We’ve reached the point in the offseason where we’re one week away from the start of the year, when USC has to show the world its true identity. Is it still the team that lost seven games a year ago? Or is it the team that has insisted it turned the corner during spring and fall practices?

Next Saturday’s opener against Fresno State is the time for answers, which means now is the time for reckless predictions that will in no way come back to haunt this reporter in late November: It’s time for game-by-game predictions:

Week 1: vs. Fresno State, Aug. 31

A Saturday night opener at the Coliseum against Fresno State is a good place to start for the Trojans. Yes, the Bulldogs aren’t to be trifled with, as UCLA would tell you after its loss to Fresno at the Rose Bowl a year ago. But Fresno has a new quarterback, senior Jorge Reyna, who will need some time to transition into his new role, letting USC get off to a fast start.

Prediction: Win (1-0)

Week 2: vs. Stanford, Sept. 7

Last year’s Week 2 matchup with the Cardinal exposed a lot of problems within the USC offense and with starting quarterback JT Daniels. Expect a similar result this year as Stanford teaches the Trojans they still have some room to grow.

Prediction: Loss (1-1, 0-1 in Pac-12)

Week 3: at BYU, Sept. 14

This isn’t an easy road environment to play in, but BYU hasn’t proven to be ready to compete with Pac-12 schools, last year going 1-3 against the Conference of Champions. This should be a good place for the Trojans to reset after the Stanford game.

Prediction: Win (2-1, 0-1)

Week 4: vs. Utah, Sept. 20

A short week against Utah is a tough draw for the Trojans, even at home. The Utes are the preseason favorites in the Pac-12 and feature a dangerous defensive line that could have Daniels running for his life. That type of pressure will be really hard for USC to overcome.

Prediction: Loss (2-2, 0-2)

Week 5: at Washington, Sept. 28

USC gets an extra day to prepare for the defending Pac-12 champions, though whether it will matter remains up for discussion. Washington replaces the majority of its starters on offense and QB Jake Browning, but its new quarterback is former five-star recruit Jacob Eason, who could prove a difficult challenge for USC’s young secondary.

Prediction: Loss (2-3, 0-3)

Week 6: BYE

Week 7: at Notre Dame, Oct. 12

The Irish still look at lot like the team that’s won 22 of its last 26 games, and beat USC to end the Trojans’ bowl chances a year ago. USC played well in that game, taking a 10-0 lead before falling 24-17. But will USC’s young roster be ready to play at Notre Dame Stadium? It’s hard to tell, but seems unlikely.

Prediction: Loss (2-4, 0-3)

Week 8: vs. Arizona, Oct. 19

After two road games, a return home to face Arizona is exactly what the doctor ordered for the Trojans. The Wildcats are no slouches, but are vulnerable in the run game, an area that USC will look to exploit to end its losing streak.

Prediction: Win (3-4, 1-3)

Week 9: at Colorado, Oct. 25

Expect the Trojans to get back to .500 against the team predicted to finish last in the Pac-12 South. This should be a game for the offense to flex its muscles and put some major points up on the board.

Prediction: Win (4-4, 2-3)

Week 10: vs. Oregon, Nov. 2

Starting the month of November against the Ducks is a tough blow for USC. Oregon features the top quarterback, if not player, in the conference in the form of Justin Herbert and no experience against the signal caller to lean on. This one could get ugly.

Prediction: Loss (4-5, 2-4)

Week 11: at Arizona State, Nov. 9

This is a revenge game for the Trojans, as they were embarrassed by last year’s 38-35 loss to the Sun Devils in which ASU scored on a 92-yard punt return and ran for 283 yards. It’ll be up to the Trojan defensive line to make a difference against ASU’s front and running back Eno Benjamin, but the group appears up to the task.

Prediction: Win (5-5, 3-4)

Week 12: at California, Nov. 16

Last year’s loss to Cal ended the Trojans’ 14-game winning streak against the Golden Bears. The Trojans had a disastrous third quarter and never recovered after a safety on shotgun snap gone horribly awry. It was a game that made you understand USC’s insistence on discipline and competition this offseason, and the rematch will be a chance for the Trojans to prove they’ve learned those lessons (and to become bowl eligible).

Prediction: Win (6-5, 4-4)

Week 13: vs. UCLA, Nov. 23

The USC revenge tour will hit its third straight week against the crosstown rivals. The Bruins should be better than they were a year ago in their second season under Chip Kelly. But USC should be better prepared to corral in Joshua Kelley, whose 289-yard rushing performance made rivalry history. An improvement in this area would help the Trojans win their fourth game in five tries against UCLA.

Prediction: Win (7-5, 5-4)

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST and DAVID CRARY

SALT LAKE CITY — Planned Parenthood clinics in several states are charging new fees, tapping financial reserves, intensifying fundraising and warning of more unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases after its decision to quit a $260 million federal family planning program in an abortion dispute with the Trump administration.

The fallout is especially intense in Utah, where Planned Parenthood has been the only provider participating in the nearly 50-year-old Title X family planning program and will now lose about $2 million yearly in federal funds that helped 39,000 mostly low-income, uninsured people. It plans to maintain its services — which include contraception, STD testing and cancer screening — but is considering charging a small copay for patients who used to get care for free.

Planned Parenthood in Minnesota is in a similar situation, serving about 90% of the state’s Title X patients, and plans to start charging fees due to the loss of $2.6 million in annual funding.

The organization is concerned about the spread of unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.

“We believe there will be a public health crisis created by this denial of care,” said Sarah Stoesz, the Minnesota-based president of Planned Parenthood North Central States. “It’s a very sad day for the country.”

Planned Parenthood and several other providers withdrew from the program earlier this week rather than comply with a newly implemented rule prohibiting participating clinics from referring women for abortions.

Anti-abortion activists who form a key part of President Donald Trump’s base have been campaigning to “defund Planned Parenthood.” Among its varied services it is a major abortion provider, and the activists viewed the grants as an indirect subsidy.

About 4 million women are served nationwide by the Title X program, which makes up a much bigger portion of Planned Parenthood’s patients than abortion. But the organization said it could not abide by the abortion-referral rules because it says they would make it impossible for doctors to do their jobs.

Mindy Dotson, a single mother in Utah, started going to Planned Parenthood as doctors’ bills for treating recurring yeast infections mounted. The services became even more important when she gave up her employer-sponsored health insurance because she couldn’t afford the $500 monthly bill.

She is unsure what she’d do if the family planning services she gets stop.

“It would put me in a very dangerous position,” said Dotson, who works as an executive assistant for an accounting and consulting firm. “It covers so many things: STD testing, emergency contraception, birth control, lifesaving cancer screenings … you name it, they have treated me for it.”

Planned Parenthood said it’s dedicated to maintaining its current services in Utah, but CEO Karrie Galloway acknowledged it won’t be easy and could cause some “pain on all sides.”

She said the organization plans to lean heavily on donors to make up the funding gap while staff members assess how they’ll cope. Among the possibilities are instituting copays of $10-$15 per visit, shortening hours and trimming spending. She doesn’t plan to lay off staff, but said she may not be able to fill jobs when people leave or retire.

Minnesota is planning fees as well.

“We’ll continue to offer all services, and keep clinic doors open, but we’ll be charging patients on a sliding scale who we didn’t charge before,” Stoesz said. “Vulnerable people who previously were able to access birth control and STD testing for free will no longer be able to do so.”

Elsewhere, the impact of Planned Parenthood’s withdrawal will vary from state to state.

Governments in some states, including Hawaii, Illinois, New York and Vermont, say they will try to replace at least some of the lost federal funding. In the Deep South there will be little impact because Planned Parenthood did not provide Title X services in most of the region’s states.

The chief operating officer for Planned Parenthood of the Greater Northwest and Hawaiian Islands, Rebecca Gibron, said Southern Idaho could be hit hard by the changes, with other health care providers in the area saying they can’t fill the gap if the roughly 1,000 low-income women served by Planned Parenthood in Twin Falls are no longer able to receive care.

“This was not money that can simply be made up by raising dollars from donors,” Gibron said. “We have rent to pay, we have staff salaries … there are limits to what we are able to do in terms of providing free care without the Title X program.”

Gibron said Planned Parenthood is working with Washington state officials in hopes of securing “bridge funding” to keep operating more than 20 Title X clinics serving roughly 90,000 people.

“We’re going to do everything we can to provide care for patients in the same way, but we know that it’s not sustainable and we’re looking at all of our options,” she said.

Among other providers withdrawing from Title X is Maine Family Planning, which oversees a network that serves about 23,000 patients per year and will be losing $1.8 million in annual funding. Its CEO, George Hill, said the organization will rely on reserves and intensify fundraising efforts to bridge the gap while seeking more aid from the state.

In anticipation of the changes, Democrats in neighboring New Hampshire added about $3.2 million in the state budget they passed earlier this year to make up for the federal funding. But that’s on hold after Republican Gov. Chris Sununu vetoed the budget in June for other reasons.

Crary reported from New York. Associated Press writers Brady McCombs in Salt Lake City; Patrick Whittle in Portland, Maine; Holly Ramer in Concord, New Hampshire; and Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, contributed to this report.

Whether you own and occupy the building from which your business operates or you lease the premises, this column is for you.

A proposition on the Nov. 3, 2020 ballot could dramatically increase property taxes for commercial properties.

Property taxes currently

As a business owner and occupant of a manufacturing plant, a retail storefront or a suite of offices …

The state taxes those premises in two ways — through a property tax of the land and structures and through a personal business tax levied on fixtures, machinery and equipment used in the operation of a company.

Both are currently protected by a constitutional amendment known as Proposition 13. In effect since 1978, real estate property and commercial property are taxed at 1% of the assessed value and are limited to a 2% annual increase unless the property is sold, triggering a reassessment at the current market value.

So, if you opted to buy your location in 1980 and have occupied it since, you’ve benefited from a low taxable basis relative to the market value.

The specifics: Let’s say you own a 20,000-square-foot industrial building purchased for $700,000 in 1980. Assuming a 2% annual increase in taxable assessed value since then, your assessed value today is approximately $1.5 million, resulting in property taxes of close to $15,000 per year.

However, the market value for your building is around $4.5 million which would yield an annual property tax of $45,000 if the parcel was re-assessed, a whopping difference of $30,000 per year.

Property taxes proposed

Some say Prop. 13 creates an unfair advantage for certain businesses and a shortfall for state coffers. Under the California Schools and Local Community Funding Act of 2018, commercial properties would be taxed differently than real estate zoned for residential and agricultural uses.

Under the plan, certain commercial properties would be re-assessed every three years and  taxed at their current market value. The change is projected to generate $6 billion to $10 billion annually, 40% of which is earmarked for schools.

Excluded from the initiative are owner-occupied commercial properties with an assessed value of under $2 million. If your business employees fewer than 50 workers, good news! Your company is exempt from Business Personal Property taxes on your machinery, equipment and fixtures. Otherwise, a new $500,000 floor is created, and you would only pay the tax if the value of your machinery, fixtures and equipment exceeded this amount.

What does this mean to you? This certainly depends. The examples below model some potential impacts.

Example 1: You lease an office, industrial or retail building and employee fewer than 50 folks. Depending on the current assessed value of your owner’s building and the terms of your lease, your property taxes may increase but you’ll benefit from being excluded from business personal taxes.

Example 2: You lease an office, industrial or retail building and employee more than 50 workers. Depending on the current assessed value of your owner’s building and the terms of your lease, your property taxes may increase. You’ll pay business personal property tax on any fixtures, machinery, and equipment with an assessed value greater than $500,000. The initial $500,000 is exempt.

Example 3: You own and occupy a small commercial property — assume $225 per square foot for industrial, $275 for an office building or $300 for a retail storefront, multiplied by the square footage. If the current assessed value of your real estate is less than $2 million, there’s no re-assessed property tax increase. And if your headcount is fewer than 50 employees, you’ll also avoid the business personal tax.

Example 4: You own and occupy a 30,000-square-foot industrial property. Your product is made of steel and you employ 100 people. You’ll potentially face the perfect storm: your location will be re-assessed and taxed at the current value and you’ll have to pay business personal property taxes on your fixtures and equipment. You will, however, get a $500,000 exemption for the value of your fixtures, machinery, and equipment.

What should you do? Read the proposition! Seek counsel from a commercial real estate or tax professional on the exact impact to your business situation. Be mindful of the proposition when signing a new lease or extending an existing lease. Be vocal in your industry trade groups and social circles.

Allen C. Buchanan, SIOR, is a principal with Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services in Orange. He can be reached at abuchanan@lee-associates.com or 714.564.7104.

Q: Ever since the weather has gotten hotter, we are being invaded by ants. They seem to be everywhere! What can we do to keep them out of the house?

A: There are many species of ants residing in Southern California, but one of the more obnoxious is the Argentine ant (Linepethema humile). As the name implies, this is a non-native invasive species, so it has no significant natural enemies here. Unlike native ant species, Argentine colonies will not fight each other, so they tend to form extremely large super-colonies.

Argentine ants are tiny (3 mm) so they can enter containers and spaces that would be inaccessible to other insects. They build their nests outdoors in shallow mounds and will protect honeydew-producing aphids and scale insects from predators.

In hotter weather, they form trails and invade indoor spaces in search of an easy meal. Most of the time they are seeking sugar, but in the spring, during reproduction season, they will also look for protein.

Use a sponge and soapy water to clean up trails indoors. Thoroughly clean up any spills, wipe countertops and any trace of stickiness. Remove infested houseplants. Ant spray will not stop an invasion and may make it difficult to determine where a trail is coming from.

Focus on excluding access to your house. Trim trees, shrubs, and other plants near your house. Identify and plug entry holes with caulk or petroleum jelly. Place bait stations or ant stakes outside, preferably before activity increases. Sugar baits containing 1% boric acid will eventually kill a colony. The low concentration of boric acid will not kill the worker ants right away but will allow them to live long enough to share the bait with their nestmates, hopefully killing the entire nest.

Alternatively, bait containing fipronil or hydramethylnon are effective in the early spring when ants are seeking protein.

Indoor baits are not generally effective as a long-lasting solution.

Q: I received a few questions regarding the recipe for skunk odor neutralizer, so here’s some more information.

A: In case you missed it, the recipe for skunk odor neutralizer is:

1 quart 3% hydrogen peroxide

1/4 cup baking soda

1 teaspoon liquid dish soap

Mix the ingredients immediately before use, since the solution loses effectiveness quickly. Do not use a capped container because the peroxide will produce gas bubbles and can burst a sealed container. Do not dilute before using. After treatment, rinse well and avoid getting the solution in your (or your dog’s) eyes. If you have any leftover solution, dilute with plenty of water before pouring down the drain.

I have not tested this solution on cat urine, but many commercial urine neutralizers contain hydrogen peroxide, so it will probably work. As always, if using on fabric, test in a small inconspicuous spot before treating a larger area.

Have gardening questions? Email gardening@scng.com.

Looking for more gardening tips? Here’s how to contact the Master Gardener program in your area.

Los Angeles County

mglosangeleshelpline@ucdavis.edu; 626-586-1988; http://celosangeles.ucanr.edu/UC_Master_Gardener_Program/

Orange County

ucceocmghotline@ucanr.edu; 949-809-9760; http://mgorange.ucanr.edu/

Riverside County

anrmgriverside@ucanr.edu; 951-683-6491 ext. 231; https://ucanr.edu/sites/RiversideMG/

San Bernardino County

mgsanbern@ucanr.edu; 909-387-2182; http://mgsb.ucanr.edu/

Lake Forest officials are committing to loan $3.7 million of the money the city has earmarked for affordable housing to build the first project in years in the city dedicated for those with limited incomes.

National Community Renaissance, or National CORE, pitched the City Council on Tuesday, Aug. 20, two proposals: an 80-unit or a 136-unit project off El Toro Road and Raymond Way near the 5 Freeway.

Council members were in support of providing financial help, but wanted more details about how the projects could affect the traffic and parking in the surrounding area, especially on often congested El Toro Road.

This would be the first major affordable housing project in the city since 187 low-income units were added in Baker Ranch four years ago.

The proposed 80-unit project would be a four-story apartment building using a 1.95-acre lot, replacing an office building off Raymond Way. The 136-unit option would have two buildings – a three-story and a four-story – on a 3.74-acre lot. That option would also lead to the demolition of an second office building off El Toro Road.

The housing would be targeted for those making 30% to 60% of the area’s median income; it would also include 10 to 20 units of permanent supportive housing.

Mayor Mark Tettemer said he wants to get community input in advance to make the project a good fit the neighborhood.

The $3.7 million loan committed to by the City Council at its meeting was what National Core was seeking for the 80-unit option. The money would be repaid over 50 years. National Core asked for $4.7 million if the 136-unit complex is pursued.

The city’s money comes from the fees other developers paid in lieu of building their own affordable housing. The rest of the projects’ costs would be financed through federal tax credits, as well as county funds and developer contributions.

The developer is still negotiating with the property owner, but the proposed location was chosen for its proximity to shops and services, as well as bus stops, National CORE Vice President of Planning Alexa Washburn said at the meeting. “It’s very ideal.”

The council would still need to give a green light for the city staff to negotiate with the developer to create an affordable housing agreement.

Community meetings will be held in the coming months. If the council decides to proceed and acquiring the property and financing goes well, the project could be open by late 2022, Washburn said.

If public opinion research is to Quinnipiac University what football is to the University of Alabama – and, trust us, it is – then feel free to think of Doug Schwartz as Crimson Tide coaches Nick Saban and Bear Bryant combined.

Schwartz is director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, an opinion research operation that in recent years has come to rival Gallup as the top brand in polling.

RELATED: We’re all reading election polls as 2020 nears; here’s how to be smart about it

The Quinnipiac Poll also has become the public calling card for Qunnipiac University. Since 1994, when Schwartz was hired away from CBS News to analyze the data collected by the then regional polling service, the private Connecticut school has grown five-fold, to about 10,000 undergrad students. During that same period, the poll has grown, using about 300 people (mostly part-timers, including some students) to conduct at least one national campaign every two weeks. Quinnipiac maintains its independence, not accepting corporate clients and not working with any media partners.

With that in mind, we thought to ask Schwartz – who does not offer personal views on politics or issues – about the state of polling and the meaning of polls in the 2020 election cycle.

Q. Is polling different in the era of Donald Trump? If so, why?

Since Donald Trump entered the political arena, and especially since he became president, there has been near-constant breaking news. This means we’ve had to be much more flexible about changing our scripts and our field periods than we have been in the past. We’ve been adding or taking out questions on our national polls right up until the very last minute, because Trump or his administration has done something that makes one of our questions moot or requires the addition of another one.

RELATED: What polls? These Southern California lawmakers openly support Donald Trump

Q. We’re 15 months from the general election. What can polls tell us now? What will polls be telling us a year from now?

Polls can tell us much the same thing now as they will a year from now – what voters are thinking aboutcandidates and about issues. Polls are a snapshot of public opinion, not a prediction.

Of course, a year from now, voters … will be more informed and more indicative of their views on Election Day, but there will never be a perfect one to one correlation.

Another important factor that polls can show us are trends. For example, our Democratic primary question has been showing a slow but steady increase in support for Elizabeth Warren. She’s the only candidate that hasn’t yet lost support, and that’s a good sign for her.

Q. Do you trust polls?

It depends on the poll! I do trust high-quality polls that are transparent about their methodology.

Q. What tells you if a poll is or isn’t reliable?

The three major things I suggest that every consumer and reporter look for when evaluating if a poll is highquality or not are reputation, transparency and methodology. The first two are somewhat self-explanatory, butwhen it comes to methodology, the two biggest factors are whether or not they use live interviewers andwhether or not they call cell phones.

In general, I also prefer random digit dialing to voter registration lists – RDD is the best way to get a truly random sample, although polls that use voter registration lists often have ways of compensating. Online polls can be harder to evaluate, but I am at least skeptical of any online poll that doesn’t indicate that they’re using a probability-based panel.

Q. Right now, a lot of national presidential polling is about Trump’s job performance. Will that line of questioning become moot when running against an actual person and the poll question becomes “Trump vs. Democrat Candidate X”?

Basically, yes. Right now, Trump’s job approval matters quite a lot. But when it comes down to an election, itmatters much less whether voters dislike Trump – because there’s always the possibility that they dislike theother candidate more. Or vice versa – that voters may think Trump is doing a good job but like the othercandidate more – but that’s a lot less common in politics these days.

Q. So far, the Democratic presidential field looks a bit like the GOP field of 2015 and ’16 – one candidate seems to occupy a single political lane while “the field” seems to split up the majority of other voters. Is this a fair read, or are the differences so pronounced that they shouldn’t be read that way?

There are both similarities and differences between Trump’s position in the primary in August of 2015 andBiden’s position today.

Just like Biden does now, Trump held a double-digit lead over his nearest competitor, but was by no means running away with the nomination. But in 2015, there were 10 other candidates with more than 1 percent support, while there are only 6 now. So despite having a larger field of candidates, there’s a better chance that Democratic primary voters may coalesce around someone other than Biden, and eventually catch or even beat him.

Additionally, they could not be running more different campaigns. Trump positioned himself as an outsider, while Biden is the candidate who best represents the party establishment. Trump was fighting to shake things up in Washington, while Biden is promising a return to normalcy. It’s unclear what that means for Biden’s candidacy, but it is definitely a significant difference and makes direct comparisons difficult.

Q. How have voters become more or less engaged in recent years? And are they more or less likely to respond to polls?

First, there are now more voters saying that they are paying attention to the presidential campaign than weresaying so in December of 2015. In fact, our number now most closely matches (the engagement level found in) our February 2016 national poll, after that year’s Iowa caucuses.

In terms of responding to polls, yes, the trend of decreasing response rates has continued for the last few years. However, that seems to be more a matter of fewer people answering their phones than anything against polls in particular. Once someone answers the phone, our cooperation rate has been consistent for years.

Q. How will the Quinnipiac Poll change as we get closer to actual elections?

The biggest change is that a few months out, we will switch to likely voters instead of registered voters. Otherthan that, our focus on elections and issues will remain essentially the same – we’ll ask voters what they thinkabout candidates in upcoming elections and how they feel about whatever issues are being talked about at the time.

Q. Is there any technology available or in the works that might fundamentally change the way polling is conducted?

Online polling is still in development, and could eventually change the face of polling entirely. However, I don’tbelieve that the current state of online polling makes it a replacement for traditional polling.

Q. What question have you always wanted to ask, but haven’t?

Generally speaking, if I want to ask something, we find a way to ask it at some point. The issues that I run into are wanting to ask more questions than we’re logistically able to on a single poll, and occasionally needing to break down a complex issue into a question that’s short and easy enough to understand that we don’t confuse people over the phone.

Q. Love or hate him, people feel strongly about Trump. Can polling capture voter intensity?

Yes, polling can reflect the intensity of the voters’ feelings toward Trump if you ask the right question. Forexample, we follow up our job approval question on Trump with a question that asks voters if they approve “strongly/somewhat or disapprove strongly/somewhat.” We regularly find that the majority of voters end upsaying “strongly approve” or “strongly disapprove,” with a plurality saying “strongly disapprove.”

There are other ways to get at the intensity of feeling surrounding Trump, but it all boils down to asking the right question.

By STEVE PEOPLES

WASHINGTON — Billionaire industrialist David H. Koch, who with his older brother, Charles, transformed American politics by pouring their riches into conservative causes, has died at age 79.

Charles Koch announced the death on Friday, saying, “It is with a heavy heart that I now must inform you of David’s death.”

David Koch, who lived in New York City, was the Libertarian Party’s vice presidential candidate in 1980. He was a generous donor to conservative political causes as well as educational, medical and cultural groups.

The Koch brothers were best known for a vast political network they built that became popularly known as the “Kochtopus” for its far-reaching tentacles in support of conservative causes. The brothers founded the anti-tax, small government group Americans for Prosperity.

“I was taught from a young age that involvement in the public discourse is a civic duty,” David Koch wrote in a 2012 op-ed in the New York Post. “Each of us has a right— indeed, a responsibility, at times — to make his or her views known to the larger community in order to better form it as a whole. While we may not always get what we want, the exchange of ideas betters the nation in the process.”

After battling prostate cancer for 20 years, he told a reporter following the 2012 Republican convention that he was thinking about what he will someday leave behind.

“I like to engage where my part makes a difference,” he told The Weekly Standard. “I have a point of view. When I pass on, I want people to say he did a lot of good things, he made a real difference, he saved a lot of lives in cancer research.”

David Koch donated $100 million in 2007 to create the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He also gave millions to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, the M.D. Anderson Cancer in Houston, and other institutions.

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History named in his honor a wing dedicated to the story of human evolution over 6 million years. David Koch donated $15 million to fund the 15,000 square-foot hall.

“The program has the power to influence the way we view our identity as humans, not only today, but for generations to come,” he said in a statement at the time.

David Koch, an engineer trained at MIT, joined Koch Industries in 1970, and served on its board. He also served as chief executive officer of Koch Chemical Technology Group, LLC, a Koch subsidiary. He retired from the company in 2018

Charles and David Koch, each with an estimated net worth of $50.5 billion, tied in fourth place in 2012 on Forbes 500 list of the nation’s richest men.

Two of the Koch brothers, Frederick and Bill Koch, sued the other two, claiming in a 1998 trial that they were cheated out of more than $1 billion when they sold their stake in Koch Industries back in 1983. David and Bill Koch are twins.

The dispute stemmed from a falling out three years earlier when Bill Koch criticized Charles’ management of the company, and with Frederick’s support, tried to gain control of the company’s board of directors. After the takeover move failed, the board fired Bill as an executive. Bill and Frederick Koch and other dissident stockholders sold their interests, and the brothers later sued claiming the company withheld crucial information that would have led to a higher sale price.

Bill and Frederick lost their case, but the lengthy public trial offered a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse at the Koch family.

The Kochs’ father, Fred Koch, guessed early — before two of his boys were out of diapers and before two were even born — that wealth might split his family apart.

“It will be yours to do with what you will,” the father wrote in a 1936 letter to his two oldest sons. “It may be either a blessing or a curse.”

David Koch and his wife, Julia Flesher, have three children.

Q. I am having difficulty knowing when to intervene with my father’s good intentions without insulting his dignity. My father is 89 and in relatively good health; my mother is 84, suffers from dementia and lung cancer and lives at home. When we recently went out to dinner, my father had difficulty describing his menu choice. Consequently, the food served to him was not of his liking. When navigating the stairs, he does not hold on to the hand railing. Although I’ve written a schedule, he is not giving my mother her medications on time. Should I have helped my father orders his meal, remind him to hold on to the railing and intervene when not giving my mother her pain medication on time? My father is a proud man. Many thanks. S.L.

Dear S.L. You clearly are a caring daughter and have identified a very sensitive issue with no easy answers. We know that most aging parents want to be cared about rather they cared for. Two characteristics highly valued by older adults are independence and dignity. Consequently, adult children are faced with the dilemma of balancing caring, supporting, managing and intervening, particularly when a solution seems obvious.

Some may argue that it is only natural for adult children to become parents to their aging parents. Wrong approach! Our parents will never become our children. Additionally, part of the parent-child relationship depends on the child’s developmental stage. An adult in diapers is different from an infant; an older adult who can longer feed him or herself is different from an infant who needs to be fed.

Let’s take the position of an aging parent. What are they looking for? Mary Gallant and Glenna Spitze, two professors from the State University of New York at Albany, explored the issue in interviews with focus groups of older adults. They found the participants wanted to be independent from their children. which led them to feel ambivalent about receiving help from them. Yet they hoped their children would be available should they need them. They were annoyed when their children were overprotective yet appreciated their concern. To overcome their ambivalence, older adults minimized the help they received and ignored or resisted their children’s attempts to control.

Losing control is a frightening aspect of aging. That can mean a lack of control of one’s body, daily tasks or cognitive abilities. When an older adult accepts assistance, it can be a reminder about the fragility of feeling independent.

And then there is resistance. Trying to understand parents’ resistance could ideally be addressed through conversation. Steve Zarit, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Department of Human Development and Family Studies at the Pennsylvania State University reported some useful tips: Avoid arguments that put parents on the defensive, plant an idea and then step back and let things happen. Don’t’ rush.

Let’s move to your concern. The restaurant situation is public. Consider approaching that topic gingerly and don’t push it. Your father may rather have a meal not to his particular liking rather than having someone order for him.

Preventing a fall is important. Consider mentioning that you always have a free hand when navigating the stairs, knowing that falls can be a precursor to a disaster.  Using a hand railing is just a habit you can encourage him to consider.

The medication for your mother is another story. When it comes to safety, intervention is appropriate. Have a serious conversation with your father about the importance of your mother’s pain medication. If necessary, have a meeting with her doctor to reinforce the schedule. Also, consider your father’s cognitive abilities and capacities.  Assess whether he is able to manage your mother’s medication. If not, you might ask a family member or friend to check in a few times a day or hire an aid who can remind your father to dispense the pain meds.

Older adults generally want to be perceived as competent and will do what is necessary to retain mild that perception. I recently spoke to a 79-year-old man who fell. Although he only suffered a minor bruise, he did not tell his children for fear of a lecture and more. He thought he would be the object of “helicopter” children which would make him feel less competent, independent and very annoyed. In reality, this man just tripped that had little to do with his age.

S.L. Thank you for your important question. Best wishes in having a successful dialogue that is comfortable for you and your father. Hopefully, your chat will lead to some changes.

Note: On Sept. 4 at Palos Verdes Golf Club, I will be interviewing Marc Freedman, award-winning president and CEO of Encore.org.and a national change maker. He has sparked a national movement to tap experience and talent of those 50+ as a resource to solve our most vexing social problem. The event is sponsored by the Palos Verdes Peninsula Village. The event is free but seating is limited. For more information, go to peninsulavillage.clubexpress.com or email peninsulavillagepvp@gmail.com.

Q: Our HOA recently had a total board recall and election. The new (self-appointed) president handed out terms based on votes received, with three two-year and two one-year terms. Our bylaws specify a procedure for the first election, namely drawing of lots to determine terms, to be two (two-year) and three (one-year). Subsequent elections should be for two-year terms, for a staggered election pattern. Should the president have followed the bylaws’ first election procedure, as the situation is identical, or should the president have given more two-year terms than is specified? I can’t find the answer anywhere on the Internet. — J.T., San Jacinto

A: First, an HOA president does not appoint offices or board terms and is one vote out of the five who should be making that decision. Having not seen your association governing documents, I cannot say exactly what was required to happen.

Normally, when an association begins to use staggered terms, the first election will have directors with the higher vote totals receiving the longer terms. We normally draft such bylaw provisions or amendments that way. If everyone received two-year terms the staggering would be destroyed so your suggested approach makes sense if it does not violate the governing documents.

Related: HOA Homefront: Recalling board members, Part 1

Q: We had a five-member board. Two of the members did not like the others, organized a total board recall election, recalled the entire board, and then ran again and won. Is this legal besides being unethical? — E.F., Temecula

A: Directors are also members and at election time can personally support or oppose who they choose as directors. What directors cannot do is to use the management, legal counsel, vendors, or other HOA resources to oppose or support any candidate. Once the election is over, win or lose, HOA members should insist that their directors work together civilly and for the benefit of the association.

Q: I look forward to your weekly column. For various reasons, a few months before our normal annual meeting a petition was submitted to recall the entire board, supported by most of our community. Do we still have to have our annual board member election or is the board elected during the recall remain in place until the following year’s annual meeting? The challenge that I foresee is that the existing board will state it is a waste of money to have the two voting processes (recall and annual). — E. L., Costa Mesa

A: While it might seem to make sense to cancel the annual meeting if it falls only a short time after a completed recall and installation of a new board, the association still must follow its bylaws. Instead of a recall shortly before the annual meeting, such as in your case, sometimes it is better to focus on the upcoming annual meeting, instead of electing a board only for a short time.

Another approach would be for the directors to all tender their resignations, conditional upon achieving a quorum, in the upcoming election. Then perhaps the recall petitioners might be willing to wait, and everyone could focus on trying to elect the best board available. Recalls are a hostile and divisive business and should be avoided if possible.

Kelly G. Richardson Esq., CCAL, is a Fellow of the College of Community Association Lawyers and a Principal of Richardson|Ober PC, a California law firm known for community association advice. Send questions to Kelly@richardsonober.com. 

By KELVIN CHAN

HONG KONG — Supporters of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement lined city streets and part of the city’s harbor front Friday, inspired by a human chain in a historic Baltic states protest against Soviet control 30 years ago.

Some linked hands while others switched on their smartphone lights and held the phones aloft to create a row of white lights against the nighttime skyline. Organizers hoped the chains, which traced three subway routes, would total 40 kilometers (25 miles) in length.

It was the latest protest in a nearly 11-week-old movement that began with calls to scrap a now-suspended extradition bill and has widened to include demands for full democracy and an independent inquiry into alleged police brutality at protests.

“It actually enraged me, the way that the government, the (city’s) chief executive and then the police, how they carry out their jobs,” said Michael Ng who works in finance and joined the chain outside an upscale mall. “Very brutal, I would say. We are talking about human rights here.”

Police say their use of tear gas, rubber bullets and bean bag rounds has been necessary to clear streets of protesters who have pelted them with eggs, bricks and gasoline bombs.

In a protest dubbed “The Baltic Way,” nearly 2 million Latvians, Lithuanians and Estonians formed a human chain more than 600 kilometers (370 miles) long on Aug. 23, 1989.

Organizers of “The Hong Kong Way” said it would be a show of solidarity against the extradition law and police violence, as well as a plea for international support.

Earlier Friday, accountants marched in support of the pro-democracy movement, while the Canadian Consulate banned its staff from leaving the city on official business after a British Consulate employee was detained in mainland China.

The head of the cabin crew union for Hong Kong airline Cathay Dragon said she had been fired in retaliation for supporting the movement, adding to the chill in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.

The Canadian Consulate didn’t say whether the travel restriction for local staff was related to the detention of the British Consulate employee, Simon Cheng Man-kit. He went missing two weeks ago after going on a business trip to Shenzhen, a mainland city just across the border.

“At present, locally engaged staff will not undertake official business travel outside of Hong Kong,” the Canadian Consulate said in a statement.

During a daily briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said China respects Canada’s decision, but countered it with a Confucius quote: “A gentleman is open and poised; a petty man is unhappy and worried.”

Geng elaborated that those who are “above board” will have their rights guaranteed in China, while people with “an ulterior motive to engage in illegal activities” may have to be “extremely cautious.”

The U.K.’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office said it is urgently seeking further information about Cheng, who has worked for the consulate since December 2017 as an international trade and investment officer for the Scottish government.

“Neither we nor Simon’s family have been able to speak to him since detention,” the office said. “That is our priority and we continue to raise Simon’s case repeatedly in China, Hong Kong and London and have sought to make contact with Simon himself.”

Geng said that Cheng’s case is a police matter and not a diplomatic issue.

China said this week that Cheng had been placed in administrative detention for 15 days for violating public order regulations. The Global Times, a Communist Party-owned tabloid newspaper, reported that Chen had been detained for soliciting prostitutes.

China often uses public order charges against political targets and has sometimes used the charge of soliciting prostitution. Ou Shaokun, an anti-corruption activist, alleged in 2015 that he was framed by authorities in southern Hunan province who said they found him in a hotel room with a prostitute.

The accountants march drew a few thousand participants who gathered in a city square before heading to government headquarters. They were the latest profession to back the movement publicly following rallies by lawyers, teachers and medical workers.

One participant, Sarah Wong, said accountants are usually quiet because they are focused on getting the numbers right, but they cannot remain silent anymore.

Kenneth Leung, a lawmaker who represents the accounting industry, said that the extradition bill would have affected accountants, because many of them have clients in mainland China and travel there. The legislation would have allowed suspects to be extradited to the mainland to face trial.

“The profession as a whole needs to come out to express their concerns and grievances,” he said.

Rebecca Sy, the airline union head, told a news conference that Cathay Dragon dismissed her without giving a reason, but that the firing came after she was pulled from a flight and asked by an airline representative to confirm that a screenshot from Facebook was from her account.

“It’s not just about the termination of the job, it’s also the whole issue, it’s terrifying. All my colleagues are all terrified,” she said. “I feel so sorry for them because I’m no longer in that position to protect them.”

Cathay Dragon is owned by Hong Kong’s main carrier, Cathay Pacific, which has come under pressure from Chinese authorities for employing people who support the protests. The company said in a statement that Sy’s departure has nothing to do with her union activities.

The Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions called her firing a “blatant suppression and retaliation on her participation in the anti-extradition bill movement and her actions to mobilize her colleagues to participate as a trade union leader.”

The Canadian government updated its travel advice for China to warn of stepped-up border checks on smartphones, following reports that Chinese immigration officers were looking for protest-related photos.

Associated Press video journalist Johnson Lai in Hong Kong and writer Yanan Wang in Beijing contributed to this report.

WESTMINSTER — Firefighters needed about 15 minutes to extinguish a fire at an apartment complex in Westminster, authorities said Friday morning.

Crews responded to the Cinnamon Creek Apartments on the 15100 block of Brookhurst Street near Bolsa Avenue about 10:15 p.m. Thursday, according to the Orange County Fire Authority.

With help from Fountain Valley and Huntington Beach fire departments and Westminster police, the fire was extinguished around 10:30 p.m., the OCFA said.

No injuries were reported, and the cause of the fire was under investigation.

Some 3.8 million families in California, or one in three, are struggling to meet their basic needs according to a new report released by the United Ways of California.

The Real Cost Measure, a study analyzing the estimated “real cost” of living in various local areas, provides an updated snapshot of the needs of families across the State of California.

The study’s methodology provides a more accurate measure than the outdated formulas used to determine federal poverty levels. Unlike the federal poverty guideline, which is based on food costs, the RCM estimates specific expenses for housing, transportation, health care and other family necessities, taking into consideration regional variations in the cost of living.

According to the study, an alarming 37% of families in the state of California lack sufficient income to meet their basic needs – approximately three times the number who are officially living below the federal poverty level. What the report illuminates is the number of working families who are not considered poor, but who struggle to stay afloat relative to the high cost of living in our beautiful state.

In Los Angeles County, the study estimates a family of four with two adults, a preschooler and a school-aged child would need to earn $91,561 to be self-sufficient. In Riverside County, that figure is substantially less at $78,952 but still notably higher than the area’s median household income of $66,928.

Of those households living below the RCM, 97% in Los Angeles and 96% in Riverside have at least one working adult in the home. And statewide, racial disparities are evident with almost half of African Americans and 57% of Hispanics having incomes below the RCM. But 24% of whites – nearly 485,000 households – are also struggling to meet their needs.

So, from a practical standpoint, what can we learn about key factors impacting family self-sufficiency and our ability to improve these statistics? Three areas covered in the report point out the disproportionate effects on family income levels.

–First off, education matters. Of those with less than a high school education, nearly three quarters (74%) have incomes below the RCM. This is contrasted with just 18% of struggling households among those with a college degree.

–Secondly, childcare is a significant burden. For those with young children, childcare costs add a substantial expense that many cannot afford.  The study said 60% of households with children under age 6 are struggling to make ends meet. And we know that without reliable, affordable childcare, getting to work can be very difficult for parents with young children. This is especially true for single mothers, of whom 74% have incomes below the RCM.

–Finally, high housing costs hurt. Struggling households are estimated to spend more than 50% of their income on housing, notably higher than the recommended (albeit old) standard of 30% of one’s income. For those living below the federal poverty guideline, many are spending up to 76% of their income on housing.

“Housing costs occupy a disproportionate share of most family budgets in California, but that is particularly true for struggling families,” wrote Henry Gascon, one of the study’s authors.

Aligned with the work of many local advocates and nonprofit organizations including my own, this data emphasizes the need to continue addressing these key challenges.

Ensuring youth receive the support and guidance needed to finish high school and pursue higher education or vocational training for a living-wage career is essential. Expanding the availability of affordable childcare, including parent co-ops, employer-sponsored programs, and other creative strategies for the provision of quality care, is greatly needed. And expanding housing stock, particularly attainable rental housing in urban areas, and embracing innovative uses for existing housing, is needed to increase suitable options for struggling families.

For more information on The Real Cost Measure, go to unitedwaysca.org/realcost.

Gregory Bradbard is an advocate for breaking the cycle of poverty as President of the SoCal-based Hope Through Housing Foundation, HTHF.org.

Cooling tourism and a tight labor market mean Southern California hotel hiring has hit a post-recession low.

My trusty spreadsheet, looking at state employment data, found “accommodation” jobs in the four counties covered by the Southern California News Group grew by only 519 workers to 94,986 when comparing the average employed in the year’s first six months with the same period in 2018.

That meager hiring — equal to 0.5% yearly — is the slowest pace since the Great Recession crushed the local hotel industry and is roughly one-fifth of the hiring seen in 2013-18. That’s when Southern California hotel bosses averaged adding 2,543 workers yearly, or 2.9% annualized growth.

When unemployment runs near historical lows, as its does statewide, low-wage industries such as hotels have a tough time staffing up. Hotel operators are battling cost pressures in recent years, especially for the labor that cleans rooms and serves guests.

One measure of U.S. hotel pay shows weekly wages are up 2.7% in 2019. And the Producer Price Index for hotel supplies shows costs increasing at a 3% rate in 2019’s first half.

“Hotel operators have been heroic in their efforts to find employees and combat rising wage rates. Market conditions indicate that hoteliers must pay the prevailing wage rates, or better, to meet their staffing needs. We do not see this upward pressure on labor costs going away in the near-term,” analysts at CBRE Hotels wrote in a recent report.

To be fair, this hiring slowdown isn’t just tourism. The region’s labor shortage hits many employment niches. Job growth for all Southern California industries ran 1.1% in the past year vs. 2.5% annualized in 2013-18.

Hotel hiring has been weakest in the Inland Empire where hotel bosses cut 383 workers in the year ended in June to 18,267. Compare that to adding an average 813 more workers yearly in 2013-18 — 5% annualized growth.

Los Angeles County hotels added 586 workers in the year to 50,786, or 1.2% growth. In the previous five years, 1,400 workers were added annually — 3% annualized growth. Countywide job growth was 1.0% vs. 1.9% annualized in 2013-18.

And in Orange County, 317 hotel workers were added in the year, or 1.2% growth — roughly on par with averaging 330 more workers (1.3% annual growth) in 2013-18.

In Tustin, CBRE negotiated the $5.3 million sale of the 16-unit Myrtle Avenue Apartment Homes to an unidentified local buyer.

The complex at 15981 S. Myrtle Ave. includes 17,678 square feet property with nine two-bedroom/two-baths, two two-bedroom/two-baths, four three-bedroom/two-baths and one two-bedroom/one-and-a-half baths units.

The apartments were built in 1964 and have undergone interior and exterior renovations. Amenities include on-site laundry facilities, private patios, balconies and enclosed garages.

CBRE’s Blake Torgerson and Eric Chen represented the private buyer.

Multifamily property deals in Orange County slowed this summer as investors reacted to proposed law changes that could hurt overall yields, according to a new report from Marcus & Millichap.

Overall transactions dropped by nearly 20 percent over the past 12 months ending in June, the report says.

“Investors are focusing on predictable cash-flow opportunities with tight vacancy and reliable demand drivers,” according to the report.

Apartment complexes are selling well in North and Central county areas, especially west of the 5. And while sales overall might be down, the average price per unit increased by roughly 10 percent in the period, rising above $315,000, the report states.

Elsewhere in the region, two deals caught our eye this week:

Costa Mesa-based The Mogharebi Group completed the $34.4 sale of Sagewood Gardens, a 162-unit community for residents over 55 in Hacienda Heights. The buyer was an unnamed San Gabriel Valley-based investor.

Principals Alex Mogharebi and Otto Ozen of TMG represented the seller, an unidentified Los Angeles owner, and the buyer.

Sagewood Gardens is made up of 21 residential buildings spanning 93,930 rentable square feet. The complex built in 1988 sits on a 5.29-acre site with apartments in one and two-bedroom floor plans. There are also detached, single-family residence with an average size of 580 square feet.

In Pasadena, the Irvine-based multifamily team with Colliers International negotiated the $8.75 million off-market sale of a 23-unit complex at 168 N. Wilson St. The complex built in 2005 was mapped first as condos before the Great Recession hit and left investors with no buyers.

Most of the units are two-bedroom, two-bath units, Colliers said in a statement.

Colliers’ Vice President Brett Bayless and Executive Vice President Patrick Swanson procured the buyer, a private family trust also in Pasadena. The seller was a private investor/developer also from Pasadena.

Marcus & Millichap’s multifamily report for the LA metro area shows the pace of transactions rose by 2 percent in the period. At the same time sales volume decreased by $500 million. The brokerage attributed to decline to older Class C complexes, which accounted for nearly 60 percent of total deal flow. The LA metro’s average pricing rose 8.3 percent over the past year to $284,000 per unit.

Multifamily portfolio refinanced

The Bascom Group in Irvine has completed a $235 million refinance of an 11-property multifamily portfolio in five states. All of the properties are part of the firm’s discretionary fund, Bascom Value Added Apartment Investors III, LLC.

The refinanced properties include Southtown at Main Apartments in Santa Ana, The Square Apartments in Downey, Camden Village Apartments in Fremont, Del Flora Apartments in Redlands, Courtyard on 68th Apartments in San Diego, Juniper Terrace Apartments in Escondido, 52nd Marketplace in Arvada, Colorado, Prescott Lakes Senior Apartments in Prescott, Arizona, McKinney Orchid Apartments in McKinney, Texas, Fifty 101 and Lyric Apartments, both in Las Vegas.

Bascom in a statement said it worked with several capital market partners and lenders to complete the refinancing. Brian Eisendrath and Annie Rice from CBRE, Charles Halladay and Jamie Kline from JLL, and Tom Sherlock and Erich Pryor from Talonvest arranged the debt financing.

Five loans were provided by Comerica Bank, two from Silvergate Bank, and one loan each from TCF Bank, New York Life, Citizens Business Bank, and Texas Capital Bank.

Completed projects

BNBuilders recently completed $3.6 million in tenant improvements for the county’s Probation Department.

The project at 23271 Verdugo Drive in Laguna Hills included improvements to an existing 13,286-square-foot, one-story building on a 50,041-square-foot lot.

BNBuilders performed both design/pre-construction and construction services for the project.

The construction phase included removing and replacing: the interior partitions; the mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems; the fire alarm system; and the ceiling and roof.

The firm also updated the landscaping, resurfaced the parking lot and evaluated and upgraded the fire life safety systems.

New ventures

Newport Beach-based real estate law firm Newmeyer & Dillion LLP has launched a new brand, Newmeyer Dillion, marking the firm’s 35 anniversary. Formed in 1984, the firm has more than 70 lawyers in Newport Beach, Walnut Creek and Las Vegas. Paul Tetzloff is the newly appointed managing director.

On the move

John Cazort is the new Business Development associate at The Saywitz Co. in Newport Beach. The firm says he has an extensive background in real estate sales and marketing. Cazort’s previous experience includes business-to-business prospecting for Sunset Financial Group in Los Angeles as well as community consultant for Avalon Bay Communities. His role with Saywitz will be to assist and expand the firm’s brokerage division.

Justin McMahon has joined JLL in Irvine as vice president. McMahon brings nearly 15 years of experience in retail leasing and will continue advising landlords and retailers.

Orange County offices of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage have added several new associates. They include:

• Payum Fatanat joins the Mission Viejo office as an affiliate agent. He comes to the office with seven years of real estate experience.
• Jack Parra joins the Yorba Linda office as an affiliate agent. Previously he was an agent with First Team Real Estate.
• Olena Kets is now with the Anaheim Hills/Tustin office as an affiliate agent. She comes to the office with six years of real estate experience and holds a paralegal certificate.
• Jeff Hale is a new agent at the Mission Viejo office. He comes to the office with 15 years of real estate experience and has been a certified relocation agent for Cartus Relocation and SIRVA since 2012.

Coming up

The Orange County Register will host a lunch session for readers who want to know about options to extend their savings through retirement.

Representatives from American Advisors Group, a leading reverse mortgage firm, will speak on ways senior homeowners can supplement monthly cash flow, self-insure long-term care plans, purchase a home closer to friends or family and hedge against downturns to investment portfolios.

The 90-minute seminar will be held from noon to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 28 at the Register’s offices at 2190 S. Towne Centre Place in Anaheim.

Time will be provided for questions and answers. Food and beverages will be provided.Seating is limited. To register, call Gordon Clark at 714-796-3524 or email gclark@scng.com.

Submit real estate transactions, leases and new projects, industry hires, new ventures and upcoming events to Business Editor Samantha Gowen at sgowen@scng.com. Please allow at least a week for publication. High-resolution photos also can be submitted for consideration. All items are subject to editing for clarity and length.

Want to save some bucks and get into the LA County Fair for free? Here’s how to do it:

1 Be a senior: Seniors 60 years old and over can get into the fair for free on Wednesdays, between noon and 3 p.m. Valid Wednesdays. You don’t need a coupon, but you do need an ID.

2. Donate school supplies on Wednesdays. If you bring in five new school supplies still in their packaging, you can get one free admission from noon until 5 p.m. on Wednesdays. Suggested items include boxes of crayons, markers or pencils, packages of notebook paper, glue sticks, erasers or highlighters, notebooks and pencil cases.

3. Can it on Thursdays. Bring five canned food items to donate to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank and other charities and get one person in free from noon until 5 p.m. on Thursdays.

4. Give blood. People who sign up and donate blood between Aug. 24 and Sept. 23 to one of the fair’s partner blood banks can get one free admission ticket. Note that most require appointments in advance. To find a fair partner, go to lacountyfair.com/give-blood. Partners include Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, City of Hope, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, American Red Cross, Huntington Hospital and Lifestream. You can also look for the blood drives operating on many days next to the Big Red Barn, on Birch St.

5. Be a little kid. Ages 5 and under get into the fair free every day.

6. Buy a concert ticket. Concertgoers get into the fair for free on the day of their show. And note that although some free tickets are given out day of show starting at 2 p.m. at the Rose Ave. ticket window, it’s first come, first served only and they don’t include fair admission.

7. Eat at King Taco. Get a buy one ticket, get one free fair admission coupon at King Taco. It must be used on Sunday, Sept. 15 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. only. Available at all King Taco locations.

See the great action, fun moments and pageantry from the season-opening high school football games in Orange County on Friday night. Go to the OCVarsity pages on ocregister.com to see all of the coverage of the games.

NEWPORT BEACH – Whatever high expectations the Corona del Mar football team had coming into this season, Ethan Garbers probably exceeded them in the team’s first game.

The senior quarterback, a Washington commit, was 22 of 28 passing for a school-record 480 yards and an Orange County-record eight touchdowns to lead Corona del Mar to a 57-14 victory over Downey in the season opener for both teams Friday at Newport Harbor High.

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Garbers broke his own school record of 476 yards passing with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Mark Redman, another Washington-commit, in the third quarter. That was his eighth touchdown of the night, topping the county record of seven TD passes, which he shared with Burt Call, the current baseball coach at Villa Park, and .

Postgame interview with Ethan Garbers of Corona del Mar, who is the new OC Record holder for most TD passes in a game!@ocvarsity @CDMFOOTBALL @CDM_ATHLETICS #ocvfans @krew_kings pic.twitter.com/J7l49LaUz0

— Manny Alvarez (@MAlvarez02) August 24, 2019

“Credit to my offensive line and receivers,” Garbers said. “They did all the work, I just spread the ball around. Everyone I threw to got a touchdown. I love it. We spread the ball around and I love it, but credit to the O-line, they made all that happen.”

His eight touchdowns are second most in CIF-SS history. Robert De La Cruz holds the record with nine touchdown passes for Cathedral of Los Angeles, a mark he set in 1998 and equaled in 1999.

Garbers quickly went to work after Downey (0-1) turned the ball over on downs to start the contest. He threw for 94 yards on three passes, including a 14-yard touchdown pass to Stanford commit John Humphreys for the game’s first score.

The senior quarterback threw four more touchdowns in the first half, including an 87-yard touchdown pass to Simon Hall late in the second quarter.

Downey’s only score in the first half came in the second quarter on a 3-yard run by Jaden Allen.

Garbers continued to torment Downey’s defense in the third quarter, as he completed another touchdown pass to Humphreys and one to Brad Schlom, his third touchdown catch of the game.

Following a 37-yard touchdown pass from Downey quarterback Chris Hernandez to Kevin Caldwell, Garbers threw his eighth touchdown pass with two minutes left in the third quarter and put his name in the county record book.

“He knows his offense,” CdM coach Dan O’Shea said. “If there’s one thing, don’t ever question Ethan Garbers as a quarterback. He had a fabulous night tonight. He has a few weapons to be able to throw to. Our offensive line gave him time to do that. This was a big night for our offense.”

Downey scored its final touchdown — a 21-yard TD pass from Pedro De Anda to Jayden Hollis — as time ran out in the fourth quarter.

Allen rushed for 80 yards on 15 carries with a score, Hernandez was 7 of 14 passing for 101 yards and a score, and Pedro De Anda was 7 of 9 for 84 yards passing and a score for Downey, which heads to Hawaii for a game Friday, Aug. 30 against Kapolei.

Humphreys caught seven passes for 167 yards and three scores, Schlom caught seven passes for 131 yards and three TDs, and Hall caught three passes for 114 yards and a touchdown.

Corona del Mar will head north to face St. Francis of Mountain View on Friday, Aug. 30.

“We need another great week of practice,” Humphreys said. “Our coaches are going to prepare us well. It’s a business trip and it should be fun, but were going up there to get a win.”

SANTA ANA — Mater Dei is supposed to be the best team in southern California, probably the best team in California, perhaps the best team beyond California.

If that is just late-summer hype, don’t tell Centennial.

The Monarchs nearly celebrated Week Zero of the high school football season by putting a zero on the Huskies at Santa Ana Stadium Friday night. Such a shutout, against a team that has sometimes carried punters as a mere accessory, would have been the first since 1998.

Centennial did pick up a couple of touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but that just made it 42-12 in favor of the Monarchs. Tack that one onto the 49-14 victory in last year’s CIF Southern Section semifinals, and it looks like it might be a red October, September, December, etc.

Centennial could find only 76 yards in the first half against Mater Dei. It had two first downs in the red zone on its first possession, thanks to a Monarchs penalty, and couldn’t get in. It had a botched snap on a punt that gave Mater Dei a chance for a 9-yard touchdown drive. Then Mater Dei stopped Centennial on the 3-yard line and put together a 97-yard drive for a 21-0 lead.

By then Bryce Young had completed his first eight passes, Quincy Craig had burst for a 42-yard touchdown and Kody Epps had caught another score. When Mater Dei’s defensive pressure helped Ray Lautale to intercept for a touchdown, there were more minutes to play than questions to answer.

“We went over the speed option and the option up the middle,” said Dean Neeley, the senior linebacker. “They played a different running back (Nicholas Lloyd) than we thought, and their blocking splits weren’t as tight as we were expecting, but my boys are pretty adaptable. And then we had a few new things we wanted to do with the pressures. Coach E.J., he’s a genius.”

Eric Johnson has been running Mater Dei’s defense for 18 years in two different episodes, so it’s difficult to ask him how this defense might rank. But Mater Dei’s three interceptions and its superior speed at least prompted the question.

“We can be good but we were good last year,” Johnson said. “We gave St. John Bosco only 13 points last year (in their second meeting). The guys in the back did a great job and we remembered a lot of things we did against the option last year. It’s the first game, but it was pretty good.”

“I just thought we looked fast and quick,” said head coach Bruce Rollinson after personal victory No. 301. “They have some really good receivers. Gary Bryant is spectacular. But we only gave him one big play in the first half. That’s what we wanted to do, lock those guys down and wreak havoc with the front seven.

“But we had those two goal line stands. If we don’t, then maybe they’re matching our points and we’re out there trying to put our finger in the dam. I was afraid we might get caught up in all those massive hits and forget who were playing. After tonight I know we can handle something like that.”

Young threw three touchdowns, although he could have read Plutarch’s Lives in the time he had to pass.

“I can think of five times he audibilized for us, two times when he got out of a play that he didn’t think would work and got us into something better,” Rollinson said. “That’s the difference between a junior and a senior.”

All in all, the Monarchs illustrated something we tend to forget about hype, and cliches. They might seem tiresome, but they’re generally based on fact.

Corona del Mar’s football team returned 10 of 11 offensive starters from last year’s team that averaged 35 points a game.

We guessed a couple of weeks ago that the Sea Kings this year would average 40 points a game.

Looks like we were wrong.

Corona del Mar opened the 2019 season Friday night with a 57-14 win over Downey.

Sea Kings senior quarterback Ethan Garbers threw an Orange County-record eight touchdown passes and finished with 480 yards. He has a great group of receivers, including seniors John Humphreys and Bradley Schlom and senior tight end Mark Redman.

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Garbers, whose brother Chase is competing for the starting quarterback position at Cal, committed to Washington, as has Redman, and Humphreys committed to Stanford.

Of course, no quarterback throws for 480 yards and eight touchdowns without an outstanding offensive line.

Corona del Mar gets perhaps a tougher test next week. The Sea Kings travel north to play St. Francis of Mountain View, a team that was 11-3 last year but does not have nearly as many returnees as Corona del Mar.

If Corona del Mar can score 57 points in its first game, how many will the Sea Kings score as they inevitably get better week after week?

More on what happened in Week 0:

• When Bruce Rollinson last season completed his 30th season as Mater Dei’s coach with his 300th career win in the CIF State Open Division championship game, a win over De La Salle of Concord, it seemed the perfect time for Rollinson to call it a career – the round numbers of 30 season and 300 wins, and CIF-Southern Section and state championships. But he stuck around for at least a 31st season and we found out why Friday. He has a great senior quarterback, Bryce Young, and great players all over the place as the Monarchs proved Friday in their 42-12 win over Centennial of Corona.

• Marina put together a great comeback win over Laguna Hills, 33-20. Pharoah Rush, about as good of a name for a running back as you will see, rushed for 115 yards on 15 carries. Laguna Hills had its star, too, in Mitch Leigbar who collected 352 all-purpose yards for the Hawks, who had a 20-6 lead early in the game.

• Santa Margarita first-year head coach Brent Vieselmeyer made a successful debut. The Eagles took the trip to Redlands and beat Redlands East Valley 33-14. Junior quarterback Colt Fulton, who started his high school life at Centennial, threw touchdown passes of 35 and 27 yards to Tyler Wetmore.

• La Habra was another successful road tripper. Ryan Zanelli threw three touchdown passes and the all-around greatness of Clark Phillips III was on display as he had two interceptions for La Habra in a 21-14 win at Upland on Thursday. Zanelli has committed to Penn where he will be at the prestigious Wharton School of Business and Phillips is on his way to Ohio State, a traditional power that does not recruit Orange County players very often.

• It’s always fun to see a team that has struggled lately open a season with a win. Newport Harbor, 5-14-1 over the past two years, started this year with a 26-10 win over Woodbridge.

• If your first name is Tiger, you’d better be good, especially if you’re a freshman playing varsity football. Orange Lutheran freshman receiver Tiger Bachmeier made an acrobatic touchdown catch for the Lancers in their 27-21 win over San Juan Hills. Washington State commit Joey Hobert of San Juan Hills, who like La Habra’s Phillips is a multi-purpose star, had 10 catches for 218 yards and three touchdowns.

• Katella was impressive in its opener. It takes plenty of grit and character to beat Valencia, and Katella showed plenty of both in a 24-21 win.

• Looking ahead to next week: Orange at Garden Grove, Thursday; Savanna vs. Rancho Alamitos at Bolsa Grande, Thursday; Mission Viejo vs. Santa Margarita at Trabuco Hills, Friday; Valencia at Yorba Linda, Friday; Capistrano Valley at San Juan Hills, Friday; Western at Huntington Beach, Friday; and Villa Park vs. Mater Dei at Santa Ana Stadium, Saturday.

Quarterback Vincent Hourigan scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with about 50 seconds left and Joey Rouly added the go-ahead extra point to help Canyon rally past Spanish Springs of Nevada 41-40 in a wild, season-opening football game in South Lake Tahoe on Friday.

The Comanches trailed 40-20 in the third quarter but used big plays on offense and defense to beat one of the best teams in Nevada.

Canyon defensive back Gabe Gallardo recovered a fumble on the final play to seal the victory but suffered a hip injury in the sequence, Comanches coach Mike Ogas.

“They just rallied,” Ogas said of his team in a phone interview after the game at South Lake Tahoe High. “It was really fun to watch. … That was a very good team we beat.”

Ogas said safety Justin Bradford set up Hourigan’s score-tying touchdown run by a forcing fumble against Spanish Springs’ standout Jackson LaDuke, a senior committed to Oregon.

Canyon senior running back Jeffrey Holley then broke a long run to set the stage for Hourigan’s touchdown run.

Ogas said a blocked extra point by Dane Yasumura also was a critical to the victory.

“We had a lot of guys step up,” said Ogas, whose team went 3-7 last season but is expected to be improved. “It was a team effort.”

Canyon left on Wednesday for the game and stayed near South Lake Tahoe. Spanish Springs finished 9-4 last season.

In other season-opening games Friday:

Foothill 27, Coronado of Nevada 7: Senior Damien Pasillas returned an interception for a touchdown to help lead the visiting Knights, who outscored Coronado 20-0 in the second half.

No. 14 San Clemente 35, Oceanside 13: Junior Cole Batson returned an interception 65 yards for a touchdown to help lead the visiting Tritons, who forced three turnovers. Drayton Joseph started at quarterback for San Clemente.

Next week, San Clemente plays host to Torrey Pines, which beat Los Alamitos 38-10.

No. 2 JSerra 24, East of Utah 14: Junior linebacker Jaden Genova blocked a punt and returned the ball for a 15-yard touchdown in the first half to help lead the visiting Lions. JSerra led 14-0 at halftime.

Fullerton 48, Santa Fe 7: Arthur Shaw rushed for 306 yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries to lead the host Indians.

Magnolia 48, Godinez 6: Joseph Lariz rushed for 242 yards and scored twice at Glover Stadium to lead the Sentinels in their first game since a fire destroyed their equipment storage building.