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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Wednesday night windstorm fells large tree at Darkwing Manor Medford police arrest 7 in domestic violence sweep Local woman honored for historical efforts Honoring those to whom honor is due Accident kills man, closes Coos Bay bridge Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Medford police arrest 7 in domestic violence sweep Community blog: Domestic Violence- "No More Silence" Emergency services Winters worn down by criticism Home invasion robbery suspect who skipped town two years ago arrested in L.A. Politics and Elections Winters worn down by criticism Eagle Point might get on the bus Richardson accuses Kitzhaber of 'corruption' in final debate Green Party won't back its own candidate Jobs at core of Oregon House race Education SOU student says free speech issue overblown SOU interim president leads in a different direction Medford school officials consider costs of full-day kindergarten Foundation kicks off ambitious 'Count Me In' fundraising campaign 100 hours and counting Environment Neighbors smell trouble in proposal to spread waste on Sams Valley farmland Bear cub captured in Ashland pharmacy Work begins on Southern Oregon's first dedicated mountain bike trail Applegate Dam hydroelectric project dead in water Fear of orphaned cubs nixes new spring bear hunt State news Nation - World Obituaries Ronald J. Hupp Death Notices Gary Wayne Campbell Carrol Allen Adams Dixie Alene Davis Kruggel Weather Photo Galleries Since You Asked Videos Web Cams Mail Tribune 100 Sports Latest Stories North girls edge South in cross-town battle North-South prep for Black and Blue battle Panther boys, girls qualify for state meet Rookie Randle leads Lakers past Blazers 94-86 Royals clobber Giants 7-2 to even World Series Varsity 541 College Sports Slumping Bears hope to slow No. 6 Oregon, Mariota Shaw shoulders blame for Stanford's slide As SEC rules rankings, calls of #SECBias rise Oregon inches way back into playoff race UO’s Dargan sets the tone for improving defense Pro Sports Rookie Randle leads Lakers past Blazers 94-86 Royals clobber Giants 7-2 to even World Series Manning won’t laugh at a keep-away encore Bumgarner, Giants jump all over Royals in opener On road to recovery, Marinovich finds painting Community Sports LOCAL EVENTS LOCAL RESULTS Business Latest Stories Sportsman's Warehouse to add Klamath Falls store County OKs partnership to lead business recruitment People's Bank sees 64% net earnings gain New I-5 interchange puts south Medford on fast lane to fast food County's jobless rate unchanged in September Real Estate News New I-5 interchange puts south Medford on fast lane to fast food Lithia buys Clovis dealership Rental vacancies increase Jackson County real estate sales, prices continue rebound Pallet Wine Co. expands in downtown Medford People In Business People in Business Transportation Frontier Airlines to end Eugene-Denver service Business Resource Fair has answers Erickson's Navy contract extended Lithia buys Clovis dealership Agriculture Hundreds look for work at Harry & David hiring fair Umpqua Holdings more than doubles net earnings Harry & David will hold hiring fair Thursday Ranchers offer livestock exchange 1-800-Flowers CEO: Labor shortage an issue for Harry & David Opinion Latest Granlund cartoon: Canadian terrorist attack Our View: Kitzhaber is still the best choice George Will: In Kentucky, a constitutional moment Letters to the Editor, Oct. 23 Granlund cartoon: McDonald’s profits drop Editorials Our View: Kitzhaber is still the best choice Our view: Merkley-Wehby race leaves us unconvinced; Walden seems destined for permanent position Our View: Falls for sheriff, our picks for state House Our view: Endorsements include Bates, Talbert, Hoppe Reversing course: Hoppe for judge Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor, Oct. 23 Letters to the Editor, Oct. 22 Letters to the Editor, Oct. 21 Letters to the Editor, Oct. 20 Letters to the Editor, Oct. 19 Guest Opinions Don't overlook importance of Jackson County commissioners race Measure 92 misleads rather than enlightens Oregonians have a right to know what's in their food Infill is the answer to growth issues Guest Opinion: Who’s really to blame for 2014 wildfires? Lifestyle Latest stories Community blog: The Crowd And The Win - Better Health Honoring those to whom honor is due Marketta Gregory: Pass along a compliment Community blog: There's a method to mix, match alternative grains How to live and work in a tiny home Food Community blog: There's a method to mix, match alternative grains Ashland resident's cookbook showcases gluten-free creativity Legder David Cellars has a new winemaker and big plans Kitchen Call: New interest in old-fashioned buttermilk Joanna McQuillan Weeks: Cheese balls deserve more respect Home and Garden How to live and work in a tiny home Dear Monty: Rent-back clause prevents financial disaster​ Recycle plastic at The Expo Friday and Saturday How to know when trees and shrubs need to go Dear Monty: Is your real estate agent a secret agent? Health Community blog: The Crowd And The Win - Better Health Joan Endyke: The importance of a healthy diet when pregnant Community blog: Listening Skills for the Brave and Passionate: Taking it to the Next Level Held captive by whimsy Community blog: My New Best Selling Book Hiking Biking Faith Religion Briefs Religion Briefs Religion Briefs Religion briefs First Church of Nazarene plans cleanup Milestones and Achievements New arrivals Southern Oregon Pride parade celebrates gay marriage ruling New Arrivals Columnist for a Day Rogue Healthy Aging Tempo Latest stories Southern Oregon Repertory Singers present harmonious voices, dissonant notes Scottish music duo plays highland magic Beekeepers Ball is one sweet soiree Dean Angermeier rediscovers his 'roots' Medieval imagery inspires Portland artist Theater Camelot presents 'The Lion in Winter' 'Carnage' is short, smart, darkly funny Music Southern Oregon Repertory Singers present harmonious voices, dissonant notes Scottish music duo plays highland magic Beekeepers Ball is one sweet soiree Dean Angermeier rediscovers his 'roots' Moonalice plays Applegate Lodge Community Events Review: Funny 'Lion in Winter' roars to life at Camelot Theatre Theater's haunted house not for faint of heart Third Fridays in downtown Medford Works in progress Southern Oregon Pride Festival celebrates diversity Dining Yu's Yummy Yan's offers great take-out Agave offers tasty tacos Asian cuisine for all seasons at Misoya Bistro Spoons Tempo Videos Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Blogs TV Listings Movie Listings Oregon Outdoors Oregon Healthy Living Magazines & Special Sections NEWS NOW Wednesday night windstorm fells large tree at Darkwing Manor ... Granlund cartoon: Canadian terrorist attack ... Accident kills man, closes Coos Bay bridge ... Wednesday night windstorm fells large tree at Darkwing Manor ... Granlund cartoon: Canadian terrorist attack ... Accident kills man, closes Coos Bay bridge ... FOOTBALL On road to recovery, Marinovich finds painting By Kurt Streeter Los Angeles Times MailTribune.com By Kurt Streeter Los Angeles Times Posted Oct. 22, 2014 @ 2:00 am By Kurt Streeter Los Angeles Times Posted Oct. 22, 2014 @ 2:00 am » Social News Todd Marinovich craned his sinewy neck and looked up, way up, at the expansive wall. “On top there, that’s the more perfect, traditional part of this mural,” he said, tugging at his brown baseball cap as he focused on the scraggly, spray-painted tree, its roots diving into deep soil. He motioned toward the two-story wall’s base, where the imagery was more abstract: a serpent, a fish, a flower — unkempt and playful, green and blue and black. “I like this part the best,” he said. “You don’t want art that’s just all neat and tidy. It’s animalistic and unpredictable and messy. You can’t put it into a safe box.” Marinovich, 45, could have been describing himself. His story has been well-chronicled: The Cliff Notes version is a dream shattered by pressure and despair. He grew up famous, an Orange County favorite son dubbed the “Robo quarterback” in high school by national media — which focused as much on his football skills as on the intense training regime his father, Marv, had pushed him through since infancy. He won a Rose Bowl for USC. He started for the Raiders when they made their home in Los Angeles. But he also unraveled in full public view. Marinovich became a hard-core drug addict. He lost his career, and nearly his life, in a haze of pot, cocaine and heroin. The last image many have is of him standing before a judge after yet another arrest. But life for Todd Marinovich has changed once again. “I’m evolving,” he said, a smile on his narrow face. About five years ago, Marinovich began making a living off his artwork — his paintings and sculptures have been featured in galleries. His latest job is the biggest payday yet: a $20,000 mural project commissioned by the city of Garden Grove. His canvas is a wide exterior wall outside the historic Gem Theater, smack in the heart of a suburb lost in the shadow of nearby Disneyland. “There’s a parallel,” said Steve Jones, the city councilman who reached out to Marinovich four months ago, asking if the former quarterback could do the job. “He’s trying to overcome stigma, he’s reinvented himself as an artist. We’re trying to overcome a stigma too, that image of a flat city in Orange County that’s sort of forgotten. Some people call us ‘Garbage Grove.’” “Me and the city have certain reputations, it’s true, but I want to go beyond that, I want this to be about the art,” said Marinovich, recognizable even though his trademark red locks have been shorn and his skin leathered by the sun and hard living. “This piece, this piece just feels so right. First time I heard about it, I knew I was the right one for the job — it’s one of the biggest things I’ve ever done.” For nearly a month, he was cordoned behind a tarp-covered chain-link fence, standing in the square carriage of an electric lift that can raise him 30 feet high. Sometimes people stopped by, word having leaked that Marinovich was in town, making art of all things. Sometimes he worked for hours without a bother — mornings, afternoons and late at night, under the glare of floodlights. The mural, striped, dappled and meant to evoke the city’s rural past, was unveiled for Sunday’s Re: Imagine Garden Grove festival. Marinovich has a humble charm. There are no airs about him, not with his past. In the languid but weary cadence of a surfer who has seen the worst parts of life, he spoke on a recent afternoon of how he had to beat back fear and doubt before starting the mural. How he leaned on the fact he’s done a fair amount of graffiti work before — “most of it without what you’d call a ‘proper credential,’” he said. He mused, too, about the toll drugs and football-related concussions have taken on his memory. There are large chunks of the past that he just can’t recall. Names, even of close friends, can evade him at inopportune moments. He’s lost his wallet three times in the last two weeks. It’s typical, and frightening. “If I make it to my 70s,” he said, “I will be surprised.” What keeps him going is family. “I need them because I am very impulsive and sometimes I don’t make the best decision. Without them, who knows, all bets are off …,” His voice trailed. He was thinking about his dad, worried because his father’s health hasn’t been the best of late. All those old stories about Marv, which is what Marinovich calls his father, the ones characterizing him as the football-crazed mad scientist who drove his son to the brink? Too easy, too pat, too simple, Marinovich said, holding a can of spray paint. “The reality was way more complicated … but the media didn’t get that. Sure, I was pushed, but I loved a lot of it. And I loved my father and always will.” Marinovich has a wife now, Alix, whom he met in drug court. They have two young children: a 3-year-old girl, Coski, and a 5-year-old boy, Baron, who Marinovich said will never be allowed to play football because of the concussion risk. Two years ago they moved from Newport Beach to a small town in central Oregon. While there Marinovich was paid to create his first official mural: an electric pink sunset illuminating a horse corral. Other than a stint playing professionally in Canada — a desperate period when his heroin addiction was in full bloom — it was the first time he’d ever put down roots outside Southern California. But the allure of home proved too much. In May, the family moved back, settling in a little cottage in Oceanside. Paying the bills is always a struggle, but Marinovich hopes the Garden Grove mural will give his art career a boost. Early on in the project, he invited local schoolkids to help. They took spray paint to the wall, scrawling free-form figures wherever they could. When the kids had finished, someone wondered whether their work shouldn’t be painted over. “Not a chance,” Marinovich said, vowing to turn it into the mural’s foundation. Then there are the scraggly tree and its roots. “I’m going to turn those into people,” he said, zooming toward the mural’s top on his lift. “How? I don’t know. It’s a messy process. There’s an element of giving up control and that’s really important.... You see one thing on the surface, but you don’t know what you’re going to get.” By Kurt Streeter Los Angeles Times MailTribune.com By Kurt Streeter Los Angeles Times Posted Oct. 22, 2014 @ 2:00 am » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. fantasy football Projecting Fantasy Winners, Losers for Week 8 Oct. 23, 2014 at 1:58 pm Week 8 Fantasy Stat Projections Oct. 23, 2014 at 1:50 pm Week 8 Fantasy Football Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Oct. 23, 2014 at 12:00 pm Rapid-Fire Fantasy Injury Update Oct. 23, 2014 at 11:59 am Answering Burning Fantasy Football Questions of Week 8 Oct. 23, 2014 at 11:12 am Will Risky Fantasy Football Moves Pay off in Week 8? 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