|
place for longtime customer
<br />Pedone.
<br />“I’ll have 4 00 square feet
<br />and my own climate-con-
<br />trolled room,” says Pedone
<br />of her new spot called Cio-
<br />colatto Lab, which will be
<br />equipped with new quartz
<br />countertops.
<br />It ’s b een a challenge m ak-
<br />ing a delicate product in a
<br />space t hat literally heats up
<br />as m ore chefs arrive during
<br />the day and begin their ow n
<br />cook ing projects.
<br />“I can only work until
<br />9 or 10 a.m.,” says Pedone,
<br />who has been starting her
<br />day at 3 or 4 a .m. to get the
<br />job done. “I could never go
<br />in the afternoons. It just
<br />gets too hot, and I can’t
<br />temper chocolate.”
<br />She also h ad t o go o n hia-
<br />tus each y ear from m id-July
<br />to mid-September because
<br />of the weather. Beginning
<br />in June, her new space w ill
<br />allow her to remain open
<br />year-round and e xpand her
<br />activities such as pop-up
<br />shops each month, weekly
<br />chocolate workshops and
<br />new releases of It alian-in-
<br />spired products.
<br />When the lab launches,
<br />she will b e open b y appoint-
<br />ment and on pop-up shop
<br />days. She’s grateful t hat the
<br />timing has worked out just
<br />right for her to grow along
<br />with The Hood.
<br />“This has been just such
<br />a blessing to me,” she said.
<br />“It’s a valued relationship,
<br />both ways.”
<br />In other chocolate news
<br />ChocXO, an award-w in-
<br />ning chocolatier that in
<br />2014 had opened a factor y
<br />in I rvine offering t ours, and
<br />at one time operated cafés
<br />in Costa Mesa and Lake
<br />Forest, has decided to close
<br />shop h ere and move b ack to
<br />Canada.
<br />The Ir vine location, at
<br />9461 Irvine Center Drive,
<br />closed Saturday. Some in-
<br />ventory will be available
<br />after Ju ne 1 at Sugar Rush
<br />Sweet Shoppe in the Los
<br />Olivos Marketplace in Ir-
<br />vine.
<br />ChocXO is ow ned by
<br />Richard Foley of Dana
<br />Point and Tony Canino of
<br />Ir vine, who will both con-
<br />tinue to live part-time in
<br />Orange County. The reason
<br />for the closure is that they
<br />have outgrow n the Irvine
<br />facility a nd n eed t o consol-
<br />idate at their pr ivate label
<br />factor y, Chewters Choco-
<br />lates in Delta, Br itish Co-
<br />lumbia. “We love the Or-
<br />ange Count y market. The
<br />problem is that it has got-
<br />ten so busy up there it re-
<br />quires both of us as ow n-
<br />ers to be there,” Canino
<br />said. “We’re simply mov-
<br />ing. The brand is not go-
<br />ing anywhere. The brand
<br />is growing, we’re building
<br />momentum and we have a
<br />loyal following in O.C.”
<br />ChocXO chocolates
<br />will still be sold online
<br />at ChocXO.com, through
<br />several local distributors
<br />and at Bristol Farms, Gel-
<br />son’s Markets, Marshalls,
<br />HomeGoods, T.J. Ma xx,
<br />Costco and other retailers
<br />in t he U.S. and Canada. “We
<br />just launched almond but-
<br />ter cups at Costco in Can-
<br />ada, a nd i t’s such a h it ,” s aid
<br />Canino, adding that they
<br />hope to bring them to U.S.
<br />Costco locations soon.
<br />Chocolate
<br />FROM PAGE 3
<br />2012, Cecil took a job as an
<br />ROTC instructor at a high
<br />school in Lancaster. Look-
<br />ing to move his wife and
<br />four c hildren to a m ore met-
<br />ropolitan area, Cecil landed
<br />his Pacific a High p ost a f ew
<br />years later.
<br />Pacifica’s program has
<br />been dogged by proba-
<br />tion on and off for three
<br />decades, occasionally dip-
<br />ping below the minimum
<br />enrollment stipulations.
<br />The Nav y requires at least
<br />100 ROTC members or, in
<br />the case o f smaller schools,
<br />10 percent of the student
<br />body.
<br />“It’s hard to maintain
<br />those nu mbers,” Cecil said.
<br />In 201 5-16, enrollment was
<br />at a borderline 103. The
<br />next year, with a deficit of
<br />younger students coming
<br />up, the count fell to 96.
<br />But thanks t o the recruit-
<br />ment e fforts by ROTC mem-
<br />bers a t local middle s chools
<br />— and to word of mouth on
<br />campus — t he number now
<br />stands a t 14 0. Next year, Ce-
<br />cil expects about 160.
<br />“Yeah, I h ear my k ids like
<br />me — probably because I’m
<br />immature,” Cecil modestly
<br />allowed. “I have ‘Stars Wa rs’
<br />figurines o n my d esk and do
<br />things l ike give s tudent s ex-
<br />tra credit for dressing u p for
<br />Halloween.”
<br />However, Jo anna Hwang,
<br />18, who will attend Clare-
<br />mont McKenna College on
<br />an ROTC scholarship, of-
<br />fered another reason: “Lt.
<br />Cecil is not just a teacher
<br />— he’s a mentor.”
<br />The program, she said,
<br />helped her overcome shy-
<br />ness — especially when she
<br />had to bark orders while
<br />marching.
<br />“I was such an introvert,
<br />but now I can yell at any-
<br />one,” Hwang said with a
<br />laugh.
<br />Brow n-bound Bui said
<br />she joined ROTC as a
<br />freshman because doing
<br />so allowed her to transfer
<br />from her home school. She
<br />planned to stay with the
<br />program the mandator y
<br />two years and move on.
<br />“I d efinitely did not want
<br />to join, but my parents in-
<br />sisted I go to Pacifica,” Bui
<br />said. “I imagined running
<br />through mud and people
<br />screaming in my face, but
<br />it ’s n ot quite that dramatic.”
<br />During her sophomore
<br />year, when Cecil took over,
<br />Bui said she discovered her
<br />love for ROTC. “He g ives u s
<br />structure and oppor tunities
<br />to lead,” she said.
<br />Bui, who also plays vol-
<br />leyball, noticed at RO TC
<br />competitions the camara-
<br />derie among the groups —
<br />not just Pacifica’s.
<br />“It’s not like in spor ts
<br />where you root only for your
<br />team,” she said. “Everyone
<br />is cheering you on. It ’s ver y
<br />uplifting.”
<br />Universities the other
<br />graduates will enter in-
<br />clude UC S an D iego, UC R iv-
<br />erside, San Francisco State
<br />and Cal State Fullerton.
<br />Elijah Hong, 18, is one of
<br />two senior cadets who will
<br />land at UC Irivne.
<br />His family had recently
<br />moved to Garden Grove
<br />from Riverside when he
<br />joined ROTC as a f reshman.
<br />“It gave me a place to be-
<br />long and a circle of friends,”
<br />Hong said.
<br />Most of the seniors hold
<br />no aspirations for military
<br />careers — and that’s just
<br />fine with Cecil.
<br />“There is a misconcep-
<br />tion t hat RO TC is a recruit-
<br />ment program,” he said.
<br />“That is not at all our pur-
<br />pose.
<br />“My goal is to teach stu-
<br />dents personal responsibil-
<br />ity, conflict resolution and
<br />how to speak up for them-
<br />selves.”
<br />RO TC
<br />FROM PAGE 3
<br />TU Santa Ana, a coali-
<br />tion of community groups
<br />launched t heir e ffort A pr il
<br />3 with t he fi ling o f a notice
<br />of intent to circulate peti-
<br />tions. The city reviewed
<br />the wording of the pro-
<br />posed i nitiative before giv-
<br />ing suppor ters the green
<br />light to launch a petition
<br />drive.
<br />“People are excited
<br />about rent control, and
<br />everybody we approached
<br />has been willing to sign,”
<br />said Isuri Ramos, a com-
<br />munity o rganizer w ith the
<br />Kennedy Commission, an
<br />affordable housing advo-
<br />cacy group. “It ’s a people-
<br />powered campaign. It ’s
<br />heavily volunteer.”
<br />Orange County apart-
<br />ment rents averaged
<br />$1,885 a month during
<br />the first three months of
<br />the year a nd i ncreased 2 5
<br />percent over the past e ight
<br />years, according to com-
<br />mercial proper ty tracker
<br />Reis Inc.
<br />Rent s are rising even
<br />faster in Los Angeles
<br />County, home to rent con-
<br />trol campaigns in Long
<br />Beach, Glendale, Ingle-
<br />wood and Pasadena. The
<br />average winter-quarter
<br />rent there was $1,898 a
<br />month, up 36 percent in
<br />the past eight years.
<br />“With renters struggling
<br />with housing affordabil-
<br />it y and rising rents, Santa
<br />Ana residents are asking
<br />for tenant protections and
<br />rent relief,” said an email
<br />from the Kennedy Com-
<br />mission on T hursday.
<br />Rent c ontrol ballot cam-
<br />paigns also are underway
<br />in S acramento, S anta C ruz
<br />and in National City, near
<br />San Diego. Seven Nor th-
<br />er n Califor nia cities held
<br />rent control referendums
<br />in 2016 and 2017, with
<br />rent control passing in
<br />two: Mountain View and
<br />Richmond. Renters are in
<br />the majority in 12 of the
<br />15 California cities where
<br />rent control battles have
<br />occurred.
<br />In a ddition, a c ampaign
<br />is under way to put an ini-
<br />tiative on the statewide
<br />ballot to repeal the Costa-
<br />Hawkins Act, which lim-
<br />its rent control to apart-
<br />ments, duplexes and tri-
<br />plexes built before 1995.
<br />Supporters have said they
<br />already have enough sig-
<br />natures to put the initia-
<br />tive on the November bal-
<br />lot.
<br />Landlord groups have
<br />been preparing to fight
<br />the statew ide initiative, a r-
<br />guing rent control harms
<br />more t enants t han it h elps
<br />because it results in fewer
<br />rentals and reduced main-
<br />tenance in rent-controlled
<br />buildings.
<br />Pe tition
<br />FROM PAGE 3
<br />Saturday’s article about the Verne Hughes Memorial
<br />USTA National Men’s Hard Court Championships, a tennis
<br />tournament in Laguna Woods Village, ran with photos of
<br />last year’s event. This year’s tournament was held May 14
<br />through Saturday.
<br />FOR THE RECORD
<br />PAUL BERSEBACH — STAFF PHOTOGPRAHER
<br />Lt. Chris Cecil
<br />walks among
<br />his cadets as
<br />they line up
<br />and prepare
<br />for a ceremony
<br />at Pacifica
<br />High School in
<br />Garden Grove
<br />on Tuesday.
<br />In just over
<br />a few years,
<br />Cecil managed
<br />to triple the
<br />number of
<br />students in
<br />the NJROTC
<br />program.
<br />Of the 18
<br />graduating
<br />seniors, 14
<br />are going
<br />to college
<br />and four are
<br />going into the
<br />military.
<br />THOMAS R.
<br />CORDOVA
<br />STAFF
<br />PHOTOGRAPHER
<br />Valenza
<br />Chocolatier
<br />has closed
<br />but will
<br />reopen in a
<br />permanent,
<br />400-square-
<br />foot space
<br />at The Hood
<br />Kitchen on
<br />June 4. Seen
<br />here, mini
<br />Easter eggs.
<br />COURTESY
<br />OF VALENZA
<br />CHOCOLATIER
<br />stroom before the shooting
<br />began, and for eight hours
<br />the couple remained sepa-
<br />rated, not know ing if the
<br />other was alive.
<br />Now, Jimmy Lessard
<br />said, anything from a pass-
<br />ing helicopter t o ambulance
<br />sirens triggers his PTSD.
<br />His wife suffers panic at-
<br />tacks that can be set off by
<br />a suspicious-looking pass-
<br />erby or a gust of w ind.
<br />“PTSD, that’s something
<br />I really d idn’t think existed,
<br />to be honest with you, un-
<br />til I h ad i t,” Lessard told t he
<br />Register in Apr il.
<br />Lessard said he’s amazed
<br />by the number of people
<br />who’ve been touched by
<br />trauma.
<br />“I didn’t realize how
<br />many others at the Y have
<br />dealt with other traumatic
<br />events,” he said. “So many
<br />people came together be-
<br />cause they started opening
<br />up t o each o ther, and it ’s r e-
<br />ally helped us become like
<br />a family.”
<br />He said people process
<br />trauma differently, and
<br />the most impor tant thing
<br />trauma sufferers can do is
<br />have a strong suppor t sys-
<br />tem.
<br />“My wife has dealt with
<br />it differently, and at first I
<br />would get frustrated with
<br />that,” h e said. “But I l earned
<br />that’s n ot how it works. You
<br />have to find a system that
<br />works for you.”
<br />Wr iter Brooke Becher
<br />contributed to this story.
<br />YMCA
<br />FROM PAGE 3
<br />PHOTO BY KYUSUNG GONG
<br />During Saturday’s Ride 4 Healing, a 300-mile stationary
<br />bike-riding event at Newport-Mesa Family YMCA in Costa
<br />Mesa, doves are released in remembrance of the people
<br />who died at the Route 91 Har vest Festival in Las Vegas.
<br />Reopening: June 4
<br />Location: The Hood
<br />Kitchen, 350 Clinton St.,
<br />Costa Mesa
<br />Online: valenzachocolatier.
<br />com
<br />CHOCXO
<br />Please join us to discuss these exciting changes at acommunity
<br />information meeting for the:
<br />MainPlace Tr ansformation Project
<br />WHEN: THURSDAY,MAY31, 2018 5:30 -7:30 p.m.
<br />WHERE: Former Nordstrom Department Store, 2nd Floor
<br />2800 NMain St, Santa Ana, CA
<br />WHY YOU SHOULD AT TEND
<br />•Learnabout the proposed vision and project
<br />•Sharecomments and ask questions
<br />•Meet the project team
<br />ABOUT THE PROJECT
<br />The proposed MainPlace Mall Tr ansformation Project seeks to preserve
<br />the mall as an iconic local shopping destination while evolving the center
<br />to meet the needs of today’sconsumer.
<br />In addition to maintaining and improving morethan one million square
<br />feet of retail space, the master plan integrates mixed-use to create a
<br />dynamic community destination in Orange County with amodernized
<br />MainPlace Mall at its core. This holistic approach to update the site plan
<br />with residential development will be ideal for live-work spaces, serving
<br />nearby workers in retail, hospital and government. This project
<br />proactively addresses the issues facing retail properties across the
<br />nation, creating athriving MainPlace for generations to come.
<br />Moreinformation at: www.TransformMainPlace.com
<br />If you have any questions regarding this event or you requirelanguage
<br />interpretation services in languages other than English, please contact:
<br />Justin Glover,Community Outreach
<br />justin@communicationslab.com or 949-215-5539
<br />Diego Te ran, Community Outreach
<br />diego@communicationslab.com or 949-215-5539
<br />(Llame para recibir información en español)
<br />in-language support available
<br />MONDAY, MAY 21, 2018 THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER » OCREGISTER.COM | NEWS |9 A
|