Gambling, gondolas and a super team: What to know for the Dodgers home opener

Good morning. It’s Thursday, March 28. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.

• A gambling scandal casts a shadow over the Dodgers’ home opener
• Where is Diddy? Sean Combs remains in the U.S. amid a widening sex trafficking investigation
• Here are 25 of the best Korean barbecue spots in L.A.
• And here’s today’s e-newspaper

Dodgers come home, but not without drama

The Dodgers’ off-season has played out like a Hollywood script. After a disappointing end to the 2023 season, the team signed Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani who had spent his first six seasons playing for the Dodgers’ Orange County rival, the Angels.

That was just the first of several moves that placed the Dodgers, and their almost $300-million payroll, as the favorites to win the World Series. Times columnist Bill Plaschke wrote, “It could — and should — be the best season in the franchise’s 141-year history. It could — and might — be the greatest sporting disaster in the annals of Western civilization.”

The team touted its glitzy lineup throughout spring training leading up to a season opener in Seoul, where the drama unfolded.

A gambling scandal casts a shadow over the home opener

The Times broke the story that the Dodgers fired Ohtani’s interpreter and longtime friend, Ippei Mizuhara, over accusations from Ohtani’s representatives that Mizuhara had engaged in a “massive theft.” Ohtani’s lawyers accused Mizuhara of paying off gambling debts to an Orange County bookmaker using millions of Ohtani’s dollars he stole.

ESPN reported that the funds involved in the wire transfers were at least $4.5 million.

Shohei Ohtani, left, with interpreter Ippei Mizuhara, whom the Dodgers fired amid a gambling scandal in which many questions remain unanswered.

(Darryl Webb / Associated Press)

Ohtani has not been accused of a crime, but it’s unclear how much Ohtani knew about the situation before it became public.

Mizuhara and an Ohtani spokesperson initially gave statements to ESPN that implied Ohtani knew about Mizuhara’s debts.

A day later, Mizuhara, the spokesperson and a law firm representing Ohtani said that those statements were inaccurate, and that Ohtani knew nothing about the debts or transfer of funds. The law firm released a statement accusing Mizuhara of stealing the funds.

On Monday, Ohtani broke his silence on the ordeal and addressed the gambling accusations saying, “Ippei has been stealing money from my account and has told lies,” Ohtani said through his new interpreter, Will Ireton. “I never agreed to pay off the debt or make payments to the bookmaker.”

A video screen displays Shohei Ohtani, right, and interpreter Will Ireton during a news conference at Dodger Stadium.

(Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)

He accused his former interpreter of “theft and fraud.”

Major League Baseball and the Internal Revenue Service are currently conducting separate investigations.

Read more:

• The mysterious life — and questionable claims — of Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter.
• How the saga of Shohei Ohtani and his interpreter unfolded – and why it’s not over.
• Minus ‘buffer’ of Ippei Mizuhara, Dodgers engaging more directly with Shohei Ohtani.
• Shohei Ohtani leaves unanswered questions after blaming his interpreter in gambling scandal.
• Dylan Hernández: Gambling and theft allegations raise one big question: Who is Shohei Ohtani?
• What to know about the Shohei Ohtani interpreter gambling scandal.
• Bill Plaschke: Do you still believe in Shohei Ohtani? I’m not sure.

Arrivederci, Gondolas?

A proposed gondola from Union Station to Dodger Stadium may be gone before it’s even built. My colleague Rachel Uranga reported that the developers for the gondola are facing legal and political backlash as they aim for completion before the 2028 Olympics.

A lawsuit was filed Monday on behalf of a group of environmental and community activists against the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority over its approval of a “fatally flawed” environmental review of the project. The group also implied the city of Los Angeles should have conducted the report.

LA Parks Alliance wants the court to disregard the analysis of the initial report and the “appropriate” agency to complete it.

Renderings of the Gondola Skyline to Dodger Stadium.

(Courtesy LA Aerial Rapid Transit)

Uranga reports that the lawsuit comes “days after the Los Angeles City Council approved a half-million-dollar traffic study aimed at delaying the project.”

The proposed motion by Chinatown’s representative, Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez, would require “the City Council to consider the results of the study before issuing permits or making decisions on land use,” Uranga writes.

Jon Christensen, founding member of LA Parks Alliance, told Uranga, “I don’t think the project will survive real scrutiny.”

The project has an expected cost of $500 million with many residents in Chinatown split on how it would affect their community.

There’s a game!

Baseball is back at Chavez Ravine with the first pitch of the Dodgers’ home opener against the St. Louis Cardinals coming at 1:10 p.m. Whether you’re watching the game at Dodger Stadium, at a bar or at home, here is everything you need to know about the “World Series or bust” Dodgers:

Roster moves

• Tyler Glasnow adds SoCal cool to Dodgers. Will he help his hometown team win a title?
• ‘He can be a frontline starter.’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto flashing his star potential.
• Dodgers move Mookie Betts to shortstop, Gavin Lux to second amid defensive struggles.
• NL West preview: Is it still the Dodgers’ division to lose? Can Giants challenge?
  

  

  The Dodgers celebrate following their 5-2 victory over the San Diego Padres in the first game of MLB’s season-opening two-game series at Seoul’s Gocheok Sky Dome on March 20, 2024.

  (Kyodo via Associated Press Images)

Columns

• Bill Plaschke: Be like Tommy? Dave Roberts faces must-win season to ensure Dodgers legacy.
• Bill Shaikin: The Dodgers are expected to win. But has MLB stacked the odds against them?
• Dylan Hernández: These Dodgers could be historic, or they could be another October disaster in the making.

How to watch

• What is the get-in price for Dodgers home opener? Half the team’s on-sale price.
• Here’s how to stream Dodgers games this year, without paying for cable or satellite TV.

More than a game

• How Dodgers fans built a gigantic community of L.A. hikers.
• Visit Dodger Stadium’s drought-tolerant botanic garden.
• These six artists from L.A. to Osaka made poster art of Shohei Ohtani for us.
• L.A. Affairs: I love the Dodgers. Dating a Cardinals fan should have been a red flag.
  

Today’s top stories

The Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

(John Raoux / Associated Press)

Disney vs. DeSantis

• Walt Disney Co. has settled a lawsuit with the Gov. Ron DeSantis-appointed board that governs the area encompassing Walt Disney World in Florida.
• Everything to know about the Disney and DeSantis feud.

Diddy’s sex-trafficking investigation

• Inside the raids at Diddy’s homes: Emptied safes, dismantled electronics and many questions.
• Where is Diddy? Sean Combs remains in the U.S. amid a widening sex trafficking investigation, sources say.
• A timeline of allegations against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs.
• Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ L.A., Miami homes raided in sex-trafficking inquiry, sources say.

More big stories

• Former L.A. Deputy Mayor Raymond Chan found is guilty in a sprawling corruption case.
• Two bodies pulled from underwater wreckage of collapsed Baltimore bridge.
• Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ vice presidential pick in 2000, dies at 82.
• What the Supreme Court’s abortion pill case could mean for California.
• A controversial AIDS charity seeks to acquire a Skid Row housing portfolio. State officials want to stop it.
• A judge is skeptical of Hunter Biden’s effort to dismiss his tax case as politically motivated.
• L.A. City Councilmember Curren Price is accused of 21 violations of city ethics laws.
• Islamic State claimed the Moscow attack. Why is Putin accusing Ukraine and the West?
• Sacramento’s City Council votes unanimously to become a sanctuary city for transgender people.
• Easter plans in jeopardy? A SoCal storm could bring rain, snow and possible mudslides.
• Amazon’s pharmacy will offer same-day delivery in L.A. and NYC and plans to expand.
• The Broad announces massive expansion that will increase gallery space by 70%.
• Higher prices are on the menu as fast-food chains brace for California’s big minimum wage jump.
• Berkeley halts landmark natural gas ban after legal fight.
• Civic groups launch campaign to double L.A. County’s quarter-cent homelessness sales tax.
• Will killing thousands of invasive owls save threatened ones? That’s the government’s plan.
  

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Commentary and opinions

• Michael Hiltzik: Sam Bankman-Fried will be sentenced Thursday for his crypto fraud. Throw the book at him.
• Editorial: Not every student needs algebra 2. UC should be flexible on math requirement.
• Frank Shyong: The graffiti tower debate shows Los Angeles’ contradictory relationship with street culture.
• Christopher Knight: The Broad expansion makes the museum more flexible, but at what cost?
  

Today’s great reads

(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)

How Dodgers fans built a gigantic community of L.A. hikers. Every year a group of Dodgers fans rings in the start of baseball season in an especially Angeleno way: Decking themselves in all blue and hiking through Griffith Park’s peaks.

Other great reads

• Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ comes ‘round, ‘round, ‘round this week. Here’s what we know.
• Commentary: For Black women, the world of hip-hop has always been a minefield of misogyny.

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.

For your downtime

(ABSteak by Chef Akira Back)

Going out

• 🍖 We live in a Korean barbecue paradise. Here are 25 of the best spots in L.A.
• 💡A guide to L.A.’s most overlooked design legacy: Streetlights.

Staying in

• 📺 Subscribers of both Disney+ and Hulu can now access Hulu content through the Disney+ app. Here’s what you need to know.
• 🧑‍🍳 Here’s a recipe for pappardelle with mushrooms and cashew cream.
• ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.

And finally ... from our archives

Will Smith took a swing at Chris Rock at the Oscars, then wins best actor award.

(Los Angeles Times)

Two years ago, the slap heard around the world happened at the Oscars when Will Smith took a swing at Chris Rock after the comedian made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Christian Orozco, assistant editor
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Stephanie Chavez, deputy metro editor

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