The post Any day is a good day for tacos appeared first on The LA Monitor.
]]>By Carla Vigos
Laguna Woods Globe cooking columnist
Who remembers the times in our younger years when we were challenged to create a new way to serve ground beef? Instead of the same old meatballs, meatloaves, hamburgers or chili, I gambled on trying tacos, and my family loved them.
Today there are many bougie ways to make tacos.
Back in the old days, though, when there was no such thing as seasoning packets, I made the following version for my young family, and I still make it the same way today.
For the upcoming Cinco de Mayo celebration or any Taco Tuesday, try this simple recipe. You can use the leftovers for a taco salad the next day.
For questions or comments, email me at [email protected].
Tacos
INGREDIENTS
1 pound ground round
8 ounces tomato sauce
8 ounces water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
11/2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce (optional)
Corn tortillas
Oil
Lettuce, shredded
Tomato, diced
Cheddar cheese, grated
Optional radishes, avocado, pickled jalapenos, salsa, taco sauce, cilantro, sour cream
DIRECTIONS
In a skillet on medium heat, place the 1 pound of ground beef. No oil is needed.
Brown to a crumbly consistency and drain the fat from the pan. Add the tomato sauce, water and spices, and simmer until desired consistency.
In a smaller fry pan, fry the corn tortillas to your liking in some oil and drain.
Assemble your tacos, ground meat, cheese, tomato and lettuce, even sliced radishes (my boyfriend’s favorite) and any other optional toppings you would like.
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]]>The post Chihuahua mix Pearl’s friendly, joyful outlook is infectious appeared first on The LA Monitor.
]]>Breed: Chihuahua mix
Age: 1 year
Sex: Spayed female
Size: 8 pounds
Pearl’s story: She may be tiny, but Pearl is a big bundle of pure joy. This girl is sweet as can be, with a heart full of love and a shining personality. She’s happy, lively and always ready to brighten your day with her cheerful spirit. Pearl is the perfect companion, full of affection and charm, and is just waiting for the perfect home where she can share all of her love. She’s fully vaccinated and microchipped.
Adoption cost: $300
Adoption procedure: Fill out Friends of Orange County’s Homeless Pets’ online application or email [email protected]. The website has other pets in need of homes, too.
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]]>The post German shepherd Karma is a friendly, social girl appeared first on The LA Monitor.
]]>Breed: German shepherd
Age: 18 months
Sex: Spayed female
Size: 71 pounds
Karma’s story: Beautiful Karma is a super social, friendly girl. She knows how to sit and shake on cue and is a pretty good housemate. She enjoys being out and meeting new people and likes other dogs. Karma will make someone very lucky – she’s a great example of a shepherd: strong, smart and lots of fun. She is not reactive, but is gentle, easy to get along with and a rare find.
Adoption cost: $400
Adoption procedure: Visit Pups and Pals’ website for complete adoption procedures and an application, which must be received before meeting Karma. If you have questions about Karma not answered on the website, call 562-713-5103. Pups and Pals has other dogs if Karma is not your perfect match.
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]]>The post Justice Department to cut hundreds of grants, many impacting Southern California victim services, crime prevention programs appeared first on The LA Monitor.
]]>The U.S. Department of Justice announced this week it is terminating hundreds of federal grants, a move that will impact several Southern California organizations providing victim services and working to prevent crime in local communities.
According to Reuters, the Justice Department is cutting 365 grants totaling $811 million that were awarded to organizations across the country. The Washington Post reported that the Justice Department cited concerns about inadequate vetting processes under the previous administration as the reason for the cancellations.
The cuts span a wide range of programs, including services for domestic violence survivors, trauma centers, crisis hotlines, police training and mental health, juvenile justice initiatives, human trafficking prevention, and hate crime reporting efforts, according to Reuters. Grants supporting criminal justice research were also among those terminated.
A list of targeted programs published by Reuters shows that dozens of organizations across California will be affected, including several in Los Angeles.
One of them is St. John’s Community Health, which is poised to lose $400,000 in funding, President and CEO Jim Mangia said.
“This is a very important grant to hate-crime victims,” Mangia said. “It allowed us to provide case management, care coordination and direct legal services to hate crime victims.”
Mangia said the funding loss is especially concerning given the recent rise in hate crimes. According to the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations, reported hate crimes increased by 45% from 2022 to 2023, reaching 1,350 incidents—the highest number recorded since the agency began tracking data in 1980.
St. John’s plans to take legal action in an attempt to have the grant reinstated, Mangia said, and remains hopeful for a positive outcome.
The Urban Peace Institute, based in Los Angeles, is also bracing for major losses. Executive Director Fernando Rejón said programs supported by the…
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]]>The post OCTA gets green light to use boulders, sand at north end of San Clemente to secure tracks appeared first on The LA Monitor.
]]>The Orange County Transportation Authority was given the green light to immediately start work to secure a portion of the rail line through San Clemente, though only part of the proposed project earned emergency status.
The California Coastal Commission recently granted a go-ahead for emergency work on a northern section of the coastal tracks in San Clemente. But work toward the south that would involve adding boulders and sand and building a new 1,400-foot-long reinforcement wall on the inland side of the Mariposa Bridge still needs further analysis before moving forward, commissioners decided.
That also delays the rebuilding of the city’s popular coastal beach path destroyed by a landslide.
With the commissioner’s approval for the emergency work, the OCTA’s board of directors this week authorized CEO Darrell E. Johnson to move ahead with the work.
“Our priority remains clear: to move quickly, make the most of the state and federal funding we’ve already secured, and deliver as much of the needed work as possible, as soon as possible,” Johnson said in a statement. “We appreciate the Coastal Commission affirming what we have long recognized — that an emergency exists along this corridor.“
Following weeks of passenger service shuttered by another landslide in January 2024, OCTA officials identified four “hot spot areas” as most vulnerable to catastrophic failure from beach erosion, wave impacts, and slope failure.
Since 2021, emergency response to landslides and damage to this section of the 351-mile Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo, or LOSSAN, Corridor has cost taxpayers more than $40 million to restore service. The response to track damage has been both in the form of placing boulders to build up revetments and the construction of containment walls.
“This action enables OCTA to act quickly and decisively to protect our coastal rail line,” OCTA Chair Doug Chaffee, also Orange County’s Fourth District supervisor, said in a…
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]]>The post Motorcyclist shot and killed during Newport Beach traffic stop appeared first on The LA Monitor.
]]>A motorcyclist was fatally shot by police during a traffic stop in Newport Beach on Thursday night, April 17, police said.
At around 9:15 p.m., officers pulled over a motorcycle near Pacific Coast Highway, between Superior Avenue and Hoag Hospital, Newport Beach police said.
Police said the man became uncooperative during the stop, and an officer-involved shooting occurred. What prompted the shooting was not disclosed.
He was taken to the hospital, where he was declared dead.
Guillermo Tagalogon, who lives near Hoag Hospital, told OnScene.TV, a freelance news organization, that he heard six or seven gunshots.
No officer was injured.
The identity of the suspect had not been released. It was not clear whether or not the man was armed with a weapon.
On Friday morning, the California Department of Justice, which investigates police shootings of unarmed civilians, announced that it was reviewing the shooting.
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]]>The post Porto’s Bakery to begin construction in Downtown Disney appeared first on The LA Monitor.
]]>The oft-delayed Porto’s Bakery in Downtown Disney that was first announced three years ago will finally begin construction — a move that will have a ripple effect on the nomadic Earl of Sandwich restaurant.
Disneyland has filed demolition permits for the former La Brea Bakery that will become the future location of Porto’s Bakery at the outdoor shopping mall next to Disneyland and Disney California Adventure.
ALSO SEE: 10 best things to eat and drink at Parkside Market in Downtown Disney
Permits filed with the Anaheim Planning and Building Department call for the 2,600-square-foot La Brea Bakery and two nearby Disneyland ticket booths to be demolished with the utilities capped and foundation removed, according to Theme Park IQ.
Porto’s Bakery & Cafe officials had previously announced construction would begin on its Downtown Disney location in 2025.
Porto’s decision to open a Downtown Disney location on the site of the former La Brea Bakery was announced to much fanfare during the D23 Expo in 2022 at the Anaheim Convention Center.
La Brea Bakery closed in early 2023 to make way for the new Porto’s, but construction never started as expected.
ALSO SEE: Downtown Disney ‘store of stories’ will change every few months
A temporary Earl of Sandwich location moved into the former La Brea Bakery eatery while Porto’s pressed pause on plans for the east end of Downtown Disney.
Earl of Sandwich installed a temporary trailer in 2024 on the west end of Downtown Disney next to the Star Wars Trading Post.
Earl of Sandwich is currently operating both Downtown Disney locations.
ALSO SEE: Downtown Disney goes upscale with 3 new ‘elevated’ restaurants
The original Earl of Sandwich restaurant was torn down in 2022 along with the AMC Theatre, Starbucks West and Sugarboo and Co. as part of the renovation of the west end of Downtown Disney.
A new two-story Earl of Sandwich location under construction near the Downtown Disney performance lawn will include a…
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]]>The post Disneyland’s 70th will market memories, CSUF chronicler says appeared first on The LA Monitor.
]]>This summer marks Disneyland’s 70th anniversary, and “the Happiest Place on Earth” is gearing up for a yearlong tribute to dreams, imagination and magic. Beginning May 16, and continuing through summer 2026, the Disneyland Resort 70th Celebration will commemorate seven decades of Walt Disney’s vision brought to life.
It was July 17, 1955, when Disney first welcomed guests through the gates of Disneyland and onto Main Street U.S.A. While the genius behind the Magic Kingdom is well known for saying “It all started with a mouse,” Cal State Fullerton professor emeritus of communications Andi Stein feels that it was Disney himself, and all of his ideas, enthusiasm and innovation, that are the real genesis of Disneyland and everything behind The Walt Disney Company.
Stein, who turned her love for all things Disney into a career researching Walt Disney and his company, was a featured expert in the History Channel’s docuseries, “How Disney Built America,” which aired in June 2024. According to Stein, Disney’s early ideas for Disneyland were not well received by all, with many believing he had moved too far away from his company’s primary mission. Stein believes that with 12 Disney theme parks now operating globally, the dreamer behind the magic was simply ahead of his time.
“Although he had earned a reputation as a visionary for his innovative ideas, even some of (Disney’s) key supporters thought this one was over the top,” Stein said. “As we know, he proved them all wrong when the park was a big hit with the public. Disneyland set the stage for the theme park industry as we know it today, all around the world. And it was just the beginning of a whole new direction for the Walt Disney Company.”
The Disneyland Resort 70th Celebration will feature everything from updated attractions and anniversary décor to reimagined parades and entertainment. There will even be a new anniversary theme song released by the Jonas Brothers titled, “Celebrate…
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]]>The post Senior center directors working to build a ‘home away from home’ appeared first on The LA Monitor.
]]>Devoting time to the Florence Sylvester Senior Center in Laguna Hills has led two former volunteers to positions of leadership.
Pat Kenefick, director of activities and programs, came to her new duties as an outgrowth of time spent at the center’s front desk. Ellen Dupuy, the new community relations manager, became a volunteer after coming into the center to drop off flyers for a gem and mineralogy society.
Kenefick began with a Meals on Wheels route, then worked at the front desk of the senior center, becoming its coordinator.
When former center director Aimee Roberts left last June, Kenefick stepped into the breach. She was offered the job as director of activities and programs as a permanent part-time position.
Her appreciation and care for seniors, however, have been part of her life for much longer.
“My grandmother and great-grandmother were influential women while I was growing up, and my mother taught me to always do something good for others and the world,” Kenefick said.
During her teen years and as a young adult, she volunteered at senior living communities, visiting older adults and helping them participate in activities.
Kenefick sees herself as a member of the “sandwich generation,” one who was taking care of her ailing mother while working and raising her daughter.
“I was a caregiver for my mother for almost 10 years,” she said. “My mother came to live with me when I was pregnant with her first and only grandchild, while she was recovering from lung cancer.”
The three spent many days together negotiating doctors’ appointments along with physical therapy, pulmonary therapy and cardiac rehab sessions.
“I knew it was important to spend as much time doing fun things with Mom as she was on borrowed time,” Kenefick said.
They attended story readings for her daughter, events at the Mission Viejo senior center, art classes, dances and many musical theater shows in addition to tea house outings.
“These activities were so important to help…
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]]>The post Match makers: UCI med school grads learn which residency programs they are matched with appeared first on The LA Monitor.
]]>Pennsylvania, Chicago, Oregon, Los Angeles and even close to where they started their journey, UCI Medical Center, soon-to-be graduates learned Friday, March 21, where they will be spending the next years of their journey to becoming doctors.
The UC Irvine School of Medicine hosted its annual Match Day on Friday, with graduates stepping forward one by one to open their envelopes, discovering before the gathered crowd of friends and family which residency programs they had been matched with. Many took the opportunity to thank those in their lives who had helped them reach this point.
And, some were accompanied by partners or even children, because they, too, are part of this journey. The future doctors not only learned where they would spend their next years, but also what discipline they would do their clinical work in.
This year, 111 UCI medical school graduates participated in Match Day; there were 43, 237 positions nationwide and 52,498 applicants, according to the National Resident Matching Program. This was the largest group in its 73-year history, the national program reported.
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