The “Home Run for Anaheim Act” — a push to return “Anaheim” to the name of the hometown Angels — has cleared both houses of the California legislature without a single vote against it, according to Bill Shaikin of the L.A. TIMES. California Gov. Gavin Newsom now “has two months to sign the bill into law, barring a veto that would be surprising because of the lack of opposition.” The bill — introduced by Assembly member Avelino Valencia last March — does “not mandate” the Angels revert to the Anaheim Angels name. But it does provide Anaheim “with an inducement for the Angels: If the city obtains an exemption from a state law requiring affordable housing to be prioritized” in any mixed-use development around the ballpark — “potentially maximizing revenue for the team — then the team must be called the Anaheim Angels.” Angels owner Arte Moreno has twice reached deals with the city to “develop the land, only to see the city walk away both times.” In the last deal, he “rejected the city’s request to rename the team the Anaheim Angels.” But Shaikin added should Moreno sell the team, the city “could use the exemption as leverage in discussions with a new owner” (L.A. TIMES, 8/11).
