anchored by a stadium for the Rams and Chargers.

TKG Management and Pincay Re LLC alleged in a lawsuit filed last week in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles that Chubb Custom Insurance Company refused to pay the bulk of a $5-million policy covering environmental cleanup costs.

The complaint accused Chubb of embarking “upon a campaign intended to delay, hinder, and impede recovery, the essence of bad faith.”

A spokesman for the insurance company and spokeswoman for the stadium development declined comment.

The dispute revolves around 60 acres along the northern border of the 298-acre development.

NFL PLAYOFF SCHEDULE

All times Pacific

Divisional Round

Saturday

Minnesota at San Francisco, 1:30 p.m., NBC

Tennessee at Baltimore, 5:15 p.m., CBS

Sunday

Houston at Kansas City, Noon, CBS

Seattle at Green Bay, 3:30 p.m., FOX

Conference Championship

Sunday, Jan. 19

TBD at TBD, Noon, CBS

TBD at TBD, 3:30 p.m., FOX

Super Bowl

Sunday Feb. 2

TBD vs. TBD, 3:30 p.m., FOX

LAKERS

Anthony Davis is listed as questionable after sustaining a bruise on his buttocks during Tuesday’s game against the New York Knicks. If he isn’t able to play, Lakers coach Frank Vogel plans to start Kyle Kuzma in his place.

“Obviously he’s a big factor in everything we do so we would have to compete to win a game differently,” Vogel said. “But it’s a great opportunity for Kuzma to step into the starting lineup and play a bigger role.”

KINGS

Adrian Kempe scored two goals and the Kings surprised the Vegas Golden Knights 5-2.

The Kings, who entered the game in last place in the Western Conference, used four first-period goals to set the tone. Goaltender Jack Campbell held off the Pacific Division co-leading Golden Knights by stopping 43 of the 45 shots he faced.

The Golden Knights outshot the Kings 35-5 over the last two periods, but were unable to overcome the four-goal deficit.

Los Angeles’ win, coupled with Anaheim’s loss to Dallas, and allowed the Kings to leapfrog the Ducks out of the West cellar.

Alec Martinez, Ben Hutton and Tyler Toffoli also scored for the Kings. Campbell improved to 2-1-0 lifetime against Vegas.

DUCKS

Ben Bishop made 27 saves in his 33rd career shutout, and Roope Hintz had a goal and an assist in the Dallas Stars’ sixth straight victory, 3-0 over the Ducks.

Corey Perry and Andrew Cogliano returned to Anaheim for the first time since joining the Stars, and both veteran forwards received long standing ovations from the Honda Center crowd.

John Gibson stopped 24 shots for the Ducks, who played without leading goal-scorer Jakob Silfverberg.

HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS

Danny O’Fallon, the boys basketball coach at Los Angeles Roybal who set an example with his courage and strength while guiding his team to the City Section Division III championship during his battle with stage 4 colon cancer, died on Thursday morning at a hospital in Santa Monica, his wife, Dr. Chonn Ng, said. He was 49.

O’Fallon continued to undergo aggressive chemotherapy treatment and continued to coach Roybal up until he was hospitalized on Dec. 20.

Last season, Roybal won its first basketball title, causing O’Fallon to collapse on the court while players comforted him in an emotional scene. The team went 19-0 until losing a state playoff game.

USC FOOTBALL

The first USC football player in the NCAA transfer portal this offseason has found a new home, while another player has decided to look for one.

Velus Jones, who served as the Trojans’ primary kickoff returner in 2019, will finish his collegiate career as a graduate transfer at Tennessee, the wideout announced on Twitter.

Offensive lineman Clayton Bradley also entered his name into the NCAA transfer portal this week.

Bradley spent five years dealing with injuries that mostly kept him off the field. The former Servite High linemen started three games as a sophomore in 2017 and played in three more as a junior before a back injury sidelined him.

SOCCER

John Thorrington’s first goal as LAFC’s general manager is to build the best team possible. But if he had a second goal, he says it would be to make that team reflect the diverse community in which it plays.

Lately, however, LAFC has come to look more South American than Southern Californian. The roster Thorrington will take into his third preseason training camp Monday includes as many as six starters from the continent and for that he can thank two prolific scouts, changing philosophies within MLS and a budget that would be little more than pocket change for European giants such as Real Madrid, Barcelona or Manchester United.

Having a dedicated scout in a foreign market is a rare luxury for MLS teams, who generally rely on video, calls from agents and coaches, or word of mouth to find players. Having two scouts there has given LAFC a huge advantage in a market that has become increasingly important for MLS.

“We certainly have been very intentional about focusing in certain key markets in South America and we will continue to so,” Thorrington said.

OVERLOOKED OBIT

From time to time, I like to bring to your attention a short bio of a former prominent local athlete whose passing received little notice. Today, we look back at one that happened early in 2019. Wrestling historian Steve Yohe and reporter Dave Meltzer pointed it out to me, and Yohe was kind enough to write a few words about Dick Beyer.

Pro wrestler Richard John Beyer died in 2019 at the age of 88. To the thousands of local fans watching the KTTV television show every week during the 1960s, he and Freddie Blassie were as important to Los Angeles sports history as Sandy Koufax, Elgin Baylor or Jerry West. If you don’t recognize the name, don’t feel alone. Dick Beyer wrestled under a mask at The Olympic Auditorium as The Intelligent Sensational Destroyer full time from 1962 to 1965, and part time up to 1973. During his career, The Destroyer was never unmasked, and his real name was unknown to the general public, during the old days when everyone was pretending it was a real sport. It may seem unbelievable today, but just the idea of getting to see his face unmasked drove huge numbers of fans to The Olympic Auditorium each week.

Beyer, born on July 11, 1930, got a football scholarship to Syracuse in 1949. He was a star on coach Ben Schwartzwalder football team from 1950 to 1953, and as an offensive guard playing next to Jim Ringo as co-captain, was on the team that went to the 1953 Orange Bowl. He was also recruited by wrestling coach Joe McDaniel to be the heavyweight on the Syracuse wrestling team. He went to the NCAA finals twice, won regional AAU tournaments, and he finished third at the AAU Nationals in 1952.

As if this wasn’t enough, Beyer turned pro wrestler in October 1954. Throughout the 1950’s, wrestling as Dick Beyer, he developed a good reputation as both a worker and legit wrestler. In 1962, he had two WWA World Title matches with Blassie. Through Blassie, word got back to L.A. promoter Jules Strongbow that he was a major talent just waiting to be discovered. Beyer was then brought to Southern California for a major push. To add color to plain looking Dick Beyer, Strongbow told him he was going to wear a mask, and be called The Destroyer. Beyer and his wife Wilma developed a new type of mask made from a special material, that was just used in woman’s underwear at the time. The mask would stretch when pulled and then snap back. The new type mask created the illusion that Beyer was going to be unmasked in every match, and the unsuccessful attempts became each night’s highlight.

The Destroyer’s other gimmick was the figure-four leg lock, an unbreakable hold. He offered anyone $100 to break it….and every week it wasn’t broken, he add another $100 to the amount. The reward got up to $5,000, but it was never broken.

The Destroyer ruled Los Angeles wrestling at The Olympic Auditorium for most of four years. On Nov. 7, 1962, he got national publicity by defeating Gorgeous George and shaving his famous hair. The Destroyer battled Blassie back and forth with the WWA World Title on the line, and had sellouts at The Olympic Auditorium against Edouard Carpentier. His matches with Shohei Baba turned the giant into a world wide star. I’ve never met any fan from the period, that didn’t think The Destroyer was Los Angeles’s greatest worker.

In 1963, he made a famous tour of Japan as WWA World Champion, in which The Destroyer became the last man to ever defeat Rikidozan (May 19, 1963) . Later in May in Toyko, he wrestled a 60:01 draw with Rikidozan that drew 12,000, and a 51.2 rating on TV. In a 1965, a Toyonobori match in Tokyo did a 50.1 rating. Even with a population much smaller than America, it was viewed by more people live on TV than any wrestling match in history. He was so popular that the Japanese promoters had him tour every year until his retirement. In 1973, Baba opened his own promotion, and after making a long-term deal with Beyer, turned The Destroyer into a good guy. Beyer stayed in Japan for six years and is still considered the greatest non-Japanese wrestler in Japanese history.

Beyer was liked and respected by everyone in pro wrestling. I’ve never heard any insider say anything negative about him, and for a guy using a mask made out of a woman’s girdle, that is something. Fans today can watch this matches on Youtube and on DVD and see for themselves how special he was as a worker. He has a whole new following today.

On Nov. 4, 2017, the Japanese Government awarded Dick “The Destroyer” Beyer the “Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays”, for a “lifetime spent promoting goodwill and bi-cultural exchange between Japan and the United States.” It was the highest award a non-Japanese could receive from the nation. Beyer has been induced into every major Hall Of Fame, including The Wrestling Observer HOF, the New York PWHF, the Iowa Lou Thesz Hall of Fame, and in 2014 was the third person (behind only Jim Londos, and Freddie Blassie) induced into the Los Angeles HOF.

Beyer died on March 7, 2019 at the age of 88.

TODAY’S LOCAL MAJOR SPORTS SCHEDULE

All times Pacific

Lakers at Dallas, 6:45 p.m., ESPN, Spectrum Sportsnet, 710 ESPN

Golden State at Clippers, 7:30 p.m., Fox Sports Prime Ticket, AM 570

UCLA basketball (women) at Utah, 6 p.m., Pac-12 Networks

USC basketball (women) at Colorado, 6 p.m., Pac-12 Networks

BORN ON THIS DATE

1890: Tennis player Art Wood (d. 1918)

1916: Golfer Bob Hamilton (d. 1990)

1938: Hockey player Frank Mahovlich

1938: Baseball player Willie McCovey (d. 2018)

1939: Decathlete Bill Toomey

1945: Skier Spider Sabich (d. 1976)

1949: Boxer George Foreman

1953: Race car driver Bobby Rahal

1959: Runner Chandra Cheesborough

1964: Synchronized swimmer Karen Josephson

1964: Synchronized swimmer Sarah Josephson

1973: Basketball player Glenn Robinson

1974: Football player Hollis Thomas

1975: Football player Jake Delhomme

1976: Former Angel and Dodger Adam Kennedy

DIED ON THIS DATE

2008: Figure skater Christopher Bowman, 40

2011: Football player Cookie Gilchrist, 75

AND FINALLY

George Foreman knocks out Michael Moorer to win the heavyweight title at age 45. Watch it here.

That concludes the newsletter for today. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, please email me at [email protected]. If you want to subscribe, click here

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With Spain and Germany still on holiday break, the league schedule in Europe remains a bit sparse. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t some interesting matchups. In England, Liverpool and Tottenham have been heading in different directions since meeting in last spring’s Champions League final. And while Paris Saint-Germain has broken away from the pack in pursuit of a third straight French title, the only teams within a dozen points of the leader meet Friday to decide who’s second best.

Ligue 1: Marseille hasn’t won a French first-division title in a decade. And it probably won’t win one this season. But halfway into the Ligue 1 schedule, Frank McCourt’s team is the only one within striking distance of two-time defending champion Paris Saint-Germain. Marseille (11-3-5) could strengthen its hold on second place with a win over third-place Rennes (10-5-3) on Friday (BeIN Sports, 11:30 a.m. PT). Marseille hasn’t lost a league match since getting shut out by PSG in October, while Rennes took a five-game winning streak into the winter break. Two of Rennes’ five losses have come at home, where Friday’s match will be played; these two teams played to a 1-1 draw in Marseille in September. Marseille’s 29 goals are tied for third most in the league.

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EPL: Tottenham has lost more league games (three) since November under Jose Mourinho than Liverpool has lost under Juergen Klopp in 20 months and 62 matches. But if Tottenham needs a glimmer of hope to hang on to, it would be the fact that Saturday’s match (NBC, Telemundo, 9:30 a.m. PT) isn’t being played at Anfield: Liverpool hasn’t lost at home in 51 games dating to April of 2017. Tottenham will be without captain Harry Kane, who will undergo surgery to repair a ruptured tendon in his left hamstring. The Reds (19-0-1), who haven’t allowed a league goal in more than a month, go into the weekend with a 13-point lead atop the standings while the Spurs (8-7-6) are a point out of a European tournament berth in sixth place after winning just one of their last four EPL starts.

The Laguna Beach City Council adopted a resolution this week opposing the methods the Southern California Assn. of Governments used recently in determining that the city needs to plan for 390 new housing units and called for the state Department of Housing and Community Development to intervene.

Laguna Beach’s allocation in the Regional Housing Needs Assessment is a representation of future housing needs. State law requires cities and counties to identify sites and zones where they can meet their allocations. It does not force the construction of planned housing.

SCAG is responsible for identifying such allocations in Orange County as well as several other counties.

In August, initial assessments indicated Laguna Beach would need to set aside enough land for at least 55 homes by 2029. By November, that number had risen to 390 as part of a push for more housing in coastal communities.

Advocates for growth along the coast argue that more housing is needed near job and transportation centers, meeting a high demand for new homes and reducing long commutes from inland communities that lead to increased carbon emissions.

But Laguna Beach City Manager John Pietig said in November that he was “very concerned about this shift of housing units to coastal cities.”

“There does not appear to be a logical basis for [the] shift, and the targets are not attainable,” he said.

The resolution opposes the modified methodology adopted by SCAG, arguing that it lacked specificity, supporting documentation and vetting by SCAG staff, and showed a “near total absence of stakeholder engagement.”

SCAG said in a statement that “we have a set process to follow, and these numbers are far from final. The California Department of Housing and Community Development is still reviewing, and things will move forward once they give their approval. After the adoption of the final RHNA allocation methodology, the draft RHNA allocation will be released. This will most likely occur in February. SCAG will let stakeholders know when the draft RHNA allocation is distributed.”

A city staff report says Laguna Beach is largely built out, with environmental and topographical restraints such as steep hillside terrain, narrow streets and undeveloped open spaces conducive to wildfires, in addition to local concerns about preserving the city’s “unique, small-scale village character.”

“The modified RHNA allocation methodology, as well as the manner in which it was approved by the SCAG Regional Council, undermine the integrity of what is mandated to be a collaborative RHNA process,” the resolution states.

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It poses “a significant threat of lasting damage to the city of Laguna Beach if permitted to stand,” according to the resolution.

“We have been working on this for a long time, almost two years,” the SCAG statement said. “At the end of the day, we want the final RHNA to address the housing crisis. As a six-county region with such diverse members, we have a very fine needle to thread.”

Cities can formally appeal their allocations beginning in February. Laguna Beach officials could not immediately be reached for comment about whether they are considering an appeal.

Final allocations — including any alterations based on appeals — are expected to be adopted by October. The deadline for certification of housing plans is October 2021.

Nguyen writes for Times Community News.

SACRAMENTO — 

Gov. Gavin Newsom is calling for the state to invest more money next year to prevent and prepare for disasters after wildfires and earthquakes again wreaked havoc on California in 2019.

Much of the governor’s proposal focuses on efforts to reduce and respond to wildfires, including funding 677 new CalFire positions over five years and allocating $90 million for new technology and a forecast center to better predict, track and battle blazes. The plan also calls for the continuation of a $200-million annual investment approved by lawmakers to reduce the kinds of vegetation that fuel wildfires, and more than $100 million to fund the Legislature’s pilot program to harden homes in fire-prone areas.

The proposal, broadly outlined in documents provided by Newsom’s office, builds on prior spending with a mix of one-time and ongoing funds, but it’s unclear exactly how much money would support new expenditures in 2020-2021. Newsom will unveil his full budget proposal Friday morning.

“Last year, with the help of strategically pre-positioning firefighting strike teams, California firefighters responded to more than 7,800 wildfire incidents across the state, with far fewer fatalities and destroyed structures when compared to the devastating toll of 2018,” Newsom said in a statement. “Combating California’s wildfires will continue to be a top priority for my administration.”

California experienced the most deadly wildfire season in state history in 2018, but last year brought a new challenge: widespread blackouts to prevent power lines from sparking blazes. While the death toll from wildfires dropped, power shutoffs created problems for communities, hospitals, medically fragile residents and emergency responders who rely on electricity. Newsom’s proposal includes $50 million in one-time funding to help critical services prepare for outages, according to the governor’s office.

Newsom also plans to ask the Legislature to support a call for $500 million to harden drinking water facilities, emergency shelters and other types of critical infrastructure to better withstand disasters, “with a focus on low-income areas at significant risk of wildfires,” according to the document.

Another $340 million would support projects to reduce urban flood risks through 2025, with an additional $270 million for flood and restoration efforts.

The governor’s office said Newsom will also reveal a proposal to set aside $250 million per year for four years to create the Climate Catalyst Revolving Loan Fund, which would help small businesses and organizations invest in projects, such as recycling and climate-smart agriculture, to help the state meet its environmental goals.

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The man was fatally injured while descending a cliff to change batteries in an animal surveillance camera

SAN DIEGO — 

A 75-year-old wildlife worker died in a climbing accident Thursday afternoon while he was trying to change the batteries in a surveillance camera on a cliff overlooking San Pasqual Valley, a fire official said.

The man suffered a major head injury after descending about 50 feet down the cliff using a rope, with a partner at the top. A rescue helicopter hoisted the injured man off the cliff, but he was dead when medics at a landing zone tried to tend to him, Cal Fire Capt. Thomas Shoots said.

Shoots did not know the man’s name or the organization with which he was affiliated.

The rescue took place on a cliff off Highland Valley Road, near Starvation Mountain Road and the Speckle Rock Vineyards.

The two men were on a routine mission to change batteries in a camera installed on the cliff face to track wildlife, the partner told officials. The man who rappelled down the cliff was not wearing a helmet, Shoots said.

Something went wrong and the man got inverted while hanging from the rope and suffered a head injury. He asked his partner to call 911. The call for help reached Cal Fire about 3:45 p.m., Shoots said.

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A rescue helicopter crew lowered a medic onto the cliff. The medic and the injured man then were hoisted into the copter and flown a short distance to an open field for landing. An ambulance crew was standing by, but they were unable to revive the then-unconscious man, Shoots said.