Community invited to celebrate dedication of Skipper Carrillo statue on Friday, July 17

By DIANNE RUSSELL

After seven years – from inception to completion – the life-size statue of Skipper Carrillo will be dedicated on Friday, July 17 at 3 p.m. at its permanent home on the corner of Glenneyre St and Park Ave. 

What better time to honor Skipper’s life than on his 82nd birthday, which also happens to be July 17. The Friends of Skipper, the City of Laguna Beach, and The Skipper Carrillo Statue Trust invite the community to join in the celebration of both these monumental events.

The statue unveiling and dedication ceremony at the location site will last about 20 minutes and then attendees will immediately reconvene at The Forest & Ocean Gallery at 480 Forest Ave for a party to honor the donors and celebrate Skipper’s birthday. 

According to the statue’s creator, Laguna artist Randy Morgan – who also produced the bronze “Waterman’s Wall,” on the side of Hobie Surf Shop – the idea for the statue was set into motion after he talked to Skipper’s sister Alicia. 

Initially, Morgan wanted the statue placed on the Laguna Beach High School baseball field, which is named after Skipper, but the school board and coastal commission have restrictions against the placement of statues of any person on school property/yards.

Click on photo for a larger image

Submitted photo

Skipper at statue unveiling in January of 2019 at Forest & Ocean Gallery

However, the statue’s eventual home seems to be the perfect spot – Skipper passes that corner each day on his walk downtown. The location was generously donated by the Judy Family. Laguna residents Coleman Raffo and Dr. Gary Arthur were instrumental in procuring the Judy “site” for the permanent home of the statue.

To create the statue, Morgan worked from photographs – back to front –taken by a friend. It’s titled ‘Have a Home Run Day’ to honor Skipper’s life and legend and his place in Laguna lore as one of Laguna Beach’s most beloved characters. 

Morgan says, “Skipper is a stellar individual, he’s the greatest guy, such an inspiration. I asked him once what his philosophy was and he said, ‘One is my Father in heaven; two, my parents and sister; and three are my teammates.’ 

“The statue captures the smiling Skipper, waving his arms and yelling his mantra…‘have a home run day’ (how many times have we seen him do it!). A donor plaque and a plaque telling Skipper’s life story will also be placed at the site, fulfilling a promise made to Skipper and his family to create the monument.” 

Click on photo for a larger image

Submitted photo

Artist Randy Morgan at Forest & Ocean Gallery

As readers know from previous Stu News articles on Skipper, he grew up with a disability that he overcame by translating everyday expressions such as “Have a good day” into baseball terminology, dubbing places with the names of baseball venues, and calling family and friends by the names of baseball greats. 

Skipper worked for Laguna Beach High School for over 50 years, proudly remembering when he made his “debut” in 1957. “That was my rookie year,” he explains. “My job was to help take care of the (football) uniforms. We had about 70 uniforms. I made the coach’s job a lot easier. I organized the uniforms for 23-24 years.” 

In addition to working with the football team, Skipper umpired at Riddle Field for 25 years. “My batting helmet’s a little bit loose these days,” he said in a previous article. “It has been a while.” 

Click on photo for a larger image

Submitted photo

Randy with builder Bob Roper and “Have a Homerun Day” at the site

Morgan says, “It’s been a total community effort involving many different groups to get this done. I’m so grateful to everyone. I thought it would be the easiest thing in the world.”

According to Morgan, there have been numerous people over the past seven years who helped raise money and have been instrumental in bringing the project to fruition: The Arts and Planning Commission, a trust created by Philo Smith to raise funds for the sculpture. Smith, Morgan, Coleman Raffo, Forest & Ocean Gallery owner Ludo Liederitz, and Katy Moss serve as trustees. Michael Byrne, owner of Roux and The Saloon, has held multiple fundraisers. Ludo at the Forest and Ocean Gallery has been the director of the entire effort for fundraising and managing the project along with Randy.

The Friends of Skipper includes five groups – St. Catherine’s Catholic Church, The Skipper Carrillo Scholarship Fund, all the sports teams at Laguna Beach High School, the Skipper Carrillo Statue Fund, many private donors, and all the friends of Skipper Carrillo.

Click on photo for a larger image

Submitted photo

Randy and Forest & Ocean Gallery owner Ludo Liederitz packing up statue for transport 

Longtime Laguna Beach dentist Mark Judy and Diane Riegler (the Judy Family) donated the site on property they own. Ryan Singer, son of the late architect Mark Singer, donated his architectural services for the project, which was built by contractor Bob Roper, who got all the approvals and donated his services.

Morgan says, “At the beginning, I remember asking Bob Roper, ‘How busy are you?’ And he said, ‘I’m booked for two years,’ but when I explained the project, he immediately stepped up and asked, ‘What time do you want me there?’”

“It’s been a long journey, and we are happy to get it done,” says Morgan.

Although the culmination of that seven-year journey ends once the “Have a Home Run Day” statue is dedicated at the ceremony on July 17, there’s no doubt that everyone who passes it will continue to be inspired by Skipper Carrillo and the joyful and abundant spirit he brings to everyone he meets. 

However, another project is underway. Morgan is in the process of completing a documentary film with his producing partner Mark Gold of Fresh Cats Entertainment, which they are hoping to screen at the Newport Film Festival next year. This documentary will feature the song “Have A Home Run Day” by Gary Arthur.

COVID-19: County reports 1,284 additional cases, 26 deaths

OC Health Care Agency reported 1,284 additional confirmed COVID-19 cases in the County yesterday, July 9, following 1,333 cases reported on Wednesday, 1,010 cases reported on Tuesday, and 1,028 cases reported on Monday.

Sadly, the County reports that 402 people have died due to COVID-19, including 26 deaths received yesterday. There have been “less than five deaths” of Laguna Beach residents to date, according to the County.

According to the County, OC is experiencing “elevated disease transmission,” “increasing hospitalization,” and “limited hospital capacity” – with a 9.6 percent increase in the three-day average of hospitalized patients. The County reports a total of 21,517 cumulative cases to date.

The County reports that 691 individuals are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 (includes ICU); 236 are in ICU.

Laguna Beach has had 86 confirmed cases to date, a net increase of four cases yesterday, a per capita rate of 3.682 cases per thousand residents. This represents an increase of 30 cases in Laguna Beach since June 26.

Santa Ana has had 4,102 confirmed cases to date, a net increase of 172 cases yesterday, and 114 deaths. Anaheim has had 3,829 confirmed cases to date, a net increase of 191 cases yesterday, and 94 deaths. Newport Beach has had 531 confirmed cases to date, a net increase of 37 cases yesterday, and three deaths. Irvine has had 694 confirmed cases to date, a net increase of 46 cases yesterday, and five deaths. Dana Point has had 86 confirmed cases to date, a net increase of eight cases yesterday, and no deaths.

The age group with the most confirmed cases is 25-34 years old, accounting for 4,931 of the total confirmed cases in the County to date. 

The County estimates 9,452 “recovered cases” according to its data criteria.

For questions about the data presented by the County, call (714) 834-2000 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

To view the data dashboard, click here.

Numbers are updated daily by Stu News Laguna and reported on our social media pages @StuNewsLaguna.

Click on photos for larger images

Courtesy of OC Health Care Agency

Orange County COVID-19 case data as of July 9, as reported by the County; click here to visit page that is updated daily

Dennis’ Tidbits

By DENNIS McTIGHE 

July 10, 2020

It’s time for some big Baja swells 

There’s a significant difference between ocean temps here on the West Coast compared to the East Coast. In Southern California, we’re situated roughly 32-35 degrees north latitude with surface ocean temps around 64-67 degrees in most areas here on Wednesday. On the East Coast, the water is 20 degrees warmer from the southern tip of Florida, latitude 25 degrees north, to the outer banks of North Carolina, latitude 36 degrees north. 

The water temps here in Southern California very rarely reach 80 degrees, but back there it’s in the 80s from early June to well into September thanks to the Gulf Stream. Out here we’re under the influence of the much cooler Humboldt Current. During the summer, ocean temps south of Point Conception usually make it up to the low 70s at some point in a normal summer. Once you go north of Point Conception, the waters are much colder, with temps well down into the 50s for the most part all summer, whereas at latitude 40 degrees north back East waters are well into the 70s.

My question is, how can 84-87 degree water be refreshing when the air temp is in the 90s with a heat index at 100 or more from high humidity? The good news is we’re not vulnerable to tropical systems out West because water temps are far below the 80-degree threshold that is needed to sustain a system’s strength. 

Because of that huge expanse of hot water back there, storms have made it all the way up the Eastern Seaboard to Nova Scotia on occasion, with a guaranteed landfall at some point nearly every year. Out here, there have only been two times when there was a landfall here in Southern California, and that was a Category 2 in 1858 near San Diego and a high-end tropical storm in September of 1939 near Long Beach. Other than that, we’re good.

Speaking of the tropics, here on Thursday morning we have tropical storm Cristina centered about 500 miles south of Baja’s tip. Her winds are presently at 65 mph with a central pressure of 994 millibars and further intensification into at least a Category 1 by Friday when she will enter our swell window – moving at 14 mph to the WNW. If she veers more to the west as predicted, then forget about any swell from her. Stay tuned on that one. We haven’t had a decent Baja swell summer since 2014, and before that 2002. That’s an awfully long drought for Baja swells. 

Before the turn of the century, there was a lot more Baja swell action from the 1950s through the 1990s, with quite a few epic summers like 1958, 1965, and 1966. In September of that year, the biggest Baja swell I’ve ever seen put Newport Point (15th St) on the map with sets over 15 feet with Pipeline conditions. The best ever by far was 1972 with waves from every named storm all the way from Ava to Pauline. The summers of 1978, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1990, 1992, and the epic summer of 1997 all had multiple big south swells from the Southern Hemisphere and Baja. 

Since then it’s been trash with few exceptions. I guess it’s due to climate changes, as the patterns are different. I will say that this season has been off to a good start for long-period swells. Let’s hope that Cristina comes through and sets the tone for a good season for a change, as we’re long overdue!

Have a great weekend, ALOHA!

Common dolphin stranded on Oak Street beach, 10th PMMC dolphin response in 2020

On Wednesday morning, a dolphin that had been seen behaving strangely in the water at Oak Street beach ended up stranding on the beach and eventually passing away.

Events and Public Relations Coordinator for Pacific Mammal Marine Center (PMMC) Krysta Higuchi reports, “What we know is that the dolphin was reported alive and swimming erratically before stranding. Sadly the dolphin passed on her own before the team arrived. PMMC is currently conducting the necropsy (animal autopsy) on this particular animal. It is an adult, female Common dolphin. She was in good body condition so nothing stands out right now on the cause of death or stranding. We may not know full COD until the necropsy results have been analyzed. This is the 10th dolphin PMMC has responded to in 2020.”

Update: After the initial report, Stu News received this update from PMMC: 

“During the necropsy, our veterinary team found a mummified fetus. What we believe may be the cause of death is the fetus died and with the dolphin unable to pass the fetus, it caused the uterus to become infected and spread systemically which lead to sepsis. We are still sending out samples so the definitive cause is still pending per the histopathology results.”

Click on photo for a larger image

Submitted photo

Stranded dolphin at 8:40 a.m. on Wednesday at Oak St Beach

 PMMC has rescued and responded to over 102 marine mammals this year, including seals, sea lions, dolphins, and one pygmy sperm whale. PMMC is currently taking care of 40 animals.

Higuchi says, “We would like to give a shout out to the public that knew not to push the animal back into the water. These animals strand for a reason and pushing her back could do more harm than good, especially given she had been swimming erratically beforehand.”

PMMC rescues, rehabilitates, and releases marine mammals and inspires ocean stewardship through research, education, and collaboration.

Right now PMMC is in the middle of its annual fish drive, a vital fundraiser to raise funds to feed patients, but because of COVID-19, PMMC’s efforts have been hit hard. 

Any little bit helps, $1=1 pound of fish! Text FISH to 41444 or click here for more information. During its busy season, PMMC can go through 500 - 1,000 pounds of fish per day. PMMC’s goal is to raise $50,000 to feed its patients.

Amid COVID-19 concerns and in an abundance of caution, PMMC is temporarily closed to the public.

Crystal Cove State Park creates new and exciting virtual summer learning experiences for kids

Even though it’s a different kind of summer for California State Parks, Crystal Cove State Park stepped up to meet the challenge by creating a suite of engaging and exciting Online Summer Activities for kids. To access, click here.

Now kids can experience the fascinating natural and cultural resources at Crystal Cove State Park. Instead of visiting the park, “they are bringing it to you.”

Click on photo for a larger image

Photos courtesy of Crystal Cove State Park

Park Ranger Alex Anderson

According to Park Naturalist Winter Bonnin, “It’s been a challenge to alter our entire program going from in-person to online, but what’s been rewarding is knowing that all our new creations like scavenger hunts, videos, and walkabouts (even scat craft making and owl pellet cookie baking) will live on our website and can be enjoyed for years to come.”

Known to generations of schoolchildren simply as “Ranger Winter,” Bonnin has been the driving force for the Park’s interpretative programs for almost two decades.

“Spring is the busiest time of year at Crystal Cove State Park for our interpretive/education team. Normally we have thousands of school children joining us for guided field trips, hundreds of visitors attending our weekend programs, and public events like Art in the Park.”

Park Naturalist Winter Bonnin conducts a virtual Junior Ranger Program – Animal Evidence

 “This year everything came to a screeching halt and although it seemed like a good time to clean 20 years’ worth of papers out of the filing cabinets, instead our team chose to create, develop, and present a collection of online programming, which was like starting a new job,” said Bonnin. “Check out Bringing the Parks To You Online for engaging, interactive school program-focused content or our new Online Summer Activities for more typical California State Park types of summer engagement.” To access, click here.

So, no need to miss out on all Crystal Cove State Park has to offer – kids can just go online and join the entertaining activities that will take them there.