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Anaheim Union High School District Continues Struggling With Layoffs
Layoff hearings in the Anaheim Union High School District will continue for five more days throughout the month of May after school board trustees voted earlier this year to let go over 100 teachers amid decreasing enrollment. The layoffs come amid expiring federal COVID relief funds for schools, declining enrollment...
A Look at What Cannabis Taxes Fund in Orange County
Staffing for library programs, paying for police enforcement, funding parks maintenance and social events – all of these are financed partly by cannabis taxes collected in several Orange County cities. Whether cashing in on retail cannabis, allowing processing or distribution within city limits, or backing research related to marijuana...
The Politics of Scoring a $60 Million Contract in Orange County
Residents got a rare glimpse on how multi-million dollar contracts are privately lobbied and publicly awarded by Orange County Supervisors last week – one that significantly underbid the competition, including the contractor for the past seven years. Some supervisors openly questioned the tactics used by lobbyists to help ACE...
Will Garden Grove Unified Video Stream School Board Meetings?
Garden Grove Unified School District officials are expected to consider video streaming their board meetings after parents raised transparency and access concerns at recent meetings. The school district – home to 38,560 students – is currently one of the biggest in Orange County that does not video stream their meetings....
Will Tourism Dollars Help Fund Anaheim’s Affordable Housing Trust?
Anaheim City Councilwoman Natalie Rubalcava wants to use tourism tax dollars – intended to market and improve the resort district – to help fund a housing trust that could bring more affordable homes to Orange County’s largest city. It’s money that state auditors in a report released...
Brea’s Historic Old Railroad Tracks Expands West, Connecting to a Trail in North OC
Brea officials plan to improve and expand the trail on the historic railroad tracks westward, ultimately connecting it to other cities in North Orange County. The expansion comes as part of a plan to revamp the tracks, a former train railway turned nature park, with new amenities like picnic areas, pathway lighting, and kinetic sculptures in the historic park.
Who’s Spending in the Recall Election of Anaheim Councilwoman Natalie Rubalcava?
Nearly half a million dollars has already been raised by a mix of Disneyland resort and labor interests to either support or oppose Anaheim Councilwoman Natalie Rubalcava’s upcoming June 4 recall election. Rubalcava’s been on the council less than two years and is the first city council member to...
Girand: Trains vs. Beaches – $ 1 Billion BNSF Baloney
Since 1997, the S&P 500 has grown from 1533.80 to 5234.50, a rate of 341%. Since 1997, the US Gross Domestic Product has grown from $8.578 trillion to $27.36 trillion, a rate of 319%. You know what hasn’t grown? Freight on the LOSSAN Corridor. In 1997, the LOSSAN corridor...
Clerk-Recorder Partners with California Secretary of State for Apostille Pop-Up Shop
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. Clerk-Recorder Partners with California Secretary of State. for Apostille Pop-Up Shop. For Immediate Release. April 25, 2024. Contact: Billy Le. Phone: (714) 834-2248. For the...
Orange County’s School Superintendent to Retire While Battling Cancer
Orange County Department of Education Superintendent Al Mijares announced his retirement today, publicly revealing his battle with cancer over the past year and setting his last day for the end of June. His retirement comes less than a month after he told staff he planned to return to work in...
Free Things To Do This Weekend Across OC
Consider starting your weekend this Saturday by taking the kids to a celebration of a Día de los Niños, or Children’s Day, at the Santa Ana Main Library, or by taking a guided meditation class at the Yorba Linda Library. Weather permitting, consider starting Sunday with a...
Kriz: Another 33 People “Died Without Fixed Abode” in OC in March 2024
Another 33 people died “without fixed abode” in OC in March, 2024. Their names are. Nicolle MCCORMICK who died on March 1st in Fountain Valley. Starlight ELLIOTT who died on March 2nd in Costa Mesa. Moises OCAMPO who died on March 3rd in San Juan Capistrano. Gilbert TREVENA...
Cypress Funds Classes for Entrepreneurs, Waives Development Fees
Cypress officials are looking to drum up more tax revenue using federal COVID bailout dollars to fund programs aimed at helping small business owners grow and market their shops as well as waive thousands of dollars in development fees for entrepreneurs. The programs are part of a city pandemic recovery...
Will Stanton Switch to Publicly Funded Elections?
Stanton officials are looking into making major changes to how city council campaigns are financed in one of OC’s smallest cities by infusing tax dollars into the election cycle. Officials are currently researching what publicly funded elections could look like in the city, laying the groundwork to potentially become...
Future of 11-Acre Tustin Private Open Land Frozen After OC Supervisors Stalemate
A plot of largely undeveloped private land in North Tustin appears set to stay that way for the next five years after Orange County Supervisors declined to vote on a proposal by the landowner to possibly open the land for development. The move comes after mounting concerns and questions from...
Nelson: Trains vs. Beaches – A Ridership Reality Check
Rail industry advocates and public officials often conflate statistics for the entire 351-mile LOSSAN (San Luis Obispo to San Diego) line with those of the southern 20% – the San Diego Segment, which is in serious jeopardy from existential threats in two locations – falling bluffs in Del Mar and rising seas, eroding shores and sliding bluffs in San Clemente. By treating the entire line, which is comprised of seven segments owned by 7 separate entities with 9 operators and managers, as one united and indivisible line, they hope to justify the expenditure of hundreds of millions for unending armoring, repairs and walls and perhaps ultimately, billions for an inevitable relocation of the endangered Del Mar and San Clemente sections.
Brea to Enforce Street Sweeping Requirements
Brea residents will soon see parking enforcements for street sweeping after mounting complaints from residents in recent years, with nearly 60% mentioning lack of enforcement. Last week, city council members voted to reinstate parking restrictions on street sweeping, which will soon end a five-year period of no enforcement. Officials also questioned if overnight parking permits were impacting street sweeping services.
Laguna Beach Officials Consider Raising Taxes
Laguna Beach City Council members are gauging how residents will react to potential sales, hotel or real estate tax increases with a community survey to help boost city revenue. It comes after officials in the coastal city decided that increasing city revenue was a top priority for 2024, despite Laguna...
Two More OC Cities Create Housing Trusts; Are They Effective?
Officials in Anaheim and Laguna Beach plan to establish their own housing trust funds – money that could be used to help create affordable homes or fund rental and homebuyer programs amid state pressure to address California’s home affordability crisis. But there are a lot of questions over...
Fleischman: How Long Is Too Long? County Schools Superintendent Has Been Out For Over A Year!
53 of 58 counties in California elect a Superintendent of Public Instruction. Here in Orange County, our elected Superintendent oversees a County Department of Education with an annual budget exceeding $350 million and an organization of nearly 1,500 employees. This is an important position, and it comes with a salary of more than $300,000 (more than the Governor) and a total compensation (including a very generous pension) of more than a half million dollars annually. Having an elected Superintendent makes sure that this bureaucracy is accountable to all of us – the public.
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