Home Care In Start, LA

The eminent Danish conductor Thomas Søndergård had a tough act to follow when he succeeded Osmo Vänskä as music director of the Minnesota Orchestra in 2023. In his two seasons there so far, Søndergård has represented continuity with Vänskä’s transformational tenure and has even led a festival of music from Nordic countries.

Minus the Minnesotans, Søndergård came out West last week, guest-conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic in the prestigious leadoff spot of the Hollywood Bowl’s classical season on Tuesday, July 8. If his performance was any indication of what he’s been doing in Minneapolis, then that orchestra has scored a coup.

Søndergård brought a thoroughly coherent program, predominantly Russian, to the Bowl’s now gaudily lit shell. Unexpectedly, the concert included the Ballade in A Minor, Op. 33, by British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875–1912), whose music has benefited lately from an uptick of interest in Black composers. (The conductor also presented the work with his Royal Scottish National Orchestra in 2024.)

It’s a very attractive and tuneful late-Romantic-era piece. While its success helped establish the young Coleridge-Taylor’s career, the Ballade has since faded into obscurity. This music can still seduce an audience, however.

Now, about the “Russian” aspect and how the work related to the rest of the program: The lyrical theme of the Ballade’s central section sounds as if it could have been dashed off by Sergei Rachmaninoff in his Second Symphony, composed just eight years later.

Fittingly, the real Rachmaninoff showed up immediately afterward on Tuesday in the form of his Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, played by the Russian-born pianist Kirill Gerstein like he owned the piece — and he might well after this galvanic performance.

His demonic streak in full force, Gerstein tore through the opening variations in brittle, invigorating, precisely detailed fashion, while allowing the famous tune of the 18th variation to sing out with uninhibited Russian soul. Søndergård caught Gerstein’s fire and got a dynamic response from the LA Phil underneath the devilish crimson lighting of the Bowl’s shell.

Søndergård and the orchestra then turned in a smashing rendition of Sergei Prokofiev’s triumphant Symphony No. 5. Many writers have claimed that the Fifth Symphony may have been conceived in anticipation of a final victory in World War II, as the Soviet army was pushing the Nazis back into Germany. I prefer the interpretation by record critic John M. Conly, who in the 1950s suggested that the Fifth was “the first urban symphony” (though I do wonder if he ever heard Gustav Mahler’s Ninth). “It teems,” Conly said, and that description resonates because you can picture the hectic energy and rush of modern cities in the scherzo and finale, set off by the slower, grinding angst of the first and third movements.

Indeed, Prokofiev’s Fifth teemed in Søndergård’s hands — the conductor used his baton only in the even-numbered movements.

The opening Andante came to a satisfyingly thick and crushing head three-quarters of the way through. Everything else had crisp, sharp bite at mostly ideal tempos, and the hard-driving coda of the finale spun like a top. The Bowl’s sound system, though turned up in volume, reflected plenty of clear detail, almost as if the engineers had transported the acoustics of Walt Disney Concert Hall to the great outdoors. It was a good start to the summer ahead.

Cricket's much-hyped return to the Olympics at LA Games will take shape at the Fairgrounds Stadium in the city of Pomena -- about 50km from Los Angeles -- from July 12 with the medal matches scheduled on July 20 and 29, 2028.

A total of six teams each in men's and women's sections and 180 players will compete in the T20 format in the quadrennial showpiece, which hosted cricket for the first and only time in 1900.

There are no matches scheduled on July 14 and 21 and most of the the matchdays will be double headers, according to the competition schedule released by the organisers.

The only time the gentleman's game was played at the Olympics was in Paris way back in 1900. Only two teams, Great Britain and France, competed in a two-day match with the former winning the gold medal.

With a total of 90 athlete quotas allocated in the men's and women's sections, the 12 competing teams can name 15-member squads.

Cricket's growing popularity can be gauged from the fact that three venues in the United States -- Grand Prairie, Lauderhill, and New York -- organised several matches of the 2024 T20 World Cup, jointly hosted by USA and the West Indies.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) had approved cricket, baseball/softball, flag football, lacrosse (sixes) and squash as five new sports to feature at the 2028 Games.

"When the world comes here for these Games, we will highlight every neighbourhood as we host a Games for all and work to ensure it leaves a monumental legacy.

"We are already delivering that legacy as we announce there have been more than one million enrollments in PlayLA. I want to thank LA28 and the International Olympic Committee for making these programs possible and for their continued work to host the greatest Games yet," said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass in a statement.

Cricket is making a comeback to the Olympics after 128 years at the LA 2028 Games. Both men's and women's T20 tournaments, featuring six teams each, will be held at the Fairgrounds in Pomona. The competition will start on July 12, with medal matches on July 20 and 29.

Cricket is set to make its historic return to the Olympics after 128 years at the LA 2028 Games, with competitions scheduled to begin on July 12. The International Olympic Committee has confirmed that both men's and women's T20 format tournaments will be held, featuring six teams each competing for gold, silver, and bronze medals, with the medal matches scheduled for July 20 and 29 at the Fairgrounds in Pomona.The Fairgrounds Stadium in Pomena, located approximately 50 kilometers from Los Angeles, will serve as the cricket venue for the Games. Officially named Fairplex, the facility spans nearly 500 acres, and has been hosting the Los Angeles County Fair since 1922 and regularly serves as a location for various events including concerts, trade shows, sporting events, and cultural gatherings.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!The competition schedule released by the LA 2028 organisers reveals that most matchdays will feature double headers, with games starting at 9:00 AM (9:30pm IST) and 6:30pm (7am next day) local time. The organisers have specifically noted that no cricket matches will be scheduled on July 14 and 21 during the Olympics.Both events will allocate 90 athlete quotas per gender, allowing teams to field 15-member squads.Cricket's previous, and only, Olympic appearance was at Paris 1900, where only two teams - Great Britain and France - competed in a one-off two-day match, now recognised as an unofficial Test. Great Britain emerged victorious, claiming the gold medal.The sport's inclusion in LA 2028 follows its growing presence in major multi-sport events. Cricket has previously featured in the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur for men, while women's cricket made its Commonwealth Games debut at Birmingham 2022.The T20 format has also been part of the Asian Games, with both men's and women's tournaments held in 2010, 2014, and 2023.READ | Satya Nadella column: Cricket in USA a homecoming, not arrivalCricket joins four other new sports approved by the IOC for LA 2028, including baseball/softball, flag football, lacrosse (sixes), and squash. Squash, another new Olympic sport expected to draw significant Indian interest, will hold its events at the Universal City Squash Center in Los Angeles from July 15, with medal matches scheduled for July 23 and 24.Cricket's growing presence in the United States is evident from the hosting of several 2024 T20 World Cup matches across three venues - Grand Prairie, Lauderhill, and New York, as part of the tournament jointly hosted with the West Indies.

This article was produced by the nonprofit journalism publication Capital & Main. It is co-published here with permission.

Candice Williams never had to be convinced of the value of a program like Head Start. She lived it.

Williams is executive director of Family Forward Oregon, a Portland-based collective of parents, caregivers and advocates that pushes for legislative reforms such as paid family leave and affordable child care. Long before that, though, Williams benefitted as a child from Head Start’s comprehensive early education, literacy and nutrition programs for low-income families — one success story in the mostly glowing 60-year history of the federal program.

“My family would not be where it is right now had I not had access to the early literacy programs and early supports from Head Start, which made me fall in love with education,” said Williams, who went on to earn three master’s degrees in education and leadership as a first-generation college student.

Her sentiment is broadly supported by the data. Research begun decades ago and more recently reevaluated indicates that making early investments in childhood education, as Head Start does, yields major economic returns — in the range of $7 to $12 back to society for every dollar invested. In California, Head Start serves more than 73,000 kids, nearly 9,000 in Los Angeles County alone. The program touches the lives of an estimated 833,000 children across the country annually.

Thus, Williams can’t quite figure out why President Donald Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are so intent on killing it.

“The fact that they’re coming for something like Head Start, which is loved and supported across political lines, should have all of us screaming from the rooftops,” Williams said. “In any other political moment, this would have gotten weeks and weeks of national attention.”

* * *

The Trump administration’s latest salvo landed last week, with Kennedy attempting to prevent Head Start from continuing to provide resources for all low-income children in America. Its effects would be real — and potentially toxic.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ notice would change the longstanding interpretation of a nearly 30-year-old law and declare Head Start’s services off-limits to immigrant families — “illegal aliens,” in the words of the HHS statement.

That would mean a denial of service to certain children in the U.S. from birth to age 5 in such areas as early learning and development, nutrition and health, and family well-being. Head Start, which includes preschool services, is free to low-income families.

“This is a misguided and hateful action targeting immigrant children,” said Clarissa Doutherd, executive director of the advocacy group Parent Voices Oakland, which says more than 400 children are enrolled in the city of Oakland’s Head Start program. “It is a gross abuse of power that will negatively impact generations of families. This goes against why the Head Start program was founded — to create a safe and nurturing environment for children.”

Like some other Trump policy announcements, this one was not accompanied by instructions on how it should be carried out, leaving its implementation an open question. Since most of the nonprofits, school districts and faith-based organizations that deliver Head Start’s early education and nutrition programs do not collect or keep immigration information, it’s unclear how they’re supposed to weed out and turn away undocumented children — or if that’s even the point.

“We’re not sure what happens if the child was born in the U.S. but one of his parents isn’t documented,” said one program worker in Northern California, who asked not to be identified for fear of retribution against their organization. “Are they using the kids to go after the parents?”

The HHS announcement said it was formally rescinding a 1998 reconciliation act that extended Head Start programs and some other federal benefits to all families regardless of their immigration status — and the agency said it would now require documentation of that status. “For too long, the government has diverted hardworking Americans’ tax dollars to incentivize illegal immigration,” Kennedy said. “Today’s action changes that — it restores integrity to federal social programs, enforces the rule of law, and protects vital resources for the American people.”

In serving nearly 40 million children and their families since its creation in 1965, Head Start has never required documentation of immigration status, the National Head Start Association said in a statement. “This decision undermines the fundamental commitment that the country has made to children and disregards decades of evidence that Head Start is essential to our collective future,” said NHSA executive director Yasmina Vinci.

* * *

Candice Williams said she and others in Family Forward Oregon’s vast network of caregivers and nonprofits, who work with an estimated 12,000 Oregon children who receive services through Head Start, aren’t sure what’s next. Kennedy’s intention is for the anti-immigrant HHS interpretation to take effect immediately — but again, there are no details as to how, and Williams said the questions currently outnumber the answers. Fear, she said, is running high.

In the meantime, her organization will fight. Both Family Forward Oregon and Parent Voices Oakland, along with the Head Start associations of four states, earlier this year joined a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union alleging that the Trump administration is trying to dismantle Head Start by “gutting the program of staff and resources” and delaying funding, among other things.

On Wednesday, the ACLU amended the suit to include Kennedy’s latest directive regarding immigration status, challenging the HHS reinterpretation as unlawful and unconstitutional. “The administration’s staff cuts, delays, and immigration directive threaten the vital early education, health, and social services that more than 800,000 children and families rely on each year,” the ACLU said in a statement.

Workers on the ground, meanwhile, say there’s a ripple effect from the actions. If Head Start funding is ultimately delayed or denied, local child care programs’ budgets could take such a hit that they either fold entirely or severely curtail their services — and that’s to all families, not just the ones potentially affected by the HHS policy shifts, including the immigration question.

“We are determined to use every tool that we have to fight this — including for children whose parents were born in another country,” Parent Voices Oakland’s Doutherd said. Added Williams, “We do not operate from a place of fear.”

LA Public Press has its first two interns: Steven Lopez and Karina Soriano.

Steven joins LA Public Press through a partnership with Report for America and Cal State LA, in the first internship cohort piloted by Report for America.

“Covering stories in the place where I’m from is a privilege,” Steven said. “In some ways, it feels as if I am giving back to my community by helping their voices be heard through my reporting.” Steven wants to pursue sports reporting after graduation.

Report for America’s first internship cohort includes LA Public Press, WFSU, The Baltimore Beat, The Austin American-Statesman, and Bridge Detroit.

Julie Patel Liss, the director of Journalism at CalState LA, said she’s excited to see Steven in the role.

“He quietly met and surpassed rigorous requirements and deadlines for reaching out to dozens of sources, interviewing them and documenting information through audio, video, record, and in detailed footnotes,” Julie said. “This is precisely the kind of impactful, life-changing experience that can help him as he blazes a path to his career. We are extremely thankful to Report for America and LA Public Press for this opportunity.”

Karina Soriano, who joins LA Public Press through a partnership with Cerritos College, said she’s excited to join the team.

“I am looking forward to pushing myself and honing my skills so that I am able to contribute new ideas and perspectives to my writers’ room this fall.”

Karina is working specifically with the audience team under Audience Director Mariah Castaneda.

“I’m so excited to have Karina join our team, in the few weeks she’s been here she’s shown so much initiative and authentic care for our LA communities,” Mariah said.

Australia's top Olympic class sailors have wrapped up a valuable week of racing at the Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta in California, gaining firsthand experience at the future venue of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

Australian Sailing Team, Technical Director Michael Blackburn highlighted the strategic value of the event, "It was a good week for the team," said Blackburn. "Learning a lot about the venue and the way the wind typically behaves with the breeze tending to fill in later in the day, which changes how we prepare and approach each day."

The regatta featured international fleets across the Olympic classes, and Australian athletes took full advantage of the chance to test their racing and decision-making in unfamiliar, and at times tricky conditions.

West-Australian Ethan McAullay delivered the top Australian result in the ILCA7, finishing with a strong sixth place in a fleet of 52 boats. Zac Littlewood followed in 16th, while up and coming Futures squad athletes Eddie Reid, Isaac Schotte, and Michael Compton showed their progress, placing 21st, 23rd, and 26th respectively.

In the ILCA6, the National squad continued to show strong depth with three athletes finishing inside the top 15, Paris 2024 Olympian Zoe Thomson led the charge with a seventh-place overall finish with Tokyo Olympian Mara Stransky following closely behind in 11th, while Elyse Ainsworth claimed 14th.

Twenty-five-year-old Breiana Whitehead finished 10th overall in the Formula Kite Women's class, testing wind on the flat water fast-paced foiling kite course inside the Long Beach Breakwater.

"In terms of the racing here this week, some light conditions challenged our sailors, as they were getting used to the necessary strategic thinking at this venue," Blackburn observed. "They weren't making the best decisions all the time but certainly we're gaining a lot of information about how the wind behaves which is going to be really useful in future years."

For Blackburn and the broader team, the week wasn't just about the racing, "This was a chance to not only compete, but also do some valuable reconnaissance around the venue, understanding how the shore site might operate, how logistics could be managed between split locations, and starting to visualise our Olympic campaign environment," he said.

While there were no podium finishes this time around, the experience gained was invaluable. The Australian Sailing Team leaves Long Beach better informed, better prepared, and one step closer to building a successful campaign toward LA 2028.

Australian Sailing Team (AST), Australian Sailing Pathway Team (ASPT), Australian Sailing Futures (ASF) and other Australian (AUS) results in the Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta:

ILCA6 - 44 Entries 7th - Zoe Thomson (AST) 11th - Mara Stransky (AST) 14th - Elyse Ainsworth (AST) 24th - Sylvie Stannage (AUS)

ILCA7 - 52 Entries 6th - Ethan McAullay (ASPT) 16th - Zac Littlewood (AST) 21st - Eddie Reid (ASF) 23rd - Isaac Schotte (ASF) 26th - Michael Compton (ASF)

Formula Kite - Women - 19 Entries 10th - Breiana Whitehead (AST)

Full results here.