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Voice of OC
Can Orange Leaders Make The Hard Choices To Tame a Looming $19M Budget Deficit?
Orange City Council members continue avoiding hard choices to tame a looming and quickly approaching $19 million budget deficit – one that threatens public services including the hiring of police officers and firefighters. Earlier this month, council members confronted the deficit by making statements about programs they wouldn’t cut,...
Costa Mesa Approved Another Cannabis Shop After Overhauling Local Laws
Costa Mesa City Council members authorized another cannabis shop to open in the city after a series of changes to local zoning and code enforcement laws surrounding the retailers. Yet after months of discussion, officials still grappled with how to best regulate the cannabis shops at their May 7 meeting...
More Orange County Cities Overhaul Campaign Finance Rules
A couple of Orange County cities are increasing limits on how much a person can financially donate to the political election campaigns of their preferred candidates ahead of the November 2024 election. And officials in one of the smallest cities in the county – Stanton – moved the opposite direction,...
What’s It Like To Be Without a Home In Orange County?
More people are homeless than ever in Orange County, with many trying to get off the streets crammed into a series of shelters run by cities and local nonprofits as they wait for an affordable apartment to open up. But for the people stuck in shelters, they say it sometimes...
Santana: Preparing OC’s Cold Weather Shelters in the Heat of Summer
Orange County officials are doing something they’ve never tried before during the hot summer months ahead. Prepare cold weather emergency shelters for homeless people – ones that people can simply walk into without making appointments. In recent years, local elected officials and public sector executives seem to wait...
Kriz: 28 People Died “Without Fixed Abode” in OC in April, While Palestinian Protesters at UCI Successfully Dealt with Their Own Homelessness Challenge
Twenty-eight people died “Without Fixed Abode” in OC in April, 2024. Their names are:. Daniel MARTIN who died on April 2nd in Fountain Valley. Carlos VELAZQUEZ who died on April 3rd in Santa Ana. Richard RAINEY who died on April 4th in Santa Ana. Casey NORTH who died...
When Will OC Veterans See A Cemetery Built at Gypsum Canyon?
This Memorial Day, local veterans are still waiting for Orange County’s first state veterans cemetery as World War 2, Korean War and Vietnam War veterans are increasingly dying. State and local leaders are promising the project is moving ahead at lightning pace while they’re unable to say when the...
Where to Honor Orange County’s Fallen Veterans for Memorial Day Weekend
Orange County remembers those who gave their lives defending the United States this Memorial Day weekend through a series of flag raises and other ceremonies. The aim of the holiday tradition is paying tribute to the nearly 650,000 people who’ve died in battle since the country was founded, along with an additional 539,000 servicemen and servicewomen killed by non-combat incidents.
Free Things To Do This Weekend Across OC
Consider starting your weekend this Saturday by participating in an outdoor art program, or by taking the kids to a bilingual storytime at the Fountain Valley Library. On Sunday, consider attending a screening of “Back to the Future” at the Costa Mesa Donald Dungan Library. This is just...
Ayyappan: College Students Could Be A Powerful Voting Block; How Registration Gets in the Way
Growing up in Southern California as the son of immigrants, my parents stressed the importance of seizing opportunities, including the right to vote. Their lessons shaped me into a self-taught learner who takes civic duty seriously. Approaching my 18th birthday before the 2022 Presidential election was monumental. However, my excitement turned to disappointment when, upon reaching the voting center at my college, I was informed that I couldn’t vote because I wasn’t registered.
County of Orange Releases FY 2024-25 Recommended Budget
The following is a press release from an organization unaffiliated with Voice of OC. The views expressed here are not those of Voice of OC. County of Orange Releases FY 2024-25 Recommended Budget. Santa Ana, Calif. (May 22, 2024) –The County of Orange’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2024-25 Recommended Budget has...
Anaheim Moves to Take Over Motel That Houses ‘Nefarious Activities’
Residents living near Beach Boulevard in West Anaheim could soon see another problematic motel be redeveloped into affordable housing in a move city officials hope will help curb crime issues plaguing the area. On Tuesday, Anaheim City Council members voted to begin the eminent domain procedure against the Rainbow Inn...
Santa Ana to Shut Off Supply to Households That Don’t Pay Water Bills
Santa Ana officials are gearing up to start turning off what could be thousands of residents’ water supply who are behind on their water bills. Officials on Tuesday night took a key step by amending their local ordinance on shut-offs because a state law requires more public notice and twice as long a period before a supplier can turn off a household’s water supply and allows for appeals.
Costa Mesa’s Evictions Are Down By 50%
Costa Mesa officials say a renter protection program they implemented six months ago has resulted in a 50% decrease in the number of eviction notices going out to local families amid an uptick in evictions county wide. Earlier this month, council members publicly celebrated the decrease but acknowledged there was...
Huntington Beach Threatens CA Auditor With Lawsuit Over Airshow Settlement Probe
Huntington Beach officials are threatening a lawsuit against California Auditor Grant Parks in an effort to block his office from probing the city’s $5.4 million settlement with the operators of the Pacific Airshow in the fallout of the 2021 oil spill. The secret settlement has drawn scrutiny from the...
Anaheim Considers Takeover of Beach Boulevard Motel
Residents living near Beach Boulevard have long raised concerns over blighted motels in the area, which often grapple with drug dealing and prostitution – along with a nearly constant police presence. Now, Anaheim officials are moving to forcibly acquire the Rainbow Inn and turn it into an affordable housing...
Huntington Beach City Council Looks to Rename Street After Major Campaign Donor
Huntington Beach City Council members are looking to rename Commerce Lane after one of the city’s oldest business owners with a known history of volunteerism who also donated thousands to local political campaigns. The business owner is Ed Laird, owner of Laird Coatings, a plastic coating company that’s operated...
Irvine Grapples With Nearly 60,000 New Housing Units in General Plan Proposal
Irvine City Council members and residents are jumping into the debate over how much housing is too much this month as they look at a new proposal in their general plan to zone for thousands of new homes over the coming years. It comes as Irvine has been one of...
Santa Ana Move to Erase Chicano Gothic Mural Triggers Debate
Santa Ana has a problem with saving Chicano murals. Emigdio Vasquez, ‘the godfather of Chicano Art.’, who has painted over 30 murals in Orange County, is no exception. Restaurants, homes, neighborhood walls, and city halls have been canvasses for the Chicano muralist since the 1960s, and some have been destroyed throughout the years in Santa Ana, sometimes having to be recreated amid city remodels.
Laguna Beach Eyes New Affordable Home Developments
Two affordable housing projects could be coming to Laguna Beach – home to one of the most expensive zip codes in the U.S. – that could create close to 100 new homes for low-income residents in the next couple of years. But both proposals are in the very...
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