“It makes a difference in how people feel, how they look at themselves,” Woods, an ally, said. “We’re a huge community, so why not do something for somebody else?”

Like Woods, many hair stylists and salons across Southern California are leading the charge in centering LGBTQ+, nonbinary and gender-nonconforming people, at a time when these communities’ rights and gender-affirming care are being challenged nationwide.

Gender-affirming care — which includes medical care, mental health, social and even cosmetic services — can include any care or approach people get to transition themselves, and their bodies, to fit with their gender identity.

In 2023, states like Florida, Texas, and at least 15 others have passed laws that either restrict or outright ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth, and severely limit the rights of LGBTQ+ people, according to a tracking map by the Human Rights Campaign. At least 35% of transgender youth live in states that have passed bans on care. Over 70 anti-LGBTQ laws have been enacted this year; 15 of which banned gender-affirming care for trans youth.

Advocates hope people in these diverse communities know that there are resources available, especially if they are a person of color, queer or trans — groups that are historically underserved in health care and within the beauty industry, they say.

Woods, who owns her own salon in Loma Linda called BeUti 4 Ashes, took part in a recent event in the Inland Empire that provided free gender-affirming haircuts and styles for college students.

The second annual Queer Cuts, held at Cal State University San Bernardino on Oct. 18, brought in local stylists to provide gender-affirming haircare, in a safe environment, for free.

“I always say, ‘We always start with our crown’,” said Woods, who styled braids, locs — different from dreadlocks — and silk presses for natural hair, at the event. “So you start with your hair and if your hair looks good and feels good to you, everything else will fall in place.”

Lee Stovall, the coordinator of Cal State San Bernardino’s Queer and Transgender Resource Center, founded Queer Cuts on campus in 2022, where nearly 80 students received free haircuts, braids or locs. Stovall, who uses she and they pronouns, said the goal is to give students a “space where they can come and get essential services in a space that feels gender-affirming.”

Gender-affirming services, which are most often associated with transgender and nonbinary people, can include hormones or surgeries, such as top surgery, which aligns people’s bodies with their gender identity. Stovall said that someone getting a haircut and wardrobe that “feels more them” can help a lot with their sense of self, and is less permanent for those who want to “explore gender,” but don’t yet want surgeries.

Gender-affirming services are also not exclusive to the LGBTQ+ community, Stovall said. For example, a cisgender woman waxing her facial hair can be seen as gender-affirming.

At this year’s Queer Cuts, 32 students — of which 23 identified as trans, nonbinary or gender-nonconforming — were given haircare services, according to Stovall. Many who attended said they felt both valued and seen.

Ariz Martinez, a fourth-year liberal studies major, said she had been stressed with balancing school, her job and social activities, and hadn’t had time to get her hair done or practice self-care in a year. She said it was “meant to be” that the Queer Cuts event happened when it did.

“I feel like life has gotten to me lately,” Martinez said. “I feel so much better, I feel happy I brought myself today… The stylist was really nice, which made me feel better because I was really nervous about coming.”

Stovall said that getting services can be “really tough,” especially for queer and transgender people, because “just doing things that align with your gender identity can be really scary for folks.”

But removing any financial, psychological and emotional barriers is important to ensure overall comfort and safety, especially for youth, Stovall said. Having inclusive amd accessible events — like on a college campus — that advocate for these communities, while celebrating and affirming them, is essential.

“It’s a scary time to be queer and trans right now,” Stovall said.

Like Stovall, many LGBTQ+ people and allies worry about safety, especially with the recent influx of laws they say explicitly discriminate against them.

Over the summer, the Supreme Court ruled that a religious web designer in Colorado can’t be forced to create wedding websites for same-sex couples under the First Amendment. The ruling outraged many LGBTQ+ communities and allies, worrying that it could set a new legal precedent.

In response to growing anti-LGBTQ legislation reported around the U.S., California Gov. Gavin Newsom endorsed several laws that protect LGBTQ+ students and their privacy. They include AB 233, the Transgender Youth Privacy Act, which protects the privacy of minors applying to legally change their gender or sex identification by sealing those court records. Newsom also signed SB 345, which protects insurance providers against the enforcement of other states’ laws that criminalize or limit reproductive health care services or gender-affirming health care.

This past summer, L.A. County officials created a new LGBTQ+ Commission to expand gender-affirming care and programming.

Psychologists and health experts say that, while not a one-size-fits-all approach, finding gender-affirming care — particularly for many vulnerable transgender and nonbinary people — can save lives.

In California, 44% percent of LGBTQ youth seriously considered suicide in the past year, including 54% of transgender and nonbinary youth, according to The Trevor Project’s most recent survey on LGBTQ+ Youth Mental Health. Gender-affirming care is associated with positive mental health and overall well-being, and reduces overall suicide risk, researchers said. Major medical associations – including the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics – concur that gender-affirming care is clinically appropriate for children and adults.

“Gender-affirming care is healthcare,” said Madia Lopez, executive director of ProjectQ, an L.A.-based nonprofit that specializes in providing free gender-affirming haircare and community resources.

“When it comes to trans folks, we have we have a bit more of a struggle because we’re not only having to fight against the external view of who we are and how we show up in the world,” Lopez said, “but we also have to struggle with the internal.”

Breaking the binary

Hair stylists around Southern California said they felt proud to be a part of a community that helps people feel safe — while helping them step into and become more themselves on the outside.

Tustin resident and stylist Brenna McCarthy, who works at Studio Cru in Orange, has always made it a goal to provide a safe, open space for queer, trans and gender-nonconforming clientele. McCarthy said that can be challenging when options are “limited.”

“People are looking for specific queer stylists within Orange County, and there’s not a lot of spaces for that,” McCarthy, 30, said. “The biggest thing I love about my job is being able to help people match their outside appearance with the way that they feel on the inside.”

McCarthy said she’s often one of the first — and sometimes only — stylists to ask clients their pronouns, an effort to normalize using gender-neutral language and avoid assumptions.

With inclusive salons or programs like Queer Cuts or ProjectQ, “people come to you because this is the safest spot that they can be in,” she added. “They’re being so vulnerable with you and trusting you with their appearance.”

Stylist Bec Farrell, who works at Gray Area in Riverside and uses they and them pronouns, said that an important part of providing a safe environment is working at a shop that is accepting of gender-nonconforming people. Some barber shop environments, they said, “can be very intimidating and toxic for queer people.”

But Farrell believes that getting a haircut, where one usually connects with their stylist, can be equivalent to a therapy session.

“Hair holds trauma, in my opinion,” Farrell said. “Anytime I felt like I needed to start anew, I’ve shaved my head and that helps me embrace a new chapter in life. I wanted to really break the binary in hair, because hair doesn’t have a gender.”

“Whether you decide to have a gender or not, your hair has nothing to do with it. It’s just an extension of you expressing yourself and how you want to present yourself to the world,” Farrell said.

Fighting transphobia

Each year, more LGBTQ-owned entrepreneurs and allies are advertising as such, and research shows that their businesses are thriving.

In L.A., LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs contribute around $1.24 billion in funding, according to the latest State of LGBTQ Entrepreneurship report from nonprofit StartOut, which supports LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs.

Providing gender-affirming services not only creates safe, inclusive spaces, they can also drive the economy and are overall beneficial for LGBTQ+ communities.

Some stylists, who have shared their experiences with hate, are finding ways to empower their communities — one hairstyle at a time — at a time when people need it most.

Longtime stylist Jessie Santiago has experienced incidents of homophobia, racism and transphobia at her business, Salon Benders near downtown Long Beach. The salon has been targeted repeatedly with hate mail and vandalism, Santiago said.

“For the past five years, we have been infiltrated by a ton of hate. I’ve had restraining orders put out against people. I’ve had to basically keep my doors locked during business hours at all times,” Santiago, 40, said. “It’s just gotten to the point that I just don’t feel safe anymore.”

With Salon Benders, Santiago wanted to provide a safe and “revolutionary” space for queer, trans and gender-nonconforming people. She identifies as queer and has a trans partner.

In October, Santiago closed Salon Benders for security reasons. She plans to open a new private salon, the Benders Collective Art Studio, in Long Beach before 2024. She also hopes to start a podcast where participating clients can share their experiences and stories while getting their hair done.

One of the things that Santiago felt made her business stand out was the salon’s consultation style and “trauma-informed” approach, created with the help of a trained and licensed trauma therapist. Providing gender-affirming haircuts was something she focused on in her salon and required training from all her stylists.

“It involves understanding the person holistically, not just their hair,” she said. “It has to do with understanding what their gender identity is, and how we could help support that through their hair and wellness. It’s not just asking clients for a photo of what they want.”

Gender-affirming haircuts was something Santiago prioritized in her business.

“Providing affirmation as a person is so incredibly important, especially to younger folks, because they need to see themselves reflected in this world,” Santiago said. “For us, it was just really important to create more representation, more reflection of our community out in the world.”

Here are salons and resources in Southern California that provide gender-affirming haircare and services. They include:

• Gray Area: 3750 Main St, Riverside, 951-370-4145
• Bishops Cuts/Color: Various locations including Pasadena, Lake Forest and Irvine, bishops.co
• Studio Cru: 665 N Tustin St Suite A-114, Orange, 714-453-7741
• Benders Collective Art Studio: Private salon in Long Beach, opening in 2024
• BeUti 4 Ashes: 25051 Redlands Blvd., Loma Linda, 909-674-3046
• Strandsfortrans.org is a global network of hair, beauty and wellness organizations that seek to create safe, gender-affirming experiences
• ProjectQ: 4709 Fountain Ave, Los Angeles, 323-407-6676
• Bang Bang L.A.: 4511 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, 310-893-9856

Staff writers Beau Yarbrough and Allyson Vergara contributed to this report. 

Here is a list of some (but not all) bakeries and markets in Orange County where you can get your hands on pan de muertos for the annual holiday, which falls on Wednesday, Nov 1 and Thursday, Nov. 2.

Anaheim: Brizuela’s Bakery (1721 W. Katella Ave., suite R), La Reina Market (508 N. East St., Anaheim), Max’s Baked Goods (3414 W. Ball Road, suite J), Northgate Market (929 S. Euclid St.), Panaderia La Pequena (888 W. Lincoln Ave.), Panaderia Los Volcanes (2659 W. Lincoln Ave.)

Buena Park: Panaderia Indio (8204 Commonwealth Ave.), Porto’s Bakery (7640 Beach Blvd.), Northgate Market (1120 S. Bristol St.)

Costa Mesa: La Espiga De Oro (805 W. 19th St.), Panificadora Bakery (2200 Harbor Blvd., suite E120)

Dana Point: Buena Vista Market (34065 La Plaza)

Fullerton: Panaderia Y Pasteleria (2230 W. Orangethorpe Ave.)

Garden Grove: Estrella De Mexicali (12859 Chapman Ave.)

Huntington Beach: Chelos Panaderia (18029 Beach Blvd.)

La Habra: La Central Bakery (764 W. La Habra Blvd.), My Bakery (350 N. Harbor Blvd.), Northgate Market (1305 W. Whittier Blvd.), Panaderia y Pasteleria la Mexicana (1951 E. La Habra Blvd., suite 1A)

Lake Forest: Efren’s Bakery (24601 Raymond Way, #7), El Molino de Oro (23532 El Toro Road)

Orange: El Molino De Oro (728 N. Tustin St.), La Espiga De Oro Panaderia Carniceria (East Wilson Avenue), La Reina Market (909 N. Tustin St.), La Poblana (604 W. Chapman Ave.)

Placentia: Mil Hojas (642 W. Chapman Ave.)

San Juan Capistrano: El Molino De Oro (31886 Plaza Drive), Mercado El Rey (32252 Camino Capistrano) and El Campeon Bakery (31921 Camino Capistrano, #14)

Santa Ana: Cafe Cultura (324 W. Fourth St.), El Gallo Giro (1442 S. Bristol St., #1A), El Metate Panaderia (1338 W. First St.), El Panadero (1818 S. Standard Ave.), La Rancherita Bakery (2709 Westminster Ave., suite B), Northgate Market (230 N. Harbor Blvd., 1120 S. Bristol Street, 1010 South Main St.), Panaderia La Mejor (1331 E. First St.), Panaderia Paloza (1701 E. McFadden Ave.), Rosas Pasteleria Y Panaderia (1009 S. Fairview St.), Tlaxcala Bakery Panaderia (1208 S. Standard Ave.), Soy Concha Bakery (709 N. Bristol St., suite J)

Stanton: Leobardo’s Bakery (11841 Beach Blvd.), Panaderia Cortez (7506 Cerritos Ave.)

The City Council allocated $10,000 for the event during its Oct. 17 meeting, with plans for it to blossom into a yearly tradition for Lake Forest, councilmembers said.

While specifics about the type of event have not been finalized, some ideas floated during the City Council meeting included a Lunar New Year celebration, fundraisers or a general multicultural celebration that would include many backgrounds.

“We are a city that is growing, and I do think that we should celebrate the cultural differences we have to bring people together,” said Councilmember Scott Voigts.

The council voted 4-0 to establish an event — Mayor Doug Cirbo was absent — following a presentation from Nicole Houston, the city’s management analyst. The city has conducted research since June, she said, to determine a budget, one that could be expanded on if needed.

City officials looked at Buena Park and La Palma as examples, Houston said, examining what events they have held as well as their budgets.

La Palma’s event, Culture Fest, took place last year and included a festival, car show, parade, food trucks and live entertainment with a budget of just under $30,000. Buena Park hosted a similar event, Festival of Nations, with a similar budget that attracted many people from around Orange County, according to the presentation.

Lake Forest’s future event is expected to be held at the Civic Center, said city spokesperson Jonathan Volzke, which will allow the use of the courtyard as well as the Performing Arts Center to host booths and performances.

“Lake Forest is already home to several signature events — from our annual Tree Lighting at the Civic Center to Concerts in the Park to our July 4 Parade — and we’re looking at the calendar to identify the right date, which will set our timelines for reaching out to potential participants,” said Volzke.

Lake Forest’s Community Services Division is taking the lead on the event, and the city is also compiling a work group to ensure it “presents a multi-faceted and entertaining event that will allow Lake Forest residents to appreciate the many cultures that make up our community,” Volzke said.

“I remember looking back to the Lake Forest City Council in 2014 and not seeing any diversity, but now, our council has diversity, and I think that is a reflection of where our city is currently at,” said Councilmember Benjamin Yu. “We have to start somewhere, and this is a great way to start. We begin at a smaller scale, and then we can go from there.”

Additional updates on the future event will come soon, said Volzke.

Enjoy them now, because most of these league rivalries are very unlikely to be around next season.

They could continue as nonleague games, but it’s more fun when a playoff berth or a league championship is at stake.

Orange County high schools agreed this past spring to reassemble its football leagues and conferences after this season. With the exception of the Trinity League teams, all of the Orange County 11-player football teams will placed into one basket. CalPreps’ ratings will be used to place teams into leagues. This is a football-only plan. League and conference memberships will be different for other sports.

If the 2023 football season was over, what would the leagues look like in 2024?

Let’s do this … but first a couple of items to know …

Again, the Trinity League is excluded. The four football teams with the top ratings by CalPreps will be in one league, then there will be 10 six-team leagues, and the bottom five teams in one league.

The league names have not been finalized, so the working titles are Orange County Football Conference A (OCFC A) and Orange County Football Conference B (OCFC B),etc. For this exercise, we’re going with “leagues.”

The previous two years of ratings will be used to place teams into leagues, weighted at 65 percent for the 2023 season and 35 percent weighted for the 2022 season.

Going into this week’s games, with rounded-off ratings totals, here are what the leagues would look like in 2024 (league members listed in alphabetical order):

League A: Edison, Los Alamitos, Mission Viejo, San Clemente.

League B: Corona del Mar, Newport Harbor, San Juan Hills, Tesoro, Villa Park, Yorba Linda.

League C: Capistrano Valley, Cypress, El Modena, Trabuco Hills, Tustin, Western.

League D: El Dorado, Foothill, Huntington Beach, La Habra, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills.

League E: Crean Lutheran, Dana Hills, Fountain Valley, Irvine, Northwood, Orange.

League F: Aliso Niguel, Canyon, El Toro, Santa Ana, St. Margaret’s, Troy.

League G: Brea Olinda, Esperanza, Kennedy, Segerstrom, Sonora, Sunny Hills.

League H: Beckman, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Marina, Valencia, Westminster.

League I: Buena Park, Calvary Chapel, Pacifica, Portola, University, Woodbridge.

League J: Estancia; Katella, Los Amigos, Ocean View, Rancho Alamitos, Santa Ana Valley.

League K: Anaheim, Bolsa Grande, Costa Mesa, La Quinta, Loara, Santiago.

League L: Century, Godinez Magnolia, Saddleback, Savanna.

The margins could be tight when teams are placed into football leagues for the 2024 season. Through eight games of this season, using the Calpreps ratings, Irvine’s rating is 4.79 and Aliso Niguel’s is 4.78. So if the 2023 season was over now, Irvine would be the bottom team in League E and Aliso Niguel would be the top team in League F.

NOTES

CIF-SS football playoff brackets will be released Oct. 29 at 10 a.m. The 8-man football playoff brackets will be released Oct. 29 at 1 p.m. …

Yes, Orange County has 8-man football. Sage Hill, in Newport Beach, is in the Prep League and is 4-2 overall and 0-1 in league and averages 48 points a game. Vista Meridian, in Santa Ana, plays a freelance schedule and is 1-4. …

The CIF-SS Division 1 football championship game will be played at the Coliseum on Nov. 24. The first CIF championship football game played at the Coliseum was in 1923 when Long Beach Poly defeated Glendale 15-8. The most recent CIF final at the Coliseum was in 1997 when Long Beach Poly beat Mater Dei 28-25. …

It looks like the Pacific Coast Conference schools will present a proposal at Monday’s releaguing meeting that would exclude Rosary from its group. This past spring Orange County schools included Rosary in the Pacific Coast group in the approved releaguing plan for all sports outside of football. The Freeway League, which would be broken up in the passed proposal, has indicated that it would present a proposal that would keep its membership intact. …

Holly Barker of Trabuco Hills and Evan Noonan of Dana Hills, so far, are making it easy to select the Orange County boys and girls cross country athletes of the year by winning or finishing high in just about every race they enter. Barker won last weekend’s Orange County Championships and earlier finished first in the Central Park Invitational. Noonan finished first in the Orange County Championships, the Woodbridge Classic and was third in the Clovis Invitational. …

The CIF-SS Division 1 girls volleyball playoffs started Wednesday. Mater Dei swept Palos Verdes in three sets (the first was a tough one, 27-25), Los Alamitos lost to Mira Costa in three sets and Huntington Beach swept Alemany (and another tough first set there, with the Oilers winning 28-26). Division 1 pool play resumes Tuesday with Los Alamitos at Huntington Beach. Huntington Beach beat Los Alamitos in their two Surf League matches. …

Newport Harbor’s girls flag football team had its closest win of the season Wednesday, a 14-12 victory over Edison. Newport Harbor is 21-1, with the loss to Woodbridge, which Newport Harbor defeated a couple of weeks later.

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  Venessa Rowan, right, stands with her son, Bentley, 6, as she takes a photo of her daughter, Hannah, 3, along with other princesses at the Halloween Snap and Treat held at Crown Valley Park in Laguna Niguel on Saturday, October 7, 2023. The event included: pumpkin decorating, trick or treat stations, and various photo opportunities. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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  Parents and their children arrive at the entrance to the Halloween Snap and Treat held at Crown Valley Park in Laguna Niguel on Saturday, October 7, 2023. The event included: pumpkin decorating, trick or treat stations, and various photo opportunities. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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  Children stop to grab some candy at the Halloween Snap and Treat held at Crown Valley Park in Laguna Niguel on Saturday, October 7, 2023. The event included: pumpkin decorating, trick or treat stations, and various photo opportunities. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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  A decorated pumpkin sits on a table at the Halloween Snap and Treat held at Crown Valley Park in Laguna Niguel on Saturday, October 7, 2023. The event included: pumpkin decorating, trick or treat stations, and various photo opportunities. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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  One of the many decorations at the Halloween Snap and Treat held at Crown Valley Park in Laguna Niguel on Saturday, October 7, 2023. The event included: pumpkin decorating, trick or treat stations, and various photo opportunities. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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  Parents and their children make their way to the various stations at Halloween Snap and Treat held at Crown Valley Park in Laguna Niguel on Saturday, October 7, 2023. The event included: pumpkin decorating, trick or treat stations, and various photo opportunities. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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  Isla Garcia, 20 months, of San Juan Capistrano concentrates as she decorates her pumpkin at the Halloween Snap and Treat held at Crown Valley Park in Laguna Niguel on Saturday, October 7, 2023. The event included: pumpkin decorating, trick or treat stations, and various photo opportunities. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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  Pumpkins wait to be decorated at the Halloween Snap and Treat held at Crown Valley Park in Laguna Niguel on Saturday, October 7, 2023. The event included: pumpkin decorating, trick or treat stations, and various photo opportunities. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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  Brian Chen, right, takes a photo of Mandy Wu, center, and Madison, 4, all of Irvine, at the Halloween Snap and Treat held at Crown Valley Park in Laguna Niguel on Saturday, October 7, 2023. The event included: pumpkin decorating, trick or treat stations, and various photo opportunities. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Families wandered the trail at Crown Valley Park over the weekend, snapping Halloween photos and munching on treats.

Halloween Snap & Treat hosted by Laguna Niguel’s Park and Recreation Department was the first of several fun family events planned by south Orange County communities early in the season.

Over the next two weekends, Heritage Hill Historical Park in Lake Forest will be decked out for Fall-O-Ween.

This is the third year OC Parks has hosted the free event, which gives visitors – who are encouraged to wear costumes – a chance to see the historical grounds decorated for the season and take pictures at various photo opp stations.

Guests can also walk through a hay maze, complete a scavenger hunt and more. Hours are 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 13-15 and Oct. 20-22.

And, Haunted Trails opens in Laguna Niguel Thursday, Oct. 12, for four spooky days.

The trails of Crown Valley Park will be turned into a sort of outdoor haunted house, with monsters to scare you.

Tickets for those brave enough to walk the trails are $15 onsite. The hauntings happen from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Thursday and Sunday and 6:30 to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

The event is not recommended for children younger than 12, organizers said.

On Aug. 20, deputies responded to multiple reports of a stabbing at an apartment complex in the 2100 block of Osterman Road. The video features two recorded calls to dispatch, one from a female neighbor who heard one of the sisters screaming for help and an Amazon delivery driver who witnessed the male suspect stab the woman and provided his description to authorities.

During the 911 call, the neighbor told dispatch she saw the woman being chased by a male suspect before she collapsed on the stairway in front of her apartment. The woman then disappeared out of her neighbor’s line of sight.

“He looked really disheveled. I mean, there was blood all over him and blood all over her,” the male delivery driver said. He told dispatch he saw the suspect run behind a building in the apartment complex after stabbing the woman. He described him as a darker-skinned man in a white shirt and shorts covered in blood.

Dispatch told deputies and county fire personnel the woman was in the parking lot after she received multiple stab wounds in the neck and abdomen.

Upon arriving at the scene, deputies provided medical treatment to the victim while additional deputies evacuated nearby apartments and positioned themselves outside the suspect’s apartment, Sgt. Mike Woodroof said in the video.

Shortly after, the victim’s mother arrived and told deputies her other daughter was still inside the apartment and provided a key to get inside. Body camera footage shows four deputies and a K-9 outside the suspect’s apartment.

“We’re forcing entry inside the (residence), there’s another subject inside, we have K-9, less lethal and assault rifle,” a deputy told dispatch.

The deputies announced themselves and proceeded to open the apartment door. Upon opening, video footage shows the suspect standing at the end of a hallway with a knife in his right hand. Multiple deputies can be heard yelling, “Drop the knife, drop it,” seconds before one deputy fired shots in the suspect’s direction.

One deputy alerted dispatch that shots were fired. Another deputy could be heard comforting the K-9 before telling his partner to secure the suspect. Authorities entered the apartment and yelled, “Hands, let me see your hands,” before the bodycam footage cut out.

Deputies later located another victim, 22-year-old Nadia Majid Williams, with multiple stab wounds inside a bathroom in the apartment. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Her brother, Ahmed Majid Williams, was handcuffed and provided life-saving measures by deputies and fire personnel before he was hospitalized and then transported to the Orange County Jail on suspicion of murder and attempted murder, Woodroof said.

Ionut Marius Andrei, 42, and Stefan Romero Oprea, 38, approached the 79-year-old woman after she came home from a bank where she had withdrawn the money on Tuesday, Sept. 19, the Sheriff’s Department said in a news release on Friday, Sept. 29.

While one of the men spoke to the woman at her front door asking for directions to a nearby hospital, the other “reached through her right rear window and stole the envelope from her purse,” the release said.

Both men were arrested on Tuesday, Sept. 26 and are being held without bail in Orange County jail. Both were charged with one count each of burglary, taking property and grand theft, and two counts of theft from an elder adult.

Both pleaded not guilty to all the charges, court records show.

Authorities describe this type of crime as “bank jugging,” in which thieves pay “close attention to bank customers … to observe if the customer withdrew cash,” then follow the victim home where they distract them or intimidate them as they attempt to take the money.

The burglary charge filed this week against Andrei and Oprea stems from an earlier incident in Lake Forest that officials said they tied to the men.

On Wednesday, Aug. 16, sheriff’s investigators said, the men approached a 72-year-old man at his garage in Lake Forest, with one of them asking for directions to a hospital. While they spoke, another man went to the victim’s car and stole $5,000 in cash from the center console.

Andrei and Oprea are due back in court on Monday, Oct. 9.

Investigators encourage anyone who may have experienced a similar crime to call the Orange County Sheriff’s Department at 714-647-1829. Anonymous information may be provided through Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIP-OCCS.

Sheriff’s officials say if possible, people should avoid carrying large amounts of cash and seek other ways to transfer funds. Anyone who believes they are being followed after leaving a bank should call 911.

Alongside a residential track, the initial Meadows project proposed a new elementary school to be built in the middle of the neighborhood. The preliminary plans said the school would accommodate up to 1,000 students from kindergarten to sixth grade across multiple buildings with outside sports courts, fields and parking lots.

But during its Sept. 5 meeting, the City Council said a new school in that area is no longer in the works after Saddleback Valley Unified School District officials said it was not needed.

“Because the district denied the proposal, there would be no logical reason to move forward with this school site,” said Councilmember Robert Pequeño.

The City Council green-lit plans for the construction of the new Meadows community in January 2020. The month prior, Toll Brothers, the developer, signed a memorandum of understanding with Saddleback Valley Unified giving the district until 2024 to accept its donation of a site for the school.

But in March, Saddleback Valley Unified denied the school. In doing so, the district now receives $10 million for not taking the land, said Lake Forest spokesperson Jonathan Volzke.

District trustees, according to a City Council staff report, were concerned about projected enrollment numbers and said the school would not “accommodate the area properly.” Other nearby schools in the district are well below enrollment capacity, the staff report said, and enrollment is expected to continue to decline, and the cost of building a new school in Lake Forest would be both “prohibitive and unjustifiable.”

The district has an enrollment of 24,356 students, an almost 20% decrease since 2013 when the district’s enrollment was around 30,250 students.

At a town hall meeting on Aug. 28, community members questioned Lake Forest officials on why it allowed the elementary school to be included in the Meadow’s planning before it got the official OK from Saddleback Valley Unified.

“There was no promises for the school to be built,” said City Attorney Matthew Richardson during the September City Council meeting.

Lake Forest, he said, “has no authority when it comes to school sites and how they are created.”

In lieu of a new elementary school in Meadows, Saddleback Valley Unified officials recommended sending neighborhood kids to Lake Forest Elementary and Serrano Intermediate School.

Lake Forest Elementary has a current enrollment of 1,046 students, a 16% decrease from 2019 when enrollment was around 1,200, according to Saddleback Valley Unified’s public data through the California Department of Education. Serrano Intermediate has 1,012 students enrolled this year, down from about 1,200 in 2019 as well.

But some families expressed concerns about the distance between Lake Forest Elementary and Meadows (about a 15-minute drive) and the potential for the school to be overcrowded with the addition of the Meadows community.

“The school was one of the primary reasons why many people purchased property at the Meadows,” said Lake Forest resident Randy Johnson. “Now, they’ve been assigned to local public schools that they feel do not offer the quality of education they want for their children, and several mentioned they must take on additional employment to afford private schools.”

Plans regarding the future of the school site will be discussed at an upcoming Lake Forest City Council meeting, said senior planner Marie Luna, and the city could plan more housing for that site. No specific date was given for when the project will be discussed again.

Volzke said the city’s agreement with the developer allows for more homes if the district rejected that site for a new school.

The roughly 126-acre subdivision project includes five single-family neighborhoods with 541 single-family residences as well as a senior affordable housing project. The luxury neighborhood includes over 20 acres of parks, open space and a habitat restoration area.

The previous site was occupied by Nakase Nursery, one of the county’s remaining wholesale nursery outlets. It was in operation since the 1990s but was then bought by Toll Brothers. Lake Forest received $25 million in development fees as well as $2.5 million to improve traffic in the area.

John Gazzaniga threw for 151 yards and two touchdowns for Santa Margarita in a 42-7 win over Leuzinger Friday at Saddleback College.

Trent Mosley led Santa Margarita (4-1) in receiving with 96 yards and a touchdown. The sophomore added a rushing touchdown, his league-high 19th touchdown of the season.

Gazzaniga and Skylar Lendsey added rushing touchdowns for the Eagles, and freshman Elijah Robinson had a touchdown reception.

Noah Sulick led the Eagles defense with nine tackles and Logan Hirou had an interception, his fourth of the season. Sulick and Levar Talley each forced fumbles.

In other games Friday:

Capistrano Valley 35, El Toro 18: Capistrano Valley quarterback Tommy Acosta used his legs to beat El Toro.

The junior rushed for 181 yards with four touchdowns and had 103 yards passing with a score. Freshman Talon Spencer had a touchdown reception for Capo Valley (5-0).

Jack Mckelvy threw a touchdown pass to Noah Williams for El Toro (1-4).

Brea Olinda 35, Fullerton 26: Nathan Aceves ran for over 180 yards with three touchdowns for Brea Olinda (4-1) in a comeback win over Fullerton.

Fullerton (2-3) led by 12 points in the third quarter.

Cullen Doyle threw for over 150 yards and had a touchdown pass for Brea Olinda. Rene Gonzales added a rushing touchdown and Isaak Rivas-Melendez had an interception.

Ryan Reger threw for over 300 yards and had four touchdown passes for Fullerton. Aidan Zavala had two interceptions.

Crean Lutheran 28, Northwood 7: Jeremiah Finaly threw for 236 yards with three touchdowns for Crean Lutheran in a home win over Northwood.

Luke Doyle had two touchdown receptions for Crean Lutheran (3-1) and Taurian Nash had a rushing touchdown. Ben Byszewski had six receptions with a touchdown.

Carter Jones led the Saints’ defense with 11 tackles. Tyler Parker and Anthony Jones each added a sack.

Ocean View 34, Bolsa Grande 7: Ocean View had four rushing touchdowns in a home win over Bolsa Grande.

Jayden Trujillo had a big game for Ocean View (3-2) with 131 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns. On defense, he led the team in tackles and added a sack.

Gaige Prichard and Frankie Armenta added rushing touchdowns for the Seahawks. Armenta connected with Oswaldo Lozano for a passing touchdown.

Ethan Nguyen threw a touchdown pass to Eddie Zarate for Bolsa Grande (3-2).

— Michael Huntley

Anaheim 14, Loara 7: Junior running back Diego Benitez scored on two shorts runs for the Colonists (2-3) in a win over the Saxons (0-4) at Glover Stadium.

Colonists coach Lanny Booher said Joshua Meza and Deric Bojorquez led the defensive effort. Anaheim has one senior starter on defense and two senior starters on offense.

Anaheim has a bye before playing its Orange League opener against Century on Sept. 30 at Glover Stadium.

Yorba Linda 38, Simi Valley 21: Trevor Webb and Jake Lopez had touchdown receptions and Cole Nerio led the running attack for the Mustangs (3-2) in their win over the Pioneers (3-2) at Yorba Linda High.

Fullback Blake Herrin added a touchdown for Yorba Linda. The Mustangs have a bye this week. They play nonleague game against Canyon at El Modena High on Sept. 29.

Estancia 14, La Quinta 3: Riley Witte threw two touchdown passes to Joseph Zarate for the Eagles (3-1) in a nonleague home win over the Aztecs (3-2).

Ryan Carrasco and Roberto Moreno had seven solo tackles each and Brandon Bettinghausen had five solo tackles for Estancia. The Eagles play an Orange Coast League home game Friday against Santa Ana.

— Steve Fryer

That was the summer of 2021 and Wood, the founder of Echo Church in San Jose, would find out a year later that he and his wife, Stacie, were being considered for the role after they were invited by Warren to speak at Saddleback Church.

The Woods, both 42,  have been at Saddleback for a year and said they have felt welcomed and embraced as they step into the roles held by Warren and his wife, Kay, who for 43 years led the church – taking it from a congregation of dozens in a Laguna Hills classroom to a mega-church with 40,000 weekly worshippers globally. The church has 15 Southern California locations and six international campuses. This weekend, the church celebrates with block parties at its Southern California campuses. The events on Saturday and Sunday are open to the public.

“One of the things that has been so awesome is the love this first year, the way Saddleback has welcomed our family, our three kids,” Wood said this week in his first interview after stepping in as lead pastor. “There’s a challenge in any transition. The thing that has been surprising to me is the way we’ve been so welcomed by the church family.”

“People say that Saddleback is the ‘smallest, big church in the world,’ so you might think a church this big, it could feel overwhelming, but because people are so personable, it’s made the church feel small, like a family that loves and cares for us and so many other people,” he added.

Getting the job

“When I came here, I didn’t think it was a candidacy for the role,” Wood said of giving a guest sermon. “Pastor Rick, who had been a hero of mine in the faith, invited me to come and I asked Stacie to come because I always like to be together when I’m doing stuff like that.”

After Wood spoke at the church, the Warrens invited the couple to their offices in Rancho Santa Margarita. After chatting for three hours, Warren mentioned he was looking for a pastor to step in when he semi-retired and the four prayed together.

“It was clear that God was doing something, and by the time we went home, we both had a sense,” Wood said. “It was like a Polaroid picture; it gets clearer and clearer as you go along. For the next two months … they were discerning do they want to hire us, and we were discerning if we felt called.”

Wood said he’d read Warren’s book “Purpose Driven Church” in college and, with his wife, had used that as a road map to plant their own church in the Bay Area. Like the Warrens in Lake Forest, the Woods thought they’d be at Echo Church for 40 years. But in early 2022, Wood said, he had an “internal stirring” and thought “God was leading us to do something different.”  That feeling, he said, didn’t go away.

“I prayed, if you, God have something different, I want to ask you to bring it to me,” he said. “And, you’d have to put it into Stacie’s heart and I pray you take care of a solution for the church we started.”

So after their visit to Southern California, the couple said they struggled with the decision to leave Echo Church. They had many close relationships within and outside the church. Their children – then 15, 13 and 8 – had lived in the Bay Area their whole lives and had a huge network of friends.

“The process comes with sadness and grief; like Pastor Rick and Kay, we gave up a season of life and ministry at the same time,” Wood said. “There was a lot of possibility of what could be, and the wrestling through of what no longer would be.”

But even “in the sadness and process, there was peace,” Stacie Wood said, “and sometimes when you make a really hard decision, you have both. I think you go where the peace is and there was a peace about this. Follow the peace and eventually, your heart catches up.”

The difference a year makes

Pastor Rick Warren stepped into a less visible role at the church and held his final sermon on Aug. 28, 2022. In it, he called on the congregation to support the Woods and commit to helping carry the church forward to new generations.

It was that outreach during the transition that really helped, the Woods said.

“It was very tender between us and the Warrens,” Stacie Wood said. “They were entrusting the church into our care. There was a weightiness and you wanted to steward it well. The day of the installation, Kay was getting into the car and I said, ‘I promise we will be faithful.’ We both felt the weight.”

Warren also gave Wood the space he needed and has stepped back from the day-to-day leadership.

Now, Wood said Warren is a mentor and coach, and occasionally gives advice if Wood asks for it.

“I’ll have an idea and I’ll bounce it off him,” Wood said. “It’s fun for me. You think of Pastor Rick, this icon, this legendary pastor that millions of pastors would get to learn from. I get the privilege of bouncing a message series off Pastor Rick and having him help me make it better.”

Recently, when three people were killed in a shooting at Cook’s Corner, not far from Saddleback’s Lake Forest campus, Wood organized a vigil at the church. In addition to those who died, six others– including a Saddleback Church member – were injured.

“Pastor Rick called me and said that was one of your finest moments,” Wood said.

The Woods have “continued Saddleback‘s signature style of loving everyone in Jesus’ name,” Rick and Kay Warren said. “Over their first year, we’ve been delighted to watch both them and our church family flourish.  We couldn’t be more pleased with their loving and wise direction, and we are thrilled that both our congregation and our communities are blessed by their service.”

Reaching the community

Outreach to the community, Wood said, is among the things that drew him to admire Warren. As he was starting his own ministry, Wood said it was Warren’s efforts in the community that inspired his own work in the Bay Area.

“Before we ever started the church, we served in the city,” he said.

“In times of crisis, stepping forward to show love and compassion to those in need, mental health, helping people who are in deep loneliness or walking through great crisis, that’s at the core of the vision of Saddleback,” Wood said. “I’d say it’s not just the vision of Saddleback; it’s the vision of God and Jesus when he came and said, ‘The son of man did not come to be served, but to give his life for others.’”

“The mission is to love, to serve, to be known by what we are for, rather than what we’re against,” Wood said. “That means when there’s a crisis in the community, we want to show up.”

Wood said his goal has been to get to know the church, its staff and members. Still, Saddleback expanded in the last year to three more satellite campuses: Whittier, Canada and the United Kingdom. In the next year, Wood said there will be more focus on getting into the communities.

Among some larger initiatives is establishing a leadership college, Wood said.

“You’ve got problems downstream and problems upstream,” he said. “One of the best ways to solve problems upstream is to raise up next-generation leaders. In the next several years, we’re going to launch out a leadership college that will equip next-generation leaders that can shape communities, shape churches and make differences in the world.”

“Another big heartbeat that we believe is significant in the world right now is the longing inside every human being to connect with our creator,” he added. “There’s a spirituality to the current generation and prayer simply is talking to God, having a conversation with God. We have a huge heart to mobilize the church to pray and to create spaces where people can pray.”

And with that plan comes building more facilities where people can find spaces to pray and be prayed for.

Southern Baptist Convention

While Wood was focused internally, Saddleback Church made some headlines in his first year, too. In June, the Southern Baptist Convention expelled the church at its annual convention in New Orleans over having women as pastors. Warren first ordained three women as pastors who led worship for children and students and provided visits to hospitals and funerals.

The Southern Baptist Convention’s statement of faith officially opposes women as pastors, adding in 2000 the words “the office of the pastor is limited to men as qualified by scripture.”

Warren was there to defend Saddleback and urged the voting delegates to stay close to their Baptist roots and “agree to disagree.” But more than three-fourths of the delegates voted to expel the church.

Stacie Wood, daughter of a Southern Baptist preacher in South Carolina, was made a teaching pastor this summer. Kay Warren, while never labeled a teaching pastor, worked in that capacity for years.

“My journey as a woman growing up in the Southern Baptist denomination, overall, I would say, was very positive,” Stacie Wood said. “When I was in high school, my dad could see in me a passion for ministry, a love for people, and so he allowed me to start teaching a junior high class of girls. Ever since that time, I’ve been able to use that teaching gift in different settings.”

Stacie Wood taught at Echo Church on special occasions such as Mother’s Day. As she had more practice, Wood said he recognized people seemed to connect with her and gave her more opportunities.

“God designed family for there to be a mom and a dad, and a mom and a dad serve together at the side of one another with sons and daughters,” he said. “Of course, not every family has both sons and daughters, but the beauty of that is by design and that’s how God designed it. I believe the church is the same way. That the church benefits from a loving and engaged father, and a mother who is right there alongside him. So Stacie and I try to model that for the church because we feel like it creates a level of stability. Certainly, every environment is better when she’s present and everyone I know likes me more when she’s with me.”

Wood said he was “grateful” that Warren represented the church at the convention but said he has no “desire to participate in trying to advocate for the church to be in the convention.”

“Our people in our church come into our services with their own challenges, fears and anxieties,” Wood said. “What happens in New Orleans at a Southern Baptist Convention is not what’s on the minds of people in our communities. So, I would much rather give my energy and our church’s attention to those things to help faithfully serve our community.”