Critically ill children find respite in the surf during Miracles for Kids camp
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Good morning. It’s Wednesday, July 27. I’m Carol Cormaci, bringing you today’s TimesOC newsletter with the latest roundup of news and events.
Summer camps for children are a rite of passage, and increasingly over the years they’ve embraced young campers of all types of needs — perhaps none more so than the Surf and Paddle Camp sessions offered each year by Miracles for Kids.
My colleague, reporter Lilly Nguyen, donned her flip-flops and ventured to the sands of Newport Beach last Friday to check out and write about the third and final session this summer organized by the Irvine nonprofit.
She reports that at least a dozen families turned out for the camp, where for a day, the children could cast aside thoughts about their debilitating illnesses and just have some fun building sandcastles, or learning surfing or standup paddle-boarding from volunteers who are experts in their fields.
Miracles for Kids co-founder and chief executive officer Autumn Strier told Nguyen the event was entirely free for all its participants — the gear, the food, the gas, even the instructors, who came from Waves of Impact and Boardriders.
Strier said all the families participating on Friday were referred to Miracles for Kids by children’s hospitals throughout Southern California.
“[We serve] low-income families with critically ill children who, because of their limited resources, have very little opportunity to either get out of the hospital, get out of their homes, and experience a day out in the sun and on the beach, which we all know living in Southern California is expensive,” Strier told Nguyen.
“That was one of the very first things we thought of. How could we make this into something special for our families who need a day of mental wellness?” she said. “A day away from their everyday reality with a sick child.”
Nguyen interviewed some of the parents who were there Friday to enjoy watching their kids have a blast at the beach. She learned from them that the nonprofit offers far more than just recreational outlets.
“Miracles for Kids is what it’s called — a miracle,” one mom said. “Without them ... they helped us with our rent; they helped us with our car payment; gas of going back and forth [for medical treatments]. So, we didn’t have to focus on income. We just focused on our son and trying to battle what he was going through.”
Lending a hand to the cause Friday was 18-year-old Irvine resident Ryan Abraham, whose family benefited from the organization when he was 4 and diagnosed with life-threatening hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. He’s in remission now and wanted to help out at the camp.
“I started to volunteer here to give back because I feel like I owe everyone one,” said Abraham. “The world gave
me a miracle. I feel like I should give everyone a miracle as well.”
MORE NEWS
— Beachgoers at Huntington State Beach enjoying the bright and sunny afternoon were surprised by the 1:30 p.m. sudden descent and crash of a small aircraft that had been towing an advertising banner. The pilot made it out safely, according to the Huntington Beach city spokeswoman.
— A bill banning the sales of firearms and ammunition on all state-owned properties has been signed into law.
Senate Bill 915 prohibits such sales on state lands, including county fairgrounds, many of which serve as districted agricultural associations under the state’s Department of Food and Agriculture. The legislation passed in the state Assembly and Senate in late June and was signed Thursday by Gov. Gavin Newsom. “The state of California will no longer profit off of the sale of firearms on its property,” Dave Min (D-Irvine), a co-author of the bill, stated in a news release. “Our communities and our state will be safer because of this new law.”
— The Orange County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 Tuesday, with Supervisor Andrew Do dissenting, to accept $956,352 from Amplify Energy to cover expenses related to the emergency response and cleanup efforts related to the oil spill off Huntington Beach last October.
— Orange County prosecutors on Monday said they had identified the killer of two women in the 1980s with the help of DNA evidence. It was determined that DNA collected from the scenes of the deaths of Shannon Rose Lloyd, 23, and 27-year-old Renee Cuevas belonged to Reuben J. Smith, who took his own life in Las Vegas in 1999. Smith lived in Orange County in the 1980s and in 1998 was accused of attacking a woman in Las Vegas and trying to kill her.
— The trial of a Santa Ana man in the murder nearly seven years ago of a 23-year-old escort in a Newport Beach office complex got underway with opening statements Monday morning in Santa Ana. Nain Issac Nieto Hernandez, now 36, is charged with murdering Sarai Alcaraz on the night of Dec. 28, 2015. Hernandez was arrested two days later and has remained in custody since.
LIFE & LEISURE
— The building that housed the old Ruby’s Diner on the Huntington Beach Pier, shuttered since February 2021, is now the site of a new restaurant, Bud & Gene’s. The eatery is named after Delbert “Bud” Higgins and Gene Belshe, who were two of the city’s first lifeguards in the 1920s, according to John Cunin with the ownership group RAV.
— Laguna Beach resident Laura Ford, concerned about the decline of monarch butterflies, launched the nonprofit Pollinator Protection Fund. She and her husband, Michael, built a pollinator habitat garden in Laguna’s Heisler Park last September, planting narrow-leaf milkweed and other California native plants to help sustain the monarchs. Recently, they’ve started another habitat garden that is already thriving, this one at Bluebird Park, according to a feature story by reporter Matt Szabo. Thinking of creating a similar butterfly-friendly zone in your yard? Ford told Szabo she purchases most of the plants for the habitats from Tree of Life Nursery in San Juan Capistrano.
SPORTS
— Another uncomfortable Angels losing streak was ended Sunday when they beat the World Series champs Atlanta Braves 9-1 at Truist Park on a steamy day in Cumberland, Ga. It must have felt good to the struggling Angels, because the Braves had won 14 of 19 and were 35-11 since June 1, the best record in the majors during that span. Alas, on Monday, the Angels suffered another loss, 0-7, to the Kansas City Royals. Last night’s score came too late to include in this morning’s newsletter, so I can’t report whether or not they bounced back. Fingers crossed, Halos fans.
— Five months after winning the CIF Southern Section Open Division title with Newport Harbor High, largely the same group of girls struck gold again in the club arena at the highest level. On Sunday at Stanford University, Newport Beach Water Polo Club edged SET Black, 9-7, for the 18-and-under platinum title at Session Two of the USA Water Polo Junior Olympics.
CALENDAR THIS
— The Sea and Sage Audubon Society is hosting a Summer Bat Walk from 8 to 9:15 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 6 at the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary, 5 Riparian View, Irvine, to watch two species of bats arrive at dusk to feed on flying insects. Registration for this prepaid event is required and can be made here. Cost is $15 for adults and $8 for youths ages 10 to 12. For more information email summerbatwalks@gmail.com.
— Placentia Chamber of Commerce officials are planning the organization’s eighth annual Taste of Placentia in support of the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District. The event takes place Thursday, Aug. 11, from 5 to 9 p.m. Nearly 80 vendors — restaurants, breweries, wine purveyors and more — will set up their tasting booths in Tri City Park, 2301 N. Kraemer Blvd., Placentia. The presale ticket price of $35 gets you unlimited food and drink tastings. Tickets are $45 at the door. Tickets can be purchased here.
O.C. CHRONICLES
Orange County native Janice Munemitsu, author of “The Kindness of Color — Two Families and Mendez v. Westminster,” recalls military helicopters practicing maneuvers in her hometown back in the day:
“Our family farm was at Brookhurst and Edinger in the 1960-’70s. Across the intersection, huge Navy helicopters simulated landings/take offs from “aircraft carriers” — dots in the middle of triangular targets.
“The Navy purchased a square mile of land in 1942 and used it until 1974. The noise and dust from the huge copters were a sight in contrast to the small family farms!
“Fountain Valley’s first mayor, Jim Kanno, notably America’s first Japanese American mayor, was the visionary for a park at the site. He convinced the federal government to release the land for a park, today’s Mile Square Park!”
We also have this memory of a certain Newport Beach shopping mecca from newsletter reader Joslyn Marksbury, who today calls Louisville, Ky. her home:
“When Fashion Island first opened, the only way to get there was by PCH or the 405 Freeway that ended at Jamboree. Jamboree, where the Boy Scouts held their gatherings, was a winding, undeveloped road.
“We lived in Long Beach at the time and Mom and I decided to go on an adventure. It was a forever drive from the 405 and, eventually, we went over a rise and there was this oasis of buildings! It was an amazing site to see at the end of all the orange groves, sand dunes, etc.”
If you have a memory or story about Orange County, I would love to read and share it in this space (please keep your submission to 100 words or less).
I’d appreciate your help in making this the best newsletter it can be. Please send your memory of life in O.C., news tips or comments to carol.cormaci@latimes.com.
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